Not sure if this will develop into a new category or not, but couldn’t resist posting about this one. The other night, over a few beers, a friend outlined the synopsis of a film so ridiculous that most of us thought he was making it up. The following morning, he sent us this:
Yes. It appears that this turd was actually made. Tiptoes (2003) featured such A-list talent as Matthew McConaughey, Kate Beckinsale, Patricia Arquette and Gary Oldman, the latter playing, wait for it, a dwarf. With a supporting cast that must have included every dwarf that could read a line (including, unfortunately, the talented Peter Dinklage), Tiptoes went straight to DVD after its Sundance premiere, which is why nobody has heard of it.
There is so much that is just terrible about this idea, I’m not sure where to begin. But having Gary Oldman walk around on his knees to make him appear dwarflike (without accounting for the normal length of his arms) is surely one of the most glaring missteps. And why not have real dwarf Dinklage play Oldman’s part? To be honest, I don’t think anything would have saved this, but it might be fun to screen this for a look at some A-list talent working hard for a paycheque. I’m sure a few beers would help.
Tagged as:
straight2dvd,
whatweretheythinking
Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae (Director: Stascha Bader): Well, I’ll get one thing out of the way first. The poster for this movie kind of sucks. But I think if you watch the trailer (embedded below), that might help you forget how bad the poster is. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I think you’ll enjoy Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae.
I have always been a fan of ska, the fast dance music that originated in Jamaica in the early 1960s. This documentary introduces us to Rocksteady, a musical style that formed a bridge between ska and the slower, more politically conscious reggae music of the 1970s. Even though Rocksteady as a style really only lasted from around 1966 to 1968, its influence can still be found in popular music today, from Jamaican styles like dancehall and reggae to American hiphop. Director Bader takes us on a journey, much like the one Wim Wenders documented in Buena Vista Social Club, gathering musicians together from the era to record again and to put on a reunion concert in Kingston, Jamaica.
But rather than focus on who’s behind the reunion, as Wenders did with Ry Cooder in his film, Bader chooses to have one of the musicians narrate the story of Rocksteady. Wilburn “Stranger” Cole (nicknamed because he didn’t resemble anyone else in his family) recounts how Jamaica’s independence from Britain in 1962 created a new sense of optimism in the country. Young people from the countryside swarmed into Kingston to find work, but there wasn’t enough work for all of them. Rocksteady music mostly focused on themes of romance, but as Jamaica’s social problems increased, the music reflected them. Later, Reggae music would incorporate the same social consciousness with political and religious themes.
The history is effortlessly woven into the story of the reunion, and archival footage of Jamaica in the 1960s is juxtaposed with modern footage, often to dramatic effect. Bader shoots some beautiful scenes in decaying locales, including the old Palace Theatre (where blind Derrick Morgan performs his hit “Tougher Than Tough”) and an abandoned railway station. Combined with the closeups of the life-lined faces of these musicians, it paints a rather melancholy picture. The musicians lament that the country has lost its innocence. Singer Judy Mowatt remembers: “The Rocksteady era was a romantic era. We sang love songs. There was no violence. You could walk the streets of Jamaica at 12 o’clock, 1 o’clock, 2 o’clock without being harmed.” This all changed by the late 1960s when all the young men who had come to the city looking for work found none. These “rude boys” got into trouble with the law, and the streets were no longer safe. Some of the dance halls and theatres were forced to close down after people became afraid to venture out at night. This coincided with a period of change in black consciousness, led by the civil rights movement taking place in the US and the independence movements in Africa. All of these developments led to the evolution of Rocksteady into the Reggae that put Jamaican music on the international map.
With all the excellent background to the music, Bader’s film still works best as a showcase for the songs and the talents of those who performed them. Seeing these musicians come together to play after more than 40 years is a joy to watch. There are generous scenes of the new studio recordings, but one disappointment is that the big reunion concert is really only seen during the end credits. A full concert movie might make a great companion piece to this film. The studio sessions have already been released as a new CD.
Official site of the film
(8/10)
Tagged as:
jamaica,
music,
reggae,
ska
I’ve just realized that 2009 marks the more-or-less 20th anniversary of the beginning of my cinephilia. Back in the late ‘80s, Toronto had a handful of repertory cinemas under the Festival banner. The flagship was the Bloor Cinema, but I also saw films at the Revue, the Capitol (now an “event theatre”) and the Fox. The Kingsway, the Paradise, and later the Royal were a bit far for this east-end boy to get to at the time, but luckily they rotated the films around a fair bit. Each month, the newsprint Festival programme opened up a world of cinema riches to a young lad like myself. Though the Festival theatres no longer operate as a chain, most are still functioning movie houses, though it’s painfully evident that the best days of Toronto’s repertory cinemas are now gone. Here are some of the films I saw that made an impression on me all those years ago. In particular, I think the first four are sadly overlooked nowadays.
- Paperhouse (1988, Director: Bernard Rose)
- Toto le héros (1991, Director: Jaco van Dormael)
- Paper Mask (1990, Director: Christopher Morahan)
- Chameleon Street (1989, Director: Wendell B. Harris Jr.)
- The Sacrifice (1986, Director: Andrei Tarkovsky)
- Delicatessen (1991, Directors: Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro)
- The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989, Director: Peter Greenaway)
- Mediterraneo (1991, Director: Gabriele Salvatores)
- Cinema Paradiso (1988, Director: Giuseppe Tornatore)
- Metropolitan (1990, Director: Whit Stillman)
- Life Is Sweet (1991, Director: Mike Leigh)
- Roger and Me (1989, Director: Michael Moore)
- Withnail and I (1987, Director: Bruce Robinson)
- The Double Life of Veronique (1991, Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski)
- Wings of Desire (1987, Director: Wim Wenders)
Thanks to John Vetterli for making his photo available under a Creative Commons licence.
Editor’s Note: I’m introducing a new category called Snapshots with this review. These are short takes on older films. Short takes because I’m either too lazy to attempt a full review or else I’m intimidated by the wealth of other critical opinion out there on these films.
Black Narcissus (1947, Directors: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger): Though Deborah Kerr has top billing, the real star of Black Narcissus is the Technicolor cinematography of Jack Cardiff, who passed away earlier this year. For a film that came out right after the war, the lush colours and exotic locale must have been like a drug to a war-weary world. Kerr plays Sister Clodagh, the leader of a small group of nuns who have been sent to the Himalayas to establish a convent school on the site of a former palace that was used to house a previoius owner’s concubines. The exotic setting seems to create tensions in the women, pulling them away from their religious devotion toward the more sensual pleasures of the exotic world they’re inhabiting.
The plot is melodramatic, but the images are always strikingly composed. Surprisingly (or perhaps not so much considering England’s post-war austerity), the whole thing was shot at Pinewood Studios, with some wonderful set design and matte paintings filling in for real mountains. Both art director Alfred Junge and cinematographer Cardiff won Academy Awards for the film.
I will confess that I’m baffled at all the references I’ve seen to these nuns as Protestant or “Anglo-Catholic”. Their order is named for the Virgin Mary and although they renew their vows yearly, which is unusual, there was nothing remotely Protestant about their religious practice, nor did I hear any clarifying reference in the dialogue. Perhaps it is made clear in the novel (by Rumer Godden) upon which the film is based.
Essay by Ronald Haver on the Criterion website
(8/10)
Tagged as:
criterion,
faith,
melodrama
Humpday (Director: Lynn Shelton): Two reviews in a row about films by women directors about the delicate relationships between men. But Humpday and The Hurt Locker (review) couldn’t be more different. Where the latter ratcheted up the tension with action and explosions, Lynn Shelton’s film builds it with queasy laughter and an outrageous game of chicken.
Ben (Mark Duplass) is a thirty-something transportation planner, happily married to Anna (Alycia Delmore) and living in a nice house in Seattle. And then his old college buddy Andrew (Joshua Leonard) arrives in the middle of the night, looking for a place to crash after returning from an artists’ colony in Mexico. It’s clear that the two have taken different paths since college, but Ben doesn’t like the feeling that he’s become a cliche, so he accompanies his friend to a wild party at the home of a bisexual artist Andrew’s just met. After many substances have been consumed, the talk turns to Humpfest, Seattle’s amateur porn contest.
In a moment of drunken one-up-manship, Ben suggests to Andrew that they should make a tape of the two of them having sex. It will be the greatest art project ever, he says, it will be “beyond gay.” Challenging his “artist” buddy to contribute to an art project is a sly form of dare, and Andrew can’t say no. Even in the sober light of day, the two of them can’t seem to back down. The best scenes are of Andrew trying to let Ben back out. “I know this scene isn’t really for you,” he says, which only gets Ben to dig in his heels.
Shelton has perfectly captured the competitiveness of men, even modern sensitive men. The subtle chemistry between Ben and Andrew is a joy to watch, even at its most uncomfortable. Each man’s fears are driving this ridiculous battle of wills. Ben’s afraid he’s lost whatever edge he might have had in college, and Andrew feels that his artist persona is really just a phony mask covering up a much more regular guy. The comedy is sharp, but for me it was the comedy of recognition.
It’s also bittersweet, as these two guys realize that their friendship, genuine as it is, has changed as their lives have changed. I hope this won’t spoil the ending, but the emotional release the two friends eventually achieve is more fulfilling than any “money shot” could ever be.
P.S. You might also enjoy Shelton’s last film, another smart exploration of male friendship called My Effortless Brilliance (review).
Official site of the film
(8/10)
Tagged as:
bromance,
comedy,
friendship,
homosexuality,
manhood
