2015 Films, Drama, Independent, Independent Drama

Grandma-2015

September 21, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Grandma-2015

Director-Paul Weitz

Starring-Lily Tomlin, Marcia Gay Harden

Scott’s Review #275

Reviewed September 21, 2015

Grade: B+

Grandma is clearly and deservedly, a showcase for the talented and interesting legendary Hollywood actress Lily Tomlin.

Years (twenty-seven to be precise) since she has had a starring turn in a film, the role of Grandma is custom made for Tomlin, with the character’s sarcasm, wit, and downright bluntness emerging to the forefront.

The film is labeled a comedy/drama, which it is, but centers around a heavy topic in that of abortion, and runs the risk of offending pro-life individuals, as the film undoubtedly contains a pro-choice slant.

Ellie (Tomlin) is a poet and former college professor in her seventies living in California. She is a lesbian and is mourning the recent death of her long-time partner. She has recently been dating a lovely young woman named Olivia (played by Judy Greer), whom she unceremoniously, and cruelly dumps, referring to Olivia as little more than a footnote in her life. Afterward, Ellie breaks down in tears of guilt while showering.

One day her granddaughter, Sage, (her daughter Judy being the product of a one-night stand), appears on her doorstep asking for money for an abortion. Having just paid off all of her debts and destroyed her credit cards, Ellie is therefore broke.

The duo embarks on a quest for cash, and race against time to make the appointment in time for the scheduled procedure.

The film belongs to Tomlin but is enhanced by excellent supporting turns, specifically by Marcia Gay Harden as daughter Judy, and veteran actor Sam Elliot, as Ellie’s former flame Karl, to cite examples.

Judy and Ellie have experienced a tumultuous relationship their entire lives while Karl harbors resentment for Ellie for long-ago aborting their child. Harden is thrilling as a borderline, one-dimensional bitch character.

She is driven, angry, and self-centered, and it is mentioned that she has gone through numerous administrative assistants in her high-level corporate role.

I have not seen Harden in a role quite like this before. As unsympathetic as the character is, one cannot help wondering if Ellie’s mothering skills may have perhaps made Judy turn out this way. Karl on the other hand, I found to be sympathetic. He is still wounded from his ages ago relationship with Ellie and may still hold a flame for her, as unlikely a romance between them would be.

The film is darker than I expected and is not a syrupy, mainstream, family story one might expect from the fuzzy one-word title.

Still, Tomlin’s cantankerous, sarcasm kept me in stitches and perfectly balanced the tough subject matter displayed in Grandma.

The relationships between the main characters are complex and tough to watch as they argue, swear, and berate each other repeatedly.

There is love mixed in, to be sure, but complexities arise due to the controversial subject matter. The history of and, in many cases, painful memories are dredged up between characters.

Impressively, Grandma is not a film that debates the hot button issue of abortion as one might assume. Sage never really considers keeping her baby- the issue is more a matter of having the procedure done as quickly as possible- no fuss no muss style. Ellie and Judy never try to persuade Sage to keep the child nor does Sage seriously contemplate keeping the baby.

The only instance of a pro-life perspective is when two ridiculous characters- a young mother and her ten-year-old daughter- suggest Sage not kill her baby. When Ellie steps in the young girl punches her in the face. Is this intended as comic relief or to make these characters appear as buffoons?

These characters are certainly laughable.

The father of Sage’s baby is unsympathetic and a very minor blip on the radar. My theory is that the film chooses to go this route intentionally to avoid a debate over the abortion issue.

A debate is not the point of the film, but rather the relationships between the characters are.

The scenes involving Ellie becoming irritated and sarcastic are priceless and successfully utilize the talents of Tomlin to the hilt. As she hilariously goes from situation to situation in an attempt to earn the $600 for Sage she resorts to various means as diverse as selling books, giving a kiss, or collecting an old debt and this is the main draw of this witty little film.

2014 Films, Drama, Independent, Independent Drama, Satire

Dear White People-2014

September 18, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Dear White People-2014

Director-Justin Simien

Starring-Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson

Scott’s Review #274

Reviewed September 18, 2015

Grade: B+

Dear White People is a highly creative, independent satire that begs to be watched if for nothing else but its message of existing racism in present times, homophobia, and class distinction.

Set at an Ivy League college and written tongue and cheek, but also with a direct message from newly discovered director Justin Simien, it is a meaningful gem that challenges audiences to think as well as be entertained and emit an occasional chuckle at the wit and comical lines presented.

Set in present-day- assuming 2013 or 2014, and well beyond the Civil Rights era, the film features a hip, sharp look and a myriad of characters, all with differing perspectives, and all of whom are either Caucasian or black in racial identities.

All of the characters attend the affluent and sophisticated Winchester University, a mostly white, conservative school with a small community of black students, who curiously all seem to reside in the same dorm house.

In addition, the Dean is a black man (played by Dennis Haysbert).

Sam White is a rebellious female student, of mixed race, who runs a radio show entitled “Dear White People”, which challenges the current state of racism in America, and specifically at Winchester University.

Supporting characters include Lionel Higgins, a gay, bookish student with an enormous afro, who is excluded from almost all of the sub-groups. Lionel is intrigued by Sam’s radio show.

Other characters include Coco- an attractive black girl with typically “white” mannerisms and friends, who tried to fit in with the white culture. Troy, a very handsome black student (who tries to act “white”), dating a white girl (who tries to act “black”).

Finally, the film features Kirk, a white student whose father is the school president, who values an old-style way of thinking. Kirk, shockingly, hosts a blackface party, which leads to major controversy at the school and is the focus of much of the film’s drama.

The main theme of the film is race, but different characters have different viewpoints on the subject matter, and all are explored, which is what makes the film so unique and interesting.

Sam, for example, is a true advocate for racial equality and constantly challenges white people’s motivations and actions, blatantly so. Coco, on the other hand, is resistant to being stereotyped as a woman of color and, in one scene is incorrectly assumed to be from the hood by a reality television producer she is auditioning for.

She is envious of white people and the advantages they have, even going so far as having straight hair and blue contact lenses. Then we have Lionel, who is both gay and black, and considered an outcast. He fits in with no group and curiously seems okay with being his person.

What is unique and compelling about Dear White People is that it brings up a controversial issue, mixes it in satire, humorously so, but also presents compelling arguments against stereotypes, but also bringing those stereotypes center stage, which most films avoid like the plague.

One black character is frustrated that, in their mind, most black people are content watching dumb black comedies, thereby supporting a negative racial stereotype.

One interesting aspect regarding the score of the film is the use of lily-white classic film music- such as Barry Lyndon- the most lily-white of lily-white films (British and Irish).

Famous film director, Quentin Tarantino, is called out as being a racist director. What wonderful irony!

Dear White People is a witty, intelligent slice of inventive filmmaking that is worth seeing if only for its controversial subject of inequality and racism, which is too often forgotten in today’s day and age.

A non-formulaic indie treats for those inclined to think a little.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best First Screenplay (won), Best First Feature

1970 Films, Claude Chabrol, French, International, International Thriller, Thriller

(Le Boucher) The Butcher-1970

September 14, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

(Le Boucher) The Butcher-1970

Director Claude Chabrol

Starring Stephane Audran, Jean Yanne

Scott’s Review #273

Reviewed September 14, 2015

Grade: A-

(Le Boucher) The Butcher is a French thriller made in 1970 that is slow-moving at first but progresses to a dramatic crescendo as the latter part of the film escalates, and turns from plodding to cerebral mind-blower.

Mirrored after and inspired by director Alfred Hitchcock, The Butcher is surprisingly not quite horror (based on the title one might assume it is), but rather, an intelligent dreamy thriller.

Gorgeous schoolteacher Helene Daville is smart, confident, and filled with a zest for life. She tutors children needing extra help laughs with them and even lets one sip champagne during a wedding to try the taste of it. She enjoys living and the occasional adventure.

One day, at a wedding, she meets the local butcher, Paul Thomas, and they immediately hit it off as they tenderly walk home together. Cordial and kind, they develop a friendship and laugh together.

As time goes on, a series of killings begin to occur in the town.

Helene begins to suspect Paul of the murders and wrestles with her conflict between her budding love for him and her revulsion at the thought of being in love with a vicious murderer. Her conflict is the point of the film.

The relationship between Helene and Paul is an interesting dynamic and, I now realize, the reason for the slow pace of the picture. Helene and Paul enjoy a nurturing, caring courtship and the film successfully achieves the intended slow build.

The murder mystery is rather secondary and helps support the main plot. We know little- almost nothing- about the female victims. They are strangers to the audience and the reason for their deaths is unknown.

The killer simply kills- no motivation is revealed. This is what makes the film so cerebral and mysterious.

The Butcher is a love story intertwined with a thriller. It is not a mainstream thriller in the conventional sense and the final twenty or thirty minutes reeled me in completely and gave me great admiration for the film, which I had been hedging about throughout.

The meat of the film might have started an additional thirty minutes before it did in my opinion, but then again the slow build may have been intended to make the result more powerful. The moral conflict, love versus hate, tenderness, affection, caring, devastation, and betrayal are all explored during this relatively brief finale.

Besides, the blurry camera shots and angles from the vantage point of an automobile driver traveling down a dark, tree-lined street are highly creative and unique.

The comparisons to Hitchcock are evident.

Helene is similar to Tippi Hedren’s “Melanie Daniels” from The Birds. She is glamorous, alluring, blonde, tall, well-dressed, and the heroine of the film. Attractive and blonde are traits featured in many Hitchcock films.

Paul, on the other hand, reminds me of Rod Taylor’s Mitch, also from The Birds, though not as handsome or charismatic. Still, their relationship reminds me of the two of them as the chemistry oozes from the screen and a romance and thriller are combined.

Helene is perceived as a wholesome wonderful person by the audience, but is she truly?

In the end, we are left questioning her true feelings and are left with a distaste in our mouths. Her choices confuse us or is she simply a complex human being like each of us is?

The interesting aspect of The Butcher (1970) is it leaves one questioning how we would handle Helene’s dilemma, and more importantly, how we would channel our feelings if faced with a similar predicament.

2015 Films, Animated, Best Animated Feature Oscar Winners, Children, Disney

Inside Out-2015

September 8, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Inside Out-2015

Director-Pete Docter

Starring-Amy Poehler, Diane Lane

Scott’s Review #272

Reviewed September 8, 2015

Grade: B+

Frequently, when I view a modern animated feature, (and by modern, I mean 1990 and beyond), I am either bored or left with a “meh” feeling- or both. It seems the trend is “let’s create a manufactured film that will appeal to five year old’s who will drag their parents to it”.

It is almost as if mediocrity is accepted in the animated film, but Inside Out challenges this trend with a thoughtful, interesting slab of story.

With this latest Pixar offering, we find a refreshing, intelligent film that makes the viewer think, in addition to containing a genuine cute factor, with lots of colors and interesting animation interspersed throughout.

Our story finds eleven-year-old Riley Anderson, and her five different personalities, working within her brain in unison. The emotions are five distinct little people representing (and named) Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Anger. They overlap, conflict, and humorously strive to take control of Riley’s mind and thought processes.

Joy is central, and the happiest of emotions. They all live in Riley’s conscious mind, named Headquarters.

One day, Riley and her family pack up and move from Minnesota to the unknown and overwhelming city of San Francisco to capitalize on a job opportunity offered to Riley’s father.

The city is bustling and the family is thrown for a loop. Riley in particular has a difficult time adjusting to this vastly different world and finds herself friendless and acting out of character. Sadness accidentally begins touching other emotions within Riley’s mind, which sets off a plethora of strange emotions causing her to behave strangely and become irritable.

Joy and Sadness struggle to return to Headquarters and fix the issues.

Inside Out is a complex animated film and will certainly go way above the heads of many youngsters who will undoubtedly see it. I find this rather refreshing.

It is a coming-of-age tale for adults and mature kids that challenges its audience rather than spitting out a retread or formulaic family story that we have seen countless times over.

Riley and her parents are arguably supporting players in the story, taking a back seat to the small, interesting creatures in Riley’s mind. In a way, her mind is a carnival of riches and cool characters emerge. I smiled as more characters were introduced. Riley’s imaginary friend from years ago, named Bing Bong, was pulled to the forefront of her emotions, as he was sadly was forgotten in her mind.

Who cannot relate to this? A childhood ritual of creating a friend.

I adored the trip through Riley’s mind and marveled at the revelation of the inner workings of her mind- with creative colors and bright interesting lights.

What a super-cool adventure for a young film lover to experience! Inside Out is quite sophisticated.

The main concern is the level of patience that this film requires. It is not a force-fed story, but rather encourages one to experience and feel.

Touching scenes do prevail, but the message I receive from Inside Out is an important one- a multitude of emotions in every human being is normal and the way the film shows them overlap and work together is ingenious- nobody is one emotion all the time- nor should they be as the movie promotes successfully.

Human beings are meant to feel.

The film also contains humor. I had to laugh out loud when one character sees a button labeled “puberty” and assumes it is nothing of importance. This inside joke is also alluded to after the film- a sequel perhaps? Given that Riley is only eleven years old, puberty will be the natural progression and an enormous one at that.

Inside Out challenges the norm in animated films and entices audiences to think. It feels genuine, which is impressive in itself. It is sentimental without feeling contrived or corny.

The film succeeds on many levels.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Screenplay, Best Animated Feature Film (won)

2014 Films, Horror, Independent, Independent Horror, International, International Horror

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night-2014

August 24, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night-2014

Director-Ana Lily Amirpour

Starring-Sheila Vand

Scott’s Review #271

Reviewed August 24, 2015

Grade: A-

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is a highly creative, unique, independent horror film from 2014.

One of the many reasons I am a fan of independent cinema is to discover and promote little-seen gems.

The dialogue is in Farsi (Iranian) and the cinematography is in black and white, which in itself is very unique in modern film. I notice similarities between this film and Let the Right One In (both the English and the Swedish versions) in the frigid mood and love story enveloped within.

This film is the debut of director Ana Lily Amirpour and what a marvel she could become. Despite obvious influences by other films and directors, A Girl Walks Home At Night has a brilliant freshness to it and seems completely original and unpredictable to watch.

The title of the film accurately depicts the main story. A teenage girl (Sheila Vand) walks around the desolate, dark streets of a city aptly named Bad City in the Iranian underworld.

The film is shot in southern California and looks like it could double for Detroit. The girl, who has no name, has strange encounters with a myriad of peculiar individuals, including what appears to be a transgender prostitute, a vicious drug dealer, a nice yet mysterious young man named Arash, Arash’s father, who is hooked on drugs, a mysterious cat. She then embarks on a tender flirtation with Arash.

The overall plot, which I found secondary to the look of the film, centers around The Girl’s encounters with these individuals as well as their encounters and relationships with each other. The Girl is a lonely vampire and feels isolated from society, but it is unclear what she is looking for she is both destructive and sweet depending on the circumstance.

She takes her aggression out on the bad.

The most striking and impressive aspect of the film is its dark moody atmosphere. Brooding and cold-looking, the city reeks of death and loneliness. The Girl speaks very little so that her expressions are what the viewer will notice. Her eyes delve into her soul.

She is the most interesting of the characters, but the others, specifically Arash and the transgender prostitute have potential and we are curious to explore more about them. Arash and his father have more depth than any of the supporting characters- Arash painfully lets his drug-riddled father stay with him and attempts to assist him with his issues.

One assumes that since the father’s wife (Arash’s mother) has died suddenly, he has taken a downward spiral, but this is only suggested to the audience. We do know for sure where she is- in one scene we see the father angrily look at a photo of a middle-aged woman and is destroyed by her absence. He believes that the woman has taken on the body of the mysterious cat.

Arash caring for his father is a fascinating role reversal.

Wouldn’t we expect the young man to have the drug problem and the father the caregiver? This is interesting in itself.

The aforementioned influences are plentiful, but most notable from a director standpoint is David Lynch. The black and white filming along with the viewer’s point of view in one scene involving a car driving down a dark highway resembles the Lynch film Lost Highway.

The moody background music and the slow but methodical pacing also give A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night a Lynch feel. One curious element of the film is The Girl’s interest in 1980′ pop music- her bedroom wall riddled with Madonna and similar pop stars from the 1980’s posters. The Girl even admits to listening to a sappy Lionel Richie tune.

It is unknown if it even could BE the 1980’s as time seems unimportant. The film strangely combines edgy, alternative film-making with commercial pop references. I half expected The Girl to break into a rendition of “Pour Some Sugar On Me”.

My thought is that perhaps Amir intends to portray the Girl’s desire to fit into mainstream society knowing that a vampire never can. This theory is proven when The Girl is melancholy when Arash buys her a hamburger, knowing she cannot enjoy it as he does.

Creative, a dreary atmosphere, and intelligently thought out, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is a strange, murky experience in film experimentation. Amirpour is a fresh, new director worth watching for in the years to come.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best First Feature, Best Cinematography

2013 Films, Drama, Emmanuelle Seigner, French, International, International Drama, Mathieu Amalric, Roman Polanski

Venus in Fur-2013

August 23, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Venus in Fur-2013

Director Roman Polanski

Starring Emmanuelle Seigner, Mathieu Amalric

Scott’s Review #270

Reviewed August 23, 2015

Grade: C

Venus in Fur is a French-language film from 2013, directed by the enormously talented Roman Polanski, and based on the American play by David Ives.

Interesting to note that Ives’s play is itself based on a novel by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch entitled Venus in Furs.

Polanski’s film adaptation is a filmed play and takes place entirely within the walls of a theater, except for the opening shot, as the camera pans inside the doorway of the theater as if the audience were the eyes of an approaching theater-goer.

The subject matter is quite adult- sadomasochism and dominance, though there is little nudity, and is not perverse in any way.

The story surrounds Thomas, a stressed-out writer-director of a new play set to open soon in Paris. Finishing touches must be handled as well as casting the lead actress!

His play is an adaptation of Venus in Furs and a frustrated Thomas is on the phone complaining about an unsuccessful day attempting to cast the lead role of Wanda.

A disheveled actress named Vanda wanders into the theater and attempts to convince Thomas to let her read for the part, which she desperately wants.

Initially, Thomas is turned off by Vanda as she is dressed slutty and is on the middle-aged side and, in his mind, wrong for the part. When she finally does convince him to let her read for the part, she becomes Wanda and a strong, bizarre, sadomasochistic, attraction develops between the pair as they run lines together.

Roman Polanski might very well rank within my Top 10 favorite directors of all time list (Rosemary’s Baby-1968, is one of my favorite films), but this work disappointed me.

Containing a cast of only two characters, I found the story to be limiting and became tedious as the story developed. It was tough to distinguish when Thomas and Vanda were in character and when they were expressing their true selves and I did not find either particularly likable.

This may have been intentional, but confusing and dull nonetheless.

The sexual-fetish subject matter is prevalent, but not in a tasteless way. The initial roles reverse as Vanda goes from a whimpering, pleading actress needing some work to a dominatrix, who obtains control over Thomas, who in essence becomes her slave.

Thomas begins as a powerful director with an ego and ends up catering to Vanda’s every whim. They develop a deep emotional connection that they simultaneously realize.

The main issue was not feeling much connection towards either character. I detected no chemistry between them. The dominant soon becomes submissive, but who cares when you are invested in neither character?

On the plus side, I loved the basic theater set. This instantly reminded me fondly of my college days and rehearsing/performing in a theater similar to the one in Venus in Fur, complete with the rustic red audience seats and the moody ambiance of the theater.

Venus in Fur (2013) has an interesting premise as people immerse themselves in the roles they play, but a disappointing film, especially coming from one of the greats.

Whatever the exact reasons, the film did not work for me. Interesting premise, but ultimately failed for me.

2014 Films, Drama, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

A Little Chaos-2014

August 22, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

A Little Chaos-2014

Director-Alan Rickman

Starring-Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts

Scott’s Review #269

Reviewed August 22, 2015

Grade: B-

A Little Chaos is a difficult film for me to review. The film does not kick into high gear, or much of gear at all until the final thirty minutes or so as the drama hits a crescendo and past events are suddenly explained.

At this point, it becomes a very entertaining film.

Until then, it is largely a bore and slow-paced.

Starring Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman, who also directs the film, A Little Chaos is a good film with beautiful period piece costumes to marvel over, and looks and feels great, but misses the mark with a lack of balancing the momentum throughout the length of the film.

It is also largely fictionalized, which makes viewing it a bit less enjoyable.

A period drama set at the gorgeous Versailles in France, the period in the late 1600s when King Louis XIV of France is in power and lives on the illustrious estate. Landscaper, Andre Le Notre, hires unconventional gardener Sabine (Winslet) to create one of the gardens.

Sabine is progressive and does not live in the past. Rather, she has ideas of creating a unique pattern. Sabine is instructed to incorporate a wonderful fountain within the garden. She faces hostility from staff members for simply being a woman and they refuse to work for her. Others admire her creativity.

As the plot unfolds, Sabine has romantic feelings for Andre, a man trapped in a loveless marriage with Francoise, and they begin a tender courtship. Sabine is haunted by past events and frequently hears a little girl’s cries in her dreams. The audience does not know what her past life was, only that she is widowed.

The final act of the film brings everything together nicely. We learn Sabine’s past and her suggested dalliance with Andre comes to fruition.

After the film, I was left thinking how exceptional the film was, but then remembered the majority of it had dragged.

The theme of A Little Chaos is class systems, feminism, and societal views. At first, snubbed by some for being a commoner, Sabine slowly is accepted by the royal figures, including the King himself, who Sabrine humorously mistakes for the gardener at one point. Ideally, it would have been lovely if a woman had been hired at the time to create the garden.

Sadly, events did not happen this way, but rather, it is someone’s fantasy.

A Little Chaos has great potential and looks beautiful- my main complaint is for most of the film nothing much happens.

Also disappointing is that the film was not filmed at the historical Versailles, nor was it even shot in France. Every exterior scene was filmed in England.

This is not a deal-breaker, but some genuineness would have been nice. Another major detraction is that Sabine De Barra is not even a real-life figure, but rather is fictionalized- sort of how the past should have been but wasn’t really.

Having been a real person would have made the film more interesting. What is the investment?

From an acting standpoint, the film succeeds. Winslet, clearly a highly talented actress, is well cast and the chemistry between her and Matthias Schoenaerts is palpable. Both actors are believable in their roles.

Stanley Tucci, typically great in whatever he appears in, plays Phillippe, a silly, slightly effeminate Duke that does more to annoy than to amuse and is a trivial character.

Throughout my viewing of the film, I kept thinking of it as the type of film that ought to be liked because it looks great, but something was missing.

The royal drama, sexual dalliances, and antics were fun, but I felt like the film could have been much more than it ended up being.

2014 Films, Drama, International, International Drama

Two Days, One Night-2014

August 21, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Two Days, One Night- 2014

Director-Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Starring-Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione

Scott’s Review #268

Reviewed August 21, 2015

Grade: B

Two Days, One Night is a French-language drama starring the wonderful and highly talented Marion Cotillard, who received an Academy Award nomination in 2015 for this role, and is the main draw of the film.

I never tire of viewing any of her film performances, however, I felt the film itself was lacking something special. An adequate film, yes, but below the standards in which I was expecting given the award recognition.

Quite frankly, the film is good, with an interesting tale of morality, but becomes redundant as it goes along.

Sandra, played by Cotillard, is a working-class woman living in an industrial town in Belgium. She works in a factory and struggles to make ends meet with her supportive husband, Manu. They have two young children. It is revealed early on that Sandra has a history of suffering from depression and has recently been forced to take a leave of absence from her job due to her struggles.

Now recovered, she is ready to resume normalcy, but her boss forces a vote among her sixteen colleagues in which they decide to either save her job or eliminate her position, thereupon each will receive a hefty bonus. Sandra, along with a co-worker she feels close with, convinced the boss to allow an anonymous vote the following Monday, leaving Sandra with one weekend in which to convince the others to save her job.

The conflict is that during Sandra’s absence, the department was able to run successfully so why is she needed?

The plot has an interesting moral concept. Will people sacrifice personal gain to assist someone else? The fact that Sandra is a kind woman makes the decision seem easy. However, many of her colleagues are struggling to put food on the table for their families and could use any extra wages manageable.

The audience is on the side of Sandra and her equally kind husband, who continually talks her out of giving up and instead encourages her to spend the weekend convincing the others to vote for her come Monday morning.

The weak point of the film is that it contains one basic formulaic story and does not branch out into anything more. The plot is simple- this is not a bad thing, but I was expecting a bit more from this film.

The action takes place throughout one weekend and the entire plot is that of Sandra traversing the town looking for colleagues to persuade them to vote for her. Most of the people she encounters are sympathetic and, if they cannot help her, they empathize with her. By the fifth or sixth person, we get that she needs their votes. It becomes the same scene over and over.

The character of Manu is undeveloped. We learn nothing about him except he is a devoted husband and father, but what about his feelings? How did he deal with Sandra’s depression? Strangely, many of the co-workers Sandra looks for are not home at the time, which requires her to go to the park or the laundromat, or the pub to track them down.

I question the authenticity of the story.

Sandra’s boss (the foreman of the factory) has the power to pit colleagues against each other (supposedly approved by management) and to control the destiny of one employee?

There is no Human Resources department mentioned throughout the story until almost the final scene when a manager appears, and it is never explained why the boss can get away with this. There is also no mention of a union, which in factory work is common.

Furthermore, Sandra and Manu never mention consulting an attorney- yes, they are poor, but surely a conversation might have occurred.

The title also does not make sense- Two Days, One Night- the film begins on a Friday and ends on a Monday morning. What does the title mean?

Two Days, One Night is a film featuring an honest performance from a talented actress (Cotillard), but a tad bit slow and tedious at times, all but repeating similar scenes over again.

The film is a nice, simple, quiet story, but nothing spectacular.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress-Marion Cotillard

2015 Films, Horror, Horror-Comedy, Lowest Rated Films, Made for Television

Lake Placid vs. Anaconda- 2015

August 16, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Lake Placid vs. Anaconda- 2015

Director-Griff Furst

Starring-Robert Englund

Scott’s Review #267

Reviewed August 16, 2015

Grade: D

To say that Lake Placid vs. Anaconda is a bad film is being generous. It is poorly made, written, and acted.

Containing every horror and comedy cliché in the book, it is not a film to take seriously and is best watched late at night amongst adult spirits.

The premise is ludicrous, the acting way overdone, and all characters are “types” and one-dimensional.

Having seen the original Lake Placid and Anaconda films (and they were not so great themselves), I was unaware that this is the fifth film for both franchises and is a crossover.

Premiering on the Syfy network in mid-2015, it is a made-for-television feature, and the lack of any real gore is apparent for this reason.

Robert Englund and Yancy Butler, stars of other installments of the franchise, make return appearances. Sadly, no Betty White or Jennifer Lopez (stars of the original Lake Placid and Anaconda respectively) in this one.

Lake Placid vs. Anaconda is not trying to be great art or necessarily art at all, but rather an idiotic late-night experience. I did not rate the film a solid F since it knew what it was and did not try to take itself too seriously, which I respect at least.

The story begins in the middle of the woods near Clear Lake, Maine, as an illegal experiment is occurring inside a truck. The serum is being illegally extracted from a sedated crocodile to sell to a giant corporation for profit. Jim Bickerman (played by horror legend Englund) has been paid handsomely to provide information for the plot to happen.

A villainous corporate schemer is on hand to oversee the events. Inevitably, something goes wrong and the crocodile wakes up and gets loose, encountering large anacondas, who are also on the loose.

From this point, we are introduced to other inane characters that round out the film, including a group of bitchy sorority sisters on their way to Clear Lake presumably to pledge and party, and Sheriff Reba (Yancy Butler) and her bumbling team of police officers.

Also integral to the story is one of the sorority sister’s (Bethany) fathers, Will, who attempts to help Sheriff Reba rescue everyone from the killer reptiles.

Side stories include the laugh out loud pledge attempts by some of the sorority wannabees (one is forced to dig a hole in the sand large enough for her to hide in within 20 minutes), a friendship between the only two sensible girls, Bethany and Margot, a high leveled female executive intent on capturing the serum for riches, and a burgeoning romance between Reba and Will.

Silly personified, the film is meant to be goofy and the actors play their roles as they are foolishly written. There is not a shred of realism to the film and none of the characters have any depth.

The worst offender from a character standpoint is humorously my favorite. Tiffani is the comically vicious sorority queen. With her constant berating of the new pledges, she regularly demands that they get in the water and swim for her entertainment.

Ultimately, the girls are attacked by the crocodile in the water, allowing for multiple camera shots of the girls swimming underwater while scantily clad.

Is this a 1980’s low-budget horror throwback? When the crocodile emerges to land the remaining girls flee for safety.

In a hilarious scene, Tiffani and one of her minions are cornered by the vicious crocodile. The minion asks what they should do and Tiffani replies with, “I have an idea”, and promptly pushes the minion towards the crocodile where she is chewed to bits allowing Tiffani to escape.

Later, predictably, Tiffani receives her comeuppance.

I find myself perplexed as to why this film was even made. Made on a shoestring budget, with dated CGI effects, little blood, and a preposterous plot. One is to assume that the franchise’s predecessors were similar ventures.

Laced with one dumb scene after another and tough to take at all seriously, Lake Placid vs. Anaconda is as poor filmmaking as they come, but certainly to be taken with a grain of salt and enjoyed for its campy badness.

Art, hardly, but rather a fluff horror-comedy for a boozy Saturday night.

2014 Films, Drama, Satire

Maps to the Stars-2014

August 14, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Maps to the Stars- 2014

Director-David Cronenberg

Starring-Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska

Scott’s Review #266

Reviewed August 14, 2015

Grade: A-

Maps to the Stars is a bizarre, unpleasant, film that is as dark and perverse as it is provocative and fascinating to observe and ponder.

More like an independent art film than a blockbuster Hollywood project and made by an arguably mainstream director, David Cronenberg (Crash, The Fly), I am surprised it was able to be made on a large scale budget due to the negative portrayal of actors and celebrity types, specifically, troublesome starlet and child star.

One must be wary of biting the hand that feeds.

Maps to the Stars is a film where almost all of the central characters are unlikable- difficult, unstable, self-absorbed or all of the above. The subject matter is ugly, but fascinating to me. The wealthy and glamorous are interesting and, at times the film is like a Greek tragedy as well as containing Shakespearean elements- think Romeo and Juliet in an incestuous way times two- one must watch this film to see what I mean.

Hint- it contains the ick factor.

The plot centers on a Hollywood family, where the son is a famous child star and the primary bread-winner. They are the Weiss family- all struggling to either find success or hang on to it, all the while each of them is neurotic.

The father, Dr. Samuel Weiss, played by John Cusack, is a TV psychologist, who is hired by Havannah Legrand (Julianne Moore), a highly self-centered, aging actress, struggling to land a coveted role-playing her mother. Her mother was a young actress in her day, who tragically died in a fire. Havannah despises her due to claimed childhood abuse.

Cristina Weiss (Olivia Williams) is Samuel’s wife, a very controlling, ambitious woman, who strives to get the most money out of her son Benjie, a Justin Bieber type character with a troubled streak.

Rounding out the family is Agatha Weiss, a troubled teenager, sent away for years after giving her brother pills and setting her parent’s house on fire. Though not directly related to the Weiss’s, Havannah, and limo driver, Jerome Fontana (Robert Pattinson) become heavily involved with the family as events transpire.

As I watched the film it reminded me of a myriad of other influential films and/or directors in peculiar ways. I noticed elements of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, for instance, in dark clever mood and the obvious setting of Los Angeles- even the score is similar during parts of the film, as the moody monotone sounds played in the background.

The Ice Storm (1997), American Beauty (1999), and Magnolia (1997) also sprang to mind in their dark and strange worlds (Magnolia) and the inclusion of the dysfunctional family element (The Ice Storm and American Beauty).

Furthermore, to a lesser extent, I saw some Robert Altman ingrained in Maps to the Stars. These aspects are an enormous reason why I loved the film so much.

A prevalent theme throughout Maps to the Stars is one of burning- a victim of burning, a fire set, a character setting oneself on fire. Some characters see dead people. Havannah regularly sees her dead mother. Benjie sees a young girl who he visited in the hospital before she died, her last wish of meeting the big star. She suffered from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, who he foolishly thought had AIDS. He sees her in visions and tries to strangle her, instead of strangling an innocent living person.

The film is a weird trip for sure.

There are times when the viewer will be filled with dread at an oncoming dark moment. When Benjie carelessly plays with a gun that he assumes is unloaded we know trouble will occur. He is showing off at an actor friend’s party along with equally obnoxious starlets while talking about poop, all selfish and wanting to party.

When Havannah belittles Agatha, her assistant, we see Agatha’s past anger come back into play as she slowly unravels with rage- Havannah, unaware of Agatha’s knowledge of her betrayal.

One small gripe is the continued use of gross toilet talk in multiple scenes including a raunchy discussion of a fan buying a well-known actor’s waste for thousands of dollars. What was Cronenberg’s motivation for this? This was a silly, tasteless, unnecessary element of any otherwise great film.

Maps of the Stars is dirty and ugly but is also a quirky treasure about bad people in Hollywood. Unpleasant characters whom I could not take my eyes off of.

A brilliant film that delves into Hollywood shallowness and madness and does it in such a daring, twisted, wonderful, sort of way.

1946 Films, Alfred Hitchcock, Best Film of the Year, Cary Grant, Claude Rains, Film noir, Ingrid Bergman, Thriller

Notorious-1946

August 11, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Notorious-1946

Director Alfred Hitchcock

Starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman

Scott’s Review #265

Reviewed August 11, 2015

Grade: A

Notorious is a classic Alfred Hitchcock film from 1946, a period that preceded his golden age of 1950s and 1960s brilliant works, but is a marvel all the same.

Perhaps not as wonderful as future works, but that is like comparing prime rib to filet mignon. Shot in black and white, the subject matter is familiar to Hitchcock fans- political espionage.

The film contains elements common with Hitchcock’s films- romance with suspenseful plot.

Starring two greats of the time (and Hitchcock stalwarts), Carey Grant and Ingrid Bergman, one is immediately enthralled by the chemistry between the characters they play- T.R. Devlin and Alicia Huberman. Devlin, a government agent, recruits Alicia, per his bosses, to spy on a Nazi sympathizer, Alex Sebastian (Claude Raines), who is affiliated with her father.

Her father, having been convicted and sentenced to prison, has committed suicide. Alicia’s allegiance is questioned as she goes to drastic measures to prove her loyalty and complete the hated assignment.

The film is set between Miami and the gorgeous Rio De Janeiro, where much of the action is set at Alex’s mansion.

A blueprint for his later works, Hitchcock experiments with creative camera shots and angles- specifically the wide and high shot overlooking an enormous ballroom. I also love the airplane scene- subtly, Hitchcock treats the audience to background views of Rio, from the view of the airplane, as Devlin and Alicia have a conversation.

The plane is slowly descending for landing, which allows for a slow, gorgeous glimpse of the countryside and landscape in the background.

Subtleties like these that may go unnoticed make Hitchcock such a brilliant director.

The character of Alicia is worth a study. Well known for his lady issues, did Hitchcock hint at her being an oversexed, boozy, nymphomaniac?

I did not think the character was written sympathetically, though to be fair she is headstrong and loyal in the face of adversity.

She parties hard, drives at 65 miles per hour while intoxicated, and falls into bed with more than one man. It is also implied that she has a history of being promiscuous.

Made in 1946, this must have been controversial during that period. The sexual revolution was still decades away.

Notorious also features one of the most sinister female characters in Hitchcock history in the likes of Madame Sebastian (Leopoldine Konstantin). The woman is evil personified and her actions are reprehensible. She is arguably the mastermind behind all of the dirty deeds as well as a fan of slow, painful death by poisoning.

My favorite scene is without a doubt the wine cellar scene. To me, it epitomizes good, old-fashioned suspense and edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

A cat-and-mouse game involving a secret rendezvous, a smashed bottle, a key, champagne, and the great reveal enraptures this scene, which goes on for quite some time and is the climax.

Perhaps Notorious is not quite as great a film as Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), or The Birds (1963), but is a top-notch adventure/thriller in its own right, that ought to be watched and given its due respect.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor- Claude Rains, Best Original Screenplay

2015 Films, Thriller

The Gift-2015

August 9, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Gift-2015

Director-Joel Edgerton

Starring-Jason Bateman, Joel Edgerton

Scott’s Review #264

Reviewed August 9, 2015

Grade: A-

The Gift is a throwback to the type of psychological thriller made famous by Fatal Attraction in 1987 and similar films throughout their heyday into the 1990s.

An unstable psycho threatens a happy couple.

Interestingly, The Gift is similar in genre to a film released earlier in 2015- The Boy Next Door- though The Gift is worlds superior to that film and contains surprises, frights, and twists and turns that I pleasantly did not see coming. The film is not predictable which is refreshing in this particular genre.

Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall star as Simon and Robyn, a successful young couple who have relocated from Chicago to sunny California, near Simon’s childhood hometown, to begin a new life with the intent of starting a family.

They soon run into a man named Gordo, played by actor/director Joel Edgerton, a high school chum of Simon’s from twenty years ago whom Simon barely remembers. Simon and Gordo plan to re-connect over dinner, but the audience can sense that something is not right with Gordo.

As Simon, Gordo and Robyn get to know each other again, Gordo begins leaving pleasant little gifts on Simon and Robyn’s doorstep as well as showing up at their house unannounced, which is particularly unnerving to Robyn as she is home alone all day long with Simon consumed with his new career and possible promotion.

To make matters more interesting, their home is located in a remote area with lots of seclusions.

The film soon reveals that in high school Gordo was nicknamed “Gordo the Weirdo” and that an incident involving Gordo occurred, though nobody seems to remember the exact circumstances or perhaps they choose not to remember?

The vagueness of this situation is appealing because the audience is sure that these circumstances will be revealed later on in the story and play a large part in the climax of the film, which it certainly does.

We also learn that another incident took place with Robyn in Chicago and that she suffered a miscarriage. She does not drink and avoids pills. Could she be unstable or imagining things or just overly cautious? It is revealed that she does not handle stress well.

A wonderful aspect of The Gift is its surprise factor. As the plot twists and turns, I found myself changing allegiances and wondering who the villain is? Gordo? Simon? Robyn?

Edgerton (along with a great acting performance) compellingly directs the film and was undoubtedly influenced by Alfred Hitchcock in his style of moviemaking.

The camera angles and score are particularly excellent in establishing the correct level of tension at just the right moment. In more than a few scenes the audience knows something will jump out at the screen, so there is anticipation, but when and how it will happen is a surprise.

Many scenes take place when Robyn is alone- during the day thank goodness- and she hears a noise, or notices the water running. These scenes are traditional fare in horror or the thriller genre but are so well done in The Gift.

A perfect thrill ride.

Simon is an interesting character. Sophisticated, educated, and with a high-level executive job, he has a strange fear of monkeys stemming from childhood.

The past is a common theme of the film- past events encase the three lead characters leading to conflict and ultimately these events come back to haunt them. Most of Simon’s friends are unlikable and appear to be interested in style over substance. They seem to be drawn to Simon more for his success than because they care about him.

This contradicts his wife’s character- Robyn is down-to-earth, kind, and does not place as much stock in wealth and achievements as she does with personality and being a kind individual. She and Simon bicker and disagree about Gordo and as events unfold this conflict only increases.

It is not often in films anymore that one is truly frightened and “jumps out of your seat”, but two intense scenes in the film- one involving a dog, and the other a shower, made me jump, and the hairs on my arm stand on end. Everyone in the audience gasped together.

Now that is fun!

The only negatives I perceived in The Gift are some continuity issues as well as the suspension of disbelief in some scenes. Without giving anything away, how is Gordo able to perfectly do some things he can do?

A good old-fashioned thriller with excellent acting, compelling characters, and a wonderful debut for Edgerton in the director’s chair.

The film will leave the viewer pondering moral questions, and relating to each of the three main characters in different ways.

1967 Films, Action, Angie Dickinson, Crime Drama, Drama, John Boorman, Lee Marvin, Mob

Point Blank-1967

August 8, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Point Blank-1967

Director John Boorman

Starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson

Scott’s Review #263

Reviewed August 8, 2015

Grade: B+

Directed by John Boorman, (later made famous for the masterpiece Deliverance in 1972), and based on the novel The Hunter, by Donald E. Westlake, Point Blank (1967) is a tense crime drama starring Lee Marvin as a man seeking revenge on those who have wronged him.

A criminal himself, and involved in the mob world of deals and drugs, he is double-crossed by his partner, who takes off with his wife.

A rather obscure film, Point Blank features obvious influences of the classics it preceded (The Getaway, Chinatown, The French Connection, and Dirty Harry immediately spring to mind) and contains some dynamic camera work and art direction.

In its day it must have been quite a groundbreaking film.

The film begins in a muddled, confusing way and catches the viewer off guard. We know nothing about any of the characters, who are suddenly introduced via flashbacks, interlaced with present and future scenes so that immediately chaos and tension fill the story.

We know that someone has stabbed someone in the back, but we do not know why or who the players are.

The film is set partially at the deserted Alcatraz island (the meeting point for a money drop we later learn) and then moves to Los Angeles. Early on we realize that Marvin’s character (Walker) has been tricked, shot, and left for dead by his partner Mal (John Vernon), who takes off with Walker’s share of cash…and his troubled wife Lynne.

Hell-bent on seeking revenge (and his money) on Mal and his wife (Lynne), he attempts to track the duo down using any means necessary, leading to the introduction of pivotal and mysterious characters such as Lynne’s sister Chris (played by Angie Dickinson), and Crime Organization leaders Carter and Brewster (played by Lloyd Bochner and Carroll O’Connor, respectively).

With little blood or covert violence, the film instead uses tense action scenes, a great style, and is told in a non-linear way.

One favorite scene involves Walker taking a new car for a test drive as a way of interrogating the salesman for information. As he terrorizes the salesman he repeatedly slams the car into a pole using the car’s reverse and drive gears, increasing in intensity with each attempt by the salesman to avoid answering Walker’s questions.

Two other scenes that stand out and deserve mention are as follows- when a naked villain is nonchalantly tossed from a penthouse apartment to his death on the street and subsequently becomes wedged under a passing car the scene is as startling as is well shot, especially considering the year was 1967.

In another scene, Lynne is at the beauty salon having her makeup and hair done by a stylist. Her face is captured in the mirror and the camera allows the viewer to see a dozen or so images of the mirror layered on top of one another.

This looks great, and inventive, and is a good example of some superlative camera shots that occur throughout the film.

A few interesting tidbits that I pondered following the film. Was the elevator scene containing Angie Dickinson (almost meaningless to Point Blank) the inspiration for the famous elevator scene from the 1980s Dressed to Kill?

Only Dressed to Kill’s director, Brian De Palma, would know the answer to that question.

How interesting to see Carroll O’Connor (later universally famous for portraying TV’s “Archie Bunker”) as a crime lord. Even though Point Blank was made before All in the Family premiered, it was tough to find him believable in this role.

Finally, I loved the scenes set high atop Los Angeles, in a gorgeous high-rise apartment- the sophisticated living room furniture arrangement and colors are great visual treats.

Taut, intense, and interesting, though admittedly a plot not always made crystal clear nor easy to follow, the film came along at a time in the film when edgier, more experimental films were beginning to be released, which makes Point Blank a groundbreaking and influential film that undoubtedly helped bring about other crime dramas to follow.

2015 Films, Drama, Romantic Drama

Fifty Shades of Grey-2015

August 5, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Fifty Shades of Grey-2015

Director-Sam Taylor-Johnson

Starring-Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson

Scott’s Review #262

Reviewed August 5, 2015

Grade: B-

To quote a humorous phrase I once coined years ago, when I decided to give in and see Fifty Shades of Grey, despite negative reviews, “I was not expecting Citizen Kane” fit perfectly with this film as I pondered my review of it after the conclusion.

Based on the titillating book series by author E.L. James, the film is sudsy, steamy, and pretty poorly acted. However, something is charming and sexy about the badness of it. To be fair, it is not a terrible film, but the negatives outweigh the positives.

Dakota Johnson, daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and granddaughter of Hollywood royalty Tippi Hedren play a shy literature student named Anastasia Steele, pretty and grounded, who meets and becomes enamored with a twenty-seven-year-old billionaire named Christian Grey after driving to Seattle to substitute interview him for a sick friend.

Throughout the interview the chemistry between the two is palpable and an instant romance ensues.

Christian courts Anastasia mercilessly, becoming somewhat controlling, and she is willing to be his “victim” as she adores his attention.

As the two get to know each other better, it is revealed that Christian is a “dominant” and desires Anastasia to sign a contract, becoming his “submissive” and “belonging” to him. Anastasia is conflicted by this notion.

She loves Christian, but wants a traditional romance with flowers and chocolates, something Christian has admitted he does not do.

I confess to having gotten caught up in the kinky romanticism of it.

The film has a smoldering, dreamlike style to it. The scenes in the “playroom” are hot and the film does its best to make the entire production erotic, but not going so far as to make it pure smut- boy meets girl, girl falls head over heels, boy conquers girl.

The film makes sure to portray Anastasia and Grey as complete opposites- he wealthy and sophisticated, calm, cool, and collected- she a struggling, naive girl ripe for the picking.

Perhaps this was part of her appeal to Grey.

Certainly, the acting is not great especially on the part of Johnson.

I did not find Jamie Dornan (Grey) to be so bad, however, and he seemed likable enough to me. For the most part, the character of Anastasia irritates, and I find her quite unlikeable. Here is how it seems- Anastasia becomes enamored with Christian, allows herself to be pursued, showered with gifts, considers, then more or less accepts his offer to be his “submissive”, then gets furious and dumps him.

Huh?

Fifty Shades of Grey is told from a female point of view as evidenced by the marketing and the strategic opening on Valentine’s day weekend.

I sense that the character of Anastasia is made to be the sympathetic one while Grey is drawn to be the cad and the bad character.

A brief backstory is mentioned as to what turned him into a dominant male who likes to have females submit to his desires coupled with his lack of desire for any affection, but this was not too deeply explored.

The film does not want the audience to really “get him” or delve too deep into the psychological reasons, instead of going for the kinkiness and the female side of the story.

A poorly structured film that made a ton of money and will undoubtedly spawn at least another sequel, the film is a guilty pleasure and one I shamefully confess to having somewhat enjoyed.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Song-“Earned It”

2014 Films, Drama

The Judge-2014

August 2, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Judge-2014

Director-David Dobkin

Starring-Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall

Scott’s Review #261

Reviewed August 2, 2015

Grade: B+

The Judge is the numbers, formulaic, courtroom drama that we have all seen many times before, but regardless, I found the film rather enjoyable.

The main reason for this is the casting of Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall in the pivotal central roles. The two actors play estranged father and son.

The clichés are numerous, but with excellent acting, the story feels fresh, fun, and compelling, if not innovative. As seen by a few, The Judge was on my radar only because of Duvall’s Oscar nomination for his role.

Hank Palmer is a big-shot attorney from Chicago. Highly successful, he is selfish, driven, and a downright prick. Going through a messy divorce with his gorgeous, athletic wife, he has a close bond with his daughter, despite not being home very often.

Suddenly, Hank’s mother dies tragically and he must return to small-town Carlinville, Indiana, a place he despises, not simply because the town is in the sticks, but he has bad memories of the town. When he arrives he reconnects with his two brothers and his father (Duvall), who is the local judge. While staying at the family house, Hank once again butts heads with his father and runs into an old girlfriend (Vera Farmiga), who now owns the local diner.

On his way out of town for good, Hank is asked to defend his father when he is arrested and charged with murder.

The Judge is a family drama that contains suspense and a few twists.

The film reminds me of a slew of 1990’s era courtroom dramas based on John Grisham novels (A Time to Kill, The Client, The Firm) so I was fearful of a bland, dated film.

I loved the chemistry between Downey Jr. and Duvall, which I think is the most successful aspect of the film, and also enjoyed the family-style drama with numerous trials and tribulations thrown in. Hank is smarmy and ruthless, but also has a humorous side and tells it like it is. I smiled at his wry wit.

Judge Parker is equally stubborn and the battles they have are wonderful to watch. Conversely, the film also has tender bonding moments between the two men, which are sentimental and warm. As one man takes care of the other during sickness it is a tender and heartbreaking scene.

An interesting aspect of the film is the small-town sense of community in the little town of Indiana, which I found charming. Everyone gravitates towards the cute diner in the center of town-owned by Hank’s high school sweetheart. There is a nice wholesome, small-town appeal to the entire film.

I half expected a county fair or apple pie baking scene to be added.

The film feels wholesome and comfortable- a slick, mainstream drama. Movie comfort food if you will.

The relationships among the three brothers- Hank, Glen- a middle-aged man regretting never having moved from Carlinville, and Dale, a sweet-natured autistic man, determined to one day become a filmmaker, are interesting.

They are each so different from each other and yet they stick together, bicker, and bond with each other. Similar to real-life families.

The negatives to The Judge are that the courtroom scenes sometimes go on too long and the film brings nothing rather new or exciting to cinema and plays it safe throughout.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised to be treated to a film above mediocrity as this genre of film oftentimes is, but neither expect a reinvention of the wheel.

To be seen for simmering acting by the entire cast and especially film stalwarts, Duvall and Downey Jr, who bring life and wit to an otherwise traditional film.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Robert Duvall

2014 Films, Biography, Drama, Sports, War

Unbroken-2014

August 1, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Unbroken-2014

Director-Angelina Jolie

Starring-Garrett Hedlund, Domhnall Gleeson

Scott’s Review #260

Reviewed August 1, 2015

Grade: B

Unbroken tells the true story of Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini, a runner during the World War II period, who was also serving in the military during this tumultuous time in history.

His story is one of bravery, courage, and endurance, as he survives a hellish experience in a Japanese prisoner of war camps after having crashed in the Pacific Ocean, stranded for 47 days, as if that were not enough to break a man.

Mainstream Hollywood fare to the hilt, this film is surprisingly directed by Angelina Jolie (a woman) and written by the Coen brothers, the latter usually emitting less traditional and more quirky fare than this film.

Jolie directs what is arguably a “guys movie” that contains very few women in the cast, and the ones who do appear are either loving mother or giggling schoolgirl types, so the big names associated with Unbroken surprise me. I would have taken this work as a Clint Eastwood film.

Unbroken, which was expected to receive several Oscar nominations, was shut out of the major categories.

Visually, Unbroken is slick, glossy, and shot very well- it looks perfect. The cinematography, sound effects, and costumes look great.

The cast of good-looking young men looks handsome even while battered and bruised and half-starved. While in a way this is a compliment, it is also not one. Unbroken lacks any grittiness and plays it quite safe. Even the scenes of abuse and beatings lack an edge to them.

This is not to say that the film is not good. It is good.

I found myself inspired by the lead character of Louis, played by Jack O’Connell, for his resilience during his ordeals. O’Connell gives a very good performance as his motto, “If I can take it, I can make it” is repeated throughout, and who will not cheer at his accomplishments?

Zamperini, who has traditional Italian parents having relocated to the United States, is strict but fair. Louis’s older brother, Peter, is his best friend and is the person who has the most faith in him. At first, Louis is on the verge of becoming a punk, in trouble with the law, if not for the interference of his brother, who gets him interested in the sport of running.

As the years go by and war erupts, Louis embarks on a tour of duty in the military and his plane crashes in the water providing yet another test of courage and stamina. Louis is strong and in many ways always the leader of the group he is intertwined with.

The scenes of the three survivors stranded on the raft for days become slightly tedious, but perhaps this is the intention of the film, as they eat raw fish and raw birds to survive. Much of the remaining action is set in two Japanese war camps as Louis (and others) struggle to survive until the massive war has ended- they do not know if they will live or die.

The central antagonist- a vicious Japanese sergeant named “Bird”, perplexed me. Blatantly targeting Louis and administering cruel beatings and heaping tests of strength upon Louis, presumably out of jealousy because Louis was an Olympic athlete, why did Bird not simply kill him?

His motivations were also odd- In one scene, Bird tearfully tells Louis that he knew they would be friends from the beginning and seems to admire him. Bird’s father, going by a photo, seems a hard, mean man. Is this why Bird is so vicious? Bird’s character is not well thought out.

Also, every single Japanese character is portrayed in a very negative light, which sadly is common in war movies. Surely, despite being a war, there had to have been a few Japanese people who were not cruel.

Character development and depth are not a strong suit of this film.

At the end of the day, Unbroken is a good, solid, war drama with an inspiring message of triumph, faith, and determination.

Indeed, it is a positive message to viewers of all ages.

The abuse/torture scenes are tough to watch, but the result is a feel-good story.

The snippets of the real Louis Zamperini at the end of the film are wonderful to watch.

Oscar Nominations: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography

1975 Films, Art, Jack Nicholson, Michelangelo Antonioni, Thriller

The Passenger-1975

July 19, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Passenger-1975

Director Michelangelo Antonioni

Starring Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider

Scott’s Review #259

Reviewed July 19, 2015

Grade: A

A true art film in every sense of the word, The Passenger (1975) is a thinking man’s film, not for those content to munch on popcorn and escape the day’s stressors, but rather, custom-made for a film fan willing to ponder the meaning of the film, revel in the slow pace, and appreciate the film as an art form.

The Passenger is tough to “get” throughout most of its over two-hour running time, but its complexities are also its most beautiful characteristics. To say that the film will leave the viewer with questions is quite an understatement, but is pleasing to analyze and come up with conclusions of meaning.

Michelangelo Antonioni directed this film and is well-known for directing Blowup and Zabriskie Point, neither of which I have seen as of this writing.

Jack Nicholson stars as a journalist named David Locke, who is on location in Africa (specifically the Sahara desert in Chad). David’s assignment is to produce a documentary film. While there he mysteriously assumes the identity of a businessman named Robertson, who he finds dead in his hotel room.

This task is easy because David and Robertson look very much alike. As events unfold, it becomes clear that Robertson is involved in arms dealings and smuggling matters related to the ongoing civil unrest within the country.

Flashbacks reveal David’s former life, including his friendship with the businessman, and his relationship with his wife, Rachel, and these scenes are mixed in with the current action until they become more linear with each other.

The film is complex, to say the least. The initial scene when David spontaneously decides to switch identities is excellent. We wonder, what are David’s motivations and what is the appeal of him taking over another man’s life? Who is the man? Why is David so unhappy in his own life?

The film succeeds immeasurably as the plot is not simply told to the audience like so many other mainstream films. Events seem genuine and not forced for plot purposes.

In the current time, whereabouts in London, Rachel sadly mourns the assumed “death” of her husband David, though we learn that Rachel has secrets of her own she has been hiding and suffers from tremendous guilt.

To further complicate matters for everyone, she is attempting to find the businessman, since she has learned that he was the last person to see her husband alive. Also mixed into the story is a mysterious young woman whom David meets when the story moves to Barcelona, Spain.

What makes The Passenger so compelling to me is its intricacies- story as well as camera styles. The seven-minute-long shot towards the end is brilliant filmmaking and the climax is quietly intense.

The camera’s focus is on a hotel room, switches to the parking lot, and returns to the hotel room. I was transfixed by the character of David enormously, struggling to empathize with him, while all the while enjoying an intelligent character study mixed in with a story of political intrigue.

I do not confess to understanding everything about The Passenger and will surely need more viewings to make more sense of it all, but the film fascinates me.

In a time of mediocre films, how refreshing to stumble upon a forgotten relic from 1975 and have a renewed appreciation for film as an art form.

2015 Films, Biography, Drama, Independent, Independent Drama, Musical Drama

Love and Mercy-2015

July 17, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Love and Mercy-2015

Director-Bill Pohlad

Starring-John Cusack, Paul Dano

Scott’s Review #258

Reviewed July 17, 2015

Grade: B+

The life and times of the Beach Boys famous and troubled lead singer, Brian Wilson, is finally played out on the big screen (apparently many attempts were made to make a film) as Love and Mercy chronicles his difficult upbringing, unrivaled success, and his interesting life in later years, as he suffered from schizophrenia, traveled down a paranoid, nervous path, and was manipulated by a family friend who served as his doctor and main caregiver.

Thankfully, he weathered the storm in large part to his future wife, and remarkably, still performs and entertains in 2015. His musical career began in the 1960s.

The biopic features many of the well-known Beach Boys tunes to hum along to and to be entertained by, but is not a happy film, nor is it quite a downer either.

It is somewhere in the middle of the two. It is a telling of the life story of a rock star.

There is a risk in this- If the film is too sentimental it will fail. Love and Mercy do it correctly.

To be clear, the film is not a schmaltzy, sing-along, the trip down memory lane type of film for lighthearted film fans. Rather, it is dark, murky, troubling at times (the psychedelic scene when a young Brian is imagining different voices and noises in his head is rather frightening).

Wilson is played by two different actors, first in the 1960s and later in the 1980s.

Paul Dano stars as a young Wilson in the early stages of his career, filled with passion for life, art, and music, talented beyond belief, but clearly in the onset stages of paranoia, thanks in large part to his critical father, a demanding, angry man, quite possibly envious of Brian’s talents as a songwriter, who always wanted more from Brian.

Wilson’s father managed Brian and his brothers to success, but at a huge cost, and was ready to bail when the “next big thing” came along.

Miraculously, through conflict with his father and other members of the band, Wilson was able to complete the Beach Boys masterpiece, Pet Sounds, a groundbreaking album from the late 1960s. The film shows the struggles faced to achieve this success.

In later years John Cusack takes over the role of Brian. By this point in his life, he is damaged and he is a full-blown neurotic, insecure, and dependent on his psychotherapist, Dr. Landy, brilliantly played by Paul Giamatti. Landy has control of Wilson’s assets and will destroy anyone who interferes in this.

The scenes in which he screams at and berates a drugged-out Brian Wilson to create music are tough to stomach. When Wilson romances their future wife Melinda Ledbetter, played by Elizabeth Banks, she ultimately saves his life as she is determined to rescue Brian from the wicked abuse and adjust the toxic levels of medications he was kept on.

I left the movie theater unsure of the factual accuracy of the film and pondered the following questions. Did Brian’s wife swoop into his life and “save” him as neatly as the film explains? How instrumental was the maid in this process? Was the Wilson brothers’ father as much a monster as the movie portrayed him? Was Giamatti’s vicious psychotherapist role true to life or were the aforementioned aspects of Love and Mercy embellished ever so slightly for moviemaking magic?

One wonders, but from a film perspective, Love and Mercy works well as a work that takes risks, does not go for softness or niceness, and gives a character study that is quite admirable.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Supporting Male-Paul Dano

2014 Films, Drama

Cake-2014

July 14, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Cake-2014

Director-Daniel Barnz

Starring-Jennifer Aniston

Scott’s Review #257

Reviewed July 14, 2015

Grade: B+

Cake is a film about a woman suffering from chronic physical pain and the depression that she constantly battles after a terrible accident that she was involved in in the recent past.

Jennifer Aniston gives a wonderful performance as Claire Simmons, a grumpy, sarcastic, bitter victim of unimaginable loss. In fact, Aniston’s performance is the best part of the film by far. It is interesting to note that Aniston Executive produced this film.

Similarly and somewhat sadly, Reese Witherspoon had to produce her own 2014 film centered on a female role in order for both women to showcase their powerful acting chops. Too few films about women are made these days unless female star power is used and that is too bad.

Claire has been through hell and back.

As the story opens, Claire is sitting angrily in a support group filled with other women with problems. One of the women, Nina, (played by Anna Kendrick) has just jumped off of a freeway overpass to her death. A giant photo of her glares jarringly at the other women.

When Claire prods about details of the death and uses sarcastic tones, she is politely asked not to return to the group by the lead counselor, Annette, (played by Felicity Huffman). Claire returns to her well-maintained Los Angeles home and the audience is introduced to her well-meaning housekeeper and confidant, Silvana, played by Adriana Barraza.

Barraza herself gives a powerful performance. Nina appears throughout the remainder of the film in visions as Clare debates suicide.

Let me discuss Jennifer Aniston’s performance in particular. I thought it was just amazing and she was shamefully overlooked for an Oscar nomination.

She was superior to at least a couple of the other Best Actress nominees from 2014 (Felicity Jones immediately comes to mind as one).

Her character of Claire starts as a bit of a shrew but gradually becomes quite sympathetic as the story becomes layered and the audience gets to know what makes her tick.

Initially, we do not know how she came to be in her predicament. We know she was in a terrible accident, but it slowly takes time for all of the details to emerge. We only know she is in pain and angry. Claire’s relationship with Silvana is an interesting one.

They spar, Claire takes Silvana for granted at times, but throughout the film, a close friendship emerges between the women. In a touching scene, they hold hands as they sleep.

Two scenes in particular are heartbreaking and honest. A man played by William H. Macy emerges on the doorsteps of Claire’s house and she is engulfed in rage at his appearance.

The power that Aniston emits in this scene is unrivaled. In another scene she sees a portrait hanging on her living room fireplace mantle given by a friend- she bursts into tears and sobs emotionally. At this point, the plot makes more sense to me and we feel Claire’s raw pain.

The subject matter of depression and suicide is not a cheery one, and Cake delves deeply into this territory. To be fair, the film is a bit of a downer, slow, and, at moments, drags a bit, and teeters on the verge of a lifetime television movie (yikes!), but is MUCH better than that thanks to Aniston’s compelling portrayal.

I only mean with a lesser actress and performance the film might have felt watered down and safe. Some light moments in the film fail. For instance, when Claire “blackmails” Annette and bribes her with vodka for the address of Nina, this seems very trivial and silly- formulaic almost.

Thanks in large part to a gripping performance by one of Hollywood’s underrated talents, Cake takes a film on the border of being one-dimensional to a grander level of dynamic acting by its leading lady.

A supporting cast of similar talents helps the film rise above the mediocrity that it may have been if served by lesser casting choices.

1965 Films, Bette Davis, British, British Horror, Hammer Horror, Horror, Thriller

The Nanny-1965

July 11, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Nanny-1965

Director Seth Holt

Starring Bette Davis

Scott’s Review #256

Reviewed July 11, 2015

Grade: B

The Nanny is a 1965 Hammer productions thriller starring legendary film icon Bette Davis as a mysterious nanny caring for a ten-year-old boy named Joey.

Joey has recently been released from a mental institution and returned home to resume normal life, but has he been “cured”?

There is an obvious tension between Joey and Nanny, but the audience at first does not know what that tension is exactly. Why do they dislike each other? Why is Joey afraid of her?

As the plot unfolds the suspense and tensions thicken as various events occur and Joey’s parents and Aunt Pen are further fleshed out to the plot. Past events are revisited and the story becomes thrilling.

At one point, long before Joey’s return home, his younger sister has drowned and the circumstances are vague. It has devastated the family, including Nanny. Joey has been blamed for her death though he insists that Nanny is the culprit.

Nobody except the neighbor girl believes Joey and the audience is left to wonder who to believe and who to root for- Joey or Nanny? Davis, like Nanny, brings a warmness to her character, but is she sincere? Is it an act? Is Joey a sweet boy or maniacal?

These questions race through the minds of the audience as the film progresses. When the mother, Virginia eats tainted food, the obvious conclusion is that Nanny poisoned the food since she prepared it. But why? Did she do this?

As the plot is slowly explained, there are a few chills, though the ending is not all too surprising.

Any film starring Bette Davis is a treasure in my mind, though admittedly it is not her finest. Still, her finest is tough to match.

The Nanny is a good film, though not a great film. It is shot in black and white which is a nice touch for a thriller.

The main reason to watch is certainly Davis’s performance, which is always mesmerizing. Traditionally playing gruff, mean, or bitchy parts (especially in her later years), The Nanny allows Davis to play a traditionally sympathetic role.

She is seemingly sweet, proper, and well-organized. A perfect nanny on paper.

The role of Virginia, played by Wendy Craig, is a bit too neurotic and slightly over-acted. She is rather one-note as the fretting mother worried about her son. The character of the father is also a bit one-dimensional.

The Nanny is more of a classic thriller from the 1960s that is often lumped together with some of Bette Davis’s other films around the same period (Dead Ringer, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?), and the aforementioned films are in large part superior to The Nanny, but as a stand-alone, it is a decent film.

2014 Films, Crime Drama, Drama

Inherent Vice-2014

July 7, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Inherent Vice-2014

Director-Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring-Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin

Scott’s Review #255

Reviewed July 7, 2015

Grade: A-

Inherent Vice is a bizarre detective film noir type of experience, set in 1970 Los Angeles.

Directed by the superb Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights and Magnolia), the film has weirdness and incoherence that is a marvel to experience.

Fans of a straightforward plot will not be thrilled with this film, but for fans of Anderson, this will not disappoint. It has a complex plot, but the payoff is grand and it is certainly a thinking man’s film.

The protagonist is Larry “Doc” Sportello, a stoner private detective, grizzled and jaded, who is contacted by his mysterious ex-girlfriend Shasta. She is worried about attempts by her boyfriend’s ex-wife and new lover attempts to kidnap him and have him committed. Mickey, Shasta’s boyfriend, is a wealthy real-estate developer.

Doc is also hired by two other people- one a former heroin addict looking for her missing husband, and the other a former convict looking for a prison mate who owes him money and is a former henchman of Mickey’s.

All of the stories intersect and such oddities as a peculiar massage parlor and a ship named the Golden Fang come into play throughout the telling of the film.

The intersecting stories lead to the revelation of a drug ring.

For much of the film, I found myself with little idea what exactly was going on, but was still enthralled by it all the same.

There is an unpredictability surrounding Inherent Vice that is so pleasing and captivating. Joaquin Phoenix is compelling as Doc, a damaged character whose past is unclear.

When Doc is, by all accounts, framed for the murder of a convict and interrogated by the police, we wonder what history he has with them and what led him to branch out on his own as a private investigator.

Detective “Bigfoot” Bjornsen, wonderfully played by Josh Brolin, is a rival of Doc’s, though it is unclear why. “Bigfoot” is frequently seen with chocolate-covered phallic objects in his mouth and is married to a severe, overbearing woman.

Most of the characters are peculiar and have strange nuances, yet are never fully fleshed out, instead of remaining curious and thought-provoking.

Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Torro, and Owen Wilson appear in small yet pivotal roles.

Quite reminiscent of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown and Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye, in both the California setting and the plodding, slow-paced, magnificent storytelling, Inherent Vice is a confusing gem, but by all means a gem worth seeing and reveling among the intrigue.

Just don’t try to make too much sense of it all.

Oscar Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Robert Altman Award (won)

2015 Films, Thriller

The Boy Next Door-2015

July 5, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Boy Next Door-2015

Director-Rob Cohen

Starring-Jennifer Lopez

Scott’s Review #254

Reviewed July 5, 2015

Grade: C-

A steamy direct rip-off of the 1987 classic film Fatal Attraction, The Boy Next Door is a by the numbers, a mainstream thriller starring Jennifer Lopez as a separated suburban Mom raising her son alone.

One day a handsome young man moves in next door and befriends her son and also develops an unhealthy obsession with her.

The film is your basic thrill ride with some jumps mixed in but is as predictable as they come and is safe mainstream fare.

Claire Peterson (Lopez) lives a cozy suburban existence with her socially awkward teenaged son Kevin and works as a literature teacher at the local high school. She lives a modest yet successful life.

Her estranged husband Garrett (John Corbett from My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Sex and the City fame) has cheated on her with his secretary.

One day a hunky twenty-year-old neighbor, Noah, moves in, takes a shine to Kevin and an attraction develops between Noah and Claire, despite him being half her age. The audience knows that there is something off about all of this, but the inevitable happens- a lonely Claire winds up in bed with Noah after a disastrous blind double date with her friend and confidant Vicky (the talented stage actress Kristin Chenoweth), who is also the vice-principal of Claire’s school.

The sex scenes are titillating and sensual with lots of skin.

I went into my viewing of this film not expecting an invigorating or thought-provoking film and was not disappointed in that regard.

The film is lightweight, predictable, and has a lifetime television movie feel to it. The acting is not great and the setups are seen a mile away. When Claire and Noah meet there is instant chemistry between them (duh! They are both great looking!), but there is also a sinister quality to Noah that the audience is aware of. There is no doubt he will be trouble in Claire’s life.

As we progress we become aware that Noah has a temper- another setup for things to come. If he feels wronged he strikes back. Once Claire realizes their passionate night was a mistake, Noah becomes obsessed with and then vengeful of Claire and everyone around her.

Certainly, the plot is filled with one implausibility after another and I could list silly nuances for hours, but here are a few that immediately come to mind- I do not for one second buy Jennifer Lopez as an intelligent, sophisticated, literature genius (despite the film hysterically having her wear nerdy glasses) nor do I buy the very good-looking Ryan Guzman (Noah) as a scholarly expert in literature either.

This is done to construct the plot with no believability whatsoever.

Throughout the film, Noah is magically able to do whatever he wants- somehow hacking into Claire’s computer, arranging for printouts of his liaison with her to fly endlessly from the ceilings, tamper with brakes, and seamlessly splice Claire’s voice into conversations.

The entire film is ridiculous and unbelievable, but, again, it is what I expected it to be.

The ending surprised me in that it ended abruptly with no cliffhanger or hint at a sequel as is common with thrillers of this sort. Perhaps the filmmakers had low expectations for audience turnout?

One jarring point to notice is that Jennifer Lopez, clearly Latina, is playing a character living in a suburban neighborhood, named Claire Peterson. Nowhere is her Latina heritage mentioned. The character is about as white as you can get.

A dumb, entertaining 90 minutes of escapism, The Boy Next Door is not a good film, but has some fun, thrilling moments, and is fun to kick back relax and take it for what it is. It is comparable to a McDonald’s hamburger- you know what you will get and expect nothing more.

1981 Films, Horror, Horror-Comedy

An American Werewolf in London-1981

July 2, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

An American Werewolf in London-1981

Director John Landis

Starring David Naughton, Griffin Dunne

Scott’s Review #253

Reviewed July 2, 2015

Grade: B

A melding together of British-American horror and comedy, An American Werewolf in London (1981) provides entertainment while also being a campy and silly comedy.

While two American buddies, Jack and David, traverse the countryside of England with backpacks in tow, a spring break jaunt of sorts, one is viciously attacked and killed by a strange werewolf setting off a series of strange occurrences that play out over the remainder of the film.

From this point, the film is told from the perspective of one of the males as the other appears to him in visions warning of his inevitable demise into a werewolf.

An American Werewolf in London does not intend to mock the genre of horror but is certainly campy and over-the-top.

Despite cult classic accolades being thrust upon the film which I respect, it is not among my favorites.

I would have preferred it tilt more towards the horror classification rather than the comedy because it comes across as some sort of a spoof as the main characters overact.

The film has a silly quality to it. It is light fare instead of dark or morbid and even the kills are meant to be fun, not horrific. In a way, it is almost cheesy and that is not a compliment.

This is not to say that the film is completely subpar. It is decent, but not very believable and I think that is a distraction and a missed opportunity.

However, my favorite characteristics of this film are the makeup/special effects and the musical score which features such fitting treats as “Moondance”, “Bad Moon Rising”, and “Blue Moon”.

Sense an intelligent theme? The makeup, especially during the reanimation sequences is creative and still impressive today considering the film was made in 1981.

Besides, the best scene of the film is undoubtedly the “Slaughtered Lamb” scene when Jack and David stumble upon the aptly named pub filled with interesting, blue-collar-looking locales.

When one of the tourists inquires about a mysterious five-pointed star on the wall the pub dwellers become angry and cold leading the young men to be confused and intrigued.

This scene is filled with interest and I only wish the pub characters had more of a chance to shine as they seem benevolent and filled with potential backstory.

I would have enjoyed learning more about the history of these folks.

Sadly, the focus is by and large on Jack and David and a poorly constructed love interest- Nurse Alex Price, who is not to be taken at all seriously and played for one-dimensional laughs.

A lighthearted, sort of fun late-night flick, An American Werewolf in London is a cult film, though I would not agree with the cult classic distinction.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Makeup (won)

1967 Films, Catherine Deneuve, Fantasy, French, Gene Kelly, International, International Fantasy, International Musical, Jacques Demy, Musical

The Young Girls of Rochefort-1967

June 30, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Young Girls of Rochefort-1967

Director Jacques Demy

Starring Catherine Deneuve, George Chakiris

Scott’s Review #252

Reviewed June 30, 2015

Grade: B

The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort) is a musical fantasy set in a small French town outside of Paris.

The story focuses on a set of gorgeous twin sisters, Delphine and Solange, played by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac, who yearn to escape their small town for the bright lights of Paris and hope for romance in their lives.

The twins can have any man they want, but enjoy the thrill and excitement of conquests and being chased and sought after by seemingly all available French men. They spend their spare time discussing and fretting over various loves.

The film is so French and pure musical fantasy and logic are not the main focus. Much of it does not make much sense in fact, nor does it need to. It is pure fantasy.

The film excels by being dreamlike, bright, and sunny. The vivid, bursting colors and lovely sets enhance the look of the film.

In particular, the coffee shop set is a dream. All the central characters gravitate to the café for drinks, gossip, and song and dance.

A great deal of the action takes place here, which is a major plus to the film.

The Young Girls of Rochefort, which was made in 1967, is very state-of-the-art in terms of art direction and colors.

The loose plot, which is not at all the reason to watch this film, is silly. The twins, longing for love, meet several men, all possible suitors, but their true motivation is to get out of Rochefort and find real excitement in the big city of Paris.

One cannot help but realize that the men are a means to an end for the girls.

The heartfelt part of the story belongs to that of the twin’s mother, Yvonne, who also longs for love. Yvonne runs the café and still pines for a long-lost love whom she jilted because of a funny last name. She now regrets her decision and the audience’s roots for her to find happiness.

She is a wholesome character whereas Delphine and Solange are selfish and are attempting to further their careers as musical artists.

My main criticism of the film is the casting of Gene Kelly as one of the love interests of the sisters. Far too old and well past his prime at this point, the casting just doesn’t work. Yes, he is an amazing dancer, but the age is too great to be believable.

In the end, the main reason to watch The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) is to escape, let loose, and enjoy a bright, cheery, fantasy film.

Certainly not to be analyzed, the film succeeds in providing good escapist cultured, French fare.

Oscar Nominations: Best Score of a Musical Picture- Original or Adaptation

2014 Films, Fantasy

Maleficent-2014

June 27, 2015 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Maleficent-2014

Director-Robert Stromberg

Starring-Angelina Jolie

Scott’s Review #251

Reviewed June 27, 2015

Grade: C+

Maleficent is an updated re-telling of the classic fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty” told from the perspective of Maleficent, the evil godmother, who in this version, it is revealed, was not always so evil after all and, in fact, is rather sympathetic towards the beginning of the film.

Later in life, becoming the antagonist of the story, she initially begins life in a world of goodness, wonder, and hope until one day she is duped by a young man she loves and is then turned wicked with hatred and revenge.

The casting of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent is excellent and the main reason to watch the film.

Also worth noting is the wonderful, creative art direction and costumes that allow the film to look gothic and interesting.

Otherwise, the film meanders a bit, is slightly watered down, and contains a sappy Disney-style love story. The story itself is the weakest part of Maleficent.

Born Maleficent, protector of the fairies in the magical land of the Moors, as a young girl she is betrayed and is NOT a villain. Her male suitor (Stefan) is someone she trusts, loves, and respects, and she is then duped and has her wings stolen by him. He goes on to become the King of the neighboring land of humans, which is vastly different from the peaceful world that Maleficent lives in.

These events lead her on a path of devastation followed by revenge as she places a vicious sleeping curse on Stefan’s firstborn, Aurora.

Let’s start with some positives. Jolie is simply wickedly delicious in this role- the sultry, pouty looks, and those eyes! She plays scorned, revenge-driven to the hilt without being too over the top as lesser actresses certainly would have.

As the actress ages, she is beginning to take on more character, villainous parts rather than sexy bad girls or heroines and I am all for that. It gives the actress something meaty to sink her teeth into. Her dark costumes perfectly give the character edge.

The art direction is magical and the difference between the two lands is distinctive. The beauty of the Moors with gushing streams, mountains, and flowers contrasts with the stark nature of the human world.

The fairies symbolize peace and freedom with a life filled with treasures, whereas the human kingdom symbolizes ambition, greed, and coldness. The tiny fairies flittering around add zest and life to the film.

The silly love story, though is not believable nor compelling to me, especially the latter film romance between Stefan’s daughter- Aurora, and her wealthy suitor Phillip. They seem manufactured to be together without having a chance to get to know each other. This seems contrived and produced to add something young to the story.

And on a storytelling note, Maleficent’s sleeping curse is set to transpire on Aurora’s sixteenth birthday when she will prick her finger on a spindle and fall into a deep sleep that can only be remedied by love’s true kiss.

Why does he send Aurora away to live in hiding when she is a newborn? Doesn’t he have sixteen years to enjoy her?

The film then dwindles to the inevitable battle finale with lots of movement and fire and a stand-off between Maleficent and Stefan that is dull and predictable.

Overall, the first half of the film is the better part and the performance of Angelina Jolie is wonderful.

Oscar Nominations: Best Costume Design

Welcome to my blog! 1,425 + reviews posted so far! My name is Scott Segrell and I reside in Stamford, CT. My blog is a diverse site featuring tons of film reviews I have written since I launched my site in 2014. I hope you enjoy perusing the site for latest or greatest films or to search for your own favorites to see how we compare. Please take a look at my featured sections at the top of the page which change often! Utilize the tags and category links.