Category: Film Review

Legacy: Black Ops – A Review by Nate Hill 

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

Legacy: Black Ops is a good one. Like so many indie products, it has been marketed to look like an action flick for dvd, but the truth is something more akin to a psycho – political thriller. Clearly influenced by both the Bourne films and Jonathan Demme’s The Manchurian Candidate, it reins the intrigue in somewhat for an intimate, starkly paced look at one man who is on the brink of losing both his mind and memories in the wake of a special ops mission gone awry. Idris Elba gives a mini powerhouse as Malcolm Grey, a battle scarred veteran who has isolated himself in a drab motel room, ruminating on a calamitous outing with his fellow squad members to find and take out eastern European extremist Salenko (Julian Wadham). Whatever went wrong sent a chain reaction down the ranks and left them divided in years to come, but we are only treated to unreliable fragments of these events, reflected through the prism of Malcom’s broken mind. He receives visits from his squad mates, but are they really there, or yet another illusion dreamt up to avert his gaze from the truth? Character actor Richard Brake is O’Keefe, his longtime friend and second in command, providing sympathy and solid support during the mission we see unfold in hectic flashbacks. Adjacent to this plot is the political rise of Malcom’s brother Darnell (Eamonn Walker) riding the wave of an election that will put him in a seat of immense power, but one wonders how he’s connected to Malcolm and his past? How indeed. It’s confusing to say the least, but never trips over its own ambitions, sewing threads of concise cause and effect throughout it’s story, which is emotionally downbeat and melancholic in nature, a stylistic choice that really works in the film’s favour. If you’re willing to sit, absorb and meditate on a slow burner of a tale that feeds you pieces of the puzzle bit by bit, with almost zero action to be found, have at ‘er. I enjoyed it immensely. 

ARI FOLMAN’S WALTZ WITH BASHIR — A REVIEW BY NICK CLEMENT

by nlclement, posted in Film Review

2

Ari Folman’s tour de force Waltz With Bashir is a mesmerizing visual experience that also packs an intense emotional wallop. Taking the form of an animated documentary, Folman narrates this searing portrait of war-time life with fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon in order to reconstruct his own memories of his military involvement during the conflict. The hallucinatory nightmarescape that Folman and his technical crew have created is nothing short of astonishing, and it’s truly unlike any film that you’ve ever seen. This isn’t rotoscope animation like Richard Linklater’s stunning neo-noir/sci-fi mash-up A Scanner Darkly, nor does it have the rounded-edge, glistening sophistication of a Pixar film. Waltz With Bashir is visceral, rough, demanding, and shocking; it’s a vision of “war as hell” in a manner that’s never been captured before, and that could likely never be repeated.

1

Taika Watiti’s What We Do In The Shadows: A Review by Nate Hill 

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

I don’t remember laughing as hard at a film in years as I did at What We Do In The Shadows the other night. It’s pure comedic bliss from front to back, and makes the often tedious chore of making an audience laugh seem effortless. It’s part horror comedy, part mockumentary with a dash of buddy camaraderie and and depth of wit and character all it’s own, thanks to New Zealand filmmaker Taika Watiti, who is fast becoming one of my favorite new voices in the independent field. A master at finding the humour in little moments and dry subtlety, his cameras spend a couple hours documenting pratfalls, squabbles and zany encounters wirh quartet of vampires living in Wellington, New Zealand, each one simultaneously a different caricature of bloodsuckers from previous lore, as well as a completely unique, hilarious individual. Jermaine Clement is the closest thing you’ll find to a household name amongst the cast as Vladislav, a Dracula esque, baroque vamp. Jonny Brugh is Viago, the musically inclined, Ann Rice incarnation, and Ben Fransham, plays Peter, a spooky eight thousand year old Nosferatu clone. It’s Watiti himself who steals the show though, as Deacon, a dandy of a Germanic royal who gets all the best lines and relishes them with adorable deadpan delivery every chance he gets. The film comes nowhere near the classification of horror, and in fact these four resemble a bumbling, lovable frat house, their vampiric nature treated lightly as they cavort about their everyday life like rambunctious nocturnal teddy bears. They navigate household chores, nightlife, inter species relations (there’s a few priceless encounters with a rival pack of werewolves), pesky humans, and have a ball the whole time through. What makes the film so special is the goldmine of comic skill and talent that both director and cast have tapped into. The relationships are unforced, full of idiosyncratic nonsense and always feel utterly organic. For a group of undead fellows, they truly are the life of the party. The documentary style never feels intrusive or irritating, seamlessly taking refuge behind the forceful and side splitting antics which take center stage for the entire film. Comedy is the hardest genre to produce fruitful results in, with horror a close second. What it takes to make you laugh can often be a rare gift, wielded by few and far between, those writers, directors and actors who have that elusive midas touch on our funnybones, combining just the right elements of script, improv and intuition to  get us laughing ourselves silly. This one achieves that and then some.

Taika Watiti’s What We Do In The Shadows: A Review by Nate Hill 

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

I don’t remember laughing as hard at a film in years as I did at What We Do In The Shadows the other night. It’s pure comedic bliss from front to back, and makes the often tedious chore of making an audience laugh seem effortless. It’s part horror comedy, part mockumentary with a dash of buddy camaraderie and and depth of wit and character all it’s own, thanks to New Zealand filmmaker Taika Watiti, who is fast becoming one of my favorite new voices in the independent field. A master at finding the humour in little moments and dry subtlety, his cameras spend a couple hours documenting pratfalls, squabbles and zany encounters wirh quartet of vampires living in Wellington, New Zealand, each one simultaneously a different caricature of bloodsuckers from previous lore, as well as a completely unique, hilarious individual. Jermaine Clement is the closest thing you’ll find to a household name amongst the cast as Vladislav, a Dracula esque, baroque vamp. Jonny Brugh is Viago, the musically inclined, Ann Rice incarnation, and Ben Fransham, plays Peter, a spooky eight thousand year old Nosferatu clone. It’s Watiti himself who steals the show though, as Deacon, a dandy of a Germanic royal who gets all the best lines and relishes them with adorable deadpan delivery every chance he gets. The film comes nowhere near the classification of horror, and in fact these four resemble a bumbling, lovable frat house, their vampiric nature treated lightly as they cavort about their everyday life like rambunctious nocturnal teddy bears. They navigate household chores, nightlife, inter species relations (there’s a few priceless encounters with a rival pack of werewolves), pesky humans, and have a ball the whole time through. What makes the film so special is the goldmine of comic skill and talent that both director and cast have tapped into. The relationships are unforced, full of idiosyncratic nonsense and always feel utterly organic. For a group of undead fellows, they truly are the life of the party. The documentary style never feels intrusive or irritating, seamlessly taking refuge behind the forceful and side splitting antics which take center stage for the entire film. Comedy is the hardest genre to produce fruitful results in, with horror a close second. What it takes to make you laugh can often be a rare gift, wielded by few and far between, those writers, directors and actors who have that elusive midas touch on our funnybones, combining just the right elements of script, improv and intuition to  get us laughing ourselves silly. This one achieves that and then some. 

MICHAELANGELO ANTONIONI’S THE PASSENGER — A REVIEW BY NICK CLEMENT

by nlclement, posted in Film Review

1.jpg

The Passenger is in my top 50 films of all time and is an absolute masterpiece of cinema. Jack Nicholson has never been more enigmatic or casually paranoid. Released in 1975, the quietly sinister narrative cooked up by screenwriters Mark Peploe, Peter Wollen, and director Michaelangelo Antonioni keeps you guessing all throughout, as nothing is as it seems in this picture. The impossible to understand tracking shot towards the end of the film still makes no sense even after you’ve seen how it was done – TRUE MOVIE MAGIC. Cinematographer Luciano Tovoli’s work on this film is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Nicholson plays a journalist who assumes the identity of a dead businessman while he’s on assignment in Africa, without realizing that he’s inadvertently posing as an international arms dealer.

2.jpg

Things get even more complicated when the beyond-sexy Maria Schneider appears. There’s a sense of the unknown to this film that keeps inviting me back for multiple visits per year. Seeing this on the big screen in Los Angeles, with a very stoned audience, was a major highlight; I can remember people blazing-up in the NuArt on more than one occasion. Antonioni made some truly breathtaking films (Blowup, Red Desert, La Notte, L’Eclisse, L’Avventura, Zabriskie Point) but this one is likely my favorite. All of his films require the proper state of mind before delving in, but once you’ve “gotten there,” there are few places more heady and exciting. Immediately engrossing and hugely ambitious, this is an existential drama like no other, a piece of introspective cinema that gets richer and richer with each experience.

3

Captain Fantastic – A Review by Kyle Jonathan

by 39frames, posted in Film Review

Captain Fantastic

2016.  Directed by Matt Ross.

captain-fantastic-movie-slice-600x200

There are countless stories about families who chose to live off the grid, with each version either being a cautionary tale about isolation or a sly commentary on the advantages of living outside the comforts of modern society.  Matt Ross’s exceptional feature film, Captain Fantastic manages to walk the divide between these extremities, delivering a dissenting lead performance, vibrant watercolor visuals, and a touching script that both glorifies personal freedom and stresses the importance of societal connections.

Ben and Leslie are raising their six children in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest.  Ben is a charismatic intellectual who believes capitalist society is fraudulent and uses philosophy, classical literature, and social discourse as a means to instill his world view in his children.  A tragedy leads to the family returning to the confines of the big city, challenging Ben’s authority as his patchwork clan mingles with accepted civilization, bringing to the surface rebellious intentions, fatherly guilt, and familial discord.  As a result, Ben is forced to confront his perceived nobility and the cost of raising children in his own, elitist vision rather than the flawed, but worthwhile reality in which we’re all a apart of.

captain-fantastic-film-22_article-detail

Viggo Mortensen gives one of the strongest performances of his career as Ben.  Ross’s script is full of memorable and hilarious exchanges, the bulk of which involve Mortensen explaining the workings of the world to his children with an anthropological presentation, devoid of emotion or connection.  Initially, the various rhetoric used by the children to verbally spar with their father is unappealing, appearing to be a counterculture refutation delivered with cult like fervor.  However, as the narrative unfolds, the various philosophical and religious dissertations become symbols of Ben’s sorrowful existence and the educational prison that he has built around his children, in which learned anarchist knowledge is the key to their deliverance.

Stephane Fontain’s cinematography blooms with natural colors, capturing the rugged landscape and Ben’s commune with wide shots that highlight the splendor of the hidden sanctuary.  Courtney Hoffman’s costume design, particularly with the family’s ceremonial attire in the first act has a lived in quality that becomes more and more removed as the the film continues.  The highlight comes in the family’s hippie drenched livery that they don to attend a service that is the centerpiece of the story.  While the costumes have an out of time theme, it’s the idea that this family, for better or worse, is a singular unit that resonates.

1892

Captain Fantastic is a story about familial identity, and while it is somewhat predictable, it’s the journey that matters.  Everything is in transition.  The emerald forests give way to looming towers of concrete while the children begin as supplicants and grow into independent and often comically self aware renegades.  The film’s greatest concession, that every rebellion ends on the home front, doesn’t diminish Ben’s philosophy, but rather welcomes it’s turbulent mantra into the merry go round of parenthood, ending with a tear inducing rendition of an 80’s classic that heals the wounds of regret with compassion and acceptance.

Available now for digital rental, Captain Fantastic is a predictable, but profoundly moving example of picaresque parenthood.  While the viewer only gets a glimpse into the family’s rigid customs and anti-capitalist anthems, these concepts are interchangeable with the various rites and traditions of any family.  Parenting, and the importance of family is what this film is ultimately about.  Featuring an unforgettable performance and a genuinely heartwarming story about the importance of moderation and acceptance of what we cannot change, if you’re looking for an uplifting viewing experience, Captain Fantastic will not disappoint.

Highly recommend.

captain-fantastic-movie-pos

JUSTICE LEAGUE: FLASHPOINT PARADOX

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review

​JUSTICE LEAGUE: FLASHPOINT PARADOX is my first foray into the DC animated feature film series.  It’s based upon a graphic novel, FLASHPOINT where The Flash goes back in time, preventing his mother’s death but by doing so he changes the trajectory of events that yields a dead Bruce Wayne, a rage filled Batman in Thomas Wayne who maliciously uses guns as his primary weapons, turning Martha Wayne into the Joker – basically most of all the heroes as we know are villains, and a few villains are heroes.

The animation draws the heroes in an obnoxiously muscular way, and some of the dialogue is almost intentionally lame, but with a voice cast of Kevin Conroy, Michael B. Jordan, Danny Huston, C. Thomas Howel, Kevin McKidd, Nathan Fillion, Dana Delany, Cary Elwes, and Ron Perlman – it’s pretty good.
Seeing the heroic DC Universe flipped, where Batman is killing everyone, Wonder Woman is beheading Atlantians, and Deathstroke and Lex Luther are fighting with Cyborg and the military against the meta-human war between Wonder Woman and Aquaman, all in all it’s a pretty fun watch.  PARADOX proposes itself as a rich “what if” in an already interesting universe.

If you are rabidly awaiting the onslaught of the DC Cinematic Universe, this film is a fun introducrion into who the heroes and villains you’ll eventually see on screen are.  Or, if you’re like me and don’t know a lot about some of the deeper characters in the DC Universe, this is a quick film that is certainly worth checking out.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: FLASHPOINT PARADOX is now available to stream on Netflix.

ROBERT ZEMECKIS’ ALLIED — A REVIEW BY NICK CLEMENT

by nlclement, posted in Film Review

3

Allied is an old-school entertainment made with new-school aesthetics, a film that feels refreshingly out of step from the constant demands of the studios: a star-driven, non-franchise, and thoroughly polished piece of filmmaking for adults that carries the express purpose of providing a good night out at the movies. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (one of our last true movie-magic showmen) and written by Steven Knight (Locke, Dirty Pretty Things, Peaky Blinders), this extremely well-crafted film benefits from an excellent third act, luxurious production values, and nearly blinding star wattage from the extra-glamorous duo of Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. The two of them play spies who meet up on a job in Casablanca in 1942, looking to assassinate a high-ranking Nazi commander while posing as husband and wife. The opening passages of the film certainly evoke all of the movies from yesteryear that the filmmakers so obviously are in love with, while Knight’s script stays intimate with the two main characters for the entire piece, allowing for playful banter and unexpected surprises. But the hook of the film rests on the juicy notion that the wife might really be a German spy, making things all the more complicated as the two lethal love-birds have gotten married and moved back to London during the height of the war. If she’s in fact a spy, Pitt has been given orders to execute her on the spot. Is she or isn’t she, and will he or won’t he?

2

When I first saw the trailer, I figured that the overall effectiveness of the film would rest in the finale, and how the ultimate reveal would be treated and dealt with. And while I’d never risk spoiling anything that goes down in this confident and glossy confection, I’ll allow that the third act is genuinely riveting, with Zemeckis ratcheting up the suspense thanks to supremely tight editing by the team of Jeremiah O’Driscoll and Mick Audsley. The gorgeous widescreen cinematography by Don Burgess is aided immensely by the seamless integration of some sensational CGI/special-effects and the evocative production design from Gary Freeman, while Pitt and Cotillard both look too sexy for words, costumed to an inch of their lives by designer Joanna Johnston, with Pitt digitally scrubbed into Golden Boy Adonis mode, and Cotillard radiating sensuality and potential duplicity at nearly every turn. Knight’s sharp and smart script features strong dialogue, sensible plotting, and nothing that felt over the top or unnecessary. Alan Silvestri’s score hits all the proper notes no matter the scene. And for Zemeckis, his work on Allied marks yet another surprise effort after so many intensely CGI-driven spectacles, pairing extremely well with his Denzel Washington collaboration, Flight, in that they’re both decidedly R-rated endeavors that will appeal to an older audience and likely to nobody else. I loved how this film felt like one of those vintage studio programmers from back in the day, except gussied up with sex/nudity, bloody violence, and salty language.  This is a robust piece of work from everyone involved.

1

Certain Women – A Review by Kyle Jonathan

by 39frames, posted in Film Review

Certain Women

2016.  Directed by Kelly Reichardt.

685425p19685ednmain3474certainwomen-lowres-1

Cautious.  Intimate.  Entrancing.

Kelly Reichardt’s loose triptych of Montana women is one of 2016’s most resonant films.   Using three vignettes to distill the American female identity, Certain Women is an immaculately constructed poetic vision.  Featuring lush visual compositions and potently restrained performances, this is an unflinching dissection of everyday life from the feminine perspective.

Laura is an attorney who is in a sexual relationship with a married man.  Her current case involves a disgruntled worker who refuses to heed her advice, and seemingly submits to the same encouragement from a male colleague.  Gina is a married woman who, along with her husband, attempts to purchase a pile of sandstone from an elderly man who pretends that she does not exist.  Jamie is a lonely ranch hand who enrolls in an educational law class.  She befriends Beth, the attorney teaching the class and goes to great lengths to find a connection, despite Beth expressing her disdain for the trip she has to make to teach the class.  All three stories are lightly interwoven to deliver a devastatingly quiet premise on the human condition.

kristeninner

Reichardt adapted her script from stories by Maile Meloy.  The dialogue is simplistic and pointed, but never pretentious.  There is no mystery to unravel or hidden meaning to uncover.  This is life on display, and Reichardt’s steady hand delivers a thoughtful slice of Americana that evokes Ozu’s glacial sentimentality throughout.  Christopher Blauvelt’s rustic cinematography harmonizes perfectly with the  somber atmosphere, capturing the Montana landscapes with a laconic sense of observation.  The world of Certain Women is remarkably beautiful, but also shackled by a sense of longing that is purveyed in virtually every scene.

Lily Gladstone as Jaime is the standout.  Her ability to communicate unrelenting loneliness with virtually no dialogue is a triumph that cannot be overstated.  Her scenes with Kristen Stewart, who does an excellent job with a minimal role, are the heart of the film.  Despite the events being uncertain, Gladstone denies the viewer any chance to pity her character, persevering through heartbreak by mechanically returning to her daily routine, signifying the film’s core inspection of everyday life.  The lack of overt drama may be off putting, even boring to many, but the payoff is in between the exchanges, with needy stares and knowing smiles filling the small universe of these women with an uncommon sense of realism that is too often lacking in the box office experience.

408668

Laura Dern, Jarred Harris, and long time Reichardt collaborator Michelle Williams round out the cast.  Dern and Harris’s chemistry, in what is arguably the film’s greatest exchange, is a masterful display of two lost souls warily treading through an emotional minefield.  The two actors put everything into this scene and despite its ferocity, the fact that it remains in tune with the film’s hushed ambiance is a credit to their talent.  Michelle Williams has the least amount of screen time, but she does wonders with what time she has.  Her portrayal of a married women in a man’s world is thoughtfully accepting, broadcasting an aura of submissive ignorance under which lies a furnace of discontent that will never be ignited, for to do so would undo the social harmony that has become the expectation of a nuclear American family.

In select theaters now, and hopefully coming to digital soon, Certain Women has garnered a plethora of Independent Spirit Award nominations and is slowly emerging as an Oscar hopeful.  Featuring a profound breakout supporting performance, pristine visuals, and an unusually grounded story, this is one of 2016’s must see films.  If an artistic approach to deliberately straightforward material interests you, give this one a chance.

Highly Recommend.

certain-women-poster-1024x538-623x350

STANLEY KUBRICK’S THE KILLING — A REVIEW BY NICK CLEMENT

by nlclement, posted in Film Review

1

The Killing is quite possibly Stanley Kubrick’s most outright entertaining film, and it’s definitely at the top of my list in terms of favorite noir crime thrillers. Released in 1956, this was Kubrick’s third feature film, and was based on the Lionel White’s novel clean break; Kubrick and Jim Thompson co-wrote the adaptation. The plot centers on a complicated robbery during a horse race and the various double and triple crossings that occur due to everyone in the narrative being extra-duplicitous. Sterling Hayden was super manly, fronting a terrific ensemble which included Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor, Jay C. Flippen, Ted de Corsia and Timothy Carey.

2

The stark black and white cinematography by Lucien Ballard was a perfect match for the pulpy material, while the dialogue zings, zigs, and zags with punchy grit due to the stern line readings. The ending is appropriately tragic, never letting anyone off the hook. Despite excellent critical notices at the time of its release, the film failed to secure a traditional release from a major studio, and quickly died with audiences. But many people consider it to be the first film to truly show off some of his more trademark aesthetic touches, and would pave the way for Paths of Glory, which would follow the following year.

4