Reviews

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU a film by Wes Anderson.

What defines a cult film? I don't know, one thing I do know though is that you can't truly consider yourself to be cool if you haven't seen RUSHMORE. Risking being called an eccentric I proclaimed that the rebirth of Bill Murray as an actor, if he ever was one, did not happen when he was LOST IN TRANSLATION but it did take place at RUSHMORE, both films share one thing though, MURRAY is always trying to score younger chicks and guess what he does in AQUATIC… anyway in the acting college of life there are actors who went to RUSHMORE and others that just didn't. Steve Zissou, filmmaker-oceanographer, lost his partner eaten by a shark while filming his latest movie, now he embarks in a new mission to avenge his friend and kill the beast. Max Fischer said it best "you have to find something you love to do and then do it for the rest of your life", Mr Anderson not only wrote that line but took it as a way of making films. The most important thing in art is to find your own style and then make it unique, Wes Anderson has achieved that and although most people won't like it the man has a particular vision full of trademarks. Bill Murray goes hand in hand with that vision sharing the ironic quality of making people laugh with seriousness, is all about restrain and straight faces kind of the opposite of what Jim Carrey does. Is also compulsory to have at least one of the Wilson brothers and to be honest I'd have Owen Wilson writing rather than acting based in the fact that I can't see his nose, literally speaking. Another trademark and probably Anderson motto is "characters are more important than plot", get a billion actors to wander along the worlds you create so nobody notice that there is nothing actually going on. The downside to this is that the screen can feel a bit busy sometimes and no one is really defined. My personal favorite is Pele Dos Santos who seams the scenes together with Bowie's song covers that also set the dramatic tone perfectly in both the soundtrack and the movie, if you don't like the movie you can always play the game of guessing what songs is he covering, difficult task even for a Bowie fanatic like myself. A bit of trivia, his name is a composite of two of the most famous Brazilian footballers ever, the national team never lost when those two were playing together. Another one, Anderson always closes movies in style and slow motion, kind of living the best for last. AQUATIC have them all and this is a very dangerous game to play because you live and die with your characters, if the audience doesn't connect with them the movie will sink like the TENEMBAUMS, he plays it safe here choosing another of his obsessions as a lead man… Mr Jackes Costeu, a pretty healthy fixation if you ought to have one and the main reason why the movie worked for my this time around, everybody likes Costeu. Wes Anderson makes us laugh again and I wonder if he'll ever know he's in the best selling show… is there life on MARS?***

THE SEA INSIDE a film by Alejandro Amenabar.

Almodovar has always single handed the flag for Spanish cinema for years now, out of nowhere came Amenabar reinventing genres and injecting some new blood to the otherwise malfunctioning Spanish industry, now in a big gamble he switches from psychological terror to social drama, well the big ones would be, are audiences ready to embrace the swing and more important can he hold the flag? This is the story of Ramon Sampedro, a sailor that in his twenties was paralyzed from the neck down in an accident at the sea and his fight with the Spanish government for the right to end his life. The story has the traces of an afternoon made for TV melodrama and the only way this is going to work is through words and honest performances and they both come in spades. Mateo Gil and Amenabar co-write in a way where the audience is not meant to be lead blind to a death end but they are encouraged to make up their own minds in the process and that is a brilliant stroke, this is not a movie pro death but a movie in favour of the ultimate illusions of our time LIBERTY. There is a few laughs spare a long the way, like when the church comes home in a wheel chair to deconstruct Sampedro beliefs but is mostly a valley of tears through out, punches coming from all fronts even when you think you are safe his father that to that point didn't make any sense comes up with the most moving line of the entire movie. It is a heartbreaking experience specially when Sampedro seems more full of life than most the people wandering the streets and everyone around him tries to convince him of the wonders of life even those who are helping him to die… but when you strip a man of his dreams… The film is almost exclusively built on close ups bringing a claustrophobic feeling that makes the audience more sympathetic with Sampedro. That's for the actors a huge challenge that must construct their whole performances with their eyes and the eyes don't lie. Bardem was not granted his second Oscar nomination, probably in favour of Eastwood, but in my opinion he was the only one who could have shadowed Jammie Fox. This role reminds me of the great Gregory Peck in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD where the acting looked effortless and I reckon Bardem has reached that status where the line of what is acting and what is real has become completely blur. I was never fond of his early work but since Almodovar's LIVE FLESH he is on a roll, LOS LUNES AL SOL, THE DANCER UPSTAIRS and the Oscar nominated BEFORE THE NIGHT FALLS made him an international star and although he and Banderas come from the same Almodovar background is fascinating to see how different paths they took and how Bardem has now become a real reference for Spanish cinema in the whole world. A golden globe, 14 Goyas, jury prize at Venice and probably an Oscar with permission from THE CHORUS BOYS, Amenabar directs, co-write, edits and puts music to a high caliber drama, he has pull it off… what about some Science Fiction now? Whose life is it anyway?****.

2046 a film by Won Kar-Wai.

One thing we learned with the release of 2046 is that you can not rush the genius, after 5 years producing the sequel for IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE Won Kar-Wai found himself in a lost highway working 10 days straight to hand over the most awaited film of the century one hour and a half before projection at this year CANNES film festival. It was a bad move that sums up to the big fiasco the festival turn to be in the big prize department. Consequently he spent the next 5 months polishing the film to release it completely reshaped for the London film festival. 2046 rough cut or not one day someone will explain how OLD BOY walked away without the PALME DOO'R. China's sixties protests, a writer finds himself looking for love and inspiration in a Dylanesque hotel straight out of DESOLATION ROW "where everyone is either making love or else expecting rain", his new book 2046 is about a place in the future where everybody goes to forget unwanted memories, there is a catch though, once you go you can never come back. There was a time when if you wanted to be IN you had to worship JULIO MEDEM as the new KUBRICK out the ashes, that was true till WON KAR-WAI came along producing the most talked about film in years and he turn overnight into the coolest director on earth. The first twenty minutes really drag you down with critics all over the world catching some Z's but once ZHANG ZIYI walks in scene there is no rest nor possible escape. There is something compelling in the way everything is staged that makes you instantly want to be part of it even when there is no redemption to be found in the surroundings… part time lovers, drinking pals, people smoking on roofs or writers sharing their work. Helping in the equation is the Almodovar's mood in the soundtrack that blends perfectly with the imaginary pushing the erotic levels to unthinkable places. The story is presented as Sci-fi but as Maggie Cheun would say is more about "love, missed moments, time passing and people who can't have each other" if you add the two most talented actors of the Hong Kong new wave LEUNG and ZIYI you end up bordering the masterpiece. TONY LEUNG can he be the Chinese DE NIRO? Well they are calling the INFERNAL AFFAIRS trilogy the new GODFATHER and overstated or not he has shown some versatility over the years from JOHN WOO's HARD BOILED to HERO, passing through IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. ZHANG ZIYI carries on her shoulders two masterpieces back to back in UK releases and fresh from her nomination for best actress at the BAFTAS for HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS I hope that she never make it to Hollywood which can turn her raw talent into puppetry and that is precisely the opposite of what this movie is all about, complete disregard about happy endings, cliché structures or conventionalisms with a lot of loose ends. Witness for yourself the hype, filmmakers and actors in a state of grace… FILMS like love is all about timing.****

THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS a film by Zhang Yimou.

This could have easily turn to be a pretentious exercise of style over substance, surprisingly Yimou spins off again the sword fantasy genre to deliver a beautiful crafted love tale that although visually stunning relies heavily on marvellous storytelling. Once again ancient China, the emperor is losing his power when a band of criminals come in playing Robin Hood, two captains are given the mission of infiltrating the band and kill the leader of THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. Hearing Yimou early this year talking about DAGGERS as the sequel to the intro that was HERO sent chills down my spine remembering similar promises that were never fulfilled in the MATRIX arena. Then I got the news from CANNES where the movie got an standing ovation in progress and hit me, this was no Mickey mouse. Both the MATRIX and the Hong Kong new wave mix different genres and themes to deliver a cinematic experience that is appealing to broader audiences, the final Chinese product being higher in quality even when it struggles with the language barrier. HERO was all about composition paying with water, leaves and a lot of colours to present a succession of canvas that moved 24 a second where DAGGERS plays with the exposition of the characters as the story unfolds, both flourishing on the fact that love and honor in eastern cultures actually mean something. The film opens big with the echo game immediately prompting the question if they have somehow flawed opening with the best number, that is quickly answered when the movie excels scene after scene leading to the grand finale, a snowed Mexican stand off that in retrospect makes the anticlimax of Volume 1 look like a pathetic collage of misfortunes. There is a more "realisctic" approach to the fighting trying to keep everybody in the ground even when they are not, being very difficult to say who is on wires or martial arts trained. The two male leads, KANESHIRO as master wind can be seen at some moments as a week performance that improves towards the end and is LAU playing a warrior in the strict sense who is more focus in both his task and his delivery, the big star is ZHANG ZIYI thought who carries the story with a pristine act, she has finally grown to drop the ridiculous reaction shots and the screams from previous films and takes control of her emotions in the role of a life time with a detail I can't unveil. The GREEN DESTINY has to surrender his crown over DAGGERS, it did have that edge, ZHANG YIMOU elevates the bar sky high and makes me wonder where do we go from here? well straight to my TOP 10 for starters. *****

GARDEN STATE a film by Zach Braff.

What ever happened to the BREAKFAST CLUB kids? well they headed down to middle suburbia in the garden state where angst has turned into an utterly depressing feeling and reality is not a place where you wanna spend 24 hours a day. Andrew (BRAFF) is a failed actor trying to make it in LA, when his mother dies he is forced to go back to his town in New Jersey for a couple of days where he reencounters his past. This might sound familiar till you met the Klingon medieval knight, the man who reinvented the wheel with a twist and the misfits version of Noe's biblical apocalypse, to top that Andrew's family is the mount Himalayas of dysfunctional families facing a Murphy's law gone mad kind of scenario. He put his mother on a wheel chair when he was nine and has his own father giving psychiatric advice and a lot of pills. The last thing I would expect from the funny doctor of SCRUBS is to write, direct and act in what is hands down the best story of the year. Already comparisons with ALLEN let me tell you that for a debut feature he has managed to trash the early years and move straight to the best subtle blend of comedy and drama that are MANHATTAN and ANNIE HALL. There is nothing classic about the structure that works as a relentless succession of magic moments chain together with great gags. Something that opens musically with COLDPLAY can not possibly go wrong and it doesn't, gets even better when we are introduced to the song "that will change your life, I promise" or so says Sam (NATALIE PORTMAN), I'm not sure if somethings can be change that easy but certainly will have you running to buy the soundtrack when the credits roll, the song NEW SLANG... the band THE SHINS. BRAFF acts his way out even when he struggles with the more dramatic bits thanks to his companions. I have never understood all the buzz with PORTMAN so he played an OK role in LEON and moved on to the galaxy far away... so what? I really think this is the turning point for her, at least she has been given the chance to chew a very challenging persona and delivers an honest performance and then we get PETER SARSGARD who is mastering the art of getting great chunks of acting from the STAR WARS puppets as he did with VADER in SHATTERED GLASS. He is the most talented actor of this crew following GABRIEL BYRNE advice that in acting the most important things are looks, movements and silences. In the best year for both music and films since the Tarantino revolution I dare to say, if you only watch one film this year make it to GARDEN STATE and you better make it quick because HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS may have that edge. Like the SHINS would say "it's a luscious mix of words and tricks", watch it. *****

MICHAEL MANN is not the prolific type a la TAKESHI MIKE but when he strikes he leaves a mark, is not the stories neither the characters is the style that pours from every single frame of his movies that makes him one of the most respected filmmakers alive. Three of the best movies of the nineties are gangsters related, to chose between them would be as difficult as choosing between REVOLVER, the WHITE album or ABBEY ROAD, so different so unique, I will always go for the dark horse that is HEAT anyway because of the strange sense of being presented something that is real. COLLATERAL is the story of Max (FOX) a dreamer trapped in a cab that is going to have the ride of his life when Vincent (CRUISE) steps in with an offer he can't refuse, 600 dollars, 5 stops, one night. This tale has it's flaws as did the third act on HEAT but those are forgiven when the picture is taken as a whole, the eternal struggle between story VS rhythm. One of the right moves of the movie is the casting against the type, we get the comedian playing the straight man and Mr fantastic goes in the shoes of the hit man making everyone but the police sympathetic towards the audience. CRUISE pulls it off majestically shooting bullets and one liners like there is no tomorrow, the silk grey suit with hairstyle to match didn't hurt either and he ain't no punk, articulated, cultured and has a point, sometimes one too many. The best description of Vincent comes from CRUISE talking about himself "I never act in terms of what people will think" that is embrace by his character and made a philosophy of life. Is not the first time that MANN's makes us like the bad guy, in fact he has made it usual themes, from McCauley in HEAT to Hannibal Lecter in MANHUNTER, whose BRIAN COX portrait is consider to this very day the best by many, we fight our own devils to discern what is right from wrong. The cast hides a couple of surprises, the bad , the roadrunner chasing the coyote is MARK RUFFALO, closer to a Mickey mouse impersonation whose face reads I got wood all over, the good, JAVIER BARDEM enters the movie frightened as the Hollywood outsider but finishes on top his five minutes of glory and the ugly... PETER BERG. STUART BEATTIE, the writer, considered ROBERT DE NIRO for the part of the TAXI DRIVER but that idea was dropped early on because he was considered too old for the role or maybe is just because he would have blown CRUISE out of the water "you talking to me". MANN shifted the story from NY to LA, where night-clubs are guarded by men with guns and bullet proof vests and nobody knows anybody, asking for help will get you in more troubles you can handle... bringing us the "funniest" and most satisfying scene of the film, the saddest is jazz scored. Shoot almost entirely on digital, LA night looks great giving great expectations to the format. Now to confuse you all I'll reveal that COLLATERAL ends where HEAT starts and begins where the other ends, deja vu... I Ching, whatever man we got a roll with it. My movie of the year.*****

THE VILLAGE by M.NIGHT SHYAMALAN.

End of summer, slow movie, lack of substance and everything wrapped together with a twist can only mean one thing, SHYAMALAN is back. They said if he wants to do horror he does the SIXTH SENSE, fancy super heroes...he does UNBREAKABLE and when he wants to do a shitty movie he does SIGNS, his movie career has gone downhill into oblivion as did my vote of confidence. ANGEL HEART and THE USUAL SUSPECTS worked because the story leading to the twist can stand on it's on feet regardless of the end so did THE SIXTH SENSE whose replay value went through the roof if only to check some loose ends. So now we are going deep into THE VILLAGE, the first ten minutes bring back a strong anxiety feeling very close to the panic attack wondering if TWISTA can possibly bores us to death yet again, then as the story unfolds fear turns into interest and then into fear again but because of the good reasons. A village surrounded by woods, something lurks in the dark but they won't bother us if we don't bother them, looks simple? believe me it is not. So we have the story, what else do we need? Actors, come in la creme de la creme WILLIAM HURT and ADRIEN BRODIE and top that with and almost silent performance from PHOENIX can we ask for more?... the cherry of the cake is newcomer HOWARD playing the blind girl that at some point will not only be leading the movie but also the audience into the darkness and finally the real deal of the movie, the village itself. We will soon discover that apart from the vastness of the ocean in OPEN WATER, walking the woods at night is the most scary thing to do, I know is irrational after all who is gonna be hiding there monsters? guess what, there are. Now the weakness... the monsters are introduced as "the ones we do not speak of", now this point can border the unbearable at some stages, wanting to slap a couple of characters, specially PHOENIX, well is always PHOENIX isn't it. Secondly Mr SHYAMALAN secret which I won't reveal let's just say that looks like he has work the story backwards closing every single detail.One thing is for sure this movie is not everyone you will either love it or hate it but the movie will grow on you if you let it. As for the director's trademark I can say without the shadow of a doubt that his cameo is the most ingenious ever, HITCKOCK or otherwise. Let's twist again... like we did last summer.***

Documentary film making is on the rise bringing in both audiences an quality to the cinemas, TOUCHING THE VOID, CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS or the Oscar winner BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE were huge hits commercially and received prizes all over the world. Michael Moore has built himself a reputation in this genre systematically attacking one of the great lies of our generation THE American DREAM. Films, TV shows, books and even WEST END shows sell by the million saying outloud what people want to hear... THE AWFUL TRUTH.

I was expecting this movie with mixed emotions though, in one hand I admire Moore's ability to stir things up in a society that doesn't swallow criticisms particularly well, on the other I walked in with a lot of concern wondering if this was really ground breaking film making to score the PALM DO'R or has CANNES gone political? The fact is that Moree's style is not even guerrilla is pedestrian at best and he balances his lack of skills with strong subjects. The only interesting visual technique happens early on when he builds a movie in an event he doesn't show directly, the old COCTEU thing "never state what you can imply" and that worked so well for Tarantino when he was making real movies. The rest of the film feels very sloppy without continuity or order, is more interesting what he is saying that the way is said. The power of the film lies in the shocking revelations though, after playing endless nights of SIX DEGREES OF KEVIN BACON you know you can connect anyone you want but BUSH and the BIN LADEN's? oh boy we didn't got that on news night review, neither we got the wreck of the 2000 elections or the real horror of war...

There is a couple of details that bothered me, first the voice over, he spends little time in front of the camera but talks behind it too much, unnecessary begin the BUSH administration a cross between "1984" super big brother and the ultimate "confederacy of dunces" that really speak for themselves. Second the coalition allies montage, the Dutch are dope smokers, the Romanians are vampires... using strong sterotypes to ridicule the small allies but then he clearly manipulates when he doesn't mention the strong ones, UK, JAPAN, Australia... then BLAIR goes untouched. A nightmare production in the land of the "free speech", MEL Gibson production company drop the project in progress for begin too hot, MIRAMAX got involved but Disney censored the film denying distribution ignoring that when you ban something people tend to put a lot of effort in seeing it so at least they should cashed in as everybody is going to see it anyway. Shocking and a big laugh but this the PALME DO'R it aint, where are the times when APOCALYPSE NOW won as a "work in progress".... the horror, THE HORROR. ***

THE prisoner OF AZKABAN by Alfonso Cuaron.

A little punk going to magic school with his friends, been there, done that, not interested thank you very much. Hogwart can feel a little bit claustrophobic when you have a fantasy background and the limitations to the story are obvious, the first two movies have the traces of the same draw and the main plots have been seen a billion times so I promised myself I will never touch a Harry Potter book in my life, now after seeing the third in the series I'm struggling to compose myself not to. This has become overnight high quality fantasy because of the story and the magical artifacts we are presented, we still have to endure the cheap sense of humor and certain sequences that only slow things down, like the compulsory opening with uncle Monty that is a perfect example of both. But there is some progress like the Riditch scene (the stupid game yes), the have followed the master rule get in late leave early and put it in the context of the story with the Dementors as the quarter backs, plus comes with a surprise... brilliant.

The main plot is now the big attraction, this is superb storytelling, this movie can challenge the alltime fantasy favourite THE PRINCESS BRIDE any day and Willliam Goldman knows one or two things about his craft, the things get darker up three gears bordering the genius of Poe and we are introduced to new lectures essential to walk the streets safely in today's world, the dark arts and the monster class. Interesting characters lager than life, developed backstories, twist and turns and the biggest payoff in cinema history that does more for time travel than the whole TERMINATOR trilogy combined. Cuaron is in the driving seat, strange choice, anyway in this kind of productions I wonder if if matters at all, the final product is so precisely calculated that he probably only said two words, "action" and "cut", we will only be able to judge his work when THE GOBLET OF FIRE is released next year. Mike Newell will be the only one to put things in perspective and he's another strange choice and what's worse he's an outsider, let's see how he deals with what everyone reckons is the best book published to date.

I like the Shakespearian casting of the movie, British actors make terrific villains and they master confusion. Harry Potter universe is like the Hong Kong portrait in INFERNAL AFFAIRS where nobody is really who it seems to be and the line between GOOD and EVIL is obscure when you approach the edges, the best sample of this is Allan Rickman's character Snape, yo never quite know where he's coming from and he plays the part to perfection, when he's not in the scene you miss him. THe other big player is Sirius Black AKA the prisoner of Azkaban, as Claude Rains is "unavailable" the natural choice is the chameleon of the silver screen, Mr Gary Oldman. Altough he claims that he did the movie for the money for and he's not really interested in the project he mesmerize the audience and outplays everyone else in the movie with his performance, always a good run for your money he's the best actor you can hire these days, some might say a small mistake was not bringing him earlier in the story but that kind of build to the monet he's presented and make it even more intense. He was not welcomed by the aficionados in the internet forums but then their major concern is the detail that Coltrane's hut has been located down hill from the castle, poor devils, and finally I challenge everyone to spot the cameo of the former lider of the Stone Roses. One thing that worries me is the appetite of people to make things darker, dark is better, there is definitely a darker approach to the material visually and story wise which is probably the reason that makes the movie more appealing for adults although I'm not so sure how are all the six year olds that fill the theaters around the globe going to chew this heavy load. This demand for the dark stuff left me completely puzzle when the darkest film in years, DONNIE DARKO fails to generate any interest and went unnoticed on release, the fill noir for the playstation generation, now re-released after Gary Jules hit the Christmas number one with "Mad World" beating The Darkness, bizarre. Not VAN HELSING neither TROY, THE prisoner OF AZKABAN is not only the best blockbuster of the year so far but is also the best movie, SPIDERMAN comes crawling HARRY... altogether SPECTOR PATRONAS.****

First of all I have to tell I'm not a big fan of Gillian's work, but I can recognize some sort of magical genius on any of his hysterical films. This documentary would be very interesting for anybody wanting to make a film or let's say it how not to do it. 10 years of Gillian's project based on Cervantes Quijote thrown away after five days of production due to every kind of possible disasters human, natural and Divine. Gillian is a bit like Quijote himself trying to imagine things that maybe are only and can be in his mind specially if you are dealing with a multilingual crew of amateurs. This can be very funny at some points but watching Gillian in certain shoots will brings tears to your eyes, the dream is collapsing in front of the future audience that will never see the final result and let me tell you some of the dailies look terrific.