Category Archives: Drama

The Company You Keep – United States – Robert Redford

Drama, Great Trash, Loved it, TIFF 2012, Uncategorized

This was fun movie for a child of the 60’s. It is set in 2012, 30 years after the Weather Underground, homegrown terrorists and anti-Vietnam activists have gone truly underground following a botched bank robbery and the murder of a security guard. The FBI is still hunting them but they have all managed to find new identities and roles and, of course are now older and wiser. Redford stars as one of the group who is exposed after a fellow activist (played by Susan Sarandon) is arrested. Tracked by a young, naïve but intrepid journalist (Shia Lebeouf), he runs but where and why is the story of the film. I am not sure if anyone born after 1980 will understand all the elements of this story but it certainly took me back to the days of the late 60’s and early 70’s, the SDS, Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, and the Chicago Seven trial. Redford is a very good director and this movie smacks of Hollywood big time. This is not all bad. Redford is also able to command a great array of stars to give cameo but key roles in the movie including Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Sam Eliot, Chris Cooper, Terrence Howard and Julie Christie to name a few. Well-paced, well written, a fun ride particularly if you are over 60 but even if you aren’t. Not Oscar worthy but worthy of the price of admission. Enjoy.

The Company You Keep    

Writers – United States – Josh Boone

Comedy, Drama, Loved it, TIFF 2012, Uncategorized

Again we had the whole cast and the director there for the presentation. Biggest name? Greg Kinnear who is the star in name but is overshadowed not unwillingly but a superb young cast who play his coming of age kids and their first loves. The Chair of the Board of Directors of TIFF introduced the film and clearly was out of place and unsure how to introduce the cast. It was sadly very awkward but still great to see them. The Chair suggested to us that the movie was a hilarious look at relationships as the come apart and come together again. Well… hilarious it’s not, touching, warm and insightful it is. I found myself thinking alternatively that this was a typical melodramatic Hollywood treatment of love lost and won, but the young cast kept it from becoming that and it became very moving for me. So while not hilarious, there is humour and the story is entertaining, well-paced and you really care about all the characters. It’s a film about writers and it is very well written. It will be out this fall and definitely worth a night out. Hey even Stephen King has a cameo.

Writers

Le Capital – France – Costa-Gavras

Drama, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2012, Uncategorized

We all know Costa-Gavras right? “Z”, State of Siege”, “Missing” all great left wing (far left wing) brilliant films that highlighted major issues of their time. This year Costa-Gavras has given us his look at the banking crisis and the banking industry in general and it is a brilliantly satirical look too (although not funny at all). It tells the story of a young and ambitious banker who has definite insight into the moral and ethical lines he is crossing as he is promoted CEO of a major European Bank at a critical time in it’s development. He is placed there by manipulative investors who hope to take advantage of his inexperience through greed and seduction. I will not give away the plot but racing back and forth among Paris, Miami, New York, London and Tokyo, it is an exciting and sexy economic thriller if such a thing can exist. It follows many twists and turns right up to the final lines (which are great!!) and the fade to black. No matter what your politics you cannot help but enjoy a master film maker and story teller in action.

Big thrill for me was having the man himself there as well as the lead actor. I have loved his films from when I first saw “Z” in 1969, (yes I am that old!), and I urge you all to hunt them down on DVD and watch just to be entertained and to have your eyes opened. He is a great Director. Enough said.

Le Capital

Argo – United States, Ben Affleck

Drama, Great Trash, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2012, Uncategorized

Ben Affleck was there!! I have pictures!! This was at the Elgin Theatre so there was a huge audience and Ben was charming but I do have some complaints. This film is based on the recently released CIA files relating to the rescue of 6 American Diplomats who escaped the US Embassy in Tehran in 1980. Ben was very complimentary to the Canadian audience for the help offered to the diplomats but the film really minimized the courage and risks the Canadians took to save the six Americans. While at the time all credit for the escape went to Canada it was the CIA who ultimately led the escape. Nonetheless the Canadians took them in, arranged the passports and kept them hidden for 79 days at great risk to their own lives. Ben’s film basically gives full credit to the CIA and the Canadians are portrayed as flunkies essentially. Very bad on you Ben but thanks for making an otherwise thrilling movie (fictionalized as it is.) This is Affleck’s third film as a director and the previous one –The Town was amazing. This one is also very good (some say his best) but misrepresenting Canada eats at me I have to admit. Still, I was just as thrilled as the rest of the audience when Ben (who also stars in the movie) rescues his compadres.

One other complaint and one other word of praise: The film does note that the current Iranian government and militant Islamic regime is a direct result of the British and American Secret Services overthrowing a left wing democratic government that had nationalized the oil industry and putting in place the brutal Shah who later was overthrown resulting in the current regime bent on revenge. Nonetheless we are to sympathize (and do) with the US diplomats who are dealing with the sequelae. The film also is really well written and two supporting characters played by Alan Arkin and John Goodman offer some the best comic relief I have ever seen. So… despite my whining about Canada, this will be a big hit when it is released shortly. Leave your Canadian pride behind and go see it if you like thrillers. You can’t miss.

ARGO

Page Eight – September 18

Drama, Great Trash, Loved it, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

Last TIFF film for this year and the closing gala film. I saw it at noon on Sunday and both the Director David Hare and the leading actor, Bill Nighy showed up to introduce the film and do a Q and A afterwards. Quite a thrill. I am a huge Bill Nighy fan and he did not disappoint. This movie was shot in five weeks for three million dollars. Compare this to Moneyball at $47 million. The comparison? There is no comparison. Page Eight was the second best film I saw this year. Nighy plays an MI5 agent at the end of his career who is confronted with a combined intelligence/political dilemma that will certainly destroy his career if not his life. In a classic John LeCarre style the story unwinds in an intricate and enjoyable ride. This movie was made for the BBC and has already been broadcast in the UK. It deserves a theatrical release here so you can all see it. The cast includes Rachel Weisz, and Michael Gambon who are fantastic in their supporting roles. In fact the entire cast is fantastic led by Nighy who reminds me of a healthy Keith Richards. If you are trying to picture him think of Davey Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean and Slartibartfast in A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He has been in many other films in small and supporting roles but this is a breakout for him. David Hare promises at least one sequel and the rumour is that the BBC wants a trilogy based on this character. My mouth is watering for the next film. The script – also written by David Hare – is witty and tight. I liked some of the wonderful puns that were slipped in here and there and the overall intelligence of the whole film. Highly recommended.

Moneyball – September 17

Drama, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

I kept the two big star movies for today so after George it’s off to see Brad in another target for the Academy. This one tells the story of Billy Beane the manager of the Oakland A’s baseball team in the late 90’s. Beane was a fan of sabermetrics, a statistical analysis of baseball teams and players developed by Bob James. The theory is that baseball can be analysed like a complex mathematical problem and a team can and should be built on this analysis more so than on the assessment of individual player skills and talents. Oakland was very successful under his direction despite the nay sayers who objected to his approach. Jonah Hill plays the young Yale economics grad who understands and crunches the numbers. Oakland never won a World Series using this approach but with one of the lowest salary budgets in professional sport, the team played well above their financial weight setting a modern era record for the most consecutive wins (20) in 2002. But the film is not just about baseball and statistics, it is also about Beane and his life. The ending is great and the script smart and funny. This was a very enjoyable two hours and if there is anyone who can challenge Clooney for the smooth actor title it would be Brad Pitt.

Descendants – September 17

Drama, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

This is the major George Clooney movie at TIFF this year. I saw the Ides of March (see below) but this one stars Clooney in a major role. He plays the patriarch of a large Hawaiian family with roots going back to Hawaiian royalty. The family, as a result of its roots owns valuable property but must sell it off within seven years. The income from the sale will set up everyone (all the cousins, aunts and uncles) with a huge windfall profit so they are keen to complete the sale. While he works through this situation his wife suffers a fatal accident and is in hospital in a coma. The plot thickens as he wrestles with both these major issues. Clooney has to play the family man, a role he does not play in real life and about which he clearly has no clue. So while this movie is big budget and will get lots of Oscar attention, I am not sure George deserves to be rewarded for his role. Regardless of my opinion, Clooney is the smoothest actor on the planet and may bluff his way to a Golden Statue. I will not be terribly disappointed if he does win because while this is not a great role he has definitely done some very good work in smaller and bigger films like Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, and Michael Clayton to name three. The supporting cast is very good and the story rich and enjoyable despite his wife’s situation. Definitely worth the price of admission.

Machine Gun Preacher – September 16

Drama, Meh!, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

Second film of the day and very different. This is an American film about the life of Sam Childers, a reformed drug addict and violent criminal, who finds God and hears the call to go to Sudan and help the people rebuild their country. While there he sees the horrors of the war and specifically the terrible toll visited on the children of that country. He is inspired to build an orphanage and works to protect and save as many children as he can. The film stars Gerard Butler of “300” fame and this combined with the title of the movie suggests on first glance if this film will not be a bit of a sensationalist rip-off of the tragic events in Africa. Fortunately it is not just the Spartans against the terrorists but a human story that has some real depth. The story is real and while Sam Childers currently in real life and in the film has no hesitation to use his expertise with guns and his willingness to do violence in order to protect the children under his care, he also has a charitable and Christian commitment that lies behind his actions. At the end of the film while the credits are run there is some real life film of the real Sam Childers. The resemblance to Gerard Butler’s portrayal is remarkable. I think the film is really pretty good, exciting, insightful and a shocking presentation of the incredible violence perpetrated against children in that part of the world.

Habemus Papem – September 15

Drama, Meh!, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

Last film of the day and potentially the best was Habemus Papem (We have a Pope). We were lucky to have the director Nanni Moretti present who also acted in the film. Moretti is known for his comic and satiric take on Italian society and institutions and this time took on the Catholic Church and the Papacy. There was apparently much anxiety in Italy when it was revealed what his project was but the outcome was not as bad as many feared. This is a comic and satiric film but is not vitriolic or anti-catholic per se. Instead it is the fictional story of the selection of a new Pope who is reluctant to take his role. This is revealed to all just as the newly elected Pope is himself about to be revealed to the world. With a scream he retreats from the balcony and goes into hiding. All is put on hold as the Cardinals and the papal bureaucracy work to convince the new Pope to accept his place. Talk about a constitutional crisis! What to do when God’s elected bishop refuses to take the job on. There is no precedent and no way to go back. What follows is a very witty and whimsical trip including the hiring of Italy’s top psychoanalyst (played by Moretti himself) to treat the new Pope. One of the funniest scenes of the movie is the first session of the psychoanalytic intervention in which the psychiatrist and his patient begin to delve into his childhood issues and relationship with his mother with the entire College of Cardinals watching in a circle around them. Sadly the film ends with a whimper. Very disappointing and it spoiled the whole movie for me. Not sure I can recommend this to you but Moretti is not without talent and maybe if you just turn it off at the climax you will leave with a good impression.

This one was introduced and hosted by Piers Handling who clearly worships the director but who also clearly had no idea what the film was about. I don’t want to say bad things about Handling (well… sometimes I do). He is clearly good at running a festival at least in terms of attracting good films but he himself is not the best at understanding the films he has selected. Sadly he was a bit of an embarrassment in the Q and A until he silenced himself after being put down by the director and let the audience ask some questions.

Trespass – September 15

Drama, Great Trash, Loved it, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

Second movie of the day was Trespass, a home invasion thriller starring Nick Cage and Nicole Kidman. I was attracted to this by the fact that it was a Joel Schumacher although I could as easily said Nick Cage or Nicole Kidman. All of them are really good when they are good but can be really bad too. Sadly this film leans toward the latter category. The script was totally bizarre with twist after twist until it became completely absurd. A home invasion film has the potential to be totally thrilling and chilling but this one was eventually just silly. It’s been awhile since I saw it last but the home invasion film that really made the grade and has yet to be equalled is Wait Until Dark. I still remember people clinging to the ceiling of the theatre the first time they saw Alan Arkin’s key scene. I won’t tell you what it is if you haven’t seen it. Just don’t waste your time on Trespass and go get a copy of Wait Until Dark and sweat it out with Audrey Hepburn.