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J'ai tué ma mère (2009)
A soup of melancholia aching for humour and heart
While "I Killed My Mother" (J'ai Tué Ma Mére) is not a horrible first film, it's overly long and drags under the weight of deadening sequences full of bad symbolism and one note acting.
The director, Xavier Dolan who plays the lead (Hubert) might have been great in one role or the other but he doesn't seem to handle triple duty (he is also credited with costume design) very well. There are indications that he is a pretty good actor and he could have benefited by the eye of a director in order to take his character from a morose and unappealing adolescent brat to an anti-hero you could actually care about. Hubert proficiently displays a lot of hurt feelings and rage toward his mother but there is little humour or heart to be seen and towards the end you just wish he'd drown himself in the bathtub in order to put the film out of its numbing misery.
Anne Dorval plays Hubert's mother with an admirable degree of restraint and nuance but the cardboard cut out script and the direction that vacillates between muddy and clunky leaves her stranded as it does Suzanne Clément who plays his understanding teacher and one of his few sources of solace and refuge.
The most well-rounded and sympathetic characters are Antonin, the protagonist's young lover and Patricia Tulasne who plays Antonin's mother with warmth and exuberance. These two were the only actors on screen who seemed to understand what it means to listen and to allow themselves to genuinely feel a reaction to the human beings who share the scene.
On the positive side, the film is very well shot by Stéphanie Weber Biron and designed by Annette Belley. The score helps to manipulate the mood while watching but you won't remember it five minutes after the final fade. In addition to the strong look, the scenario while frequently predictable and cliché ridden captures the flavor of Montréal dialogue pretty well. There is talent here but its uneven, unfocused and jumbled, perhaps lost in the conceit of a new filmmaker starring in his own first feature.
Jersey Boys (2014)
You can take your eyes off of this mediocre musical homage
If you like Frankie Valli and vintage automobiles you might like this movie. That is if you can get past the bad acting, stilted drama, low torque script, and Italian American stereotyping right down to the Martin Scorsese-Nick Pallegi inspired voice over narration that unlike its successful use in GoodFellas just falls flat and undermines whatever drama is to be found in this film as it switches from character to character.
Somewhere deep down there may have been an interesting story here that a better creative team could have tapped into. Perhaps in the collaboration with Bob Gaudio, the impact of the Beatles, the evolution from doo-wop to disco...but inasmuch as any of these conflicts is touched upon its lost in sappy nostalgia.
Its easy to understand why the cast is so bad. First of all it is probably daunting to find a lead who can sing like Valli and capture that personal edge that he still has as performer. Vincent Piazza is all Italian American one-note clichés, Christopher Walken is wasted in a phoned-in performance that is at its best in the song and dance number at the end of the film. The best of the lot is Michael Lomenda who is the only leading cast member to show any kind of real human emotion.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
What's missing in what should have been a masterpiece
Given the filmmaking skill, amazing cast, excellent performances, directing, editing, and photographic talent that went into making this film, it should have been a masterpiece. However despite some often entertaining moments, the film leaves you feeling there is something missing.
First of all, Leonardo Di Caprio is too soft an actor to take on a roll like Jordan Belfort, the Wall Street wannabee who scammed millions. While he had some great moments and obviously was fully committed to the lead role, there just wasn't the hyperkinetic quirkiness he should have had. If you don't believe me YouTube the real-life Jordan Belfort, on whom the character is based and watch him. Then imagine him high on cocaine and you will see what I mean.
Secondly, the script utilizes the same story telling approach as Goodfellas particularly in the use of voice over. I believe this was a smart choice in principle as Belfort's depraved but relentlessly honest voice is important to hear. However, the VO is excessive and throws you out of the scene, frequently distancing you from the greater emotional potential that remaining in dramatic action would have provided. Voice over thus becomes a crutch here defusing the torque the same technique provides Goodfellas.
Like in Goodfellas, Scorsese takes the VO strategy a step forward by breaking down the fourth wall and having Di Caprio talk directly to the audience. It works in Goodfellas because it takes place at the end of the film when Liotta's character breaks out the world of gangster and migrates into his new lackluster life. In Goodfellas it also occurs with an energy that matches what comes before and after. Here the same tactic takes place in what seems to be a random manner that makes no story sense at all while it also jars you out of the drama by defusing the intensity of the scene which it interrupts.
Thirdly, the distancing of the voice over narration enhances the fact that the film is just too long. Its was clearly a difficult beast to wrangle in editing but it could have lost 20 minutes easily. A shorter edit would have undoubtedly punched up the structure, increased tension and smoothed out some of the few awkward moments.
Fourthly, Scorsese who in my opinion is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time gets cute with his own trademark devices. His slow motion moments seem mechanical, his eery silences that usually scream loudly sometimes fall flat here and his score which he usually edits from popular music better than almost anyone else just doesn't work. The Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters selections are great in themselves but he doesn't seem how and why and where to cut them in.
Thankfully the film does support some masterful work by all creative participants (it is after all a Scorsese picture). The performances are excellent and even Di Caprio achieves much despite what I feel is a case of unfortunate miscasting. Jonah Hill is amazing as are all the other smart ass hustler guys. Margot Robbie could have stopped at being beautiful but she showed depth, sensitivity and moxie as Di Caprio's second wife. Cristin Milioti also was excellent with big brown eyes that break your heart when they tear up. Rob Reiner was a great surprise and Matthew McConaughey's hilarious and off the wall but unfortunately his very short appearance in the beginning of the film makes it clear who should have been cast in the lead.
'Round Midnight (1986)
Beautiful acting + amazing music = great film.
This is a really excellent film if only for the masterful and genuine performance of Dexter Gordon or the music itself which features other amazing jazz artists like Herbie Hancock.
Gordon's performance is as good as any great character actor. The supporting cast is also excellent.
The story is told in this really impressionistic and laid back way. It feels as though it takes its cue from the quality of hard bop jazz and the mindset of the main character.
I don't want to spoil the ending but its beautifully restrained. You know what is coming and you figure out how it the end ultimately resolves but the filmmaker doesn't hit you on the head with the precise details of how.
My only criticism is that the street sets looked a bit contrived and artificial but given the strength of the story, the commitment of the actors, especially Gordon and the amazing music, it really doesn't matter.
Al Dhakira al Khasba (1981)
Moving and historically fascinating film
This is a really excellent and sensitively directed documentary. The characters are all quite compelling and while some of the scenarios appear staged and the historical introduction is thin there is enough spontaneity to get past the flaws.
The strength of the filmmaking is in the time the filmmaker takes with his characters and the degree to which you are able to get to know them. The photography is beautiful and really important from an archival perspective. You can really get a sense of the transition from Arab peasant life to working class life in northern Israel and the Territories.
The film provides some really intimate insights into the struggles of women in a society that is emerging into modernity under the pressures of occupation.
Rent (2005)
Cultural fakery that's not worth watching
This film sports the talents of some really fine triple threats (actors who can also sing and dance) . But despite that it is one of the absolutely stupidest pieces of entertainment fakery I have seen in years. The music is bad. The lyrics are vapid and meaningless, the story is ridiculous and simplistic. But the sets, cinematography and the verve of the cast is admirable. Is it enough to make this film worth watching? No.
Couched in important topical themes (poverty, AIDS, bohemian rebellion, alternative sexuality) and adorned with a set of characters and cast that are supposed to represent some kind of non-racial, post sexual revolution fantasy hipness, this film is a sanitized guided tour for rich heterosexuals who have never made any kind of artistic or social sacrifice so they can feel they've been cleansed by the holy waters of bohemian rebellion that they would never dare dip into themselves. Or perhaps its a vehicle to give the entertainment industry sufficient street cred to revert to the racist, sexist, class conscious crap that it prefers. Of course maybe its just a way to commodify and monetize bohemia which the entertainment pimperati can take to the hedge fund.
Take your pick or combine any one of the these three motivations. Or better yet don't waste your time.
Enough Said (2013)
Great cast, lousy script, bad filmmaking
Enough said, said enough in the first ten minutes.
The story was predictable from beginning to end. I even found myself mouthing lines of predictable dialog before seconds before the actors themselves.
The entire cast of actors is excellent but wasted on a mediocre script and inept directing. Long, pointless dialog scenes which aim to be clever but fall flat caused me to simply tune out despite the considerable charms of the cast.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays a masseuse but she looks so unfamiliar and awkward in the job, it calls attention to the entire vision of the writer-director that her character, like all the characters is a story concept not a real human being. The fact that she is an amazing actor saves the day. She shows an honesty and openness that makes the film bearable.
Even the late, great James Gandolfini while pleasant to watch seems to be running on fumes. Save this one for video, its not worth the price of admission.
Hunger (2008)
One of the most beautiful and innovative films I've seen in years
This is a really amazing story told in a new kind of cinematic style that is powerful and requires few words at all to convey the depth and breadth of ideas and emotions. It has some weird plot shifts in that it follows one set of protagonists and then shifts to the Bobby Sands character but it didn't bother me at all because you come to realize that all of the prisoners in the story are essentially interchangeable and that in fact in a different country, under different political conditions "it could be you or me."
The hieroglyphic storytelling is so masterful, the director can create an entire turn of a phrase in a single shot just with a simple shallow rack focus.
Performances are stunning and require a lot of self-sacrifice on the part of the actors. Over all it is one of the most beautiful (in all its nightmareishness) and innovative films I have seen in many years.
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Complex intriguing psychological narrative that frays at the end
Really excellent film, complex intriguing psychological narrative with so many threads that its like a 3 dimensional chess game. The performances are moving and real even though the world the characters live in is full of multiple interconnected realities. The central themes (I will let you discover what they are) are presented in a super original and completely engaging way. I think the film frays in the last act though. It is so hard to hold together all the emotional, narrative and thematic strands. The consequence is a final act that gets somewhat lost and overly long as the story peters out to its profane (as opposed to secular) conclusion. Nonetheless you will probably want to watch it until the very end.
The Harder They Come (1972)
From "neorealism" to surrealism
What an excellent film! I saw this again after having seen it around its theatrical release in 1977 when it blew me away the first time.
Its a great and tragic story that reveals much about the dynamics of Jamaica society at the time. It takes you into the actual cultural life of Jamaica from the shanty towns, to the churches, recording studios and into the politics of the "ganja" trade. The language is as delicious as the mangoes hanging from the trees and while it may be difficult for some people to understand without subtitles, it radiates with emotion that you can feel even if you don't understand each and every line of patois.
Its a very beautifully directed film. From the consistently excellent performances of the cast, especially Jimmy Cliff, to the beautiful cinematography that soars from "neorealism" to surrealism, to the editing, sound design and score, this film is a masterpiece.
Along with other fantastic but largely unrecognized films of that era like Sweet Sweetbacks Badasss Song and Saturday Night Fever that broke from classic Hollywood storytelling styles this film will be one I will return to over and over again.
Yellowknife (2002)
Bad story, cardboard characters: how does a film like this get made?
Yellowknife is a shockingly bad film. The plot makes little sense, the characters behaviour and choices make no sense and the dramatic resolution comes out of nowhere and also follows no logic.
Billed as a thriller, it does manage to create some moments of suspense when the lead characters face jeopardy but that tension dissipates in nonsensical payoffs that are just too easy. The film seems to strive for some connection to noir tradition but it only captures a vague resemblance to noir successes or David Lynch-like weirdness.
Its unfortunate because the film wastes the talents of Hélène Florent who has some very moving moments when she's allowed to break out of what appear to be the director's preconceived idea of what a depressive character is supposed to be like. Glen Gould also does well in his role. Patsy Gallant is a really nice surprise as a has-been nomadic night club singer. Unfortunately, the lead Sébastien Huberdeau is sacrificed on the alter of directorial concept and never really cuts loose.
The film does manage to achieve a spooky sense of mood with some good cinematography, interesting locations and a decent but not stellar sound track by Robert Lepage. Unfortunately mood carries Yellowknife only so far because the story breaks down almost from the beginning and the characters are cardboard cutouts and walking clichés.
Inch'Allah (2012)
A topical dramatic film that fails to deliver
Topical films are supposed to be important because they speak to compelling questions of the day like the struggle for justice for Palestinian people. This film however doesn't do the topic justice because up until two thirds (at least) of the way into it there is no real dramatic conflict: no tension, no story and a whole bunch of relationships that add up to absolutely nothing. Only when the lead character, a Quebecoise doctor working in the Territories has to save a dying Palestinian baby at one of the notorious Israeli border crossings does the film finally take off. Up until that point the lead actress plays one note and is so wooden in her performance that I actually found myself counting the moles on her neck to keep myself engaged.
The film tries to tackle the moral question as to whether terrorist acts are justifiable by Palestinians living under brutal oppression. It doesn't take much of a clear stand until the final moments of the film but (without spoiling the ending) it seems to imply that terrorist acts against Israelis are justified. There is a thin line here between what the character finds justifiable and the point the filmmaker is trying to make. Nonetheless, in the end the filmmaker seems to justify the murder of non-combatants which I think reflects both a deadly oversimplified understanding of the politics of the region and is morally indefensible.
Ironically the director is crippled by the same "white man among the savages" colonialist perspective as her protagonist. (Which is why these films generally get funding even when the purport to come out on the side of the colonized as in Dances with Wolves, Un Dimanche à Kigali, etc.). That said, the Palestinian cast is excellent, the cinematography, art direction and location shooting are production accomplishments. Unfortunately the promise of being able to learn meaningfully about an important current political and social topic were not delivered on. Even as some viewers may feel morally cleansed having gone through the experience of watching this film, in the end they will most likely not have learned much about it's context nor become sufficiently motivated to act or question the complicity of themselves or their own governments in various forms of national or racial oppression.