Film: Who Wants Twelve Reviews?
So, yeah. There are a lot. Three days worth of viewing, in fact, and one of those days was five movies. I've been busy, as you can see. Since so many reviews are here, they're all shorted than usual. Many are just a paragraph! I might expand some of the ones I really liked (or hated!) later, though.
Suburban Mayhem
Emily Barclay plays Katrina Skinner, who is the devil. Not damaged, not crying for help or attention, just evil. At the beginning we discover her father has been killed, although we don't know who did it. We then go ten days before his death, when Katrina, a nineteen year old girl with a child she leaves with the boyfriend she frequently cheats on, decides her dad must die so she can sell their house to get a good lawyer to get her murderer brother out of prison. Nice girl.
This is a black comedy that delivers both darkness and laughs. It's not perfect- frequently the story is interrupted with interviews of the people surrounding Mr. Skinner about his death, an element that almost takes away from the darkness somehow, and that could have been cut. But the film fits together very well in the end. Alice Bell's pretty fantastic script is directed well by Paul Goldman, and Emily Barclay is going to be big, or at least she deserves to be. For those who like their humour black, the film goes to dark places, and hints at places that are even darker.
8/10
Paris, Je T'aime
Sixteen short films from about twenty directors, all about love in one form or another, and all set in modern day Paris. The word here is "awwwwww!" This film is really heartwarming, except when it wants to be heartbreaking. There's not a dud among these, although, of course, some stand out more than others. Gurinda Chadra's, The Coen Brothers', and Alexander Payne's stand out for me. That's right. I liked the Bend it Like Beckham director's one. And I really dislike Bend it Like Beckham! The cast, too numerous to name, so just IMDb it, is amazing as well. Fantastic.
9/10
Black Sheep
As an Australian, I'm legally required to make jokes about New Zealanders fucking sheep. And now they're doing it themselves! The release of a genetically mutated sheep leads to an infection that takes over hundreds of sheep on a farm belonging to arguing brothers, that go crazy and start eating people. The people who survive, in turn, also become ravenous after a time. At first the film seems like it's going to take itself seriously, but soon reveals otherwise, and is very funny, and very gory. It's not as heartfelt as other horror-comedies such as Shaun of the Dead, nor is it as splatter-tastic as early Peter Jackson like Braindead, but it's very, very entertaining. Well deserved cult status awaits this one.
8/10
The next day...
Ghosts of Cite Soliel
This one's a documentary about Cite Soliel in Haiti in 2004, and two brothers who are gang leaders, working for the president. The most amazing thing here was how the crew managed to film in such dangerous circumstances. The characters are all really interesting, skating a moral boundary a lot of the time, but we generally like them despite their willingness to commit violence. The story is an interesting and tragic one, too.
8/10
For Your Consideration
Christopher Guest movies are always fun, but A Mighty Wind seemed more feel-good than funny, so I didn't dig it as much as his other stuff. For Your Consideration is a return to form. Catherine O'Hara plays an aging Hollywood actress who catches wind of her name being thrown around for an Oscar nomination. The usual crew appear, the standout probably being Fred Willard as the host of an Entertainment Tonight type show with Jane Lynch, who plays off him well. Ricky Gervais appears briefly as a studio executive and, while funny, sort of stands out, his style of comedy is fairly different from the rest of them.
This movie could have taken a torch to Hollywood, and it does a bit, but most of the humour just comes from insane characters. Jennifer Coolidge is particularly nutty here. And it might just be the atmosphere- the audience being lovers of Christopher Guest- but I had a fantastic time with this one. It's not up there with Best in Show, but it won't disappoint fans, and hopefully newcomers, at all.
9/10
Ten Items or Less
Morgan Freeman essentially plays himself here: an actor (credited only as "Him") from "that Ashley Judd movie" is left stranded at a supermarket in a poor area of LA when he goes there to research a movie set in the location. He meets Paz Vega's surly and sassy checkout chick who agrees to drive him home, after a few errands are run. This is very Lost in Translation, although more of a broad comedy, from Lemony Snicket director Brad Siberling. It's gentle, funny and sweet.
8/10
I missed the start of the next one, even though it started half an hour late, because of what I assume to be security reasons. I was one of the last ones let in from the rush line, and so I missed both the introduction by director Todd Field and stars Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson, and the first few minutes. I know!
Little Children
Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson play suburbanites Sarah and Brad, who meet at a park looking after their children, both being stay-at-home parents, and find themselves increasingly attracted to one another. Meanwhile, a former cop played by Noah Emmerich from The Truman show bullies a local pervert, once jailed for exposing himself to a child.
This is a really odd film, and I mean that in a good way. It feels small and low key, but there is an ever-increasing feeling of dread throughout the film. Performances are all top notch, of course, and the music is by Thomas Newman, so that is as well. There's also a really strange narration, a sort of voice-of-God thing that must have been taken directly from the novel the film is based on, making the experience of watching it feel similar to reading a good book. I'll have to see it again when I've seen the start and so have my bearings to judge it properly, but it's definitely very good.
8/10
It started late, so as such, it finished late; about twenty minute before Midnight Madness, which doesn't happen in a cinema near where I was. So I had to dash out, missing the Q&A just as I missed the introduction. And it might have even been worth it were the next film not my least favourite of the festival so far...
The Abandoned
Rated MA15+ for loud noises. Here a woman travels to Russia to go to the property of her deceased birth mother, whom she had never met. There she meets her brother, the undead version of her brother and herself, and a whole lot of loud noises. A sort of neat premise and some decent atmosphere are ruined by how dreary the whole affair is, and it's not dreary in a good way. Another major problem is that the woman is the lone character for about half the total running time, and she's not that interesting a character, so you never care. Not even a few decent scares save this one.
3/10
And then the day after...
Short Cuts Canada 5
This was a number of Canadian shorts. Some were faily dull and wanktastic, others were better. The standout by far was Ninth Street Chronicles, a coming of age tale seemingly set in the mid nineties about a young girl who keeps accidentely causing trouble. It was funny and unpretentious. Also interesting were Patterns 2 and Patterns 3. The story was a little weird but the production design was pretty spectacular and they were shot pretty strikingly.
Cashback
This is a chick flick disguised as an edgy piece of cinema. Sean Biggerstaff plays an art student dumped by his girlfriend who develops insomnia and gets a night job at a supermarket. He passes the time by fantasising about stopping time, leading to some impressive scenes of him walking through a frozen world, but the film ends up being about him falling for a checkout chick, and then it all gets very formulaic. There is also far, far, far, far (far!) too much narration in native Scotsman Biggerstaff's fairly awkward English accent that grates more and more. The supporting characters provide relief, though, because they're actually interesting and funny. This also serves to highlight how dull the lead is, though. Visually impressive and often funny, but ultimately too cliched.
6/10
The next screening was pretty nuts, because the director was there, and he's been getting these fun little death threats. So security was there to check our backs, and stayed throughout the screening to make sure no one pulled out a weapon, I guess.
Death of a President
This is a documentary about George W. Bush's assassination in October 2007. It's very impressively put together, using both existing footage and specially shot scenes with actors (we have fake interviews, mocked up CCTV, and even actors digitally inserted into real news footage) , to create a documentary that feels almost real, and very scary. The film is impressively centrist in its view- it portrays George Bush not as a monster but also presenting protestor's very valid views of him. I thought it was going to focus more on the international ramifications of his death (Dick Cheney replaces him- uh oh) but looks mainly at the investigation into who is responsible. An extremely interesting concept presented as a rather good piece of cinema.
8/10
Trapped Ashes
Six people, most strangers to each other get trapped in an old house on a Hollywood studio, and to escape, they have to tell real stories of terror. This one had five directors (four horror stories are told, and another director did the 'wrap-around' segments), including Joe Dante, of The Howling, and Sean Cunningham, who did Friday the 13th. This is essentially and excuse to salute B-horror, and it would have worked better if more than one of the stories told here were worth watching. The first, "The Girl With The Golden Breasts", by Ken Russell, is hilariously over the top and just a lot of fun, and the rest of them range from average to something of a chore to watch. I appreciate the homage, though, and the copious nudity.
5/10
And then three more movies today. And then another in about an hour. This is getting tiring!
Suburban Mayhem
Emily Barclay plays Katrina Skinner, who is the devil. Not damaged, not crying for help or attention, just evil. At the beginning we discover her father has been killed, although we don't know who did it. We then go ten days before his death, when Katrina, a nineteen year old girl with a child she leaves with the boyfriend she frequently cheats on, decides her dad must die so she can sell their house to get a good lawyer to get her murderer brother out of prison. Nice girl.
This is a black comedy that delivers both darkness and laughs. It's not perfect- frequently the story is interrupted with interviews of the people surrounding Mr. Skinner about his death, an element that almost takes away from the darkness somehow, and that could have been cut. But the film fits together very well in the end. Alice Bell's pretty fantastic script is directed well by Paul Goldman, and Emily Barclay is going to be big, or at least she deserves to be. For those who like their humour black, the film goes to dark places, and hints at places that are even darker.
8/10
Paris, Je T'aime
Sixteen short films from about twenty directors, all about love in one form or another, and all set in modern day Paris. The word here is "awwwwww!" This film is really heartwarming, except when it wants to be heartbreaking. There's not a dud among these, although, of course, some stand out more than others. Gurinda Chadra's, The Coen Brothers', and Alexander Payne's stand out for me. That's right. I liked the Bend it Like Beckham director's one. And I really dislike Bend it Like Beckham! The cast, too numerous to name, so just IMDb it, is amazing as well. Fantastic.
9/10
Black Sheep
As an Australian, I'm legally required to make jokes about New Zealanders fucking sheep. And now they're doing it themselves! The release of a genetically mutated sheep leads to an infection that takes over hundreds of sheep on a farm belonging to arguing brothers, that go crazy and start eating people. The people who survive, in turn, also become ravenous after a time. At first the film seems like it's going to take itself seriously, but soon reveals otherwise, and is very funny, and very gory. It's not as heartfelt as other horror-comedies such as Shaun of the Dead, nor is it as splatter-tastic as early Peter Jackson like Braindead, but it's very, very entertaining. Well deserved cult status awaits this one.
8/10
The next day...
Ghosts of Cite Soliel
This one's a documentary about Cite Soliel in Haiti in 2004, and two brothers who are gang leaders, working for the president. The most amazing thing here was how the crew managed to film in such dangerous circumstances. The characters are all really interesting, skating a moral boundary a lot of the time, but we generally like them despite their willingness to commit violence. The story is an interesting and tragic one, too.
8/10
For Your Consideration
Christopher Guest movies are always fun, but A Mighty Wind seemed more feel-good than funny, so I didn't dig it as much as his other stuff. For Your Consideration is a return to form. Catherine O'Hara plays an aging Hollywood actress who catches wind of her name being thrown around for an Oscar nomination. The usual crew appear, the standout probably being Fred Willard as the host of an Entertainment Tonight type show with Jane Lynch, who plays off him well. Ricky Gervais appears briefly as a studio executive and, while funny, sort of stands out, his style of comedy is fairly different from the rest of them.
This movie could have taken a torch to Hollywood, and it does a bit, but most of the humour just comes from insane characters. Jennifer Coolidge is particularly nutty here. And it might just be the atmosphere- the audience being lovers of Christopher Guest- but I had a fantastic time with this one. It's not up there with Best in Show, but it won't disappoint fans, and hopefully newcomers, at all.
9/10
Ten Items or Less
Morgan Freeman essentially plays himself here: an actor (credited only as "Him") from "that Ashley Judd movie" is left stranded at a supermarket in a poor area of LA when he goes there to research a movie set in the location. He meets Paz Vega's surly and sassy checkout chick who agrees to drive him home, after a few errands are run. This is very Lost in Translation, although more of a broad comedy, from Lemony Snicket director Brad Siberling. It's gentle, funny and sweet.
8/10
I missed the start of the next one, even though it started half an hour late, because of what I assume to be security reasons. I was one of the last ones let in from the rush line, and so I missed both the introduction by director Todd Field and stars Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson, and the first few minutes. I know!
Little Children
Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson play suburbanites Sarah and Brad, who meet at a park looking after their children, both being stay-at-home parents, and find themselves increasingly attracted to one another. Meanwhile, a former cop played by Noah Emmerich from The Truman show bullies a local pervert, once jailed for exposing himself to a child.
This is a really odd film, and I mean that in a good way. It feels small and low key, but there is an ever-increasing feeling of dread throughout the film. Performances are all top notch, of course, and the music is by Thomas Newman, so that is as well. There's also a really strange narration, a sort of voice-of-God thing that must have been taken directly from the novel the film is based on, making the experience of watching it feel similar to reading a good book. I'll have to see it again when I've seen the start and so have my bearings to judge it properly, but it's definitely very good.
8/10
It started late, so as such, it finished late; about twenty minute before Midnight Madness, which doesn't happen in a cinema near where I was. So I had to dash out, missing the Q&A just as I missed the introduction. And it might have even been worth it were the next film not my least favourite of the festival so far...
The Abandoned
Rated MA15+ for loud noises. Here a woman travels to Russia to go to the property of her deceased birth mother, whom she had never met. There she meets her brother, the undead version of her brother and herself, and a whole lot of loud noises. A sort of neat premise and some decent atmosphere are ruined by how dreary the whole affair is, and it's not dreary in a good way. Another major problem is that the woman is the lone character for about half the total running time, and she's not that interesting a character, so you never care. Not even a few decent scares save this one.
3/10
And then the day after...
Short Cuts Canada 5
This was a number of Canadian shorts. Some were faily dull and wanktastic, others were better. The standout by far was Ninth Street Chronicles, a coming of age tale seemingly set in the mid nineties about a young girl who keeps accidentely causing trouble. It was funny and unpretentious. Also interesting were Patterns 2 and Patterns 3. The story was a little weird but the production design was pretty spectacular and they were shot pretty strikingly.
Cashback
This is a chick flick disguised as an edgy piece of cinema. Sean Biggerstaff plays an art student dumped by his girlfriend who develops insomnia and gets a night job at a supermarket. He passes the time by fantasising about stopping time, leading to some impressive scenes of him walking through a frozen world, but the film ends up being about him falling for a checkout chick, and then it all gets very formulaic. There is also far, far, far, far (far!) too much narration in native Scotsman Biggerstaff's fairly awkward English accent that grates more and more. The supporting characters provide relief, though, because they're actually interesting and funny. This also serves to highlight how dull the lead is, though. Visually impressive and often funny, but ultimately too cliched.
6/10
The next screening was pretty nuts, because the director was there, and he's been getting these fun little death threats. So security was there to check our backs, and stayed throughout the screening to make sure no one pulled out a weapon, I guess.
Death of a President
This is a documentary about George W. Bush's assassination in October 2007. It's very impressively put together, using both existing footage and specially shot scenes with actors (we have fake interviews, mocked up CCTV, and even actors digitally inserted into real news footage) , to create a documentary that feels almost real, and very scary. The film is impressively centrist in its view- it portrays George Bush not as a monster but also presenting protestor's very valid views of him. I thought it was going to focus more on the international ramifications of his death (Dick Cheney replaces him- uh oh) but looks mainly at the investigation into who is responsible. An extremely interesting concept presented as a rather good piece of cinema.
8/10
Trapped Ashes
Six people, most strangers to each other get trapped in an old house on a Hollywood studio, and to escape, they have to tell real stories of terror. This one had five directors (four horror stories are told, and another director did the 'wrap-around' segments), including Joe Dante, of The Howling, and Sean Cunningham, who did Friday the 13th. This is essentially and excuse to salute B-horror, and it would have worked better if more than one of the stories told here were worth watching. The first, "The Girl With The Golden Breasts", by Ken Russell, is hilariously over the top and just a lot of fun, and the rest of them range from average to something of a chore to watch. I appreciate the homage, though, and the copious nudity.
5/10
And then three more movies today. And then another in about an hour. This is getting tiring!
posted by Simon A at 1:19 PM
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