Category Archives: Drama

Chi-Raq – Director, Spike Lee

Comedy, Drama, Loved it, Uncategorized

I have to admit I liked this movie despite being very suspicious based on reviews. Lee has based his anti-violence, anti-gun, anti-war movie on Aristophanes’ comedy Lysistrata. The Greek play is about an Athenian woman who acts to end the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. She allies with the women of Sparta to swear a vow and deny their men sex until the war is ended. The original play works well in the context of gang wars in Chicago. Samuel L. Jackson plays the chorus/narrator and is perfect in the part. The rest of the cast is great and the story really works. Have to admit I found the dialogue hard to follow at times but the story is great fun and while essentially a comedy, Lee makes his political points. Guns are killing young black men, children and other innocents. Lee makes it clear that it’s the guns that do the killing. He condemns the violent conflict and points to its origins in unemployment, poor education, and poverty. The latter points are made in a somewhat ham handed way but on the other hand the story is portrayed in a classical theatric format rather than the realism we might otherwise expect. Its stage play on film and works really well. Good fun and with a message that we all need to hear.

The 33 – Director, Patricia Riggen

Adventure, Drama, Good, Uncategorized

This movie got mediocre reviews and I think I understand why. It tells the story of the 33 Chilean miners trapped for 69 days underground and finally miraculously rescued. It was a dramatic story that captured the attention of the world for over two months and brought in mining and drilling experts from all over the world including Canada. The making of a movie about the events made sense and I recall listening to a radio documentary about the making of the movie a couple of years ago that piqued my interest in the film and learning that Antonio Banderas and Gabriel Byrne were in the cast. The film, if it had been made as a fictional story would perhaps have garnered more praise. Unfortunately, the real story while dramatic is also disturbing.  Despite all the attention, the company that owned the mine was never punished for creating the unsafe conditions that led to the disaster and the minors were never compensated for their trauma. The film touches on these issues but never really focuses on them. Instead we focus entirely on the rescue in a pretty typical Hollywood manner. There are some interesting characters among the miners and there is some real tension. One of the best scenes is the final rescue as the minors are pulled one by one from the mine. I enjoyed the movie and am just disappointed that they didn’t do a better job.

Theeb – Director, Naji Abu Nowar

Adventure, Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Uncategorized

Unlike Room ( see below), which also focuses on a young boy at the centre of the story, this film is far more powerful and interesting. It is set in 1916 in Hijaz province (Western Saudi Arabia today) of the Ottoman empire. It is during the First World War at the time of Lawrence of Arabia and tells the story of a young boy named Theeb or Wolf in Arabic and his older brother. They are asked to guide a English soldier to a well on the way to Mecca. They are moving through a war torn area and are victims of a conflict they have nothing to do with. The cinematography in this film is beautiful and reminiscent of David Lean’s masterpiece. The boy is a great actor and not nauseatingly cute as in Room but very real. Unlike Room I was entranced for the full hour and a half. This movie has a high rating from reviewers but like many foreign language films has had very little exposure. The knock on this movie is that it is a simple coming of age adventure film with a predictable outcome. I am not sure this is entirely fair. The world in which it is set and the time is a violent one and this movie avoids any gruesome violence or unjustified confrontations or death.It’s a good adventure story and I would highly recommend it to you. it will be at review cinemas and the Lightbox so get out and see it.

Room – Director, Lenny Abrahamson

Drama, Hated it, Oscar 2016

I really did not like this movie despite its 96 percent rating on RottenTomatoes. It is boring, unbelievable and pointless. It is winning because the kid is so damn cute but if not for that I think this film would disappear into oblivion which I suspect it will after February 28th passes. I am clearly way off the popular consensus. This starts with a woman who is a prisoner in a room with her young son. They have access to food and basic comforts but she is visited by her captor and is clearly a sexual slave to him. She has been there for seven years and the son is only 4 or 5 and is clearly the son of her and her captor. The focus of the film is that her son has no concept of the outside world except through the small television they have. The whole scenario seemed unbelievable to me. They behave as would any mother and son in a normal situation which I could not believe. The boy has concepts that he would never have if brought up in this situation. I don’t know if this is based on a real case or not or on research about people in similar circumstances but I just couldn’t believe the scenario at all. They escape in yet another unbelievable plot involving the son feigning death. Once they get out the story shifts to introducing the boy to the world he has never known. It is totally wrapped around the relationship between mother and son but it is just pointless unless you identify with the cute little boy. Sorry but this movie really is not very interesting at all. Just my opinion however. Enjoy… if you like that kind of thing.

Creed – Director, Ryan Coogler

Drama, Good, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

Has it really been 40 years since the first Rocky movie? Creed is a homage to the Rocky series and is a remake in many ways of the original film only this time focussing on the rising career of Apollo Creed’s illegitimate son played by Michael B. Jordan. Coogler’s previous very well received film is called Fruitvale Station also starring Jordan. I have not seen the latter but will definitely hunt it down now. As for this film, I have to wonder how Jordan does not get a nomination or how Coogler (who is black) doesn’t get one either for directing. This is particularly bad when I look at the nominated films some of which simply do not measure up to this one. If it had been nominated it would have also gone some way toward addressing the whiteness of the Academy’s process.

It is clear why Stallone gets a nomination in the acting category. Although he is not known for great performances outside of the Rocky series he is actually really good in this film. I hope I am not being overly generous here and channeling my memories from 40 years ago but hey…I had a great time watching this movie and it took me back. So I think this counts as a really good movie and a tribute to the entire Rocky series. It has, and this is a warning, great boxing scenes and I know there are those who find this unpleasant and see it as barbaric. The latter may be true but that doesn’t take from the quality of this movie. Go see it if you can.

Son of Saul – Director, László Nemes

Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

This is a very difficult film to watch. The Nazi’s selected skilled and fit Jews to help in the concentration camps as work commandos. They were not executed unless they fell ill or were no longer needed. They collected the clothing and possessions of the inmates who were led to the ovens and gas chambers. This film follows one of these commandos who finds his son among the dead and seeks to find a rabbi and give his son a proper burial. It is filmed from his perspective as the camera follows him around focussed on his face or what he is watching. This techniques makes it very powerful and very upsetting as the reality of the camps is revealed. The ending is inevitable if not entirely predictable. It frustrates me somewhat that these excellent films are not recognized more fully by the Academy. An award for the Best Foreign Language Film is something out of a past in which the lords of Hollywood condescended to recognize films from those countries that in their opinion sadly lacked a real film industry. This kind of American arrogance needs to be addressed with a major redo of the awards and the industry. Worth an editorial on the blog shortly. In the meantime here is a very good movie that deserves the recognition it is getting.

Brooklyn – Director, John Crowley

Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

Saorise Ronan (pronounced Sear-sha) is wonderful in this movie. Brooklyn tells the tale of a young Irish immigrant to America in the early 1950’s. The portrayal of her trauma from leaving her mother, sister and community to start a new life in NYC is heart wrenching. Ronan’s acting is superb and deserves recognition on February 28th. While I am a 7th generation Irish immigrant in Southern Ontario I found the experience of a new immigrant struggling between an old and new home very moving. Ultimately the opportunity of a new life wins out but I teared up a fair amount getting there. One of the most moving and beautiful scenes for me was early in the film. Ronan’s character is spending her first Christmas away alone and offers to come to the local parish to serve Christmas dinner to the street people, mostly men, who are also mostly Irish labourers now out of work and far from home. One is invited to stand up and sing, a capella, a traditional Irish folk song. Ronan’s character is brought to tears by this working man’s rendition of the haunting song Casadh an tSugain and with one listen you’ll understand why. Actually if you want to hear the song, go to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al9-3mW6zw8 You don’t need any Celtic blood in your veins to be moved. Trust me.

Okay I confess, it is a real tear jerker of a movie and wonderfully acted by a cast who are young and mostly unknown here but in my opinion the absolute best of all the movies nominated for Best Picture. Hope it wins. 

A postscript. Unlike in Spotlight, the catholic church comes off much better in this film. I suppose it shows two sides of an ancient and complex organization. Ronan’s character would not have survived her trip or transition without the support of the priest and the parish in Boston. So it goes.

Mustang – Director, Deniz Gamze Ergüven

Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

Mustang is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and is a worthy contender. The film tells the story of five orphaned sisters in Turkey being raised by their very conservative uncle and grandmother. After a particularly exuberant walk home from school, the girls are pulled from school, locked in their home and trained to be married off. The three eldest are quickly locked into arranged marriages that they don’t want. Their reactions offer great insight into the struggle between the generations in Muslim culture. The two youngest girls are too young to be married and begin to plot their escape. The youngest, Lale, is the most liberated of them all and is the brains behind the resistance. At age 10 or 11 as best as I could guess, she leads the escape. One is left thinking what her plan is. Her plan is to go to Istanbul which is over 1000 km away. But this includes learning to drive so she can steal her uncle’s car and drive it 1000 KM and hey? how does she see two young girls surviving on their own in a big city. There is however a plan and it is revealed at the end. In fact, it is revealed at the very start of the film and I smacked my head for not seeing it. The oppression of women looks like it is going to win but in the end a somewhat happy ending for at least two of the sisters. Great film, not too long and very good.

Spotlight – Director, Tom McCarthy

Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

Spotlight is the name given to the investigative journalism team at the Boston Globe. This film dramatizes that team’s work to expose the involvement of the Catholic Church in covering up sexual assault and pedophilia among its clergy. The story starts in Boston but the extent of the cover-up discovered by the Spotlight team reached right around the world. This film reminded somewhat of All the President’s Men. It is a tension filled story of investigation that keeps your attention throughout. The team of actors is a bit of a who’s who of Hollywood and is superb. There is not a Best Actor or Actress here because the team is the star. It suggests that the Academy, in addition to recognizing a more diverse population of actors and film makers, needs to consider an award for ensemble casts. Nonetheless Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo merited nominations for Best supporting roles and really any of the cast was deserving of a nomination. I really like this kind of film, exciting, tension filled with no violence but just good writing and acting. Sadly I wonder if this film describes one of the last efforts of investigative journalism. With the concentration of media in the hands of a very few corporate masters I can see reporters being increasingly limited in their freedom to seek the truth or chase after stories that are critical of our ruling elites. So go see this one while you can still dream of freedom of the press.

Jurassic World – Director, Colin Trevorrow

Adventure, Drama, Great Trash, Sci-Fi, Uncategorized

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had to watch this movie even though it is total attempt to make some money on the original. Still its really well done and the dinosaurs are really great. I especially like the battle at the end with the T-Rex. I really liked the original Jurassic Park which was something special. I remember going with my kids and their friends when they were quite young. The movie was so engaging that one of the kids remarked at the end wondering how they managed to control the velociraptors during the filming of the movie. Then realized what he had said. It just showed how completing engaging the film was. This time around it was sort of like the Star Wars reboot. Once you saw the original the sequel is always a bit disappointing but this should not put you off renting this one and enjoying a couple of hours of roaring and chomping. Very entertaining so it ranks as really good trash. Go for it if you like dinos.