Category: Movie reviews

Movie review: Crazy, Stupid Love

Crazy, Stupid Love poster***1/2 Crazy, Stupid Love (July 2011) – Rental

Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone. After 25 years of marriage, Emily tells Cal she’s had an affair and wants a divorce. He moves out and meets Jacob, a ladies’ man, who offers to coach him in the single life.

She says: The base plot doesn’t sound like much to work with, but this movie was very entertaining. It was often laugh-at-loud funny (in the right places) and featured a number of plot twists I did not expect, yet seemed to work in retrospect. For so much talk of sex throughout, it wasn’t particularly sexy, but I must say I totally get the Ryan Gosling thing now. Wow.

And, you know, good acting by him, and by all involved in this one.

He says: That was a funny movie! I really liked it. Interesting that the most mature character was probably the 17-year-old girl.

Movie review: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Jiro Dreams of Sushi poster***1/2 Jiro Dreams of Sushi (July 2012) – Rental

Japanese documentary about the 85-year-old chef at the best sushi restaurant in the world.

She says: Jiro Ono works to perfect the art of making sushi. That’s all he’s done his adult life, and that’s all he wants to continue to do. This documentary tells his story, shows some of his food preparation techniques, and reveals the challenging situations his two sons are in, having followed their father into the same profession. The oldest is 50 and still waiting to be master chef, as his father has no intention of retiring. The younger has opened a companion restaurant.

The sushi really does look amazing and you get very hungry watching this, while knowing that anything called sushi that you get around here is not going to compare. Tuna is very much prized ingredient by the chef, and I wondered if they would touch on the over-fishing issue; they did, and in a way that made these types of chefs appear to not be the problem. (They are conscious of the issue, buy only what they need, when they need it, and with the small restaurant always to capacity and serving some of the world’s best food, nothing is wasted.)

Not that much happens in this film, and yet it’s fascinating—at least to a foodie, I suppose.

He says: We have no idea what real sushi is. And we’ll probably never find out.

Movie review: Iron Man

Iron Man poster*** Iron Man (April 200) – Rental

Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow. Wealthy genius weapons manufacturer changes direction after being kidnapped in Afghanistan.

She says: I got interested in this after seeing The Avengers, because Iron Man was perhaps my favorite character in the movie. I found the Afghanistan setting and the look at the US military industrial really interesting for a “superhero” movie—gave it more depth. I was also struck by the fact that Tony Stark was such a nerd. Yes, despite being a very charming, extremely handsome, and wealthy man who therefore has no trouble attracting the ladies. The fact remains he has no friends, and seems happiest spending hours alone in his basement, playing with his tech.

The downside would be that it was a bit slow in parts, and the villain of the piece was of the bwah-ha-ha unsubtle variety.

He says: Not too bad. A bit slow at times. I really liked the character of Pepper. I’d probably give it 2 and half or three stars.

Movie reviews: Argo and Life of Pi

Just coincidentally, the last two movies we saw were Roger Ebert’s Number 1 and 2 picks for the year. (Also just realized that both have Canadian connections…)

Argo poster***½ Argo (October 2012) – Theatre

Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, Viktor Garber. Six Americans escaped from the embassy in 1979 at the start of the hostage crisis, getting refuge from the Canadian ambassador. This movie focuses on the American ruse used to get them out.

She says: We saw this late, so I was looking out for a diminishment of the Canadian role in this, anticipating the tension of watching the actual escape, though we all know it succeeded. I found the Canadian treatment not as bad as it might have been; it was at least clear the ambassador and his wife were putting themselves at risk in this venture. And the series of check points on the way out of Iran did, indeed, quite effectively build tension.

And it is a really interesting story, that I hadn’t known before, that a faux movie was the pretext used for them being there (as Canadians), and that the American involvement was long covered up for the sake of the remaining hostages. While I’m sure the facts were “Hollywood-ized”, it’s still good to know them. Unlike the fake Argo, this Argo was a well-made movie.

He says: It kind of got on my nerves that every point of the escape was a cliffhanger, down to the plane being chased. But I couldn’t help get caught up in it anyway. And I agree that the Canadian treatment didn’t seem that bad.

Lie of Pi poster***½ Life of Pi 3D (October 2012) – Theatre

Suraj Sharma, Gérard Dépardieu, Tabu. A young man leaving India with his family and their zoo animals survives a shipwreck, ending up with a Bengal tiger as a companion.

She says: I had not read the book, so really did not know what to expect from this apparently philosophical movie about a young man on a raft with tiger. How is that a movie? Do he and the tiger talk?

This sounds strange, given the premise, but the movie was a lot more realistic that I was expecting. For one, it’s not really a spoiler to say that the tiger doesn’t talk; the tiger is a tiger. And their time on the life boat is much more about the details of survival than I was expecting: how to get sufficient food, water, and sun protection, while not being eaten by a tiger. It’s certainly an odd story, but very compelling. The final riddle, of which story you believe, definitely stuck with us.

And the movie is gorgeous. My eyes are unbalanced, so I’m never sure if I see 3D as well as other people, but there’s no doubt I could see the depth in some scenes. The underwater cinematography was particularly impressive.

He says: I wasn’t sure about this one, but I ended up really liking it—the photography, the tiger story… I’m probably missing the themes, or whatever, but I enjoyed the movie.

Movie reviews: The Sessions and Blue Valentine

We saw two love stories, of sorts, recently. One is a current release about a man who spends most of his day confined to an iron lung, and thus is still a virgin at 38. The other is about the volatile relationship between a nurse played by Michelle Williams, and a house painter played by Ryan Gosling.

One of the two was really depressing. But probably not the one you think…

**** The Sessions (October 2012) – Theatre

John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, and William H. Macey. Journalist and poet Mark O’Brien, whose childhood polio has left him confined to an iron lungmost of the day, but who does have functioning genitalia, becomes determined to lose his virginity at age 38, with the help of a sex therapist.

She says: The trailer for this movie makes it look really funny, and much of it is, in the interaction between Mark and his caretakers, and especially with his open-minded priest, played by William H. Macey. But it is also really touching, especially in the relationship between Mark and his sex therapist, Cheryl. Cheryl (who is married) knows the pitfalls of transference and how to set limits on the sex therapist / client relationship, but her own emotional response makes these harder to maintain as the sessions (six maximum!) continue.

The sex in this movie is really beautiful, not because of amazing bodies or great cinematography, but because it really is an expression of intimacy and love. It’s triumphant.

He says: That was a really sweet movie. (And that’s all you’re allowed to quote me on.)

Scene from The Sessions

** Blue Valentine (December 2010) – Rental

Poster from Blue ValentineMichelle Williams, Ryan Gosling. A marriage at the end of its ropes is contrasted with the happy start of the relationship.

She says: The acting is good here, it’s very realistic, but it’s brutal watching two people who once loved each other just tear each other apart. Made for rather depressing viewing.

He says: I didn’t find anything good about that. I don’t care that it’s “well made”; there was just nothing to enjoy there.

Movie review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower poster**** The Perks of Being a Wallflower (September 2012) – Theatre

Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller. A troubled young man finds high school less traumatic when he finally makes friends with some misfit seniors.

She says: Since we (the North American over-14 “we”) have all been to high school, it’s hard not to connect with this film: the hormonal confusion, the drug experimentation, the fear of not having anyone to sit with in the cafeteria, or talk to at the school dance. One is so relieved when lead character Charlie gains the friendships that help him negotiate all this, but the movie’s drama shows how Charlie’s problems are deeper than most’s, the friendship’s life-lines more important.

Though it’s mostly serious, the movie has plenty of fun and funny moments. It made me emotional at times, but those moments felt honest, not manipulative. The young actors are strong, though Emma Watson seemed a little hamstrung by having to focus on her American accent. A few details clunked, most notably that these music-obsessed teens were mystified as to the origins of David Bowie’s very famous song, “Heroes”. It also took me a while to locate the movie in time (late 80s / early 90s), though that may not be a critique.

I say, go see this one.

He says: I really liked that one. I don’t even know why I liked that one, because it seems to me not much happened, and usually I don’t like movies like that. But I really enjoyed this one.

Movie reviews: Bubble and Stories We Tell

Back in the true art house realm here with Bubble, a documentary-like drama, and Stories We Tell, a partly dramatized documentary.

Bubble poster*** Bubble (January 2006) – Rental

Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Martha and Kyle are coworkers at a doll factory whose relationship is disrupted by a new arrival at the factory, Rose.

She says: Except for the big-name director, movies don’t get much smaller than this. (I would never even have heard of this one if not for Roger Ebert highlighting it recently.) Its stars are not actors, but locals. The story was plotted, but the dialogue was not scripted. Its a mere 73 minutes long.

These people lead very simple lives, yet its weirdly fascinating, as we just don’t see people like this in movies. They look and talk like real people. They aren’t dramatically poor (not homeless, not starving), but basically have no money, no real prospects. Their job of assembling dolls makes for some really odd images, of doll parts molded, assembled, decorated.

Martha and Kyle have a comfortable, non-romantic relationship. Rose disrupts that, creating a strange triangle. A murder occurs. Who and how that happens is the central mystery of the film.

He says: This one moves at the pace of real life… I don’t really know what to make of it.

Stories We Tell*** Stories We Tell (November 2012) – Theatre

Documentary by Sarah Polley. She explores the family secret that the man who raised her is not her biological father.

She says: Though it lags a bit toward the end, there are a surprising number of twists in this documentary about Sarah Polley’s decision to explore the truth about her parentage. She does this by interviewing everyone in her family, along with family friends, while interspersing old family footage along with dramatic re-creations of certain key events (and it was occasionally difficult to tell which was what).

It’s not all that unusual, apparently, that men end up raising children they think are their own, but aren’t. But it really struck how differently an artistic family and circle such as the Polley’s react to this, with everyone almost tripping over themselves to be the ones who get to own the narrative. And hence, Stories We Tell becomes Polley’s framework.

A bit pretentious, I guess, but as I said, mostly engaging.

He says: Well, there were parts when I was pretty bored. But it could have been worse. I’m still not totally sure what was acting and what were actual inteviews, though.

Movie review: Looper

This one’s pretty short and sweet…

*** Looper (September 2012) – Theatre
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt. Time travel is possible in the future, but illegal, so used only by criminals to commit murders—in the past. Then they “close the loop” by issuing their present-day assassins a  future termination date.

She says: Violent and a bit dire, but definitely thought-provoking and engaging. I’m won over by the latter.
He says: Jeez, that was grim. I still liked it—I’d recommend it—but it isn’t exactly uplifting.

Movie review: The Blind Side

***½ The Blind Side (November 2009) – Rental

The Blind Side posterSandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron. A homeless teenager’s life is transformed through his relationship with the well-to-do family that takes him in.

She says: I didn’t get much from the football scenes—almost remarkable how little I know about that game—but I otherwise found myself quite taken in by this story of (basically) class and race differences in America, and how harmony was achieved in this one case (based on a true story).

He says: Except that it kept trying to make you cry every two minutes, that was a good movie. It was interesting story, and Sandra Bullock was great in it.

Movie reviews: Never Let Me Go, One Week

Never Let Me Go posterWithout intending this, last weekend we ended up watching two movies on the cheery subject of human mortality, as depicted through the prism of young adults facing a death sentence:

Never Let Me Go, 2010, starring Keira Knightly, Andrew Garfield, and Carey Mulligan

One Week, 2008, starring Joshua Jackson and Liane Balaban

Based on a novel, the premise of Never Let Me Go, a British film, is an alternate world where cloning technology was perfected in the 1950s, leading to a world where clones are created for the purpose of providing life-extending organ donations to everyone else. We first meet the donors as children in a British boarding school, then move ahead to their lives as young adults. The focus is on three characters who form a love triangle.

One Week is a Canadian movie in which the protagonist receives a terrible cancer diagnosis in the first scene. Instead of immediately going into treatment, as recommended, he decides to take a motorcycle road trip across Canada first, to take stock of his life.

As you might imagine, Never Let Me Go is sad. But at least, blessedly, you’re never made to wallow in the sadness. It’s there, it’s built into the story, but it’s all underplayed, somewhat interior, all very British. It never brought me to tears. It’s very well-made, with a lot of attention to the look, the dimmed color palette. It moves along at an appropriate pace. Both the child actors and the young adults in the film are quite good in their roles.

Most striking about how the story plays out if how accepting all the clones are of their fate. It never seems to occur to anyone to run and try to escape the transplant surgeries that will ultimately kill them. If they had, that would have been a whole other movie. (I think it was called Logan’s Run.) If still wondering why this story was told in these terms, watch the extras! It is explained there.

One Week movie posterI was going to say that One Week is therefore a contrast, as it’s all about escape, but that’s not really true. Lead character Ben knows perfectly well he can’t outran cancer. He’s just looking for a slice of time before he becomes a patient.

Everything in this movie takes place with Ben basically still feeling well, so it’s much less sad than Never Let Me Go. The whole story is approached with wry humour.  It’s also a real love letter to Canada, as you see a lot of the iconic and beautiful Canadian sites Ben travels through, including the Big Nickel, the Terry Fox statue, the rolling prairies, the gorgeous beaches of Tofino.

The script does not have the fullness and depth of Never Let Me Go‘s, but I still found it interesting to participate in Ben’s examinations of the choices that had led him to a job he isn’t passionate about, and into an engagement with a lovely woman who nevertheless may not be The One. And of course, leads you to wonder why you might do if you had a week before entering into likely hopeless cancer treatment.

Jean’s take? He found Never Let Me Go really sad, and overall thinks I should rent more comedies. As for One Week, he was strongly critical of Ben’s treatment of his fiancee, but did enjoy the travel through Canada aspect. I think his attention reasonably well, for another movie that is more about self-realization than plot twists.