Godard 21's Cinephile journal

Oscar Predictions

2006-12-15T00:02:00.000-06:00

Here are my Oscar predictions for its major categories (which, in my opinion, incorporates many). I may edit them and change some of my picks as the awards approach.

Best Picture
-Letters from Iowa Jima
-The Departed
-The Queen
-Dream Girls
-Little Children

Other potential contenders:
-United 93 (very possible for a nomination, may steal it from Little Children)
-Little Miss Sunshine
-Babel (if they can't think of anything else)
-Half Nelson (very unlikely, but, like Little Miss Sunshine, it is an indie favourite)
- Volver (wishful thinking here)
Best Actor
-Peter O'Toole (Venus)
-Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson)
-Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland. Lock and Frontrunner)
-Leonardo Dicaprio (Blood Diamond or The Departed, most likely the latter)
-Ken Watanabe (Letters of Iowa Jima, possible, but unlikely)

Other possible contenders:
-Patrick Wildon-Little Children (very unlikely)
-Will Smith (The pursuit of Happyness. His perfomance has received been called the sole redeeming feature of a rather conventional film)

Best Actress
-Helen Mirren (The Queen. Lock and frontrunner)
-Penelope Cruz (Volver)
-Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal. Who doesn't like Judi Dench)
-Kate Winslet (Little Children)
-Meryl Streep (The Devil wears Prada. Supposedly quite good in it)

Other contenders
Maggie Gyllenhal (Sherrybaby)
Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal)

Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt (Babel. Does not deserve it, but he may be nominated)
Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond)
Michael Sheen (The Queen. Don't he deserves it, but may be nominated regardless)
Eddie Murphy (dream girls. Just because I think the Academy is crazy)
Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)

Other contenders.
Jack Nicholson (The Departed. Very possible)
Mark Walhberg (The Departed)
Ben Affleck (Hollywoodland. Again, the Academy is crazy and occasionally chooses a very undeserving performance. Chances are slim though).
Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine. For some reason, websites have been predicting him and I have no idea why. His role as a drug addicted grandfather was rather caricaturish)
Adam Beach (Flags of our Fathers. Others have predicted him, but I doubt it)

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls. Pretty much a lock now)
Rinko Kikuchi (Babel. Oddly, this one is almost a lock also and deserving too)
Adriana Barraza (Babel. The Academy may choose only one actress to represent Babel, but a double nomination is possible)
Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal)
Shareeka Epps (Half Nelson. This is a longshot/ dark horse nomination, but she could make it)

Other contenders
Catherine O'Hara (For your Consideration, which film pix is bringing to Saint John on Jan 9th. Very possible nomination).
Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine. Oddly, a few critics and websites have mentioned a possible nomination)
Sharon Stone (Bobby)

Best Director
Martin Scorsese (The Departed. Lock)
Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)
Clint Eastwood (Letters from Iowa Jima)
Stephen Frears (The Queen)
Pedro Almodovar (Volver. He would be the academy's critical choice and he has been nominated before, so do not count him out)

Other contenders
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel. He may be nominated, but I still think Amorres Perros was a much better film.)
Paul Greengrass (United 93)
Robert Altman (Prairie Home Companion. Possibly in order to honour him with an award, although last year he received the lifetime achievement award, so very unlikely)
Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson. Wishful thinking on my part)
Valerie Faris/ J. Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine. Highly doubt it, but others have placed them amongst their predictions).
Other c

Best Foreign Film
Volver (Spain)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
Water (Canada)
Curse of the Golden Flower (China)

Other contenders
Indigenes (Algeria)
Reprise (Norway. Unlikely)
Aurora - Bulgaria (doubt it)

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Departed - William Monahan (adapted from Siu Fai Mak's excellent Hong Kong police drama Infernal Affairs)
Little Children (Todd Field, Tom Perreta)
Notes on a Scandal (Patrick Marber, unlikely, but possible)
Dreamgirls (Bill Condon)
Letters from Iowa Jima (Iris Yamashita. Could be considered "adapted")

Other contenders
Flags of our Fathers (William Broyles, Jr., Paul Haggis)
Children of Men

Best Original Screenplay
Little Miss Sunshine (Michael Arndt)
Letters from Iowa Jima (Iris Yamashita. This film will be difficult for the Academy to categorize since it is loosely influenced by the Japanese book "Picture Letters from Commander in Chief," but still could be considered an original screenplay)
Volver (Pedro Almodovar)
The Queen (Peter Morgan)
Babel (Guillermo Arriaga. Possible nomination, but Greengrass may get his slot)

Other contenders
United 93 (Paul Greengrass. Very Possible)
Stranger than Fiction (Zach Helm, very unlikely, but possible)
Half Nelson (wishful thinking)

Best Documentary
An Inconvenient Truth
Deliver us From Evil (Amy Berg)
Jesus Camp
The Ground Truth
Iraq in Fragments

Other contenders
Blindsight (Lucy Walker)

Best Animated film
Cars
Happy Feet
Flushed Away
Over the Hedge
Monster House

Other contenders
A Scanner Darkly (doubt it, but would be interesting).
Paprika (by director Satoshi Kon. No chance in hell, but I wish the Academy had the taste to nominate it. Alas, they don't and never did)

Best Cinematography
Pan's Labyrinth
Children of Men (Emmanuel Lubezki is a favourite, so he will probably be nominated)
Curse of the Golden Flower
Dreamgirls
The Departed (odd choice, but it may just make it for unknown reasons)

Other contenders
Babel (Rodrigo Prieto was a nominee last year for Brokeback Mountain and the cinematograpy in the Tokyo scenes alone are deserving of a nomination)
The Fountain (Very unlikely since the film was a disappointment, but the cinematography was notable)

Best Art Direction
Pan's Labyrinth
The Prestige
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
The Good German (despite dismal reviews, I hear the art direction is fine)

Other contenders
The Fountain (again, mediocre movie, good art direction. This year's Memoirs of a Geisha, except, realistically, it probably won't be nominated for a thing)

Visual effects
The Fountain
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's chest
The Prestige
Superman (I am grasping here)
Pan's Labyrinth (maybe).

Costume design
Marie Antoinette (lock)
Dreamgirls
-
-
-
(will decide these remaining slots later, although costume design usually only has a minimal amount of nominations)

Best Score
Babel-Gustavo Santaolalla (Last year's winner for Brokeback Mountain. Potential nominee for this year)
The Fountain-Clint Mansell (I hope he is nominated considering the film's score was one of its few truly redeeming traits)
The Queen/ The Painted Veil - Alexandre Desplat (will probably get nominated, but for which film?)
The Departed - Howard Shore (I don't think he deserves it, but he may be nominated)
The Good German/Little Children - Thomas Newman
- (undecided)

Other Contenders
The Illusionist -Philipp Glass
Letters from Iowa Jima/ Flags of our Fathers - Clint Eastwood
Nomad - Carlo Siliotto (newcomer nominated for a Golden Globe)

Will update late (changing certain choices while adding remaining slots)

Best films that I have seen this year (in my opinion), Golden Globes, and Oscar predictions

2006-12-12T23:58:00.000-06:00

The Golden Globes nominations were recently announced anda have usually been considered as the primary award show by which to predict the Oscars. Although, this year's nominations seem to complicate this once Golden rule as did last year's Golden Globes which did not even nominate Best Picture winner Crash (for good reason, considering it was a mediocre film and will now stand among Around the World in Eighty days as one of the worst films to win Best Picture).

I disagree with a lot of their nominations this year (like every year). Why is Dicaprio nominated twice, but Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson is snubbed (hell, even Will Smith is nominated for the Pursuit of Happyness which looks like a rehash of various other American films in which the protagonist faces adversity in order to succeed and thus achieve the American dream). Why is Bobby, a film that has been mainly getting mixed reviews in Best Picture? Although I liked Babel, I still would not nominate it for Best Picture. Letters of Iowa Jima has been thrown in the foreign language category (despite being a contender for Best Picture). I can understand why it is in this category, but really, even though it is in Japanese, why can't they allow it to compete with other nominees in other awards (for that matter, why are there never "foreign" films nominated in other categories. I can never criticize the Golden Globes and Academy awards enough for their ethnocentrism (even though I know they will never change).

Despite this aside, my criticism does not adequately reflect this year's Golden Globe nominations considering that there are several actors and actresses which are not American or British this year (these include Penelope Cruz in Volver, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi for Babel). Writer Guillermo Arriaga and director Alejandro González Iñárritu are both nominated for Babel in the Best Screenplay and Best Director (Almodovar is noticably absent in Director even though some had pegged him to be a possible nominee). In addition, Eastwood is nominated for Best Director for Iowa Jima, so the film is nominated in a category besides foreign film (so, my rant was a little premature).

I am happy that Clint Mansell got a best Score nomination for The Fountain. If there was anything The Fountain should be nominated for, it was its great score. Although I expected it, it is interesting to see Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth nominated in Best Foreign Language Film. I am also thoroughly ecstatic that World Trade Center did not get a token nomination (neither did United 93, but Greengrass' film on 9/11 is supposedly very good as opposed to Stone's horrible mess which I had the displeasure of seeing).

Alas, that is all I have to say about the Golden Globes. If you are interested in knowing more about the fall awards season freakshow which continues on until the Academy awards, you can go to OscarWatch.com and they regularly update their website with new critic awards announcements (I have always enjoyed keeping a distance and watching the pre-Oscar season lunacy. It has always been a great source of unintentional hilarity).

Here is a link to the Golden Globe nominations.

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2007/globes

Now, as for what I thought were the best films (which I have seen this year and I can not see everything). Here is my random list (not in a numerical order denoting preference).

Pan's Labyrinth (Mexican fantasy tale. Starts off a little formulaic, but eventually becomes one of the most interesting fantasy films to be released in years)

The Proposition (revisionist Australian western)

The Departed (ah Scorsese, thank you once again)

The Queen (Great for Helen Mirren's performance alone)

Babel (Contains flaws and is not as good as Amorres Perros, but still pretty good)

Brick (a revisionist film noir set in a high school. Was made last year, but
released in theatres this year)

An Inconvenient Truth (yes, a film about an Al Gore powerpoint presentation is good.
It's a paradox, but believe me)

Prairie Home Companion (in honour of the late Robert Altman and for genuinely being a good film).

Little Miss Sunshine (drama/black comedy with a satirical take on the American cult of success and its effects on a suburban family. My friend will crucify me for this choice).

Casino Royale (and this is coming from someone who does not like virtually any James
Bond film, but this one was interesting, primarily because it did not entirely feel
like a rehash of past James Bond films and actually had character development)

The Prestige (convoluted, but fun).

The Wind that Shakes the Barley (not perfect, but still a solid historical film)

I will update later with my Oscar Predictions and I will hopefully include more films to make my list (I seem to have forgotten some which should not be left unsaid).

Half Neslon (Gosling delivers one of the better perfomances of this year and it has oddly become one of my favourite films released this year)

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four acts (a documentary about Hurricane Katrina
and the disastrous aftermath. Although excessively long, Spike Lee did good)

Inside Man (entertaining escapist heist film by Spike Lee. Although I usually do not like most Spike Lee films (i.e Summer of Sam), this has been a rather good year for him).

Trailers, film pix announcement, and preparations for Oscar predictions

2006-12-07T15:35:00.000-06:00

Film Pix Announcement

On January 9th, the film pix showing at studio ten will be Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration. A satire on the fall season Oscar buzz frenzy and how it disrupts the cast of a film suddenly caught within it.

Trailers

Although not entirely new, here are some trailers which I have either found interesting or unintentionally amusing (most of the time, they are the latter).

Here is a trailer for Factory Girl which is a film about Edie Sedgwick's encounter with Andy Warhol in the 1960s and her rise to stardom (along with the disillusionment which usually accompanies it). The film features Guy Pearce as Andy Warhol (odd casting choice), Sienna Miller as Edie, and Hayden Christensen as Billy Quinn, a character who is supposedly meant to be Bob Dylan or Dylan-esque, anyway, according to some sources, but isn't (Either Bob Dylan probably didn't want his name used in the film or nobodyy can prove that this illusive real-life character was indeed Bob Dylan).

http://movies.aol.com/movie/factory-girl/25513/trailer

Now, this is a link to the teaser trailer for the Hannibal Lecter prequel (sigh...sequels and prequels...why).I am thoroughly confused as to how Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern)got involved in this.

http://www.tobis.de/home/site_scripts/filmseite.php?id=101

Here is a full trailer for Zack Snyder's film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 which concerns the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Visually interesting, but, apparently, Gerard Butler is unable to modulate his voice. During the entire trailer, he is screaming variations on "We Spartans," "Sparta," and the like to the point of giving me a serious migraine. In addition, I doubt the film is historically accurate, judging by the trailer (although, I don't think this was ever filmmakers' intention). Furthermore, Snyder's historical epic seems to be over-the-top in terms of dramatics. As a result, I am also starting to have doubts as to whether Snyder can adapt Alan Moore's The Watchmen (which he is set to direct).

http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1529800&sdm=web&qtw=640&qth=400

Now, this is a trailer for the German film, The Lives of Others, by newcomer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, which has raked in several awards at the recent European Film Awards along with Pedro Almodovar's Volver. The trailer is in German (no english subtitles). I place this trailer here regardless because this film has been named by several sources as one of the best films of 2006 (many have named it the best film of 2006. Period). I can't wait to see this film and I have been desperately trying to see it through clandestine means.

http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=501&item=0

I will update later with a list of what I believe to be the best films that have appeared in theatres this year (and that I have had the opportunity of seeing) as well as my predictions concerning what I think the Academy awards will nominate. I will write these predictions not because I regard the Oscars as an adequate judge of the year's best films, but rather in order to guess just how predictable the awards will be this year (as they always are). The Academy Awards will never be an accurate judge on films, given the ethnocentric, sexist, and conservative (this last one is debatable) bias in their choices. So, my predictions will in no way validate the illusions of grandeur with which the Academy regards itself and will, actually, like Guest's For Your Consideration, ridicule the potential choices which I believe they will make.

Random trailers and Film Pix reminder

2006-12-03T10:11:00.000-06:00

First, this tuesday (December 5), film pix will be showing The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006) at the empire theatres (studio 10). Hopefully, some individuals will be able to go see it. Although, given that university exams are approaching, I doubt that many students will be able to come (excluding me).

Now, on to some trailers.

Here is a trailer for Edgar Wright's new British comedy, Hot Fuzz, (Wright also directed last year's Shaun of the Dead). This parody of the buddy cop films (I never liked that expression) also stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

http://www.iklipz.com/Movies.aspx?MovieID=5a15e5e4-f115-49d4-9c56-43173498b931

In addition, here is the very strange teaser trailer for David Lynch's Inland empire (In fact, it may just be the strangest trailer ever.)which stars Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, and Justin Theroux.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4hFEDYmMcM

Now, here is a trailer of Black Book, Paul Verhoeven's new film, which unfortunately looks like melodramatic shlock. Then again,this is the same director who made Showgirls, so what could I expect. Anyway, here is a link to where the trailer can be found.

http://www.allocine.co.uk/film/video_gen_cfilm=58127.html

Here is a trailer for Joe Carnahan's new film Smokin' Aces (his last film was the relatively decent Narc). For some reason, I can't even describe the film, nor do I feel compelled to. In short, it is the equivalent of a mindless orgy of violence splattered on a film screen which completely relies on style rather than substance (which can be seen as a good thing depending on what types of films you enjoy.)

http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/smokinaces/theatrical_large.html

This is a trailer for Karen Moncrief's The Dead Girl which has now been nominated for several independent film spirit awards (including best feature, I believe). I had originally dismissed this film because of Brittany Murphy, but, upon seeing the trailer and knowing more of the film's cast, it now seems interesting. Here is the link which will guide you to the trailer page.

http://movies.aol.com/movie/the-dead-girl/25664/trailer

Finally, here is a trailer for the new indie film featuring Nick Nolte entitled "Off the Black". Enjoy.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1484723815

Random news about the Sundance film festival and the Indenpendent film spirit awards among other things

2006-11-29T21:58:00.000-06:00

Random film news of the last few weeks.

First, after the poor box office showing of Clint Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers, Warner Brothers studios have decided to move up the United States release of Letters from Iowa Jima to December (it was previously scheduled to be released solely in February). This release date change is probably the result of the mixed reception which Flags received and its now limited Oscar potential. Given that Letters from Iowa Jima is supposedly the better film according to a few anonymous sources, it may have a better chance of receiving Oscar nominations and, as a result, it was moved up to a 2006 release.

In addition, the word is still out on whether Peter Jackson will direct The Hobbit film. Because of his dispute with New Line over the profits from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, New Line Cinema refuses to give him the job. However, distributor MGM has vowed to do all it can to make Jackson direct the fantasy adaptation. So, New Line Cinema does not want him to do it while MGM does. Most likely, this deadlock will continue for a while.

On a side note, the independent film spirit awards were announced a few days ago.Among the nominees for best picture are Half Nelson(good film, with an interesting score by Broken Social Scene), Little Miss Sunshine (which my friend hated, but I liked), and Pan's Labyrinth (which surprisingly has a low enough budget to be considered an independent film). Robert Altman received a nomination for Best director for Prairie Home Companion (which makes me happy) and David Lynch received a special distinction for Inland Empire.

Here is a link to the nominees for this year's awared which are stated to air on February 24 (before the Academy awards, I think).

http://http://filmindependent.org/spiritawards/nominees/nominees.php

Furthermore, the lineup for the 2007 Sundance film festival has also been announced.Here is a PDF file of the films in competition.

http://www2.sundance.org/pdf/07_SFF_ANNOUNCESINDFILMWORLDCINEMA112906.pdf

On a lighter note, here is a link to a recounting of Uwe Boll's bizarre boxing matches against his critics. Uwe Boll is often known as the worst director in the world today and recently he challenged his critics to several boxing matches in order to somehow prove them wrong about his films (I know, I don't see the connection neither). In the end, he trounced all his critics (which is sad because I was hoping that, at least one critic would clock him for his cinematic sins).

http://wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/ragingboll.html?pg=2&topic=ragingboll&topic_set=">

Will update soon.

Trailers of David Fincher's Zodiac, Yimou Zhang's Curse of the Golden Flower, and William Faulkner's vampire screenplay(???)

2006-11-18T15:29:00.000-06:00

Here is a trailer of Zodiac, the new film of David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club), which is obviously based (loosely) on the serial killings of the Zodiac killer. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Brian Cox, Chloe Sevigny (now an indie "it" girl), among others. The trailer seems a little poorly constructed, although it does seem to be an odd take on a serial killer movie which defies the expectations one has of such a film (which could be a good thing). I hope the film turns out well, but I have strange forebodings that it may not (let's hope they are wrong).

Well, here is the trailer.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/zodiac/large.html

On another note, here is the trailer for Yimou Zhang's newest film, The Curse of the Golden Flower. This film is now China's entry for the Best Foreign film Academy award. Yimou Zhang is the director of other great films like Raise the Red Lantern (I love this film), Ju Dou, Hero (yes, this is a "good" film) among others. The film features the great actress Gong Li (one of my favourite actresses) as well as Chow Yun-Fat. Although the film seems to be another typical wu xia epic (a la Hero or Crouching Tiger: Hidden Dragon), I have heard that it is somewhat different in content and could potentially offer something new. I am still interested in seeing it, although I am still waiting to see Zhang's return to drama, Riding Alone for a Thousand Miles and I prefer his past, slow-moving dramatic films (Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lanter) to his new string of martial arts epics.

Anyway, here is a link to the webpage containing the new trailer of the film (it is excessively colourful,but I will see it for the set and costume design alone).

The Curse of the Golden Flower Trailer

On a side note, I have heard the strangest news story today. It involves an unearthed William Faulkner screenplay featuring.....(wait for it)...vampires. If it sounds absurd, it is because it is (it's the strangest story I have heard all year). On another note, a film adaptation of "The Sound and the Fury" is in the making (I'm interested, but I wonder if it is possible or what the end result will be. I have my doubts). However, apparently, this vampire screenplay will be brought to film (although there may have been a legitimate reason why Faulkner left it to rot and it may the byproduct of the Hollywood system he hated so much).

Here is a link to one version of the news story.

http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-scriptland15nov15,0,7934795.story">

Pan's Labyrinth review and new trailer

2006-11-12T11:11:00.000-06:00

After much procrastination, here is my Pan's Labyrinth review:

Set in the years following the Spanish Civil war, Pan's Labyrinth, the new Mexican fantasy film of Guillermo Del Toro (The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy)explores a child's entry into a fantastic realm as a means to escape the turbulent times in fascist Spain. This film is Mexico's entry for the Best Foreign film Academy Award. Amidst sporadic outbursts of guerilla warfare from the remaining rebels, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero)and her pregnant mother, Carmen,(Ariadna Gil)arrive at a military outpost under the command of the monstrous and overtly patriarchal Captain Vidal (Sergi López), Ofelia's new stepfather, where Ofelia meets the friendly Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), one of Vidal's female servants. In this secluded location in the woods, Ofelia wanders off from the stringent authority of the adult and meets a magical faun named Pan, played by Doug Jones, under much makeup and costume work, who promises her entry into a magical kingdom if she can fulfill three tests.

While the film initially appears to conform to certain cinematic formulas,the film gradually moves away from them and becomes a darker fantasy tale than viewers are accustomed to. Captain Vidal, the true monster of the film initially appears like a villainous caricature, but he is developed enough throughout the course of the film to dispel this image. However, even if he is close to becoming a formulaic villain, most fantasy films are built upon such bipolar foundations and thus such a villain is to be expected. In addition, Sergi Lopez, who plays him, embraces the character's villainy and suits the role perfectly while adequately conveying his obsessive desire to perpetuate a patriarchal lineage as well as his cold, mechanical, and heartless demeanor which is fueled by the orderly nature of fascism and authoritarianism (which is in direct opposition to the imaginative faculty of Ofelia).

As Ofelia,a highly imaginative child (somewhat akin to Lewis Carroll's Alice, but not quite), Ivana Baquero is able to adequately convey both the initial innocence and the later strength of her character as well as her isolation in the corrupt adult world emerging out of fascism. Similarly,both Maribel Verdú, who plays Mercedes, and Ariadna Gil, as Carmen, deliver respectable performances alongside Baquero and Lopez.

Aside from the film's performances, the film's visuals also do not disappoint and Del Toro makes conservative use of CGI as opposed to the computer animated excess of other fantasy films like the films from the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series (Let's not forget the Chronicles of Narnia). The costume work behind Pan and the flesh-eating creature known as Pale Face is flawless.

Although the film may not meet the high expectations formed after the 15-20 minute standing ovations received at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, it remains one of the most interesting fantasy films of the last five years (or more). More importantly, unlike most fantasy films, Pan's Labyrinth is an original fantasy tale which is not adapted from any other literary source and, for some reason, this fact only contributes to make the film a welcomed alternative to the rehashed storylines of most recent fantasy epics (and films in general).

Well, that is my review. I will update later this week.

New Trailer

Here is a trailer for the upcoming biopic of the famous children's author Beatrix Potter, Miss Potter, starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

Miss Potter

New Film trailers for this week

2006-11-07T23:03:00.000-06:00

Due to the chaos that is university life, I have failed to update this blog as frequently as I wished. In order to compensate, here are a few trailers soon to be followed by a review of Pan's Labyrinth (a Mexican fantasy tale for adults).

First, here is a trailer for the Clint Eastwood's companion film to Flags of out Fathers which also covers the battle of Iwo Jima,only this time from the side of the defeated Japanese Imperial army. The film is entitled Letters from Iowa Jima (formerly named Red Sun, Black Sand)and will most likely only be released next spring. In contrast to my dwindling interest in Flags of our Fathers, I am considerably more interested in this film (especially because it features Ken Watanabe, who is just excellent in everything). Anyway, here is a link to the trailer.

Letters from Iwo Jima trailer

Another recently released trailer is for the film The Number 23, which is directed by the horrible director Joel Schumacher (Phone Booth, Phantom of the Opera)who brought use the abysmal Batman and Robin (although Arnold Schwarzenegger saying "Freeze in Hell, Batman" remains priceless). Yet, because one of my friends likes his Phantom of the Opera and will most likely kill me if I mock it, I will be lenient on Schumacher's other films (including that one).

However, in all due honesty, this film's trailer is unintentionally hilarious and does not appear to end the never-ending downward spiral which is Schumacher's career (hopefully, we will soon be rid of him). The film is a dramatic thriller starring Jim Carrey as the protagonist which is usually enough to cast serious doubts as to film's artistic merit or quality (despite his respectable performances in films like Eternal Sunshine, Man on the Moon, or the Truman Show).

The Number 23 trailer

Here is the newly released trailer for Spiderman 3 by director Sam Raimi. Although, I am not much of a fan of the Spiderman films. Here it is nonetheless for those interested.

Spiderman 3 trailer

In addition, here is a trailer for a film entitled "Breach" starring Ryan Philippe, Laura Linney, and Chris Cooper. Based on a true story, the film revolves around the recent entry of Eric O'Neil in to the FBI and his conflicted relationship with his boss Robert Hanssen, who would later be convicted of selling state secrets to the Soviet Union (Due to its anti-communist leanings, my quasi-marxist friend will most likely avoid this film entirely). Anyway, here is the trailer.

Breach trailer

Now, finally, here is the recently released trailer of The Simpsons movie (if you haven't heard about it).

The Simpsons trailer

Pan's Labyrinth review soon (this weekend most likely).

New Film Pix Season, trailers, and the opening of Frears' The Queen

2006-10-31T22:55:00.000-06:00

For those who live in Saint John, NB, the time has come for another season of film pix (this is the third season). The first film of this season is Wah-wah, an autobiographical film directed by Richard Grant which depicts his coming of age in Swaziland during the last days of the Britain's Empire. The film opens on November 7th (tuesday) at 6:30 pm at the empire theatres 10.

However, I am much more interested in film pix's december showing than this particular film. On December 5, film pix is showing The Journals of Knud Rasmussen,the film which opened this year's Toronto International Film Festival. The film is about the cultural conflict between an Inuit Community and the teachings of the Christian missionaries. The entire film is in the Inuktituk language and it is a follow up to Zacharias Kunuk’s first film, ATANARJUAT: the Fast Runner (which I have been desperately trying to see).

Anyway, I hope some individuals can come to either one of these films (If I were to choose, I would pick the latter, december showing).

New Trailers.

Trailer for Notes on a Scandal which stars the always great Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench(not playing a haughty aristocrat), and the likewise excellent Bill Nighy. The film revolves around a a teacher's "scandalous" relationship with one of her students and its effects on the surrounding community.

Notes on a Scandal trailer

On a final note, here is a link to a website which has compiled a list of what they claim are the best 1000 films ever made (If you have the time to glance at it, it is a rather interesting list, even though I disagree with the placement of many films including their choice for the best film of all time).

1000 greatest movies

Finally, wednesday, the website of the empire theatres in Saint John has announced that Stephen Frears' The Queen (what is arguably one of the best reviewed film of the year so far and a prominant Best Picture contender at the Oscars) will be opening this friday. The film revolves around Queen Elizabeth's muted reaction to Princess Diana's death (or lack of) and the public outcry which ensued for a reaction from the Royalty's representatives (and the government now under new Prime Minister Tony Blair). Frears'film will primarily be exploring the public breach of Elizabeth's traditionalist and excessively private lifestyle. If I remember correctly, the film is billed as a drama/comedy (with less emphasis on the latter, I believe).

I'll be going to see the film to review it and I hope others will come.

May have a review of Pan's Labyrinth soon (one of the best fantasy films in the last ten years, well, outside the films of Hayao Miyazaki).

Random trailers for your viewing pleasure

2006-10-21T09:21:00.000-06:00

In an attempt to resurrect this blog from the grave after a two month absence, I will randomly post several film trailers of films I find interesting (or trailers which are so bad as to be excellent sources of hilarity). For the last two months, university has prevented me from posting regularly (or at all). Recently, I have been researching for an essay on the Present State of Canadian cinema and reading an interesting book by Katherine Monk entitled "Weird Sex and Snowshoes: and other Canadian film phenomena" (odd title, but interesting book) in which she applies Margaret Atwood's survivor thesis to films like Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter. I recommend it, despite not being overtly scholarly (scholarly enough though).

Here are a few random trailers:

Here is the full international trailer for Charlotte's web (I could care less for this film, but a friend of mine might be interested. Although,honestly, the film's sugary sweet trailer makes me want to vomit my insides. And Dakota Fanning scares me).

http://movies.aol.com/movie-trailer-clip/charlottes-web-julia-roberts

Here is a trailer for the next film of veteran director Milos Forman (One flew over the cuckoo's next, Amadeus), Goya's ghosts which I was expecting to be good...well, at least, until I saw this trailer (Stellan Skargard seems to be the only actor in the trailer who can act). Enjoy.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qQP4xhTRMA4

Here is the trailer for Steven Soderbergh's next film (a Casablanca-like film noir, it seems)The Good German, starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. I really want to see this trailer, but, due to computer malfunctions, I can not. Watch it (I will envy you as you do).

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thegoodgerman/

Here is a another trailer for the Spanish fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth (now Mexico's entry for the Foreign film Academy award), just because I can't wait to see it (the film has not obtained a negative review as of yet and has received standing ovations at all the festivals it has been shown in).

http://www.apple.com/trailers/picturehouse/panslabyrinth/trailer/

Trailers of John Curran's The Painted Veil (Naomi Watts, Edward Norton)

http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2006/NOPQR/Painted-Veil,The/trailer.php

Here is a trailer of the new film of Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) entitled Perfume: the story of a murderer. As odd as its concept is, it looks interesting. Kubrick claimed the book, on which it is based, could never be adapted into film. So, I guess we'll have to wait and see how Tykwer made out with the material.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/perfume/lg_trailer.html

Now, a trailer of "Out of the blue," a film which was well received at the Toronto International Film Festival, about a violent shooting spree in Aramanoia (in 1990) by David Gray (obviously, based on a true story).

http://xtramsn.co.nz/entertainment/0,,12252-6413547,00.html

Here are some trailer of Andrea Arnold's Red Road, a Cannes film festival winner which looks rather interesting.

Red Road trailers

Lastly, here is a trailer for Amy Berg's documentary Deliver us from Evil which revolves around the cover up of a Catholic priest's numerous child molestations. Supposedly, a very good documentary (and the trailer makes bizarre use of a Johnny Cash song, so enjoy).

Deliver us from Evil

Well, the Venice film festival is over.

2006-09-09T14:10:00.000-06:00

Before the festival's closure, Kenneth Branagh unveiled his new film, The Magic Flute, which is based on Mozart's famous opera, only now set in the trenches of WWI. Apparently, this reinterpretation of Mozart's opera obtained some decent reviews, although some pointed out several flaws (oversuse of CG was one for a critic).

Today, the Venice festival gave out its awards. Surprisingly, the frontrunner The Queen did not win the golden lion, but a chinese independent film entitled "Still life" by director Jia Zhang-Ke won the award in a surprise. This film was the last film to enter the Venice festival and was rushed in as a surprise entry earlier last week, so the director must be very happy over his film's prize. The film revolves around the opposition of a small group of individuals to the Three Gorges Dam project.

Helen Mirren obtained the best actress award for The Queen as predicted. Peter Morgan, the film's writer, won the best screenplay award.

Surprisingly, Ben Affleck won the best actor award for his role as George Reeves in Hollywoodland. Having just seen the film, I am thoroughly confused by his win. Although I admit that it is Affleck's best performance in a considerable while, that is not really saying much. Personally, I did not think Affleck was the actor needed to do the role justice, nor did he have the acting ability to do so.

Veteran filmmaker Alain Resnais won best director for his film Private Fears in Public Places.

A Best Technical Contribution award went to Emmanuel Lubezki for Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men, which has obtained some positive reviews (and features Michael Caine as a hippy, which is reason enough to see it).

Emanuele Crialese's film Golden Door, which was praised by critics and a Lion contender, was merely named the "revelation" of the festival and did not win any awards. Even though it did not win any awards, this film is supposedly one of the best in the festival and I personally can't wait to see it.

Well, that was the Venice film festival. I will move on to better things in the following weeks such as a summary of Toronto film festival highlights after its closure.

Although unrelated to the Venice film festival, earlier this week, the new host for the 2007 Academy awards was announced. After the succession of male hosts in the past three years, next year, Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting the Academy awards. A surprising, but quasi-interesting choice. We'll see how she does in March 2007 (unless they move the awards show earlier).

David Lynch's Inland Empire and Bobby

2006-09-06T21:07:00.000-06:00

Whilte there are a few films which are falling through the cracks in my Venice film festival coverage, I will address them later in a summary of the festival's highlights (and no, one of those highlights is not the appearance of Scarlett Johanson, although the news reporters seem to think it is).

Wednesday, David Lynch received a life time achievement award at the Venice festival. He thoroughly deserves it. Afterwards, he unveiled his new film "Inland Empire" starring Laura Dern and Jeremy Irons to a Venice audience. The film is approximately 180 minutes long (yikes!!). Suffice it to say, the film did not go over too well with some critics and the audience were left puzzled by the film's incomprehensibility. Apparently, the film includes a scene in which a family spontaneously possesses rabbit heads and go about their daily lives (I need to see that!!). Variety and Lee Marshall both panned the film and declared it devoid of meaning despite its ambiguous and confusing nature. They also both faulted the film for its use of digital video (Lynch, like other directors, recently decided to now film using DV) which they claim made for poor visuals and cinematography. However, George Macnab from the Guardian Unlimited appeared to enjoy it in his review and recommends that one view the film without struggling to grasp its precise meaning. All the reviews also commend Laura Dern's performance in the film and some do agree that the film does possess some positive notes. Although, the general opinion is negative, some calling the film an incoherent mess. One correspondent after the film's screening even asked Lynch if he was alright, you know, in the head. Others tried to coax him into an explanation (especially of the rabbit head scene), but Lynch, as always, refused to explain it. At the conference's beginning, Lynch even declared to a confused press that the film is meant to make perfect sense.

Then again, since when have Lynch films been coherent? Eraserhead surely was not, but there was meaning behind the film's ambiguous and strange nature. Like The Fountain, another film which I was eagerly awaiting to see has been plagued with negative criticism. Yet, I will still need to see the film to judge it properly and, since I am a Lynch fan (I may even be doing a film studies graduate proposal revolving around his films), I may end up liking it regardless of bad press. Oh well, at least, Satoshi Kon's Paprika was well received.

As for Emilio Estevez' Bobby, a historical/ fictional film about the assassination of Robert Kennedy has obtained some positive reviews, namely from Lee Marshall. However, I will need to scour the vast plains of cyberspace in order to find more critical appraisals of this film.

On a side note, the Toronto International film festival premieres tomorrow, but I will stick with Venice till its closing and then move on to the TIFF.

UPDATE: According to The Guardian, Aranofsky's The Fountain received a 10 minute standing ovation at its public screening despite the booing at the earlier press screening. Strange that only the Guardian has revealed this news tidbit and other news reporters have continued to emphasize the boos at the press screening. Boos and standing ovations??? Now, I don't know what to think of the film and my poor old head can not take anymore confusion.

The Fountain's negative reception and other Venice news

2006-09-04T21:18:00.000-06:00

Other receptions for films at the Venice film festival.

Ethan Hawke's The Hottest State starring Catalina Sandina Moreno is not doing very well critically at the festival. Reviewer Lee Marshall, however, likes it.

Alfonso Cuaron's science fiction film Children of Men about a dystopic world in which women are infertile(due to some mysterious cause) is receiving an overall positive response, although some critics consider the film flawed due to the cold performance of Clive Owen, misuse of Moore, and some misteps in terms of writing. However, many have praised the cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki (The New World, Sleepy Hollow, ...) and Cuaron's direction which has raised the material, a P.D. James novel (of all things), above mediocrity.

However, the biggest surprise is the negative reception of Daren Aranofsky's ambitious science fiction film The Fountain, a film that I was eagerly awaiting. According to some sources, At the end of its premiere, the film received some boos from the audience because of its ambiguous and incomprehensible nature. However, it must be noted that several other sources have reported some applause at the film in addition to the "boos" and that several reports have over-emphasized the latter as in the reportage of the Marie Antoinette premiere at Cannes. The word "pretentious" has been thrown around in a virulent review from Variety. In response to the negative reception, the websites CHUD and cinemablend posted defenses of the film.

Right now, the film's response varies from mixed to a pretentious mess. The surprising part of this response is that many individuals have seen The Fountain at test screenings prior to the festival and have only written overtly positive comments about the film, some calling it one of the best films of 2006. The film has even been one of the most hyped films of the fall and yet this Venice response will probably disappoint the expectations of many, myself included.

At this point, there is not means of truly gauging the film's quality until more reviews come in (there has only been one written so far and it is by Variety). There is still the possibility that the film is good, but let's not delude ourselves yet. The early negative response to the film should not be dismissed yet.

UPDATE: A day has passed and a new negative review of Aranofky's The Fountain from the Hollywood Reporter came out as well as repeated news stories about the film being "roundly booed" at the festival. Other negative reviews came from Lee Marshall, although had positive comments about the film's score by Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet (who also wrote the great score for Requiem for a Dream). Although, in the Hollywood Reporter review, Ray Bennet implicitly aligns Aranofsky with terrorist suicide bombers in the first lines of his review:

"Early in "The Fountain," writer-director Darren Aronofsky's flatulent dissertation on the benefits of dying, someone says, "Death is the path to awe." Aw, shucks, isn't that what suicide bombers are led to believe?"

I find this comment overtly irrational and just bizarre (what is a side comment on terrorism doing in a review of a science fiction film?). Although, the line "Death is the path to awe" is not really an example of great writing and could be criticized in this regard, but this escapes Bennet. Despite Bennet's review, the film has a few defenders, but mostly from websites like AICN and Jo Blo's emporium (should I trust a review from someone referring to himself as Jo Blo?).

On the fanboy/fangirl side of The Fountain controversy, fanboys (and fangirls) are blindly invoking what I like to term the "2001 defense". Upon its release, Kubrick's 2001: a space Oddysey was initially panned critically, but is now regarded as one of the best science fiction films ever made, so it must logically follow that the boos directed at The Fountain are a sign of the audience's inability to understand the 'complex' film and thus soon enough The Fountain will receive the acclaim it deserves as did 2001.

I'll admit that I had high expectations for this film, but this argument strikes me as a case of extreme denial coming from the film's fanboys/fangirls. The film may just not be that good and they may soon have to accept it (it will probably crush their fanboy/girl hearts). Then again, festivals are occasionally notorious for overeacting towards certain films and harshly judging perfectly competent films. (The critical division over the Dancer in the Dark win at Cannes comes to mind as well as the disappointment at Polanski's win at the same festival for the Pianist).

In the end, I will still go see it (at least, the film's score promises to be interesting, if nothing else) and judge it for myself.

More Venice film festival reactions

2006-09-03T21:38:00.000-06:00

First, I'd like to thank the filmgoers at the Venice film festival for booing Oliver Stone's World Trade Center (I hated the film) and giving it the reception it deserves. Karma does exist in the world of cinema. I will now be able to sleep a little easier (coming from an insomniac, that is not saying much).

In contrast, Spike Lee's documentary When the levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts was applauded by its Venice audience. I have actually seen this film and it is a very well constructed documentary which exposes the failings of the Bush government and FEMA in helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Stephen Frears' The Queen has received a very positive response and the reaction to Helen Mirren's performance as Queen Elizabeth II has been great. The film's director and cast even received a 15 minute standing ovation after the film which is usually a sign of quality (usually, although not always).

However, the film "A few days in September" featuring Juliette Binoche and John Turturro has received mixed to negative reviews and comments.

Veteran filmmaker Alain Resnais has received very good response from Venice critics for his film "Private Fears in Public Places," thereby proving that he has not lost his talent.

Paul Verhoeven's film Black Book, about the Dutch anti-nazi resistance, has, overall, obtained a positive response from critics, although one critic had minor complaints. Verhoeven usually directs horrible films like Showgirls, Starship Troopers and the excruciatingly painful Hollow man, so this very positive reaction to his Dutch film will no doubt help his career.

Satoshi Kon's unique animated film Paprika, the only animated film in competition for the Golden Lion, received a standing ovation after its premiere. Now, I can't wait to see it (more so than before.

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Daratt (Dry Season) has also been well received at the festival.

I will update the blog with more information later.

Venice film festival- first day and reactions

2006-08-30T22:29:00.000-06:00

I will be covering the Venice film festival sporadically in the following days, so watch out for updates and new posts. Will post news soon.

Ah, the Venice film festival. Last year's festival winner Brokeback Mountain grew into one of the most important and best films of last year among many other films. Now, a year has passed and here we are again. David Lynch is premiering his new film Inland Empire and Aranofsky's The Fountain will be in competition. Oddly, a controversy has emerged regarding the competing Rome film festival which is opening around the same time as the Venice film festival and will premiere Fur, a biopic about the famous photographer Diane Arbus. I find it quite silly that representatives and supporters of the Venice film festival are threatened by the new Rome festival, considering their festival is one of the oldest film festivals in the history of film (if not the oldest). Oh well...on to the films.

After wading through a sea of Venice film festival news stories primarily focused on how sexy Scarlett Johanson is (I...Don't...care), I was able to find a few reactions to Brian Depalma's Black Dahlia, the film which opened the festival yesterday and which features Scarlett Johanson (as well as Aaron Eckhart, Josh Harnett, and Hilary Swank). Suffice it to say, the initial reviews are mixed, but they still acknowledge that the film does possess positive elements. The film was mainly criticized for slight overacting from some actors, some minor comments on the film's writing and structure, but mainly the film has been seen as overplaying some of its film noir content such as the film's love triange involving Josh Harnett. In addition, one critic seemed to think DePalma overdid and exagerrated some of the film's elements. Overall, however, the film appears to be viewed as an interesting, but also a disappointing and flawed film.

However, I stress that I have only been able to find a few critical responses on the film, so if the film receives more praise, I will comment on it and reinterpret the film's critical reception. Sadly, news reporters seem to be more interested in dedicating entire stories to Scarlett Johanson. The festival runs from August 30 to September 9th, so it may be a few days till more critical responses are released.

On a side note, Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland, another noir inspired film, which stars Adrian Brody is getting a response similar to Black Dahlia. Good and passable, but could could have been great. The film revolves around the attempt to solve the mystery of actor George Reeves' murder/death. Reeves played the television version of Superman.

As for Infamous, the odd project which revolves around the same plot as Capote, the creation of his non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. The project had begun around the same time as Capote, but was too far into production to stop upon hearing of a parallel project using the same story. So, now, we have two films with the same plot following each other by a year. Early word on the film is that Toby Jones plays a good Truman Capote and the film itself is good, but does no reach the level of Capote. The strangest happening resulting from the film's showing are the news stories reporting how Daniel Craig lost his "masculine" bond image by engaging in a homosexual kiss with actor Toby Jones. I find these odd news stories floating online to be absolutely ridiculous. Since when does engaging in a gay kiss make you less "masculine" whatever that even means anymore (I personally hate the term). It's rather sad that news reporters are reinforcing these stereotypes for the sake of a minor story. Obsessions with Scarlett Johanson and now this. I am beginnning to despise these online news writers.

On a side note, surprisingly, Daniel Craig plays Perry Smith in the film, so Infamous is definitely going with a different characterization of Smith than Capote.

Finally, the documentary The Us vs John Lennon (which I want to see) has been overall very well received by Venice, despite a few minor critics who did not like it. One reporter even claimed that it could be nominated in the Academy award's documentary category. I can't wait to see this film now.

In order to please my fancy and hopefully yours, here are a few new trailers on the side in order to ease the wait.

Fur (biopic of photographer Diane Arbus)
http://movies.aol.com/movie/fur/26835/trailer

Pan's Labyrinth (new teaser trailer. Can't wait to see this fantasy film)
http://www.chud.com/demo/pantease.html

Little Children
http://www.apple.com/trailers/newline/littlechildren/large.html

The Queen
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/thequeen/large.html

Curse of the Golden Flower- Zhang Yimou's new film after Riding Alone for a Thousand Miles (his new drama). It is a return to the martial arts epic of Hero and House of a Thousand Daggers. I don't know what to think of a new Yimou martial arts film, so here is the trailer. Judge for yourselves.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/curseofthegoldenflower/teaser/

December picks for my fall preview.

2006-08-30T09:12:00.000-06:00

Because I am rushing to cover the Venice film festival, I will merely list my picks and will later update the posts concerning the november and december releases.

Well, here are my picks.

December 1st.

Bug, directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist, the French Connection). I can barely defend this choice, but, out of most horror films coming out, at least, this one has an interesting premise and this horror/ thriller is directed by William Friedkin who has yet to make a comeback, but is due. For a synopsis and a trailer, merely look back to one of my past posts. In the end, I may give it a shot.

December 8th

The Good German, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney and the always great Cate Blanchett. Anything with Cate Blanchett should be seen, out of principle. In addition, it's been awhile seen Soderbergh has moved past the Ocean Eleven phase (he is making a third last one though) and Bubble boy, despite its unique conception and distribution, did not interest me. This film, however, does. In the film, an American journalist goes to post-war Berlin to find his former mistress only to become immersed into a murder mystery involving a missing husband and a soldier's dead body.

Breaking and Entering, directed by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain) and starring Jude Law. I don't necessarily like this director, although I am one of the few individuals who defends The English Patient to a certain extent. I still don't think it deserved Best Picture or that it is such a great film, but it is still a "good" and competent film regardless of what others say. This film revolves around a landscape architect who begins to reevaluate his life after an encounter with a young thief. There has been some positive hype for this film and it could be another Oscar hopeful, so the film could turn out to be a competent film. Although, I have doubts with most films starring Jude Law, even though I do not dislike him as an actor in everything.

December 15

The Blood Diamond, directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai) and starring Leonardo Dicaprio, Djimon Hounsou, and Jennifer Connelly. Although I didn't like Zwick's last project The Last Samurai, he has an interesting cast tied to this one. When I say "interestin cast," I am not referring to Dicaprio, but more Connelly(A Beautiful Mind, Requiem for A Dream) and Hounsou (In America). Within the film, the paths of a mercenary (Dicaprio0, a fisherman (Hounsou), and an American journalist (Connely) connect as they hunt a priceless diamond in the Sierra Leone of the 1990s. It could be an interesting film to watch.

December 22nd.

The Painted Veil, directed by John Curran and starring Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, and Liev Schreiber.

Notes on a Scandal, directed by Richard Eyre and starring Cate Blanchett( a busy and interesting year for Blanchett, it seems) and Judi Dench. This is possibly another Oscar contender depending on the performances. Based on a screenplay by Playwright Patrick Marber (Closer).

December 29th

Pan's Labyrinth, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Can't wait to see this fantasy film. Find the Trailer and watch it.

Perfume, directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). Kubrick once said the novel which this film is based on was impossible to adapt. I guess we'll have to see.

Children of Men- directed by Alfonso Cuaron(Y tu Mama Tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and starring Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Michael Caine, and Chiwetel Ejiofor (love this actor). I have doubts about this science fiction film, mainly because it is based on a PD James novel, but the interesting cast and the director, whom I like, may lure me to the theatres.

Although they do not officially have a release date yet, here are some more films to look out for when they are released either on DVD or in theatres (or through more illegal means).

Half Nelson-Ryan Fleck. (just released awhile ago, but may expand due to positive box office numbers)

The Wind that Shakes the Barley, by Ken Loach and starring Cillian Murphy.

The Host- a strange Korean monster movie.

Time and The Bow by director Kim ki-duk. The Bow will eventually be released on DVD and Time will premiere at one of the recent festivals.

David Lynch's Inland Empire.

Paprika by Japanese animation director Satoshi Kon.

Idiocracy-Mike Judge.

Goya's ghosts-Milos Forman (whenever it comes out)

Letters from Iwo Jima (previously known as Red Sun, Black Sand) - Clint Eastwood

Sweeney Todd- Tim Burton- a Burton musical!!! I'm sold. It isn't even in production yet, but I am already impatient.

If I think of others and I know I will, I will add them.

November releases to watch out for.

2006-08-28T21:03:00.003-06:00

Since I am in a hurry, I will merely post my picks and update later with comments as in the October post. Well, here they are.

November 3rd

Volver, directed by Pedro Almodovar. Winner of two awards at Cannes. best screenplay and best actress which was paradoxically awarded to the entire female cast (one of which is Almodovar's past muse, Penelope Cruz). The film is about the return of a dead mother to her home town as a ghost to resolve the problems she could not solve while alive. After her arrival, her invisible presence becomes a comfort to her remaining daughters in the community. I really don't have much to say about this film because the name Almodovar (one of the greatest directors living) should be enough to entice you into seeing it.

Borat-Larry Charles. Having never seen Da Ali G show or any of Sacha Baron Cohen, I don't know what to expect. However, if this mockumentary actually manages to satirize the stereotypical and naive American perception of individuals from the Middle East, in this case, Kazakhstan, then the film may be worth watching. However, if the film's comedy reinforces these already present stereotypes and does not mock them, then I may be inclined to avoid it. I might as well be watching an American action or war film with stereotypical Middle Eastern characters.

Flushed Away-I chose this film mainly since it is a product of the Aardman Animation (Wallace and Gromit among other stop motion short films) and they have yet to let me down. However, I should probably stress that this film is in CG, but a CG which mirrors their past stop motion work (strange, but true).

November 10

An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus -directed by Steven Shainberg and starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. (for some unknown reason, I like this actor). This film is premiering at the Rome festival which will begin shortly and is competing for attention with the Venice film festival. The biopic of the famous photographer Diane Arbus has recently been renamed "Fur" (what a drastic name change, if I ever saw one). Since it wil be released soon at the festival, we will have to wait to gauge its quality, although I am hopeful.

November 17

-The Aura, directed by Fabián Bielinsky (Nine Queens). This is an obscure film with an odd premise. The film revolves around a lonely taxidermist (a rare profession in film) who, through some fateful accident, is allowed to fulfill his dream: to commit the perfect crime. The positive responses to this film are already enough to lure me into seeing it.

November 24

The Fountain - directed by Darren Aranofsky (Requiem for a Dream, Pi) and starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz (loved her in The Constant Gardener). I almost see no need to write a synopsis for this film, considering that I have been harping about it for quite awhile and the hype behind it will eventually reach your deaf ears. In short, this may be one of the most interesting science fiction films to be released this year outside Danny Boyle's Sunshine. Positive test screenings already promise, at the very least, a competent film, although there is still the possibility that the film will turn out to be an ambitious failure. Because I am lazy, here is an incredibly vague synopsis from imdb.com : "As a 16th-century conquistador, Tom (Jackman) discovers the Tree of Life. He spends the next 1,000 years searching for a way to save his love, Izzi (Weisz), as he begins to develop an understanding of the mysteries that have plagued him for centuries." The film itself is divided into three time periods in which Jackman's character will travel.

For Your Consideration - directed by Christopher Guest. It is another Christopher Guest mockumentary. What more could you ask for? The film is oddly about the creation of a film named "Home for Purim" and the three actors who perform within it as the film is already garnering some awards season hype. Guest's film captures the rising hype and excitement caused by the fictional film's production.

Bobby - Emilio Estevez (it's exactly who you are thinking of). This is a historical/fictional film about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Although I have my extreme doubts about Emilio Estevez taking a shot at directing, I'll admit that he has obtained an interesting and oddly ecletic cast which includes Anthony Hopkins (one of my favourite actors), Laurence Fishburne, Demi Moore (?), Martin Sheen, and William H. Macy. On a negative note, the cast also features Lindsey Lohan, Ashton Kutcher, (in a drama!!! A sign of the apocalypse) and a few other odd casting choices. However, the good actors and actresses may compensate for the bad and thus create a competent film. At least, I hope that's what happens.

The History Boys - directed by Nicholas Hytner. A film adaptation of a famous broadway play about reckless and "unruly" students (as a synopsis reads) being taught history at a grammar school in the 1980s by diverse teachers with unique teaching styles. I mention this film because the play on which it is based is very popular (apparently) and they might just be able to pull off whatever attracted individuals to the play in this adaptation. Well, maybe, although adaptations of famous broadway plays are often cursed.

May have a brief 250 word film review of Little Miss Sunshine posted soon.

October film release dates

2006-08-27T21:12:00.000-06:00

First, I'd like to state how happy I am that Kelly Macdonald won best supporting actress in a television movie for "Girl in the Cafe" and that the film itself won the best television movie award at the Emmys (The film features songs by the band Sigur ros which I now love). Sadly, I am probably the only one who cares about this Emmy win or any Emmy win for that matter.

Anyway, on to more of my film picks for the fall. I will eventually update the last post with more a brief one- sentence synopsis for each film and add their respective trailers, if any.

October 6

-The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull). Although I have doubts about this American remake of the Hong Kong crime drama "Infernal Affairs," the film could be a potential surprise. The cast features Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, among others. The film revolves around two moles within the Boston State Police department and the Irish mafia, respectively, who are both assigned to discover the identity of the mole which has infiltrated their side.

-The Queen, directed by Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things)- The film stars Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II and, if played well, her role may garner her an academy nomination. Coincidently, Helen Mirren has also played Queen Elizabeth I in the television miniseries Elizabeth I. Hopefully, she will avoid the dismal fate of being typecast as royalty for the rest of her life. This specific film depicts Queen Elizabeth's reaction to the death of Princess Diana as well as the following conflict with Prime Minister Tony Blair over the impact of the tragedy in the public and private sphere.

October 13

-Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting). A science fiction film starring Cillian Murphy about a crew of astronauts sent to regenerate a part of a dying sun years after the mysterious disappearance of the last expedition. Why I am interested in this film? It's Danny Boyle and Cillian Murphy is an interesting new actor.

-Shortbus- directed by John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch). From this point on, this film will probably be reductively known as the "kinky sex" movie which is quite sad since it is mean to be genuinely good. In fact, it was supposedly one of the few bright spots at the disappointing Cannes film festival. I can't wait to see it, but I doubt it will evern come to any theatre near here.

-Little Children, directed by Todd Field (In the Bedroom). This film is possibly another contender (which is never always a good thing) for next year's Oscars which stars both Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connelly. The film's plot revolves around the intersecting lives of two newlywed couples within a community and the trouble which arises from this unstable relationship. The film is an adaptation of a Tom Perrotta novel.

October 20th

Flags of our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood(Unforgiven, Mystic River). Having already covered this film, I see no need for a new synopsis. Suffice it to say, this is the first film of Eastwood's twin project involving the battle of Iwo Jima from the American perspective. The other film is Red Sun, Black Sand which depicts the Japanese perspective of the war with an entire Japanese cast who speak Japanese (Rob Marshall could learn some lessons from this project).

Marie Antoinette, directed by Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation). I'll need to explain this choice. Despite the tepid reception at the Cannes film festival, my dislike of Kirsten Dunst, and the historical innacuracies which are bound to plague the film, this film may not be as bad as claimed. First, at Cannes, there was also enough critics who actually enjoyed the film and it was reported that the initial boos after its showing were rather small in number and grossly exagerrated. Although the film has been criticized as superficial by some, the cinematography as well as set and costume design (the costumes will probably garner it an Academy award nomination) seen in the trailer could redeem the film of a few flaws. In other words, the film looks beautiful and could satisfy me on a purely superficial level ("wow, look at all the pretty colours" superficial). I still doubt the film will be good and I am not a personal fan of Sofia Coppola's last works, but, given my low expectations, it could surprise me.

The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan (Following, Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins).
Christopher Nolan's next film starring the always interesting Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman (who is considerably less interesting). The film revolves around the intense rivalry between two magicians. A rivalry which will have grave consequences for both involved.

Running with Scissors - directed by Ryan Murphy. This is another of those comedy/drama films with a quirky and disfunctional family somewhat akin to Little Miss Sunshine. In the film, Augusten Burroughs (Joseph Cross) is handed over by his emotionally distraught mother and alcoholic father to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, played by Brian Cox. One of the main draws for this film is its cast. The film features Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Brian Cox, Annette Bening, Evan Rachel Wood, Joseph Cross, and Alec Baldwin. What made me choose this film as one of my fall picks was its interesting trailer. If you look at my past and earliest posts, you can find a link to the trailer.

October 27

Babel- directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Amorres Perros, 21 Grams). For this film, Inarritu won the best director award at the Cannes film festival. Although some reactions were mixed, the majority was very positive. This is actually one of the films I am most anticipating this fall. The film's cast is composed of Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Kôji Yakusho. I love both the past work of the director and writer Guillermo Arriaga who have collaborated to produce Amores Perros and 21 Grams. Arriaga recently wrote the screenplay for the film "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" which is also a good film (although not great).

Films to watch out for in the fall

2006-08-26T21:36:00.000-06:00

Ah, Fall, the season when good films emerge from the tattered remains of the cinematic cesspool known as the summer. It is also during the fall when all those oscar hopefuls come out. Some of them are good while others become mediocre dissapointments.

Now, I will list what I think are the most interesting films coming out to theatres this fall along with their release date. If you wish to know more about these films, then head over to imdb.com. If it pleases my fancy, I will later attempt to provide a synopsis for each or trailers which often explain the film's premise. I will also add and update the list withh more films as I go on. Anyway, here are my picks.

September 1st

-This Film is Not Yet Rated-a documentary by Kirby Dick attacking the often arbitrary methods of the MPAA ratings system.

-Riding Alone for a Thousand Miles- film directed by Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern, Ju-Dou, Hero) about a father who travels to China to videotape a famous opera player's performance to compensate for his past actions towards his estranged son.

September 8th

Hollywoodland - Allen Coulter. Hearing some interesting things about this film, but I still have vague reservations, given that it features Ben Affleck (who dies in the film, which is a plus).

September 15th

Black Dahlia - a film directed by Brian DePalma. I know, I know, the film features Josh Harnett whom I hate and DePalma hasn't made a good film in quite awhile (I would say since the Untouchables), but this film could actually be good. Possibly. I don'k know anymore.

The Us vs John Lennon - a documentary about the repressive actions taken by the US government to silence John Lennon's antiwar activism.

September 22nd

The Science of Sleep- a film directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind) starring Gael Garcia Bernal. Although, the film has received mixed to negative reviews, many agree that the film is visually beautiful, but lacks proper narrative structure (which Kaufman may have provided) and competent performances. Still, it could be interesting...on a purely superficial level.

All The King's Men - Steve Zaillan. Although this may be a clear Oscar pony and it possesses the stigma of being known as a remake, the cast is too good to ignore. It features Sean Penn who seems to be overacting in every scene, but the rest of the cast such as Patricia Clarkson and Anthony Hopkins will probably compensate.

September 29

The Last King of Scotland - directed by Kevin Macdonald. Although the trailer is underwhelming and Forrest Whitaker seems to overact to an insane degree in it, there is very little else coming out this weekend of interest except the following film.

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints- directed by Dito Mondiel. A Sundance hit and winner of two awards (best director and best ensemble) in the vein of Scorsese's Mean Streets, only set in the 198os. There has been a lot of praise for this film and Robert Downey Jr.'s perfomance as well as that of Shia LaBeouf. So, I'm quasi-interested (I should stop using the prefix "quasi").

Will continue fall preview soon.

Shortbus trailer

2006-08-25T21:21:00.000-06:00

In preparation for university, I will be updating less on this website from now on, although I will still be covering the Venice film festival (next week, I believe).

For now, watch this extended trailer of John Cameron Mitchell's next film shortbus. Mitchell was the director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (and he played Hedwig). The film is about a group of new yorkers who discover an underground salon (named Shortbus) which features art, politics, drugs, and kinky sex, well, mostly the latter. The film premiered at Cannes and was one of the very few films to survive unscathed from the disappointing festival (Southland Tales, on the other hand, did not). It is mean to be a very open exploration of sexuality and human relationships. I am one of the very few who really wants to see this film despite its overt sexually graphic nature. Mainly, because I loved Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and can't wait to see what director John Cameron Mitchell has created now. Well, here is a link where you can glance at the full trailer with an introduction by John Cameron Mitchell.

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2755199

Enjoy!

Uwe Boll boxing match and new William Friedkin movie trailer

2006-08-22T15:10:00.000-06:00

Remember when Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead, Bloodrayne), one of the world's worst directors, challenged the critics, who gave his films bad reviews, to a boxing match, of all things. We all had a good collective laugh over that absurd challenge. I thought dueling over dissenting opinions was over quite a few centuries ago. Well, apparently, it is actually happening and some critics have accepted to enter the ring. The boxing event will take place in Vancouver of British Columbia (Canada!!! I wish I could go see Boll getting pummeled!).

Think of it, Canada may now be known as the country in which Boll was finally punished for his cinematic sins. What an honour. I could not be more sarcastic.

In addition, there is always the chance that Boll is a boxing genius and will trounce all his opponents. Although, I sincerely doubt it and hope not. The man must be held accountable for his artistic crimes against humanity.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entryid=356343

On a side note, the teaser trailer for new film "Bug" (stupid title) by director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) has just been released. The film appears to be a horror film or thriller about a paranoid war veteran who sees bugs everywhere (or are they real?) and secludes himself in a hotel room with "lonely woman" as a synopsis reads. For some reason, the trailer reminded me of an X-files episode in which bugs entered the characters flesh and drove them insane. There are hints of that in the trailer, although the entire bug infestation may just be a collective hallucination. Who knows? It looks quasi-interesting and rather unique coming from Friedkin. However, it contains the actor Michael Shannon whom I hated in the film World Trade Center (which I also hated). The film also features Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr.. Well, here's the teaser.

http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1470049&sdm=web&qtw=480&qth=300

Lastly, here is a trailer for the documentary about the arbitrary and repressive nature of the MPAA ratings committee entitled This Film is Not Yet Rated. I can't wait to see this film, although its weak trailer does nothing to further my interest. The interesting response to the film, however, does.

Here is the trailer:
http://live.video.rainbow-media-online.com/video.jsp?video_id=6054&template_id=1&subcategory_id=2383

In addition, for a quick rundown of the MPAA rating system, watch this funny clip promo for the film (well, quasi-funny). http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2759205

New hilarious trailer of Macbeth reinterpretation among other things

2006-08-19T20:43:00.000-06:00

I just found a trailer for a September bound modern remake of Shakespeare's Macbeth and it is absolutely hilarious. In order for others to benefit from the healing powers of laughter, I share it with you.

http://www.macbeththefeaturefilm.com.au/DNSTUFF/QTTrailers/macbeth_large/macbeth_large.php

In addition, here is a new trailer for "The Host," the bizarre Korean monster movie involving a killer tadpole which apparently has been receiving overwhelmingly positive reactions. I am somehow intrigued.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxpQ48i4tSA

In terms of news, Charlie Kaufman (writer of Being John Malkovitch, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind) will be directing his first film "Synecdoche" (a literary term) with Philip Seymour Hoffman (love this guy) and Michelle Williams who have just been announced in the cast.

The release of an anti-war documentary in Japan called The Ants by Kaoru Ikaya which revolves around a group of Japanese imperial soldiers who were ordered to continue fighting in China even after WWII's end. In addition, the Japanese Prime Minister visit to a war memorial site which honors former war criminals has angered the Chinese government and prompted them to announce the production of a Chinese documentary on the Rape of Nanking. Odd developments this week.

Well, that's all for now. I may update this post later with more news. Near the end of august, I will be covering the Venice film festival. Before then, I may give you some information about the New York Film festival (although, a lot of its films are the same as those in the Venice and Toronto festivals).

Finally, the trailer to "Guide to Recognizing your Saints" has returned.

2006-08-18T05:47:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to a trailer of a sundance hit which won two awards and some claimed to be the best film of the festival. Hell, some claimed it saved the festival from mediocrity. Robert Downey Jr.'s performance has been praised considerably along with the rest of the cast who won an ensemble award at the festival. Dito Mondiel, the director, even won the best director award for a dramatic feature. A few weeks ago the trailer went up on myspace, but only for a day. Now, it's back for your viewing pleasure. Here it is.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=56247487&MyToken=cecd273f-2457-46f1-8b80-2ab04f001259

Tim Burton News, dancing Christopher Walken, and other random news

2006-08-17T21:28:00.000-06:00

Apparently, recently, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have finally secured the rights to the broadway musical thriller "Sweeney Todd" (which is set in the Victorian period) which combines comedy with gothic elements (pure Burton) and production will commence shortly for a film adaptation. Because my fingers are tired, here is the news story from rottentomatoes along with a synopsis. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entryid=354615

A film which combines the best of Burton and a musical (a supposedly great musical at that). Hell, I'm sold. It's just sad that we'll have to wait till 2007 to see it.

Speaking of musicals, also announced this week is the casting of Christopher Walken in a remake of John Waters' 1988 comedy musical Hair Spray. If Chrisopher Walken dances and sings, I'm in. Although to see Walken dance, I could just as well watch the Spike Jonze music video Weapon of Choice. Meh, I'd rather watch Walken go crazy on a dance floor in the context of a film and if he sings, it will be an added bonus (I doubt it though). Here is a link to the story.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entryid=354932

Lastly and most bizarrely is the news of two twin projects revolving around the same source material. The material is "Journey into the West," a very well known and popular Chinese fantasy tale (which I have been trying to find, but alas I could not). On one side, Jet Li and Jackie Chan will pair up for the first time to create a film in which a modern martial artist travels back in time to confront the Monkey King (of the Chinese fantasy tale). The odd part of this story is the rumour that Peter Jackson is interested in directing this film (who knew?). Although, it is only a rumour. Frankly, this project does not interest me so much because it just sounds silly, but the second rumoured project does.

The other rumoured twin project based on this fantasy tale is just as strange in terms of the paired collaborators. Apparently, Steven Spielberg wants to direct an adaptation of the fantasy tale along with Zhang Yimou (whom I love). An odd pairing, for sure, but this project will probably be a closer adaptation of the tale than one involving a time traveling martial artist. I am excited just because Zhang Yimou is interested and I have always loved the beautiful cinematography of his films. Although, this one could be a complete fabrication. Yet, I can always dream.

New Clint Eastwood movie Trailers and random news

2006-08-16T09:14:00.000-06:00

A new trailer has just been released for Clint Eastwood's new film projects, Flags of our Fathers and Red Sun,Black Sand. Both films deal with the battle for Iwo Jima between the United States and the Imperial Japanese army during WWII. When I first heard about Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, I thought "oh no, not another patriotic American war movie which completely demonizes another nation". Recently, I learned that Eastwood was making two films on the battle of Iwo Jima simultaneously (I believe), both scheduled for release in either 2006 or 2007. One film "Flags of our Fathers" tells the story of the battle from the American perspective while "Red Sun, Black Sand" tells the story entirely from the Japanese perspective. More interestingly, "Red Sun, Black Sand" has an entire Japanese cast (including Ken Watanabe!!!)who will actually speak Japanese in the film as opposed to Memoirs of a Geisha which forced its actors to speak English for American consumers and ignorantly casted Chinese actresses in Japanese roles (because, to the ignorant Rob Marshall, what's the difference). Thank you Eastwood.

Never have I ever heard of a similar project (or twin projects). While "Flags of our fathers" may still be the patriotic movie I envisioned(although, maybe not), Red Sun, Black Sand will compensate for this by demystifying the so called enemy (or the Japanese"Other") by showing their human relationships behind the battlefield. Eastwood has managed to circumvent the errors of former directors who have depicted an American war with an extremely one-sided bias by depicting both sides and dedicating two films to exploring them in full depth. Now, I am quite excited to see both films and will be there on opening day for both.

Anyway, here is a link to the trailer which incorporates footage from both films and surprisingly both films look quite good (I can only hope they will be also). It is a Japanese trailer, but you should still watch it.

http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2006/DEFGH/Flags-Of-Our-Fathers/trailer.php

On a side note, I found the news of Canadian director Atom Egoyan (Exotica, The Sweet hereafter) becoming a professor at the university of Toronto rather interesting, considering I trying to decide where to go for graduate school. It would be awesome to be taught by Egoyan. Although, he only teaches undergraduate courses and I would not base my decision for graduate studies on the presence of one single person. I am still mainly contemplating York university and Concordia.

Lastly, last weekend, Kevin Smith starred as a guest reviewer for the recuperating Ebert on the Ebert and Roeper show and here is a link to the audio of the show.

http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/today.html

Film Review of Brick and DVDs to watch out for tuesday

2006-08-13T21:40:00.000-06:00

Next tuesday (or this tuesday), there will be some interesting new DVD releases and here are some of them. By the way, I tend to avoid mentioning the comercial releases which will flood the local blockbuster and rental stores. Simply, because it does please my fancy to recommend what is most often garbage (ahem..Scary Movie 4). Although, if there is an interesting comercial film being released, I will comment on it.

For horror fans, Silent Hill is coming out this tuesday, although I always have misgivings over videogame adaptations (I have recurring nightmares over Super Mario Bros and Street Fighter) and it seems that they making adaptations of anything. Dead or Alive is being turned into a film. For god's sake, awhile back, there was an videogame adaptation of pacman announced. How the hell is that even possible?

L'Enfant, the winner of the 2005 Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film festival. Definitely rent. I will. Actually, don't, so my chances of renting it will increase tenfold. Arguably, the most interesting release of this week.

Two disc collector's edition of Apocalypse Now. Finally, a DVD of the film which isn't Redux (which I hate).

A new Criterion collection release, Six Moral Tales by Eric Rohmer, which you most likely won't be able to afford because, as every one knows, the producers of the criterion collection are blood sucking leeches. Blood sucking leeches which manage to make me fork over excessive amounts of money on a regular basis. Damn them and their high quality products.

Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinematheque. Documentary about the founder of la cinemateque française.

Eternity and a Day. Oddly, another Palme D'or winner, this time for 1998. The film stars Bruno Ganz who was fantastic in the German film Downfall as Hitler. Another film, like L'Enfant, which I hope to rent, but its chances of arriving are very slim.

Review of Brick.

Last tuesday, I finally rented and saw this film. I had been waiting for it for an entire year after seeing its trailer. The film's odd premise and my liking of the film noir is what lured me to watch it. Rian Johnson's Brick is a film noir detective story set in a high school environment in which our anti-hero Brendan, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (yes, that actor from Third Rock from the Sun, of all people), seeks to find out the cause of his ex-girlfriend Emily's problems within the town's drug market which is run by a teenager named the Pin. He is helped by a high school student known as the Brain in this quest. Oddly, the film is not a parody of the film noir genre, but more a modern tribute to its style and content. Anyone who has watched enough film noir films either those of Bogart or Wilder (Double Indemnity) will be able to spot all the subtle (and not so subtle) asides and parallels to the genre. Even some of the film's camera shots parallel those seen in past film noir films. The films contains familiar elements such as the femme fatale. Oddly enough, the school's principal (V.P) substitutes for the police and holds Brendan on a leash. The quick and often intentionally exagerrated dialogue of film noir is preserved in the film and may annoy some, but I loved it. It may be cheesy at times, but it is damn entertaining and often hilarious, especially when the film takes itself seriously.

Now, as for the acting, although it may initially appear as if Gordon-Levitt lacks the ability to emote in certain of the film's scenes, he is clearly trying to mimic the dead-pan and cold personaliy of former film noir anti-heroes like those played by Humphrey Bogart. Thus, his acting style is in complete conformance with the film's goal. Everyone else in the cast plays their role solidly.

If there was one quasi-problem I had with the film, it was that, for a revisionist film noir which played with the genre's conventions, I wished it had subverted them more. Although, this minor criticism can not lower my estimation of the film which I have seen because any critic should never judge a film based on one's expectations. Too many critics review the film they wanted to see rather than the film they have just watched which is why you should most likely ignore my critical aside.

Although, back to my aside, I did wish for the film to subvert more the often misogynist undertones of 1940 and 1950s film noir hidden beneath the characterization of the femme fatale who was demonized for her active nature. While it is difficult to argue when this initially misogynist characterization became transformed into a convention devoid of its former attributes, I still desired the film to do more because it often plays right into the femme fatale convention. However, this is a film noir convention and it can not necessarily be avoided if one wishes to construct a tribute to film noirs. The film, however, appears to dissipate the overt misogynist tradition of some past film noirs (not all of them). In addition, the film has a subtle critique of masculine responsibility (and obliviousness) which counters most of the potential negative influences which could emerge from the strict adherence to the femme fatale convention. In the end, I really liked this film, but I don't know how if a viewer, unconnected to the genre's past, will appreciate it as much. Although, I could see some of the uninitiated really liking this odd and unique film.

Lastly, I will admit that the film is pure pulp entertainment, but that was some pretty good "pulp".

Go rent it and try it out. Then post your comments on the film.

Random film news and two reviews

2006-08-11T21:17:00.000-06:00

I have just realized that my last post was the equivalent of a 45 minute seminar (which I once had the displeasure of doing) in blog form. So, never again will I post such a lenghty entry. Mainly, because it is tiring on the hands. Soon, I will have a picture of myself posted on the blog, thus destroying any shred of visual anonymity I have left.

First, here is a link to an indiewire article spotlighting various interesting foreign films which will be premiering in upcoming film festivals (including Venice and Toronto). I found it to be a good article, so I find no need to paraphrase it (which I would never do) and here it is.

http://www.indiewire.com/movies/2006/08/world_cinema_fa.html

New Toronto Film festival announcements include the premiere of the new film by Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), Rescue Dawn, with Christian Bale, which is about the escape of a US POW prisoner from a Vietnamese prison camp.
Here is a trailer: http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_6744.html
I can't really judge the film, but the trailer is horrible. Apparently, if I am to understand the trailer, Vietnam is a land of "darkness" from which Bale's character must escape in order to enter the "Light" (ugh...why?).

Christopher Guest (a writer of This is Spinal Tap, director of Best in Show) is premiering his new film "For your Consideration" at the Toronto Film festival.

This weekend, Sundance hit Half-Nelson is getting insanely positive reviews, but it will never come here. Ever. So, I will probably be in a depressive funk for an entire week. For the curious, the film's entire score is done by the Toronto band Broken Social Scene. Although, due to its positive reception, there may be hope for a wider release like "Little Miss Sunshine" which is being expanded on August 18 (crossing my fingers that it comes here).

World Trade Center is getting overall positive reviews, although it does not interest me in the slightest and is bound to once again reinforce the us/them mentality between the US and everybody else. With the new foiled terrorist plot bound to reinforce this same dichotomy though overexposure in the media, the film will only add fuel to the fire.
A Brazilian film called "House of Sand" is doing fairly well critically at this point and so is another film in limited release named "Concersations with Other Women" with Helena Bonham Carter.

Now for the two brief film DVD reviews (and I stress brief).

First, The Libertine with Johnny Depp. Spoilers.

After watching this film, I first thought the critics are being way too harsh on this film and it is not that bad a film. Although, it is a very good film neither. It is actually not much of anything, really which is surprising considering that the film is based on the life of the well known sexual debauchee and libertine poet and dramatist, John Wilmott, the Earl of Rochester. How anyone can make the life of the Earl of Rochester uninteresting is beyond me, but this film achieves it. First, the actors. While Johnny Depp is usually competent in any film, here, he moves from being "good" to passable and then to just "bad". In some scenes, Depp overacts considerably while in others he appears to be given the audience a performance similar to that seen in his other films and unfitting to his character. Although, it is not all bad and often Depp does rather well with the role. His prologue to the film is a great opening. Aside from Depp, Samantha Morton is fine in her role as Lizzie Barrie, but not as good as she could have been. As for the other actors, things do not fare so well. Rosamund Pike, who plays Wilmott's wife, is simply horrible and embarasses Depp in every scene she shares. In one particular scene near the end, her acting is beyond bad and somehow manages to ruin Depp's performance in the scene. John Malkovitch, who I rarely like, manages to play King Charles well enough (which was surprising to me).

Although, in the actors' defense, often the film's writing could be held to blame for poor scenes. However, overall, the writing is fine and actually quite funny at times. In no other film, will you hear music about the adventures of a King named "Senor Dildo"?

Yet, my main problem with the film was with the horrible pacing, editing and the seeming lack of a point for it all. Many of the film's scenes are not linked properly and feel disjointed when placed next to one another. Often, the film leaps in time too quickly and does not develop its events with as much care as earlier in the film. Near the end of the film, this problem is more visible and the rest of the film feels rushed. In addition, the film develops Wilmott so poorly and characterizes with so negatively near the end that he can not even play the role of the anti-hero against a Puritan society which the film tries to make him conform to. When the film attempts to turn him into a converted martyr, I am puzzled as to how does the film's previous depiction of the character justify this abrupt change in image. Nor do I believe it, despite his one action of redemption. And, I have yet to find an answer. In good hands, the film could have pulled it off. All the elements are there to do so, but the performances fail to convince. If you wish to see how a film can take a character like John Wilmott and turn him into an anti-hero against oppressive forces, simply watch "Quills" again to see Geoffrey Rush's insance and fantastic performance as the Marquis de Sade. In the end, I am in perfect agreement with Wilmott's statement in the prologue "You will not like me," only I would apply it to the film itself and not the character whom I could have liked if the film had done him justice.

I will update my post with a review of "Brick" by Rian Johnson which just came out this tuesday and which film noir fans should see.

Stray thoughts on Dogma 95, film news, and trailers

2006-08-08T20:18:00.000-06:00

Here are new recently released trailers.

Here is a trailer for Catch a Fire, the new film of Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger, The Quiet American, Rabbit-Proof Fence).

http://latinoreview.com/films_2006/focusfeatures/catchafire/hi-res.html

Here is a trailer for a film called "The Last King of Scotland" by director Kevin Macdonald, who previously directed the excellent documentary Touching the Void.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/thelastkingofscotland/trailera/

Random film news.

Paul Giamati is set to play Philip K. Dick in an upcoming biopic. Odd coincidence, since the last film I reviewed, Scanner Darkly, was based on one of his novels. I love Giamati, so I'm intrigued.

Director Rian Johnson's next film will be The Brothers Bloom. He directed last year's Brick which just came out today and I will watch shortly (and then write up a review later in the week).

Alan Ball (the writer of American Beauty and Six Feet Under) will be directing his first film, which is as of now untitled, but reportedly inspired by a novel named Towelhead by Alicia Erian. Here is a link to a description of the premise and the story. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=19291

Lastly, Wes Anderson's next film is named The Darjeeling Limited and Adrian Brody and Jason Schwartzman have just joined the cast.

Idle thoughts on the Dogma 95 movement.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of finally being able to watch two dogma 95 films, The Idiots by Lars Von Trier and Festen by Thomas Vintenberg. Both directors wrote the cinematic manifesto for the dogma 95 movement which began in 1995 when Von Trier unveiled it to the world in Copenhagen. Now, at this point, I had read the manifesto from the dogma 95 website (oddly, they have their own website, here ) and understood the movement's basic (as well as excessively bizarre) tenets and goals. http://www.dogme95.dk/menu/menuset.htm

However, after reading it once, I came to the realization that some of the movement's strict guidelines were just a tad excessive (somewhat of an understatement) and thought: How can these insane guidelines not impair the natural flexibility which directors need to work and aren't they all a little silly? Then, I remembered the actual name of the said manifesto, The Vow of Chastity, and then thorougly benefited from the healing powers of laughter for a good two hours. The following question arose: What the fuck does "chastity" have to do with film or cinema? Possibly, the word "chastity" was meant to convey the stringent self-repression needed to actually make a dogma film, but this explanation did nothing to reduce the sheer stupidity of the manifesto's name.

Then came the introduction before the manifesto and its harangue against the 1960 French New Wave (not specifically, but implied) and the general cinematic innovation of the 1960s. According to the dogmatists, although once reacting in defiance to the "bourgeois" concept of art, the directors of this wave became "bourgeois" themselves and thus did not represent a genuine cinematic revoltuion. If you want to disparage an entire movement without any argument, then simply proclaim it as the creation of the bourgeoisie and you do not have to any further. Arguments and rational criticism, who needs those? Thus, the directors who once rebelled against bourgeois conventions were now seen as hypocrites and the fabricators of an internal revolt which became an obstacle to cinematic progress. If labelling them "bourgeois" does not work, then simply call them "decadent film-makers". Although, there is some truth to this claim in that most of the New Wave directors were middle class, this fact does not negate their entire work and render it worthless. In addition, the term "bourgeois" has such a wide definition that Lars von Trier, Thomas Vintenberg, and other dogmatists could just as well be accused of being "bourgeois" and thus contributing to bourgeois cinema (whatever that is). Are they also guilty of an internal revolt? Umm...possibly.

The preface to the manifesto then goes on to declare auteur cinema or cinema produced through individualism as "decadent" (another silly label which is thrown around quite frequenly). In contrast, dogmatists construct films through harsh discipline and work together to create a uniform film. Furthermore, dogmatists believe cinema must reflect reality rather than propagate illusions or cinematic cosmetics (if you do the latter, then you are obviously a "decadent"filmmaker which is frowned upon). Oddly, if the dogmatists acknowledge that the French New Wave or 1960s film movements were initially anti-bourgeois (and they do on their website), but eventually degenerated into triviality, then by taking a diametrically opposed position and aesthetics to this once "anti-bourgeois" movement with "anti-bourgeois" aesthetics, are the dogmatists not simply returning to a "bourgeois" conception of art. In fact, the modernists of the twentieth century reacted against realism and classicism in art because they deemed it a reflection of "bourgeois" triviality. Its emphasis on the material world, its truth, and its uniformity were all grounds for frustration among modernists who desired more subjective, individualistic, and ambiguous art. Is the dogma movement's realism then "bourgeois" by promoting an extreme form of realism? It is all rather absurd and funny when one thinks of it too much.

Although, not as funny as the actual manifesto, dubiously titled "The Vow of Chastity" (I get chills everytime I write it).

First rule.
All shooting must be done on location. No constructed sets in order to emphasize the complete reality of the environment. Sounds reasonable enough. Yet, there is an added qualification to this stipulation. The props needed for a scene must be found on the location and can not be brought in. If they are not on the location, the director must find a location with the needed prop in place. Now, this is the part which seems a bit much. Picture the perfect shooting location and you need a specific prop which the location lacks . Alas, you could not obtain the prop and shoot in this Edenic location according to a staunch dogmatist. If I had to follow such rules, I could go stark raving mad over the lack of a broom on a specific location.

Second rule.
Sound must never come from outside the film's events, so as to disrupt the sense of realism. So, no film scores by John Williams or any composer. A real pity.

Third rule.
The camera must be hand-held at all times to emphasize the realism of the scene because all humans see reality as if from a wobbly camera perspective (this could arguably be true, although it still is odd). This rule is feasible and perfectly understandable. This is one of the lesser stringent restrictions and Lars von Trier would use it frequently in his future films, although his other films do not all qualify as dogma films (in fact, only "The Idiots" does, which emphasizes the difficulty of actually following these rules).

Fourth rule.
The film must be shot in colour. No special lighting is permitted. So, the beautiful and atmospheric colour compositions in urban landscapes of cinematographer Christopher Doyle would be impossible. Hell, some have actually claimed that a shot from Festen defies the dogma movement (including the director himself). It was a shot through a window curtain or near a window curtain where the light could be interpreted as artificial light. Dear God, these people are finicky and obsess over the most trivial details (almost like a bourgeois gentleman obssessively seeking to keep up appearances).

Fifth rule
Optical work and filters are not allowed during shooting. Now, come on, really. Bah. As a result of this silly stipulation, credits can not be shown in the normal fashion since they are deemed to be an optical intrusion. Thus, in The Idiots, the credits are hand-written with a chalk on a wooden board (or was it on a pavement). Why...just...why would you do that? Who cares? Really, what is wrong with these people?

Sixth rule.
The film must not possess any superficial actions such as actions involving weapons or murders, etc... Honestly, this rule is so vague that I doubt any film would get made if it was sincerely followed. There is no such thing as a superficial action inside film and in real life. According to the manifesto, a murder is a superficial action. Right...sure. If this rule were applied to Hamlet, there would not be a play because Claudius' murder of Hamlet's father would be appropriately excised for its superficiality. Sometimes, what is named a superficial action can be an important motivating force which moves the story.

Seventh rule
Temporal and geographical dislocation is forbiden. The story must take place in a specific environment and time (no Pulp Fiction or Memento-like narratives here). This rule is actually understandable given the movement's aesthetic goals.

Eight Rule
Genre films are forbidden. Now, virtually, any film can be categorized into a genre if one tried hard enough and new genres are bound to be invented later in the future, so good luck with that.

9th Rule
The film format should be Academy 35 mm. This rule is just trivial and reflects a pointless constraint on the filmmaker.

10th rule
The director should never be credited in order to subvert auteur cinema and its reliance on individualism. In all due honesty, who are these directors kidding? Everybody knows who made the film, so what is the difference whether he is not directly credited in the film. The Idiots is still known as a Lars Von Trier film. Von Trier was even nominated for a few awards for this film and won one. And, I thought he didn't direct the film.

In the end, I don't hate dogma films and I actually liked both The Idiots and Festen, but its excessive restrictions and inability to accept artistic flexibility would drive any director mad. Even Von Trier has not yet made another dogma film, although he keeps manipulating some the movement's components (hand-held cameras). Yet, when I see the long list of small and often trivial aesthetic constraints which these directors impose upon themselves in the name of realism and opposition to cinematic illusion, I am reminded of that stereotypical image of the nineteenth century bourgeois gentlemen who with similar overt discipline desires to achieve society's idealized individual within a material world while often forgetting his true self, or, in this case, his true artistic temperament.

However, all in all, Von Trier and Vintenberg have managed to evade this problem and produced two good films (I am still puzzled as to how after glancing once more at their inflexible manifesto), so what matters if their method is insane and self-destructive, given the positive end result. Self-sacrifice can often produce good art as well as artistic selfishness.

News, more trailers of films to watch out for

2006-08-06T21:37:00.000-06:00

My grandfather just had an operation, so I will not be able to post the lengthy topics I had planned for now. In order to compensate, here is some news, an assessment of the weekend's films, and some more trailers of interest.

For those interested, the Hellboy sequel has finally been attached to a new studio, Universal and will be undergoing production soon. Honestly, I wasn't much of a fan of the Hellboy film and I am definitely not a fan of most sequels. Although, I am a fan of the graphic novel (which a friend once lent to me) and series with its occasional emphasis on Gothic elements, myth, and folklore.

Sadly, some studio executives have greenlit a sequel to National Treasure. I have officially lost faith in humanity.

Critical assessment of this weekend's openings.

The Descent

According to its incredibly positive critical reception, this may be one of the best horror films to come out in a while or, actually, the only good horror film to come out. Given that horror films seem to be cursed in the critical world, the positive reviews that this film has been showered with are very surprising, in fact, quite puzzling giving the genre's poor history with the critics.
So, there must be something unique about this British horror film to avoid the horror film curse which is why you should go see it.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Oddly, this Ferrell comedy is also getting positive reviews which is a surprising feat for anything containing Will Ferrell. Like Anchorman (who also directed this film), the film probably contains a similar comic style. so, if you liked Anchorman, you will most likely enjoy this film. As for me, I've already tired of Will Ferrell's antics, so I will skip it.

Both the Night Listener with Robin Williams and Barnyar are not faring very well critically. Actually, the films are supposedly the equivalent of cinematic garbage, so avoid at all costs.

The film Quinceañera (despite its spanish title, it is an English film) is doing quite well with critics, although viewer reactions are not as positive. However, due to its limited release, I doubt it will ever make here.

Now, for more trailers of films to anticipate and frustrate you because you will never see them till they come out on DVD in two years' time.

Here is a trailer of All the King's Men with Sean Penn in which Penn seems to be overacting in every scene. Although, I will reserve my judgment till I see it.
http://www.hollywood.com/movies/video/id/3493579

Here is a trailer for Ken Loach's "The Wind that Shakes the Barley," (which contains Cillian Murphy who has been praised for his performance in this film). This is the film that took the Palme D'or at this year's Cannes film festival. I can't wait to see this film.

http://www.allocine.co.uk/film/video_gen_cfilm=110201.html (click on the high definition trailer link)

This is the trailer to Terry Gilliam's newest film Tideland (it should be finished and this is an old trailer) which will hopefully allow him to redeem himself for the Brothers Grimm. I don't even know what to make of this strange trailer, but it still looks better than Grimm. I only wish Gilliam could actually finish "The Man who Killed Don Quixote" at one point in the future.
http://www.apple.com/jp/quicktime/trailers/tfc/rosein/

Although I have no trailer, I would also like spotlight the next film of Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 days later, millions), Sunshine, which is a science fiction film opening in October (I think) and starring Cillian Murphy. Here is the official website with some making of videos. It's the best I can do. http://www.sunshinedna.com/videos/8

Update
Interesting films coming this tuesday: Brick (a film which I will rent post-haste), The Hidden Blade (I want to see this film NOW!!), Don't Come knocking, and The Inside Man (one of Spike Lee's better films), Manderlay (by Lars Von Trier), and Cavite.

Next post: I will give my opinions about my recent exposure to dogma 95 films.

More upcoming Toronto festival films and a sundance trailer

2006-08-05T14:57:00.000-06:00

Having ignored the festival for a few stray posts on different subjects, I am returning to the Toronto International film festival.

In terms of documentaries, the festival will premiere a Kurt Cobain documentary entitled "Kurt Cobain about a Son" by director AJ Schnack. Another music oriented documentary which will soon make its North American premiere at the festival, is The Us vs John Lennon" which will depict Lennon's rising anti-war stance and the American government's repressive reaction. Here is the trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/theusvsjohnlennon/large.html

For punk rock fans (which does not really include myself), the documentary "American Hardcore" will reveal the rising punk scene in the 1980s within both the United States and Canada.

Another interesting documentary is Tony Kaye's Lake of Fire. Tony Kaye was the director of American History X. The film is a look at the ongoing debate over abortion and its relation to the courtroom and society.

A documentary entitled Primo Levi's Journey by Davide Ferrario is one that I would like the see. It is about a Holocaust survivor and scholar who returns to Auschwitz to confront his past. In addition, another documentary which intrigues me with its original premise is "Blindsight," by Lucy Walker a film abou two blind Tibetan teens who decide to scale a part of Mount Everest with the help of a famous blind mountain climber named Erik Weihenmayer. Having loved Touching the Void, I feel the need to see another interesting mountain climbing documentary.

As for non-documentary films, there are too many too list and I will have to wait to hear their critical reception to gauge which ones to spotlight. However, I will mention a few more.

Glancing at the films which are coming, I was surprised to see that Sarah Polley (usually an actress, whom I happen to like in most things) will premiere her directorial debut "Away from Her" at the festival which is based on an Alice Munro story (Polley co-wrote the screenplay, it seems). Actors/actresses turned directors often fail miserably, but George Clooney, Clint Eastwood (some of his films), and now Tommy Lee Jones (Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada) have proven to be comperent directors. So, here's wishing Polley luck and can you really botch up a Munro story.

The Toronto festival will also premiere Robert Favreau's new film about the Rwandan genocide "Un Dimance a Kigali" which is based on a Gil Courtemanche book. A Canadian film by Carl Bessai entitled "Unnatural & Accidental" will also premiere and it is based on a stage play written by Metis writer Marie Clements about a murder mystery involving the deaths of ten aboriginal women.

If you want to know more of the Toronto line-up, simply go use the indiewire link on the left side because there are too many films that appear interesting and I can't list them. I admit defeat in the face of this overwhelming task. So, I will wait till the festival itself thins out the numbers of films through their reception, leaving out the few films of higher quality. Then, I will be able to comment on them. I may comment on more later, if I find some with positive reviews or responses behind it, but, alas, I may just have to wait till September.

In my next post, you will either find the following: Me whining about the state of cinematic regurgitation (remakes, sequels, adaptations, etc.) in which we find ourselves, me playfully ribbing the dogma 95 movement, more trailers, or my amateurish thoughts on how a film should be reviewed (not a guideline, I don't do restrictive guidelines) by film critics (by the way, I am not placing myself on an equal level with professional film critics, I suck too much for that).

On a side note, here are some obscure trailers to check out (they are old). Here is a trailer for a sundance film called Half Nelson which will be in limited release (very limited, NY only, I believe).

http://www.hollywood.com/movies/video/id/3536065

Here is a trailer of Christopher Nolan's next film, The Prestige.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/theprestige/large.html

Now, a trailer for Zhang Yimou's new film Riding Alone for a Thousand Miles. And, no, it is not a martial arts film like Hero or House of Flying Daggers, but a return to drama for Yimou. I have always preferred Yimou's dramatic films like Raise the Red Lantern and Ju-Dou over his more recent films, so sign me up Yimou.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/ridingaloneforthousandsofmiles/trailer/

Although I have already placed these following trailers on my myspace blog, I will put them here because they are the most recently interesting (well, some of them).

The Departed- Martin Scorsese
http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1451527&sdm=web&qtw=480&qth=300

Babel-Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Watch this trailer now!
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_vantage/babel/trailer1/

The Fountain -Darren Aranofky - watch this trailer and post your comments.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thefountain/trailer1/large.html

Well, that is all for now.

Review of Scanner Darkly

2006-08-04T21:32:00.000-06:00

Review of Scanner Darkly

Now, after a long day of collecting my thoughts about Richard Linklater's Scanner Darkly in the false hope of arriving to some a clear and unambiguous assessment of the film, I am still in the same state of mind as this morning. I also can neither give a thumbs up or down to this film or a numerical rating from which you, the reader, will gauge my true opinion of the film whether good or bad. In all honesty, I never cared for reviews which used such methods to judge a film. However, the main cause of my difficulty is the film, itself, which has left me with considerable mixed feelings and it is thus only appropriate for me to express them.

First, I will openly admit that I have a tendency to like Philip K. Dick adaptations (Blade Runner rules!!), although not all. So, when I finally saw the film, I was a little disappointed with the result, but not so much that I disliked the film. One of my main problems with the film is that the film seemed to lack coherency and proper pacing as if Linklater did not take enough time to edit the film thoroughly. Although, a logical counter-argument could be that the film's lack of structure is meant to reflect the disorienting drug-induced confusion plaguing Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves), an undercover agent who acts as a man addicted to a drug named Substance D in order to get closer to higher echelons of the Substance D market. Yet, I have always felt that , within other films revolving around drug use such as Requiem for a Dream or Trainspotting, there always seemed to be a sense of structure within the erratic pace and disorienting style of both films and this film simply does not seem to have it.

In terms of acting, Keanu Reeves is playing Keanu Reeves once more, but oddly his mediocre performance seems masked by the use of rotoscoping in the film. Like in Richard Linklater's previous film Waking Life, he uses the stylistically interesting technique known as rotoscoping, but now applies it to a more narrative-oriented film. The technique, itself, although now lacking in originality, is still amazing to see and its use in this film is a definite improvement over Waking Life. Now, back to my argument. In addition to Reeves, most of the actors from Robert Downey Jr. to Woody Harrelson all appear to overact in the film, but rotoscoping perfectly conforms with their acting style to such a degree that I forgot about this flaw. While in Waking Life, some have argued that the use of rotoscoping managed to hide and mask average performances. This may be true, but, possibly, I am surprised as to how rotoscoping can accomplish this. While others criticize the deception, I am amazed by the results, which are, in my opinion, inseparable from the product. Although, I would argue that the film's poor acting is not masked by the technique of rotoscoping, but that the often over-the-top acting of Downey and Harrelson simply fit the technique which depicts the world in an unrealistic light (perfect for a science fiction story) and thus their acting style is actually good as it achieves the desired result. If you have noticed that I did not refer to Keanu in this equation, it is merely because he is simply not very good (although not as bad as usual). However, like in The Matrix (only the first, not the sequels), the interesting material allows the viewers to rise above this flaw. As for Wyona Rider, she is passable and does not lower the film's quality.

As for the film's content, Linklater manages to blend comedic aspects with Downey and Rory Cochrane within the actual narrative fairly well. The film delves into topics such as the increasingly excessive nature of private surveillance (take note Americans) and the dangers of drug abuse use to one's consciousness as well as the often immoral and even hypocritical means which law enforcers use to suppress it. The film even appears to criticize an increasingly authoritarian state and its ability to misinterpret one's reality as easily as that of a disoriented drug addict. Both can experience a dislocation from reality like that which Arctor experiences and the government scanners will always see darkly. Yet, the film's story may be difficult to follow for some due to its seeming lack of adequate plot development and, as the film ends, the viewer may be left as disoriented as the drug addicts portrayed in the film (New Path? who are they?). However, aside from rotoscoping, I would consider this characteristic to be the film's second draw. After spending a while thinking about the film, some of the various pieces began to fall in place and I was able to understand the film's later developments, although I was still left with an artistic creation which did not feel as whole as it could have been given proper pacing, editing, coherency, and better acting from Keanu and Rider. Yet, I still loved to see a science fiction film which did not spoonfeed the viewers all the answers, even though the film is not that ambiguous or complicated. I was thus left with mixed feelings with the final result, but still enjoyed enough to give it another watch in the future.

Tomorrow, will post more on Toronto Film Festial (or the Venice film Festival) while also potentially taking some time to write about the strange and eccentric micro-movement of the mid-1990s known as dogma 95. Or possibly some more trailers or films to watch out for, whatever pleases my fancy.

More trailers to check out

2006-08-03T22:09:00.000-06:00

Here are two films (comedies) I am interested in seeing and, hopefully, one of them will come to our New Brunswick theatres at one point.

First, I will mention the film "Little Miss Sunshine," a black comedy about a dysfunctional family who travel to take their daughter to a beauty pageant. Ok, so a film about another dysfunctional family is probably not the most original plot to appear in theatres for a while, but this film is the most critically acclaimed film of last weekend openings. Due to its acclaim, it might eventually come down to NB at some time, although I am still skeptical.

Here is the trailer:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/littlemisssunshine/trailer-high.html

Now, coincidently, another film I want to see involves another dysfunctional family. The film is called "Running with Scissors" and stars Brian Cox, Annette Benning, Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Even Rachel Wood, and Joseph Cross (not a bad cast, in my opinion). The film is based on a memoir (possibly loosely based on reality) by Augusten Burroughs and its story depicts his gradual entry into the bizarre family of his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, after having been handed off to him by his parents.

Here is the trailer.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/runningwithscissors/high.html

In order to indulge myself, here are a few more quick trailer links of films I am interested in.

Pedro Almodovar's Volver, winner of two Cannes prizes.
http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2006/STUVWXYZ/Volver/trailer.php (choose a trailer link and patiently wait)

Pan's Labyrinth- Guillermo Del Toro- Watch this trailer!!
Could be the equivalent of a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland if set in Spain, 1944, after Franco has established his fascist regime. Overall positive feedback doesn't hurt neither.
http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2006/NOPQR/Pans-Labyrinth/trailer.php (click on quicktime promo trailer)

As for this next film, The Host, a Korean monster movie, it is a strange one. On imdb, the film is classified as an Action/Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Horror/ Science Fiction/ Thriller. Reviewers of the film claim that the film defies and subverts the conventions of a traditional gigantic monster movie. The film has even been called "moving," "funny," "sad," and "frightening" while receiving intensely positive reactions. Even Manohla Dargis of the New York Times called the film one of the best at the Cannes Film festival. Now, what exactly is the film about? Well, it is mainly about a gigantic mutant Tadpole which attacks a Korean city. No, I did not make that up. Now, a question arises. How in the hell can a film involving a mutant tadpole get such extremely positive responses and how can it be "moving"? Guess I'll have to see it to find out. Anyway, here is the trailer.
http://movie.naver.com/movie/mpp/mp_preview.nhn?cc=tra&nc=39841&amp;id=&from=m

I'll post a Scanner Darkly review tomorrow and later continue my exploration of the Toronto Film Festival.

2006-08-03T05:44:00.001-06:00

New trailers

2006-08-03T05:44:00.000-06:00

Here is the full trailer for the film "Infamous" starring Sandra Bullock, Toby Jones, Hope Davis, Jeff Daniels, and Gwyneth Paltrow. This film is oddly based on the exact same story as last year's Capote with Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Like Capote, this films tells the story of Truman Capote' s attempt to write the non-fiction crime novel "In Cold Blood" and his increasingly intimate relationship with murderer, Perry Smith, during its creation. Paradoxicaly, both films had begun production at around the same time and, so neither project could be cancelled. So, as a result, we have two Capote films about the same story. Will people want to see it after having seen Hoffman's excellent portrayal? Will this version of the story be better than Capote? If it is, it would be very sad since the Academy will never nominate the same story twice. Anway, here is a link to a page with the trailer. http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2006/IJKLM/Infamous/trailer.php

Here is an Apple trailer of Sofia Coppola's new film Marie Antoinette, which received a mixed reaction at Cannes.Well, here it is. Judge it for youself.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/marieantoinette/trailer1/high.html

Here is a trailer of "Sherrybaby," an independent film about a mother, once addicted to heroine, who is now attempting to renew her relationship with her daughter. The film stars Maggie Gyllenhal. Here is a link to a webpage holding the trailer.
http://movies.aol.com/movie/sherrybaby/25024/trailer

Random film news

Lars Von Trier's next film has been announced. It is entitled "The Boss of it All" and will be a comedy. It will premiere at the "Festival du nouveau cinema" in Montreal (I wish I lived there).

Young Indie film actor Paul Dano (L.I.E) will act in Paul Thomas Anderson's new film "There will be Blood" alongside the always fantastic Daniel Day-Lewis, who will play a Texas oil tycoon. It will be Anderson's first new film since "Punch Drunk Love".

Well, that's all for now.

Various personal comments and News of the Toronto International Film Festival

2006-08-02T20:52:00.000-06:00

Odd things have happened to my family since I last posted. My big brother, a medical student, who is volunteering in the Republican Dominican at a secluded hospital, has not eaten anything in three days because the food for the staff has stopped being shipped to their location which is 45 minutes away from the nearest town and surrounded by guards. Due to the stupidity of the organization which planned this venture, the volunteer staff have been without food for days. As a result, my brother and others are returning home on friday, although they may still go without food for two more days (totalling five days without food, for the mathematically impaired). I hope he gets some proper food soon or, at least, on the plane trip before he arrives to Montreal. Sigh...crazy week.

To take my mind off this horrible situation, I will post some more film related news.

Since I have recently been obsessed with film festivals, I have decided to leap ahead to September 7-16 and give you information about the Toronto International Film festival, a festival which is, at least, within reach for Canadians as opposed to the Venice Film Festival. It is the largest film festival in Canada. One day I will attend this festival (Hopefully, next year's festival, if I moved to Toronto, but I doubt it).

Although not all the films have been announced, I will mention a few which are of interest.

First, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Babel will have its North American premiere at the Toronto festival. I can't wait to see this film since I loved the Inarritu and Guillermo Arriaga team who have worked together on Amorres Perros and 21 Grams. This film will mark the end of Inarritu's Death Trilogy (the first two films were Amorres Perros and 21 Grams).

Ken Loach's film The Wind that Shakes the Barley (its name obtained from an Irish poem), which won the Palme D'or at a overall disappointing Cannes film festival early this year. The film features Cillian Murphy (Red Eye, 28 Days Later, Batman Begins) and revolves the Irish nationalist movement's attempt at independence in the 1920s. With a top festival award under its arm, it will most likely do fine at the festival, but it will not be in competition.

Other Cannes' prize winners at the festival are Bruno Dumont's Flandres (Grand Prize) and Andrea Arnold's The Red Road (Grand Jury).

Another film coming to the festival is John Cameron Mitchell's follow up to Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus, which was one of the few films at the Cannes film festival to get positive reactions. The film concerns a group of New Yorkers who meet at an underground salon which features art, music, and a lot of sexual experimentation, actually, mainly the last one. Here is a teaser trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw5F7wEJLEE

Even the new remake of All the King's Men featuring Sean Penn will have its world premiere at the festival. This was meant to be last year's Oscar contender, but problems delayed it to 2006 and here it is again set for the fall, hoping to be another Oscar hopeful. If you watch the trailer, the film is clearly an attempt to get another Oscar for Penn. Often, films that try to overreach for the Oscar turn out either uninteresting due to its conventionality or downright annoying. Yet, despite these possibilities, the academy often still nominates them for reasons I will never grasp.

Another film of interest is Kim ki-duk's latest film "Time" (Loved 3-Iron and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring). Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition, Gozu) is bound to shock and disturb everyone who views his new film "Bang Bang Love, juvenilia". At least, I have always been disturbed by his films (In fact, I will never watch Ichi the Killer again), but have been strangely led to them again and again.

I will add more films later on. Some of the more obscure, but potentially interesting films as well as the documentaries premiering at this year's festival.

Venice Film Festival and other random thoughts

2006-08-01T14:16:00.000-06:00

Well, the Venice film festival is approaching and some potentially great films are going to be in competition. And, I won't be able to see them for like another year and a half because I am secluded in a New Brunswick city with film void. Then again, any city in NB exists within a vaccum in which no decent to good films ever appear.

Some films premiering at the festival which I can't wait to see.

Firstly, Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz which I am dying to see. It has the potential either to be an ambitious mess or one of the most interesting and intelligent science fiction films in awhile (and it's been quite awhile since we've had one of those). Positive test screenings have already created some hype for this film, so it better not disappoint. At the end of August, we will know how it fares at the festival and I will post the crowd reactions or general verdict (and I stress "general").

Secondly, David Lynch's Inland Empire. If Lynch can pull another Mulholland Drive, I will die a happy man. The film has an amazing cast including Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, and Jeremy Irons. However, rarely, has Lynch been more secretive about his films than this one. When asked what his film was about, Lynch blankly replied that it was "a mystery about a woman in trouble" which is arguably the vaguest premise description I have ever read. In contrast to other films, Lynch wrote the film as it was shot (cinematic improvisation) which could possibly result in a sloppy script, but my faith in Lynch is still high and hopefully he'll create another classic. Furthermore, this film is out of competition which is rather strange for a Lynch film, but what isn't.

Surprisingly, the festival will have a few Japanese animation films in and out of competition for the Golden Lion prize.

Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, all of which I love, although some more than others) is premiering his newest film "Paprika" at the festival in competition. The film is vaguely categorized as a psychological thriller/horror/ Science fiction fiction. Hell, during its teaser trailer, I even saw glimpses of fantasy elements. The film is based on a Japanese science fiction novel. I can't wait to see this film.

Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki, will be premiering his directorial debut Ghibli film, the Tales of the Earth Sea, a fantasy tale based on a novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. At the end of the festival, based on the film's critical reception and crowd reactions, it will be known whether Goro actually has talent or is trying to leech off his father's fame. News about a dispute with his father over the making of this film and Hayao's opposition to this project is not very reassuring, but I have yet to see a bad Ghibli film, so there is still hope. Here is the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xuMos5bgOc&search=gedo%20senki

Even Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Steamboy) has a film premiering in competition entitled mushishi, but it is a live action film and not animated.

Aside from the presense of animated films in the festival, the festival also announces the return of several film veterans such as Alain Resnais (Hiroshima, Mon Amour) with his film "Private Fears in Public Places" and Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables) with "Black Dahlia". Although, to be honest, I've never been such a fan of De Palma outside The Untouchables.

Even Kenneth Branagh is premiering his new film (a musical) "The Magic Flute" which is based on Mozart's famous opera (which Bergman once directed). I have doubts as to whether he can pull it off without letting his oversized ego derail the entire film. Despite his ego, I still hold a love/hate relationship with Branagh. Love for his often good acting and sometimes competent Shakespeare adaptations, but hate for films like Frankenstein (Robert Deniro as the monster, enough said).

Hell, even more surprising is that Emilio Estevez (Yes, that Mighty Ducks guy) directed and wrote a film called "Bobby" about the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Even stranger is the casting which groups good to great actors such as Anthony Hopkins, William H. Macey, Helen Hunt, and Laurence Fishburne with Ashton Kutcher, Lindsey Lohan, and Heather Graham (WTF!!). Who knows how that will turn out? Whether the good actors win out over the bad ones to create a good film is anyone's guess.

Well, that's my Venice film festival coverage for now, but I will add more later.

On a side note, the last film I watched: Pirates of the Carribeans 2: Dead Man's Chest was not as overtly disappointing as the critics have made it out to be. Yes, Bloom is as wooden as ever and so is Keira Knightley, but to a much lesser extent. Some of the long action sequences often got tedious and the film could definitely have used some trimming in the editing department, so take note next time, Verbinski. However, Johnny Depp's performance saves and supports the film to such an extent, that I forgive its shortcomings, or more specifically, I forgot them. Bill Nighy (The Constant Gardener, Girl in the Cafe) as Davy Jones as well as Stellan Skarsgard as Bootstrap Bill also elevated the film away from the mediocrity to which Bloom and Knightley were pulling the film. Some of the action sequences although contrived and impossible were ingenious in their construction and development. In what other film will you see a three-way swordfight within a rolling waterwheel (I had to exhaust my suspension of disbelief here, but it was worth it). Suffice it to say, in the end, I did not feel as if I completely wasted my time and did get some of the summer film enjoyment which has been sorely lacking in this summer's film.

Interesting final aside, apparently, there is going to be a re-release of The Nightmare before Christmas into theatres in the fall, but only now it will be altered digitally to make it prettier. Here is a trailer to the new Digital 3-D version (I honestly don't see much difference, although there is some).
http://www.totaleclips.com/Player/Bounce.aspx?eclipid=e28315&bitrateid=253&vendorid=600

My first post for this film blog

2006-07-31T21:04:00.000-06:00

Given my horrible experiences with my blog at myspace (mainly, not being able to access my account), I have moved here to this foreign land to start anew.

Basically, this blog will be a film journal/blog in which I will post whatever random thoughts about cinema which pops into my head or occasionally events in my uneventful life. I will post film reviews of new films or whatever film I watch, film news, bring attention to upcoming films of interest, provide links to new trailer releases, or simply write about a specific topic regarding film. I may also mock the horrible state of comercial cinema if it pleases my fancy.

If you wish to glance at my very few past blog posts at myspace (which I had just created, so don't expect much) or at my myspace profile, here is a link to my myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/godard21

So, hopefully, this new blog environment will treat me better than Rupert Murdoch's cyber cesspool, also known as myspace. I have nothing to post as of yet and it is rather late, but I will probably post later some film news regarding the upcoming Venice film festival lineup and point out the various films I can't wait to see.