Tag: drama

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.

Movie review: Let the Right One In

Finally one we agreed on…

Let the Right One in poster***½ Let the Right One In (March 2009) – Rental
Swedish, with dubbing or subtitles.

Bullied 12-year-old boy’s life takes a turn for the better when he befriends the strange “girl” who lives next door.

She says: The poster makes this look like a horror movie, but despite some bloody murders and a scene of disfigurement, it’s not really that. It’s more about the rather sweet relationship that develops between the bullied boy, Oskar, and the mysterious Eli, who turns out to be a vampire perpetually stuck in a 12-year-old’s frame. Given their ages, this movie doesn’t go with the usual vampire = sex (or even puberty) theme, making for something of a refreshing look at this archetype.

He says: This movie is so weird, I don’t even know why I like it. But I do.

Movie reviews: Take This Waltz, Avengers

The first is a rare instance of us seeing a movie on its opening day. This one would be a split vote. (So the overall ratings are mine.)

**** Take This Waltz (June 2012) – Theatre
Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby. Young couple meet and are instantly attracted. Unfortunately, she’s already married to a great guy.

Take This WaltzShe says: This movie took me on a journey.

The beginning was rocky: slow, presenting the initial meet of Margot and Daniel, but then focusing more on the quirks of her marriage with Lou. The couple comes off as really annoying. At this point, I didn’t particularly like the movie.

But most of the movie focuses on the “in between”, which Margot confesses, in the beginning, is a state she can’t stand. During this part, I got caught up in her dilemma: Will she or won’t she give in to her passion? Should she or shouldn’t she? Margot and Daniel circle around each in a desirous dance that could hardly be sexier (though that response may be a girl thing)…

And the way the movie concludes, which I won’t spoil, made me love it. The cinematography, the music, the story progression… Fab.

He says: I knew before you said that you liked that one, but I just didn’t get it. I didn’t understand them, I didn’t understand the point.

Michelle Williams was adorable, though. I love her look.

——————————-

Whereas this next one, we saw only after it had been out for weeks…. Interestingly, another split vote.

*** Marvel’s The Avengers (May2012) – Theatre
Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johanesson. The unlikely team of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow team up to battle a threat to humanity.

She says: Though not a big comic book person, I did really enjoy the interplay of these very different characters: the 40s-era Captain American with the ultra-modern Iron Man; or the god Thor and the Incredible Hulk. And I appreciated the humor and pacing that Joss Whedon brought to this special-effects extravaganza.

And now I kind of want to see Iron Man, because he was my favorite.

He says: That wasn’t that great, was it? I mean the story wasn’t much. There was no mystery to it.

I don’t know what happened. I should have liked this one.

Movie reviews: The Hunger Games and The Visitor

And talking about two movies that have absolutely nothing in common…

*** The Hunger Games (March 2012) – Theatre
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson. Based on the novel. Young woman volunteers for a deadly game to save her sister. 24 tributes enter the arena; they are to fight until only one is left.

She says: Well-executed action movie. I was glad I’d read the novel, though, as I think the movie might have been a little confusing otherwise. And of course the book was better, but as the novel is all first-person perspective, it was nice to see parts of the story from other character’s perspectives in the movie. The violence with some subtlety, rendering it less disturbing than it could have been.
He says: Boy, even if you had read the book, it was an engrossing movie, eh? Pretty violent, though.

*** The Visitor (March 2012) – Rental
Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman. A college professor merely going through the motions of his life finds renewed purpose in an expected friendship with an illegal immigrant who is also a musician.

She says: A simple yet effective movie. It was good to watch the main character “blossom” in this late stage of his life, as he gets involved in Tarek’s native music and his fight to stay in the country.
He says: So. Another movie that doesn’t really end; it more just stops.

Movie review: The Killing of John Lennon

** The Killing of John Lennon (August 2006) – Rental
Jonas Ball. A look into the mind of Mark Chapman in the days leading up to the murder of John Lennon.

Jean didn’t see this movie, so only my comments this time.

This isn’t a terrible movie. It holds the interest reasonably well, considering that there’s no suspense: we know how this will end. However, it is a pointless one. The movie’s tagline is “We all know who killed John Lennon. This is the first movie to explain why.”—but there is no why. He was a mentally disturbed guy with delusions of grandeur who became fixated on Catcher in the Rye and John Lennon. His actions are insane. Watching them play out is not boring, but it’s not satisfying, either. It’s not spun into a bigger narrative about gun control or failures of mental health treatment or the legal system or anything else. It’s just this dude being crazy and killing a great artist for no reason.

So I don’t recommend it. (Apparently there’s yet another movie about Chapman, called Chapter 27, starring Jared Leto, that is worse than this one. So, be warned.)

The trifecta: Big bands, a night at the opera, and war horse

trifecta, n. (traɪˈfɛktə)

Any achievement involving three successful outcomes

Our self-created “culture weekend” began Friday night with the KW Symphony’s salute to big band music, featuring In the Mood, Take the A Train, It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing), Come On-A My House, As Times Goes by… Songs like that. Songs that swing.

Guest conductor Matt Catingub, who’s from Hawaii, brought along some guest saxophonists, guitar and bass, and drummer. He himself at various time played sax, sang, and played piano. The symphony were able to keep up with the challenging arrangements—ones that taxed the horn section in particular.

It was a very fun night out. The only thing that would have made it better was if the Centre in the Square had a dance floor we could have used. This music was made for dancing, not sitting.

A Night at the Opera cover

Saturday we made our way to Toronto for Classic Albums Live: Queen—A Night at the Opera. This was our second time seeing a Classic Albums Live presentation, and we were both a little dubious about it, having been underwhelmed by the first. But I just couldn’t resist seeing how they would possibly tackle this very challenging album, “cut for cut, note for note”.

As the liner notes for the show said, “with Queen, the key word was more. More singers. More guitars. More sound.”

So to handle Brian May’s multi-layered guitar sound, they had six guitarists (one of whom focused on the acoustic and the koto). Lead vocal duties were handled by three different singers: one for Freddie’s higher vocal parts (that was a woman), another for his lower range, and one more singer to present Brian and Roger’s vocal leads. And another singer (another woman) who did lead backup.

That not being enough, there was also a full choir. (“We had all of Toronto up here on stage”, the announcer said.) Somehow, though, they did manage with just one each of drums, bass, and piano.

Classic albums live for Queen

“It takes a village” to perform Queen music. (And this doesn’t even include the choir.)

It was really an awesome show. Why did it work so much better than The Beatles one, which felt a bit pointless and lifeless to me?

  • You can’t suck the life and fun out of Queen sings by playing them as recorded, because fun is built into the songs. Doing this whole album meant singing a passionate love song to a car, doing an entire musical break on kazoos, and embracing lyrics like “You call me sweet like I’m some kind of cheese” and “Thursdays I go waltzing to the zoo”.
  • By playing live what were purely studio effects (just four musicians and three singers, massively overdubbed), you aren’t reproducing what was on the record. You are re-creating it. And as an audience, we are hearing it in a new way, for the first time.
  • Queen were show-offs, and the musicians managing to pull off all those notes, and guitar chords, and that crazy intricate timing, was truly impressive. We were in the second row, and you could almost see them sweating blood trying to get everything in at the right time, in right pitch. The announcer said it was the most difficult one they’d ever tackled, and I believe it.

I’m in Love with My Car performance (video)

The second half featured more Queen songs, some quite well known (We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Under Pressure, Bicycle Race—complete with bike bells, Somebody to Love), and some not as much (Brighton Rock, Keep Yourself Alive, Get Down Make Love). The show seemed to go by in a flash.

Brighton Rock performance (video)

warhorse

And on Sunday, still in Toronto, we saw the Mirvish production of War Horse, which really deserves all the praise it has received.

The puppetry used for the horses (and a goose!) is just incredible. Despite seeing people legs and bodies beneath and around the horses, they really seem very horsey, and you gradually don’t even really notice the puppeteers.

The story, of course, is not a totally cheery one, as nothing about the First World War is cheery. It’s interesting, though, how Joey’s encounters with British, Germans, and French in turn shows all in an ultimately sympathetic light. The plot is very well constructed and emotionally compelling.

Toronto Star review: War Horse is bold, brave and heart-stoppingly wonderful

That’s about right.

Toronto building

Photo taken on our walk over to see War Horse