CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (2015)

April 25, 2015

clouds of sils maria Greetings again from the darkness. Most of us don’t spend much time re-living our past, and we certainly don’t go through the emotional turmoil of analyzing our early lives from a different perspective. This story puts actress Maria (Juliette Binoche) in those shoes and then we watch as she fights, claws and battles her way through.

Maria is a well-respected veteran actress who has been offered a role in the revival of the play that made her a star more than 20 years earlier. The play was written by her mentor, who dies suddenly as she is on her way to visit. Hotshot director Klaus (Lars Eidinger) wants Maria for the role of the older woman, and this is difficult for Maria to accept since she played what she considers the far more interesting younger woman in the first version. Internal psychological warfare breaks out.

Maria’s personal assistant Valentine (Kristen Stewart) struggles to keep Maria informed of today’s world – celebrity gossip is especially key in their conversations. They also run lines together, and the parallels between the play and their real lives are so prevalent that the lines are often blurred between written word and spoken word. Things get really dicey when Jo-Ann (Chloe Grace Moretz) enters the picture as the talented, extremely popular, personally out of control actress slated to play opposite Maria in the play.

These three actresses are exceptional … yes, even you Kristen Stewart haters will be impressed. They each bring extraordinary depth to their role, and all are a bit outside of what would be considered their comfort zone. Their exchanges are fun, but what’s not said is every bit as exciting and key.

Filmed in the Sils Maria area of the Alps, the landscape is beyond breathtaking. Maloja Snake is the title of the play, and it refers to the fantastic cloud formations that snake through the peaks and valleys of this marvel of nature. The scenery is a nice complement to the emotional rides each of the characters take, and writer/director Olivier Assayas ensures that we have no shortage of talking points after the film.

watch the trailer:

 

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Posted by David Ferguson

STILL ALICE (2014)

January 29, 2015

 

 

still alice Greetings again from the darkness. I’ve never understood the phrase “cruel disease”. Are there diseases that aren’t cruel? One could say the level of cruelty is determined by how the disease affects you and your loved ones, but a stunning performance by Julianne Moore provides a glimpse of what Alzheimer’s does to those afflicted. She shows us what it’s like when we are robbed of what makes us who we are.  And yes, it’s very cruel.

Most “disease” movies spend a significant amount of effort demonstrating how this will affect the victim’s family and friends, but co-directors Richard Glazer and Wash Westmoreland have adapted Lisa Genova’s novel to focus on Alice (Ms. Moore) … her family is mostly trotted out to help the viewer understand how the disease has progressed. We first meet Alice on her 50th birthday, and soon learn she is a brilliant Linguistics Professor at Columbia and has 3 brilliant kids (Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish) and a brilliant husband (Alec Baldwin). These are brilliant, successful and beautiful people. And that’s one of the points here … Alzheimer’s doesn’t pick on the poor, the slow or the weak. It doesn’t discriminate at all (other than a slightly higher rate amongst women).

Julianne Moore somehow is equally effective as the energetic, very confident professor and the shell of a person with vacant eyes who only periodically recognizes the face in the mirror or the faces at the family meal. This is a movie and a performance about moments … moments of panic, isolation, and one particular moment of unleashed emotion when Alice comes clean to her husband early on. We hear the fading of her verbal skills (in her speeches) and we witness the slow fail of her body (she was once a runner). It’s torturous to hear and see.

There have been other movies that touched on Alzheimer’s: The Notebook (2004), The Savages (2007), and Away From Her (2007), but Julianne Moore is the first to take us inside, to force us to feel the slow loss of self. It’s painful, and yes it’s cruel.

**NOTE: that is Julianne Moore’s son (with director Bart Freundlich) playing guitar on the park bench near the end of the movie

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you want to see a personal portrayal of Alzheimer’s rather than reading a brochure OR you want to see the likely Oscar winner for Best Actress

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you and your family have been touched by Alzheimer’s and you need no reminder

watch the trailer:

 

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Posted by David Ferguson

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (2012)

June 3, 2012

 Greetings again from the darkness. After suffering through the miserable Mirror Mirror earlier this year, my fairy tale palate needed cleansing. The original Brothers Grimm tale was actually pretty dark and first time director Rupert Sanders has some success going heavy into ominous with his version. The movie has some flaws, but is actually quite fun to look at.

Early on, we get a taste of Charlize Theron as the wicked stepmother/evil queen. Her calm voice and unforgiving stare prove quite chilling and one of the best parts of the movie. The magic mirror (on the wall) shows signs of life and we understand quickly that this Queen’s power will not be used for the greater good. The palace itself is quite a site and Snow White’s escape provide us a behind-the-walls pass, including the medieval sewer system.

My favorite parts of the movie are the foreboding Black Forest and its polar opposite fairyland. The art decoration for both is excellent and fairyland even offers a nod to the Disney cartoon version. Both sets offer some stunning visuals … the forest ogre, the dwarfs and the white buck with a matrix rack. Ahh, the dwarfs. Can’t have Snow White without them. This group (originally eight) have the superimposed heads of actors we all recognize: Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, and Brian Gleeson. This camera trick allows us to connect pretty quickly with the group.

 Kristen Stewart brings her successful Twilight run to fairy tale land. She isn’t given much to do other than fight and gaze. Her Joan of Arc look serves the film’s purpose, but does any guy really think she is “fairer” than Charlize? Chris Hemsworth (Thor) plays the titular Huntsman and serves the cause admirably, as does Sam Claflin as Snow’s lusty, trusty childhood friend. Sam Spruell plays the Queen’s henchman brother, but is most memorable for one of the worst haircuts in Hollywood history … straight out of Dumb & Dumber.

The battle scenes are well done, the soundtrack is not overbearing as one would expect, but there seems to be something missing here. The film is fun to look at it, but just doesn’t deliver on any type of emotional level. Perhaps the material is just too familiar after all these years of hoping the first bite of an apple doesn’t render us unconscious.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you prefer the darker, sinister version that the Brothers Grimm intended OR you are just trying to wash away the memories of Julia Roberts cackling as the wicked Queen earlier this year

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are expecting something in line with the classic animated Disney version

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson

WELCOME TO THE RILEYS (2010)

November 27, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Reading the synopsis of this one could lead you to believe you’ve seen the same thing 40 other times – an indie flick where a nice guy rescues the teenage runaway who has fallen into a life of stripping/prostitution. This assumption would be incorrect. What sets this one apart is the script from writer Ken Hixon and the acting trio of James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart and Melissa Leo.

Two of those names may surprise you. Gandolfini is of course best known from his run on The Sopranos. What many don’t realize is that he was a fine character actor prior to that iconic role. And many more know Kristen Stewart only as Bella from the Twilight franchise. In fact, she was a scene stealer prior to that in Panic Room and again in Into the Wild. Melissa Leo has experienced a career boon since her Oscar nomination for Frozen River. This year, she can also be seen in two other current releases … Conviction and The Fighter.

Hixon’s script is unusual because it captures the feel of how these people would actually interact. Gandolfini owns a plumbing supply business and leading, as they say, a life of quiet desperation. His wife (Leo) has been a virtual recluse since their teenage daughter died. Their marriage basically died that night as well, though they keep going through the motions that 30 years together brings. While attending a convention in New Orleans, Gandolfini stumbles into a strip joint and falls right into the life of Stewart.

The obvious thought is that he sees this as his opportunity to rescue her from this awful life and be the father he never got to be for his own daughter. But there is more. He really comes across as a guy just searching for meaning in life … his own life. He doesn’t pretend to have the answers, but is not content to sit around and wait to die. His bizarre actions motivate his wife to actually leave the house and join him in New Orleans. Her reaction to what she finds is, once again, very real and un-Hollywood.

No need for me to give away any details or additional plot points. Watching these three together is refreshing for this avid movie goer. The stereotypes are minimal. The dialogue is sparse, but authentic … just like the setting. Searching for meaning can be a painful process and it’s not always obvious when one has succeeded. The director of the film is avid music video director Jake Scott, who also happens to be the son of Ridley and nephew of Tony. Jake avoids the  over the top tendencies of his more famous relatives. In fact, the level of understatedness is a joy to behold.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you find life’s interactions to be fascinating OR you appreciate nuanced acting performances, even in “little” movies

SKIP THIS MOVE IF: you live for movie car chases and explosions OR in your mind, Gandolfini will always be Tony Soprano and Kristen Stewart will always be Bella.

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE RUNAWAYS (2010)

March 20, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Getting dragged back to the mid-70’s can be quite fun, especially when the topic is rock ‘n roll. Based on lead singer Cherie Currie’s autobiography, this film provides an overview of the formation, sudden fame, and equally sudden dismantling of the first all-girl’s rock band, The Runaways.

Joan Jett was the heart of the band, but it took oddball music producer Kim Fowley to put the band together and get the recording deal. Fowley may be the most interesting character in this story. Here he is played with force by the very talented Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road).

Instead, the story focuses on Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, mostly Currie, since it is her book! Dakota Fanning plays Cherie Currie as a confused 15 year old with a messed up family life. The family includes a mom, played by Tatum O’Neal, who announces she is getting married and moving to Indonesia. Currie’s dad is a very sick alcoholic, so she is an easy recruit for Fowley and Jett. Jett is played balls-out by Kristen Stewart. Yes, Kristen Stewart from Twilight. Here she shows much more of the talent we saw prior to the Twilight series. She captures the fire and spirit of Joan Jett and leaves little doubt she will pursue her dreams despite all obstacles.  For a touch of trivia, note that Cherie’s sister Marie is played by Riley Keough … granddaughter of Elvis Presley.  It’s her big screen debut.

Overall, the script comes up short and provides us little more than headlines and a quick glimpse. Would have expected much more on talented guitarist Lita Ford, who continues to work today. For a quick intro to the story of The Runaways, this one is fine. Just don’t expect much depth.

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Posted by David Ferguson

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