Everlasting Moments

Everlasting Moments (2008) dir. Jan Troell
Starring: Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt, Jesper Christensen, Callin Öhrvall

**

The title of this Swedish festival pic now landing for its limited theatrical release I assume refers to the idea of a photograph capturing a moment forever in time. “Everlasting Moments” is not a Kodak Moment film, instead a frustrating dramatization of prolonged spousal abuse, resulting in admirable art house filmmaking, but unsatisfactory cinematic entertainment.

Its 1909 Sweden, young Maja Larsson narrates the story of her mother Maria (Maria Heiskanen) and her strained relationship with her husband and Maja's father, Sigge (Mikael Persbrandt). We’re told the day they met, Maja serendipitously won a camera in a lottery. The story of this marriage is told parallel to the story of this camera. The opening moments of romantic bliss (about 2mins of screentime) quickly make way for the tempestuous quarrelling which come to plague the family.

Sigge, a dock worker with a leaning toward union socialism, is a complete shit – a drunk, who despite joining the temperance society consistently falls of the wagon, he also cheats on Maria over and over again, beats her and threatens to kill her, once with a hot iron and once with a straight razor. Despite this she gives birth to five of his children and stays with him through everything, even after he goes to jail. Maja’s respite is her camera which becomes her symbol of individualism and strength. Her pictures are brilliant and she becomes a sought-after artist in town.

As I was watching this film I was trying to remind myself that this film is supposed to be ‘entertaining’. Though the performance were strong and the environment dramatized by Troell was genuine, there was little entertainment in this film. Entertainment comes in all shapes and size, and depressing movies have its place cinema, as entertainment, but only if it pushes core emotional buttons.

The film is narrated from the point of view of Maria’s young daughter Maja and takes place over 20 years or so. With this kind of lengthy episodic storytelling we expect to see to the ups and downs of Maria’s life. Unfortunately it’s a continual beat down of her character. We also expect some comeuppance for Sigge, and time and again Maria leaves Sigge off the hook for his heinous behaviour. We're meant to believe Maria stays with Sigge because of her father's dying beside commandment to never break the bond of marriage. And so, the only buttons this film pushes is frustration.

Maria isn’t completely subjugated of course, she has her camera and other more defiant methods of vengeance against Sigge. During the two most intense moments of violence against her, Maria stands her ground like any strong mother would for her family – not backing down from the base expression of anger from Sigge. These are two great and powerful scenes for Maria and Ms. Heiskanen who plays her. And so when we see Maria pick up Sigge after years in prison, it’s painful for the audience to see this man get, not a second, but a THIRD chance.

Perhaps the film is entirely about the dramatic irony established in the opening scene. The camera, which was once the symbol of Sigge and Maria’s discovery of love which  becomes the symbol of what keeps them apart – or from Maria’s point of view, what give her the strength and superiority over Sigge.

This film appears to be universally showered with praise by the likes of Roger Ebert, Todd McCarthy, Kenneth Turan. Was I watching a different movie? The film was directed by revered filmmaker Jan Troell ('The Emigrants'). So nope, it definitelty was a Swedish art house film by an aging 78-year old master auteur. To each his own, but buyer beware.

Cube

Cube (1997) dir. Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett, Nicole de Boer, Nicky Guadagni

****

Ok, this might be a biased opinion, considering I work for the Canadian Film Centre who made this film, but its not. This a genuine review with all it's praise due. Made through the CFC Feature Film Project, for under $500,000, “Cube” is a mini marvel – part high concept sci-fi, part horror film, part art film. A wholly intriguing concoction of ideas and action, which avoids its potentially gimmicky hook. Not only one of the best examples of low budget filmmaking but one of the best Canadian films ever made.

The film opens in a large 14x14 square room, a solitary man in coveralls wakes up confused. On each wall a door leads to another similar but alternatively-coloured room. As the man steps into the adjacent room he sets off a deadly boobie trap which literally slices him into a dozen pieces. This is the obstacle our 6 heroes find themselves in when they wake up from unconsciousness inexplicably imprisoned in this cube. They are just regular people, Quentin (Maurice Dean Wint), a working class cop who assumes the leadership role, Worth (David Hewlett), a cynical and quiet but shifty bookworm type, Holloway (Nicky Guardini), a liberal doctor, Rennes (Wayne Robson), a criminal escape artist, Leaven (Nicole de Boer), a math student and Kazan (Andrew Miller) a mentally challenged idiot savant.

Through a process of observation and deduction they realize not all rooms are boobie trapped, and that a set of numbers etched in between each door identifies the cartesian coordinate location of the room. The team of inmates move from room to room negotiating the traps in an effort to find the edge of the cube and thus a door to the outside. As much as the traps present a danger to them it’s the conflict of personalities between the inmates which provides the greatest threat to their escape.

Writers Vincenzo Natali and Andre Bijelic who conceived of the idea while living together as roommates borrow from classic science fiction and literature. The obvious reference is Kafka’s "The Trial", a story which has the main protagonist imprisoned for a crime he’s never told of. This existential element blankets the entire film. We never know who set up the cube, why they were chosen, how they physically got there. The characters speculate and hypothesize, but it only seems to distract them from the task at hand. While this might seem like an element of convenience for Natali and Bijelic to skirt doing the tough work, ambiguities always make for the best kind of science fiction.

Richard Matheson's stamp of existential thought provoking horror is all over the film as well from his novels to his great Twilight Zone episodes. The interaction of the characters echoes the isolating set-up of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” – specifically Quentin’s power struggle with Holloway and Worth, which elevates itself gradually to deadly aggression and violence.

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat” also provides inspiration - Hitchcock’s self-imposed constraints shooting a film entirely in one lifeboat. Natali is up against similar challenges but he admirably crafts each scene with a variety of creative camera angles and changes actors’ blocking to eschew any visual tedium which threatens to set in.

Whether intentional or not, it’s also hard not find influence of "Cube" in the TV series “Lost”. The unexplained new world the characters find themselves in, the leadership power struggles, the visual conceit of ‘the numbers’, the Dharma Initiative-style name-plated coveralls the characters wear and the existential theme of destiny and fate.

Story wise "Cube”is virtually bullet-proof. Often in these extreme scenarios of crisis the audience is forced to be put in the shoes of the characters, and ask themselves, ‘what would I do in this situation?’, which is when plot holes and logical inconsistencies emerge. Natali seems to have all bases covers. Though his detailed mathematical explanations of their location within the cube threatens to go over our head, the internal logic feels right and thus we believe it.

The film builds with astonishing momentum and pays off its existential conundrum with absolute satisfaction. Twists are timed well, not telegraphed or forced upon us with deux ex machine-like convenience. And Natali perfectly balances his artful ambiguities with hardcore genre pleasures.

“Cube” was included in my colleague Pascal Trottier’s essay, “The Best Low Budget Films”. “Cube” is not only belongs on this list, but also as one of the most ingenius and creative science fiction films ever made.

"Cube" screened last night as the inaugural film of my new Programming series, "Canadian Cinema in Revue"

Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit (2003) dir. Gary Ross
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks

***

Americans and their horses, a key relationship in the history of the country – a metaphor of strength, speed and endurance, as well as the taming of the wildness of the western frontier. Gary Ross melodramatically dramatizing this in his mythological telling of the true story of Seabiscuit, the horse that captured the spirit of the American people during the hard times of the Great Depression.

All creative elements are working on the highest levels, specifically Gary Ross, who ignites America’s love of the grandioseness of its patriotic stories. The opening act tells three parallel stories of it’s three lead characters before we even see Seabiscuit. There’s Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), an enthusiastic entrepreneur/promoter who sold Buicks, struck it rich and then became the financial backer of the horse's training. There’s Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), a rugged outdoorsman and pseudo horse whisperer who finds and trains the legendary horse; and Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire) the half blind abandoned trouble-maker who rides Seabiscuit to glory.

And of course there’s Seabiscuit himself, who is portrayed as its own character, with dramatic hurdles to surmount and character arcs to complete. Like Red Biscuit’s the runt of the litter, a small horse, with a gimp leg, unwanted by everyone and who manages to triumph over adversity.

It would seem all of this was too contrived even for Hollywood, but no, it’s all true, apparently following very closely to Laura Hillenbrand’s book. Gary Ross and his key creatives set the scene with impeccable period detail. The 1930’s Great Depression is the background, providing the context as to why the underdog story of horse and rider captured the emotion of the country. Old B&W period stills combined with David McCullough’s documentary-like narration set the tone perfectly. All other creative departments follow this lead.

The key set pieces in the film are the astonishingly photographed race sequences. Using a variety of creative camera angles, and cleverly hidden practical effects, Ross and DOP John Schwartzman (half brother of Jason, and thus, part of the Coppola family) make each race as intense as putting you on the horse. I couldn't help be reminded of the great "Ben Hur" chariot scene. The heavy sounds of horse hooves pounding the ground and the almost infinite camera angles used by the filmmakers marrying these two films together.

Perhaps the American mythologization of sport and metaphor for life is laid on a bit too thick. But going by Gary Ross’s previous work as writer of “Big” and writer/director of “Pleasantville” it fits in well with Ross’s view of storybook view of life and history. Enjoy.

“Seabiscuit” is available on Blu-Ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Up

Up (2009) dir. Pete Docter
Voices by: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, Delroy Lindo

***1/2

Though I admired “Wall-E” and “Ratatouille” the two recent and arguably best received Pixar films since “Toy Story”, I felt a sense these films wrang out every morsel of cuteness from the little robot and the little mouse to the point of tedium. With “Up”, newbie feature director Pete Docter pushes some of the same emotional buttons, but a more genuine characterization of his lead character, for me, results in the most satisfying Pixar film.

And I think it has to do with the human characters. The hero in the story is Carl Frederickson, the most sympathetic and endearing of all the Pixar characters. Docter takes his entire first act to tell us the backstory and conudrums of Carl. The film opens with a flashback to the 1920’s when young Carl was in awe of intrepid explorers like the dashing Lindbergh-esque airship flyer Charles Muntz who claims to have discovered a 'Paradise Lost' world in South America. We see Carl bond romantically with his lifelong partner and wife Ellie with a mutual dream of taking a similar journey to this unblemished world.

In a marvelous montage sequence Docter shows the life history of Carl and Ellie and how their dreams consistently got pushed back in favour of real world financial realities. And when Carl’s wife dies leaving him alone in his house, he suddenly finds himself lost without ambition. Before Carl is about to be sent away to an assisted living facility he literally breaks away via hundreds of helium filled balloons bringing him and his house into the skies. Little does he know, the chubby annoying boy scout Russell was on the porch thus bringing him along the adventure. Carl and Russell make it to Paradise only to encounter a nasty villain who threatens the preservation of this natural world.

Carl makes a great hero because there’s a genuine and well-defined life to the man. Docter’s beautiful crafted and edited encapsulation of Carl's life with his wife is a mini marvel. We’re reminded of the landmark dinner table scene in Citizen Kane, where Welles and his editor Robert Wise told the lengthy collapse of Kane’s marriage with only a small number of smartly edited shots. Though Docter’s sequence is longer, with more elaborate visuals at his disposal he manages to create and summarize an entire life, which becomes the dramatic foundation of the film.

Docter also manages to avoid the inherent clichés with his character. We expect Carl to be a curmudgeon, a jaded distrustful old man – much like Clint Eastwood’s character in “Gran Torino”. But Carl has more intelligence and reality-based reactions to his situations than a live action Walt Kowalski, and without sacrifice of inter-character conflict.

The film takes a turn for the childish in the second act when Carl and Russell make it to Paradise Lost. We’re introduced to a group of dogs who can speak using an electronic dog collar. Talking animals within the human world of the film seems more a ploy to satisfy the children in the audience, whom I could see getting bored with the adult-oriented backstory/setup. The adventures on the island are animal slapsticky stuff, but the introduction of Christopher Plummer’s antagonist character brings the joy and sense of adventure back for a rousing action finale.

The visual design is simple and clean, perhaps influenced by the Art Deco designs we see in the early flashbacks. The 3-D presentation was decent, a format which most certainly works best in the world of animation. If anything the polarized glasses dulled the brightness of the colours used in the film. And after 30mins or so I completely forgot I was watching 3D. I’m not sure this is good or bad – whether we’re supposed to be conscious of the three dimensions at all times, or whether it’s supposed to invisible to our eyes.

Therefore, I’d say either version, 2D or 3D, it won’t make a difference which presentation you see, the story will suck you in and immerse you completely in Carl’s life. Enjoy.

Valkyrie

Valkyrie (2008) dir. Bryan Singer
Starring: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard

***

On DVD and Blu-Ray now is "Valkyrie", arguably a film a lot of people expected to fail. From the outset of this production there appeared to be an effort as dedicated as the rebellion in this film to knock down this latest Cruise venture. First it was a German protest against allowing the couch-surfing Scientologist to film a German story in their country, then it was an over-the-top slag campaign after a test screening last summer.

The reteaming of Bryan Singer, Christopher McQuarrie and John Ottman, the three key collaborators behind “the Usual Suspects” back in a thriller genre they tore apart and re-invented 13 years ago should be receiving top billing in the headlines. The finished film, outside of any hype, is a decent film in the genre of Hollywood wartime thrillers.

Tom Cruise plays Col Claus von Stauffenberg a German officer recently blown half to bits in Rommel’s desert campaign who desires to overthrow the Hitler regime to reclaim Germany’s honour. There happens to be a whole group of similar dissidents within the Nazi high ranks who feel the same. After a botched attempt by Kenneth Branagh’s Nazi character to blow up de Fuhrer he recruits Stauffenberg to command the team with a new plan of attack.

Stauffenberg’s bold single-minded leadership is just the energy the group needs to get the job done. For Stauffenberg killing the man is only half the battle, overthrowing the government is the hardest part. The solution finds Stauffenberg when he hears his child play Wagner’s Valkyrie during an air-raid. Using sharp politicking and crafty progaganda techniques Stauffenberg plans to use an obscure Martial Law action plan called Operation Valkyrie to cease allow his secret SS group to cease control of the government.

It’s a slow set-up. McQuarrie skips over the hardest bit of writing by making no explanation as to how Stauffenberg gets recruited into the SS group. I always thought the most difficult aspect of a revolution is finding the like-minded individuals willing to stick their necks out for the cause. For good and bad McQuarrie quickly jumps this hurdle and directly into the scheming and plotting. The hallmarks of Bryan Singer’s talent as director lay dormant in this set-up. But once Stauffenberg is on board the second act is kicked off with the executed plan of action. Singer’s razor sharp pace, impeccable composition and shot selection suddenly jumps off the screen.

As with “Usual Suspects” John Ottman’s unique skills as both editor and composer compliment Singer’s direction. Having an editor the same person as composer, though extremely rare in filmmaking, is in practice natural to combine. Especially in the thriller genre where montage scenes rule. Singer and Ottman are careful to show the detailed machinations of the plotting, which make up for the fact that there are no traditional action scenes, gunfights, or stunts.

On the Blu-Ray it's great to see McQuarrie take a lead role in the production of the film. For the first time he serves as a producer, a role more than just a mere courtesy credit. He makes a great interview with his passion for his film and the art of cinema apparent. Enjoy.

"Valkyrie" is available on Blu-Ray from MGM Home Entertainment

Drag Me to Hell

Drag Me to Hell (2009) dir. Sam Raimi
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao

****

The best film I’ve seen so far this year undoubtedly is Sam Raimi’s magnificent return to the horror genre. It’s been 14 years since the third Evil Dead movie, “Army of Darkness”, which doesn’t really count as a horror film anyway, so really it’s been 22 years since “Evil Dead 2”. With “Drag Me to Hell”, Raimi exercises these latent muscles and hasn’t missed a beat, trumping our high expectations.

We know we’re in for a return of something magical when we see the old 1980’s Universal logo at the head of the picture. Much like the first two Evil Dead pictures, Raimi films essentially a series of precisely crafted set pieces loosely strung together by a plot. Alison Lohman plays Christine Brown, an underachieving loan officer who desperately wants the vacant assistant manager’s job at the bank. When Mrs. Ganish (Lorna Raver), a ghoulish old spinster with a false eye and rotten dentures requests an extension on her missed mortgage payments, to impress her cutthroat boss Christine breaks her personal ethics and rejects the poor lady. Ganish goes bonkers and puts a curse on Christine.

Gradually Christine starts to go crazy seeing Ganish’s haunting image everywhere she goes. Desperate to break the spell she goes to see a fortune teller, much to objections of her doubting Thomas boyfriend Clay (Justin Long). We learn of an ancient demon which looks to claim her body to hell. Christine tries exorcisms, animal sacrifices, but the secret lies in a simple cursed button which must be given away in order to break the curse.

Raimi is on fire with his trademark mixture of physical low brow comedy and spine-chilling suspense. Raimi and his screenwriter brother Ted execute what seems like 22 years of cool ideas saved up for this specific movie. The first major confrontation with the raving mad woman in the underground parking lot is inspired stuff. Raimi wrings out every drop of suspense leading up to Ganish’s frightening reveal in the car, which leads to a riotous slapstick fight scene.

Many other scenes exist solely to stand alone. The clever fight between Christine and Ganish’s animated veil which invades her car, the dinner table conversation with Clay’s parents when the curse invades Christine’s homemade harvest cake, and a number of dream sequences exists unabashedly as technical exercises satisfying Raimi’s urges to please us.

Alison Lohman makes a delightful and warm lead character. She gallantly gives herself up to Raimi’s torture, as he embellishes every opportunity to drench Christine with blood, drool, embalming fluid, mud and any nasty liquid substance he can think of. She’s the receptacle for Raimi’s underlying message about what happens when you sell yourself out to God.

“Drag Me to Hell” is a perfect genre picture which is why I confidently grant it four stars. Raimi never goes easy on his characters nor the audience. Even up until the last scene Raimi is in absolute control of the genre and though it might take a few more viewings to make this determination, I’m might be bold enough to say “Hell” trumps “Evil Dead”.

Jonas Brothers: 3D Concert Experience

Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Experience (2009) dir. Bruce Hendricks
Documentary

**1/2

What the hell am I doing watching the Jonas Bros movie, let alone review it?. Sometimes it important to watch these films if only to know what kids are watching these days and stay in the loop. Here's my review originally written for Exclaim back in April.

Just why did these moderately talented, averaging-looking dudes get the golden ticket to tweener stardom? Because of that venerable Disney star factory that birthed other moneymaker stars and new matinee idols, Zac Efron and Miley Cirus.

Having established themselves with the Disney Channel TV movie Camp Rock and sold themselves on the teen-rag circuit over the past two years, the Jonas Brothers make their big screen debut with this glossy 3-D slice of Disney propaganda.

For Jonas newbies, the brothers are Joe, the straight-haired lead singer dressed like Tom Cruise from Cocktail, and Kevin and Nick, the two curly hair guitarists whom I couldn't tell apart. They are a straight-ahead pop rock band that, instead of synchronized dancing, play their instruments and channel stage antics like advanced players of Rock Band. To heighten the attention of the girls they can also spin, jump and do tumbles and somersaults around the stage like seasoned acrobats.

Like the Miley Cirus 3-D concert film, the Jonas Brothers are trotted out with maximum exploitation. In addition to a well-produced stadium concert with the big hits belted out, manufactured, "candid" behind-the-scenes footage show the trio revelling in the insane fandom that Disney has created for them.

The theatrical experience of this film is made even more interactive than the kitschy 3-D process. Sitting in an audience of die-hard tweeners who know the words to every song and scream their lungs out whenever Joe Jonas points to the camera is strangely exhilarating. While it's just the latest boy band fad, for this audience it's a seminal event in their young lives. How can you not be fascinated with that?

The first few songs are a struggle to get through — barely hummable pop songs sung with the Brothers' newly broken, squeaky voices. But as the girls screamed their way through these songs, I realized this film is critic-proof, and with ego in check, I let myself go along for the ride.

As the show progresses, the catchiness of the tunes eventually sets in. Well-timed guest performers such as Demi Lavato break the monotony and add a refreshing female perspective. The film reaches its creative high when pop star Taylor Swift (apparently a former girlfriend of Joe Jonas) joins the trio for a song. Far and away a better singer than all the brothers combined, Swift's country pop rock crossover is a fine foot-tapping cap to the show.

No one who is not a fan has any business seeing this film alone but treating that young niece of yours to this is guaranteed to crown you as the favourite uncle. And if you take your cynical cap off you might actually find the Jonas Brothers 3-D Experience an enjoyable one.

"Jonas Brothers: 3-D Concert Experience" drops on DVD on June 30

Movie Mob Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Experience | Movie Trailers

Eagle Eye

Eagle Eye (2008 dir. DJ Caruso
Starring: Shia Lebeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton

***

A modest surprise from last year was the latest in a string of hit films for budding star Shia Lebeouf. His rat-a-tat manner of speech rubs some people the wrong way, but there’s no doubting he’s a genuine movie-star. LeBeouf commands the screen as the underachieving lay-about turned reluctant CIA spy, and director DJ Caruso turns in a solid actioner refashioning trusted old genre elements of technological fears and big brother paranoia.

“Eagle Eye” plays like a “War Games”, "The Conversation", "Enemy of the State" updated to the war on terror. Like a 70’s surveillance paranoia flick made by Jerry Bruckheimer. Bruckheimer’s name is not on the film, but Caruso’s slick mondo action could easily be a calling card for one of his future films.

Lebeouf plays Jerry Shaw, a typical underachieving 20-something who chose to forgo Stanford in favour of seeing the world. Now he worksat a copyshop, pushing paper, retail. One day Shaw gets news that his twin brother has died in Iraq. A sad time for Jerry, a day which is coincidentally turned upside down when he checks his bank account and discovers $750,000 in his account. Jerry’s being set up for something, and his only way out is to follow the instructions of an unknown voice on his cell phone which guides him out of all kinds of contrived danger.

Meanwhile, poor Rachel Holloman's (Michelle Monaghan) son has been kidnapped and, like Jerry, is given instructions by the same mysterious female omniscient voice. Rachel and Jerry's paths eventually cross and find themselves partners in their mutual escape with the CIA in pursuit. Who is this mysterious voice guiding our heroes out of trouble? As things gets revealed we learn it's not international terrorists at bay but America's own over-indulged Homeland Security which is now backfiring against it's citizens.

The writers cleverly steal from Hitchcock’s everyman-turned spy-hero themes of "North-By-Northwest" and even direct theft of Hitch’s rowsing orchestra – assassination finale of “The Man Who Knew Too Much.” Unfortunately Caruso’s climax which has Jerry trying to stop a bomb rigged to explode on a certain key in the Star-Spangled Banner doesn’t have near the suspenseful impact of Hitch’s film. Even "2001: A Space Odyssey" gets a nod as the evil 'Eagle-Eye' computer which runs amuck, a key character which plays like a female version of HAL.

The final moments hit some squirmy jingoistic notes. The place of America as the world’s police is only slightly chastised when Caruso tells us America needs to exercise more diplomacy instead of first strike, knee-jerk tactics. The prevalence of American flags waving in slow motion against Brian Tyler’s faux-rousing score seems to both skewer and support the government's accountability. If this film were made in the 1970’s we’d see much more cyncism.

The film was also arguably the coming out party for DJ Caruso, after a number of mediocre thrillers, which under lesser hands would have gone straight to video (“Distrubia”, “Two For the Money”), Caruso delivers 'Eagle Eye' with as much the loud cinematic muscle of any tier 1 blockbuster director. Enjoy.

El Dorado

El Dorado (1967) dir. Howard Hawks
Starring: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Ed Asner

**1/2

With hindsight, by 1967, with the onset of new liberal Hollywood a studio Western with John Wayne, directed by Hollywood legend Howard Hawks, seemed a little obsolete and out of date. Hawks was known in Hollywood as an adaptive director, a populist auteur with an invisible style who could work in any genre and lauded by many great directors: Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, John Carpenter and even Quentin Tarantino.

"El Dorado" was Hawks' second last film, and to no surprise it's a by-the-numbers Western featuring the swaggering John Wayne as a hired gun who enters into a war between local drunk sheriff (Robert Mitchum) and a band of bullies, headed by Ed Asner. Tagging along is a young James Caan, as Wayne's affable young protégé.

For 1967, it probably provided enough adequate genre entertainment for audiences. There's a distinct over familiarity to the picture though. After a meandering first hour I figured it out, the second half has the same rhythm and focus as Hawks' "Rio Bravo" (for reasons I could never understand, one of the most revered pictures by those mentioned above).  Hawks handles half-a-dozen key characters, confidently moving from comic relief to taut action and suspense. Although at 126 minutes it's 20 to 30 minutes too long.

In the annals of cinema history though, it's an average entry in the genre. For Western newbies or even casual fans, without the stylistic stamp of authorship, like the mythological majesty of John Ford, the minimalist humanism of Budd Boetticher or the revisionist hyper-styling of Sergio Leone, it's a picture for old Hollywood cinephiles only.

Paramount has packaged the film as a two-disc Centennial Collection, containing a wealth of extra material. Peter Bogdanovich, a marvellous anecdotal storyteller when it comes to film history, once again muses eloquently on one of the commentary tracks. Renowned critics Richard Schickel (Time) and Todd McCarthy (Variety) along with Ed Asner combine on the other running commentary. The seven-part "making of" on disc two is well produced and is more than just a recycling of older material.

This article was first published on Exclaim.ca

Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation (2009) dir. McG
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Goodblood, Bryce Dallas Howard

***

In the Blockbuster Summer season when a week goes by most of everything before it seems like ancient history. Terminator is like ancient history right now, after an underperformance on its opening weekend and lacklustre rotten tomato standing this film will likely be labelled failure. Doesn’t mean I can’t still like the picture, which I did.

“Terminator Salvation” plays like a rusted metal version of the last couple of T-pictures. Taking place in 2018, post Judgement Day, if you have the T-timeline in your brain, in a George Miller-esque post apocalyptic world. Los Angeles is destroyed, everything burned to smithereens, with only the metal carcasses of the machinery we created and ultimately destroyed littering the landscape.

John Connor (Christian Bale) the prophesized hero is the leader of the resistance against the machines. After an underground mission to a Skynet laboratory, a new hero emerges from the ashes of the opening action sequence – Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a death row man we saw in a flashback donating his body to Cyberdine Systems. Of course we suspect he’s a terminator, but he doesn’t know that. Marcus wanders the landscape fighting machinery going about his own journey of self-discovery. He meets up with none other than Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), formerly Michael Biehn from the original film, and vows to protect him.

When Reese is taken prisoner by the machines he has to convince John Connor that his motivations are malevolent, not benevolent. Connor, who only sees the machines as his enemies, is forced to go against his instincts and trust someone who could be his enemy.

Unlike the story-bloat of “Star Trek” Michael Ferris and John Brancato’s script is a focused and uncomplicated affair, which carves its own path in the franchise while linking up and respecting the lore created by its predecessors.

Thematically, "Salvation" continues Cameron’s examination of the relationship of man and machine. McG and the writers find a rather simple but intriguing way to challenge Connor’s assumptions of the future. The central concept of a robot not knowing he’s a robot is the stuff of classic science-fiction. Though an opportunity is missed to explore John’s memories of his relationship with the Arnold Schwarzenegger terminator in T2 in “Salvation” the relationship serves to test humanity’s capacity for complex emotional thought, out of which some genuine heroism and male bonding emerges.

Christian Bale as John Connor, reminds us of Bale as Batman, a muscular but cold hero with a raspy voice, without any of the warmth of previous T-protagonists. Hollywood newbie Aussie Sam Worthington is a good match for Bale. The robo-human conflict within Marcus emerges as the heart of the picture, trumping Bale’s star-casting. And I can’t go without mentioning Bryce Dallas Howard’s lovely pregnant glow as John’s wife with child.

“Terminator Salvation” succeeds solely as a stone cold action picture. There’s not an ounce of humour in the picture, which, curiously, works to its advantage (box office notwithstanding). Shane Harlbut’s subdued colour palette makes it feel like a tougher and darker “Transformers”. The robot enemies are impressive, including a huge ‘Transformers-like’ metal monster which launches superfast motorcycle-bots. This sequence forms the main second act set piece, contributing to an intense and impressive thrill ride which, overall, clocks in at under 2 hours - a miracle for summer blockbuster entertainment these days. Enjoy.

Russell Brand in New York City

Russell Brand in New York City (2009)
Documentary

**

Ok, it’s not quite a documentary and definitely not a movie, so forgive me for defying my own blog guidelines.... "Russell Brand in New York City" is exactly what the title is, an hour of Russell Brand’s stand up comedy, on stage in NYC, and sadly not up the standard which has quickly made him a budding comic star in Hollywood.

Brand burst out into North America last year with a one-two publicity punch of the scene stealing role in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and before that the hosting gig on the 2007 Brit Awards and then after the 2008 MTV Music Video Awards hosting gig. So his stand up routine was worth the shot to watch and review.

Brand's persona takes precedent over the material, or perhaps I should say his persona is his material. His extravagant glam haircut and Freddie Mercury spandex identifies him more as a rockstar than a comedian. His confident stage swagger has the same self-confident superiority as a Liam Gallagher. So how he could possibly get away telling jokes without referencing himself.

The first 15mins understandably includes bit on his new fame from his role on “Sarah Marshall” and his MTV bit. So it’s a mix of self-referential mockery and false British overconfidence.

Despite his reputation as a bad boy, his material is surprisingly tame and uninspired – much of it out of comic stand up 101. British people get knocked around a bit, same with the same old Brit-American cultural differences. Apparently he got fired from an early MTV gig when he dressed up as Osama Bin Laden the day after 9/11. That’s not particularly funny, but certainly risky. There’s little risk taken in this New York gig.

"Russell Brand In New York City" is available on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment

Man Hunt

Man Hunt (1941) dir. Fritz Lang
Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Joan Bennett, John Carradine, George Sanders, Roddy McDowell

**

During WWII Hollywood produced a number of great propaganda films under the guise of traditional cinema entertainment. Unfortunately Fritz Lang’s Hollywood production of "Man Hunt", recently dug up and cleaned up by Fox, is not one of them.

Fritz Lang, the German ex-pat who made some of the greatest German films ever, is the ideal person to fight back against the Nazis with cinema propaganda. Unfortunately it’s a slapdash affair, an unfocused, poorly acted and sometimes completely illogical spy story. Taking place just before the war, in the opening we see a British sharpshooter, Capt. Alan Thorndike, (Walter Pidgeon) perched on the crest of a hill in the Bavarian mountains taking aim at none other than Adolf Hitler. Before he gets to take his shot he’s captured. His captor, a monocled Gestapo man Quive-Smith (George Sanders) – Note: Lang himself, was famous for wearing a monocle - desperately tries to beat out a signed confession that he was acting on behalf of the British government, but to no avail. Thondike escapes, thus beginning the ‘man hunt’.

The hunt takes him from the Bavarian hills eventually finding a British freighter ship bound for England. In pursuit is Quive-Smith and his tough assassin, Mr. Jones, played by John Carradine. Though he makes it to England, he’s still not safe. When he runs into a kindly cockney street gal, Jerry (Joan Bennett) he’s forced to bring her along in the chase. Jerry and Alan form a platonic bond, which might just be Thorndike’s Achilles Heel for the Gestapo.

Even beyond the presence of Mr. Lang, all the ingredients would suggest a cool little studio production. Fox vet Arthur Miller’s cinematography is top notch, most of the exteriors shot with a wonderfully moody layer of thick London fog, dramatically lit like Lang’s expressionistic days. Alfred Newman, one of cinema’s all-time great composers delivers a decent suspenseful score, some of the cues sounding eerily similar to John Williams' work in Star Wars.

None of these technical elements can distract us from the ridiculous adventure plotting. The opening act sets up a clever nod to “The Most Dangerous Game” – a world famous hunter trying to score the world’s most dangerous prey, Da Fuhrer himself. When Alan moves to the British freighter, young Roddy McDowell’s appearance in the film as a deckhand changes the gears toward relationships and comedy, but with the close quarters, an even greater threat against Alan. For the second and third acts, Thorndike is in London, his home turf, a place one would think he would be safe. Somehow he feels as endangered as he was in Germany. In the real world the chase could have ended in a split second if he just ran into a police station and pointed his finger at his pursors.

Walter Pidgeon makes an uncharismatic hero, though a Canadian, not a Briton, his accent wavers constantly. And Joan Bennett, a New Jerseyian playing cockney? Yikes. Only John Carradine’s menacing and imposing figure is on the mark. The propaganda is laid on thick from the opening song La Marseillese, to the theme of xenophobic distrust at home. Lang constantly shows us cutaways to random people on the streets of London, watching Thorndike with shifty eyes, warning us of the subversive enemies who may lurk among us.

The final scene which has Thorndike hiding out in a cave (in Britain??) under siege by Quive-Smith is plain old head-scratching. And his finishing move against him, a makeshift bow and arrow made from Jerry’s hatpit, is simply pathetic.

There’s nothing wrong with Hollywood war propaganda – “Casablanca” smelled badly of it too – but in “Man Hunt” without real characters and legitimate suspense it smells even worse than a regular studio bomb.

“Man Hunt” is available on DVD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Serbis

Serbis (2009) dir. Brillante Mendoza
Starring: Gina Pareño, Coco Martin, Roxanne Jordan, Dan Alvaro, Kristofer King

***

A Filipino porno house is the setting of this late arrival from last year's Cannes Film Festival. In the style of trendy social realism we get to see the slice of life of the family that run the theatre. The hardcore nudity (an erect cock or two) has given this film a bit of notoriety but it's all very brief and doesn't overwhelm. It's still niche material though, which, for the open-minded, provides an artful break from the blockbuster escapism inundating our multiplexes right now.

Mama Flor is the matriarch of the Pineda family, anxiously waiting for the court decision against her adulterous husband. Nephew Alan and his girlfriend are a pair of young lovers who've just realized they have an unwanted pregnancy, and another mouth to feed in the family. That's about all we get from Director Brillante Mendoza (newly crowned Best Director winner at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival), who follows his characters without traditional narratives or arcs, a loose backbone for this very loose but satisfying film.

Mendoza, also an art director, paints the film with the same palette as some of the great Wong Kar Wai films. The wide-angle camera shows us everything, moving fluidly through dingy corridors and freely up and down staircases. The walls have the worn texture of cracking plaster, graffiti and all its rough edges. He takes great care to show us his characters walking through these spaces and all the mundane details of their lives. Threading a film into a projector, mopping up a flooded bathroom and the home remedy removal of a boil on a guy's ass might sound dull but it's an environment we've never seen before, and it's surprisingly refreshing.

Mundane, perhaps, but Mendoza's imagery is not without meaning; his characters desire love or romance, and everything around them, from the posters of the skin flicks to the gay prostitutes and their seedy clientele, is a continual reminder of the dispassion in their lives. Interspersed are a few graphic scenes of matter-of-fact sex; they're not played for kicks though. The sex is quick and the skin, while uncensored, is not beautified. The title, meaning "service," plays into the tone of the sex as well and the rhythm of the entire film — a day in the life of working people, observed without judgment.

To escape from the blockbuster fare, Serbis might just be that naughty little Philippine art house flick you need to see. And the final shot is a stunner too.

This review first appeared on Exclaim.ca

Announcement: Canadian Cinema in Revue

I’m pleased to announced an exciting new venture from Daily Film Dose and Canadian Film Dose – CANADIAN CINEMA IN REVUE – a screening series devoted to putting some cool Canadian films where they deserve to be – back on the big screen.

Starting Monday, June 8, the Revue Cinema theatre at 400 Roncesvalles Ave in Toronto. launches Canadian Cinema in Revue, a program showcasing innovative and entertaining features, related short films and the people who made them.

Curated by yours truly, the series begins with Cube, part sci-fi horror film, part creative art film, directed by Vincenzo Natali.

Made for under $500,000 through the Canadian Film Centre's Feature Film Project, Cube is an impressive achievement that has allowed Natali to move on to bigger-budget genre films, including the Hollywood production of Cypher, and the upcoming genetics-themed thriller Splice with Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley.

Natali’s short film Elevated, in which he honed many of Cube’s themes, will also be screened.

In Los Angeles during June, Natali will link up electronically with the Revue, while co-writer Andre Bijelic will attend the screening for a Q&A.

Future Canadian Cinema in Revue screenings, scheduled for once a month, will include the awesome zombie film Fido, coupled with The Big Charade; Michael Dowse’s It’s All Gone Pete Tong, paired with If I See Randy Again… and the thriller Six Figures screened with Still Life; and many others.

The program is presented with the support of The First Weekend Club, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and Daily Film Dose.com.

Tickets for the screening will be $8 for members of the Revue and sponsoring groups; $10 non-members.