Category: Film

Genre: Film

Grade: B with a twist
Notable People: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Directed by Troy Duffy
Title: Boondog Saints

Review – so- apparently this is some kind of cult classic amongst a certain set. Had never heard of it until my kids gave it to me for my birthday. Took several months to watch it (it’s a 19999 out on blue ray-and on Netflix), and it’s pretty weird. To very Irish twin brothers in south Boston become murdering avengers of evil- along with an Italian sidekick. The dialog is weird, the cinematography is weird, the acting is over the top…and Dafoe is absolutely nuts….but it’s hard not to like. They all seemed to have really good time making this film and it does have a certain urban kitsch to it that is hard to resist…almost a Boston version of Pulp Fiction- I think the director must be a big Tarantino fan. Not a bad way to spend an evening- it’s a B movie that is in the band width of so bad it’s good.

Genre: Film

Grade: B with a twist
Notable People: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Directed by Troy Duffy
Title: Boondog Saints

Review – so- apparently this is some kind of cult classic amongst a certain set. Had never heard of it until my kids gave it to me for my birthday. Took several months to watch it (it’s a 19999 out on blue ray-and on Netflix), and it’s pretty weird. To very Irish twin brothers in south Boston become murdering avengers of evil- along with an Italian sidekick. The dialog is weird, the cinematography is weird, the acting is over the top…and Dafoe is absolutely nuts….but it’s hard not to like. They all seemed to have really good time making this film and it does have a certain urban kitsch to it that is hard to resist…almost a Boston version of Pulp Fiction- I think the director must be a big Tarantino fan. Not a bad way to spend an evening- it’s a B movie that is in the band width of so bad it’s good.

Genre: Film

Grade: A-/B+
Notable People: Dohmnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Directed by Alex Garland
Title: Ex Machina

Review –Full disclosure- I generally do not like Sci-Fi, but this is an interesting movie. Garland’s directorial debut may be the most complicated film yet made about artificial intelligence, featuring a “dummy” ingénue. Very little in the way of bells and whistles- mostly just a mind blower with a plot that is quite challenging. A much more visceral nuance of the film Her- taking the concept a big step further. The entire film takes place ominously in as secluded mountain fortress and is basically acted by four performers. The acting is very good and Oscar Isaac….oh my. Who is this guy? I really liked him in Llewelyn Davis; then saw him in A Most Dangerous Year and did not recognize it could be the same actor until I saw him on the credits….which happened again with this film. The man is really talented. This one is well worth seeing.

Genre: Film

Grade: B+
Notable People: Dev Patel, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere. Directed by John Madden
Title: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Review –Nothing new here- except a weirdly cast Gere and Tamsin Grieg, a good British actress with terrible Brooklyn accent…but a lot of fun nonetheless. This is really a classic B grade movie – but with Dench and Smith it’s still worth the price of admission. The filming in India and the gorgeous colors and pomp/ circumstance make it more enticing.

Genre: Film

Grade: A
Notable People: An ensemble cast of brilliant and famous Argentinian actors. Directed by Damian Szifron
Title: Wild Tales (in Spanish- sub-titles)

Review –These ARE INDEED Wild Tales- six vignettes of revenge posed in every conceivably absurd situation. The acting is brilliant, the dialog masterful, the filming exquisite. You don’t want to get these people pissed off at you! I laughed, I cried, I kvelled…….this is great filmmaking- not surprisingly the executive producer is the legendary director Pedro Almodovar. Run to the art house and see this film (at the Drexel in Columbus)

Genre: Film

Grade: A
Notable People: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristin Stewart, Directed by Richard Glatzer
Title: Still Alice

Review –This is not a movie to see to get out of a funk. Pretty tough stuff, but beautifully done. You will need a lot of tissues. Julianne Moore cements her place in my mind as the actress of her generation with this extraordinarily sensitive and low key portrayal of a vastly accomplished woman of amazing intellect coming to grips with early stage Alzheimer’s. She is MAGNIFICENT. Alec Baldwin is in his strongest role to date and Kristin Stewart really shines. This movie do not shy away from the tough shit that goes with the topic, but does not let us forget our own humanity in its wake. I don’t really pay attention to Academy Awards- but saw that Moore got one for this role- that was a no -brainer. Love does not conquer all- but it sure helps.

Genre: Film

Grade: A-
Notable People: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Common, Carmen Ejogo, Oprah, Directed by Ava DuVernay
Title: Selma

Review –This is an important film- not so much for the quality of filmmaking as for the story. It starts with a literal bang and never stops hitting you over the head with the significance of what is happening. Hard to believe that Oyelowo is a British born, Cambridge educated Shakespearian actor- he really captures MLK in every way. Ejogo is majestic as Coretta King and the cast of character actors that play MLK’s entourage does it really well. Great attention to detail, very well filmed. The only distractions for me were the choice of actors for LBJ and George Wallace –two larger than life characters, whose essence was missed by these portrayals. You can’t have a Brit play Johnson. This film should be required viewing for every elementary school kid in America.

Genre: Film

Grade: A-/B+
Notable People: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Reece Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Benicio del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Title: Inherent Vice

Review – Quite a ride this one. Anderson is a totally whacked out director, who has taken a pretty complicated novel by Thomas Pynchon (most people believe you can’ t make films from his esoteric books) and given us a film that seems to mate Sam Spade with The Big Lebowski with Quentin Tarentino. It’s a lot of fun and Phoenix is wonderful…Brolin is a great match too. The movie is 2 ½ hours long and I did find myself glancing at my watch, but still what’s not to like from a tripped out story of a stoned private detective living the life in a 1970s San Francisco beach town? The spirit of the times is well represented and the story has every crazy character you could imagine…..with some absolutely great lines of dialog. Good winter’s afternoon diversion.

Genre: Film

Grade: B+
Notable People: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Directed by Tim Burton
Title: Big Eyes

Review – Well this one is interesting. It has couple of themes I’ve had a lot of lately: the story is better than the film and you’ll like it better if you are of an age. This is the story of the Keanes- the folks who brought the ubiquitous “Big Eyes” paintings to the world consciousness in the 60’s… these works of art were EVERYWHERE- a background to the times. The story is fascinating. She painted them all, he took the credit….a 15 year massive deceit. It’s really a great untold story. The movie is pretty good- but after a while – it’s kind of predictable and drags a bit. Adams is good. Waltz is fast becoming one of the top actors of his generation though I found it a bit of a stretch to have the early parts with him as a 30 year old. And of course, Tim Burton is always pretty interesting in his approach. Lots of well portrayed early 60s San Francisco and North Beach (“is expresso a kind of reefer?”. All said, worth seeing. And if you remember this stuff –there is a lot of memories here of a time.

Genre: Film

Grade: NR
Notable People: Emmanuelle Seigner, Matthieu Almaric, Directed by Roman Polanski
Title: Venus in Fur

Review – oh boy…this is a challenging one. My son sent me this film on Blue Ray for Christmas-which may be some kind of message that I can’t quite decipher. We watched it last night, and I have tried to assess its value since, but am stumped. Polanski is just short of insane, but maybe a genius. The actors- there are only two of them…..are peerless. The film is based on an 1870 Austrian novel of the same name by Leopold von Sacher Mosoch. It apparently was the book that led to the origin of the term sado-masochism (see the author’s name). The film is really slow and spellbinding at the same time. Not much happens except a pretty tenuous, sensuous and extremely edgy dialog between a director and would be actress in an empty haunting theater. After it was over, I was really not sure exactly what happened, but the time went quickly and I thought I must be watching a work of some degree of high art since I was pretty confused…but riveted. The actors are great, the plot is obtuse, the staging is minimal…intense Polanski at his best. Mon dieu…je ne sais quoi (French sub tiles- by the way). This is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea- but if you see yourself as somewhat a student of film…then will you please rate it for me