tadiv Blog

[REVIEW] The Road

tadiv — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:36:33 GMT

Dimension Films, The Weinstein Company, and 2929 Productions present The Road, a film by John Hillcoat. Based upon the acclaimed novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy and adapted by Joe Penhall, The Road stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee with notable names in supporting performances given by Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron. This picture was filmed by Javier Aguirresarobe. The Road runs 119 minutes and has been rated “R” by the MPAA.

A father and his son travel south during the onset of the Apocalyptic Winter. Tied together by love like a nearly unbreakable rope and the commitment to remain “good guys” and to “carry the flame” of humanity, they face danger and fight to survive with each new approaching moment. The man and boy love each other as would be expected by father and son. It is a strong bond that can only be broken by death. It is a bond that guides both in their determination and behavior. Each influences the other to keep the moral high ground.

It is difficult to describe how very bleak this film presents the world in the near-future. The sky is gray and lifeless as if covered by an old dirty and musty bed sheet. The landscape seems as lifeless – the trees are all dead and there seems to be no other plant life. The earth shakes and trembles like some old animal dying of a terrible, terminal illness. Most of the people encountered have lost their humanity, giving it up for a singular desire to survive another day. Others, while not willing to do anything bad, have given up their dignity. And it seems more than not have just given up and committed suicide to avoid the inevitable – they chose their death instead of allowing it to come to them in an unknown and likely violent form.

It is also difficult to describe how well the boy was played by Kodi Smit-McPhee. At first, one tires of his character saying “Papa” all the time. Then, as the two characters pull you in, you realize that each “Papa” is different just as in paint samples, so too is the tone of each “Papa” different and appropriate for the situation. The tones ring of naive questioning, panic, fear, disapproval, joy, begging for compassion, and many others. Much is said with the tone of voice or just a look on his face and he is very successful in this communication to the audience.

Viggo Mortensen was strong as the man. Dedicated to the safety and survival of his family and its humanity, he was willing to do whatever was needed to ensure that maintained a moral compass while surviving the gauntlet of dangers at every turn. He was not going to quit. He was not going to set a bad example for his son to see. He was determined to do the right thing in impossible scenarios. Often there were times when the love and compassion he gave to his son was reflected back to steady his course.

A look at the supporting roles can only start one place. Robert Duvall delivers his character in glowing fashion. It is stunning how good he is in the short role he plays as the old man. Guy Pearce does a very nice job with his role as well, quickly convincing the audience that he is a stranger who may be trusted. That leaves us with Charlize Theron. Her role was greatly over cast. Many a lesser talented actress could have done as well with the role. There was just not enough to the role for her talents to really shine.

The picture is filmed very effectively, delivering the gloom and impending danger as well as the glimmering of hope for the future. Sets and locations and scenes deliver the reality that draws one into the story, making you believe the reality of the situation. The Road is a very good film and we should all sit in a theater and take it in - it tells what the future may hold, both the bad and the good.

[REVIEW] What a mistake... ...waiting so long to see this.

tadiv — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:51:40 GMT

I have had the DVD of Character on my entertainment stand for over a month. Somehow the synopsis was not drawing me to watch the film. I could not remember how it got onto my Netflix queue, but they thought that I would like it. They think I will like every foriegn film. Their statistics on foriegn films does not seem to be as good as it is with other films. In this case, they were just about right on the money!

The film starts off fast in an action scene, all of which we don't get to see in those opening moments. Then it backtracks to tell the story that leads up the opening sequence. It is very well written and acted. Don't worry about that missed opening sequence, you'll get to see it, and my bet is that you'll enjoy it.

Check out this very well-made film at your first opportunity!

Tom

[REVIEW] Diary of a Bad Lad (SPOILER ALERT)

tadiv — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:18:11 GMT

IF you want to avoid spoilers, read no further...
.

Atlantis Corporation UK presents a Pleased Sheep film, Diary of a Bad Lad, directed by Michael Booth. This picture stars Jonathon Williams (who also has a writing credit), Tom Miller, Roxanne Gregory, Paul Birtwistle, Joe O'Byrne, and Michael Booth. This film is not MPAA rated, but the content would clearly get at least an "R" rating for language, drug use, sexual situations, and violence. This film is for mature audiences only. Diary of a Bad Lad runs 90 minutes.

University professor Barry Lick finds himself on administrative leave. He takes this opportunity to film the makings of a documentary about a local underworld figure for whom he creates the pseudonym, Ray Topham. This film, presented as the final documentary cut, opens with Producer Tommy Morghan (played by O'Byrne) explaining that the film we are about to see is the result of over 30 hours of original DV footage.

Well-filmed for the intended purpose, Diary of a Bad Lad is a well-edited presentation. Given the intent of the film, the grainy and low-lighting cinematography generally gives the intended impression of unrehearsed hidden-camera and DV documentary footage. Also, generally, the acting performances are convincing. The plot line goes somewhat beyond the ability to suspend disbelief. One also wonders, given the seemingly linear story, what footage might have been cut.

Diary of a Bad Lad presents a somewhat convincing Blair Witch Project-like "documentary film" about a filmmaker named Barry Lick seeking to tell the story of a local underworld figure and somewhat small-time hood that he names Ray Topham (so as not to use real names, the voice-over explains). Without any knowledge of the genesis of the film, one can easily take the introduction on face value - the picture is a documentary that is edited down from over 30 hours of original footage. Further, it is a documentary about a local hood made by a university professor who has found himself on administrative leave and thus, with time to work on this long-desired project.

This film, it seems, has two purposes. First is the presentation of a Blair Witch Project-like "fake" documentary. The problem with the presentation of the documentary is that the plot goes too far, way too fast. In less than fifteen minutes, I was thinking to myself, "This is like Blair Witch - a fake story". Then I thought, "well, wait - let's give it another chance". Unfortunately, that did not last too long either. Besides the film showing things one would not expect, lingering in the back of my mind was the opening statement that this documentary was the result of editing thirty hours of original footage. With that in mind, I have to wonder what was cut when the film shows the crew using illegal drugs and disposing of a dead body. This is the makings of a teenage criminal trial slam dunk. It's not like the police have to dig too hard when you produce a feature film showing you and your crew in the execution of felony criminal activities.

The second, somewhat more successful, purpose seems to have been to show that a successful feature film may be made on a limited budget inside the UK but outside of the costly arena of the city of London. Well, if you leave off the descriptive phrase "successful feature film," then this is more accurately stated to be a successful purpose. I don't mean to be too hard on the film, however it is almost as if the filmmakers worked so hard to show what they could do outside of the UK production norms that they lost sight of what a good or successful film actually is. The result is a valiant effort that only moderately succeeds. I will suggest that this film should be seen - particularly by aspiring filmmakers - as it demonstrates some traps into which one may fall.

P.S. I did not create a movie link to The Blair Witch Project as I think this would create a spoiler without having to read the review.

[REVIEW] Why do we do the things we do?

tadiv — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:39:40 GMT

Monterey Media, in association with Either/Or Films, presents The Sensation of Sight, a film written and directed by Aaron J. Wiederspahn. The Sensation of Sight stars David Strathairn with Ian Somerhalder, Daniel Gillies, Jane Adams, Ann Cusack, Joseph Mazzello, Elisabeth Waterston, and Scott Wilson. This film is MPAA rated "R" for language. This picture runs 134 minutes.

Finn, a popular High School English teacher, seems to have gone over the edge as he seeks to understand why things have happened a particular way in his life. He wanders the streets of his little town selling encyclopedias. In parallel, we meet Dylan and a drifter. Dylan is a local who has struggles of his own as does the drifter. In parallel and intertwined, the characters seek to understand the curves thrown at them by life.

Well filmed and edited, The Sensation of Sight is a solidly told story by first-time director Aaron J. Wiederspahn.

The Sensation of Sight tells the story of people dealing with life. Not everyday life, but the life that comes when a curve ball is tossed into the everyday mix of things. Why do people do the unexpected? Why do their actions so profoundly affect us? Why didn't we see it coming and why were we not able to stop it before it happened? Why did something so seemingly routine turn into something life-altering? Finn is trying to deal with these questions. So is Dylan and a drifter who has an ever-present silent partner. Oddly, Finn deals with it by leaving his wife and child to live in the local Bed and Breakfast and wander the streets. He's seeking to understand why – or to make amends. It takes time, but we begin to understand the chain of events. The story is told somewhat out of order, but it is not too complicated and while the black and white flashbacks are a bit heavy handed, they are also effective. Why is Finn wandering the streets selling encyclopedias? The Sensation of Sight is a solid film and well worth the time spent to soak it in.

[REVIEW] The shaky tale of a loser.

tadiv — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:27:40 GMT

Fox Searchlight Pictures, in association with Saturn Films and Protozoa Pictures, presents The Wrestler, a film by Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream). The screenplay was written by Robert D. Siegel with cinematography by Maryse Alberti (Taxi to the Dark Side). The Wrestler stars Mickey Rourke in the title role with Marisa Tomei in the supporting female role. Evan Rachel Wood plays Stephanie, Rourke's estranged daughter. This film is not yet rated, however the content clearly merits an MPAA “R” rating for language, sexual situations, adult situations, and drug use. This picture runs 109 minutes.

Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Rourke) is a professional wrestler, once at the top of the profession, who is now aging and struggling to hang on to the one thing he knows. His love interest, played by Marisa Tomei, is Cassidy who is a dancer at a local strip club.

The Wrestler is a ho-hum story that is poorly executed as a film. While watching The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, there were times when I wanted to look away for fear of disgust over what I may see next. While watching The Wrestler, I had to look away for fear of being sick to my stomach because of all the shaky hand-held camera work.

This picture is the story of a loser who knows one thing - the professional wrestling game. He is such a loser that he wants to get serious with Cassidy, the dancer who is his age and always has time for him as long as he has a fresh supply of twenty-dollar bills. Shelling out those twenty-dollar bills has made Randy late on his rent, so he finds himself padlocked out of his modest trailer home. Cassidy, holding on to her “I'm a professional” mindset, really likes Randy, but wants to maintain the separation between her professional life and her personal life. Finding himself facing a personal health crisis, Randy reaches out to his daughter, Stephanie. Randy has not seen her in many years and she has a pretty good idea of what a loser he is. The film actually tells us how many years, but really, who cares? There are some emotionally effective scenes between Randy and Stephanie as well as between Randy and Cassidy, but all in all there is nothing much to be gained from this film. Except to see a loser fall back into the old pattern of the only thing he knows when he has a real chance to step away, The Wrestler is an empty, nauseous film experience.

[REVIEW] Fast, fun, eye-opening and tragic, this one is fantastic.

tadiv — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:20:58 GMT

Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures present, in association with Celador Films and Film4, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The picture stars Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, and Irfan Khan. At the time of this review the film runs 120 minutes and has not yet been rated by the MPAA. The content as seen in my screening would suggest an MPAA "R" rating for scenes of torture and violence. The film is in Hindi and English with English subtitles.

A young man, Jamal, who grew up an orphan on the streets of Mimbai, India, gets on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire to try to contact his girlfriend. He ends up defending himself against fraud charges brought by the host of the show who thinks that there is no way a "slumdog" could know all the answers that he does. How Jamal knows each answer is shown in flashbacks from his tough, dramatic, and tragic youth.

Expertly crafted, Slumdog Millionaire has crisp and fast-paced editing by Chris Dickens (Shaun of the Dead, Goal!, and Hot Fuzz) as well as wonderful shot compositions by Anthony Dod Mantle (Dogville, Millions, and The Last King of Scotland). The film includes few name actors and the young actors who play the younger versions of the three main child characters are superb – a true credit to Boyle's direction of the film.

Slumdog Millionaire opens with the 18 year-old Jamal taking a beating and being interrogated about his cheating. The beating gives way to electrocution torture and forcing Jamal's head under water in a small bucket. Jamal swears he has not been cheating, so the local police inspector asks how a slumdog could know all the answers to the questions presented. There is an air of contempt in both the police station and on the television show stage as the show is replayed while the questioning continues. The Who Wants to be a Millionaire show is being replayed on tape for the questioning. As each question is asked, Jamal's memory of his life takes us on a roller coaster ride through his life and the horrors he has seen growing up on the streets without any family but his older brother and a girl his age. The three are inseparable until fate tears them apart.

Character development is finely executed as we come to know Jamal, his brother, and Latika, the young girl who Jamal loves after he allows her to join he and his brother in some shelter from a monsoon-like rain storm. We also understand the perspectives of the police inspector and the game show's host. The interplay of these characters and other lesser personalities who come and go through the story fill the screen with laughter and trauma alike. Funny, gut-wrenching, and tragic, Slumdog Millionaire is the story of a boy committed to the one he loves. They have been through unimaginable things together and whether she likes it or not, Jamal is determined to rescue Latika from her difficult situation.

I have heard some complain about the ending of the story. Can you predict what is going to happen? Maybe, but in my mind's eye, the end was a very satisfying way to close this story of an unimaginably horrid childhood. Slumdog Millionaire was, in my opinion, the best of the fifteen features I saw in Telluride this Labor Day Weekend.

Addendum: No doubt someone will ask, so here is a list of the 15 features I saw this year in Telluride: The Pervert's Guide to Cinema, Kisses, Waltz with Bashir, Hunger, Adam Resurrected, Firaaq, A Frozen Dream, Flame & Citron, The Italian Straw Hat, American Violet, Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love, Philanthropy, Pirate for the Sea, Flash of Genious, and Slumdog Millionaire.

[REVIEW] A good story that could have been more.

tadiv — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:56:38 GMT

City Lights Pictures presents a film by Cao Hamburger. The Year My Parents Went on Vacation stars Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Simone Spoladore, Eduardo Moreira, and Caio Blat. This picture was written by Adriana Falcão, Claudio Galperin, Cao Hamburger, Bráulio Mantovani, and Anna Muylaert. The film is presented in Portuguese, Yiddish, and German with English Subtitles. It runs 105 minutes and has an MPAA rating of PG.

Eleven-year-old Mauro’s parents are on the run in Brazil in 1970. With authorities closing in on the young Communist couple, they find themselves with no other option but to drop Mauro with his Grandfather as they flee “on vacation”. When the Grandfather is unable to care for the boy, Mauro finds himself in the care of his Grandfather’s neighbor, Shlomo, an aging Orthodox Jew. While his parents had promised to return before the finals of the World Cup, Mauro awaits their return as he watches the World Cup playoffs and becomes a member of the neighborhood youth.

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is well filmed on location in three different Brazilian cities. The film is well edited, highlighting strong performances from the two primary characters played by Michel Joelsas and Germano Haiut.

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is an interesting story. Mauro, very well played by Michel Joelsas, is absorbed by football – as we find is most of Brazil. He does not really understand why his parents are going on vacation and leaving him with his Grandfather. He does not understand that their lives are in danger because of their political beliefs.

Much like I’m Not Scared, this story is told from the boy’s perspective. It is not as good as that film, but it is moderately engaging, leaving one with the feeling that there could have been more. There are almost too many plot lines – where are the parents and why have they “gone on vacation”, who will win the World Cup, who will be taken and beaten by the governmental regime, and who will ultimately care for this boy who finds himself alone in the world?

There is a touch of a universal story as well – boys in adolescence seeking to know more about the adult world and adults banding together to care for a child who seems to have been abandoned by his parents. There is a little history, a bit of coming of age, and a look at how this boy’s childhood, while very different from our own, is also not so different. It is a bit of a universal story told in a very particular and unique situation. This is not a great film, but it is good and worth your 105 minutes.

[REVIEW] Like finger food before a grand banquet

tadiv — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:49:36 GMT

Palm Pictures in association with Dog Leg Media presents Sun Dogs, a movie directed and produced by Andrea Stewart. It includes several local Jamaican personalities and officials along with performer and sponsor of the team, Jimmy Buffett. Also featured is the brainchild of these projects (the Dog Sled Team and the movie), Danny Melville. Sun Dogs runs 90 minutes and is presented as not rated by the MPAA.

Sun Dogs follows the development of the Jamaican Dog Sled team program. This program (the Dog Sled Team) is both a fund raiser and promotional tool for the island nation’s tourism economy. Following a documentary style, the movie introduces several players in the Dog Sled Team, and follows the training process and the people who will be the team’s competitive representatives.

Sun Dogs is professionally filmed and edited. The production quality is sound and a review of the credits shows that Palm Pictures was involved early in the life of the project. The movie includes stock film components and except for an item that is clearly a promotional television advertisement for Jamaica, it is difficult to determine what shots are stock films and what was shot specifically for the film.

The most profound thing I can write about Sun Dogs is that my Jack Russell Terrier, Buster, found the film very interesting. Such is always the case when dogs are presented on screen; so really it is not stating anything of much substance that he was interested. Early in this movie Danny Melville, the man behind the Dog Sled idea, comments that early in the development of the project he thought of a promotional film. At the time he was thinking of an animated film and some animated clips are a part of this movie, but they are not from Pixar as he originally envisioned. Instead, the animation is provided by a smaller house called Little Engine Moving Pictures. This movie seems to be the result of that original animated promotional film idea.

Sun Dogs is fine for something to watch while passing the time, waiting for some more serious fare to become available, say Letters From Iwo Jima, for example. Its lack of an MPAA rating is no big deal – the producers probably did not want to pay any associated fees. Sun Dogs, much like a made-for-TV movie, is suitable for the entire family.

[REVIEW] Evil hidden within great beauty.

tadiv — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:20:00 GMT

City Lights Pictures, in association with Whitest Pouring Films and Kilo Films, presents Manda Bala (Send a Bullet), a film by Jason Kohn. The film runs 85 minutes and is not rated by the MPAA. Based upon some of the hostage video content, this film would likely be rated NC-17 by the MPAA.

Manda Bala is a documentary film covering several social and economic issues in modern Brazil. These issues include political corruption, the kidnapping of the wealthy by the poor, and resulting industries such as frog farming, specialized plastic surgery, Helicopter taxi service, and the retrofitting of automobiles to make them more or less bullet-proof.

Very well photographed and cleanly edited, Manda Bala, to a great extent, lacks a central theme. This picture has a good, complimenting soundtrack. Because of a mixture of translation and subtitles, the presentation is at times awkward for the viewer.

Manda Bala greatly benefits from stunning cinematography. However, while watching this film I recalled a scene from Finding Forrester where the audience reads criticism that says “Where are you taking me?” And so, while there is stunning cinematography, there is a similar magnitude debt in the way of communicating the central point. There is a lack of content that ties everything together.

Stunning cinematography is the highlight of this picture. Without making a study of Brazil, one would never imagine that its modern cities are so very beautiful. To contrast the beauty of the modern high-rise buildings and seemingly clean streets, we see the slums at the edge of the metropolis falling away from the center like the crumbling slopes of a pillar in Monument Valley. Suburbia does not seem to exist around these mountains of wealth, just poverty and squalor. All of this is richly photographed and presented. The only portions of the film that do not stand out from a cinematic perspective are some of the views of the frog farms and some views of the poorer areas of the country.

The picture, after a view of a modern Brazilian city, starts in the country at a frog farm. One of the two who run the farm is interviewed and is reluctant to talk about “the scandal”. Farther in the presentation we find that the scandal was a corrupt politician’s alleged embezzlement of public funds intended to be seed money for new frog farms in poorer areas of the country.

From the frog farm, we are transported into the city of Sao Paulo to meet “Mr. M.” He is identified as a businessman and sounds like a transplanted American. He tells of being robbed at gunpoint on the streets of Sao Paulo while stopped in traffic. He discusses the crime faced in the city every day and methods used to foil the criminal. These include carrying his real wallet in a hidden pocket and a criminal’s wallet that has only a bit of cash in it. Also in his defense, he has a bullet-proof car. His car is a turbo-charged Porsche 911 – maybe he would less of a target were he driving a Ford Taurus… The Porsche, it seems, cost Mr. M about $415,000 US. I don’t know why we are not told how much ear reconstruction surgery costs.

Moving on, we meet a pretty young woman who was a kidnapping victim. Then we meet the plastic surgeon who replaces severed ears. It seems that removing an ear is the kidnapper’s method of choice in making their point that they are not fooling around. Then we meet a policeman who is part of the eighty-strong anti-kidnapping squad. Then we meet a civil lawyer who has had the fortitude to sue an alleged corrupt politician, then back to “M” again. He explains that the really wealthy travel by helicopter since nobody can walk up to you and demand money at gunpoint, and so we see the world’s largest fleet of privately-owned helicopters.

On and on it goes – we move between the Dr, the victim, Mr. M, an assistant Attorney General, the policeman, a kidnapper, and, of course, the frog farmer. During one of the frog farm sequences, we see a huge shipment of live frogs departing for JFK. With a hint of related guilt, as in Blood Diamond, there is an inference that the United States supports the political corruption in that it purchases the product from the frog farms.

While Manda Bala is a technically high-quality production, the presentation falls short in connecting the themes addressed. We meet many Brazilians. While they all have stories to tell, there is not a complete thread connecting them all. Is the problem the political corruption? Or is it the crime that the leadership seems to choose not to address? A presentation is made on the colonization of Brazil – is there an ingrained culture of raping the wealth? Like Out of Balance, Manda Bala ultimately fails to pinpoint the issue; it fails to deliver a summation of the issues presented. While it is very worth seeing, I’m not sure that it really gets the job done when it comes to making a solid point. So there is evil hidden within the great beauty of modern Brazil – what a surprise!

[REVIEW] A delightful little short about being funny and being in love.

tadiv — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:16:08 GMT

This short film is included on the Film Movement DVD release of The Violin. This delightful short tells the story of a gradeschool boy class clown who is in love with one of his classmates. This top-quality production is truly "short and sweet".