Reviews
Elegy
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Isabel Coixet |
| Written by: | Nicholas Meyer |
| Starring: | Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz, Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard, Deborah Harry |
| Released: | April 9, 2009 |
| Grade: | A |
I’ve always liked the term "carpe diem" - a Latin term which is commonly translated into "seize the day". These were the thoughts I had walking out of the cinema after seeing Elegy, the new film from Spanish director Isabel Coixet (My Life Without Me, The Secret Life Of Words). Time is precious and we should make the most of it.
Before I get too melodramatic, let me explain why this film is so great. It’s the story of David Kepesh (Kingsley), a 62-year-old literary professor living in Manhattan. I’ll cut to the chase and say that he loves women. He really loves women. David has seduced and slept with countless beauties throughout his life. He was married once but it didn’t really suit his free-loving lifestyle.
Talking to a friend, David makes the comment that "the biggest surprise in a man’s life is old age". It’s a realisation that he’s struggling to deal with. He’s not as active, not as virile as he once was. I’d be interested to know what you make of David. Will you see him as a sleazy womaniser finally getting what he deserves? Or will you feel sorry for this lonely, insecure man and hope that he can find true love in the later years of his life? It’s a terrific two-sided performance from Ben Kingsley who ensures the character’s complexities are fully illustrated.
David’s eyes are currently fixated by a 24-year-old Cuban who is taking one of his classes. Her name is Consuela (Cruz). David has a rule of not getting involved with his students… while they’re still his students. And so, he makes his move at a special graduation party which he throws each year in his own home. His charms easily win over Consuela and she agrees to accompany him to an upcoming play.
Soon enough, a passionate relationship develops. They spend every moment they can together. Where is this heading, however? David realises he his falling in love with Consuela but doubts and jealousies are clouding his mind. With a massive age difference between them, he’s worried that she’ll leave him for someone her own age. He subsequently becomes possessive and controlling of Consuela’s behaviour.
There are no car chases, no vampires and no toilet jokes in Elegy. This is a heavy, powerful exploration of two people and the relationship that they share. I know it won’t set the box-office alight but I found it to be a credibly moving film. Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast) and Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona) deserve every piece of praise they have already received.
Based on the novel by Philip Roth novel, Elegy is one of the finest romantic dramas that I’ve seen in some time.
Race To Witch Mountain
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Andy Fickman |
| Written by: | Matt Lopez, Mark Bomback |
| Starring: | Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Carla Gugino, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Everett Scott |
| Released: | April 9, 2009 |
| Grade: | B- |
Race To Witch Mountain is based on the novel, Escape To Witch Mountain, written by Alexander Key. This isn’t the first time that it’s been adapted into a movie. Walt Disney Productions did it back in 1975 with a cast including Donald Pleasence, Kim Richards and Eddie Albert.
With no other fresh ideas (or so I assume), Disney have come up with a 2009 remake starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He plays Jack Bruno – a cab driver living in Las Vegas who has spent his fair share of time in jail. His world will forever change when two young, innocent kids find their way into the backseat of his taxi. They ask to be driven to an isolated, desert location and they give him an extraordinary wad of cash. Something is definitely not right.
Jack soon learns why. Sara (Robb) and Seth (Ludwig) are aliens. They have come to complete a very important mission which will save the Earth from total annihilation. Jack realises the importance of the situation and tries to do whatever he can to help.
What Sara and Seth need most is protection. There’s another, not so nice, alien creature who is trying to hunt them all down. They also need to worry about a top secret government department who have sent their best men to try to capture the aliens for their own scientific research.
I don’t think it’s a particularly exciting storyline, and I think the director has over-edited the action sequences, but hey, who cares right? This film isn’t targeted at 31-year-old film critics. It’s meant for kids and I’m sure they’ll enjoy it.
I have to ask, of the number of films that are released in any year, what percentage are sequels and remakes? I just tried to do a quick check but lost count in the process. I do know that this number is increasing. Is it possible that we’ll reach a point in the future, whether it be 50 years or 5,000 years, where every single good idea for a movie has been used? Will we even survive that long? That’s another good question but we’ll save that for another time...
Bottle Shock
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Randall Miller |
| Written by: | Jody Savin, Randall Miller, Ross Schwartz |
| Starring: | Chris Pine, Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Rachel Taylor, Freddy Rodriguez, Dennis Farina, Eliza Dushku, Bradley Whitford |
| Released: | March 26, 2009 |
| Grade: | B- |
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Inspired by the advice of a friend, Steven decides to hold a wine contest to boost publicity. He will pit the best wines from France against the best from the United States. Having secured some high-profile connoisseurs to judge the contest, Steven sets off for California to select the best the States have to offer.
He winds up in the Napa Valley and at a struggling winery known as Chateau Montelena. Owner Jim Barrett (Pullman) has put his heart and soul into the vineyard without success. He’s in debt up to his eyeballs and if his current crop doesn’t turn out to be fruitful, the bank will be taking control of the property. It’s his last shot at fulfilling his dream. Helping Jim is his hippy son, Bo (Pine), and a small team of loyal staff.
Bottle Shock is loosely based on actual events. Yes, this blind wine tasting contest took place and yes, the results were heard around the world. A story was printed in Time Magazine and a bottle of the winning red and winning white can be found today in the Smithsonian Institute of American History in Washington D.C.
Whilst I admit that I’m intrigued by this tale, I don’t think the film gives it true justice. I didn’t know at times whether it was supposed to be a comedy or a drama. Jim and his son take out their frustrations by fighting each other in a makeshift boxing ring in the middle of the vineyard. What was the point of these scenes? Is it meant to lighten things up? The relevance of Sam’s character (played by Australian Rachel Taylor) was also lost on me.
Those who enjoy a nice chardonnay might find the film more palatable than others but in my opinion, the best film made about wine tasting was Sideways (released in 2004). It won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay and if you haven’t seen it, I urge you to get down your nearest video store and do so.
Summer Hours
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Olivier Assayas |
| Written by: | Olivier Assayas |
| Starring: | Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, Jeremie Renier, Edith Scob, Dominique Reymond, Isabelle Sadoyan |
| Released: | April 2, 2009 |
| Grade: | A |
Summer Hours is the moving tale of two brothers and a sister who have to make some tough, emotional decisions following the death of their 75 year old mother, Helene (Scob). The biggest question is what to do with their mother’s gorgeous country house and its collection of paintings and drawings.
Frederic (Berling), Jeremie (Renier) and Adrienne (Binoche) all have precious memories of their upbringing at the house. Times have changed however and these three siblings have changed with them. Adrienne now lives in New York and is engaged to be married. Jeremie is about to accept a job offer in China and will move there with his wife and three children. Frederic is the only one still living in France but he too is busy with his own family and his career in economics.
Should they keep the house in the family, or should they sell it? Should they keep the paintings and artefacts, or should they share it with the world by donating it to a museum? The Musee d’Orsey has already indicated its interest in a number of 19th Century furniture pieces.
There’s so much more to this story that I won’t go into but I can be describe it as a reflective, thought provoking piece. It is told by writer-director Olivier Assayas in fragments. It’s as if we’re a fly on the wall. Popping in and out of their lives every once and a while to see what they’re up to. We slowly move around the room, taking in not only their conversation but the view around them. In the background is a soft, comforting film score to help keep you at ease.
The film doesn’t focus on one central character either. Some poignant thoughts are provided by Helene, who we see a few months before she passed away at her 75th birthday party. We see the long serving housekeeper, Eloise (Sadoyan), struggle with the realisation that her own life must take a new path. The grandchildren have their place in the film also with the coming-of-age actions of Frederic’s daughter providing a fitting finale.
I was telling someone recently that "beauty is in the eye of beholder" and let me just say, when it comes to cinema, this is my definition of beautiful.
Knowing
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Alex Proyas |
| Written by: | Ryne Pearson, Juliet Snowden, Stiles White, Stuart Hazeldine |
| Starring: | Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Lara Robinson, Phil Beckman |
| Released: | March 26, 2009 |
| Grade: | C |
John Koestler (Cage) is an astrophysicist who works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One day, his young son, Caleb (Canterbury), brings home a very strange looking letter. It’s from a time capsule buried at his school 50 years ago. Each child was given a letter from the capsule and it was supposed to contain an image drawn by the students from 1959 showing what they think the future would look like.
Caleb’s letter contains nothing but numbers. John shrugs it off as some silly hoax but late one night over a few wines, he takes a closer look. There is no randomness about this piece of paper. It contains the date of every major natural disaster since 1959 as well as the number of people killed. How could this be possible? How could someone have predicted this?
Even scarier is the fact that there are only a handful of disasters on the letter which are yet to occur. What happens when we reach the last one? Will it be the end of mankind?
This sets John on a quest to make meaning of this. Is there a reason why he came into possession of this document? His first step is to try to track down Lucinda Embry, the person who wrote the letter, and find out what is going on…
There’s a lot about the story that I can’t divulge because this is a thriller-type movie and I don’t want to spoil it for those interested. I will say that the film, and particularly its ending, will divide audiences. There are two subjects which are always a "hot potato" when it comes to cinema – politics and religion. This film deals with the later and as I’ve already alluded to, it won’t sit well with everyone.
I admit to not liking it. The premise itself is interesting but I was left disappointed by the finale. I also thought the acting was dreadful. The dialogue was stiff and I’d like to think that if I was in the same position as John, I’d do things a lot differently.
There’s an Australian connection to the film as it has been directed by Alex Proyas (Dark City) and co-stars Rose Byrne (Troy) and Ben Mendelsohn (Australia). Their talent is not enough to save what was an extremely lacklustre two hours of my life.
A Pain In The Ass
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Francis Vebe |
| Written by: | Francis Vebe |
| Starring: | Richard Berry, Patrick Timsit, Pascal Elbe, Virginie Ledoyen, Laurent Paolini, Michel Aumont |
| Released: | April 9, 2009 |
| Grade: | B+ |
The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival recently wrapped up here in Brisbane and over 30 films were shown. Judging from the lengthy queues at the candy bar and the large audiences within the theatres, it was a big success. As is the custom, a few of the more high profile films from the festival will receive a national release over the coming weeks.
One of those has a particularly memorable title – A Pain In The Ass. I’m certain that a few cinemagoers will have fun going up to the counter and asking for their ticket to this particular film.
The title says it all. Ralf Milan (Berry) is a hitman who has been paid to eliminate a notorious gangster who will be testifying against the Mob. Ralf believes he has the perfect plan. He’s hired a hotel room with a perfect view of the courthouse. When the mobster turns up with his police escort, Ralf will take aim with his rifle and fire away.
There’s one thing he hasn’t counted on. In the room next door is a lonely, suicidal guy by the name of Francois Pignon (Timsit). His wife (Ledoyen) recently left him for another man and his life has been a mess ever since. When Francois tries to hang himself in the shower, it starts off a series of events that will make it more and more difficult for him to complete his assignment.
This is a rather amusing French buddy comedy with some laugh out loud scenes and an interesting assortment of characters. It was well received at the Festival and I think it is a movie you need to see in a packed theatre to help get you in the mood for the farcical storyline. Laughter is contagious, is it not?
Those more knowledgeable movie buffs might realise this is a remake of another French film from 1973. The screenwriter of the original film was Francis Veber and after 35 years, he has returned to act as both writer and director of this adaptation. In the interim, he has penned a few popular French flicks including The Closet, The Dinner Game and La Cage aux folles (later adapted into The Birdcage).
It’s a little too silly at times but I’m still recommending this for those looking for a chuckle over the Easter holidays. Provided you don’t get sit next to a couple who talk throughout the entire movie, it should be anything but a pain in ass.