Monthly Round-Up: June Viewing

46 films. A massive month, with about 30 films watched over the 12 days of the Sydney Film Festival. Even with the desire to take a little break post festival, the heavy release schedule kept throwing films my way. Re-watches of Silver Linings Playbook and Your Sister's Sister and a first look at Dazed and Confused the top home viewing. Sam and I also consumed Season 5 of Mad Men, which was as strong as ever.  

- - - - - Essential Viewing - - - - -

Dirty Wars (Rick Rowley, 2013) - One man's dangerous solo investigation into US military covert ops is an incredible work of journalism, and in extension, captured powerfully in this astounding documentary.

Before Midnight (Richard Linklater, 2013) - Perhaps the 'least enjoyable' of the trilogy - but there are many delights and laughs don't get me wrong - but I'd say it is the most impressive in it's raw and heart-wrenching realism. A phenomenally scripted emotional rollercoaster and Delpy and Hawke are sensational. As far as trilogies go the 'Before' films rank amongst the greatest.

Prince Avalanche (David Gordon Green, 2013) - Just awesome. What a surprise. I can't wait to watch it again.

The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2013) - I was speechless leaving this film. Incredible to see cinema's influence on the horrific acts, and serve as a medium to recreate, understand and finally accept. So powerful. Josh Oppenheimer created one of SFF's most unforgettable experiences.

Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993) - A lot of fun. A wicked soundtrack and a top cast (of unlikely faces). Aged very well.

20 Feet From Stardom (Morgan Neville, 2013) - Energetic doco full of incredible voices and inspiring stories. Impossible not to fall for.

The Past (Asghar Farhadi, 2013) - With extraordinary and compelling complexity dissects the whirlwind of emotional baggage brought to a divorce/re-marriage. How Farhadi subtly reveals these character's secrets and how they snowball is a feat comparable to A SEPARATION. One of the best of the Fest.

Stoker (Park Chan-Wook, 2013) - It is clear from beginning to end that a master is behind the camera of STOKER. Chan-wook directs the hell out of this. The performances are terrific, the macabre angsty coming-of-age chilling, but it is Park's form and style that elevates this. And the music.

For Those in Peril (Paul Wright, 2013) - Deals with grief, guilt and facing malevolence for being alive. Visceral and emotional psychological drama. A fresh vision.

Mood Indigo (Michel Gondry, 2013) - An endlessly wacky passion project from the wildest of imaginations. So inventive. Great cast. Lengthy run-time only real gripe. Gondry has gone all-in, offering a bombardment of surreal inventions. You know immediately if its your type. If it is, look on in awe.

Mud (Jeff Nichols, 2013) - Freedom of childhood adventure collides with grimmer realities of the adult world in moving and optimistic Southern river drama. Tye Sheridan, and McConaughey, deserve praise.

Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2013) - Charming hipster stumbles through life, always optimistic about her future, but endearingly klutzy and awkward. Love Gerwig. And that scene featuring Bowie!

Wadjda (Haifaa Al-Mansour, 2013) - Very interesting look at Saudi day-to-day life; the first feature shot entirely on location. Sweet, uplifting look at individualism. Beautiful relationships and a striking performance from the young lead. By addressing the issues it does, it is a very important film.

- - - - - Essential Viewing - - - - -

Review: Man of Steel (Zack Snyder, 2013)

Despite the top casting and some dazzling action sure to please fans, with a bloated story, an exposition-heavy and context-via-flashback reliant screenplay, an unsatisfying and drawn-out final confrontation and wearying slews of destruction, to name a few, Man of Steel is fraught with issues. Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) is at the helm of Man of Steel deemed a dubious decision during the production and confirmed post-viewing, with Chris Nolan (Inception, Memento) serving as producer and story co-creator (along with screenwriter David S. Goyer). Nolan has undeniable influence over the project, and I’d say a big contributor to the film’s darker tone, and as a result the non-existent fun value.

Man of Steel opens on the planet Krypton, which is facing imminent destruction. A scientist, Jor-El (Russell Crowe), and a renegade military commander leading a coup, General Zod (Michael Shannon), face off to try and preserve the Kryptonian race. In a desperate attempt to save his people, Jor-El sends his son Kal-el, the first natural birth in a very long time, and Krypton’s genetic codex, to Earth and banishes General Zod and his followers to the ‘Phantom Zone’. But, upon Krypton’s obliteration Zod is released and sets his sights on finding Kal-El.

Raised the adopted son of Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent (Dianne Lane), Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is named Clark. His physiology has left him with superhuman abilities, powers he intuitively uses to help others but has to learn to harness. His father, to devlop Clark’s moral compass, advises him not use them publicly until he believes humanity is ready to accept him. He drifts mysteriously between jobs, saving stranded oil riggers and wandering through the Arctic. When Zod touches down on Earth searching for the alien hidden in the midst, Clark dons the suit, finding an unlikely ally in a ‘Pulitzer Prize Winning’ Daily Planet reporter, Lois Lane (Amy Adams), and sets about fulfilling his destiny.

Continue reading at Graffiti With Punctuation. 

Review: 20 Feet From Stardom (Morgan Neville, 2013)

20 Feet From Stardom is a delightful, intelligently constructed commemoration to some of the heroes of music, the supremely talented ladies – mostly of whom are African American – who made a career twenty feet removed from the spotlight by embracing their vital roles as backup vocalists. But, the question is, why aren’t they stars in their own right? In Morgan Neville’s immensely satisfying documentary we are privileged to the intimate tales of Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Táta Vega, Claudia Lennear, Judith Hill, the Waters siblings and others as they reveal their unique experiences as backup vocalists. Neville takes relevant tangents, bouncing between the accounts to not only paint a convincing depiction of their individual value, but comment on the industry as a whole.

While many of us have heard these voices, their contributions undoubtedly vital pieces of every song, how many of us knew where that voice was coming from? This is an insightful study of the enormous spirit of these women and their often under-appreciated role. There is an unwavering enthusiasm to the film, both fascinating and joyously uplifting. The live concert footage is incredible and I knew this was a winner almost immediately when we are shown several clips of ‘Slippery People’ from Talking Heads’ amazing concert film ‘Stop Making Sense’.

Continue reading at Graffiti With Punctuation. 

Review: What Richard Did (Lenny Abrahamson, 2013)

What Richard Did is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and written by Malcolm Campbell, based loosely on Kevin Power’s Bad Day in Blackrock. This compelling and powerfully acted drama won best Irish Film of the Year at the 10th Irish Film and Television Awards.

18-year-old Richard Karlsen (Jack Reynor, in an astounding performance) is a talented and admired athlete and the alpha-male leader of his upper middle-class Dublin sect of friends. During the summer between the end of school and the beginning of university, Richard and his friends take a trip away. It is there that he meets Lara (Roisin Murphy), at that time dating one of Richard’s teammates, Conor (Sam Keeley). Attracted to Richard, Lara eventually leaves Conor, though the two boys remain uneasy friends. But one night intoxication, jealousy and challenged masculinity lead to a violent incident that shatters Richard’s perfect life and leaves him grappling with guilt and moral obligation.

Continue reading at Graffiti With Punctuation. 

Review: The Past (Asghar Farhadi, 2013)

Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi follows up his Academy Award-winning masterpiece, A Separation, with another highly proficient family drama, The Past, which competed at the Cannes Film Festival for the Palme d’Or. Being set in France, not Iran, this means that there aren’t as many cultural factors to further muddy the morals of the characters, but it deals with similar themes and is just as assured. These flawed relationships create a deeply resonating experience, featuring seemingly minor revelations that have maximum impact.

This is a simple story, the collision of two families through the meeting of Marie (Berenice Bejo, The Artist) and Samir (Tahar Rahim, A Prophet). The former is unhappy with her estranged marriage to Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa), who is visiting from Tehran to sign the divorce papers and ensure it ends on good terms. The latter runs a dry cleaning business of which Marie was a regular customer. Samir and his son Faoud (Elyes Aguis) are already living with Marie and her two daughters, Lucie (Pauline Burlet) and Lea (Jeanne Jestin). When Ahmad arrives Marie suggests he stay at the house and he reluctantly obliges. Stuck in a hotbed of stifling awkwardness Ahmad finds himself unwillingly immersed in their tumultuous lives; a passive observer and a rational listener whose guidance and advice is more welcomed than expected. Complex relationships fuel this deeply affecting drama which tackles mental illness, infidelity and youthful naivety wrapped up in a web of misinterpretation and painful truths.

Continue reading at Graffiti With Punctuation. 

New Releases (27/06/13)

Out this week: Man of Steel, Epic, In the House, The Look of Love and Everybody Has A Plan.

Man of Steel - A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Epic - From the creators of ICE AGE and RIO, EPIC tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world.

In the House - A sixteen-year-old boy insinuates himself into the house of a fellow student from his literature class and writes about it in essays for his French teacher. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, the teacher rediscovers his enthusiasm for his work, but the boy's intrusion will unleash a series of uncontrollable events.

The Look of Love - The true tale of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond (Steve Coogan of "24 Hour Party People", "The Trip"). A modern-day King Midas, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain - at the cost of losing those closest to him.

Everybody has a Plan - Tells the story of Agustín (Mortensen), a man desperate to abandon what for him has become, after years of living in Buenos Aires, a very frustrating existence. After the death of his twin brother, Pedro, Agustín decides to start a new life, adopting the identity of his brother and returning to the mysterious region of the Delta, in the Tigre, where they lived when they were boys. However, shortly after his return, Agustín will find himself unwillingly involved in the dangerous criminal world that was a part of his brother's life.

 Weekly Recommendation: Having seen all with the exception of 'The Look of Love', which I have heard plenty of negative reports about, my top pick would be 'In the House', an unsettling drama that deals with voyeurism, professional misconduct, the blurring of reality and fiction, and the conscious manipulation of the family dynamic. 'Epic' is a stunning visual experience with some thrilling battle sequences, if covering familiar territory with it's forest set tale of good vs evil.  Both are worth a look, but not essential. With many a desaturated flashback and exposition-heavy lecture, Zack Snyder's CGI trainwreck, 'Man of Steel', starts out blindingly incoherent and then unevenly balances catastrophic (and tiring) levels of destruction with Kent's search for his identity. Many many issues. Not a good film at all. The same can be said for Mortensen's new film in which he speaks Spanish. One of the dullest alternate-identity dramas I can remember seeing.

Interview: Marc Forster, Director of 'World War Z'

Last week I was lucky enough to be involved with four other journalists in a roundtable junket interview with the director of World War Z, Marc Forster. We fired off a couple of questions each and this is what Marc had to say about the film.

With many Zombie films previously made and with TV shows like The Walking Dead, how do you put out a Zombie film that is different from anything we have seen before?

MF: For me I didn’t see it only as a Zombie movie I wanted to make an apocalyptic thriller, to extend the genre in that sense. I felt like I wanted to create my own Zombies – the way that they move, the make-up – and ultimately have this intimate family story at the heart of the movie and surround it with a large-scale worldwide epidemic.

When you look back to some of your earliest films as a director this is such a long way away from them. Did you ever expect to be going down the action blockbuster route, and in that respect is this something you want to continue?

MF: I love all kinds of genre and mixing it up. Every genre has its own challenge and that’s where my passion lies. I don’t see myself solely as an action director so I will definitely make smaller films again as well, but I was passionate about the subject matter and about the possibilities of creating this blockbuster. On the other hand there was a second tier of social-political backdrop and the opportunity to work with Brad. That combination, I thought, could lead to something interesting. I’m not sure whether I will do more of these movies, as I don’t really plan. My decisions are intuitive. After Quantum of Solace they offered me Skyfall but I didn’t want to do Skyfall. Finally, I had time to develop a script for years, because we only had three months to develop the script for Quantum, and I just wanted to do something else.

Continue reading at Graffiti With Punctuation. 

Review: Monsters University (Dan Scanlon, 2013)

Disney Pixar in recent years have been more interested in sequels and prequels than developing original ideas. Finding Dory, a sequel to Finding Nemo, has just been announced for 2014 and in 2011 they returned us to the Cars universe, resulting in their weakest film to date. Last year Brave was a pleasant exception to this trend. However, the announcement of a prequel to Monsters Inc. was welcomed because Inc. has always been one of my favourite from the studio. Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) are two of their most inventive creations and in Monsters University we find out just how their inseparable friendship originated. Set amongst a frat house underdog formula reminiscent of Animal House this is perhaps not one of the studio’s strongest narratives, but it is a very funny film with commendable morals, striking animated details, and that moving camaraderie at the core.

Ever since Mike was a youngster and visited Monsters Inc. on a school field trip he dreamed of studying at the prestigious Monsters University to become a scarer. His pessimistic cohorts, despite his unbridled enthusiasm and fierce dedication to study, ridicule his bulbous stature and un-scary appearance. He immediately befriends his roommate, Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), but crosses paths with the brawny and antagonistic Sully, a carefree slacker who believes that lineage and his natural scariness will be enough to pass him. When they find themselves mutual outcasts and forced into an unpopular fraternity house, Oozma Kappa, they are given an ultimatum by the Dean of the University – win the annual Scare Games and be accepted back into the scare program. Mike and Sully have to assimilate their skills if they have any chance of competing.

Continue reading at Graffiti With Punctuation.