Reviews

Clouds of Sils Maria (TIFF 2014 Review)

Dir: Olivier Assayas

Clouds of Sils Maria is the latest from French auteur Olivier Assayas (Something in the Air, Paris, je t’aime). The film finds Juliette Binoche thoroughly engaged and in top form in a layered narrative that reflects on aging, art and how the two intersect. Binoche is Maria Enders, an actress in her middle years that came to fame as the lead in a play called Maloja Snake. She was once the seductive ingénue, in the play and otherwise, and is now asked to return to the play as the older female character who is blinded by her lust.

Kristin Stewart plays Maria’s assistant Valentine, and they both retreat to picturesque Sils Maria, Switzerland to prepare for the role. The plotline of Maloja Snake is mirrored in Maria and Valentine’s interactions, and the play and these women’s lives become increasingly intertwined.  With much hinted at but not shown, answers and meaning are illusive in the film.

In addition to this narrative trickery, Assayas references both Binoche and Stewart’s real-life personas to add another meta-layer to the story as a whole. The allusions and winking references are (more…)

Best of Summer 2014: The Arthouse

This past summer turned out to have a surprising amount of quality blockbusters (read that here), but how fared the more limited releases? If the below list is any indication, then the answer is remarkably well as there was a wide variety of fantastic flicks being released in what’s typically the critical dead zone of summer.

For the purposes of this post, we’ll consider April 4 the start of summer.  That means stellar efforts like Grand Budapest Hotel, Nymphomaniac Volume I and The Raid 2: Berendal were all spring releases and will have to settle for appearing on a slew of end-of-year lists.  Without further ado, the cream of the arthouse crop:

Under the Skin

Scarlet Johansson has had a banner year and Under the Skin is a big part of that. Eschewing larger films for an esoteric sci-fi thinker helmed by Jonathan Glazer should win over the last few film fans in the world not already under her spell. Minimal almost to a fault and equally haunting, Under the Skin evokes an unnerving mood that stays with you long after the end credits roll. Utterly unique and uncompromising, the film rewards those who can stare at it long enough to unlock its pleasures. Full review here.

Secret Weapon:  Johansson commands the screen in a lead performance that asks a lot of her, but let’s call out the sound design and score for their key roles in the movie. So much of the oddness and alien nature of the character and the story itself is conveyed through sound and repetition, that without the keen audio much would be lost.

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Blue Ruin

Emerging filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier wrote and directed this striking thriller that wraps suspense and bloodletting around a meditation on revenge that stands tall with classics from The Coen Brothers and Chan-wook Park. Macon Blair stars as a bearded vagrant living a meager existence with seemingly no purpose to live. That purpose is found when the criminal who tore apart his family is released from prison and he sets out on a mission for vengeance. The initial storyline, which would be a complete narrative in other films, (more…)

Best of Summer 2014: The Blockbusters

Headed into summer 2014 it looked as though there were a few bright spots in the schedule, but it was likely to be a mere appetizer on the road towards an utterly packed 2015.  Lo and behold, Batman V. Superman got pushed to 2016 and Star Wars Episode VII was moved to late 2015, taking the shine off next summer.

Who could’ve predicted 5 months ago that Captain America’s second outing would successfully marry 70’s paranoid thrillers to modern action movies, or that the next Planet of the Apes would rocket the series into deserving A-list status?  It was truly a summer of overachievers. Here’s a rundown of the best blockbusters that hit, in order of release date:

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Cap’s second outing continues Marvel’s Phase 2 and delivers characterization, story , and epic action beats in equal measure. As directors, The Russo Brothers pivot from the first film’s gung-ho WW2-era jingoism to a more modern authority-questioning plot. Chris Evans continues to prove that he is the best choice for the role and brings a welcome lightness. The casting coup of Robert Redford pays thematic dividends and the rest of the cast shines as well: Anthony Mackie’s PTSD Falcon, Scarlett Johansson’s sly Black Widow, and even Sammy J’s squinting Nick Fury all get their moment in the sun. This is simply a well-balanced flick that set a high bar to clear in April (!) – which, I know, is not technically summer.

Secret Weapon: Sebastien Stan’s tortured and badass turn as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier. Chris Evans’ Marvel contract is 6 films – when that’s up could Bucky Barnes fill Cap’s shoes? It would bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe closer in tone to the comics and could make for a nice redemption story. Falcon could slot in nicely here as well.

Neighbors

Neighbors

Seth Rogen has become such a ubiquitous screen presence (last year’s This is the End mined similar territory and this fall sees him re-teamed with frequent collaborator James Franco for The Interview) that a new movie of his is hardly an event. Thankfully Neighbors shakes off the fatigue and brings the funny in spades. As opposed to the “Slobs vs. Snobs” plotlines of 80’s films, Neighbors has “Slobs vs. Slightly Older Slobs” as rowdy frat boys next door – led by Zac Efron and Dave Franco – face off against Seth Rogen & Rose Byrne’s new parents. Sharp writing, a stellar supporting cast, and an overall contagious party vibe make this another notch in Seth Rogen’s belt and contribute to a movie that is perfect for throwing on and hanging out with.

Secret Weapon: Zac Efron as the Alpha frat bro Teddy. He’s a surprisingly nuanced character in a movie that actually has empathy for both sides. Efron brings dimension to what could’ve been a one-note character and, (more…)

The F Word Review

The F Word (2014)

Dir: Michael Dowse

The best romantic comedies snap and crackle with the pop of witty dialogue and effervescent chemistry.  It’s a genre that has embraced and embodies many hoary clichés, yet can also transcend them when the right elements align.  The F Word (renamed What If outside of Canada) is Daniel Radcliffe’s latest post-Potter pic, and it falls somewhere in between those two extremes.

The movie opens, as all films of its ilk must, with Daniel Radcliffe’s Wallace meeting-cute with Zoe Kazan’s Chantry. Wallace is thawing out after a long post-breakup hibernation and Chantry embodies all the manic pixie dream girl ideals that we’ve come to expect from modern rom-coms. The twist? Chantry has a boyfriend and is only looking for a friend (the titular F Word). It’s an intriguing setup and one that could have legs in the right hands.  Radcliffe is game, if a little overmatched, and Kazan shines in the kind of a role that she could easily make a career of.

As Wallace and Chantry’s friendship grows, a kind of “will they or won’t they?” stasis is established that the movie looks to draw tension from. After an initial period apart, (more…)

Boyhood Review

Boyhood (2014)

Dir: Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater’s Boyhood – an epic yet intimate tale of one boy’s growth from age 6 to 18 shot piecemeal over the course of 12 years – amazingly and improbably proves worth the wait. This is the work of a master filmmaker at the top of his craft – the result of a series of assured choices that leads to scenes that weave a tapestry of a young life. Maybe you weren’t born in 1994, as the main character and actor was, but the story itself is universal in its telling. This is the story of growing up and growing into oneself, and rarely has it been told so well.

The movie opens to the strains of Coldplay’s breakout song Yellow, a massive hit in the early 2000’s that nicely sets the time period without being overly obvious. Boyhood is full of these cues – music, videogames, political references – that signify each time period. Ellar Coltrane portrays Mason, the titular character, and he’s introduced (more…)

Life Itself Review

Life Itself (2014)

Dir: Steve James

Roger Ebert – that towering personality who dominated popular film criticism for pretty much the entirety of its television heyday and beyond that into the early 21st century – gets the documentary treatment from fellow mid-Westerner Steve James in Life Itself.  Friends, colleagues, filmmakers and family, along with Ebert himself, look back upon his life and legacy in this comprehensive, poignant and frequently funny film.

Adapted from Ebert’s autobiography of the same name, Life Itself traces Ebert’s life from childhood to his death in 2013.  Every American Icon needs a worthy origin story, and Life Itself ably provides.  A precocious child with a passion for the written word, Ebert’s gifts were encouraged by his immigrant parents who foresaw a better life for their son. Fun anecdotes from Ebert’s time as editor of his college newspaper, The Illini, foreshadowed his passion for journalism and eventual career path.  His quick rise to Chicago Sun Times film critic in 1967 is crosscut with ribald tales of his drinking and carousing (more…)

Under the Skin Review

Under the Skin (2014)

Dir: Jonathan Glazer

Scarlett Johansson takes a break from the brawn of big-budget blockbusters to ably command the screen in Under the Skin, Jonathan Glazer’s long-in-the-works third feature. Science fiction and Scottish miserablism combine in this visually stunning but narratively light film that’s long on haunting imagery and short on dialogue.

Johansson stars as the unnamed lead, an alien who haunts the Scottish countryside in a white panel van in search of lonely men with few societal connections. There’s a motorcyclist who acts as her handler of sorts, a dilapidated building that serves as home base, and the aforementioned van where much of the film takes place in and around.  And then… things occur.  Without being dismissive of the film, it’s more a tone poem and less a traditional narrative, and to detail (more…)