Pretty Poster, Nice Movie

Saw this at TIFF, was lovely.

Ghost World

SPOILERS ABOUND, BEWARE

I’ve haunted by Hollywood lately.

Or to be specific, hack Hollywood writers.

This week marks the third film I’ve seen this year where ghostly daughters visit their grieving fathers.

First there was Creation where the adorable Annie Darwin caused her Papa (Charles Darwin) to be reduced to tears, chasing a phantom across his estate.

Then there was Mad Mel Gibson playing a bereaved father on mission of revenge in Edge of Darkness. As Thomas Craven, he can shed blood with the best of them, but he’s not above calling out for Emma, his recently dispatched daughter. And while the movie is aiming for Dirty Harry status, the Hallmark Card ending with father and daughter arm in arm would make the hard-boiled hero want to swallow his Magnum.
(Spoilers, remember?)

Which bring us to today and Martin Scorsese’s pretzel-plotted thriller Shutter Island.
Here we see US Federal Marshall Teddy Daniels visited by not just his daughter, but also his dead wife. As Teddy, Leonardo DiCarprio copes as best as he can with these chalk-coloured phantoms, but there’s a fine line between ghoulish visions and The Ghost Whisper.

So Hollywood hear my plea. Enough with the ghost writing already. Surely you can find another way to show the father’s grief. I know “Show Don’t Tell” is screenwriting 101. But some things are better implied than described.

Saint Steve

My cbc radio reviews for this week are Dear John and From Paris With Love. In that film John Travolta plays one of the strangest characters you've seen in a while. Charlie Wax. A bald, biker-dude turned secret agent. (right)

If you want to see him and Jonathan Rhys Meyers blow up Paris good, go nuts. But I think you'd be better off rewatching any of the Bourne identities.

For a great stab at what's wrong with From Paris With Love, check out this review by Roger Ebert.

And for a movie that's actually worth watching, try Saint John of Las Vegas. It's a rare treat for Steve Buscemi fans giving him ample space to do his trademark slow burn.

Saint John of Las Vegas is a road movie of sorts. Steve plays John, a reformed gambler turned insurance investigator on the case of a suspicous car crash. With his no-nonense partner Virgil, they set off to visit the scene of the crime and interogate witnesses. Along the way you'll meet Tim Blake Nelson, Sarah Silverman and John Cho.


What I liked about this film is that it didn't try to oversell the comedy. This isn't going for a in-your-face laugh attack like the overhyped The Hangover. Saint John is a gentler, more grounded brand of funny. John is just a guy, trying to do a job and get back in one piece. And who better to play the sad-sack hero than Buscemi, a man whose face was built for pain. Like watching Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, you can help but root for him.

As a opposed to John Travolta's over-sized Mini Me character, John fits Steve Buscemi as well as the simple suits he wears. You might say he's typecast from his Mr.Pink days of Resivor Dogs. But I think he's just playing to his stregth.

More Mel

This week's radio/podcast review is Edge of Darkness.

In short it's a mess. Cramming the plot from the original BBC miniseries (right) into a 2hour flick just doesn't work.

The big question of course is just how Mel would do, returning acting after an 8 year absence.

I have to say the results are disappointing. The new Mel just seems angier. It's Mel against the world, nothing new.

If you're looking for a little more context on the return of Mel, let me suggest two links.

This is an interview with Mel done by a local entertainment reporter who had the temerity to bring up the whole racist drunk driver episode. The results are uncomfortable and I'd suggest illustrative.

The Shadow in his smile, is an excellent article by Geoff Boucher of the LA Times. He actually got to spend some time with the man and gets a sense of how he's struggling to put the past behind him.

As for reasons to watch Edge of Darkness? Danny Huston plays a great piece of corporate scum. Ray Winstone is fine, but really why wouldn't you just rent Sexy Beast instead?

THE SECRET OF THE TOOTH FAIRY

The secret of The Tooth Fairy is that it doesn't suck.

Here's 3 reasons why.

1) Dwayne Johnson remains a likable cross of Guy Smiley and Godzilla. Also he has the whitest teeth on Earth. Like a thousand suns. My God Man, drink some coffee, smoke a cigar, turn those things down.

2) Billy Crystal wanders on for a 5 minute cameo as the tooth fairy stock room guy, and he's actually funny. It's fun, fast and even a little naughty. Makes me wistful for when Billy Crystal movies were worth watching.

3) Stephen Merchant. If you don't know him, he's the tall skinny guy from the British The Office. He plays Tracy, a fairy administrator with "wing envy." Stephen can actually stand up to the former wrestler, he isn't easily intimidated and has a great time sniping the big buffoon.

Great stuff, too bad he's almost invisible in the trailer. But trust me, if you end up taking the kids to this one, Stephen is the one who makes it worth sitting through.

Also in other news I liked Creation and The Last Station. Check out my podcast for more info. And if some reason you'd like to actually see me, there's now a video version on the CBC site. Keep an eye on my twitter feed for links.

See ya in the dark!

20 for 2009

It's been a rough year for the big boys in Hollywood. DVD sales are weak, downloading is still a cause for fear and strangely audiences refuse to reliably go see pre-manufactured pablum like Land of the Lost. 2009 was the year when big stars couldn't guarantee a film's performance (Julia Roberts in Duplicity, Russel Crowe in State of Play to name a few..) and when
other stars came back with a bang (Hello Sandra Bullock).

Still, look long and hard and you'll see signs of hope. From Fantastic Mr. Fox to Paranormal Activity and yes even Avatar, filmmakers proved that all audiences really want are artists with vision. Someone who knows how to move the camera and has something to say.

As for the industry, both blu-ray and 3D are here to stay, which means more money for people to play with. Expect more spectacles and pray for some smarts.


From 2009 here are 20 films that stood out.

20 A Town Called Panic

It's hard to describe a film which stars a toy Cowboy, Indian and a Horse. The stop-motion animation style is primitive, the voices are just above the level of Pingu and it's freakin hilarious.

I watched this at TIFF, truly it hasn't come out in theatres in Canada yet but I couldn't leave it off my list. A Town Called Panic is one of the funniest and most inspiring films I saw this year. Silly and absurd, a blast of play-doh coloured craziness.

19 The Necessities of Life

An Inuit hunter. A case of tuberculosis. What starts as a mission of mercy becomes an act of cruelty. There are many pleasures in this moving film from Quebec. Set in the early fifties it's a bracing look at what was done to aboriginal populations in the name of good. It's also a movie about survival, even in the most unlikely places.

18. The White Ribbon

If I had to pick a single film from this year people will still be talking about two decades from now, this would be that film.

Set in a small German town on the eve of the first world war this is a movie about power, about fear and the folly of fascism. Stunning work by the director who also brought us Cache.

17. Whip It

I loved this movie perhaps more than I should have for a simple, girl-gains an-attitude-and-puts-on-some-skates, kinda film. But perhaps it was about all the things that Whip It wasn't. Whip It didn't make the heroine into some type of patsy. She didn't moon over her man (hello Bella) and it contained a nice grungy mix of gals. Good actors, great soundtrack and some body blows to cap it off. No princess in this teen wonderland. Rock on Drew.

16. Tetro

Two brothers, a woman and Buenos Aires. As I said when I first wrote about Tetro, this is a time capsule of a film. A rich sip from the pre-AVID age of cinema. It's not that Coppola has made something dated, but like The White Ribbon there's a timeless feel here, which makes up for many of the great director's indulgences.

15. The Cove

The second best documentary of the year works on many levels. As an activist film opening your eyes to a horrible crime. As a personal journey, watching a man tied to the image of the domesticated dolphin trying to make amends. And finally, as a caper, a mad mission-impossible type scheme involving high tech gizmos and daring feats. Watch the film to the end and you'll see how the director never rests on his laurels. Always finding new ways to stimulate our senses.

14. District 9

Let us now sing the song of Wikus. The regular Joe. To be honest a bit of a jerk really, with his easy smile and that late seventies mustache. Played with verve by Sharlto Copley, it's just one of the many differences that helped set District 9 apart. A heck of a first film for Neill Blomkamp. So glad Halo fell apart.

13. The Damned United

The story of a soccer coach makes it here for two reasons: 1) The amazing performance of Michael Sheen as the swaggering Brian Clough. You would think the arrogance would cancel out the charisma but instead it almost has a multiplying effect. 2) The beautiful structure of Peter Morgan's script, almost Shakespearean in the way he dissects and displays Clough's fatal flaw.

12. Crazy Heart

Another movie on the list mainly because of one performance. Somewhere around the 20 minute mark I lost sight of Jeff Bridges. He slipped entirely from view, replaced by "Bad Blake" the tarnished country star at the centre of this tale. And I aint what you'd call a country music fan, but I sure as heck was humming some of those tunes by the end. (more on the music here)

11. Fantastic Mr. Fox

Not much to add about this film except that I think it's interesting that the occasional excesses of Wes Anderson's style work perfectly in this children's tale. Although what put this on my list over Up, over Coraline, were the very adult themes Anderson managed to smuggle into this film. Something about that dance in the supermarket at the end really stuck with me. There's a subversive quality there, and the fact that Anderson cribbed it from Roald Dahl's notes makes it all the better.

10. Up in the Air

Sure it's slick. It's stylish as all hell. From the second the opening credits begin you know you're in the hands of someone with something to say. But there's also some courage there. From Reitman, willing to make a movie about the collateral damage of the Great Recession. (That empty office with the receptionist crying should be the image of the year.) And credit too, for George Clooney on taking a role that plays with his own image. Or maybe he just did it to share scenes with Vera Farmiga. Yowza!

9. Inglourious Basterds

I.B. is one of those films that has gotten better as time passed. Immediately I was disappointed with the lack of battle scenes. Sorry but you say WW2, I have certain expectations. Now I appreciate it for everything else. The glorious dialogue. The slow burn of the set pieces. The farmer's table. The German bistro. And the sheer balls of Tarantino who plays tribute to his idols while smashing them to pieces.

8. In the Loop

The best movie about the Iraq War wasn't about the war. It was a comedy about the run up to the war. And it was made by a bunch of Brits. If Col. Hans Landa is this year's villain, Malcolm Tucker is a close second. The crown prince of cursing. A master of vigorous vulgarity. No amount of alliteration can prepare you for his foul-tongued fury. (Check out my interview with him here.) Lovely stuff.

7. Moon

We long suffering Sam Rockwell fans finally got the movie we were waiting for. A movie to showcase Rockwell's jittery genius, in all his manic glory. Moon is a future classic with little flourishes that cement its place in the sci-fi canon. The vibrating soundtrack. A kindly robot. (Kevin Spacey!) Flawless mise en scene. And a plot that swallows it's own tail. Plus those final shots.... Such economy in storytelling. Perfect.

6. Hunger

It's beginning to look like the next couple years will belong to Michael Fassbender. But this is the film that got him there. An amazing performance, I don't want to say much more since this was my number one last year. Well now it's actually out and in your video store so I'm putting it on my list again. It's that good.

5. Collapse

The best doc of the year is about a man in a meat locker explaining the way the world ends. Whether as character study or a warning, it's fascinating stuff. Suddenly the X-files feel like fairy tales. (More here and TIFF coverage here.)

4. A Serious Man

Let us all now pause and give thanks that we live in a world where a movie as bleak and as twisted and funny, yes funny, as A Serious Man could be created. And give thanks to the Coens who aren't afraid to make movies with questions but no answers. Also, ending of the year.

3. Star Trek 2. Bright Star

Two of the most beautiful films of the year, each in their own way of course. (What? You don't find exploding starships beautiful? Well then you're reading the wrong blog.)

Also two films where the director is in total command. Each are rewriting history in a way. One a revisionist version of Star Trek, the other a famous poet wooing his neighbour (or was that the other way around?) Each succeeds entirely. These movies took me away and I want to go back.

1. Il Divo

You take the energy of Snatch, the drama of The Departed and add the epic quality of The Godfather and you have Il Divo. A movie about the mob. About politics. About a man, who believes above all in himself. Watch the trailer here. Then go rent it on DVD. Enjoy.

2009 - 7 Minutes

I'm aiming to get around to my best of list but in the meantime this is one masterful montage.
I recommend watching it in HD and full screen.
Enjoy

(Well done keesvdijkhuizen whoever you are...)