4 out of 5. Director Steve McQueen's HUNGER shows an alarming skill as a filmmaker. Seemingly to come out of nowhere he's surgically crafted a rather beautifully shot, well-acted, gut-wrenching poem. The writing by he and Enda Walsh is verbose and yet spills over with story. The pacing is intense at times and then cold empty silence. There's one scene where the camera is locked in a two-shot of a prisoner and a priest that is essentially the bulk of the dialogue. It goes on far longer than you expect but what is revealed makes it necessary for the director to get out of the way. While the performances are quite good the emotional detachment is the elephant in the room and I think the audience feels it too. Smart and skilled...it'll be hard to do better. Because of the rough subject matter (think Midnight Express amped up) it was hard to fully "enjoy" it. Yet it's a must see for filmmakers.
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3 out of 5. ARMADILLO by Janus Metz Pedersen
is a beautifully crafted documentary almost to a fault. It follows the
lives of a group Danish soldiers to Afghanistan. Much in the same vein
as RESTREPO it balances the intensity of
firefight with the sheer boredom of nothing in between. Why this one
stands out is because it is so well shot and edited with post-coloring
effects that you sometimes forget it's real. It's still no less moving
and worth a look.
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4 out of 5. David Michôd's ANIMAL KINGDOM was
beautiful surprise of cinema when I first saw it. The clarity and depth
of his characters was alarming. What I didn't realize, was like SLING
BLADE this was shot once before, but
from a different POV with many of the same cast. It was a short film, a
practice run if you will, that made this film feel so polished. If you
like crime and want a taste of something a little different check it
out.
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4 out of 5. Director Benh Zeitlin found the right alchemy with people and place in BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. As far as indie films go, which I do not watch many, this has opened my eyes to some fantastic possibilities. Perhaps it was his short film GLORY AT SEA that got me excited to see his feature. It's smart storytelling with an intensely successful DIY approach to just about everything. I say this because they get a lot of mileage out of so little. The Art Direction of this film is as textured and prevalent as the acting. Easily one of the best films I saw last year.
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4 out of 5. Kar Wai Wong's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE reinforces the sensitivity of a director toward the interplay of
emotions and images. He gets relationships in their beautiful clumsy
ways that give Ang Lee a run for his
money. The costuming and casting is perfect. I love the two leads. You
literally ache for these people to be together without all the Hollywood
schmaltz that infects most things stateside.
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4 out of 5. Yôji Yamada's THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI
reminded me a lot UNFORGIVEN. The plot centers around a widowed samurai
who has lost any sense of self-worth. He's internalized a lot of the
pain and denies himself the opportunity
to move on. The acting is really good. The story feels like the last
samurai movie that will be made because of the introduction of guns and
the end of the Edo period. Slow, thoughtful and very good relationships
make it worth a look.
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4 out 5. Rainer Werner Fassbinder's ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL is pretty damn cool. He boldly faces every convention
available to him and makes a palpable story with characters that get
under your skin. I had no idea what I'd
expect after watching Fox and His Friends but I'm amazed by this
director's ability at clear and creative storytelling. It's almost
stylized in many ways from the art direction and clothing choices,
there's some heavy symbolism throughout. If you like to keep chewing on a
film after your done watching it...check this one out.
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3 out of 5. David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES is a small but impactful film. The cast is really good together
and direction is quite solid. I especially like the Art Direction and
costumes in this film. Viggo is a badass in this and has an amazingly
shot fight scene. Also Vincent Cassel is loose cannon and adds a lot of
tension throughout. Fun stuff.
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4 out of 5. Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO is an
excellent template that many a story has hung on. Sergio Leone's A
FISTFUL OF DOLLARS took what Kurosawa pioneered and pushed it a little
further owning it in the process. But I give Kurosawa full credit for
some amazing shots and a great balance of comedy in a grim and
unsettling time.
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4 out of 5. I was reminded to day of the work
of Luis Buñuel, specifically his THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL. I loved this
film about class degradation. Just a wonderful surreal film where dinner
guests are trapped in one room and they
can't keep up appearances. In some ways it feels like it could have
been more appropriate 30 years earlier...or more caustic if handled by
the likes of Waters or Lynch. Still, a great concept delivered in style.
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5 out of 5. Brad Bird and his team really
brought animation a shot in the arm with THE IRON GIANT. It hits on so
many levels it defies a single viewing. This is the kind of filmmaking
and storytelling that is almost
impossible. The fact that it's animated makes it even more of a miracle.
It's poignant without being saccharin. This and THE INCREDIBLES were
easily my two favorite Brad Bird outings. Highly recommended for
everyone!
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4 out of 5. Three highly imaginative and
creative minds come together in Michel Gondry's ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. It seems almost as rare as sighting a comet but this
perfect storm of talent represents a
time in Hollywood when creative films could still get made. I believe it
was the first thing I'd seen of Gondry's work and have gone onto check
out his THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP which is also enjoyable. The acting is
wonderful and as surreal as the Charlie Kaufmann's story gets Jim Carrey
is pitch-perfect in his reckless abandon. This movie does not
disappoint in the least.
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3 out of 5. Taika Waititi's EAGLE VS. SHARK is
stuck in my head and I can't get it out. I think that's a good thing
too. The film is indie and smart with some really odd characters but not
for the sake of being odd. It's
carefully conceived and well directed with stop-motion inserts
throughout that add a nice texture to the story. If you like the quirk
of Wes Anderson movies this film is easy-going and fun.
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4 out of 5. Maybe recommending Nicolas Winding
Refn's film DRIVE is a bit out of character for me but I'd hate for
this to be missed. This is an excellent example of deliberate control in
filmmaking. This is an iconic tone poem
about the 80s. A love for Michael Mann films...like Thief and
Collateral...and an excellent blend of holding on shots. Waiting for the
right moments. Film school is open!
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4 out of 5. Don Bluth's THE SECRET OF NIMH is
one of the first films that proved that animation could be taken so much
more seriously. Go ahead, rewatch it and you'll be taken with the
lushness of it. The animation...the
backgrounds, direction, character development. This film has so much
going on that it's endlessly rewatchable. So much to learn about staging
and light. Anyway, check out what Pixar got hip to early on: STORY. If
it's not bullet-proof then you're just building on a bad foundation.
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4 out of 5. The stark timelessness of Andrew
Dominik's THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD is
both artful and refreshing. Thankfully Andrew Dominik has a way of
showing us a well-worn genre that offers
a meditative view of a legendary figure. The acting is quite
compelling, especially that of Casey Affleck. Knowing the ending ahead
of time certainly doesn't get in the way of the journey. This is perfect
Sunday movie watching. Contemplative and open.
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4 out of 5. Writing the previous review made
me think of this other easily forgotten gem by David Fincher, ZODIAC.
The sound design was rich, the film was dark and punishing. The
characters were almost as scary in their
intensity as the killer they were chasing. You can see how the tidal
wave of mysterious terror overtakes their lives slowly and pulls them
under before it's too late. Probably not an easy one to rewatch but a
great reminder of how compelling Fincher continues to be as a filmmaker.
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3 out of 5. John Hillcoat's THE PROPOSITION
expands on the Western even though it was filmed in The Outback. The
landscape of Australia is brutal hell on Earth and it's characters are
tied to it by their deeds. Even the
innocent is guilty of something and no foul deed goes unpunished by man
or element. All this comes across in a fairly poetic manner with nods to
Peckinpah other directors of great Westerns.
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4 out of 5. Speaking of musicals, Baz
Luhrmann's MOULIN ROUGE! knocked my socks off when it first came out
over decade ago. The fantasy world built by him and the two leads was
quite mesmerizing. I really dig
high-production values used in small ways. His earlier film STRICTLY
BALLROOM was another favorite of mine. But this film showed a sense of
style, composition and the ability to make a fun film. Also: JIM
BROADBENT whom I cannot get enough of.
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4 out of 5. It's hard to be objective about
Terry Gilliam's TIME BANDITS as it was the first of his films I'd ever
seen. The production design alone is what makes this film so rich. I'm
also a huge fan of time-travel and
history so as a kid and an adult this really entertains. Part of
Gilliam's trilogy of man, this film has the same imaginative and
dangerous underpinnings as Brazil and The Adventures of Baron
Munchausen. The characters are splendid and the acting with various
cameos is a lot of fun. Easily the second-most quotable movie for me
next to Spinal Tap.
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