“Love is Strange” isn’t very strange. It is a fairly conventional drama, in fact. The film is from director Ira Sachs and tells the tale of a newlywed gay couple, Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina). Soon after their marriage at the beginning of the film, George is fired from his job forcing the couple to sell their apartment. While they look for a new, more affordable place to live they have to move into separate living environments. This new situation has repercussions for all involved, mostly negative.
Whether a film is conventional or not is irrelevant. What matters is the general impression left upon the viewer by the film as a whole. In that regard, this film is successful in making you feel good. There are moments of beauty and truth. It doesn’t come across as phony or trite but succeeds as a bittersweet glimpse into the lives of people in modern Western society. It reflects the struggles we are experiencing today with relationships, finances, mortality and spirituality.
There is one powerful sequence in which George, a music teacher, listens to his young student play a piece of music on the piano. He is dissatisfied with her performance and asks her to replay to piece with more feeling and to make use of the instrument in a more harmonious way. The music is accompanied by a series of shots reflecting the mood of the piece in a lyrical way. It is sequences like this that propel the film into another place and add something to its overall quality, making it a little more special and meaningful to the viewer.
There is nothing earth-shattering about “Love is Strange.” It is fairly conventional and won’t be remembered as one of the seminal films of 2014. But, it is well-told, with interesting characters, and moments that may surprise you.
Monday, February 23, 2015
American Sniper (2014, dir. Clint Eastwood)
Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) was a deadly sniper, serving in four tours of the Middle East where he racked up nearly 200 kills with his razor sharp accuracy. “American Sniper” tells the tale of the heavy psychological load Kyle had to carry in the aftermath of his service and how it affected him and those he loved.
In the video game generation we’re currently experiencing where gamers are able to cathartically live in the mind’s eye of first-person shooters, many of us may have become de-sensitized to the reality of taking the life of another human being. In Clint Eastwood’s latest war film, we learn about the toll that the reality takes on those who put their lives on the line and are thrust into the role of a killing machine.
Eastwood expertly draws a portrait of what it is like to experience the role that Kyle takes on. Like him, the viewer is given the opportunity to witness each death and the ramifications of each. The viewer is given a real sense of the colossal death toll that Kyle is constantly expanding. We are left with a real-time Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from simply watching this movie. Unlike the video gamers, we are not de-sensitized and neither is Chris Kyle. The weight of each kill is forever stacked one on top of another until we are left breathless by the end. The war scenes in “American Sniper” are exciting, spellbinding and will leave the viewer riveted to the screen.
The viewer is given a rest in the home scenes where Kyle tries to live with his family. We witness his distraction, anxiety and frustration at having to live with his status of hero for killing so many people. He struggles to be there emotionally for his wife and children and Cooper does a masterful job of conveying his distress.
This is one of Eastwood’s best and is a paramount testimony to the sacrifices, painful decisions and trauma experienced by soldiers in any war.
In the video game generation we’re currently experiencing where gamers are able to cathartically live in the mind’s eye of first-person shooters, many of us may have become de-sensitized to the reality of taking the life of another human being. In Clint Eastwood’s latest war film, we learn about the toll that the reality takes on those who put their lives on the line and are thrust into the role of a killing machine.
Eastwood expertly draws a portrait of what it is like to experience the role that Kyle takes on. Like him, the viewer is given the opportunity to witness each death and the ramifications of each. The viewer is given a real sense of the colossal death toll that Kyle is constantly expanding. We are left with a real-time Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from simply watching this movie. Unlike the video gamers, we are not de-sensitized and neither is Chris Kyle. The weight of each kill is forever stacked one on top of another until we are left breathless by the end. The war scenes in “American Sniper” are exciting, spellbinding and will leave the viewer riveted to the screen.
The viewer is given a rest in the home scenes where Kyle tries to live with his family. We witness his distraction, anxiety and frustration at having to live with his status of hero for killing so many people. He struggles to be there emotionally for his wife and children and Cooper does a masterful job of conveying his distress.
This is one of Eastwood’s best and is a paramount testimony to the sacrifices, painful decisions and trauma experienced by soldiers in any war.
The Imitation Game (2014, dir. Morten Tyldum)
Benedict Cumberbatch continues to prove he is one of the most versatile, engaging performers in recent times in Morten Tyldum’s “The Imitation Game.” Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, a brilliant but eccentric mathematician who is hired by the British government to decrypt the enigmatic code of German war communications during World War Two. Turing and his team of code-breakers are in a race against time as the death toll continues to climb on the battle front.
Turing is a complex character: he is a loner, a homosexual, stubborn, rebellious, and pompous at times. I can’t imagine anyone playing the part better than Cumberbatch. This is why he was nominated for an Oscar for this role. The whole cast is effective including Keira Knightley. Turing’s unique mindset compels him to go against the dictates of the crowd and his fellow code-breakers: he constructs a massive contraption he calls “Christopher”, really the first computer, and struggles to get it working in attempts to break the elusive German communication codes.
The film also does interesting things narratively in the portrayal of past, present, and future events. It effectively iterates the various timelines in a manner that is never confusing and orientates the viewer efficiently within the fabric of the narrative.
The period detail is masterful and compelling and the direction is excellent as well. It is one of the most exciting, enjoyable films you will see from 2014.
Turing is a complex character: he is a loner, a homosexual, stubborn, rebellious, and pompous at times. I can’t imagine anyone playing the part better than Cumberbatch. This is why he was nominated for an Oscar for this role. The whole cast is effective including Keira Knightley. Turing’s unique mindset compels him to go against the dictates of the crowd and his fellow code-breakers: he constructs a massive contraption he calls “Christopher”, really the first computer, and struggles to get it working in attempts to break the elusive German communication codes.
The film also does interesting things narratively in the portrayal of past, present, and future events. It effectively iterates the various timelines in a manner that is never confusing and orientates the viewer efficiently within the fabric of the narrative.
The period detail is masterful and compelling and the direction is excellent as well. It is one of the most exciting, enjoyable films you will see from 2014.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014, dir. Peter Jackson)
The highly-anticipated final instalment in Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" trilogy has arrived and it is an exciting, visually-appealing conclusion to the series. It features all the usual Jacksonian signatures that we have become familiar with in the first two Hobbit films as well as "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy: stunning CGI, pulse-pounding, epic battle scenes and a cast of characters that are well-drawn, amusing, fierce, surprising and droll.
The big battle of the title takes up a large chunk of the film and Jackson manages to conceive of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel in appropriate, tactful and imaginative ways. Mind you, there are many liberties taken by the Hobbit series and this instalment is no exception. There are some characters and different plot points that deviate from Tolkien's story but Jackson is able to present these differences in interesting and believable ways. Still, the die-hard fans of Tolkien's books may be dismayed at the liberties taken but you obviously can't please everyone and, in my mind, most viewers will be satisfied by the finished product.
That all being said, I didn't find myself as thoroughly immersed in this chapter as I was in the previous two. Perhaps, I was expecting more from the epic finale. But it still packs a visual and emotional wallop and cast a spell on this viewer. The overall epic grandeur of the film gains resonance from the cumulative power of the previous films as well as the LOTR trilogy.
The big battle of the title takes up a large chunk of the film and Jackson manages to conceive of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel in appropriate, tactful and imaginative ways. Mind you, there are many liberties taken by the Hobbit series and this instalment is no exception. There are some characters and different plot points that deviate from Tolkien's story but Jackson is able to present these differences in interesting and believable ways. Still, the die-hard fans of Tolkien's books may be dismayed at the liberties taken but you obviously can't please everyone and, in my mind, most viewers will be satisfied by the finished product.
That all being said, I didn't find myself as thoroughly immersed in this chapter as I was in the previous two. Perhaps, I was expecting more from the epic finale. But it still packs a visual and emotional wallop and cast a spell on this viewer. The overall epic grandeur of the film gains resonance from the cumulative power of the previous films as well as the LOTR trilogy.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
St. Vincent (2014, dir. Theodore Melfi)
"St. Vincent" tells the story of a guy named Vincent (Bill Murray). He is a Viet Nam war vet, down-on-his-luck, in constant debt, and a heavy drinking, miserable dude. He sees a prostitute named Daka (Naomi Watts) on a frequent basis and his wife is despondent and living in a nursing home nearby.
Enter newly-divorced Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and her endearing son, Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher). They move next door to Vincent. Maggie has a demanding job at the hospital and her extra hours there put her in a quandary that forces her to ask Vincent if he'll become a babysitter for young Oliver after school. Reluctantly, Vincent takes on the role and becomes Oliver's mentor as well. Soon, Oliver is getting life lessons from Vincent. But, Vincent learns a lot from the youngster too. Especially things about himself that he had forgotten or repressed.
There is nothing earth-shattering, extremely revealing or original about "St. Vincent". It has good performances but it doesn't add up to anything that thoroughly satisfies in the end.
This is considered a comedy but there aren't many laughs. I was disappointed by the film although I enjoyed Murray and the rest of the cast.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Gone Girl (2014, dir. David Fincher)
There has been a lot of hype about David Fincher's new film, "Gone Girl" which it definitely lives up to. It is a riveting film from start to finish and it will surprise and entertain you.
It is hard to give a review of this film without spoiling some of the movie because there are several shocking surprises and twists. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike star as husband and wife who's marriage, though blissful at the start, turns rocky and troubled. Pike's character, Amy, mysteriously disappears at the start of the film and Affleck's Nick is suspected by the police for what appears to be her murder. We learn about their past relationship troubles through voice-over diary readings by Amy. Nick is made to look more and more sinister, suspicious and volatile as the readings progress. To reveal any more of the film's plot would certainly give away too much to someone who hasn't seen the film or read the Gillian Flynn novel upon which the movie is based (Flynn also wrote the screenplay).
Fincher proves to be a modern-day master auteur. His previous films like "Se7en", "Fight Club", "The Social Network" and "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", dealt with consistent thematic concerns such as the darkness lurking within the soul's of humanity and modern man's duality and moral depravity. Here in "Gone Girl" he explores the extremes that his characters will go to to maintain there own sanity and reputation in the face of society's and the media's ever-present gaze and scrutiny.
It combines many genres: I detected elements of mystery, suspense, thriller and even neo noir in its stylistic leanings, cinematography and narrative. The performances, even from Affleck, who has been criticized in the past for his lack of technical sophistication, are stellar and raise the picture to the level of an Oscar-worthy film. This is a great film and one of the best of 2014.
It is hard to give a review of this film without spoiling some of the movie because there are several shocking surprises and twists. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike star as husband and wife who's marriage, though blissful at the start, turns rocky and troubled. Pike's character, Amy, mysteriously disappears at the start of the film and Affleck's Nick is suspected by the police for what appears to be her murder. We learn about their past relationship troubles through voice-over diary readings by Amy. Nick is made to look more and more sinister, suspicious and volatile as the readings progress. To reveal any more of the film's plot would certainly give away too much to someone who hasn't seen the film or read the Gillian Flynn novel upon which the movie is based (Flynn also wrote the screenplay).
Fincher proves to be a modern-day master auteur. His previous films like "Se7en", "Fight Club", "The Social Network" and "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", dealt with consistent thematic concerns such as the darkness lurking within the soul's of humanity and modern man's duality and moral depravity. Here in "Gone Girl" he explores the extremes that his characters will go to to maintain there own sanity and reputation in the face of society's and the media's ever-present gaze and scrutiny.
It combines many genres: I detected elements of mystery, suspense, thriller and even neo noir in its stylistic leanings, cinematography and narrative. The performances, even from Affleck, who has been criticized in the past for his lack of technical sophistication, are stellar and raise the picture to the level of an Oscar-worthy film. This is a great film and one of the best of 2014.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Blue Is The Warmest Color (2013, dir. Abdellatif Kechiche)
There is something about "Blue Is the Warmest Color" that makes me think that I am watching the Truth. It is a very Truthful film.
Yes, the sex scenes are somewhat drawn-out, excessive, and intense for most North Americans. But aside from these scenes, which have been the main focus of most criticism and press-coverage surrounding Kechiche's feature, what we see is a film full of compelling conversations, realistic happenings, and truly life-like encounters. There is something about the rhythm and tone of the screenplay (although I was reading subtitles) which heighten its realism and makes you think you are witnessing life instead of fiction.
It is the story of Adele (Adele Exarchopolous) who as a young high school student is struggling to locate her own identity and place in the world. Then she meets Emma (Lea Seydoux) who is the missing piece in the puzzle of her life. They become lovers and soul-mates for a fleeting moment in each other's lives and they grow and learn as a result.
I loved the scenes at Adele's school. There are classroom scene (she is a literature major) that demonstrate an expertise in direction by Kechiche that is peerless and soulful. The romance that blossoms between the two leads and takes place outside the bedroom is tender and meaningful as well.
As for the sex scenes in question, they are graphic and intense. But perhaps if we look at them as a part of the culture in which it takes place and a reflection of what many people experience then perhaps more people can accept them. It is a great film and I look forward to more from this director.
Yes, the sex scenes are somewhat drawn-out, excessive, and intense for most North Americans. But aside from these scenes, which have been the main focus of most criticism and press-coverage surrounding Kechiche's feature, what we see is a film full of compelling conversations, realistic happenings, and truly life-like encounters. There is something about the rhythm and tone of the screenplay (although I was reading subtitles) which heighten its realism and makes you think you are witnessing life instead of fiction.
It is the story of Adele (Adele Exarchopolous) who as a young high school student is struggling to locate her own identity and place in the world. Then she meets Emma (Lea Seydoux) who is the missing piece in the puzzle of her life. They become lovers and soul-mates for a fleeting moment in each other's lives and they grow and learn as a result.
I loved the scenes at Adele's school. There are classroom scene (she is a literature major) that demonstrate an expertise in direction by Kechiche that is peerless and soulful. The romance that blossoms between the two leads and takes place outside the bedroom is tender and meaningful as well.
As for the sex scenes in question, they are graphic and intense. But perhaps if we look at them as a part of the culture in which it takes place and a reflection of what many people experience then perhaps more people can accept them. It is a great film and I look forward to more from this director.
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