Although he won an Oscar two years ago for Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle delivered a much better film with his latest work, 127 Hours. The film chronicles five days in the life of Aron Ralston, a climber who was trapped in a canyon by a heavy boulder and only survived by amputating his own right arm. Despite the grim subject-matter, 127 Hours boasts a fair amount of energy, suiting the personality its protagonist. The opening montage captures the hectic pace of modern life well, the very lifestyle that Ralston seeks to escape by climbing. Boyle described the film as something …
Discourse on Documentaries, Part II: Education and Finance
The good documentary will chronicle the events which comprise an important issue, explaining exactly what is happening and outlining its significance. The excellent documentary will not only accomplish those goals but determine how the events transpired and suggest how the issue might be resolved. Due to the visual medium, it does not hurt to grab the audience’s attention with a hint of humour or a drop of drama. Two films – Waiting for Superman (**½) and The Inside Job (***½) – entertain and inform viewers. While both raise interesting questions, only one provides answers and proposes the next steps to …
The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet’s Nest
If the original Star Wars saga unfolded like the Millennium Trilogy, Luke Skywalker would have still destroyed the Death Star at the conclusion of A New Hope. However, the battle would not have continued on Hoth, Bespin, and Endor; rather The Empire Strikes Back would have consisted of Darth Vader’s meticulous attempts to frame the rebel pilot and The Return of the Jedi would have been Luke’s return after an acquittal. The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo proved to be an atypical and intriguing film that was overwhelmed by two tepid sequels. The Girl Who Played with Fire was tolerable …
The Social Network
In my mind, the best attribute of The Social Network is the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. The rest of the film may have been interesting and intriguing at times but most of the work was more solid than stupendous. Sorkin’s contribution, based on a real story and making use of rapid-fire dialogue and a unique narrative structure, shines. Sorkin has always been able to take the real world and render it remarkable and witty on-screen. The film recounts the creation of Facebook, is a pop-culture phenomenon. At this time, it is uncertain whether it will remain relevant over the years …
Bell Lightbox Screenings, Part I: The Godfather
The reason that we screen films at the Bell Lightbox is so we can better appreciate today’s films. It’s not solely a matter of enjoying the film that is shown – although that is also a significant factor – but to understand its impact on the films that followed it. The Godfather is one of the best films of all time and it is always satisfying, despite the condescension dripping from Lightbox staff and the crowd of jackanapes who had smuggled six-packs into the theatre and insisted on quoting every famous line aloud. Those drawbacks were trivial relative to the …
The Town
Choosing between Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and The Town last week required careful consideration at first. However, after reading how the sequel to the 1986 opus against unbridled capitalism fell off the rails in the final moments – apparently Oliver Stone chose traditional Hollywood fare over meaningful social commentary – the decision became much easier to make. Luckily, despite occasional threats to do the same, Ben Affleck kept it together — to the relief of all in attendance. Affleck’s second turn as a director demonstrates both skill and the potential for further improvement. The camera angles adeptly capture the …
T.I.F.F. 2010, Part V: Jaloux
The final film that I screened at this year’s festival was Jaloux, directed by Patrick Demers. The low-budget work was filmed over sixteen days in Northern Quebec without a script; the director began with a storyboard that outlined the action and the small cast refined each scene by reviewing each day’s rushes every evening. Consequently, the cast was invested in the product as much as the financial backers and everyone cared deeply about the final product. It is unusual for the cast to review their own work during production. Sophie Cadieux, Maxime Denommée, and Benoît Gouin were able to get …
T.I.F.F. 2010, Part IV: Essential Killing
If there is one piece of conventional wisdom challenged by the Toronto International Film Festival on a yearly basis, it is Hollywood’s reliance on traditional plot structure and repetitive themes. When a director brings their work to the festival, they can create something original based on a kernel of an idea that has formed in their head, exposing the audience to unique characters, surprising twists, and an entirely new experience. Essential Killing is one of those novel motion pictures. A Taliban soldier named Mohammed is captured and rendered to Poland after he is tortured by United States forces. On a …
T.I.F.F. 2010, Part III: The Big Picture
Also known as L’Homme qui voulait vivre sa vie, The Big Picture proved to be another excellent film. “Thank you for choosing this f—— film,” director Eric Lartigau told the capacity crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival. The f—— film focuses on Paul Exben, played by Roman Duris. Early in the film, his learns that his marriage has collapsed. Paul confronts Grégoire, his wife’s lover, and accidentally kills the man. He realizes that he must disappear so he assumes Grégoire’s identity and moves to the Balkans. The film is a dark character study of a tragic hero. Lartigau often …
T.I.F.F. 2010, Part II: Film Socialism
It was an odd sight to see a quarter to a third of the audience walk out of the Ryerson Theatre throughout the opening night screening of Film Socialisme at the Toronto International Film Festival. Many spectators struggled to make sense of the film that was purposefully obfuscated. This version of the film did not include subtitles; the premiere at Cannes included Navajo subtitles. Whether it is difficult to understand because of the language barrier or difficult to understand because of the subject matter is irrelevant to Jean-Luc Godard. The film must be difficult to understand because it seeks to …
T.I.F.F. 2010, Part I: Easy Money
After viewing countless flawed films, tolerating several superficial screenplays, and living with too many loose ends that have not been tied up, I was very happy to see Easy Money at the Toronto International Film Festival. A crime caper film with a twist, director Daniel Espinosa spends as much time exploring the personal lives of those who control the drug market in Sweden as he does the cocaine deal about to unfold. Consequently, the characters are fully developed and their motivations are known and understood. J.W. is a business school student who drives a cab and runs errands for a …
Lebanon
The emotions of soldiers at war is a topic that has been explored in countless films over the years, including documentaries, buddy-films, patriotic films, and tragedies. Lebanon is a bit of all four genres. Filmed entirely inside a tank, it provides a novel perspective on the Israel-Lebanon war of 1982. A tank crew undertakes a mission – succeeding some times and failing at other moments – knowing only what they hear over the radio or through the vehicle’s scope. The soldiers are overwhelmed by the situation (and apparently incompetent) although this seems to be part of director Samuel Maoz’s message: the …
The American
Based on the mediocre attendance Friday night at the Varsity Cinemas, it is dubious that The American will garner a significant share of the weekend’s box office receipts. This is unfortunate news because the film is likely one of the better films that is out there at the moment. It is not a top film – those will be released later in the fall – but it is wholly enjoyable. I have not seen The Expendables but I can imagine how that film might feature more explosions and more action with less substance. This is a slow-paced thriller that gradually …
Kurosawa Retrospective
Since 2010 is the centennial of Akira Kurosawa’s birth both Cinémathèque Ontario and the Bloor Cinema have organized screenings of some of the filmmaker’s most notable works. Watching Kurosawa’s films, especially those from his classic period during the 1950s and 1960s, one can appreciate his contributions as a director and screenwriter. The Seven Samurai: I’ve reviewed this film previously and can reaffirm that the film deserves its exalted place among cinema’s greatest achievements. The film introduces many storytelling techniques to cinema, such as introducing the protagonist via an unrelated caper that showcases their bravery, fighting skill, or sometimes ingenuity and …
Mesrine: Killer Instinct
The first installment of a two-part series, Killer Instinct chronicles the first part of Jacques Mesrine’s life of crime. when the gangster operated in France and Canada in the 1960s. Many aspects of the film are taken from other pictures; the film seems to be part Goodfellas, part Bonnie and Clyde, there is even a scene taken exactly from Thelma and Louise. Though the derivations – camera angles, plot elements, even a couple of nearly identical scenes – are obvious, the way that everything is deftly combined does not cheapen the film. Ultimately, there is no shame stealing from master directors …
Kubrick Retrospective
The works of Stanley Kubrick are innovative and insightful. Kubrick followed an esoteric career path, seemingly trying to master each major film genre – noir, war, science-fiction, period drama, horror, erotic thriller – while exploring what defines humanity. Many of the films are criticized for their length and lack of action; on the other hand, the pacing adds impact to the climactic scenes. Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Stop the Bomb: Incorporating elements from many war films, such as archetypal characters with a cynical twist, Dr. Strangelove portrays how the military handles a critical situation …