http://www.filmmonthly.com/ en Copyright 2012 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:23:09 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RANT Since the first time the Oscars were first telecast in the mid-fifties, I've been enthusiastic about them. I haven't missed a telecast. Starting in the mid-sixties or maybe before, I have seriously followed the nomination process. Without exception, in the past, I've agreed with a huge percentage of the choices receiving nomination. NOT THIS TIME. In my opinion, The Academy's selections for film year 2011 are the worst/least appropriate/most annoying that I've witnessed. I'm very disappointed. Maybe I'm out-of-touch but completely unapologetic and decided to vent here. WAYNE Listed here is ratio of my agreement/disagreement with the selections in major categories. Best Picture: I agree with 2 out of 9. Best Director: I agree with 0 out of 5 Best Actress: I agree with 4 out of 5 Best Actor: I agree with 1 out of 5 Best Supporting Actress: I agree with 2 out of 5 Best Supporting Actor: I agree with 3 out of 5 Best Original Script: I agree with 1 out of 5 Best Adapted Script: I agree with 1 out of 5 Best Cinematography: I agree with 2 out of 5 Best Original Score: I agree with 1 out of 5 Best Song: From the 39 original songs that qualified, the geniuses in the music branch found only 2 songs that they consider worthy contenders. (Work from Elton John, Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige, Madonna and others didn't meet their standards!) I take major exception the the failure of recognition for the following: Tate Taylor's adapted script for THE HELP Dustin Lance Black for original script of J. EDGAR David Fincher for best directing THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Steven Spielberg for best directing WAR HORSE The adapted script for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Leonardo DiCaprio as best actor in J. EDGAR Michael Fassbender as best actor in SHAME Armie Hammer as best supporting actor for J. EDGAR Ryan Gosling as best actor for DRIVE and/or THE IDES OF MARCH Carey Mulligan as best supporting actress in DRIVE and/or SHAME Albert Brooks as best supporting actor in DRIVE DRIVE received only one nomination (sound) ignoring score, editing, acting J. EDGAR was totally ignored THE HELP was not nominated for best costumes, score, song, writing BRIDESMAIDS was not nominated for best costumes HANNA was totally ignored including cinematography, sound, score, editing THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO was not recognized for score, costumes, make-up SUPER 8 was totally ignored, especially visual effects, sound, editing WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN was totally ignored...acting, editing 50/50 was totally ignored...script, acting SHAME was totally ignored including cinematography, editing, score, acting Point One: For any film to get a Best Picture Nomination, 5% of voting members of the entire Academy must select that film as THE BEST film of the year. The Academy has about 4000 members...meaning at least 200 must have selected EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE as the best film of the year. Go figure. Point Two: I need somebody that fully understands film directing to explain to me just exactly what it is about the job Woody Allen does for MIDNIGHT IN PARIS that makes it superior to David Fincher's masterful work on THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and the genius of Steven Spielberg handling WAR HORSE. AND... DO THE MEMBERS OF THE VARIOUS ACADEMY BRANCHES EVER BOTHER TO SEE/CONSIDER ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THEIR AREA FOR ANY FILM EXCEPT THE MOST LIKELY TEN OR SO HIGH PROFILE FILMS? ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/my_reaction_to_oscar_nominations_for_2011_films.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/my_reaction_to_oscar_nominations_for_2011_films.html Behind the Scenes Behind the Scenes (Exclusive!) Literary Criticism Wayne Case Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:44:00 -0600 Best Films (In order of preference) (1) THE HELP (2) THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (3) WAR HORSE (4) J. EDGAR (5) SUPER 8 (6) 50/50 (7) MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (8) THE IDES OF MARCH (9) SHAME (10) HANNA (11) X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Runners-Up (Alphabetical) A BETTER LIFE THE DEBT DRIVE JANE EYRE LAST NIGHT LIKE CRAZY POINT BLANK (A BOUT PORTANT) France THOR WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical) THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU ANOTHER HAPPY DAY BEASTLY CEDAR RAPIDS THE DESCENDANTS FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS HESHER HUGO I AM NUMBER FOUR IN TIME THE LEDGE LIMITLESS THE LINCOLN LAWYER THE MECHANIC MIDNIGHT IN PARIS MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL THE MUPPETS PUNCTURE RAMPART RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES WARRIOR WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN YOUNG ADULT Guilty Pleasures (Alphabetical) MONTE CARLO NOW & LATER THE ROOMMATE STRAW DOGS WEEKEND Worst Films (Worst of the worst first) (1) THE CHANGE-UP (disgusting, Ryan Reynolds) (2) YOUR HIGHNESS (inept in every way) (3) THE DILEMMA (Ron Howard mis-directed) (4) DREAM HOUSE (ridiculous) (5) ABDUCTION (Taylor Lautner, Sigourney Weaver) (6) RESTLESS (Gus Van Sant) (7) JUST GO WITH IT (Adam Sandler, Dennis Dugan) (8) THE GREEN HORNET (the worst super-hero movie ever) (9) RED RIDING HOOD (terrible concept) (10) UNKNOWN (convoluted crap) (11) SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (loud & lame) (12) BATTLE LOS ANGELES (Louisiana plays Los Angeles poorly) (13) SOMETHING BORROWED (something to avoid) (14) A DANGEROUS METHOD (blah, blah, blah by David Cronenberg) (15) LARRY CROWNE (Hanks tanks) But Not For Me (Alphabetical) (Even though many serious experts lavished praise on the following, I was much less impressed: List follows.) THE ARTIST (a well done stunt) BRIDESMAIDS (uneven & repetitious) EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE (totally annoying) MONEYBALL (a single) THE TREE OF LIFE (incomprehensible and endless) Best Actor (In order of preference) (1) Leonardo DiCaprio, J. EDGAR (2) Demian Bichir, A BETTER LIFE (3) Michael Fassbender, SHAME (4) Ryan Gosling, THE IDES OF MARCH (5) Chris Evans, PUNCTURE Best Actor Runners Up (In order of preference) (6) Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50 (7) Dominic Cooper, THE DEVIL'S DOUBLE (8) Woody Harrelson, RAMPART (9) Brad Pitt, MONEYBALL (10) Michael Shannon, TAKE SHELTER Best Actor Honorable Mentions (In order of preference) (11) Tom Hardy, WARRIOR (12) Joel Edgerton, WARRIOR (13) Ryan Gosling, DRIVE (14) Sam Worthington, LAST NIGHT Best Actress (In order of preference) (1) Viola Davis, THE HELP (2) Michele Williams, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (3) Rooney Mara, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (4) Meryl Streep, THE IRON LADY (5) Tilda Swinton, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Best Actress Runners Up (Alphabetical) Ellen Barkin, ANOTHER HAPPY DAY Keira Knightley, LAST NIGHT Saoirse Ronan, HANNA Emma Stone, THE HELP Charlize Theron, YOUNG ADULT Mia Wasikowska, JANE EYRE Best Supporting Actor (In order of preference) (1) Armie Hammer, J. EDGAR (2) Nick Nolte, WARRIOR (3) Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS (4) Kenneth Branagh, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (5) George Clooney, THE IDES OF MARCH Best Supporting Actor Runners-Up (In order of preference) (6) Albert Brooks, DRIVE (7) Ezra Miller, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (8) Andy Serkis, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (9) Corey Stoll, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Best Supporting Actress (In order of preference) (1) Octavia Spencer, THE HELP (2) Jessica Chastain, THE HELP (3) Bryce Dallas Howard, THE HELP (4) Elle Fanning, SUPER 8 (5) Carey Mulligan, SHAME Best Supporting Actress Runners-Up (In order of preference) (6) Judi Dench, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (7) Jessica Chastain, THE DEBT (8) Helen Mirren, THE DEBT (9) Rachel Evan Wood, THE IDES OF MARCH (10 Anna Kendrick, 50/50 (11) Judy Greer, THE DESCENDANTS (12) Anjelica Huston, 50/50 Best Director (In order of preference) (1) THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, David Fincher (2) THE HELP, Tate Taylor (3) J. EDGAR, Clint Eastwood (4) WAR HORSE, Steven Spielberg (5) THE IDES OF MARCH, George Clooney Best Cinematography (Alphabetical by Film Title) DRIVE FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO HANNA THE HELP J. EDGAR SUPER 8 WAR HORSE WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Best Original Script (Alphabetical) 50/50 J. EDGAR MIDNIGHT IN PARIS SHAME SUPER 8 Best Adapted Script (Alphabetical) THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO THE HELP THE IDES OF MARCH JANE EYRE WAR HORSE Best Original Song (In order of preference) (From the list of 40 qualifying finalists selected by the Academy, the following are my choices.) (1) "The Living Proof", THE HELP (2) "Man or Muppet", THE MUPPETS (3) "Life's A Happy Song", THE MUPPETS (4) "Lay Your Head Down", unseen ALBERT NOBBS (5) "Pictures In My Head", THE MUPPETS (6) "Sparkling Day", ONE DAY Best Original Music/Score (Alphabetical) THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, Thomas Newman THE DEBT, Thomas Newman DRIVE, Chris Martinez THE GIRL...TATTOO, Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross HANNA, Tom Rowlands THE HELP, Thomas Newman THE IDES OF MARCH, Alexandre Desplat IN TIME, Craig Armstrong J. EDGAR, Clint Eastwood JANE EYRE, Danio Marianelli LIKE CRAZY, Rachel Portman SHAME, Harry Escott SUPER 8, Michael Giacchino WAR HORSE, John Williams WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, Jonny Greenwood X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, Henry Jackman Best Costumes (Alphabetical) THE ARTIST BRIDESMAIDS THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO THE HELP JANE EYRE J. EDGAR MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Best Editing (Alphabetical) DRIVE THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO SHAME WAR HORSE WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Best Sound (Alphabetical) DRIVE THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO HUGO SUPER 8 WAR HORSE Special Awards 2011 The Sly Stallone/Ar-nuld Schwarzenegger Worst Performance by an Actor Award: -Tie - Taylor Lautner, ABDUCTION -Robert Downey, Jr., SHERLOCK HOLMES; A GAME OF SHADOWS The Michelle Phillips/Cornelia Sharpe/Angel Thompkins Worst Performance by an Actress Award: Worst actress: It’s tie! Kristen Stewart, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN (Part 1) Sigourney Weaver, ABDUCTION The Heaven’s Gate Budget Award: GREEN LANTERN The Otto Preminger “Light Touch” Award: THE DILEMMA, HANGOVER PART II The Sam Peckinpah “Wretched Excess” Award: DRIVE, STRAW DOGS The Sidney Lumet Miscasting Award: Male – Kenny Wormald, FOOTLOOSE Vince Vaughn & Kevin James, THE DILEMMA Female – Reese Witherspoon, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Julianne Hough, FOOTLOOSE The Surgeon General’s Warning Award: Steven Spielberg for COWBOYS & ALIENS, SUPER 8, and WAR HORSE LAST NIGHT TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY The John Hartl Stop-Them-Before-They-Direct-Again Award: Denis Dugan, Adam Sandler's obvious favorite. He never fails to fail. The Joan Crawford as “Johnny Guitar” Take-No-Prisoners-Acting Award: Kate Hudson, SOMETHING BORROWED Leighton Meester, THE ROOMMATE The "What About Bob" Most Annoying Award: Male – Danny McBride, YOUR HIGHNESS Zach Galifanakis, HANGOVER, PART II Female – Kristen Stewart, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, PART 1 Nicole Kidman, JUST GO WITH IT The Calling-Sydney-Guilaroff-for-Help-Hair-Style Award: Hayden Panettiere, SCREAM 4 Blythe Danner, WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER The Blind-As-A-Bat Worst Cinematography Award: RED RIDING HOOD The A-Star-Is-Born Award for Major Career Advancement This Year: Male – Michael Fassbender in SHAME, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, and JANE EYRE Ryan Gosling in THE IDES OF MARCH, DRIVE, and CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE Female – Jessica Chastain in THE HELP, THE DEBT, TAKE SHELTER, and THE TREE OF LIFE Carey Mulligan in DRIVE and SHAME The Ellen Terry Awards Note: Awarded to those providing extra and or unexpected pleasure. Male - Eric Bana HANNA Jamie Bell THE EAGLE, JANE EYRE Paul Bettany PRIEST, MARGIN CALL Pierre Boulanger MONTE CARLO Matt Bomer IN TIME Kyle Chandler SUPER 8 Bradley Cooper LIMITLESS Joel Courtney SUPER 8 Benedict Cumberbatch WAR HORSE and TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Zac Efron NEW YEAR'S EVE Colin Egglesfield SOMETHING BORROWED Ben Foster THE MECHANIC Ben Gavin SUPER 8 Cam Gigandet THE ROOMMATE, PRIEST Bryan Greenberg FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS Jon Hamm BRIDESMAIDS Woody Harrelson FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS Chris Hemsworth THOR Tom Hiddleston WAR HORSE, THOR and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Nicholas Hoult X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Charlie Hunnam THE LEDGE Jeremy Irvine WAR HORSE Mark Kassen PUNCTURE (and he directed it) Ashton Kutcher NO STRINGS ATTACHED and NEW YEAR'S EVE Ryan Lee SUPER 8 David Leitch THE MECHANIC (as Sebastian) Chris Lowell THE HELP Josh Lucas THE LINCOLN LAWYER, J. EDGAR James Marsden STRAW DOGS James McAvoy X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Ewan McGregor BEGINNERS Stephen Moyer PRIEST Colin O'Donoghue THE RITE Robert Pattinson WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Alex Pettyfer I AM NUMBER FOUR, BEASTLY and IN TIME Zachary Quinto MARGIN CALL and WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER? Eddie Redmayne MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jason Segel BAD TEACHER, THE MUPPETS and FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS Channing Tatum THE EAGLE Miles Teller FOOTLOOSE Justin Timberlake FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS and IN TIME, BAD TEACHER Karl Urban PRIEST Mike Vogel THE HELP Patrick Wilson THE LEDGE James Keller Wortham NOW AND LATER Female - Diana Agron I AM NUMBER FOUR Jennifer Aniston HORRIBLE BOSSES Lake Bell NO STRINGS ATTACHED Cate Blanchett HANNA Emily Blunt THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU and THE MUPPETS Rose Byrne X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, BRIDESMAIDS Patricia Clarkson FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS Kat Dennings THOR Cameron Diaz BAD TEACHER Nina Dobrev THE ROOMMATE Frances Fisher THE LINCOLN LAWYER Ginnifer Goodwin SOMETHING BORROWED Allison Janney THE HELP Felicity Jones LIKE CRAZY January Jones X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Minka Kelly THE ROOMMATE Mila Kunis FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS Jennifer Lawrence X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, LIKE CRAZY Blake Lively GREEN LANTERN Leighton Meester MONTE CARLO Lea Michele NEW YEAR'S EVE Michelle Monaghan SOURCE CODE Mary-Kate Olsen BEASTLY Julia Ormond MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Natalie Portman THOR Joely Richardson THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Amanda Seyfried IN TIME Gabourey Sidibe TOWER HEIST Sissy Spacek THE HELP Aimee Teegarden PROM Liv Tyler THE LEDGE Olivia Wilde IN TIME Olivia Williams HANNA ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/film_as_seen_by_wayne_case_2011_1.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/film_as_seen_by_wayne_case_2011_1.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Wayne Case Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:26:40 -0600 1. The Tree of Life Terrence Malick’s metaphysical and seemingly autobiographical cosmology, which juxtaposes the origins of the universe with the physical and emotional development of a young boy growing up in a small Texas community, stands as the greatest cinematic achievement of the year –towering over all other films with its thematic complexity and sublime aesthetics. Containing Brad Pitt’s career best performance and featuring the luminous beauty of 2011’s most omnipresent performer, Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life unforgettably establishes the two distinctive paths that one must choose between as they make their way through life: the way of nature or the way of grace. 2. Beginners In one scene from Beginners, Christopher Plummer’s inimitable Hal desperately pleads with his son Oliver (played by Ewan McGregor) to just share in his happiness with his relationship and not fixate on the potential consequences. This small and emotionally charged sequence (brilliantly acted by McGregor and Plummer) underscores the intense dynamic existing between the father and son pairing at the heart of Beginners’ story. McGregor’s Oliver, with his obsession on how things are supposed to “look like” or “feel like” is a man obsessed with finding some sort of empirical template for the cultivation of a happy life. He is, of course, completely destabilized by his father’s declaration of his authentic sexual identity and the subsequent reinvention of his life. Director Mike Mills sets up this conflict and creatively highlights (through the inclusion of mixed-media inserts to visually solidify Oliver’s neurosis) that the development of a happy life can’t be accomplished by following some sort of predetermined blueprint, it depends on being open to a constant process of ad-libbing and reinvention. 3. 50/50 The cries of sacrilege and the accusations of insensitivity were flying as the release date for the publicly dubbed, “cancer comedy,” drew closer. Thankfully, 50/50 proved itself more than capable of transcending all the prejudicial negativity and emerged as a deeply insightful film regarding the painful and isolating feelings provoked through one becoming afflicted with a serious disease. Led by one of the best performances of the year from Joseph Gordon-Levitt (shamefully overlooked during this year’s award season) and featuring superlative worthy supporting work from Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick and Angelica Huston, 50/50 harnesses a deft script from real-life cancer survivor, Will Reiser and epitomizes this immortal mantra from the illustrious Peter Travers: “hilarious and heartfelt.” 4. Martha Marcy May Marlene With nothing but How the West Was Fun on her filmography there was little to suggest that Elizabeth Olson (the younger sister of the duo who brought television’s favorite 90’s toddler to vivid life) would be capable of inhabiting a role as breathtakingly intense as the titular Martha of Sean Durkin’s feature debut. In Martha Marcy May Marlene Olson simultaneously evokes an upsetting level of social cluelessness and extreme emotional vulnerability. Matched completely by a subtly demonic John Hawkes (who is now, unquestionably, the go-to-guy for portraying rural menace) Olson’s incredible performance fuels Durkin’s film which is highly successful (with its non-linear structure) in depicting the highly damaging implications of a young woman’s involvement with a modern day cult. 5. Hugo With an encyclopedia-like knowledge base and an obviously masterful understanding of the intricacies inherent to the art of film production, who would have been a better choice than Martin Scorsese to bring the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, to life? Similar to the book, Scorsese’s film operates as essentially a celebratation of the film medium and the work of one of its early pioneers, George Melies, in particular. Using one of cinema’s most recent fads (3D) to add additional pop to his adaptation’s beautiful aesthetics (every technical quality of the film is top-notch) Scorsese creates a world that walks a wondrous line between hard reality and whimsical surrealism. All of his actors also bring their A-game –with Sacha Baron Cohen and Sir Ben Kingsley being the obvious standouts. Scorsese’s Hugo, similar to The Artist, is a film obsessed with re-instilling a modern day audience with an appreciation for the medium’s very origins and we are so lucky that both films deliver not only a much needed education but also a blast of terrific entertainment. 6. The Artist Like Scorsese's Hugo, The Artist is a celebration of film's origins. However, while Hugo juxtaposes the latest in cinematic gadgetry with a tale of film's past, The Artist adopts the exceptionally audacious technique of being a silent film in order to examine a lost era in moviemaking history. Initially, this decision might have been the death-sentence to director Michel Hazanavicius film. However, when you craft a film that is simply so crowd-pleasing and so technically accomplished it is almost impossible that it won't be strongly embraced. The Artist, with its zippy score and wonderful acting (stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo seem born to play these roles) now seems set to be the front-runner for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. And, in this age of cynicism, where a film (even a silent film) comes along that provides such joyful escapism, this shouldn't come as a massive surprise. 7. Cedar Rapids This small comedy, about a feckless innocent attending an insurance conference in the big, bad city (in this case, the big city humorously being Cedar Rapids, Iowa) deserved far more attention than it received earlier this year. In his first leading role, The Office’s Ed Helms strikes the perfect balance between making his character, Tim Lippe, silly and socially stunted but never becoming cartoon-like. His vulnerability and his perpetual anxiety with having to finally confront the larger world feel real and highly poignant. John C. Reilly, as Lippe’s counterpoint, Dean Ziegler, is the catalyst for the general mayhem which engulfs the conference and gives a performance brimming with joy and energy. Finally, Miguel Arteta again proves himself to be enormously capable of providing a sensitive touch to stories regarding small individuals living unglamorous lives. 8. A Dangerous Method In this intellectual exercise from former splatter-master David Cronenberg we are provided an inside look into the blistering correspondence between two great minds that essentially gave way to the very inception of psychoanalysis. On paper, there seemed to be a high possibility of this film becoming little more than a dry and turgid history lesson. However, in the hands of Cronenberg (whose mastery is evident for anyone who isn't a complete idiot) this film gains a profound vitality as a series of conversation pieces crackle with energy and allusions to mysticism and sexual repression. The central cast are all excellent (particularly Mortensen, whose Freud is a sardonic and egomaniacal delight) and the distressing sense of foreboding about the impending World Wars leaves a deeply powerful impression on the gravity of these two men's task - which involved attempting to understand and possibly even heal the psychological wounds of mankind. This was a task that surely became increasingly arduous as Europe plunged itself into war. 9. Warrior As the initial trailers for Warrior began to appear, it seemed as though Gavin O'Conner was attempting to create a carbon-copy of Marky Mark's passion project, The Fighter. Still, despite the superficial similarities, Warrior manages to powerfully emerge from that previous film's Oscar-winning shadow and contains a traumatic portrait of family strife that feels far more authentic than The Fighter's depiction of Micky Ward's vile (and frankly over-the-top) family. With the viscerally rousing evocation of the brutality intrinsic to the sport of cage-fighting and three totally engrossing performances (Nick Nolte fully inhabits painful regret and Tom Hardy is scarily convincing as the brother whose whole being has been consumed by animalistic rage) Warrior is the latest film to successfully use sports to explore the process of catharsis and potential redemption. 10. Midnight in Paris With a few choice exceptions (Match Point, Deconstructing Harry) the ol' jungle cat, Woody Allen, could certainly be accused of having lost a step or two since delivering two watershed films (Husbands and Wives, Crimes and Misdemeanors) over two decades ago. However, with his latest effort, Midnight in Paris, Allen once again pulls out his "best moves" and crafts a slight but completely charming film that could be interpreted as nothing but self-indulgence (the whole film revolves around the valorization of the Lost Generation of artists, who Allen himself adores). However, it is Allen's razor-sharp observations (which are perhaps directed partially at himself) that past epochs are never able to be viewed objectively and contained problems of their own are spot on and push Midnight into the annals of top-tier Allen -where the film is of course romantic and comedic but also has insightful things to say about how human beings feel and think. http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/best_films_of_2011.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/best_films_of_2011.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:27:54 -0600 The Interrupters The Interrupters is a fantastic indie film that is gaining more and more speed, with each screening. The movie shows the efforts of the CeaseFire violence prevention organization and their staff members as they go throughout Chicago neighborhoods—Englewood, Roseland, Pilsen, and others—trying to bring peace. It covers a year in the life of gangbanging in Chicago, 2010, when “as many people died in Chicago from urban violence as those soldiers who died in Iran.” The star of the film, if there is to be one, is Ameena Matthews, who is the daughter of imprisoned gang leader Jeff Fort, and who by her own admission has had a pretty rough life. But she has turned all of the bad things that may have happened to her around in order to help others as an interrupter, one who goes into the thick of gang dissension and warfare to help talk sense into young Black and Latino men’s heads, and young Black women. As documentaries go, The Interrupters does a good job of getting to the root of the problem—gang violence—and its effects without a lot of politics getting in the way. The Interrupters (inspired by a 2008 New York Times Magazine article by Alex Kotlowitz, There Are No Children Here), directed along with Hoop Dreams director Steve James, is a film worth going to see, whether you are affected by gang violence or not. The community can benefit from knowing that although they seem to gain little financial reward, the interrupters from CeaseFire gain much in knowing that they have intervened and stopped many violent acts within Black and Latino communities. They are about saving lives, they say, and the documentary can attest to that! The First Grader The First Grader is a film about determination and perseverance and a yearning to make things right at any cost. The year is 2003, and 84-year-old Kenyan and former Mau-Mau freedom fighter Stephen Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge (Oliver Litondo), has fought in the civil war, lost his immediate family, as well as his wife and son who he watched as the British executed them at point blank range. But even after all these tragedies, Maruge hasn’t lost his will to receive an education even during the sunset of his life. He has received a letter from the government that he must read himself, and he embarks on a literal and figurative journey to the new school for first graders—he simply wants in. But the townspeople and the administrators don’t like the fact that the teacher is using precious resources on an old man. He is kicked out but detests the loose structure of the adult school. He returns to the first grade school, and the young students wage a protest of their own. He eventually obtains his education. Based on a true story, The First Grader allows the audience to see a lonely, elderly man who not only strives to keep up with the class but is an inspiration to the other first graders. It is such a triumphant story. Maruge went on to complete his education, speak in Washington, D.C., and be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest person to begin primary school. Rise of the Planet of the Apes This ain’t yo grandmother’s Planet of the Apes!! Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the best films that I saw in 2011. Although many films are in this franchise, the 21st Century computer-generated graphics in this latest film will have you on the edge of your seat, waiting in anticipation for the next scene. It’s an age-old story of dominance, and this time the humans think that they have one over on the apes. Wrong! James Franco stars as a scientist named Will Rodman who is working on a medicine that he thinks will cure Alzheimer’s and none too soon, as his father, Charles, played by John Lithgow, is suffering from the disease that attacks the elderly. But something goes wrong one day, when they are administering the concoction to a bunch of apes gathered in the lab. One ape has just about had enough and crashes into a meeting, after which all apes are euthanized, but lo and behold a baby ape is found in one of the cages. But Franco takes this cute, adorable ape named Caesar home for safekeeping. He inadvertently received the medicine thru his mother, and it heightens any sense of intelligence that he had. Caesar becomes as smart as a whip, and eventually becomes too overprotective of family members. Caesar intervenes when Charles gets into a ruckus with his neighbor; he is captured and taken to a primate shelter, where he meets other apes. Just like in prison, Caesar has to prove himself to the other apes, because they sense that he thinks he’s better than the rest of them. But in the end, just like in a gang, they all meet on one accord—to overtake the humans. They band together, use their own sign language and break out of the primate house. They go to the lab and release all the other apes that are being held there for experimentation. Then they go off on the great “ape escape” through San Francisco, on the freeway, knocking police cars and officers alike out of their way. In the end, Caesar and his new-found friends run back to the park where Will once took him. Will catches up with him, telling Caesar that he will take him home, but Caesar is having none of it. He’s heard this before. Except that this time, he lovingly pulls Will closer and whispers in his ear, “Caesar is home.” This movie is priceless—there are no longer “ape” costumes like when Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell were playing in these blockbusters. The chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans crafted through performance-capture—in which the motions and features of human actors were recorded digitally, then layered over with computer animation to create photo-realistic primates—made it look like the real thing. The Muppets Okay, since I’m a sucker for nostalgia, the latest movie about the Muppets was also a great one in my book. Just to see the gang in high-antics and good form after so many years was a delightful holiday treat. The old Muppet studios are being sold, and an oil baron is just waiting to drill, unless the Muppets can come up with $10 million. The gang decides to reunite, ala the Blues Brothers. But all aren’t so willing in the beginning and the star, in my eyes, Miss Piggy is a bit reluctant, stubborn and self centered. I just love Miss Piggy and the Muppets, but Miss Piggy has always captured my attention. The Muppets are helped by real-life people Gary and Mary, from Smalltown, USA, and Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan. He is so much of a fan that he really must be the lost Muppet. He grew up as a plush toy and has always honored and loved the Muppets. They are all crestfallen when they discover that the studio is in bad disrepair and about to be sold. The oilman named Tex Richman is so certain that the Muppets won’t be able to pull this one off. But the band of Muppets is victorious; the Muppets are reunited and stage a variety show telethon to raise the money. The Muppets has a timely twist to it, as it’s a story of land-grabbing banks up against the little man. Midnight in Paris Midnight in Paris, from celebrated director Woody Allen, was a delightful movie. I enjoyed it, because it used a time portal to transport Gil Pender, played by Owen Wilson, to another era in Paris. I enjoyed it even more so when one night Gil goes to famed Bricktop’s, whose African-American owner has been called “….one of the most legendary and enduring figures of twentieth-century American cultural history.” While in Paris with his fiancée, Inez, played by Rachel McAdams, and her parents, Gil, who is an idealist screenwriter at heart, finds himself in a part of Paris that he had never visited, after he became lost, walking back to his hotel. But as he set on the steps, and modern cars passed him by, an old Rolls Royce pulled up, and the occupants beckoned him inside. It just happened to be right past midnight, and it just so happens that this is when the world turned differently for Gil. He was suddenly in 1920’s Paris with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda, Gertrude Stein, played by Kathy Bates, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Josephine Baker, T. S. Eliot and other literary, jazz and art figures. In one scene at an art gallery, after Gil has met Picasso and Adriana, one of Picasso’s secret lovers, he critiques one of Picasso’s portraits with such fervor, because he has just met the great painter and the woman who influenced that particular piece of art. After a while, Gil falls in love with Adriana. He is so wrapped up in this “midnight” world, and he falls in love with another woman. Finally, the relationship between Inez and Gil is just too weird and as equally strained, and the couple call it quits. Bates, Adrien Brody, Corey Stoll, Tom Hiddleston and others playing the cultural greats seemed to have such fun doing this movie. While many would think that a movie going back and forth in time might be hard to keep on track, Midnight in Paris was so fluid and the scenes set in days gone by were wonderfully played out. I enjoyed this movie and do know that Woody Allen can be tough to swallow at times. However, I understand that this film was such a hit at the recent Cannes film fest, with it being described as “a wonderful love letter to Paris.” Terri Terri is the story of a young man, who is isolated from his classmates but who has a tender heart and caring spirit for his Uncle James, who suffers from dementia and with whom he lives. He doesn’t know his mother or father, and to add to his introverted demeanor is the fact that he is heavyset and the butt of constant jokes from his classmates. From the producers of Blue Valentine and Half Nelson comes a sensitive story about a sensitive, plus-sized teenaged boy who is just trying to live his life as comfortably as he can. His comfort extends so far that he wears pajamas all the time, even to school, simply because he says they fit better. Terri is ordered to see the assistant principal Fitzgerald, played by a cool, 60’s-talking John C. Reilly. The two forge a friendship cloaked in counseling sessions that brings young Terri out of his shell, while he also teaches Fitzgerald a thing or two. Terri longs for friends at school, and one day comes to the defense of Heather, a promiscuous classmate who is being expelled because she and her boyfriend were making out in the home economics class. Terri implores Fitzgerald not to expel her, because she was not as willing as it seemed, and she and Terri also forge a friendship. Fitzgerald gets Terri to tag along when the school secretary finally dies from emphysema, and his friend Chad tags along. The two boys, while learning a thing or two about respect for the dead, use this experience as another rite of passage, in which the two said they had never participated. This movie was a hit at Sundance, and while it may have a few elements of Precious, it is a far cry from the movie that garnered comedienne Monique an Oscar. Precious was, of course, about a heavyset Black teen girl. But she was abused by her mom and dad; and she was illiterate and became pregnant, as well as developed HIV. She, too, was at first shunned by classmates, and she, also, had caring teachers. But none of the darker themes are at work in Terri, which makes it a more delightful movie to watch. Win-Win Win-Win is an indie film that focuses on a family that takes a socially alienated 16-year-old boy who is a stellar wrestler into its home. The father, Mike played by Paul Giamatti, comes in contact with the boy’s granddad Leo, played by Burt Young. Leo is suffering from Alzheimer’s and the state is ready to commit him to senior housing. Mike is an attorney who represents the elderly population, and he decides to volunteer to be Leo’s guardian, telling the judge that he will take care of him. There is no one else to take care of Leo, since his daughter is a drug addict. But Mike takes the $1500 monthly stipend that he’s paid for caring for Leo and still places him in senior housing. He does this because his practice is suffering, as well, and he could use the extra money. Leo doesn’t like being in senior housing, but he has no choice. Leo’s grandson, Kyle, runs away from home and comes to Providence, Rhode Island, to see his grandfather but discovers that Mike has taken charge. He and his mother don’t have much of a relationship, and Mike and his wife and young daughter don’t have much choice but to invite Kyle into their home, since his mother is on drugs and he’s not to happy to be returned home. Once Mike discovers that Kyle, played by Alex Shaffer, is a wrestling champ, he signs him up for school and tries to use him to help the team that he coaches win the next championship. Afterward Kyle nurtures a relationship with Leo, even when his mom shows up and tries, unsuccessfully, to cash in on Leo’s estate. After some wrangling around and lies discovered, Mike not only has a winning wrestling team but also has the good mind to return Leo back to his home, where he belongs. Burt Young is great in this movie, and Giamatti and Shaffer are also great in a film about one family taking in a wayward youth. Little Senegal Little Senegal is a film about a reverse genealogy search that finds a man in Senegal longing for his family members who might have been sold into slavery, sent to America, and never to be heard from again. Alloune, played by Sotigui Kouyate, works as a slave museum tour guide at the site where ships left Senegal for the United States, but with each American tourist he yearns to find his relatives. One day, he leaves Africa and travels to North Carolina, as he knows that this is one stop on the slave trade from Africa to America. He is a very intelligent man, as he really knows how to inquire about slave families bought and sold in the Carolinas. He finally figures out that he has family living in Harlem—and he is in for a culture shock. Alloune finds a nephew named Hassan (who drives a cab and has other black-market ventures). With Hassan’s help, Alloune tracks down Ida Robinson, a woman filled with attitude and pride who owns a little sidewalk store. Alloue sweet talks her into hiring him as a helper and security guard against the sidewalk thugs. She admits that she doesn’t like or trust Africans, and that there is nothing in Africa that would be even remotely interesting to her. The two become close—almost romantically. Ida has a granddaughter who turns up ashamed and pregnant. She has been estranged from her grandmother, and Alloune is shocked by all the disrespect and discontent that he observes between the two generations. He sets out to rectify the situation, as well as help his American cousins rediscover the African pride that they have lost. Alloune also finds out that Blacks born on American soil and those brought over on slave ships aren’t as close as he thinks they should be. Little Senegal is a movie that reveals how cultural differences and Western influences have allowed the two groups to grow apart from one another. Shot in the Senegalese community of Harlem, Little Senegal shows life in New York’s projects and touches on themes of racism and discrimination between African Americans and their native African cousins. Brother Outsider Brother Outsider is a documentary that covers the extraordinary life of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Rustin was an activist and a gay, Black man born in Pennsylvania in 1912. Rustin was the architect behind the esteemed 1963 March on Washington, after his involvement with the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Communist Party—all of which were followed by the FBI—ended. He came to Atlanta after he had been arrested many times for his political beliefs but finally jailed in 1953 on charges of sexual perversion in Pasadena, California. He helped Dr. King, and the documentary shares that Rustin was not only a member of the Black community but also an influential member of the LGBT community. Five years in the making, Brother Outsider illuminates the public and private lives of Rustin, a visionary activist and strategist who has been called the “invisible man” and “the unknown hero” of the civil rights movement. The film has garnered more than 25 international awards and honors, including eight Best Documentary prizes and seven Audience Favorite awards at film festivals, along with the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary and an NAACP Image Award nomination. In a 2010 review of the best historical documentaries of the last decade, Michael Fox of the San Francisco Film Society described Brother Outsider as a “mesmerizing eye-opener that inspires audiences to carry on Rustin’s worldwide crusade against injustice, discrimination and poverty.” The movie is very educational and very moving. Jumping the Broom Jumping the Broom is the first African-American-centered movie that I have seen in a long time that didn’t have the obligatory church scene, with the choir jamming, the preacher “whooping” and the sistahs consumed by the Holy Ghost. Now I’m not saying that this is a bad thing—I am just saying that Jumping the Broom was a nice movie, even without the standards that go along with some Black movies. In fact, Jumping the Broom, save for the title, is one of those movies that, had it been based on bourgeois and low-end white families, I would have questioned why the script couldn’t have been filled with Black people. Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to question it, because thanks to Bishop T.D. Jakes and others, Jumping the Broom is filled with beautiful, snotty and working-class Black folks. And therein lie the issues. Jakes and company have made an entertaining movie this is so cool to watch—what with Angela Bassett (Mrs. Watson) as the bourgie mother of the bourgie bride, played by Paula Patton, with a bourgie father and housekeeper, all living on Martha’s Vineyard. Alonso and Patton (Sabrina) meet and, since she’s headed to Japan after six months of courtship, the two decide to marry. What follows is a peep into socio-economic classism and privilege among Blacks that’s not normally offered in Hollywood movies. The two families meet for the first time when Laz’ family and mother trek their suitcases to Martha’s Vineyard. Loretta Devine (Laz’ mother) resents the wealth, and she’s really aching because her son is leaving her and getting married. Bassett could give a rat’s ass about how Devine is feeling, because as she told her, “my family weren’t slaves, we owned slaves.” After much tension and feeling so frustrated and left out, during the pre-wedding dinner, Devine shares a secret that she heard being discussed between Bassett and her sister. The wedding is called off, until Jason can find Sabrina at the beach and convince her that joining him as they both explore the rest of their lives together would be the best thing she’s ever done. The wedding is back on, along with the Casper Slide and the broom ritual, but not a chicken wing in sight! Halleluiah! Carjacked Carjacked is a testament to the phrases: ‘revenge is sweet’ and ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.’ Cute Maria Bello plays Lorraine, a recently divorced single mother whose hubby is a military guy who is trying to get sole custody of the couple’s young son. While in therapy, Lorraine is reminded that she is too soft. And lo and behold, shortly afterward she and her son are carjacked by a guy who just helped robbed a bank and is on the lam. Boy, did he mess with the wrong lady! Stephen Dorff plays the carjacker named Roy, who forces Lorraine to drive to meet up with his accomplice who still has money from the heist. Possibly facing not only her death, but her son’s, Lorraine’s fight for survival summons up an inner strength and courage that she never thought she had. At first, the ride starts off as smoothly as any carjacking can go, with Lorraine cooperating and asking when Roy will let them go. But at some point, Roy discovers that she had a cell phone, and he remarks that he would hurt Lorraine’s young son. You can see her attitude change at that point, and she’s destined to get out of the situation—or at least get her son to safety. During a rest stop, her son is able to get lost in a group of schoolchildren who are on a field trip. Afterward, Roy forces Lorraine in the trunk of the car and puts a couple of bullets into his partner; placing him in the trunk also. He sets the trunk on fire, but that’s no match (excuse the pun) for Lorraine, as she is able to escape. At a nearby rest stop, she watches as Roy carjacks yet another helpless female with a young daughter. Lorraine literally goes into overdrive, catches up with Roy, and then the movies gets even better. The end of Carjacked is so sweet; Lorraine wins in more ways than one ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/elaines_best_of_2011.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/elaines_best_of_2011.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:16:35 -0600 #10. J. Edgar Directed by Clint Eastwood Besides the fact that J. Edgar Hoover was a fascinating character, and Leonardo Dicaprio’s portrayal of him here was fantastic, the film overall captures a dynamic recently seen onscreen: a passionate, all-consuming love story that is never realized between Hoover and his long-time friend and colleague Clyde Tolson. It’s genuinely and beautifully heartbreaking. #9. Moneyball Directed by Bennett Miller I spent the whole viewing of Moneyball noticing similarities to last year’s The Social Network. The pacing, tone, characters, and even the score all felt reminiscent of the amazing Facebook drama, and it wasn’t until the end credits that I realized that Aaron Sorkin co-wrote the screenplay here. I’m a huge fan of Sorkin’s work, and usually know when he has a movie coming out, but I think this one being so soon after Social Network let it slip past me. While not as good as Sorkin’s previous work, Moneyball achieves the impossible in that it makes baseball incredibly interesting. #8. Win Win Directed by Thomas McCarthy A rare film indeed. A truly great ensemble comedy. The entire cast here is fantastic. From Paul Giamatti all the way down to the girl who plays his young daughter. Everyone pulls their weight and makes every scene of the film pop off the screen. It’s hilariously funny, but also poignant in its drama and use of profanity. The script and direction perfectly executed. #7. Griff The Invisible Directed by Leon Ford There have been a ton of movies over the past few years about ordinary people who decide to become superheroes. These range from big budget comic book adaptations like Batman Begins and Iron Man to dark comedies like Super and Kick-Ass, but Griff the Invisible does something unique. As a lower-budget, independent film, it’s able to explore this increasingly familiar concept at a more character-driven level. Plus, the clashing between fantasy and reality (while jarring at times) has a lot of really nice payoffs. The performances from both Ryan Kwanten and Maeve Dermody are among the best you’ll see this year. It’s nice to know the idiot brother from True Blood is capable of something like this. #6. The Guard Directed by John Michael McDonagh I’ve been a huge fan of John McDonagh’s brother, Martin, for the past few years. Both as a playwright (The Pillowman) and as a filmmaker (Six Shooter, In Bruges), so I was eager to see what his brother was capable of, and this film did not disappoint. The best thing about this film is Brendan Gleeson’s performance. Gleeson is always great, but this could be the best thing he’s ever done. Don Cheadle’s character puts it best when he says the character is either “really motherf***ing dumb, or really motherf***ing smart.” The audience is left to wonder the same thing throughout, and either way it makes for a great viewing experience. #5. Fright Night Directed by Craig Gillespie I looked forward to the Fright Night remake for a long time. The casting of David Tennant (Doctor Who) as the vampire expert Peter Vincent, and hiring Marti Noxon (co-executive producer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to write the screenplay were ingenious moves. I enjoyed the original Fright Night, but it had a lot of problems. The remake is tight, funny, scary, and action-packed, with a climax that isn’t so long I want to bash my head in by the end. Plus, it was a real treat to see a true Joss Whedon vampire on screen in the midst of all the Twilight/True Blood/Vampire Diaries garbage fest. #4. Drive Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn I didn’t anticipate liking Drive as much as I did. I thought it would be fun and definitely worth a viewing, but I was completely blown away by the stylized noir. Ryan Gosling’s performance is excellent as the quiet, not-so-bad bad guy. The script is clever and well-written from start to finish, but probably it’s most impressive quality is the way they neatly sidestep the issue of having to write believable, compelling heist scenes; by showing them from the point of view of the getaway driver. Writing heist movies is very difficult (as evidenced by the fact there have only been a handful of good ones ever made) and I’d much rather see no heist scene at all than be forced to sit through a bad one. #3. The Adventures of Tintin Directed by Steven Spielberg The trailer for Tintin promises a film from two of the greatest storytellers of our time. They’re referring to Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson (who produced the film), but wash over the fact that they seriously have two of the best storytellers of our time writing the screenplay: Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Sherlock) and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World). The film is definitely Spielbergian, with its anti-realistic action sequences, but it’s good fun, and the characters are all great, especially Tintin, who is very much reminiscent of the Doctor or Sherlock Holmes, but with a childlike innocence and thirst for adventure that is refreshing. #2. The Elephant in the Living Room Directed by Michael Webber Possibly the best documentary I’ve ever seen. The film deals with a whole sub-culture of people who keep big, dangerous, exotic pets in their homes; from grizzly bears down to poisonous snakes. The epicenter for this trend is in Dayton, Ohio, where every year dozens of these animals are released into the wild when their owners can’t manage to take care of them anymore, and when that happens one police officer is called out to go catch them and find them a new home. The entire movie is fascinating and intense, while being simultaneously one of the most emotionally charged movies you’re likely to see from 2011. #1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Directed by David Fincher David Fincher tops my list two years in a row. I went into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo more or less ambivalent; feeling like I should see it because it might be a contender for some major awards. I wasn’t counting on exactly how good it is. I feel like some people might be put off by this because of reviews of how disturbing it is, but actually it’s not as bad as some would lead us to believe. Obviously, the rape scene is what has most people on edge, and it is hard to watch, but then seeing Lisbeth’s revenge scene is as fulfilling and exciting for the audience as it is for Lisbeth herself. The great characters coupled with Fincher’s trademark visual directing style make for an all around great film. ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/joes_top_10_for_2011.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/joes_top_10_for_2011.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:07:12 -0600 Surprise was the feeling I left the movie theater with most often in 2011. Filmmakers are getting smarter: they know what critics look for, and they know that audiences just aren’t impressed by throwing the hottest actors together in a movie with a few one liners or explosions. Here are the films that shut up my inner movie critic (for the most part) in 2011. 1. Drive The Pros: Ryan Gosling, awesome stunts and action sequences, quiet moments full of intense, mixed emotions, great soundtrack. The Cons: Those tense, quiet moments were sometimes dragged on a little too long; Ron Pearlman’s potty-mouthed and somewhat annoying character. Drive was one of those movies that made you forget about your world for a few hours. Most of the audience members left like I did: quiet. In shock. Reflecting on Ryan Gosling’s epic ability to be an action hero, but remain so suave and not to become a cliché, annoying tool at all. The movie was so well-done that I would argue nothing has ever been made like it, and the future of action films will change because of Nicolas Winding Refn’s revolutionary execution. 2. The Adjustment Bureau The Pros: Sweet love story that wasn’t too sweet, nice chemistry between the characters, cool plot and execution, suspense, great ending. The Cons: Corny lines. I’m not a chick flick kind of girl, and this movie is definitely a chick flick in disguise. However, the mental bends, twists, and turns make the viewer put aside his or her previous judgments about the genre and to pay attention. The Adjustment Bureau is really a film all its own. Though cheesy and overdone in some instances, it’s sure to delight audiences at least once. 3. Limitless The Pros: Bradley Cooper finally coming to the front as a talented actor, the script that actually makes Cooper sound like an author, the ability to capture the incredulous effects of the mysterious drug in subtle ways. The Cons: Dizzying cinematography. The bright colors and spinning cameras used in this movie probably had the filmmakers wondering if they should issue an epilepsy warning at the beginning. That being said, this psychological twister was really wonderful. Though it was nothing like I expected, I found myself getting more and more interested in what happened to Bradley Cooper’s character, Eddie Morra, as the fantastic drug became a part of his life and made him into something he wasn’t. Definitely worth many watches. 4. Source Code The Pros: Entertaining, great shots of the city of Chicago, unpredictable, intriguing plot. The Cons: Reminds viewers of other sci-fi movies with some aspects; ending feels a little incomplete. 2011 was nothing if not the year of Chicago films, and after the announcement that The Dark Knight Rises (2012) was abandoning its former setting for the streets of Pittsburgh, it was the least the film industry could do for an apology. Though it’s not completely original, Source Code did a good job of using a somewhat tired storyline, giving it some new twists, and exciting audiences in the process. It’s not like we’ll never see another movie like it again, but it was not a waste of time. 5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes The Pros: Andy Serkis as Caesar, James Franco, great development of the apes as they grow increasingly intelligent. The Cons: Doesn’t really have an ending. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was the film that surprised me the most in 2011. I originaly had no plans to see it, but after hearing such rave reviews I succumbed to the madness. Wonderful madness it was. James Franco gives an understated performance as the scientist who has a rocky home life and is a little too-deeply involved in his work, and Andy Serkis shines as Caesar. I couldn’t help but cheer for the ape as I followed his tough story, and though I was disappointed in the ending, at least it guaranteed a sequel. 6. Crazy, Stupid Love The Pros: Hilarious, great unexpected twists and turns, unpredictability, Ryan Gosling. The Cons: It’s a chick flick; it has its moments. Ryan Gosling shines once again in Crazy, Stupid Love, a film by Glenn Ficara. Though some of the occurrences in this film are downright silly, the film deals with relevant relationship issues that occur so often in the world today, and audiences are sure to relate with at least one of the rocky romances. The intertwining of the characters and the coincidences are very close (maybe too close), but viewers are sure to enjoy the film just the same. This is coming from a chick-flick hater: Watch Crazy, Stupid Love. 7. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol The Pros: Dazzling and realistic action sequences and a cool storyline. The Cons: Cheesy lines and action movie clichés (especially involving the “pretty but tough-as-nails agent,” played by Paula Patton). I never saw any of the Mission Impossible movies before this one, and I enjoyed it enough to see this film twice. The action in the fourth installment of the films that made Tom Cruise an American action star is so wild and intense that I missed most of it the first time I went to see the movie. I couldn’t take it. The second time I allowed myself to peek through my fingers at the crazy stunts (most of which Tom Cruise did himself). The fight scenes are believable, and the getaways are smooth and clever. Tom Cruise proves that he’s still got it, and another movie in the franchise might be overkill, but it’s completely possible. Here’s hoping we are even more impressed by 2012! http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/best_films_of_2011_my_picks.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/best_films_of_2011_my_picks.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:21:00 -0600 Melancholia to Joe Cornish's Attack the Block, there were just a bunch of things to see here in Chicago that I never got a chance to see in theatre or on a home release. This is a list made up of things that I saw and that I enjoyed in 2011. 1.Drive: This film just oozes with atmosphere and intensity that made it my number one film of the year. I've been a huge fan of Nicolas Rinding Refn since he made the Pusher Trilogy and this film was just another notch to add for him becoming a much larger voice in cinema. Just about everything in this film, from the entire cast of actors, to the music and everything else just create an absolute wonder. 2.13 Assassins: Takashi Miike's remake of Eiichi Kudo's 13 Assassins is such a fun time at the movies and is one of the best films that the cult director has ever made. The film is just straight forward and to the point and when you get to the last 45 minutes, for one long giant action sequence, you're in for one wild ride. 3.I Saw The Devil: Kim Ji-Woon has made some really great films, but with I Saw The Devil, he pulls no punches. The cat and mouse game between Lee Byung-Hun and Choi Min-Sik is brutal as hell for the entire 141 minute running time. One of the best revenge thrillers ever made and the ending will just leave you on the floor, crying like a little baby. 4.The Kid with A Bike: The editor-in-chief of Film Monthly told me to see this because of the directors, The Dardenne Brothers and labeled them as some of the most gifted filmmakers to ever come out of Europe. Quite possibly one of the best films showing the transformation between childhood and adolescence, The Kid with A Bike is a wonderful work by these two Belgian filmmakers that have made me a fan for life. 5.Captain America: The First Avenger- Great adaptation, wonderful period piece and one hell of an action film, Captain America is just awesome. Just like Iron Man that preceded it, Captain America works on every level and Joe Johnston does a bad ass job with the material. Watching this made me want The Avengers movie to come out just a tad sooner. 6.Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Kudos to Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver for writing their asses off with this prequel/reboot of Planet of the Apes. I saw this a few weeks ago and was pissed that I didn't get a chance to check it out on a large screen. Andy Serkis' motion capture performance as Caesar is insane and the film leaves some room for a prequel, which if the writing is this good, will be amazing. 7. We Need to Talk about Kevin: Lynne Ramsay's return to the big screen after 8 long years and it is quite the film. Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller ignite the screen with amazing presences and ferocity that just demand attention. I hope this film does very well and gives this Scottish director a bit more attention, because she damn well deserves it. 8.Coriolanus: Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut and gives Kenneth Braghnagh a run for his money, as far as Shakespeare adaptations go. Fiennes is ferocious in both front and behind the camera to give a raw and intense version of this tale of an exiled soldier. With the film co-starring actors like Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Cox and James Nesbitt, Coriolanus is just chock full of performances that keep you glued to the screen, until its final frames. 9.Hugo: Part children's film, part cinema history lesson, this is a first for Martin Scorsese making something for a younger audience. While there are moments that could have been trimmed down, the aspects that celebrate the early years of cinema show make this film worth every minute. 10.Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest: This film is a heartbreaker and proves how much of a travesty it is that this group is no more. Micheal Rapaport's documentary on the seminal hip hop act creates a somber moon from the very beginning and shows the impact that they've had. A great look into the history and legacy that these guy's left on music and hip hop culture. ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/rubens_top_10_of_2011.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/rubens_top_10_of_2011.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:41:03 -0600 I Saw the Devil, Errol Morris’s Tabloid, and Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which I found to be (by far) the most significant film of the year. Before moving on to my selections for Best Blu-ray/DVD Releases of 2011, I will first explain the criteria by which I evaluated the releases that made this list. As a writer who considers himself equal parts scholar and fanboy, I weighed almost equally the following criteria when making my decisions: -the historical importance of the release to the study and home exhibition of film and television texts, -the overall quality of the release with regard to the presentation of the visual and audio elements, especially where older film elements were restored for HD presentation, -the depth and value of any available bonus content, -and, more personally, how much I value/enjoy the content of the release. Thus, must-own releases of classic films find themselves listed here alongside Doctor Who, anime and grindhouse releases, which, to my mind, results in a far more useful list. That said, let us commence with my picks for the 25 Best Blu-ray/DVD Releases of 2011, followed, of course, by a handful of Honorable Mentions. 1. Citizen Kane: 70th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray; Warner Home Entertainment) 2. Yu Yu Hakusho: Seasons 1-4 on Blu-ray (FUNimation Entertainment) 3. Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection on Blu-ray (Warner Home Video) 4. Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series (Blu-ray; BBC Worldwide) 5. Taxi Driver (Blu-ray; Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) 6. Queer as Folk: The Complete U.K. Collection (DVD; Acorn Media) 7. MST3K vs. Gamera: Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XXI (DVD; Shout! Factory) 8. FLCL (Blu-ray; FUNimation Entertainment) 9. Captain America / Captain America II: Death Too Soon (DVD; Shout! Factory) 10. Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders (DVD; BBC Worldwide) 11. Blue Velvet: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (MGM Home Entertainment) 12. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Blu-ray; MPI Home Video) 13. Summer Wars (Blu-ray; FUNimation Entertainment) 14. Katanagatari: Volumes 1 & 2 (Blu-ray/DVD; NIS America) 15. 3 Women (Blu-ray; The Criterion Collection) 16. Kaboom (DVD; MPI Home Video) 17. Farscape: The Complete Series Blu-ray Edition (A+E Networks Home Entertainment) 18. Arthur / Arthur 2: On the Rocks - 2-Movie Collection (Blu-ray; Warner Home Entertainment) 19. Road to Nowhere (Blu-ray/DVD; Monterey Media) 20. Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology, 1978-2006 (Blu-ray; Warner Home Entertainment) 21. Doctor Who: The Movie (DVD; BBC Worldwide) 22. Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo & The Holy Mountain (Blu-ray; Anchor Bay Entertainment) 23. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry / Race With The Devil - Double Feature (DVD; Shout! Factory) 24. Rocko’s Modern Life: Season One (DVD; Shout! Factory) 25. Captain America (1992) (DVD; MGM Limited Edition Collection) Honorable Mentions Baka and Test: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray; FUNimation Entertainment) Birdemic: Shock and Terror (Blu-ray; Severin Films) Bloody Birthday (DVD; Severin Films) Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 (DVD; FUNimation Entertainment) Captain America: The First Avenger (Blu-ray; Paramount Studios) I Saw the Devil (Blu-ray; Magnolia Home Entertainment) Raging Bull: 30th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray/DVD; MGM Home Entertainment) Robin of Sherwood: Set 1 (Blu-ray; Acorn Media) Solaris (Blu-ray; The Criterion Collection) The Alloy Orchestra Plays Wild and Weird (DVD; Flicker Alley) Bambi: Diamond Edition (Blu-ray; Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/the_best_bluraydvd_releases_of_2011.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/the_best_bluraydvd_releases_of_2011.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:12:58 -0600 EXCELLENT Sarah’s Key Kenneth Turan in the L.A. Times said, “Sarah's Key is more powerful than you expect.” And he’s right. Based on Gilles Paquet-Brenner's emotional detective story and starring Kristin Scott Thomas, the film weaves back and forth between 2002's uninspired elements and 1942's compelling sequences, when Paris' Jews were rounded up. Thomas is an American journalist living in Paris investigating the Velodrome d’Hiver roundup of 1942, when French officials and police, not Germans, rounded up 13,000 of the city's Jews and herded them together for days in horrible conditions in one of the city's indoor bicycle-racing tracks before dispatching them first to a transit camp and finally to Auschwitz. The film actually begins on that July day in 1942 in the Marais district apartment of the Starzynskis. With the family being rounded up under frightening circumstances, 10-year-old Sarah (an exceptional Mélusine Mayance) impulsively instructs her younger brother to hide in the bedroom cupboard. She then locks him in, instructing him not to leave until she comes to get him. What follows is the kind of madness and grim twist which only real situations can offer, and which leave generational scars. Kristin Scott Thomas deserves an Oscar for her performance in a film which will touch you deeply and remain with you long after you have left the theatre. The Yellow Sea Perhaps my second favorite film of 2011. As Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian put it, “This noirish South Korean gangster film is a deafening explosion of energy, gruesome violence and chaos that, despite its implausibilities, has brashness and style.” Gu-nam is a penniless gambling addict who is an ethnic Korean-Chinese living in China. His wife has left him to work in South Korea, but he is depressed, believing she has abandoned their marriage taken up with someone else. Embittered and desperate for cash, Gu-nam accepts a job from a local gangster to cross the Yellow Sea (that part of the Pacific dividing mainland China from the Korean peninsula), murder someone in Seoul and be smuggled home. But Gu-nam has a secret plan - to go to Seoul, kill this guy – and then kill his wife. The way the story unravels is part Hitchcock, part Rian Johnson, and part Michael Mann. Very stark and gritty and fueled by very raw emotions. Rise of the Planet of the Apes Although I enjoyed the original film adaptation of Pierre Boulle’s sci fi-fantasy novel,Planet of the Apes, I was never a fan of any of the prequels or sequels. And to be honest, Tim Burton's remake of the original left much to be desired. But Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of those films that takes special effects to a new level and leaves audiences talking, whether they be techno-geek or multi-plex mall based. It helps that Rise works from a very emotional base as well as an intellectual one; James Franco portrays a doctor with real ethics whose boss and their mother corporation are driven by profit margins. The monkey in the middle is a chimp with higher than normal intellect, nicknamed Caesar, who is injected with a serum as part of a test of a new Alzheimer’s drug but which supercharges his thought processes. The result is akin to opening Pandora’s Box, only this time with evolutionary repercussions which test the limits of mankind’s accepted authority over the species. Thought-provoking and exciting and emotionally powerful equals one of the better big box-office features of the year. Hobo With A Shotgun This concept grew from a trailer included in the Tarantino-Rodriguez multi-part feature Grindhouse. In many ways, this was the most appealing concept of any film or imagined short included in that mélange. The realization leaves a little to be desired, but all of that - including some of the cheesiest special effects and visuals to rival anything ever done by Troma – all of that is hugely overshadowed by Rutger Hauer’s performance. He is the spectre of his own past and a symbol for every actor who passes the meridian of 40 and is relegated to the garbage heap in favor of sweet youth. He is a wraith-like character who haunts the back streets, reaping vengeance upon the greedy, grabby, bloated excess that is Hollywood and the Hollywood blockbuster as much as he does little criminals. Somehow Hauer’s performance elevates this otherwise abysmal cult fan favorite into something which offers commentary not only on contemporary society, but also the media which purports to represent the state of that society. Remarkable. Midnight In Paris Woody has truly found his muse, and a way to stave off eternity, through Owen Wilson. Wilson, whose performances are typically predictable in the extreme, is superb and totally believable as the young writer who simultaneously channels Woody’s persona into the character Wilson is portraying. It reveals a certain quality in Wilson which has heretofore been overlooked, or rarely glimpsed. It shows that Mr. Wilson is capable of much more than he has let on in his comedic turns to date. He gave us a fleeting glimpse of this in The Minus Man, but somehow, someway since those early days, Mr. Wilson abandoned that artist within. Now he’s back, and I hope he never goes away. Midnight In Paris is typical and terrific Woody at his best, in many ways a self-tribute to the best films he has ever made, and in many ways proof that he still has charm and style and grace. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Restraint, Mr. Oldman, that is the key. In this star-studded feature full of deception and betrayal, one character rises quietly and stoically above the rest; that of Gary Oldman’s George Smiley. Recalling the quiet yet powerful performance of Sir Alec Guinness, Mr. Oldman’s performance here elevates him above the quite impressive cast around him simply by use of restraint and a well-tempered voice. He is hidden behind graying temples, smudged glasses, and distanced visually by the beige trench coat and suits. But the wise wolf waits within, patiently weighing each second as everyone around him rushes headlong to their manifest destiny. This is a very faithful adaptation of a classic spy novel and co-stars Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds and John Hurt. Superb. Page Eight Any classy and classic British actors not mentioned in the previous title will most certainly get a mention in this, yet another thinking-person’s spy thriller. The suave and ultra-classy Bill Nighy plays MI5 analyst Johnny Worricker, long in the tooth but still agile of mind and quick on his feet. When his boss and best friend (Michael Gambon) dies suddenly after calling attention to a strangely incendiary missive from the Defense Minister’s office, Johnny knows something is wrong. He gets to the bottom of the mystery, along the way bumping into the likes of Rachel Weisz, Judy Davis, and Ralph Fiennes. Bill Nighy has a way of making the silliest of films look good (the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel comes to mind), but he also has a way of making a well-scripted film into something more. It comes through in this bit of enjoyable twaddle, emerging through all the personal interplay of characters tied to one another by work or blood or love. But most of all through Nighy’s interaction with each in their turn, until he comes face to face with the Prime Minister, who is played to sinister, eloquent and shadowy perfection by Ralph Fiennes. But even he cannot ruffle our rumply-elegant Johnny, who remains true to the course and Mother England. And thanks to Mr. Nighy, that’s what makes Page Eight so engaging and entertaining. 13 Assassins How many times can a classic film be remade, or re-imagined? Or paid homage to? Japanese director Takashi Miike does just that in 13 Assassins. Taking place in 1844, our story begins after a long period of peace. The vicious Lord Naritsugu, a psychotic sadist whose action threaten the stability of the realm, must be destroyed, and only a team of dedicated samurai can achieve this. The quite elegant first half is dedicated to the selection and training of this elite group by the stately warrior Shinzaemon. The second half is the non-stop running battle which follows when the 13 honorable assassins ambush the lord and his vast entourage, a virtual army some seven times their number. It is a stunning sequence, magnificently staged, and an epic encounter with little in the way of special effects. It leaves the village in tatters and just two men standing. 13 Assassins is mesmerizing and kinetic filmmaking of the highest order. I Saw The Devil This film features the star of Oldboy, Choi Min-sik, as a psychotic killer whose latest victim is the wife of a highly-trained government secret agent. The agent eventually turns the tables on the murderer before relentlessly pursuing him to ensure that he experiences the same terror this madman instilled into his victims. As the roles of cat and mouse keep switching, the evil at play becomes so pervasive and corrosive that even those on the periphery of the agent's quest for vengeance have their lives drastically changed or ended. I Saw the Devil is directed by Ji-woon Kim and Kim Jee-woon and is utterly compelling and adroitly told. Outrage In the latest crime thriller from Japan’s Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano plays Otomo, third in command to an underworld family leader named Ikemura (Jun Kunimura). But even Ikemura takes orders - in this case, from Mr. Chairman (Kitamura Soichiro), the boss of bosses in the shadowy world of Tokyo gangsters. He's first seen ending what is obviously some sort of executive board meeting of family bosses, asking Ikemoto to stick around. Mr. Chairman, it seems, is unhappy that Ikemura has become friendly with another crime family head, Murase (Renji Ishibashi), whose gang deals drugs. Seemingly worried about where Ikemura's loyalties lie, Mr. Chairman forces him to instigate an escalating feud with the Murase family. Not that Ikemura does any of this himself; he delegates to Otomo and his minions, in a series of increasingly violent encounters with Murase's underlings and, finally, Murase himself. Kitano’s story says that unlike the yakuza of popular mythology, who are supposedly molded after the bushido honor codes of the samurai. Instead, real-life gangsters are just greedy, violent thugs. Even the most famous of yakuza gestures - the severing of one's own little finger as penance for lost 'face' (i.e.: dignity) - is mocked here, treated as a far too insignificant and much too late action. Ultimately, Kitano’s story is a violent, Shakespearean tale of double-dealing underworld power struggles more fascinating than anything Hollywood has offered up recently. The Guard Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle star in this well-acted, explosively funny, and tightly executed Irish crime flick from writer/director John Michael McDonagh. An Irish Garda usually found rambling around the dank coastal area of Connemara, Gleeson’s Sergeant Gerry Boyle is a hard-drinking, pill-popping, fatalistic cop with a taste for role-playing prostitutes and a sick mother who needs his care. His bleak and black-hearted sense of humor primarily involves degrading, belittling, or slyly taunting everyone around him. Enter Don Cheadle’s Wendell, a Rhodes scholar FBI agent. Boyle feigns naïveté and says, “I thought only black kids are drug dealers.” When Wendell objects he replies, deadpan, “I’m Irish, sir, racism is part of my culture.” If you don’t like it, says Gleeson, “Fuck off to America with your appropriate Barack fucking Obama.” The rest of the film is similarly, giddily offensive: There are morbid jokes about molesting lambs, comic repartee spoken over corpses, crooks who absurdly name-check Bertrand Russell and Nietzsche, and only a few lines that don’t contain a creative new use of the word “motherfucker.” And when the climax comes, it's a spaghetti western with Kalashnikovs instead of Colts to the strains of pastiche Ennio Morricone. Great fun when taken in the right spirit, which would be Old Paddy with a Guinness chaser. Bridesmaids One of the funniest comedies of the year, thanks to stars Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, just the tip of a very committed cast that includes Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd, Maya Rudolph, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Jon Hamm and Jill Clayburgh. It’s a fish out of water story from the feminine perspective, a very over-the-top rom-com all about dating and finding that right person. Everything is played to the hilt, but it works. And sure, there’s really a romance or three in here and it’s nothing new, but what is? The fun is in the getting there and in the new twists and turns, and Ms. Wiig and her companions prove they can make us laugh. And it was really great to see the actors enjoying themselves for a change. In so many other comedies which came out this year so many of the actors just seem so… bored. And when it shows, it wears down the audience. Thank goodness for these ladies and their enjoyment for their art. Batman: Year One I have to applaud DC Animated for actually understanding the vision of comic book writer Frank Miller’s four-part series of the same title. Because Batman: Year One is not the story of Batman; it’s the story of James Gordon, destined one day to become Commissioner Gordon. And who, in turn, is a mirror for what happens to the Batman. Both are first year crime fighters in Gotham City. Both are unsure of themselves. Both hold themselves to a higher moral value. And both hate what Gotham is and vow to fight for the city’s soul. Batman does it for vengeance; Gordon does it for family. But both men are intrinsically dedicated to their fight. Ben McKenzie (The OC, Southland) is cast as the young Bruce Wayne/Batman and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston is Jim Gordon. Eliza Dushku is Catwoman and Katee Sackhoff is the voice of Sarah Essen, a female cop with whom Gordon has an affair. The animation recalls the original Batman: The Animated Series, which I loved. It is full of dark shadows and somewhat diffused inks, all of which simply add to the overall milieu. For my money, Batman: Year One is much more enjoyable and does more for animated film than most of the 3D blockbusters of 2011 simply by being just what it is – unpretentious and entertaining. FUN Drive Angry Nicolas Cage is one of the Top 10 most bankable and in demand actors in Hollywood. He can make films about selling cream cheese to cows and people will watch. So when he cranks out an action film about a guy named John Milton who is supposed to be dead, but at the beginning of the film is seen driving a growling muscle car across a bridge from Hell to the Here-and-Now, bent on rescuing his baby granddaughter from the Satanic cult who enslaved and murdered his daughter, and now plans to sacrifice the infant beneath a full moon. The cult is led by Jonah (actor Billy Burke), whose slavish followers seem to have been bussed over from the latest Troma film. On their trail is an enigmatic character known only as The Accountant and played by the much under appreciated William Fichtner. His seemingly supernatural figure is relentless in his pursuit of these two characters, and yet he moves at a snail’s speed when he's not at the wheel of a muscle car or a tank truck filled with liquid hydrogen. It’s all seriously mindless fun which leads to the inevitable showdown between Milton and Jonah at The Big Sacrifice Under The Stars, which for some reason seems to be held at a concert for white trash trailer park. All the more fun to burn to the ground and off in uber-violent ways. Along for the crazy ride are the sexy Amber Heard and the serious David Morse. Take Shelter Michael Shannon is the new Christopher Walken. Sort of. He’s just as talented. He’s tall. He’s got the kind of stare that will drive you crazy. And he talks funny. And he plays crazy really, really well. Try though it might, Take Shelter comes off like a strange combo of M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening and Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. Director Jeff Nichols gives us a story about a tormented soul’s apocalyptic visions. The problem, he isn't sure if he has inherited his mother’s schizophrenia or if his visions are real. Thanks to Shannon, there are some interesting visual moments and Nichols does a decent job of keeping us guessing. Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain play Curtis and Samantha, a very happy couple in rural Ohio. Happy, that is, until the day Curtis starts having dreams and all-too-real hallucinations. When he starts building a survivalist shelter in the yard, like the one the travelers chance upon in Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Samantha starts to get worried. But, you know, she did marry a guy who is the embodiment of Christopher Walken; what did she expect? Alyce This super low budget horror film really is one of the best films of the year. Alyce (Jade Dorfeld) is a fragile mind, a girl who acts on a random, deranged impulse resulting in the death of her best friend Carroll (Tamara Feldman) and that alters her life forever. Overcome with guilt, Alyce is tormented by her actions and spirals into a world of sex, drugs and violence. With each passing day, each darker step into depravity, Alyce’s mind continues to unravel and fracture. Soon Alyce is no longer in control as she begins to drown her sorrow and depression with increasingly disturbing and psychotic actions. Director Jae Lee (Zombie Strippers), does a truly amazing job with barely known actors and few sets and no budget. Alyce is nuts, but she’s fun to watch. That’s the amazing thing about this film; it’s a fascinating study of a young woman’s descent from simply odd to downright crazy. And the truly wonderful thing about it is that Lee presents the characters and their world in such as way as to make us believe such things are possible. As the world grows larger and more crowded, and relationships become less personal and more isolated, it’s not hard to imagine someone like Alyce walking the streets or riding the train, sitting beside us, headphones on while she zones out, bopping her head in time to the music. Just pray she doesn’t start to fixate on you. Blackthorn Director Mateo Gil’s homage to the American Western stars one of the greats, Sam Shepard, as Butch Cassidy. Somehow Butch managed to flee to Bolivia (where the film was actually filmed) and is quietly living out his days in a small village. Until a stranger comes along. A young man who tries to con his way out of every nasty corner he backs himself into. Of course, first time he meets Butch he gets him involved in gunplay. That’s all it takes to push our antihero back into action, unwittingly though he may be. Stephen Rea appears as a Pinkerton who has been tracking Cassidy since the Hole In The Wall days and who has always believed he survived. The film is gritty, the characters appropriately tough, stoic and charming, and Blacktorn reminds us of the simply joy of watching a well-made Western tale which plays off the morality of right and wrong, and the consequences of what happens when the law gets in the way of that. Thor Kenneth Branaugh understands mythology and the classics and brings both to bear on this adaptation of Marvel’s long running fantasy superhero of the same name. Thor first appeared in Marvel comics in 1962, the brain child of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Jerry Leiber. Branaugh does tweak the story a bit, but it doesn’t matter since this is film and comic books are always reinventing their heroes every few years or so. Chris Hemsworth is the God of Thunder, son of Odin, who is tossed out of the heavens for his fealty to the weak humans, mostly thanks to being discovered by one of our more perfect specimens, Natalie Portman. It seems his half-brother, Loki, has just been waiting for this moment and goes into hyper-ahole mode the moment that Odin goes into his annual hibernation. But Thor manages to retrieve his mighty hammer and defend the puny Earthlings, and even earns a kiss or two from the lovely Portman for his troubles. Along the way we are introduced to another future member of the Avengers, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). It’s all quite silly and quite fun. And though I had no issues with almost all of the casting, I was fairly disappointed in their choice of Ray Stevenson as Volstagg. Stevenson is a very competent actor, but the Vostagg in the comics was always as fat as old Falstaff. Surely there must be some overweight actor out there they could have used instead. I mean, what else is Val Kilmer doing? Horrible Bosses Most of the comedies that came out in 2011 were very unfunny. Horrible Bosses was not one of them, thanks in large part not to the three stars (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis), but to their nemeses – Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston. In fact it is the three “bad guys” who make Horrible Bosses worth watching. The film is, after all, named after them. It’s a great, simple concept; we’ve all had those bosses we wish we’d never met, the kind of people who turn your stomach and make your life a living hell. It’s the sad sacks who lose out to these yutz’ who need to work on their skillz, know what I’m sayin’? The buttheads in power didn’t get there by being nicey-nice, if you know what I mean. And along the comedy trail to enlightenment, our three goofs learn some of that. They did have some help, though. They had their own personal Gandalf, their own Alfred the butler in the form of Jamie Foxx. Foxx’s minor supporting role shines with gut-busting comedy as he schools the losers and takes advantage of them while doing so. And of the entire cast, it is Ms. Aniston who proves she’s got chops as she turns in a top-notch performance as the kind of character we have never seen her portray before. Keep stretching, Ms. A; you’re damn good at it. Fast Five The first film in this series was fun. The next four were… filler, more or less. And then comes the fifth, which is better than the first. Okay, so that’s not so hard to do. But there is finally enough back story about these characters that they are starting to have a little more dimension and feeling less like the 2-dimensional characters in a Grand Theft Auto game. In fact, the races of the previous games were given less weight than the use of vehicles to conduct various heists. Hey, it’s always better when there is a purpose to action. At least, that’s what we try to teach in film school. Our favorite lead foots return with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. And this time they’ve got a DEA agent in the imposing form of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on their tails. Of course, Zoe Saldana’s on hand so things can’t look all that bad. It’s big fun and hot cars and sexy girls and explosions and action and they manage to make most of it make sense for a change. Why should that be so difficult? Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol I have never been a fan of Tom Cruise. From the first time I saw him in the film Taps, where he played a supporting role to star Timothy Hutton, I was not impressed. Later, when I worked on the lot at Disney Studios and he was running around making films like Cocktail, Rain Man and The Color of Money, I was even less impressed. Occasionally, when he would turn in a cameo or supporting role in films like Tropic Thunder or Magnolia, I had to admit there was talent there. And when I saw him in Collateral I thought he was perfectly cast and was quite impressed with his taking on a character so completely different from any other he had ever adopted. But it was not until watching this film, the fourth in the series, that I could see what it was about the man that annoyed me. It is as though he is an actor almost to the point of having lost everything else about himself. As though he is so immersed in the role of being an actor that he does not know how to be a normal human being. Just like another actor whose popularity was gigantic, bigger than most of his films – John Wayne. Both of these men give up their lives to their art, such as it is. They live in different times and so the times demand different things of them, sure. But I am beginning to see a great similarity. And I have to admit that putting oneself so completely into their art, giving up so much of one’s life to the commitment of being something else, something more than just a man… oh, wait, that’s starting to sound familiar. Well, I hope you see what I mean. Hey, maybe I’m wrong; but it helps me understand the man better and to appreciate his performance. And I guess that means something. The Lincoln Lawyer Matthew McConaughey can be very annoying at times. This isn’t one of them. In fact, he’s downright enjoyable. In fact, he damn near has you rooting for him. Now that’s good acting. He plays criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller, who operates around Los Angeles County out of a Lincoln Town Car. Haller has spent most of his career defending garden-variety criminals, including a member of a local biker gang, until he lands the case of his career: Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a Beverly Hills playboy and son of real estate mogul Mary Windsor (Frances Fisher), is accused of the brutal beating of prostitute Reggie Campo. Adapted from a Michael Connolly novel, the film co-stars Marissa Tomei, Josh Lucas, Michael Pena, John Leguizamo, Bryan Cranston, and William H. Macy. As I watched this film I was reminded of Coppola’s adaptation of John Grisham’s The Rainmaker, which was an excellent film and not too shabby a comparison. Captain America: The First Avenger Big blockbuster adaptations of classic comic books continue to impress. Where Thor was bright, loud, and full of comedy relief, Captain America is subtle, dark, and full of suspense. It takes place in World War II, or an alternate reality World War II. One where America is perfecting a super soldier serum and turning short, scrawny kids into tall, muscle-bound athletes and where the villains are lead by a supernatural being known as the Red Skull. Even dark and serious, Captain America is still great fun and harkens back to what summer films are all about; escapism. Chris Evans, who has now starred in four or five different adaptations of comic books and graphic novels, does a very fine job as a young Steve Rogers, the kid who is turned into a nation’s living, breathing emblem of justice, Captain America. Hayley Atwell is smoldering as his WWII gf. Hugo Weaving is his typically menacing self as the Red head. Tommy Lee Jones growls and huffs as the Army general assigned to the super soldier project. But it is Stanley Tucci who turns in another quiet yet incredibly strong performance as the doctor who creates the serum and who believes in the scrawny young man who is willing to sacrifice his life for his country. HONORABLE MENTION Fright Night Not that the original was really that much of a classic, even though there are a horde of fanboys out there who will argue with me, but they did a very decent job of adapting and updating on the original. David Tennant does a great job as the TV horror host who is afraid of his own shadow because he knows these things that go bump in the night really do exist. Anton Yelchin is excellent as the young man who discovers his next door neighbor is a real, live member of the walking dead. And Colin Farrell is convincing as the vampire masquerading as a night shift construction worker. It’s all surprisingly much more fun than expected. Colombiana Zoe Saldana is here to tell us that girls can kick ass, too. Like Chloe Moritz and Michelle Rodriguez and Milla Jovovich before her, Ms. Saldana plays a tough girl whose sole focus in life is revenge for the people who killed her parents. She takes it to a bit of extreme, becoming a highly paid killer, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do. And she does it very, very well. The thing of it is, the story holds up. It works. The characters a scarred and flawed, but real nonetheless. And the whole thing is amazingly tight. In Time I like this guy. I think he has chops. And even though this film is really more of a social study, I think that is an even smarter career move on the part of Mr. Justin Timberlake. The lovely Amanda Seyfried is along to make sure he’s not the only pretty thing on screen, and the two characters actually work well together. The story is part The Running Man, part The Prisoner, but it’s solid enough. And casting Cillian Murphy against Timberlake was perfect. Unlike so many musical performers who try to double up as actors, this young man takes the job quite seriously. So much so that he’s got me looking forward to his next film. DISAPPOINTMENTS Cowboys and Aliens Let’s see… oh, here’s an idea. Let’s take a graphic novel that has its loyal following – not much more, mind you – and load it up with special effects and big name talent. Oh, and lets not try to improve the story for film in the process. In the end we’ll have something that looks like a hodge podge of mismatched set pieces, a dysfunctional cross-pollination of genres so awful that it looks like a bad low budget sci fi film from the early 80’s. Yeah, great idea. Who needs writers, anyway? Priest A great comic book/graphic novel. A horrible adaptation. The cast was fine. The story was too much for one film. If the thing has such a huge following, why not make a “first in series” and do it right? Doesn’t Hollywood love a good franchise? What are these people drinking? ‘Cause I don’t want any. Larry Crowne So much wretched excess in Hollywood these days. I know, the industry is changing and they’re scared silly. So some actors have felt it necessary to crank out their own films. Which brings us to Larry Crowne. Like Cowboys and Aliens, it is a pastiche (or paste job) of romantic comedies, rather chunkily sewn together. The result is a Frankenstein’s monster of cringe-inspiring moments whose build up strikes a “No, you’re not…” moment in the viewer. So much talent, so poorly executed. Talk about wretched excess. Drive I really like all the other films by Danish film director Nicholas Winding Refn – the Pusher trilogy, Bronson, and the mesmerizing Valhalla Rising. Which is probably why I am so hugely disappointed in this film. The story follows a character so stoic we barely know he’s alive. His actions make sense, but only up to a point. By the end we are left thinking we must have missed something, because he’s just left the woman he loves to go out and… drive. Why? Who the f*** knows; it’s left so open-ended in such a stoic, distanced fashion that by the time we get to the few final scenes nobody cares about direction or destination. So I did what any sane person would do; I stopped thinking about it and walked out of the theatre, got into my car, and drove home. Martha Marcy May Marlene Look, I’m in no way saying it’s easy to make a film. God knows the amount of issues and problems that can come up on a film set. But I also don’t care how many frickin’ names you give her; if you don’t give us a reason to watch your story, it doesn’t matter a whit what you call it. A film by the name Bland Boring Blech Bullpucky would work just as well. The Rite Anthony Hopkins is a truly gifted actor. He can be sweet and fatherly or terrible and frightening. He is one of those rare talents who can rise above most poorly craft scripts. Unfortunately, someone found a script which even the great Anthony could not rise above. And the great thespian is not getting any younger; he needs less of this type of poopie on his resume. Tower Heist How much did they spend on this turkey? Ben Stiller has lost his funny bone. Eddie Murphy tries hard but looks so out of place it isn’t funny. No, I mean it really is not funny. The only one with half a laugh in the entire thing is Matthew Broderick. But that isn’t enough. Jane Eyre Great cast. Lovely cinematography. Strange adaptation. And why, why make this film when BBC has recently remade this story with an equally talented cast and done it with such massively greater amounts of emotion and suspense? Such a waste. The Comedies: Hangover II, Hall Pass, Your Highness, Zookeeper, Friends With Benefits, Crazy Stupid Love, What’s Your Number?, The Dilemma, No Strings Attached, Take Me Home Tonight Show me the funny, or the romantic, please. Where is it in these films? Where is the snappy dialogue, the joyful interaction of characters? If directing is 65% casting, as John Frankenheimer said, then what nerf-for-brains was allowed to cast some of these things? Some Hollywood writers need to stop slapping themselves on the back and telling themselves they’re funny when they are so obviously not. Abduction I have no doubt that the sight of Taylor Lautner without his shirt causes some folks to drool and go all google-y eyed. But we don’t need any further proof that the fellow needs acting lessons. What’s worse is the blatant appeasing of the star that took place in this film from script through execution. Who does he have blackmail on? Is Twilight really such a huge franchise? Really? New Year’s Eve The old song asks, “What are you doing New Years Eve?” One thing I can tell you I did not do was watch this piece of floppy a second time. Big stars, big schmaltz, big nothing. Easily one of the most forgettable films of 2011. Killer Elite Sam Peckinpah did a film with this same title back in the 70’s. It was a huge action hit. This film has nothing to do with that one. In fact, this film features Jason Statham doing a lot of the things he does in a lot of other films, only this time there seems to have been a slight shrugging off of script. Sort of like they forgot to include it. But what’s to worry? They have Robert De Niro and Clive Owen… isn’t that good enough? Not by half. The Thing So, they remade the sci fi classic. Only they did it as a prequel. Only they didn’t change the title to reflect that. And instead of anyone trying to compete with one of the most iconic personas in film history, MacReady, they had one of the currently most popular young female actors attempt to fill that character’s shoes. This film is almost an exact copy of the original right up until the last few minutes, when it becomes the actual prequel to the John Carpenter classic. Until then, it’s all really weak and unconvincing, and that is just sad. The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas’ classic has become one of the most remade stories in the history of English language films. This one is a mish-mash of Richard Lester’s great 1973 adaptation, which was so faithful to the book that it had to be presented in two parts, each film running just over two hours. No such silliness for Paul W.S. Anderson. No, he found a way to cut out a lot of that silly filler and bring this one in at just under 2 hours. And he did it with more explosions! And a whole lot more really boring exposition. At least he found a way to shoehorn his lovely wife, action star and former model Milla Jovovich, into the film. Seriously, she is fine in the film. It’s the way that Anderson removed all that silly political and social commentary and replace it with far too over the top explosions and showy extravagance that irks me. At least they didn’t try to put a hip hop soundtrack over the thing. ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/2011_the_year_in_film.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/2011_the_year_in_film.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:13:25 -0600 I don’t see much in the theaters any more, so I can’t provide a Best Movies of the Year list. We have two little girls running about, who keep us very occupied at home. But, that’s just a lame excuse, because if’n I could go to the theater more, I probably wouldn’t anyway. I’ve fallen out of love with the films that generally go into theatrical release. Hollywood and me… we’ve broken up. I still text her once in a while. And I’ll slip out to the local megaplex to share a popcorn, if she has a good story to tell. But not much. I’ve got a new mistress… the straight to video/on-demand independent movies. Yeah. She’s much wilder, less predictable. And she speaks different languages. And… there’ a whole lot of her. Here’s the ones I liked best. #10 -- RUBBER A winner, already, just in concept: a common tire comes to life and goes on a killing spree. What makes the film work is how ingeniously filmmaker Quentin Dupieux takes such a ridiculous idea – that of a killer radial tire -- and makes the audience interested about it. He does this, in part, by breaking down the fourth wall and bringing in an “audience” to sit in on the filming of the movie, and actually question and comment on why someone would make a movie out of such a silly idea. #9 -- TROLL HUNTER The gimmick that this is yet another found footage mockumentary is a tired one. But, don’t let that turn you away. The film follows a team of student filmmakers, as they make a documentary on some strange killings in the Norwegian countryside. They come upon a lone Government worker, who claims to be charged with keeping the trolls in check. Of course, they don’t believe the strange man… until they witness the gigantic trolls with their own eyes. The plot is simple and easy, and fun. But, the real treat is witnessing the fantastic CG trolls… or are they real trolls!! #8 -- THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER I’m a great fan of subtlety in films. I love understated performances, nuanced characters, and real situations. Sleepover plays in the vein of those classic end-of-summer teen comedies from the 70s and 80s – most notably American Graffiti – but skirts the comedic trappings of those that it so closely resembles. Instead, Sleepover offers up situations that are more true, and surprisingly less cynical, than most teen movies. The excessive amount of mubling in this teen mumblecore’s first 15 minutes, almost made me switch it off. I’m glad I didn’t, or I’d have missed out on some great characters (most notably Claire Sloma’s fresh take on the so typically misunderstood bad girl). #7 – SUDOR FRIO I’m always glad to see a Adrian Garcia Bogliano movie. They’re like the craziest exploitation flicks you’ve ever seen, but cleverly filled with sound socio-political commentary. This one plays out like a typical horror scenario, with some kids getting tortured and killed in a strange old house. But, the Bogliano twist casts the killers as a pair of decrepit old men, who can barely walk. These two washed up old skool militant revolutionaries have become bored over the past few decades, so they now spend their time luring thrill seeking young ladies to their house, where they force them to solve insane mathematical problems, and douse them in nitro glycerin (which prompts the fantastic scene, in which an old boyfriend must save his ex, by slowly cutting off her nitro saturated clothing, before it ignites all over her). #6 – ATTACK THE BLOCK I saw this one before I had the opportunity to see Super 8, and couldn’t help but wonder how embarrassed JJ Abrams must feel, being bettered by a low budget (about $13 milion) British sci-fi action flick. Like Super 8, ATB follows the adventures of a group of young kids who find themselves in the middle of an alien attack. However, these kids aren’t your usual Hardy Boys and Nancy Drews, who set out to solve the mystery and save the community. Instead, they’re mostly made up of a pack of violent, gun-totting, weed smoking delinquints, who’d incited the invasion when they cornered an alien in a shed (an nod to E.T.), and bitch-slapped it for interrupting their muggings. #5 – DOG TOOTH (Kynodontas) This Greek film is as bizarre as it gets. A set of parents keep their three children (2 girls and 1 boy, all young adults) imprisoned in their secluded compound, set apart from the rest of the world. The kids have been home schooled by their parents, but their education is full of misleadings and lies (they’re taught that sea means chair, or that planes overhead are just toys, like the ones they find in the grass out back). They have no clue what a telephone is, or a TV, and sex is something that the girls provide, as a duty, for their brother. When a girl, from the father’s factory, is introduced to the household as a security guard, the children are exposed to things outside their secluded world. #4 – A SERBIAN FILM By far, one of the most unsettling films you will ever see. Milos, a washed up porn star, leading the straight life with a wife and six year old boy, is approached to break retirement to do one last movie. Having no other prospects, Milos agrees, and settles up for a huge financial pay-off. In return, he must agree to a highly improvised method of filming, and he must never question the motives of the filmmaker (a very well placed children’s TV producer and state security team member). Milos does as he is told, even when the film’s content starts to dip into very taboo subject matter (stuff that got the filmmaker into legal troubles). Though Milos is never directly involved in any of that stuff, he still moves ahead with the movie, and collects his generous salary. The film is an allegory for the political situation in Serbia, as addressed in the dialogue from the dangerous filmmaker, who tells Milos that he’s no better than the leaders of the country, whom systematically rape and destroy their own country. #3 – DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK This aptly named Canadian action flick comes from a red hot pair of twin filmmakers, the Soska Sisters, who also star in their twisted, bloody, speeding bullet of fun. All hell breaks loose when the twins, along with a couple friends, set out for an average errand trip, only to find… you guessed it – a dead hooker in the trunk of their car. What separates this micro budgeted, straight to video movie from the rest of the fanboy fare in its genre, is the Soska’s sense of complete fun. The energy and style and balls-out joyous action of this flick would make Quentin Tarantino snap a woody. #2 – THE WOMAN The combination of author Jack Ketchum and filmmaker Lucky McKee is shear genius. Ketchum’s style of sheer madness and McKee’s style of well etched, bizarre characterizations blends wonderfully. It also helps that they both favor strong and positive female storylines. Polly McIntosh breaks out as a wild woman, captured by a hunter, who feels it’s his God-given duty to civilize her. Enlisting the help of his skeptical family, the demented Henry Higgins shackles his Eliza Doolittle in the fruit cellar, and uses brute force to tame the nature girl. The controversial film was thrust into the spotlight at last year’s Sundance Fest, when an irate viewer misinterpreted the film’s anti-misogynic message for actual full blown misogyny. #1 – MY NAME IS “A” by ANONYMOUS Still without a distributor, this no budget film, made by controversial filmmaker Shane Ryan, is both disturbing and heartbreaking. Ryan made a name for himself with his self-starring film Amateur Porn Star Killer, a found footage depiction of a Ted Bundy like killer’s seduction and murder of a young woman (he went on to create two sequels to this film). The movie set up Ryan as a filmmaker who would take risks to tell a convincing and honest film. In his latest film, Ryan continues pushing the boundaries and taking risks, but this time develops his ability to create characters and situations that are painfully honest. Stepping away from the found footage style of his APSK flicks, My Name is A is shot with the immediacy of a documentary film, telling the story based on the true crimes of Alyssa Bustamante, a fifteen year old girl who confessed to the thrill kill murder of a 9 year old neighbor girl. We’ve watched this story before __ teenage girls gone bad -- dozens of time on the Lifetime Channel, where we see the point of view of the distraught parents and terrified community. But Ryan turns the camera inward, onto the accused, focusing on the events that lead up to the murder. Following a group of four teenage girls (Alyssa, the Sidekick, the Performer, and the Angst), all from different backgrounds, and with different interests, but whose paths will lead them to stand over the dead body of the little girl, holding the knife that killed her. He doesn’t make excuses for them, nor does he attempt to defend them. My Name is A is just a raw and honest and poetic portrayal of life gone wrong. http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/best_films_you_didnt_see_in_2011.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/best_films_you_didnt_see_in_2011.html Behind the Scenes Best Films of 2011 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:21:07 -0600 The Kid with a Bike, the new film by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, that is an absolute masterpiece and handles the subject gracefully by these two modern masters. We follow 11 year old Cyril (Thomas Doret), a boy who is abandoned by his father, Guy (Jeremie Renier) and causes problems at the foster home that he resides in. He escapes to try to find his bike and on his journey is introduced into Samantha (Cecile De France) a hairdresser that finds a liking to the boy and understands that he needs someone in his life to help him. As Samantha has decided to take him on the weekends, Cyril is forced into various situations and conflict that show his transformation into an adult. Simplistic in it's story and execution and yet is is in this simplicity that the Dardenne brothers prove that they are cinematic masters. Through the wonderful use of score by Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, we see the major decisions that Cyril makes in his transition from a child to an adult. It is played four times and each time we feel the weight of Cyril's childhood fleeting. Thomas Doret does a fantastic job in the film and portrays the boy with such ferocity as he struggles with said growing pains. Cecile De France plays the motherly Samantha full of warmth and anguish as she tries to help Cyril have a normal childhood. The Kid with a Bike won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival this past year and deservedly so. The two brothers utilize many elements within filmmaking to encapsulate Cyril's turmoil as this troubled child. Just about every time we see him, either on his bike or in the street, the shot's are in constant motion, showcasing his life within a whirlpool of emotions. As we get further into the film, these shots become much more static and controlled. The film's strength lies in it's subtlety to tell this boys story and the challenges of what becoming an adult really means in terms of growing up, accepting responsibility on one's behalf and their actions. The Kid with a Bike is a great achievement and an elegant tale by the Dardenne brothers. While the tale is simple and executed in a straight forward fashion, it is in this simplicity that The Kid with a Bike shines. The struggles of adolescence is never easy for anyone, let alone for someone that has been abandoned by his family. The Kid with a Bike shows this struggle in a neo realist sort of sensibility with Cyril being the focus this tragic figure. Highly Recommended! ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/47th_annual_ciff_the_kid_with_a_bike.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/47th_annual_ciff_the_kid_with_a_bike.html Behind the Scenes Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:31:10 -0600 The Last Rites of Joe May opens with Dennis Farina as the titular character knocking at the window trying to get some pigeons attention. It gives the audience a look into a man that can relate to the bottom feeders in the city of Chicago because he's right there with them. The Last Rites of Joe May is a great character study of a man that never made it, that spends his whole life trying to get the attention of people around him, but never can. After being released from the hospital with pneumonia for several weeks, Joe May finds himself having to start all over. All of his worldly possessions are thrown out and all of his former friends have either abandoned him, gone to an old folks home or just plain forgotten about him. He finds himself moving into his former apartment with a single mother named Jenny Rapp (Jamie Anne Allman) and her young daughter Angelina (Meredith Droeger). Joe finds himself struggling as he tries to hold on to his old hustling ways and become a new role model for his new surrogate family. Dennis Farina gives an excellent performance as the aging small time hustler that never made anything with his life. His usual comedic flair gives Joe May a very likable personality, but it's his portrayal as this forgotten relic of a man truly makes him shine. Joe Maggio's original script gives Farina a chance to show off his acting chops, as opposed to his usual playing of a wise guy or mouthy police officer (which is what Farina used to be, a Chicago Police Officer). Gary Cole also does a great job as playing Lenny, a big shot gangster that makes Joe realize that his days of doing small time jobs are over. The entire cast of the film does an excellent job at the material that Joe Maggio has given them and that Maggio has fully realized through them. This is 5th film as a director and shows how much promise he has as an independent voice in American cinema. The world that he depicts in the Chicago within The Last Rites of Joe May is so spot on and gives a perfect visual representation of the city. Not only this, but in its characters, in its locations and dialog that everyone uses that make the film really come to life. Joe Maggio has done a fine job at making an intimate character study as well as a seminal film that represents Chicago, even if it's an examination of a bottom feeder on the food chain. The Last Rites of Joe May is a fantastic film and fits perfectly to open the 47th Chicago International Film Festival. As a film that was shot in Chicago as well as taking place there, it fits tonally and ideally for the festival. Hopefully audiences will be able to see the dramatic range of Farina as well as the originality of Maggio as an independent filmmaker with The Last Rites of Joe May.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/47th_annual_ciff_the_last_rites_of_joe_may.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/47th_annual_ciff_the_last_rites_of_joe_may.html Behind the Scenes Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:16:28 -0600 Coriolanus is an exercise within the work of Shakespeare that is an absolute masterpiece. Ralph Fiennes pulls double duty in directing and starring in the film as the lead tragic hero and does an excellent job at both. The film is set in modern day, yet retains it's states of Rome and Volsci and the Shakespearean speech of the tragic play. The film follows Caius Martus (Ralph Fiennes), champion of Rome and hated by the people. After a series of events, he is named Coriolanus and then exiled from the city. It is then that he sides with the Volscian army to take revenge on the government and people of his former home. Coriolanus shows how the power of Shakespeare's works shall always thrive and even pertain to modern day events. Fiennes does an excellent job at handling his acting duties on screen and impresses for his directorial debut. His portrayal of the soldier is within the film is very unsympathetic, yet understandable in his violent and savage nature. Caius Martus has been raised on the battlefield, not within Rome, so when it comes time for him to serve the people in a different fashion, he finds himself at odds with his own very nature. There's a great image of Ralph Fiennes early in the film, as he wears his army fatigues, and all of his exposed skin is covered in blood that defines his very existence as this warrior. The delivery and power of his lines are just absolutely incredible and proves how strong of an actor the Fiennes is. The casting of the rest of the film helps by having the likes of Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Cox, James Nesbitt and Gerard Butler not only help the film dramatically, but show the skill and care that Fiennes has taken for his first feature. The aesthetics of Coriolanus benefit from being shot on location in Serbia and Montenegro, as well as being photographed by Barry Ackroyd. The former war torn countries of the early 90's give the film a raw and gritty look through Ackroyd's lens. The color palate of the cities and county sides, the muted earth tones and the cold grey's give Coriolanus a strong presence, much like its performances. It's stylistically much different than the visual approach of Julie Taymore's films or the grandiose and extravagance made by Kenneth Braghnagh. It's in this visual approach that Ackroyd helps Fiennes create such a raw and visceral piece that will mesmerize audiences everywhere. ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/47th_annual_ciff_coriolanus.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/47th_annual_ciff_coriolanus.html Behind the Scenes Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:02:36 -0600 The Artist is an absolute gem of a film. Jean Dujardin stars as George Valentin, a silent film sensation that wows audiences everywhere. During a premier of his latest film, A Russian Affair, Valentin bumps into a woman named Peppy Miller and accidentally makes her into a star. Shortly after, talkies start to make their way into Hollywood and Valentin is confronted by them and his sustainability as a silent film star. The Artist has a wonderful supporting cast with the likes of John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, and Malcolm McDowell as a few of the familiar faces of Hollywood. Hazanavicius uses film history, just like he did with his films, to tell a very simple and yet magnificent story. The Artist's presentation is what makes the film come off as so successful and could genuinely fool someone into thinking that it was actually made in the silent era. The aspect ratio is a full frame 4:3, has title cards, a wonderful score by Ludovic Bource, and is presented in black and white. With all of these elements in place, The Artist is able to elevate itself from other current cinema without bothering with loud explosions or tons of expository dialog. It is in this simplicity that makes The Artist such an enjoyable film. There's a great dream sequence that George Valentin has after his first encounter with talking pictures. Through the use of some great sound design, we are able to foresee George's impending doom against the talkies. The final shot of the film is almost a grand statement to Hollywood itself by Hazanavicius. A crane shot pulls back on a film set to show all of the people and elements that go into making a movie. Cinema in the 1920's was about characters that made us laugh, made us cry, and ultimately gave one an experience of seeing something in a theater. This is exactly what The Artist is, a cinematic experience that cannot be replicated by today's Hollywood. Michel Hazanavicius has done a fine job with The Artist and proves his abilities as great filmmaker. While one might see this film as ridiculous and absurd being a silent film in the sound era, The Artist uses all the elements of what makes a great film and places them on glorious display. If there's a lesson to be learned by Hollywood from The Artist, it's that you don't need loud explosions or CGI to make a good film. All you need is a little history lesson and apply that to tell a story. ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/47th_annual_ciff_the_artist.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/47th_annual_ciff_the_artist.html Behind the Scenes Video and DVD Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:00:20 -0600 BUCKLE UP FOR A HILARIOUS ROAD TRIP FROM THE DIRECTOR OF SUPERBAD & THE STARS AND CREATORS OF HOT FUZZ AND SHAUN OF THE DEAD PAUL - OWN THE OUTRAGEOUS UNRATED VERSION NOT SHOWN IN THEATERS ON BLU-RAY™ COMBO PACK, DVD & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AUGUST 9, 2011 “Irreverent and hilarious!” – Sean P. Means, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE “Seth Rogen is perfect as Paul.” – Ray Bennett, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER Universal City, California, June 7, 2011— One tiny alien makes for big, big trouble in the comedy adventure Paul, coming to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD August 9, 2011, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Both versions will feature the theatrical movie, as well as an unrated version of the film, not shown in theaters. The film and its unrated adventure Paul, coming to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD August 9, 2011, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The film and its unrated version will also be available day and date for digital download and video on demand. Paul reunites Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) as two sci-fi geeks on a pilgrimage to America’s UFO heartland, where they accidentally encounter an alien who sends them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. Written by Pegg and Frost, Paul boasts a star-studded cast that features Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet, Knocked Up) as the voice of Paul, Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), Jason Bateman (Hancock), Kristen Wiig (Date Night, Knocked Up), Jane Lynch (“Glee”), Bill Hader (Pineapple Express), Joe Lo Truglio (Role Models), Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”) and Blythe Danner (Little Fockers). Directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad), Paul comes loaded with in-depth, behind-the-scenes features, bloopers, filmmaker and cast commentary and more, to take viewers on a comical journey behind the making of this critically hailed film. The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack will include a Blu-ray and DVD copy of the unrated and theatrical versions of the film. Additionally, for a limited time only, the Combo Pack also includes a digital copy of the unrated film that can be viewed anytime, anywhere on an array of digital devices. Blu-ray™ consumers can also access MY MOVIES™, an exclusive feature that allows consumers to stream a bonus movie instantly to their television through any Internet-connected Blu-ray™ player via BD-Live™ or to their Smartphone and iPad™ using the free pocket BLU™ app. The bonus movie offer will be available for a limited time only. Visit www.universalhidef.com for more details. SYNOPSIS For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space-traveling smartass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town—a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mothership. As two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes. www.WhatIsPaul.com NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake. ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/paul_on_bluray_combo_pack_dvd_digital_download_august_9_2011_1.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/behind_the_scenes/paul_on_bluray_combo_pack_dvd_digital_download_august_9_2011_1.html Behind the Scenes Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:33:58 -0600