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Brick (Director: Rian Johnson, USA, 2005): After meeting Joseph Gordon-Levitt at SXSW a few weeks ago, I was determined to track down this film, in which he plays a high school student whose ex-girlfriend turns up dead. The interesting thing is that this is not a typical teen movie, but instead is a highly stylized film noir, with hardboiled dialogue right out of the 1940s. It just happens to be set in a contemporary California high school.
Gordon-Levitt’s performance as Brendan is spot-on, and each of the young actors come across as fully committed to the unusual and intricate script. The only drawback is that some of the dialogue is spoken so quickly and softly that it can make the complicated plot hard to follow. I almost considered turning on the subtitles. But I figured that this is a film that I’ll want to watch a few times, so I’ll just let the dialogue work its way gradually into my mind. An audacious debut from Rian Johnson, directing from his own script.
Official Film Site
(9/10)
Tagged as:
filmnoir
From April 6-8, The Bridge will air on The Documentary Channel in Canada at 8 pm ET. If you were looking for a reason to add this channel to your cable or satellite subscription then this is it.
The Bridge (2006) was one of the best films I screened at Doc Soup in the last year. Don’t miss it.
Tagged as:
suicide
Eagle vs Shark (Director: Taika Waititi, New Zealand, 2007): I’d had my eye on this film since it played at Sundance and when I got the chance to see it at SXSW in the storied Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in downtown Austin, I didn’t hesitate.
I’d heard the film compared to Napoleon Dynamite, but without the condescension (and some would say, cruelty). For the most part, this is true. But Eagle vs Shark also comes across as unique in its own right, mainly due to the winning performance of Loren Horsley as Lily, who seems as steadfast and good-hearted as a heroine from a medieval fable. The film also makes sparing but effective use of stop-motion animation to add just the right amount of whimsy. The remote setting of rural New Zealand and the rarely-heard accents add to the quirky feel but don’t feel contrived. Instead, it’s comforting to know that there are geeks in every corner of the earth.
I left the theatre smiling and realized that I’d been doing it for practically the entire running time of the film. This is a gentle, tender-hearted romantic comedy that still packs some big laughs.
UPDATE: Just got the word from Alliance Atlantis that the film will open in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver on June 29 (the US limited release date is June 15) and it will go wide on July 13th.
Promo clip here
Official Film Site
(8/10)
Tagged as:
newzealand,
SXSW
Junebug (Director: Phil Morrison, USA, 2005): Brilliant! An instant favourite. How did I miss such a perfect film?
Director Phil Morrison has created an incredible piece of art with writer Angus MacLachlan. Everything from the dialogue, casting, cinematography, music and direction is so carefully put together and magically real. You can’t help but believe in the characters and the story that unfolds before you.
Junebug requires a certain amount of patience from the viewer. Some of the shots might be unusually long and ‘artsy’ for some audiences but it sets a tone for certain scenes. At times the dialog is sparse but the acting speaks volumes.
The story is fairly simple but the characters are complex and very interesting. Newlyweds, Madeleine and George live in Chicago. They take a road trip to North Carolina so that Madeleine can meet George’s family and hopefully sign up an eccentric painter to Madeleine’s art gallery.
The artist in North Carolina is like a character right out of the Civil War. The film is worth watching just to hear his accent. George’s family are an interesting bunch. I don’t want to give too much away because I think the less you know, the more you’ll like the film. If you want a plot summary then check out IMDB.
I really wish there was a director commentary for this film because it raises a lot of questions and I’d love to know some of the intended meanings behind certain shots and some of the dialogue.
This is a film that I’ll be adding to my DVD library so that I can watch it again and again. It’s that good and I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it.
TMNT (Director: Kevin Munroe, USA/Hong Kong, 2007): If you’re over the age of ten, you might not know that TMNT stands for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you’re under the age of ten, you might not know that TMNT was the top weekend flick with $25.45 million in ticket sales.
I found myself sitting in the a theatre with my 7-year-old son Daniel, waiting for TMNT to start. Like most 7-year-olds, he has a fascination with ninja turtles. I don’t. All I could think about were the really bad one-star reviews I had read about the film.
By the time the credits rolled, I was relieved. The movie wasn’t that bad. It’s basically a 3D version of the TV show but with really good production values. The animation by Imagi Entertainment is impressive and gave me something to admire while the turtles ate pizza and bickered.
The animation and the rendering don’t live up to Pixar standards, but so what. A 7-year-old kid isn’t going to notice or care about how realistic the fabrics are rendered or if the inverse-kinematics in the character animation is incredibly realistic.
It made me wonder who Pixar is really making their incredible films for. Why not crank out a bunch of mediocre movies like everyone else? Why raise the 3D bar with every film? The kids won’t care or really notice so long as the story is solid. Will they?
I tried to get Daniel to write a review but he thought that would be too boring. So I asked him what he thought about the film. “It was good” was the only response I could get at first. I asked him what he hated about the film and he responded with, “the long talking parts.” Hmm, okay.
I asked which movie he thought was better, Superman Returns or TMNT. I was sure he would pick Superman Returns but he quickly replied with, “TMNT. It had way more action.” My shoulders slumped forward and my chin collapsed into my chest. When I recovered, Daniel asked me if we could get the TMNT video game for PS2.
Official Film Site
Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Site
Tagged as:
animation,
pixar
