If Cary Grant had played Greg House, the result may have been Ryan Bingham, the protagonist of Jason Reitman’s new film Up in the Air. Short-changed by theatrical trailers, the film explores personal development and growth in the face adverse circumstances. Despite any uninspired first impressions you may have from the generic two minute trailer, the film merits another hour and forty minutes of your time. It is a witty comedic with a serious message. Hired by other companies who wish to terminate an employee but cannot handle the emotional and legal backlash, Bingham travels across the United States. He …
The Damned United
First, a Serious Warning: This is a highly subjective biographical film. The publishers of the book on which the film is based were successfully sued for defamation by a player mentioned in the work and others would have similarly filed suit except they were deceased and estates cannot sue for slander or libel. This is not an autobiography; it is a drama based on a real person. Now, the Review: The Damned United is about relationships. Relationships between coaches and players, coaches and management, coaches and the media, and coaches and their peers. Brian Clough experienced a great deal of …
Precious
It reflects poorly on current cinema that Precious has been accorded the critical acclaim that suits an Academy Award contender. The film is sentimental, an essay into human nature, but it is as flawed as the characters who are portrayed. Everyone appreciates stories with happy endings, especially those featuring the Cinderella archetype, but Precious misses the mark. The audience was mostly moved when it is in shock because the protagonist, Claire “Precious” Jones , was victim to vicious violence or exceedingly cruel treatment. The crowd did not react during the terse dialogue between Precious, her mother Mary, and a social …
The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Men Who Stare at Goats is an idiotic film. Yet it is one of the most entertaining experiences that I have had at the movies in several months. There may be scenes that border upon absurdity – if not completely embracing the concept – but they suit the theme of the film. Also, is a story about a Psychic unit in the United States Army more absurd than what has actually happened in Iraq? Two U.S. Army contracts open fire on each other spontaneously, injuring a dozen Iraqis. Does this truly differ from how the war has unfolded? Massive collateral …
Where the Wild Things Are
James Gandolfini ruined this film. Whenever Carol would indulge his neuroses or explode in rage, it seemed as if Tony Soprano was bemoaning his life in Dr. Melfi’s office. Where the Wild Things Are stars some tremendous vocal actors but Gandolfini is too distinctive at this point. Since the film was not meant as a mafia parody (it could have featured portrayals of Don Corleone and Tommy DeSimone), this performance falls flat. The point of the film seems self-evident: everyone is emotional and needs to find their own strategy to control themselves. There is nothing offensive about the film but …
Capitalism: A Love Story
Michael Moore curses capitalism as “evil” and suggests it be supplanted by democracy. Such rhetoric is incendiary and inelegant. Capitalism is not a political system but an extreme on the economic spectrum. Capitalism and democracy are neither complements nor opposites. One does not preclude the other. To me, the economic spectrum is a medium with capitalism (supply and demand) one on side with socialism (a pure command economy) on the other. Society has become so complicated that only a mix of both concepts will satisfy every individual’s indulgent wants. I think that the political spectrum can range from democracy to …
A Serious Man
When the truth is found to be liesAnd all the joy within you dies When your names become a film typeAnd it’s hard to match all the hype Then you have reached the same paradox that the Coen brothers have found while making A Serious Man. The film is technically tremendous, one of the best directed films that I’ve seen this year. The screenplay is also superb, the audience was entertained for the entire film. But after Fargo and No Country for Old Men, what’s next? This is better than Burn after Reading by far but there is a lingering …
A Good Fella or a Wise Guy?
Both sides of a tragic tale – the glitz and glamour and the nuts and bolts – are told by Martin Scorcese and Nicholas Pileggi, retelling Henry Hill’s journey from hijacker and street tough to drug dealer and gambler to federal informant. The two works exemplify the difference between film and literature; Goodfellas enables you to visualize the events and see how a character chooses a course of action and Wise Guy recounts exactly what happened and how it was done. In retrospect, Goodfellas will be recognized as one of the top three films of the 1980s, although stylistically it …
Why Do We Watch Documentaries?
According to their definition, documentaries seek to document and retell a story with video, interview, a narrator, and other facts. Some have brought an issue into the public eye (“An Inconvenient Truth”), some follow a character (“Hoop Dreams” and “Invisible City”), and others have a political viewpoint (“Bowling for Columbine”). Many lie somewhere in between. Paying five dollars at the Bloor Cinema does not ensure the unbiased truth; it is incumbent upon the viewer to decide what is real and who is telling the truth. Crude: The Real Price of Oil debates Chevron-Texaco’s (in partnership with the government of Ecuador) …
Saboteur
The climax on top of the Statue of Liberty’s torch is silent: there are no explosions or yells, no chaos or confusion. Simply the drama of two men fighting followed by the villain clinging to the landmark as the hero attempts to help him. The tension is enormous. Saboteur may be one of Alfred Hitchcock’s weaker films but it is still very dramatic. Barry Kane, a reluctant hero, is wrongfully accused of sabotage and must travel across the country to clear his name and prevent a greater act of terrorism. On the way, he meets many people – a chance …
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, named after the infamous headline on the Harvard Crimson paper, is a basic but thorough documentary. There is the original game footage, supplemented by commentary from players – including Tommy Lee Jones who played Guard for Harvard – and some simple photos and cartoons by a pre-Doonesbury Gary Trudeau who was enrolled at Yale. The beauty of the documentary is how the directory Kevin Rafferty used simple storytelling to transport the viewer to a game which was played over forty years ago. Firstly, Rafferty establishes the context of the game. Vietnam and civil rights were issues …
The Hidden Fortress
The Hidden Fortress is a great action comedy movie that puts all others to shame. It’s scandalous that today’s audiences have to tolerate clichéd Lethal Weapon-type dialogue and excessive explosions; this film shows that a director can do both well, along with the usual Akira Kurosawa theme of how does one act morally in an immoral world. Is the ultimate goal profit or the greater good? Each character tries to discover this during the film. Is the ultimate goal DVD sales, audience enjoyment, or greater a work that stands out as one of the greatest of all time? Kurosawa accomplishes …
Red Beard
Akira Kurosawa’s last black and white film, Red Beard, follows a storyline similar to Bernard Émond’s La Donation. The themes are similar, although the Japanese work develops more slowly and is more lyrical. A doctor with aspirations of serving Japan’s royal court is sent to a small clinic in a poor village. Unlike Dr. Dion, who chose to accept a one month posting in Normétal, Dr. Yasumoto is tricked into reporting to the iconic Dr. Niide (a.k.a. “Red Beard”) and initially refuses the position. Over time, he comes to respect Red Beard, his pragmatic viewpoint, and his effective manner of …
Double Bill at the Bloor Cinema, Part I: Late Hitchcock
One of the prominent aspects Vertigo and Psycho, as with all Alfred Hitchcock films, is the musical scores by Bernard Hermann. It’s not so much the intensity of the music during climatic moments – although that aspect is present as well – but the many other scenes when a more low-key score builds the tension and foreshadows what is to occur later. For every scene at the top of a church bell tower or in a shower, there are several scene on the roads of California that serve as rising action. The audience knows something is about the go wrong …
T.I.F.F. 2009, Part V: The Disappearance of Alice Creed
The Disappearance of Alice Creed is an atypical film, a kidnapping film made from the perspective of the kidnappers; sort of a “Low” version of High and Low. There are only three characters: Alice, Danny, and Vic. A compelling script by talented screenwriter (and first-time director) J Blakeson creates audience sympathy for all of the characters, especially Danny the protagonist who is a tragic hero. There are no scenes involving the police or the victim’s family, so it is not known how close the authorities were to solving the case. Blakeson simply shows the victim and her two captors, who …
T.I.F.F. 2009, Part IV: Face
Face (also known as Visage for the French translation) would have significantly benefited from a Q & A session, which was cancelled because the director could not make it to Toronto. Speaking to him would have answered the two meaningful questions in the minds of audience members: “What just happened?” and “Did they ever recapture that escaped stag?” This film should not have been selected for the festival and should not have been green lit by a studio for numerous reasons. Firstly, the film wastes excellent cinematography. Close shots where characters were reflected in mirrors or windows, long fixed shots …