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West Side Story (2021)
Well made but misses emotional punch.
I am familiar with the stage production and original film and while I appreciate the great artistry of Spielberg I am not sure why he felt a need to remake a new West Side Story film.
Unquestionably, Zegler is an incandescent new star, and we should all be grateful Spielberg cast her in this. There were some cinematic highlights like the use of mirrors in the "I Feel Pretty" number. Clever. But my great objection is to how they fiddled with the screenplay as though they saw a need to add background and subtext.
Granted, if you ever read the original screenplay, you would wonder how it ever got produced in the first place. On the page much of it seems laughable and skeletal, but then staged it works, Why? Because the geniuses who first molded West Side Story recognized the strength of it was in the songs and dance. This new screenplay, while clever in some ways to make clear background and give more information about certain characters' motivations, for example a choice to place the location in projects as they were being torn down to erect Lincoln Center, I personally felt many of these additions stopped the momentum to the point of losing quite a bit of the emotional impact.
And, I thought it was almost unforgivable that what should have been the big moments at the end from Tony begging for death to Maria's mourning were filmed like bad recreations of the original film. I must blame the director for this. I didn't believe the actors and I wasn't moved, and ultimately the impact of the entire film felt like a miss.
Us (2019)
Freaky and funny and disturbing
The freakiest,, funniest, disturbing horror film you're likely to see in a while. Extremely entertaining and well paced. This is perhaps a brilliant application of film as metaphor for a specific real or not so paranoid take on the American sense that millions await a better quality of life with a political change that will do away with any vestige of privilege, be it financial or citizenship or otherwise ...the choices of sound and score heighten the tension brilliantly. Lupita Nyong'o is awesome in her dual roles. Jordan Peele is a genius screenwriter and director with a unique sense of humor that is at times used in that Hitchcockian way...stretching moments when a character misreads situations and intents while the audience holds its breath. In this manner, Peele's films differ from the tenor of most Stephen King films, even in works as situationally absurd as this one is, asking viewers for a fair amount of suspension of belief. I am rather mystified by the tenor of many of these negative reviews on imdb in regard to this film, the majority seem unjustified to me, and want to add this second feature, Peele's first being Get Out, leaves me excited to see this extremely unique and exciting filmmaker's future works.
Harriet (2019)
This is a WONDERFUL film!!
Kasi Lemmons, co-writer and director of Harriet, is a filmmaker with heart. Her excellent, no-holds-barred depiction of the life of Harriet Tubman, the reality of slavery in the Maryland enclave she witnessed, and her bravery in leading so many to freedom despite horrific punishments if caught, will resonate long after you've left the theater. Lemmons' screenplay captures not only Tubman's immense contribution to ending the "sin of slavery" in America, but that brief era prior to the Civil War when heightened anxieties led to heightened cruelties. You will see the South perhaps Faulkner captured best in Absalom, Absalom, which Selznick avoided, despite an opportunity to not do so with GWTW. It apparently has taken the breakdown of barriers in the Hollywood director, white-men-only club, to finally get non-revisionist films of that tragic time produced. I want to add all cinematic aspects of this work, especially the acting ensemble, score (which included both gospel and folk music of the period), costumes, are appropriate, this is a well-made film, well paced and evocative on so many levels. It's a wonderful film.
Awakening (2006)
Zombies, zombies everywhere
Dave Francis, who directs, does it again with his newest undead offering Awakening. This is another in his series of horror films. However, this is a much more ambitious attempt than his original indie Zombie Night. There are definitely more professional production values on display than in his earlier works. The cinematography, for one, is decent. His leads, Steve Curtis and Sharon DeWitt, turn in able performances. Dave Francis makes an appearance as the father. Kudos to the full-on zombie makeup artistry. This film, made on what would be considered a lower budget than the look of the film would belie, used hundreds of actors to portray undead zombies. Dave Francis has worked with a dedicated team to create his apocalyptic vision. This work owes a nod, as do so many in this genre, to the cinematic tradition inspired by the Ed Wood school of horror and suspense that later brought us Night of the Living Dead, which it owes much of its rehashed zombie styling to. Perhaps originality is lacking, but for those seeking their old-fashioned zombie fix without all the special effects of a larger budget film, this might do.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)
An original coming of age sleeper hit
A well-made coming of age story about a teenager in 70s San Francisco who yearns to be a cartoonist and has an affair with her mother's boyfriend, The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a sleeper hit that deserves recognition as one of the best films of the year. This time evocative and mesmerizing film is directed with craft by Marielle Heller. Bel Powley as the protagonist Minnie commands the viewer's attention with her quirkily endearing features and inappropriate teenage choices. Her creation makes this film a gem that may evolve into a classic with the years, in a similar fashion to Harold and Maude because of the Bud Cort casting. Alexander Skarsgård as the philandering, statutory raping boyfriend Monroe, and Kristen Wiig as Minnie's mother, turn in wonderful performances of the vulnerable and flawed in Minnie's life. Great score and music, 70s psychedelic art direction and animated "inner" thoughts of Minnie takes us back to those uncomfortable moments of teenage angst over sex and the yearning for love. The film captures the shift from disco to punk, even as it captures the metamorphosis of this protagonist. This is a highly entertaining, treasure of a film. Don't miss it!
Youth (2015)
Seeking the fountain of YOUTH?
Youth is a realization of an intricate and funny magical realism script by Paolo Sorrentino, the director, exploring the rediscovery of passion in life. The story focuses on an aging and retired music composer, played by Michael Caine, and his friend, a feature film director working on what may be his last opus, played by Harvey Keitel. Every frame of the film is carefully composed and uses light, like a brush...one moment could be reminiscent of Raphael nudes, the next Dali. The story, set in an elitist spa in Switzerland, dallies in that lush landscape, pairing it with vistas and grottoes of water, highly paid for fountains of youth, where sirens bathe and old men ogle. A friend saw the nod to Fellini's 8 1/2. I saw an auteur with fresh and unexpected expression, as if Bergman spiced one of his early works with the Chinatown Kung Fu film tradition. Original, unique, a film you don't want to miss, and a certain 2015 Oscar contender in multiple categories.
Se, jie (2007)
One of the greatest films ever made
Someone pointed out to me that on this date, July 7, 1937, the Japanese attacked Nanjing, murdering 300,000 civilians. This was the beginning of the Japanese war on China. I reflected on this and thought back to those hours in a movie theater on Houston Street in NYC where Ang Lee was attending a screening of his new film, Lust/Caution. I remembered the opening scene, a group of women sitting around a table playing mah jongg, and immediately knew I was watching a master work by this director. Not a note of the film was out of place, not the direction, cinematography, editing, performances. Not the devastating conclusion. Though years have passed, the film remains in my memory much the way my first viewing of La Strada or The Seventh Seal do. It is a film anyone who appreciates master work by a great filmmaker should see in their lifetime, uncut. It is a film as well that captures the essence of the atrocities of that war, the sacrifices, the brutalities. It is a heartbreakingly skewed love story and war story that will resonate long after you experience it. I do believe it should enter the recognized canon of greatest films ever made.
CBGB (2013)
A review by a CBGB Band Person and Indie Filmmaker!
I'm a female guitarist, bassist and songwriter who immersed myself in CBGBs and the original New York punk scene, who played at the club from the end of the 70s until months before its closing. I'm also a narrative filmmaker and believe I can fairly and objectively state the skinny here, and am copying over an edited, revised review from my website to fit in this rectangle:
Many of the musicians and club-goers who survived the New York punk era are a bit resentful they weren't included in the making of CBGB, a film about the quintessential punk club CBGB Omfug, but 50,000 bands (I quote this number from the film) passed through its portals since its founder, Hilly Kristal, opened its doors on Manhattan's flophouse-flavored Bowery. And, though the CBGB movie is flawed, it is still a lovely tribute to Hilly.
The brilliant actor Alan Rickman uncannily captures aspects of Hilly's personality and his dedication to all who passed through his "school of rock." This performance couldn't have been better. Director Randall Miller and Jody Savin have written a quirky script with heart, which includes some clever one-liners, and director Miller's work shines in scenes between Hilly and his co-workers. The sound mix––music often has dialogue interspersed––is excellent.
What you won't get in this film is the essence of punk attitude. Rather, the film documents the struggles Hilly Kristal went through to provide a platform for new music. And in that context, this film succeeds.
It is, however, frustrating that there is a huge miss in the portrayal of the punk scene without its high decibel deadpan, often self-deprecating humor that underlies its aesthetic. For example, though they achieve one such moment with Hilly's mother and Joey Ramone discussing a bowl of chili, elsewhere the script ignores the Ramones were inherently funny dudes from Queens, though the actors achieve a verisimilitude in appearance. (They do peg Johnny Ramone's tendency to tantrum.) Ergo, there is a lack of credibility in the portrayal of Debbie Harry of Blondie without her teasing tongue-in-cheek attitude; and in the portrayal of Stiv Bators, lead singer of the Dead Boys. Rupert Grint succeeds in affecting a stoner rock and roller in his role (a fun change for his fans from his goody-goody Ron Weasley days), but is not coming across with the love-of-the-instrument joy of the young, Dead Boys' guitarist Cheetah Chrome, though they do share the red hair. Kyle Gallner as Lou Reed is not in the ballpark at all. Ashley Greene, playing Hilly's daughter, Lisa, comes nowhere close to the stoic teenager who worked for her father and later attended law school (Hilly's CBGBs co-owner ex-wife and son are not portrayed in the film). It seems more care could have been taken with adhering to truth with these talented young actors who otherwise turn in acceptable acting performances.
As well, the ekphrasic device of movie turned into comic book, special effects popping in and out, while a clever nod to Punk Magazine, becomes distracting. It would likely have worked with a more restrained editing hand.
On the other hand, Mickey Sumner, Sting's real-life, extraordinarily talented actress daughter, sublimely metamorphoses into Patti Smith. In a brief, heart pounding stage performance, she exudes the true essence of punk; this offers a glimpse, alas, of the promise of what this film's portrayal of the punk scene could have been. A standout is Taylor Hawkins as Iggy Pop. And Freddy Rodriguez nearly steals the film with his riveting performance as the drug addict, Idaho.
I adore they include the story of a biker gang leader famously agreeing to keep his group out of the club: This alludes to a real event that happened with the Hell's Angels. They were often protective of neighborhood denizens despite their tendency to start a ruckus or frighten patrons of CBGBs with their presence. As well, the story of Hilly's early life is worked into the story in a charming way.
When Genya Ravan, one of the first women of rock, berates the Dead Boys about the swastika stickers on their instrument cases as their manager, Hilly, is Jewish, it isn't mentioned that Genya herself was a survivor of the Holocaust. Cowed, the Dead Boys remove them. However, while this scene awkwardly makes the point that punks were not Nazis, creepy symbols were brandished as part of the punk aesthetic. Anything that would annoy was the point, and this extended to personal adornment, attitude, song lyrics, music, all a backlash to the wholesome Brady Bunch, height-of-disco world most of the punks came from and that still existed everywhere but in the the thimbleful of punk clubs, its daytime hub around St. Mark's Place in the East Village; in its beginnings, punk was a small, insular world.
It is a disappointment that certain seminal punk bands are not mentioned, like the New York Dolls or the Stilettos. To know what these bands were really like one will still have to go to Youtube, or look at films made during the punk era like Blank Generation, which stars Richard Hell who played with the Heartbreakers and his own band, the Voidoids.
Beyond using the history of punk rock emerging as the backdrop of the film, it really is not a film about punk rock. Ultimately, CBGB is a character study of the unassuming Hilly Kristal who gave us a stage to work our songs. He gave advice. He gave encouragement. He made sure we got our splits at the door. He made us feel CBGBs was our home, that we were a familial extension of his own family.
So do go see this film for Alan Rickman's performance. Do go see this film about an unassuming man whose efforts gave a platform to fresh new voices when no one else was doing so. Do go see this film about a quiet man who brought loud music to the world.
The Queen of Versailles (2012)
Let them eat Cake!
Filmmaker Lauren Greenfield should be commended for her balanced, outrageous and utterly charming documentary that follows the lives of gazillionaire Jackie and David Siegel. Here's a couple living the American dream thanks to the savvy business acumen of David Siegel, the king of time shares. It follows them in their good times and as they tighten their belts to deal with the titanic crash when the financial bubble burst in 2008.
For the average American, the scenario of the economy going south has a sameness that though tragic has a familiarity...job loss, home loss etc. Watching this family teetering on losing it all after spending fortunes on homes, nannies, limos, parties etc. feels voyeuristic yet cathartic as in...well...you can fall down, but what does it feel like when you fall off a mountain? I've read David Siegel has been unhappy with the portrayal of his home and family in the news recently and quite frankly, there's a lack of information at the end of the film. It ends on a note of suspense but I think this is the filmmaker's decision to leave the audience on top of the shifting sands and the realization that you can't take anything for granted in our capitalist society, not even huge economic success. This was the filmmaker's message and the valid right one. We don't know what happens to this family after the film ends...however, I for one ran to my computer to look up any information because I was, well, concerned. I think most who see this film will do as I did.
In other words, it's hard for a viewer of any background to not find this family appealing, even if you want to hate those who tend to excess. (And yes...the largest house in America that David is building is excess, way beyond any shopping foibles Jackie makes.) This is a well made, hugely entertaining documentary. In my opinion, the beauty as well is this family could be any family that's had a huge economic advantage. David and Jackie came from humble beginnings and David built an empire and married his "Queen". This film has now brought him out of perhaps an obscurity he'd prefer, but that's the price of becoming a public figure and I'd hope he'd embrace this and get beyond his personal belief that perceptions about him are impacted negatively by this film...if anything they show him a highly motivated businessman who's taken on a lot in both his business and personal life and his wife comes off as human and charming beneath the Miss America exterior.
This filmmaker has shown strengths and flaws of how money or the lack of it can impact a family and has done so in a highly creative, sensitive way that embraces all this family is. Focusing on a very rich one being victimized by the same powers affecting the rest of us...well...after all, let's face it, aspiring to be able to have no financial worries is the American dream and seeing it potentially ripped away so easily after all that work makes for huge entertainment but is, at the same time, quite sobering. It makes this film a must see for anyone seeking thought provoking commentary on today's economics, the reality that bad times can happen to anyone and is anyone ever really prepared.
Possession (1981)
A Masterpiece
Andrzej Zulawski's Possession is a masterpiece of script, visual and drama. It's unquestionably a horror film and allegory, fulfilling the promise of its title.
I do believe, watching it for the first time on Turner Classics the other night, it captures quintessentially Grotowski influenced acting performances, at a time period when there was the greatest awareness of his discipline and art coming out of Poland. Unforgettable, maybe seen as OTT by some, but nonetheless true within their weirdness are they, possibly the best of the long careers of Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani.
The topping on the cake is the on-screen work of the amazing German actor who passed away in October, Heinz Bennent playing the boyfriend, Heinrich; who is most interesting to watch, and one of the reasons the film is a not-to-be-missed.
To not enjoy this film on all its levels, including its dark humor, is to deny yourself one of the great experiences in cinema. The story is pulled from the deepest serpent, dragon, demon myths, if you want to research back through Lilith, Eve to start. God's punishment by Adam's banishment in creating one in his image is another. There are similar mythologies in dozens of cultures, which deal with the female used as the womb to create the demonic to herald in the apocalypse...and at the root of the story, possession...in fact, if you don't view the film through possession first, you won't understand it.Hell, he titled it so where's the confusion?
There's so much here, in a highly entertaining work I might add, that makes it worthy of subsequent viewing and discussion. You could do a University course for an entire semester just analyzing this one film.
In addition, there's the disturbing rightness of it being filmed in Berlin, where the final stand of Hitler took place, where the demonic could choose to resurrect...to hatch. It's highly ironic it was banned in Germany for so many years by officials who must have recognized this: the high art by the Nazis to be inhuman by creating creatures who distanced themselves from humanity and ultimately destroyed any last vestige of humanness, to the point of seeking to kill the last man, woman and child who wasn't "them"; the ultimate statement of this film by this tortured Polish director.
Shame (2011)
A film that will haunt you
It's interesting reading many of these reviews expressing trouble with the lack of information presented.
It seems the intent was to do a character study of the life of a sex addict, not the analysis. If this wasn't the intent, McQueen would have added a scene when Fassbender's character attempts to "kick the habit" showing him joining a 12 step program or going to a shrink as expository revelation.
He doesn't and this is purposeful.
McQueen chooses to put aside the pat formulaic approach to do something new. The audience experiences the obsessive spiral of this character by becoming the voyeur. McQueen never sways from this goal, he never allows the intent to be off its mark by slipping in an analysis of his character's past, instead he simply focuses on his pattern of behavior and creates the turmoil in the mind of a viewer forced to simply focus on this behavior and guess at what motivates him. I believe McQueen achieves this goal in a well made film that succeeds with the fresh voice of an original auteur.
Everyone is going to have an opinion on this, as it's never actually stated in the story, as to what may be the motivating factor behind the Fassbender character: I do believe at heart this is a tragic love story between a man and his obsession for a sister he's not allowed to have sexually...of course this is just my theory but I think the clues are there. We'll never know watching this if there had been incest in the past, if in fact it was he who'd touched his sister and made her the suicidal mess she is today which is possible, or if it had been another family member. We're only given clues to a deeper, darker, shame than the sexual addiction; our first introduction to Mulligan's character where she steps out of a shower naked in front of her brother is telling. There's endless availability of her to her brother that seems sexually provocative and purposeful to get a rise out of him. It's his response, his tears, his agonies, the exacerbation of his issues to her actions that are the giveaway; ultimately, we see when he can't perform with a co-worker we come closest to the reality of his issues regarding a deep rooted fear of intimacy with those he cares for. There's the re-occurring issue of his obsession with a woman in the subway wearing a wedding ring. His co-worker mentions she's separated. Is he unable to perform because, like his sister, she's taboo, or because she's been married? He seeks a rise from a man who he purposely provokes by claiming he wants to do certain acts with his girlfriend (was the relationship with his mother twisted, did he seek to provoke his father?). For commentary that the story is unbelievable, that straight man with a sex addiction become so out of control they may wander into a gay sex club and allows an act like you see, this is not outside the realm of possibility and probability for a man with a severe sex addiction. For commentary that this is about a man with depression and inability to be intimate, all these are part of the illness of sex addiction.
We're also hit over the head we're watching a cyclical relationship between he and his sister, that leads to the same pattern in his behavior over and over like a broken record.
We all want to know while we watch this movie what the background of this character is, but we're denied this. Instead, we're forced to experience the raw shame and degradation of sex addiction. This intent is achieved by this filmmaker in this powerful, disturbing film with its unforgettable performances by Fassbender and Mulligan; Fassbender's performance is the bravest I've ever seen by a legit actor on screen. Kudos.
Jakob and the Angels (2007)
Ron Lehmann is an exceptional talent
I was honored to get a private screening of Jakob and the Angels and was struck by the effortless and transcendent quality of this piece. Beautifully shot with impeccable and haunting scoring and sound work, natural performances by a talented cast, transparent editing that moved the story forward, this short is a taste of things to come from Mr. Lehmann. As someone who's attended many film festivals and has had a chance to see amazing talent in film-making, this particular piece is a happy pairing of a simple but charmingly comedic and magical story with the right director and not a piece you'd see executed with such perfection any day of the week.
The Happening (2008)
M Night Shymalan delivers a truly great and unique film
Caught the film in Santa Monica on Saturday night at an AMC theater! I'll say SPOILERS but I don't think there's anything I'm giving away in here...
M. Night Shymalan's elegant homage, in a certain way, to a beloved Hitchcock film***, is not for the faint hearted.
Luckily for me, I went to the film with a screamer. While she shrieked full throttle I was giddily laughing next to her.
This is the appeal of a Shymalan film...he manipulatively dazzles the audience with the unnatural both visually and with his dialogue...the screenplay brazenly disarms and charms at the same time that it delivers it's story and horror. At the heart of the film, through the maze the characters are forced to travel through to stay alive, is also a slow tuning in as though with a microscope on the heart of innocence, that individual potential, that humanity as a whole has lost in its relationship to our planet.
Like a spirit channeler, Shymalan has delivered a warning with this film and has managed to do so by filtering our current climate through his particular film-making genes to produce this incredibly unique film. Certain horrific images are familiar and I won't print in here why, but as we've experienced certain events in recent history, so Shymalan has re-invented their cause but the images viscerally make the viewer uncomfortable in terms of this film being a portent of our present not our future.
As far as the actors, Marky Mark...sorry Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel are a fine pairing in this story...there are moments especially of humor that are both original and precious or should I say priceless.
M. Night Shymalan truly delivers...but then...I've enjoyed all the films he's made so far and the Shymalan attackers with their claws out for his unDisneylike bad boy behavior should go pick on someone their own size...like Michael Bay...and let this guy make his own movies HIS WAY so there.
***I just want to add I think reading a lot of these reviews this screenplay was over the head of a lot of the people on here...I have a respect for a lot of my fellow filmmakers, but how off the mark can so many be to not respect the genius in this screenplay? As Hitchcock did earlier with THE BIRDS, Shymalan took what appears the most benign from our natural world and created horror and purposely used the B horror movie structure purposely to deliver something so much deeper...not only that, what he based this on is actually a reality (if you're into not sleeping at night thinking about this stuff check out James Rollins current book The Judas Strain)...the fact that our abuse of our planet could have dire consequences for us is the heart of the message...his choice of every word is with weight and thought because he's a master of his craft as a screenwriter...to compare Shymalan's work with anything else out there right now is ludicrous this is a a true original and his work demands thought to see through the layers I think he hit it out of the ballpark with this one.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Kudos on bringing acting back to the American Cinema
I was lucky to see There Will Be Blood the day before the Oscar decision and I went to see it again Oscar morning because I was fascinated by Daniel Day Lewis's tour da force performance that I was convinced would win best of the year according to the Academy. I went back to read other commentary on here in regard to There Will Be Blood today and was amazed to see such widely divergent reactions.
Be that as it may, I assure readers out there that this ensemble was allowed by this director to get on camera truly amazing acting performances that another director or producer would surely have edited out in order to "tighten" the film. It's to Anderson's credit in recognizing the sheer artistry of these performances that some of the most fantastic on screen acting I've seen in quite awhile was allowed to remain in this film.
Truly, acting has taken second seat to control freak directors who wouldn't know what the word means and use actors like mannequins in their "visions" or what we've been spoon fed with Hollywood pictures in the last couple of decades amounting to theme park experiences where acting again takes a back seat. It's not that a lot of talent isn't out there, it's that anything remotely out of control and unexpected with an actor is usually ending up on the cutting room floor because it takes up on screen time that's believed to slow down the pace of the story (often true) or that seems superfluous otherwise.
We don't have a lot of directors anymore who are intimately familiar with what method acting is or how to work with well trained actors like we had in the days of Kazan.
So many kudos to this film for allowing the life back into performances on this scale.
Lewis's work was a result of his lucky pairing with Dano. The language of emoting these two actors have are at such odds in this film that watching them together playing out their character's destinies was downright shocking to see. This was because both of them turned in CONSUMMATE SKILLED ACTING PERFORMANCES. Lewis's performance was not possible without the playing off against Dano's character. That's how acting works.
For those thinking there wasn't the motivation for where the characters start and where they end up...I believe there are a lot of angles from which to study this film...believe me I don't often go back to watch a film twice in a row but I had to with this one. Start with the name of the work and then look at what is the obvious turning point of the film when Eli suggests he be allowed to bless the well. Look at the name of the father of the Sunday family and other clues to what Sinclair was telling us with this story which is, after all, allegorical...really listen to the screenplay and what actually comes out of these character's mouths...it could almost be said to hit you over the head with its modern take on what should be a familiar morality tale if you seek it.