Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/director Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love, 2004) films in his homeland of Poland (set in 1962) and presents a familiar topic from a most unusual perspective. This film has been very well received on the festival circuit and it’s easy to see why: it’s beautifully photographed, very well acted, includes terrific music and presents an emotional story for thoughtful viewers.
We first meet Anna as a novitiate nun on the verge of taking her vows. Her Mother Superior has one requirement: Anna must visit her lone surviving relative. Her Aunt Wanda is everything Anna is not: worldly, cynical, direct. In the first few minutes of their visit, Wanda (Agata Kulesza) informs Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) that though she is a nun-to-be, she was born Jewish with the name Ida, and she was sent to a Catholic orphanage when her parents were killed.
After this bombshell, the two set out on a journey to discover the truth and trace their family roots. It’s a journey of discovery not just for Ida, but also for Wanda, who carries her own burden. Questioning one’s faith and one’s true identity is nothing new, but this makes for quite an unusual buddy road trip. Wanda is rarely without a drink in hand and Ida has had no previous exposure to the real world outside the convent.
This is the debut of Agata Trzebuchowska and her porcelain look and big eyes convey a quality with which we find ourselves comfortable with, while Ms. Kulesza evokes empathy from the viewer despite her harsh edge and beaten down outlook on life and people. Hers is a standout performance.
Two exceptional pieces of music are used to perfection: Coltraine’s “Naima” and Mozart’s “Jupiter” symphony. The storytelling and look of the film might be austere (stunning black and white photography) but this music hits us hard in two separate scenes. For those who appreciate dramatic art films, this is one to see .
**NOTE: there is an appearance from real life singer Joanna Kulig
Greetings again from the darkness. This is Australian writer/director David Michod’s follow-up to his excellent 2010 film Animal Kingdom– one of my favorite films that year. While that film took us inside an Australian gangster family, this one is set in a dystopian Outback ten years after what the film terms “the collapse”.
Michod’s script from a Joel Edgerton story goes pretty light on the details and depends heavily on the shared scenes with Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. Both deliver the goods, and Pattinson in particular is quite something to behold … his gun shot wound plays second fiddle to the most bizarre speech pattern and accent we have heard in awhile. Initially appearing somewhat flawed in his mental aptitude, Pattinson brings his character through a full cycle of emotions; which is the polar opposite of Pearce’s character who though quite stoic, leaves no doubt that he is angry at 3 goons for stealing his last possession – his car.
The mood of the film and the tone of the character keep us in suspense on why this blasted car is so important to Pearce, and it’s not until the final sequence that the mystery is solved. The more interesting scenes occur when Pearce and Pattinson are facing off – their relationship evolves from adversarial to something kind of oddly touching.
The usually dependable Scoot McNairy plays Pattinson’s brother, but really isn’t given much to do except for his final scene with Pattinson. The most interesting supporting role comes courtesy of screen veteran Gillian Jones as the inquisitive Grandma. She leaves the impression that a film about her would be much wilder than the minimalistic landscape and dialogue of our feature.
Michod’s latest is not at the level of Animal Kingdombut it does offer a couple of intriguing characters and vastly toned down Mad Maxflavor. It’s beautifully photographed and the sparse soundtrack is the perfect compliment.
Greetings again from the darkness. It’s been 30 years. The movie hasn’t changed. I remember every scene. So that means it’s ME that has changed. While I really liked the movie on its 1984 release, it’s only now that I truly appreciate the brilliance of the script, the music, the direction, the photography and the acting … much less the wide range of emotions released in the smallest ways possible.
Director Wim Wenders has long been a favorite at Cannes Film Festival, and this one took home the prestigious Palme d’Or. Since then, the film has often been mentioned as one of the best movies of the 1980’s, and after this most recent screening (courtesy of the Dallas Film Society), I wholeheartedly concur.
Opening in a most unusual manner … the lead character comes stumbling out of the Texas dessert and doesn’t utter a word for the first 20-25 minutes … this film immediately strikes you as something unique –definitely not cookie cutter. Trying to outguess the script is a waste of time. It’s best to just watch it unfold in a believable and sometimes awkward way.
In a rare lead role, long time character actor Harry Dean Stanton plays Travis. We soon enough learn that Travis disappeared four years ago leaving behind a wife and young son. We also learn that his brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) and Walt’s wife Anne (Aurore Clement) have been taking care of the boy, and Hunter (Hunter Carson) considers them his parents (his mom ran off too).
Walt and Anne invite Travis to stay with them and re-connect with his son, but they are caught off guard when the two really click and they take off to find Jane, the wife/mother. Their charming (but less-than-professional) stakeout leads to the discovery that Jane is working in a sex shop, spending her days talking to a 2 way mirror with lonely men she can’t see. One of the most remarkable on screen soliloquies ever seen occurs on Travis’ final trip to see Jane (Natassja Kinski). He tells her a heartfelt story that plays out as an explanation, an apology, and a plan for moving forward. She slowly realizes it’s their story he is telling. It’s his way of making reparations and finally doing the right thing (as he sees it).
As with most classic films, the backstory offers some interesting tidbits and the players are fun to catch up with. This story was originally written by the great Sam Shepard. Mr. Shepard is a Pulitzer Prize winner, an award winning playwright, and well known actor (Oscar nominated for playing Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff). Director Wenders then brought in L.M. “Kit” Carson to add and revise the script while on set. Carson’s son (with actress Karen Black) Hunter plays the boy in the film, and he delivers one of the best, least affected, child performances of all time. Kit went on to write the screenplay for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) and had a significant acting role in Running on Empty(1988). His son Hunter is still a working actor today. Mr. Wenders was one of the German New Wave of directors along with Herzog and Fassbinder, and his Wings of Desire(1987) would make a terrific double feature with this one. Mr. Stockwell was a very successful child actor in the 1940’s and is best known for his work in Blue Velvetand TV’s “Quantum Leap“. Ms. Kinski is the daughter of Klaus Kinski and is fondly remembered for her roles in Tess (1979) and Cat People(1982), though she still works today as well.
Harry Dean Stanton is now 88 years old. He served in WWII and was present during the Battle of Okinawa. His acting career began in the 1950’s and he still works periodically today. In addition to nearly 200 acting credits, he has had a pretty nice career as a musician. His band built a large cult following. Some of his most popular acting roles have been in Cool Hand Luke, The Godfather II, Alien, Repo Man, Escape From New Yorkand, of course, as the dad in Pretty in Pink.
The music in the film is provided by Ry Cooder, who is a tremendous slide guitarist and has worked with some of the all-time greats in the music business – The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison and Neil Young, among others. Cooder is a multi-Grammy winner and re-teamed with Wenders for the Oscar nominated Buena Vista Social Cluba few years later. The music is an exceptional compliment to the movie, as is the camera work of Robby Muller, who also works frequently with Wenders.
This story of loss and loneliness is an easy one to overlook, but when a film holds up well for 30 years … and affects you differently depending on your own lot in life … its legacy is secure.
***NOTE: those of a certain age will get a kick out of the use of a Muse Air jet
Greetings again from the darkness. Sometimes it’s nice to to just sit back and enjoy a pretty simple and familiar story with (mostly) likable people and an uplifting message. Don’t worry, I’m not going soft on movies … it’s just that I found this little movie made me laugh and smile, and despite the formulaic approach (it plays like a sports movie) it made me care what happened to the characters (even though there was never any real doubt).
Jon Favreau plays Carl Casper, the chef at a swanky L.A. restaurant owned by Dustin Hoffman. When a powerful food critic (Oliver Platt) is headed their way, chef and owner butt heads like the true artist and bean-counter they are. The Chef wants to wow the critic with a unique meal, while the owner wants to stick to what’s been filling seats for a decade. Guess who wins? Once the Chef’s public berating of the critic goes viral on social media, the soul-searching begins. Our hero soon learns that all phases of life – including parenting and cooking – work out much better when passion and full attention are in place. The film is a not so subtle reminder to all of us that our attitude determines our altitude (thanks to Zig Ziglar).
This is a remarkable cast, many of which appear on screen for only a short time. The Chef’s lead assistants are comprised of Bobby Cannavale and John Leguizamo. The maitre’d is Scarlett Johansson. Chef’s ex-wife is played by Sophia Vergara, and her other ex-husband is Robert Downey Jr in a hilariously mind-muddling scene. Amy Sedaris has a funny scene as the fast-talking publicist and comedian Russell Peters plays a photo-happy Miami Beach cop. Even Emjay Anthony, as the young son Percy, has some nice moments.
Mr. Favreau has had a remarkably varied film career as a writer, director, producer and actor. He wears all of those hats here. It’s clearly a personal project for him and he wears it well, though a bit of script tightening could have elevated the film a notch. You might remember him from writing and starring in (with Vince Vaughn) Swingers in 1996, and of course, he more recently directed colossal blockbusters Iron Manand Iron Man II. It’s been quite a career, and it’s nice to see him take on the smaller, more personal projects again.
The best “foodie” movies I can recall are Mostly Martha(2001), Eat Drink Man Woman(1994) and the animated classic Ratatouille (2007). This latest culinary comedy from Favreau definitely holds it’s own, and gives us an exceptional soundtrack and road trip from Miami to New Orleans to Austin and back to LA. My only wish was that the language had been toned down for a PG-13 rating so that more families could enjoy it together.
SEE THIS MOVIE IF: a low-budget, star-studded, charming, funny road trip foodie movie with father-son bonding is just what you need in the midst of blockbuster summer season.
SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: a fluffy comedy utilizing the gimmickry of superstars in brief roles is too lightweight for your movie tastes.
Greetings again from the darkness. One of my movie review rules is about to be broken. Typically I don’t judge movies based on the filmmaker’s gender, but there is a good reason to do so this time. Writer/director Gillian Robespierre delivers an extraordinary film that avoids the extremes we have come to expect: the “shock for shock’s sake” of HBO’s “Girls” and the fantasy world of glamour and shoes of Sex and the City. Instead we get an authentic look at a lead character that seems like a woman we might actually know.
Based on Ms. Robespierre’s popular 2009 short film of the same name, this one features a brilliant collaboration with Jenny Slate whom many will recognize from “Saturday Night Live“. Ms. Slate brings a grounded, believable quality to both the stand-up sequences and the struggling Brooklyn 30-ish woman’s clunky transition into adulthood. This story works because we like Donna (Slate’s character), we empathize with Donna, and we root for Donna.
You may have heard this referred to as “the abortion comedy”. While it’s common to apply simple labels to movies, this seems to be a case of mistaken identity. Absolutely there is humor present – Donna’s hobby is stand-up comedy. And yes, the decision to have an abortion is a key element in the script … but there is also a strong Rom-Com element, a study in friendship, a look at relationships, a peek at the bond between adult kids and their parents, and the ever-present struggle between independence and the hope for true love. Much is happening here, and most of it is handled exceptionally well.
The film kicks off with an uncomfortable foul-mouthed stand-up segment from Donna. While I have never been a fan of fart-poop-pee humor, it’s our introduction to her thought process and how she uses her own life as subject matter, creating a kind of self-therapy. Soon thereafter, we witness a most unorthodox break-up between Donna and her boyfriend. This is followed by lots of wine consumption, blind support from her friend Nellie (played by Gaby Hoffmann – all grown up since her time as the young daughter in Field of Dreams), and a drunken fling with ultra nice guy Max (Jake Lacy from TV’s “The Office“). Their “date” includes pretty much everything except a condom, which leads to the abortion story line.
Handled with dignity and frankness, Donna’s decision is one faced by many women. It’s a part of life and receives straightforward treatment (save one questionable joke). The real joy here is not just how the story focuses on a female character, but that it’s told from the female perspective … two rarely seen approaches from Hollywood. The dialogue rings true and the clichés are minimal. There is even a nice guy to offset the big jerk!
The closest comparison I can come up with is Knocked Up, which was much more concerned with generating laughs, and treated abortion as a taboo topic, rather than a real life decision. Donna’s parents are played by Richard Kind and Polly Draper, and both add an element of realism and love that rings true. David Cross and Gabe Liedman have interesting and funny support roles as well. But understand that this movie belongs to Jenny Slate and especially director Gillian Robespierre, two very strong and talented women who just upped the standard for filmmaking … not just female filmmaking.
**NOTE: yes that is Paul Simon‘s 1991 song “The Obvious Child” that plays during the Donna and Max “date”
SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you need proof that a women’s perspective on screen can be interesting and ring true OR you want to see the works of two up-and-coming voices in Jenny Slate and Gillian Robespierre
SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are looking for some massive political diatribe on the abortion topic
Greetings again from the darkness. The continuing evolution of how we watch TV and movies will open up some opportunities for projects such as this 63 minute film from writer/director Justin Reichman and co-writer Pete Friedman. It’s too long to be a short film and too short to be a feature, but the run time provides sufficient character development and story line.
With the exception of Mark Blum (Desperately Seeking Susan), the cast will be unknown to most. I was most impressed with Sean Patrick Reilly, who looks like a cross between Mark Strong and Justin Theroux. His role as the domineering Steve is the juiciest in the film, and he avoids over-reaching. In fact, it’s quite impressive how the entire cast plays it straight, with no apparent scene-stealing attempts.
The story takes full advantage of double and triple-crosses and some nasty personal and professional deceptions. The two high dollar escorts and special friends are played by actresses with distinctive Hollywood bloodlines. Genevieve Hudson Price plays Jaine (Park’s wife). She is the daughter of Richard Price, the screenwriter for films such as The Color of Moneyand Ransom. Alesandra Assante has a smaller, but effective role as Barbs. She is the daughter of actor Armand Assante. Catherine Curtin provides an interesting take on Steve’s fed up wife.
The fun as a viewer stems from trying to keep up with the twisted plots of revenge and comeuppance. While it’s certainly not Hitchcock, if this is the type of “little” projects we can expect in the new world of on-demand and direct to cable movies, movie lovers will be satisfied.
Greetings again from the darkness. Having not read John Green’s book, and missing his targeted demographics by gender and a few decades, the narrator’s very early criticism of my favorite teen movie Say Anything …had me quickly questioning whether I was going to make it through this one. The greatness of Shailene Woodley soon won me over and I was all in.
The story revolves around a teenage girl named Hazel (Woodley) who was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, and has remained alive and active thanks to an experimental drug. She is an exceptionally perceptive girl and carries the burden of worrying about how (or if) her parents (Laura Dern, Sam Trammell) will carry on after her death. She attends a teenage support group to keep her parents happy, and bumps into a friendship with a spirited young man named Gus (Ansel Elgort) … a self-labeled one-legged 18 year old virgin cancer survivor.
You guessed it … this is a tear-jerker. But it’s even more of a love story. Specifically, it’s a story about the joy in finding someone to love. While the cancer is ever-present, it’s the love story that captures our interest. When the story veers from that, it suffers. The trip to Amsterdam and the segment with Willem Dafoe seems out of place until even that is eclipsed by the final scene at the Anne Frank house. I understand the point, but it struck me as forced emotions … in a movie that was not lacking emotion.
Regardless of all of that, the reason to see this is the genius of Shailene Woodley. Neither she nor Elgort are real life teenagers, but they perfectly capture the adorable balance between awkward and witty. Woodley’s range is staggering (The Descendants, The Spectacular Now, Divergent) and she and Jennifer Lawrence should be blessing us with their talent for many many years to come.
Director Josh Boone benefits not just from the presence of Woodley, but also the screenplay, co-written by Scott Neustadler and Michael H Weber who also co-wrote both (500) Days of Summerand The Spectacular Now. Their feel for dialogue and budding relationships is spot on, delivering a level of respect to both sexes. This film is very sweet and filled with grace, and tainted only by the saccharine musical choices and the Amsterdam sequence.
SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you want to follow the career of the amazingly talented young actress Shailene Woodley OR you are due for a good tear-jerker OR you need visual proof that a Rik Smits jersey plays a vital role
SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you believe summer movies should be filled with special effects and big budget actions and superheroes and mutants and aliens.
Greetings again from the darkness. A favorite at some film festivals, this little film starts off very strong and captures our attention with the odd, yet fascinating dynamic between mother (Lili Taylor) and adolescent son Atticus (newcomer Silas Yelich). She commits much of each day to making sure her son learns the skills to be self-sufficient. Their borderline off-the-grid minimalist lifestyle has her also teaching him history (the anti-rent wars in the Catskills) and music appreciation. This is definitely not Hanna (2011), where the parent teaches the kid to be a cold-blooded assassin. Instead, this parenting approach is grounded, earthy and independent.
Teasing a theme of The State vs The Individual, the story suffers once untreated diabetes removes mom from the picture, leaving Atticus to fend for himself. Having Atticus meander aimlessly through the forest makes some sense given his background, but the story loses all focus at this point. Unfortunately it doesn’t really regain traction when Atticus latches on to the free-spirited hippie Carter (Peter Scanavino). Carter becomes a quasi-father figure and big brother, but his endless stream of screw-ups can’t be offset by his hand-crafted jewelry. He attempts to sell the goods at hippie festivals seemingly designed for pot smoking and skinny dipping.
With this beautifully photographed film, writer/director Tom Gilroy could have used a bit more attention to the script. The mother-son story easily could have lingered longer, and the Carter-Atticus story needed a bit more direction – more than just making the point that Carter has mostly good intentions. Young Silas Yelich looks really good on screen, but is given little to do, so we aren’t sure what to expect with his future work.
With some elements of Mud (2012) and Running on Empty(1998), the early look and feel of the movie gets us set up for a nice indie treat. Unfortunately, the script lets us down in the second half.
Greetings again from the darkness. Finally catching up with this one after it received such critical raves on the festival circuit last year. It’s one of those films that cause so many “normal” movie goers to question the tastes of critics. It certainly has the look and feel of a terrific independent art-house film, but as they say, looks can be deceiving.
The cast is outstanding and play off each other and the setting exceedingly well. Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Ben Foster and Keith Carradine are a pleasure to watch … they make it easy to KNOW these characters. Daniel Hart’s score is the perfect balance of haunting and complimentary – understated at its best. The most exceptional thing of all is the cinematography of Bradford Young. The look of the film is right there with the best of Terrence Malick … and that amplifies the film’s biggest problem. The story is highly recollective of Malick’s Badlands, and that’s where the shortcomings jump out. There is just not much substance to this story – it’s really just another in the line of disillusioned criminals dreaming of a clean slate.
Writer/director David Lowery is a definite talent, but his dependency on look and feel prevent this one from reaching greatness. We recognize immediately that this can’t end well. The only question is how badly will it get for each of the main characters. Crime may not pay, but some criminals just seem to keep paying … and drag down others with them. For those that enjoy the indies, this is one to catch up with … and filmmaker David Lowery’s best work is still ahead of him.
**NOTE: This may be one of the worst movie titles of all time
Greetings again from the darkness. Some movies from the 1940’s remain fun to watch for mostly nostalgia reasons. Others still hold up well today and can be enjoyed for the story, script, acting and production value. Director Otto Preminger’sLaura falls easily into the latter category. This quasi-film noir, murder mystery, creepy love story is based on the novel from Vera Caspary is probably more respected today than when it was released … 5 Oscar nominations, but not one for Best Picture.
To fully appreciate the film, it helps to know the tortured back story. This was always Otto Preminger’s baby, but Daryl Zanuck initially chose a different cast, a different director and a different ending. In the end, Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder) won all of his battles – directing Gene Tierney with the ending he wanted (thanks to Walter Winchell). TCM’s Robert Osborne correctly states that the film has one of the best opening lines: “I shall never forget the weekend Laura died“. The line is spoken by narrator Waldo Lydecker (great screen name) played by the elegant Clifton Webb.
Playing out as mostly a murder investigation led by the detective (Dana Andrews), we are treated to a stream of unusual story choices and only one scene at the police station … a terrific interrogation scene. Instead, we spend the entire movie on the turf of rich, high society types. There are at least four credible murder suspects and they are strung along by a mostly monotone detective, who only flashes personality on his date night with the dead girl’s portrait (well, that’s how it plays!) and when he is messing with a pocket baseball toy.
Gene Tierney plays the titular Laura, and every time she appears on screen her startling beauty distracts us … just as it does the other characters in the film. Tierney was only 23 years old when this was filmed, and a couple years later she had a romance with young John F Kennedy (though she became a long time supporter of Richard Nixon). Her tragic personal story was the basis for Agatha Christie’s novel and movie The Mirror Crack’d. In the 1950’s a suicidal Tierney was treated with shock therapy in a sanatorium, and though she recovered, she struggled for the rest of her life. Her second husband was Houston oil man W Howard Lee, who had previously divorced actress Hedy Lamarr … another of the all-time screen beauties, who also turned down the lead role in Laura. Lucky guy.
The spirit of the movie comes courtesy of the magnificent performance of Clifton Webb as Waldo Lydecker. He is mesmerizing in his ability to take over every scene. This was Webb’s first “talkie” feature film – he left for the stage 15 years prior. The 30 year age difference between Waldo and Laura only works because Webb plays it as her society mentor, though it’s obvious he is obsessed.
Some of the best scenes and banter occurs with Webb and Vincent Price, who plays Laura’s fiancé. If you are only accustomed to Vincent Price in horror films, you will certainly get a kick out his odd role here as the virile, insecure fiancé. He also has some very good and uncomfortable scenes with the great Judith Anderson, who clearly lusts after the Price character.
The aforementioned portrait of Ms. Tierney was also used in 3 other films, and it’s interesting that Tierney and Andrews made 5 total films together. David Raskin’s haunting “Laura’s Theme” plays throughout the film in various fashions, and Joseph LaShelle won the film’s only Oscar – best black & white cinematography. This is certainly one of the best from the 1940’s and holds up very well today … enjoy the many facets of quality filmmaking.
**NOTE: None of the available online trailers are of acceptable quality, so I have decided not to post one
Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/director Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love, 2004) films in his homeland of Poland (set in 1962) and presents a familiar topic from a most unusual perspective. This film has been very well received on the festival circuit and it’s easy to see why: it’s beautifully photographed, very well acted, includes terrific music and presents an emotional story for thoughtful viewers.
Posted by David Ferguson 
