Category: Movie reviews

Movie review: Black Swan

Finally caught up with Jean on seeing this one. He saw it on a plane. I decided to wait for a full-size screen and stereophonic sound: I watched in on DVD on my BluRay player.

Black Swan poster***½ Black Swan (December 2010) – Rental
Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis. Ballet dancer struggles to portray The Black Swan in Swan Lake as her mental health deteriorates.

She says: Incredibly riveting even though it doesn’t have that much plot—Nina gets the lead role in Swan Lake early on, then spends the rest of the movie struggling to portray the seductive Black Swan as effectively as the virginal White Swan. The drama is all internal, as Nina is in an increasingly fragile mental state, but since we see the movie through her eyes only, we, like her, can never be sure what’s real.

Portman is great, as is Kunis, as her stand-in for the role, a person she comes to fear is plotting to replace her. The movie looks amazing and had one of the most effective surround sound audio I’ve ever experienced; for example, a knock on Nina’s door startle me almost as the character, as it really sounded like a knock on my door way off to the right (though my door’s actually on left)…

He says: It was a good movie, eh? Pretty disturbing, though.

Movie review: The Artist

We got out to see this one the day before the Academy Awards were on.

*** The Artist (November 2011) – Theatre
Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo. The advent of “talking pictures” spells the end of one star’s career and the rise of another’s.

Image from The Artist

She says: Strictly speaking, this is not a “silent” film. There is sound all the way through (mostly music), and the way the sound is used is one of the most interesting aspects of the movie. Because the story is pretty simple—pretty much A Star Is Born, where the older male movie actor’s career declines as the young woman’s rises. And they happen to be in love, and that makes it all very awkward.

It’s quite enjoyable, though. Although not necessarily more than so than the other Oscar-nominated movies I’ve seen this year: Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Descendants, and The Help, all of which I probably liked at least slightly more than The Artist.

He says: I didn’t like it that much. Not using spoken dialog made the whole thing seem stretched out, and I got tired of the main character’s self-pity. I think my favorite Oscar-nominated movie was Midnight in Paris, though the other four were also good.

Genies vs. Oscars

I skipped watching the Oscars this year, but I did watch The Genies, which give out awards for Canadian films. What made the Genies a better bet for me:

  • Show was just 1 hour long, vs. whatever crazy length the Oscar show is. They do this by not covering all the categories on air; just the interesting ones. Hello. That’s reason enough all by itself.
  • It’s not preceded by tons of other Canadian movie award shows, so I had no idea who would win. With the Oscars, thanks to the Golden Globes, the SAG, the Director’s Guild, etc. you pretty much knew who’d be clutching the trophies.
  • I’d seen 3 of the 5 nominated Genie movies, vs. only 5 out of 10 of the Oscar ones. So percentage-wise, higher. (I realize that’s unusual.)
  • Musical performances that weren’t lame, because, as far as I could tell, they had nothing to do with movies. But they were by Canadian performers.

So there you be.

I was totally thrilled to see the young actress from M. Lazhar win the Best Supporting Actress award, as she was really was amazing in the role. And gave quite a delightful acceptance speech.

And it’s alway fun to see Viggo Mortenson, winner of Best Supporting Actor for A Dangerous Method, who was also very charming in his acceptance  speech.

For Best Picture, though, I have to see that I was really pulling for Cafe de Flore. Monsieur Lazhar won, and I can’t really complain about that, as it was quite a fine film, and it gave the director a chance to give the Oscar speech he couldn’t. But Cafe de Flore spoke to me in a more compelling way. At least Vanessa Paradis was recognized for her work as the lead of that film.

Movie review: Foreign-language Oscar nominee Monsieur Lazhar

Last weekend, we saw Monsieur Lazhar, Canada’s entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. (And expected to lose to the Iranian film in contention.)

**** Monsieur Lazhar (February 2012) – Theatre
Mohmed Fellag, Sophie Nelisse, Emilien Neron. After a teacher’s suicide, an Algerian immigrant is quickly brought in as a substitute. Despite the culture gaps, he’s able to form a bond with the students. French, with subtitles.

She says: The synopsis makes this sound like one of those well-made but dreary Canadian movies, but it’s not. The traumas like the suicide and the tragedy that led Lazhar to leave his native Algeria happen mostly or entirely off-screen. On-screen is a lot of warmth and humour, as Lazhar fumbles his way through Canadian norms that are strange to him. There are moments of anger and sadness, but they’re never overwrought.

The movie tells a very simple story but deals with complex cultural, political, and emotional issues. The lead actor is great and the children are just astounding in showing how this unexpected teacher is just what these kids need.

He says: I feel like I missed the message of this one. Like I wasn’t evolved enough to understand it. And I kept waiting for more to happen.

Despite that, weirdly enough, I still liked the movie!

Movie review: A Dangerous Method

***A Dangerous Method (November 2011) – Theatre
The birth of psychoanalysis, through Carl Jung’s treatment of Sabina Spielrein, using Freud’s theories. Starring Keira Knightly, Michael Fassbinder, and Viggo Mortenson.

She says: I was going to say that this is another movie about marital infidelity, but although that occurs in this movie, that’s not really what’s about. It’s about the birth of psychoanalysis, as Carl Jung tries Sigmund Freud’s “talking cure” on a female patient of his, to great success. The two men eventually meet, and debate both the theory and practice of their new field. The patient, Sabina Spielrein, also studies to become an analyst. At one point she and the married Jung begin an affair, despite their doctor / patient relationship.

It’s an interesting movie. Keira Knightly is quite good in the role, and this movie made me feel that Spielrein also made a contribution to the field and ought to be better known than she is. (I’d never heard of her before this.) It’s also probably the least violent Cronenberg movie I’ve ever seen. It’s a bit notorious as the film where “Keira Knightly gets spanked”, but those scenes are filmed pretty discreetly. There’s no doubt what’s going on, but you’re not getting any close-ups.

But I wasn’t really sure what the overall point of the movie was—what its message was. Not that every movie needs a big message. It just seemed like this particular movie, so focused on ideas and the nature of human condition, should have one. So while worth seeing, I wouldn’t call it a complete success.

He says: I didn’t mind the movie. It wasn’t sexy at all, but I guess he wasn’t going for that.

The Kids Are All Right; Cafe de Flore

This movie review set will mostly be a “She says”. And I didn’t set out to compare these two movies; they just happen to be the last two we’ve seen.

The Kids Are All Right posterThe Kids Are All Right, released July 2010, we saw on rental DVD. (The first DVD I’ve experienced, by the way, that has a special rental version that excludes the “special features”.) It’s about a lesbian couple in a long-term relationship who each have a child with the same sperm donor dad. After the daughter’s 18th birthday, the kids decide they want to meet him. His entry into the family’s life is disruptive, as both children and one of the mothers (Jules, played by Julianne Moore) by turns all find themselves drawn to him, while the other mother (Nic, played by Annette Bening) stays pretty frosty.

Donor dad Paul is played by Mark Ruffalo, a good-looking guy whose character is the epitome of cool–he drives a motorcyle, runs a gourmet bistro featuring local organic foods, and owns a wood-paneled house with a terraced backyard. Of course (almost) everyone is smitten!

Bit of a spoiler here, but Jules and Paul have a fling that, once discovered, changes the whole dynamic of the movie. Only, I knew most of that going in, and it didn’t really spoil the experience for me. It’s a well-acted movie with a lot of funny bits along with the dramatic undertone. You did end up caring about all the characters. The affair prompted the most discussion between Jean and I: Were Jules and Paul really equally to blame (as the movie suggests), when Jules was the only one in a committed relationship, and the really the one who intiated things?

Cafe de Flore movie posterThis brings us to Cafe de Flore, released December 2010 and seen at Waterloo’s Princess Theatre. It’s a French-Canadian film that explores some similar territory as Kids, but in a really different way.

Cafe de Flore switches between two stories: one in present-day Montreal, involving a 40-year-old, successful DJ (Antoine) who is smitten with his new lover, but his still haunted by ex-wife of 20 years, with whom he had two daughters. Do we hate this guy? No, we do not, as we are given insight into his psyche, through both an omniscient narrator and sessions with psychologist, and because Rose, his new love, is so beautiful and wonderful. But we can’t help but also feel for Carole, the ex-wife, as she is simply unable to move on from the only man she’s ever loved.

The other story takes place in Paris in the late 1960s, and tells us of Jacqueline (played by Vanessa Paradis), a hairdresser, and single mom to her only child, Laurent, who has Down’s Syndrome. Defying the conventions of the times, she won’t institutionalize him, and devotes all her energies to making him everything he can possibly be.

The parallels and connections between the stories come out slowly and when it’s all out there… The details don’t really matter. This movie is really about the ideas explored on the journey: Do we have soul mates? What is the nature and quality of love? What makes a family? It’s just a gorgeous film, with beautiful shots and fantastic cinematography, and its use of music is exquisite. For characters in both times periods, listening to music is a really important aspect of their lives, and I could really relate to that part of it.

Jean also liked this film, though we both thought, not as much as I did.

I would say that Kids is a perfectly decent, entertaining, 3-star movie. I think Cafe de Flore could be a 4-star. It’s one I’d definitely watch again.

Movie review: My Week with Marilyn

*** My Week with Marilyn (November 2011) – Theatre
Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne. A young British man working as a “third assistant director” gains the attention of star Marilyn Monroe and is smitten.

He says: No man would stand a chance with her. That combination of seduction and vulnerability—just irresistable. I finally get the appeal of Marilyn Monroe.
She says: Me too. Michelle Williams was just terrific at conveying her charisma—why Marilyn Monroe was such a big deal.
He says: She was really good.
She says: It looked like she gained some weight for the movie. She didn’t look so waif-y. Though the dresses could have been padded.
He says: The dresses were definitely padded. But back to the story… You know, the main character was the least powerful person on that movie set. But she made him feel like he was the most important person to her. That she needed him. Of course he was a goner. Am I right that they never actually had sex, though?
She says: That was my interpretation. What with him always being in bed with clothes on.
He says: No matter. 23 year-old-guy… He didn’t stand a chance.

Movie reviews: Two that were inspiring

*** Temple Grandin (February 2010) – Rental
Claire Danes, Julia Ormond. Dramatization of the young adult years in the life of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who had great career success.

She says: Claire Danes is terrific in portraying Temple Grandin, and the filmmakers do an interesting job of giving us a view into her world by filming parts in the visual, literal way that she sees it. I grew a little tired of the open door metaphor (that she saw literally), but that’s my only complaint. The movie would probably have been even more compelling if I hadn’t gone in knowing a fair amount about Temple Grandin.
He says: That was an interesting movie.

***½ Joyeux Noël (March 2006) – Rental
Diane Kruger, Benno Furmann. French, Scottish, and German troops decide to call a truce on Christmas Eve 1914, during World War 1.

She says: Very moving, and almost unbelievable, to see those who had been shooting each other hours before gingerly reach a cease fire through music, then find they have much in common. The DVD extras include an interview with the director (all in French) that shows how most of the events of the film are based on incidents that actually happened during that war.
He says: That was a really good movie. Hard to believe.

Movie reviews: Two featuring Kevin Spacey

***½ Moon (June 2009) – Rental
Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey. An astronaut miner is nearing completion of a solitary three-year contract to harvest helium 2 when he meets someone else up there: himself.

She says: Haunting and thought-provoking. A mix of suspense and science fiction with a philosophical undercurrent. It contains numerous twists are truly surprising, yet plausible in the context of the story. A strong script, a great performance, and a nice-looking movie on a low budget. Worth seeing.
He says: OK, that was disturbing.

*** Margin Call (October 2011) – Theatre
Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Zachary Grub. An investment firm risk analyst discovers that past miscalculation of complex new stock offerings have left the firm on the brink of ruin.

She says: The recent financial crisis, through the eyes of the 1%, which is a really weird perspective on it. As we see the situation only through various actors at this one financial firm, who aren’t all shown to be monsters, you kind of find yourself routing for them. Yeah, save yourself. Sell those junk bonds. Wreck the economy. But then you’re jolted back to the fact that these people’s jobs are not like anyone else’s, as absolutely incredible amounts of bonus money is dangled as a lure to do the wrong thing.
He says: Showing the characters with bits of humanity and ethics, on the edges, made it more interesting. It was a good movie.

Movie reviews: Two featuring George Clooney

***½ Fantastic Mr Fox (November 2009) – Rental

Animated. Directed by Wes Anderson, voice by George Clooney and Meryl Streep. A fox who had abandoned his thieving ways after the birth of his son plans one last heist.

She says: A thoroughly entertaining mix of the old-fashioned stop-motion animation and a kind of sly, modern humor. The extras make you realize that animators of this type have almost super-human patience.
He says: A good recommendation. I liked the style of this movie.

The Descendants movie image***½ The Descendants (November 2010) – Theatre

Directed by Alexander Payne, starring George Cloone. With his wife in a coma following a boating accident, Matt King is forced into reconsidering his relationship with her, his daughters, and his extended family.

She says: This movie is all aftermath. All the drama—the building of small family empire, the betrayal, the accident—happened before it begins, and we don’t even get flashbacks to it. It’s all learning about and dealing with what has happened. The script is tight, with bits of humour amidst a mostly tragic story, and the twists are unexpected. George Clooney is excellent, saying so much with those beautiful eyes.

He says: I liked that they didn’t go Hollywood with this. Where you’d expect a big fist fight, you got a tense argument. It made the whole story seem plausible, realistic. And I thought the actress who played the oldest daughter [Shailene Woodley] was very good.