MOONRISE KINGDOM (2012)
d: Wes Anderson
CAST: Jared Gilman & Kara Hayward; Bruce Willis; Edward Norton; Bill Murray; Frances McDormand; Tilda Swinton; Jason Schwartzman; Harvey Keitel
> it's a Wes Anderson film, so the following terms apply: eccentric / quirky / charming / gentle / warm / whimsical / poignant / idiosyncratic / romantic; impossible to describe the film without using any of those descriptors, so I can just add that, like with The Grand Budapest Hotel and (I insist) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the film is somehow about this world but not of this world; the plot focus on (very) young love is both dubious and quaint and performed by a terrific child couple; ensemble cast of big names contributes something special to the enterprise; wholly unique in cinema
CAROL (2015)
d: Todd Haynes
CAST: Cate Blanchett; Rooney Mara
>primarily an old-fashioned romance (I kept thinking of 1957's An Affair to Remember...but without the humorous touches and the crappy song); the lead actresses are a terrific movie couple and complement each other beautifully - a true performance partnership; try as it may, the support cast barely exists; geez, the two women smoke up a storm!; handled with such a delicacy of touch by Todd that the film doesn't tip into melodramatics even when the story does; the ending is cinematic perfection
Award-Worthy Performances
Cate Blanchett & Rooney Mara
THE GUARD (2011)
d: John Michael McDonagh
CAST: Brendan Gleeson; Don Cheadle; Mark Strong
> very amusing Irish crime flick which uses the old aren't-Americans-full-of-shit schtick to get its laughs (like many British comedies have done over the years); Brendan is just perfect as the naughty-but-ethical village cop & Don is suitably out of his depth as the Yank FBI agent; a couple of subtle touches (dying mother; lovelorn longings) give these characters depth so they aren't just figures of fun; perpetuates the cliche that the Irish are quirky wee folk who are deceptively cunning; the ending is a hoot; a possible Movie Jukebox inductee
Award-Worthy Performance
Brendan Gleeson
THE REVENANT (2015)
d: Alejandro G. Inarritu
CAST: Leonardo DiCaprio; Tom Hardy; Will Poulter
> genuinely glorious landscape & nature cinematography with fluid / mobile camerawork; usual whinge - the film is about 20 minutes too long (the build-up to the climactic vengeance scene is unnecessarily prolonged & the tension consequently seeps out); the group attack by Indians, the solo attack by bear and the final duel are right in your face and are riveting & confronting as a result; lotsa blood'n'guts throughout, so not for the squeamish; Leo & Tom are worthy adversaries; the physical ordeals suffered by both cast and crew during the filming should supply them with great pub stories for years to come
Award-Worthy Performances
Leonardo DiCaprio; Tom Hardy
MAN OF FLOWERS (1983)
d: Paul Cox
CAST: Norman Kaye; Chris Hayward; Alyson Best
> a film about the appreciation of beauty; a highly-regarded Australian piece which is unusual (for us) due to its softness and languid pace; certainly better with second viewing, it's one of those movies which will be contemplated afterwards over a coffee; a bit of voyeurism, a bit of justice, a lot of music, some dark humour (which only kicks in after the amusing moment has passed); the story doesn't have an ending as such...the little character study is just over; Arty but not pretentious, the film lingers, and has a mysterious quality that does say something cautionary about how we view the world
SHAME (2011)
d: Steve McQueen
CAST: Michael Fassbender; Carey Mulligan
> a film about a topic which I didn't think was a real thing (sex-addiction - hey...I'm a smalltown boy); can't say that I enjoyed this, but it did make an emotional impact upon me; both Michael & Carey (her rendition of "New York New York" is a show-stopper) are stunning; sex as mere act / physicality as a way to avoid emotion / prostitutes & porn Vs feelings & commitment; the 1971 song "Stay With Me" by The Faces pretty much covers the same territory but with more humour and zero tragedy; still, a genuinely adult film to ponder over
Award-Worthy Performances
Michael Fassbender; Carey Mulligan
THE DEEP BLUE SEA (2011)
d: Terence Davies
CAST: Rachel Weisz; Tom Hiddleston; Simon Russell Beale
> Rachel gives an acting masterclass in this romantic melodrama set in post WWII London; the really impressive thing about this movie is how it is loaded with heard-'em-a-hundred-times lines of dialogue, yet the actors somehow make them real and acceptable; no attempts made at heartstring tugging - you are just shown how emotionally wrought relationships can be, and how love can alter a person's perception of Life; still, it remains a one-note film that could occasionally do with a bit of fresh air
Award-Worthy Performance
Rachel Weisz
IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU (1954)
d: George Cukor
CAST: Judy Holliday; Jack Lemmon; Peter Lawford
> big city girl with even bigger dreams buys up billboard space for self-promotion...yeah, that's pretty much the entire plot; another example of the enormous onscreen charisma & charm which Judy Holliday exuded so apparently effortlessly; film is a lightweight bit of fluff that greatly benefits from George Cukor's move-it-along direction and George Kanin's nifty script; Jack's debut movie, and he is surprisingly terrific in his sidekick role (he was always great in comedy, and always better as a #2); pleasant fun like they don't make 'em anymore (and haven't done for many, many years)
Award-Worthy Performances
Judy Holliday
DEAD RINGER aka WHO IS BURIED IN MY GRAVE? (1964)
d: Paul Henreid
CAST: Bette Davis; Karl Malden; Peter Lawford; Jean Hagen; George Macready
> one of Bette's more underrated movies from her horror / Goth period of the 60's; comes across as an extended episode from the original Alfred Hitchcock Presents; while the actual act of sororicide is disappointingly rushed, there are nice touches such as the stripping of the corpse and a hand-burning to make up for it; as you would expect, Bette is perfect in the dual role, and it's an interesting twist that the "good" sister commits the heinous deed; film benefits from the appearance of some top-notch character actors (Jean & George & Estelle Winwood); nobody laughs or screams like Bette Davis
Award-Worthy Performance
Bette Davis
A LATE QUARTET (2012)
d: Yaron Zilberman
CAST: Philip Seymour Hoffman; Catherine Keener; Christopher Walken; Imogen Poots
> artistically-renown string quartet nearly falls apart because Life steps in; as you would expect, absolutely beautiful music (although, strangely, not as much as you would think, with no real extended pieces to demonstrate the group's excellence, not even at the end); drama is a bit soap-opera-ish really, with disease, adultery, family conflict and self-discovery all coincidentally happening at the same time; terrific performances of course; an involving experience that still feels a little underdeveloped
Award-Worthy Performances
Christopher Walken; Imogen Poots
Worst Movie-Viewing Experiences 2/1/16 - 17/1/16
SHINING VICTORY (1941)
d: Irving Rapper
CAST: James Stephenson; Geraldine Fitzgerald; Donald Crisp
> a well-regarded relic which is purportedly set in the days of early psychiatric care, but is really just another old-fashioned tragic romance; James is one of the great lost actors of the Golden Age who only managed a handful of notable roles before dropping dead at the age of 52 - this was his last film; takes a while to get used to Geraldine's unusual clip-clop vocal enunciation, but you soon warm to her, and her & James make a good couple; dialogue is awfully sexist & patronising, even for 1941; too predictable and fluffy for my taste
Award-Worthy Performances
James Stephenson & Geraldine Fitzgerald
THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN (2012)
d: Peter Hedges
CAST: Jennifer Garner; Joel Edgerton; Dianne Wiest; David Morse
> too-silly Disney fantasy about a nice (of course) childless couple who grow the perfect kid in their backyard garden (shoulda used glyphosate); tries its hardest to tug the heartstrings and squeeze out a tear or two, but only manages an unpleasantly-sweet taste in the mouth; the kid protagonist (CJ Adams) is the usual cutey-pie who is morally superior to all the adults around him; the fleeting appearance of some terrific character actors (Dianne Wiest / M. Emmett Walsh / Lois Smith) gives the story some undeserved class; one spoonful of schmaltz too many
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