Tag: movies

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 reviews: Two British comedies

*** The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (May 2012) – Theatre
Judy Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith. British retirees are lured to the bargain price Marigold Hotel in India, only to find it’s not quite like the brochure.

She says: This is another one Jean didn’t see; I went with my Mom. We both thought it was a fun movie. It wasn’t terribly deep, but it was engaging, and certainly elevated by the excellent cast.

Image from Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

*** Hysteria (May 2012) – Theatre
Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal. Story about the doctor who helped invent the vibrator, as treatment for female “hysteria”.

She says: “This story is based on actual events. No, really.”

Such is the tagline of Hysteria, which tells the story of young, Victorian-era doctor, Mortimer, (Hugh Dancy) who treats female “hysteria”—a very broadly defined condition—by giving them intimate massages, until they achieve “paroxysm”. This popular treatment leads to serious hand cramping until he and a tinkerer friend (Rupert Everett) almost inadvertently invent the vibrator.

These quite strange but true facts are woven into a sort of romantic comedy between the younger doctor and the activist daughter, Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal), of the older doctor who employs him. Charlotte works with the poor and thinks her father’s work frivolous; she is not shy about expressing these opinions.

I found the movie mostly fun and entertaining, with very lively performances by the actors. But the glimpses of Charlotte’s work, and even early scenes of Mortimer toiling at public hospitals, gave this movie a sort of weight that didn’t entirely sit well. It was hard to completely enjoy the story of the ridiculous, yet appreciated hysteria treatment when there was so much misery on the edges of that story.

He says: Well, that was a funny movie. And the hardest part to believe was what was actually true!

Image from Hysteria

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.)

Movie review: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Saw this in a repertory theatre just before it came out on DVD.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol poster***½ Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (December 2011) – Theatre

Tom Cruise. The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization’s name.

She says: A better plot than most action movies have, one that actually makes a certain amount of sense and isn’t just an excuse to get from one action scene to another. And the action scenes are great (and I often end up bored by them). That climb up the building was especially compelling.

He says: Wow, that was exhausting. I’m not used to these kinds of movies anymore. (Good for an action movie, though.)

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!