Lore of the Warm Dead Man

     Today we are covering the rare modern western, a zombie rom-com (no, really) & a drama about abandoned children...who also happen to be Nazis.  I couldn't make this stuff up...

  Lore - This is the second feature film from director Cate Shortland, but she already shows signs of a being a director with a confident and insightful eye.  Little touches like the cuts between shots in the opening hop-scotch sequence make a convincing argument that we may be witnessing the rise of an important new voice in international cinema.  She also co-wrote the script with TV writer Robin Mukherjee and it is a truly novel concept: a road movie in which the "heroes" are the abandoned children of Nazi war criminals left to fend for themselves and try to stay out of prison.
     The entire production is actually handled quite well. The costumes (Stephanie Bieker), production and sound design are all excellent.  Special praise must be heaped upon editor Veronika Jenet and cinematographer Adam Arkapaw.  Without their creative expertise sequences like the aforementioned "hop-scotch" bit or the "bonfire sequence" would never have been possible.  The film is heavy on mood and atmosphere, and is very effective in that respect.
     The ensemble cast of mostly children is also phenomenal, led by Lore herself, Saskia Rodndahl.  The young lady shows a remarkable maturity as an actress, conveying volumes with a look, a gesture, or a moderate change in her posture.  Amazingly, this is the actress's debut performance, but she has four other films already finished or in the works.  She truly shines brightest playing opposite either Ursina Lardi (who plays Lore's mother) or Kai-Peter Malina (who plays the love interest, Thomas).  Her interactions with both characters are so charged with fiery passion completely held in check by complex mixed feelings.  Both of her co-stars match her smoldering calm with equal eerie intensity and the result is some really fine acting.
     Needless to say, I highly recommend this Australian Foreign Language Film submission to last year's Oscars which just released in the U.S. on DVD this month...4 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Warm Bodies - So, you know I watch a lot of very cerebral movies here at TheMovieFrog, but sometimes my brain needs a rest.  Sometimes I need something like....Zombies In Love. Honestly, this was pretty much my thought process as I selected writer/director Jonathen Lavine's horror rom-com for my 2013 viewing list.
     I can't say that the film was exactly a step in the right direction from 50/50, the young auteur's last effort.  Warm Bodies was full of cheap laughs, predictable twists, and a plot that was more loaded with holes than the lawn at a high end country club.  There also weren't any star making performances like the one from JG Levitt in Mr. Lavine's last film.
     In fact, Warm Bodies WASN'T a very good picture...but I still kind of enjoyed it...but it just wasn't very good...but I kind of liked it...but it was NOT very good...let's just call it my first truly guilty (maybe guilt RIDDEN) pleasure of the year and leave it at that...3 out of 5 stars.

  Dead Man's Burden - Fortunately (or not), I do not feel nearly so conflicted about the last film in today's post which is the writing/directing debut from producer Jared Moshe.  Many say that the Western is a dead genre.  Purists have groaned at deconstructions such as Django Unchained in recent years, and I am quite happy to inform them that Dead Man's Burden is no such film.  It is a fairly traditional tale of the Old West.  I am not so happy to have to tell them that it is not a very good one.
     The problems begin with the script.  From the first frames of the film it is easy to imagine the foreseeable symmetry that is destined to conclude it.  The rest is just filling in the blanks, which the writer does with stock characters, even stock conversations.
     Even the gun fights seem to lack tension.  This may be owing to the original score by H. Scott Salinas whose gut wrenching melodramatic movements seem more well suited to a Lifetime Original movie than a taught thriller.  Mired by such sticky sweet sentimentality, it is difficult to pull much tension out of the film aurally.
     I would like to say that the performances save the day, but they do not.  Most of the cast is purely forgettable, while Clare Bowen actually embarrasses herself somewhat in the role of Martha.  Only Barlow Jacobs (who has great, piercing eyes) is able to transcend the material somewhat in the role of Wade, but it is not nearly enough to salvage this half baked story which leaves the Western genre in the same coma that it found it in...sigh...2 out of 5 stars.

  Related articles:  Arantino Explained (The T is Invisible) (Django Unchained review)

Wuthering Tom Barrymore

     There was just no really clever way to combine those names...sigh.  In today's at home viewing selections we feature:  a cinematic presentation of a stage play recreation of a backer's audition man show, a somewhat re-imagined adaptation of an English literary classic and a story of a youth between worlds.  Let's dive in...

  Tomboy - After skewering their picture A Perfect Ending as recruitment propaganda in The Great Gay Film Festival of 2010, I am happy to be able to shine a more favorable light upon one of  Wolfe's films in such short order.  Tomboy, by contrast, is a story of self-discovery, one that young writer/director Celine Sciamma unravels one naturally occurring layer at a time.
     At the center of the film is young star Zoe Heran who plays a young, somewhat androgynous girl named Laure who takes on the identity of Mickael in the new neighborhood her family moves to.  Laure is too young to really grasp the issues of sexual orientation or gender identity in any adult sort of way.  She only knows how she feels, and she knows she likes a young girl in her building who has a crush on her as Mickael.  We watch her work at becoming more and more convincing as a boy, gaining our sympathies and understanding all the way.  It is truly a wonderful child performance, one that would have factored into my Best of 2011 series had I seen it before I published the Best Juvenile Performance list.
      Two other young members of this film's cast might also have been contenders.  Malonn Levana plays Laure's younger sister Jeanne, and she is an absolute delight as a very young girl possessing intelligence, courage and humor.  She alone really sees and accepts Laure/Mikael for who he/she is, the total package.  Jeanne Disson plays Mikael's love interest Lisa who is drawn to Mikael as a boy and must wrestle with some very adult emotions when she learns the truth.
     I really enjoyed and respected this film.  It was one of the most believable and organically told gay coming of age movies I've ever had the pleasure of watching.  Highly worth checking out...4 of 5 stars.

    Barrymore - This is the film adaptation of the one (well, two) man stage play in which Christopher Plummer plays an aging Lionel Barrymore at a backers' audition for a revival of Richard III.  I can only assume that the film was planned as an Oscar play for Plummer when he had not yet won one.  When he won for Beginners, the work of making this film had probably gone too far to bother turning back.  I say this because writer/director Erik Canuel has made a film that looks very much like a taped version of a stage play. Worse than that, it is edited together like a stage comedy show turned into a special on Comedy Central.
     I sincerely wish that the production values HAD been a little higher because it spoils what is otherwise a powerhouse performance by Plummer who only seems to grow in energy and determination as the years roll by.  There are also many elements in the script that explore themes related to aging in a subtle yet penetrating manner that would have been great fodder for one of my upcoming Running Themes articles if the movie had deserved a four star rating or more. As good as Plummer is, the picture overall only rates...3 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Wuthering Heights - I waited a long time to see writer/director Andrea Arnold's latest retelling of this Emily Bronte romance.  After premiering in Venice in 2011, the film received a VERY limited release in 2012, and finally came out on DVD a few weeks ago.  Arnold makes several interesting choices.  First, she casts the film almost entirely with unknown actors.  In fact, James Howson, who plays Heathcliffe, has only appeared in this one film.  It is easy to see why Arnold chose the young man, as he radiates a screen presence that somehow conveys the improbable smoldering nature of this almost sexless love story.  His portrayal is easy and unforced and seems too lacking in self consciousness to have come from such an inexperienced source.
     Her OTHER really interesting choice was casting Heathcliffe as a black man, which I thought worked out splendidly.  A more modern audience has a harder time relating to the strictures of the English class system in Victorian England.  Making Heathcliffe black not only heightens the exotic allure that he holds but also makes it easier to understand what sort of impediments existed to deter his marrying into his foster family.
     The film also makes a first rate showing on the craft side of things.  Production and costume design are impressive without being ostentatious.   The Editing and camera work are creative and effective.  The film's only flaw is that it never quite breaks free of the morass of bleakness it conveys in moments of true passion.  The tone may smolder throughout, but I kept waiting for a spark to ignite, if only for a moment.  Still, a good watch...4 of 5 stars.

  Related Articles: The Great Gay Film Festival of 2012, The Best of 2011: The Performances (Part One)

A Tempest Brings Stranger Shocks

     And the Rewind Series (2010 edition) kicks off with a lesser entry in a modern master's filmography, a drama about a girl's life after her mother decides to kill her & a highly original adaptation of THE classic playwright.  Time wanes, wherefore thou shouldst commence posthaste.

  The Tempest - I doubt any serious film maker sets out to create a body of work that could best be described as divisive and (for lack of a more apt description) artsy-fartsy, but these traits seem to be the benchmarks of writer/director Julie Taymor's productions.  Just four movies into her cinematic career and she's given us a biopic of a world class artist, a hippy dippy excuse to use the Lennon-McCarthy songbook as a soundtrack & two Shakespearean adaptations.  Even Kenneth Branagh throws a thriller into the mix occasionally.  The Tempest split the critics almost right down the middle.  I am happy to say that I fall securely on the happily impressed side of that fence.
     The film is a little rough hewn in places, particularly some of the editing, which doesn't allow the picture to flow from scene to scene as well as it might, but otherwise I found it to be an excellent adaptation of The Bard's final play.  Ms. Taymor did an excellent job of trimming the Five Act play into a two hour picture.  The script seemed neither piecemeal, nor overly stuffed,  which is impressive considering the sheer volume of source material.  The special effects are primitive, to be sure, but fantastically whimsical in a manner that seems conducive to Elizabethan stagecraft.  The scene where Ariel turns into a monstrous bird is particularly delightful, reminiscent of The Dark Crystal or Pan's Labyrinth.
     Ben Whishaw (who is impressing me more and more every time I see him) is fantastic in the role of the captive spirit, bringing both humanity and an inhuman alienating quality to a role made all the more haunting by the marriage of its disparate elements.  Chris Cooper, Felicity Huffman, Alfred Molina, David Straithairn... great performances across the board.  I found the inclusion of Russell Brand shockingly well conceived, but Djimon Honsou nearly stole the show as the subhuman Caliban.  For someone with such a thick Beninian...Bening...Benininese...damn...African (okay?!) accent, he produces some really crisp and carefully inflected Middle English.  He went just far enough over the top without cheapening the production.
     Of course, I say he ALMOST stole it because nothing could take your eyes off of the great Dame Helen Mirren.  It was a bold choice casting the stageplay's lead Prospero as a woman named Prospera, but I think it was also a wise one.  I cannot imagine any male actor crafting a sorcerer with quite the same blend of the scary and the sympathetic.  Of course, this is a vast oversimplification of a performance that takes a well rounded classic character and fleshes him/her out further than I've ever seen it done before.  As a final note, it is sort of wonderful that an actress who began her career as a blatant sex symbol pulls off this material with the ease and grace of a feminine Olivier.  You would think she'd been training for nothing but classical theater all her long and storied career...4 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Aftershock - On the surface, one would expect this tale of the Tangshan Earthquake of 1976 to be a pretty cut and dried disaster flick, but that is only the beginning.  In the aftermath a mother finds her children trapped under the rubble in such a way that the rescue workers conclude she must choose which child to save.  Certainly a dramatic way to find out which of you is Mom's favorite.  The girl is left for dead but survives, spending her life burdened by bitterness and abandonment issues, refusing to seek out her surviving family.
     You really have to consider director Xiaogang Feng's film in two parts. It opens with the actual earthquake.  The movie does an excellent job of painting a picture of a relentlessly hot but peaceful evening in a small village, then ripping it to shreds as chaos ensues.  Aftershock assembles a fantastic ensemble of extras for this scene, and the sense of panic evoked is palpable.  Unfortunately, the effect is muted by the "virtual strings" that show a bit on the outdated CGI technology.  Still, if you can ignore the occasional impression that some peripheral villager just got crushed by a slab of pixels, there is a lot of hopelessness and danger to be experienced in the quake scene.
     The rest of the film tells the story of the separated family in the years that follow.  It DOES wax a little melodramatic, but it also presents the viewer with situations that contain enough inherent pathos to be moving.  The dramatic thrust of the story is firmly centered on the mother and daughter, with the son existing as something of a peripheral character.  The two central actresses give performances which form each other's inverse, in a way.  The mother is played by actress Fan Xu, who is mostly unknown to American audiences.  Her character is easily the best written in the entire script with a multitude of nuances and conflicts to explore and expand upon.  Unfortunately, the actress mostly yells and cries her way through the film, completely ignoring the delicious subtleties she was served up on a silver platter. 
     The daughter (Fang Deng) is played by Jingchu Zhang whom highly attentive viewers (and likely bitter if they payed for a ticket) may recall from English language feature Rush Hour 3.   Miss Zhang is given very little true dramatic meat to gnaw upon by comparison.  The script gives her little in the way of three dimensional emotional complexity.  For most of the film she is merely detached and bitter.  In the final scenes of the film she is given little to work with besides an instant transition from troubled to remorseful.  However, the actress digs deep and pulls far more emotional resonance out of her scenes than they inherently possess. She does much of this internally, while still remaining completely emotionally accessible to the audience, yet without ever devolving into the histrionics that the improbably emotional context of the film so readily invite.
     Each point of the film that I've focused on presents many great strengths, but they are also flawed in some way.  Aftershock is, in this sense, exactly equal to the sum of its parts.  It is deserving of praise but falls well short of greatness.  Still, it is a GOOD movie, just not much more...4 of 5 stars.


  You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Of all the working directors who are often awarded/burdened by the weight of the title of Modern Master, Woody Allen's body of work is perhaps the MOST uneven.  Pictures like Manhattan, Annie Hall and Husbands and Wives (a personal favorite of mine, Juliette Lewis is particularly AMAZING) practically invented the dramedy genre and set the bar higher than most films of the type even approach. On the other hand, Celebrity was the only film I've ever walked out of during a theatrical showing.  Hell, To Rome With Love showed almost that much variation in quality within the bounds of a single flick, featuring vignettes that ranged from the nearly expired to the merely tired.  I love Woody at his best, but I'm always scared when he comes out with a new feature because it hurts a little to watch him fail.
     Fortunately, while certainly not a masterpiece, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a good site better than merely watchable and actually delves into some of the Woodman's less well trodden thematic topics.  While the disintegration of relationships over time is certainly present (as always) in Allen's script, the film actually develops into a commentary on faith and spirituality in the modern world.  I don't exactly agree with the writer's tidy and flip answers, but his opinion is always one worth hearing and his trademark wit does its usual task of keeping uber-serious topics from ever turning the picture into a downer.
     Unfortunately, the acting is something of a mixed bag in ways that I never expected it would be.  Gemma Jones definitely steals the show as the recent divorcee seeking enlightenment and Pauline Collins make a very engaging psychic counselor.  Josh Brolin is at his hulking, awkward best and actually seems to pull more substance out of frequent scene partner Freida Pinto than I've seen her exhibit before when she wasn't standing silently framed in sunlight.  The greatest disappointments here are definitely the least expected.  Master thespians Anthony Hopkins and Naomi Watts actually pale in comparison to their less celebrated cast mates.  Watts in particular is quite surprisingly terrible and Hopkins merely seems lost to the flow of Allen's unique style of dialogue.  Antonio Banderas didn't do a bad job, but he's mostly acting opposite Watts so he faced an uphill battle.
     Stranger is not the picture that Woody Allen will be remembered for in a hundred years, but it is entertaining and a good sight better than the film maker's most glaring failures.  I enjoyed the film, but will not likely revisit it in the future...3 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Related articles:  To Rome, Sugarweenie (To Rome, With Love)

Rewind Series - 2010 Edition

     So, you may have noticed that TheMovieFrog has not had quite the output in May that I wrote in the several months previous...at least not yet.  Part of this has been due to some general housekeeping and catching up on my part.  Part of this has been due, however, to a lack of new films coming out on DVD that I planned to review.  I've decided to use this as an excuse to catch up on some of the films that I never managed to see in previous years beginning with 2010, the year before I started publishing TheMovieFrog.  I had, however already begun viewing a bevy of the year's most important films and grading them in preparation to write it.  As such, there are only a handful that I have not already seen.  There are some years that I caught a pitiful few of the really innovative and essential pictures. Rewinding through those years (this means YOU, 2007) will be epic by comparison.  As of now, my 2010 rewind agenda includes:

  1. Aftershocks - A Chinese disaster movie about one family's recovery after a real life earthquake during the seventies.
  2. Angel of Evil - Italian crime thriller about the notorious outlaw Renato Vallanzasca.
  3. Barney's Version - This best make-up nominee at the Oscars didn't get the most glowing write-ups but it does star Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman.  Even when actors of this caliber stumble, it is worth watching to note that we are all mortal...and who knows, I might LOVE it.
  4. Children of Invention - This Chinese language feature sounds heartwarming in a way that doesn't make me feel nauseous so it's in.
  5. Daddy Longlegs - This itty bitty almost unknown flick got JUST enough attention from the Gotham and Independent Spirit awards to make this list.
  6. The Edge - Russia's 2010-2011 Oscar submission may have failed to garner a nomination but it certainly sounds like a unique film...
  7. Enemies of the People - This tale of a man seeking revenge against the Khmer Rouge sounds like the (highly) rare documentary that plays like a thriller.
  8. Film Socialisme - French living legend Jean-Luc Godard is always worth checking out, even when his directorial efforts sound as potentially convoluted as this one.
  9. I Love You Phillip Morris - I wonder what sort of muggy expression Jim Carrey has come up with to represent "Gay Lust".  This film may have gay themes, but I expect the Human Rights Campaign appreciates the light it shone on these issues in much the same way that PETA valued Ace Ventura.  If Downey, Jr. caught hell over Tropic Thunder, how is Carrey not criticized for doing this film in "gay face".
  10. Idiots and Angels - This feature from cult classic French animator Bill Plympton is an allegorical tale of how a man can change.
  11. Lebanon - This Hebrew language piece is easily one of the most universally acclaimed films I missed in 2010, it has been called the Das Boot of tank movies, which sounds far less ludicrous than "the Citizen Kane of talking pig movies" which Babe actually was.
  12. Life During Wartime - Director Todd Solondz's long awaited quasi-sequel to his much beloved 1998 film Happiness.
  13. Outside the Law - This one was an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film, I believe representing Algeria.  It tells of three brothers caught up in that country's fight for independence.
  14. Passion Play - Writer/director Mitch Glazer did not get the BEST of reviews for this piece, but I can't resist a story about a gangster, an angel, and a trumpet player...especially with Bill Murray in the cast.
  15. Plan B - This Argentinian Spanish language film with Gay themes tells the story of a man who tries to come in between his ex-girlfriend and her new man.
  16. Post Mortem - Before he directed the Oscar nominated No, Pablo Larrain directed this other tale of Chile in the 1970's.
  17. Prodigal Sons - Kimberly Reed's documentary tells of the first time the transsexual film-maker returned home...as a woman.
  18. The Tempest - Director Julie Taymor's reworking of Shakespeare's final play with Helen Mirren playing the lead as the wizard Prospera (re-named from Prospero to fit her gender).
  19. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Woody Allen's yearly offering focuses on a recently divorced woman who seeks spiritual guidance from a psychic.

     Of course, I am open to adding films if readers request them, but I am trying not to go back over films I've already seen (although if I get several requests to re-watch something and review it, of course I will).  The list of 2010 productions that I have already watched (which as I mentioned, is extensive), and the grades that I gave them (for practice since I wasn't up and Frogging QUITE yet), are as follows:

     5 star films:
  127 Hours
  Animal Kingdom
  Biuitiful
  Black Swan
  Exit Through the Gift Shop
  Gasland
  How To Train Your Dragon
  In a Better World
  Incendies
  Inception
  Madeo
  Mary and Max
  Micmacs
  The Social Network
  Winter's Bone

     4 1/2 star films:
  Another Year
  Blue Valentine
  Carlos
  Day and Night (short)
  The Ghost Writer
  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
  Inside Job
  Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
  The Kids Are All Right
  The King's Speech
  The Oath
  True Grit
  Undertow
  Waiting For Superman
  Waste Land
  White Material

     4 star films:
  The American
  Catfish
  Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky
  Despicable Me
  Easy A
  Enter the Void
  Fair Game
  The Fighter
  Four Lions
  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One
  Heartbreaker
  Jack Goes Boating
  Let Me In
  Let's Pollute (short)
  The Lottery
  Love and Other Drugs
  Mesrine: Public Enemy
  Monsters
  My Name is Khan
  My Name is Maria (short)
  Never Let Me Go
  Nowhere Boy
  Of Gods and Men
  Ondine
  Peepli Live
  Please Give
  Precious Life
  Rabbit Hole
  Restrepo
  Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
  Shutter Island
  Splice
  The Tillman Story
  The Town
  Toy Story 3
  Wild Grass

     3 1/2 star films:
  44-Inch Chest
  8: The Mormon Proposition
  Animated History of Poland (short)
  Around a Small Mountain
  Blood Done Sign My Name
  Book of Eli
  Cemetery Junction
  City Island
  Devil
  Dinner For Schmucks
  Eat, Pray, Love
  The Eclipse
  Everyone Else
  Flipped
  Get Low
  The Girl Who Played With Fire
  The Gruffalo (short)
  Harry Brown
  Hereafter
  The Karate Kid
  Kick-Ass
  Lovely, Still
  Morning Glory
  Night Catches Us
  One Thousand Pictures (short)
  R.E.D.
  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
  Stone
  Tiny Furniture
  Vincere
  Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
  The Way Back
  Welcome To the Rileys
  Women Without Men

     3 star films:
  Alamar
  Blue Beard
  Burlesque
  Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer
  Confession (short)
  Countdown to Zero
  The Crazies
  The Disappearance of Alice Creed
  Dust Kid (short)
  Everything Strange and New
  The Experiment
  Fish Tank
  For Colored Girls
  Going the Distance
  The Greatest
  Greenberg
  Holy Rollers
  Howl
  Iron Man 2
  The Killer Inside Me
  The Last Exorcism
  Leaves of Grass
  Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
  Letters To Juliet
  Love Ranch
  Made in Dagenham
  Mademoiselle Chambon
  Megamind
  Monica and David
  Mother and Child
  My Own Love Song
  Oceans
  Shrek Forever After
  A Solitary Man
  Somewhere
  The Sorcerer's Apprentice
  Tamara Drew
  The Twilight Saga: The Eclipse
  Unstoppable
  William Kuntsler: Destroying the Universe

     2 1/2 star films:
  After.life
  The Art of the Steal
  Barking Island (short)
  Cairo Time
  Casino Jack and the United States of Money
  Chloe
  Clash of the Titans
  The Company Men
  Conviction
  Coyote Falls (short)
  Daybreakers
  The Exploding Girl
  Green Zone
  La Mission
  Percy Jackson and the New Olympians
  Prince of Persia
  Salt
  Secretariat
  Smash His Camera
  Tron: Legacy
  Valentine's Day

     The lists get shorter from here on out.  I try to avoid films of less than two and a half star quality whenever possible, but a few always sneak through (and one is usually up for an Oscar).  Two star films:
  Agora
  Alice in Wonderland
  All Good Things
  Death at a Funeral
  Eccentricities of a Blond Haired Girl
  The Expendables
  Extraordinary Measures
  It's Kind of a Funny Story
  The Last Airbender
  Robin Hood
  Sensology
  Sweetgrass
  Tangled
  The Tourist
  Why Did I Get Married Too

     One and a half star films:
  Babies
  Cique du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
  The Extra Man
  Jelly
  Runaways
  The Temptation of St. Tony

     One star films:
  Charlie St. Cloud
  Jonah Hex
  Legion
  The Lost Thing (short)
  Sex and the City 2
  Skyline
   
     Whew!!!  I'm going to do my utmost to try and see you back here tomorrow for the first three in the rewind.
                                                              Froggy

40 Sparkly Artists

     Today's viewing list includes a comedic quasi-sequel, a cheesy remake & a documentary about the "grandmother of performance art"...two out of three ain't bad...

  Sparkle - Remember that magical moment in Dream Girls when Jennifer Hudson sang "I Am Telling You" and just for a second you thought that maybe history would prove American Idol to be a great star maker after all?  Let's all just bask in the joy of that moment for a second...and then let's talk about Sparkle.
     I'm sorry to report that director Salim Akil has taken a serious step backwards from his debut feature Jumping the Broom.  This remake of the 1976 camp classic is yet another example of why some films don't need to be remade, even if it is a good excuse to help fill the admittedly shameful vacuum of significant roles available in Hollywood for black actresses.  This kind of career assistance they don't need.
     As for the acting, it might still be too soon to speak ill of the dead, so let's talk about Jordin Sparks.  The poor girl just looked lost.  She either seemed to be making a face: "angry", "happy", "intrigued", "frightened", or vapidly staring off into space trying to remember which face her acting coach had said to make in the particular scene.
     The rest of the cast is either under-utilized, burdened by bad dialogue or just underwhelming in general.  Even a cameo by Cee-Lo Green (who usually makes me smile no matter how he is utilized) failed to muster much enthusiasm on my part.  The only member of the ensemble to stand out in a positive way is Carmen Ejogo in the role of Sister.  While her performance definitely stands high above the rest, it is sadly not enough to salvage the production as a whole...1 1/2 of 5 stars.

  This Is 40 - I'm not sure how many reviews I've prefaced with the confession that I am pretty tough on comedy.  I don't know why, but I'm a hard egg to crack in this regard and it is the rare film that gets me to actually laugh out loud with much gusto.  I'm happy to report that This Is 40 did. Repeatedly. I shouldn't really be all that surprised.  Writer/director Judd Apatow has been carving a real niche for himself making films with a superb blend of humor, heart, and intelligence, and that is exactly the sort of movie that he has created here.
     This is 40 is a quasi-sequel, focusing on the lives of supporting characters from his previous film, Knocked Up.  Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann return in the roles that they created and both do exceptional work.  If I have one complaint it is that the caustic humor that is central to the characterization of both members of the couple becomes a LITTLE excessive at times, pushing the boundaries of character likability.  In one scene, Ms. Mann's character Debbie chastises a boy who has insulted her daughter on-line so viciously that I actually became a bit uncomfortable.
     Overall, though, this is a very small complaint about a very funny movie.  Melissa McCarthy made me absolutely GUFFAW and I will NEVER get the image of young Iris Apatow shouting "No Technology" into her smart phone out of my head.  I highly recommend watching this picture, and insist that you stick around for the out takes with Ms. McCarthy during the credits...4 of 5 stars.

  Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present - You know, I vaguely remember a paragraph or so about Marina Abrimovic's work from Art History when I was in college but I never really got the point of performance art.  However, seeing her prepare for an exhibit and hearing her speak in this biographical documentary, I think I begin to get it.  I can only imagine what the experience of seeing one of her exhibits live would be like.  There is a presence and an energy about the woman (even over video) that simply defies explanation with mere words.
     Director Matthew Akers does not go in for a lot of flair in his storytelling style or structure, wisely allowing the charisma of his subject to speak for itself.  Which it does marvellously.  The Artist is Present is an insightful and entertaining meditation on art, love, the passage of time, and humanity.  Highly recommended viewing...4 1/2 of 5 stars.

The Great Gay Film Festival of 2012

     So, my associate here at TheMovieFrog...who gets a kick out of me calling him The Social Media Salamander...recently chastised me for not covering more films with gay themes since I have this forum in which to give them exposure.  I took it to heart and (with the help of a recently published list on one of my favorite sites: Awards Daily) decided to do just that.  I've got a few more films that I added into my list from 2012 that will be scattered in among my normal reviews, but I figured I might as well lump the first three in together.
     Oh, and about the Salamander...if you discovered this site through Google+, Pinterest, Discus, TheMovieFrog Facebook fanpage, or just about anywhere else on the web, you have him to thank for it.  His participation in TheMovieFrog has increased my readership exponentially, and I would just like to take a moment to thank him myself.  He has been my partner in many things for many years now, but I had no idea when I started this blog a year and a half ago that he would end up playing such an integral role.  Thanks baby.
     Now, without further ado....

  Gayby - This film actually got a little bit of critical attention culminating in an Independent Spirit Best First Screenplay nomination for writer/director Jonathen Lisecki.  Unfortunately, I can't say that I quite agree with the hype.  I myself found the screenplay, and the movie, fairly unexceptional.  It tells the story of two best friends, a gay man and a straight woman, who decide to have a baby together.  Hence the title.  The rest of the film is just as much of a groaner.
     The whole thing plays sort of like a lost season of Will & Grace.  The main character (Matt) is sort of a neutered version of a gay man, a lot like Will on the show.  He is dating, but he only wants to cuddle.  I felt like his whole existence as a sexual being was diluted into something palatable for a straight audience, which might be why it got more mainstream attention than gay themed films often do.  He even has a flaming buffoon of a gay best friend, much like Jack on the television show.  The only thing missing from the Will & Grace formula was a Karen, who was the only character from the show that I found engaging.
     The acting stand out was actually the straight best friend, played by Jenn Harris.  In fact, rather than a film that raised awareness of the gay lifestyle, this film seemed to relegate gay men into the same old two stereotypical groups: lisping sissies straights can feel superior to and asexual butch guys who would be happier if they just realized that they were in love with their (female) best friends all along.  Just like Will & Grace, except in this movie he actually has sex with her...2 of 5 stars.

  Farewell, My Queen - This is my first exposure to the work of writer/director Benoit Jacquot (A Single Girl).  I found the movie to be a stylish period piece that was a little lacking in substance.  It tells the story of Sidonie (Lea Seydoux), the official reader to Marie Antoinette (Dianne Kruger) and the questionably sapphic devotion she holds for her regent.  The Queen herself is in love with the newly appointed Duchess (Virginie Ledoyen).  The French Revolution begins and that is pretty much the storyline.
     Despite the lack of much narrative structure, the picture is elevated immensely by two strong lead performances from international stars Seydoux and Kruger.  Kruger (who American audiences probably know best from Inglorious Basterds) is equally charming and detestable as the Regent: spoiled, stylish, and slightly sinister.  Seydoux (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) has her own unique screen charisma, and her performance makes Sidonie completely accessible to the audience as she slowly comes to see her monarch for what she truly is.
     I should take a moment to commend the production team, as this was a very well crafted costume drama.    This is of course the perfect segue to start off with the work of costume designers Christian Gasc and Valerie Ranchoux who created some truly sumptuous outfits.  They played nicely against the ornate production design of Katie Wyszkop.  Cinematographer Romain Winding also did a very nice job of capturing the palace in all of its opulent excess.
     I enjoyed Farewell, My Queen, but found it a little lacking in substance or thrills to justify a second viewing.  However, it was a well made and well performed film...3 1/2 of 5 stars.

  A Perfect Ending - So, when I was in my teens and twenties I remember that one of the main stereotypes used by Conservatives (what an ironic name when the last Republican to do anything about conservation was Teddy Roosevelt) to try and demonize homosexuals was that we were always trying to recruit poor innocent heterosexuals into our lives of debauchery.  We used to laugh about that.  So when I see a film, like A Perfect Ending, that seems to be a lesbian propaganda film aimed at recruitment, it bothers me a little bit.  Okay, one part recruitment propaganda, one part soft porn.
      Now, don't get me wrong.  It was a well written and very well acted movie.  Star Barbara Niven, in particular, is really pretty fantastic.  The chemistry between her and young co-star Jessica Clark is electric and their love scenes definitely convey the passion that can exist between two women.  I just wish that film maker Nicole Conn didn't seem to feel that she had to portray all men as either philandering and neglectful (the husband) or vapid, inept, and comparably undeserving (the sons) to drive the point home.  I don't know where this stereotype of man-haters comes from...2 1/2 of 5 stars.

     Well, unfortunately, the Great Gay Film Festival of 2012 was not so great.  I am happy to report that the Great Gay Film Festival of 2011 (coming shortly) bore much more impressive fruit.  Look for it soon...
                                                                                    Froggy

     Related Articles: Muppet Impossible: Life or Deat Protocol (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol review)

2013 Awards Season Preview - Part 5: Because I Said So

     Below is my fifth and final set of films for the 2013-2014 Awards season, titled Because I Said So.  Each article in this series has presented a group of upcoming releases that are currently on my watch list.  I divided the articles up to each represent the strengths found in cinema in one of the last four years (with 2013 as an unknown wild card for this fifth post). We have no idea what 2013 will bring.  In its honor, I present this set of films that don't fit any of the other four categories that Oscar usually draws from (and a few that I just forgot in those categories).  This category can contain any genre, but comedies, super hero fare and fantasy form the majority.
     On a side note, no awards season will ever be mostly about these kinds of films.  Generally speaking, the Academy ignores them almost entirely.  Maybe an odd tech, acting or screenplay nod, but that's it.  It is almost certain that none of these films will make the Best Picture list.  However, that doesn't mean that there are no films in this group that SHOULD.
      The movies that already have release dates are presented in chronological order.  The films that have not received such dates are listed alphabetically afterward.  The fifteen films (that have not already been released) that I am most excited about seeing appear in bold with short descriptions of why.  Do not be surprised if we see some of these get pushed back until 2014.  I will be surprised if we don't.  Still, for now, the films I'm covering in 2013 just Because I Said So are...

  01/11 - Gangster Squad (yeah, rough reviews, but Gosling & Penn keep it in my DVD que anyway)
               Struck By Lightning (Glee's Chris Colfer wrote and stars in this high school comedy)
  01/25 - Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
  02/01 - Warm Bodies (zombie in love story from writer/director Jonathen Levine)
  02/14 - Beautiful Creatures (Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis & teen witches)
  03/01 - Jack the Giant Slayer (directed by Bryan Singer)
  03/08 - Oz, the Great and Powerful (James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz & Michelle Williams)
  03/15 - The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (Magicians #1: Carrell, Buscemi, Carrey, Arkin, Gandolfini...)
  04/05 - Upstream Color
  04/12 - The Angel's Share (directed by Ken Loach)
  05/03 - Iron Man 3
  06/07 - Much Ado About Nothing: Joss Whedon follows up Marvel's Avengers with...a Shakespeare adaptation?  No, seriously, and the trailer looks fantastic.  Stars Whedon mainstays Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof.
               Now You See Me: Director Louis Letterier brings us magicians #2 (and this one looks much better).  Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Dave Franco & Melanie Laurent
  06/14 - Man of Steel: Zack Snyder may be directing, but Christopher Nolan is producing and contributing on the story, so I'm hoping it's going to do for Superman what The Dark Knight trilogy did for Batman. Early promotionals are VERY promising.  Even the casting of Kevin Costner as Pa Kent couldn't chase me away from this.  Also stars Henry Cavill (Clark), Amy Adams (Lois), Russel Crowe (Jor-El), Dianne Lane (Martha Kent), Michael Shannon (Zod) & Laurence Fishburne (Perry White).
               This Is The End:  Fourth wall bending apocalypse comedy about a party at James Franco's house from directors Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg.  If that isn't bizarre enough to get your attention, the film stars the three gentlemen listed above as well as Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Paul Rudd, Emma Watson, Jason Segal, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Rihanna, and Kevin Hart.
  06/21 - World War Z: What can be done with zombie flicks that hasn't already been done?  THIS!!!  Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) directs, Brad Pitt stars, and the effects team is probably going to the Oscars!!!
  06/28 - White House Down (stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx & Maggie Gyllenhall)
  07/05 - The Way, Way Back (written & directed by Nat Faxon & Jim Rash with Carell & Collette)
  07/19 - R.I.P.D. (undead cops starring Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon & Mary Louise Parker)
  07/26 - Wolverine (Hugh Jackman returns, hopefully the second time is the charm)
  08/02 - The Spectacular Now: Director James Ponsoldt's follow up to Smashed is an off-beat high school romance about living in the present versus living in the future.  Stars Shaillene Woodley, Miles Teller, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brie Larson, Bob Odenkirk, Jennifer Jason Leigh & Kyle Chandler.
  08/16 - Kick-Ass 2 (the first chapter survived Cage, can this one survive Carey?)
               Thanks For Sharing (stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Ruffalo & Tim Robbins)
  08/23 - The Grandmaster (directed by Kar Wai Wong)
               Mortal Instruments: The City of Bone: This might be terrible, but the trailer looks like GREAT fun.  Director Harold Zwart DID manage to exceed my expectations roundly with the Karate Kid remake, so who knows how he'll handle a movie about teen-age demon hunters?  Stars Lena Headey, Lily Collins & Aiden Turner with Jonathen Rhys-Meyers and Jean-Pierre Jeunet mainstay Robert Maillet in supporting.
               World's End (Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright with Martin Freeman & Rosamund Pike)
  10/04 - Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For (would be highlighted if it weren't a sequel)
  10/18 - Don Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut)
              Seventh Son (Family fantasy starring Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges)
  11/08 - Thor: The Dark World (no Branagh direction, but Hemsworth and Portman return)
  11/22 - Hunger Games: Catching Fire
  11/27 - Black Nativity: Ok, so an all black musical version of the Christmas story sounds like it could be uber-cheesy, BUT...the film stars Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassette, Jennifer Hudson & Mary J. Blige...so it could also be brilliant...or at least have some brilliant acting.
  TBA -   Almost Christmas (comedy starring Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti & Sally Hawkins)
               Big Wedding: Ok, so a comedy of errors about two families coming together for a wedding has been done to DEATH as a story concept, I admit.  Debut director Justin Zackham is completely untried, I grant you.  However, I WILL be watching any film that stars Susan Sarandan, Dianne Keaton, Robert DeNiro, Robin Williams, Amanda Seyfried, Katherine Heigl & Topher Grace.  This one does.
               Drinking Buddies (with Anna Kendrick & Olivia Wilde)
               Filth (crime drama with McAvoy, Bell & Poots)
               Frank: Michael Fassbender plays a mysterious band leader in a comedy that also features Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, & Scoot McNairy.
               The Harvest (horror flick with Michael Shannon, Samantha Morton & Peter Fonda)
               The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman: This debut feature from director Fredrik Bond is a twisted tale of love and crime.  It stars Shia LaBeouf, Mads Mickelson, Melissa Leo, John Hurt, Rupert Grint, Evan Rachel Wood & Vincent D'Onofrio.
               Prince Avalanche: The latest comedy from director David Gordon Green tells a story of two highway workers played by Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.
               The Rover: Animal Kingdom director David Michod brings us a Western with an Australian accent starring Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson & Scoot McNairy.  Michod co-wrote the script with Joel Edgerton.
                Tar (James Franco, Mila Kunis, Henry Hopper, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Bruce Campbell...)
                Third Person: Paul Haggis directs a tale of three interlocking love stories starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde, Kim Bassinger, Maria Bello, Adrien Brody & Liam Neeson.
                 Two Mothers (reviews from the festival circuit were not great, but I can't resist)
                 Untitled Nicole Holofcener Project
                 Winter's Tale: Director Akiva Goldsman bring high concept fantasy starring Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Jennifer Connelly, Colin Farrell & William Hurt.
                 Zulu (Orlando Bloom & Forrest Whitaker)

     And that concludes The Movie Frog's viewing agenda (as of now) for 2013 releases.  I can't resist doing a post script edition where I make some totally unsubstantiated stabs in the dark about possible Oscar nominations.  Look for it in a couple of days.  Until then...
                                                               Froggy

     Related Articles: Upcoming 2013 Award Season Preview: Part One: Pulpy Players, Part Two: Specialties That Might Spellbind, Part Three: Little Pics That Might Could, Part Four: The Usual Suspects, The Dark Knight Transcends
  

Simply the Favorite Man

     Today's clump of at home viewing options include a modern Kung-fu flick, a comedy that goes with or against the odds and a drama about ageing from Hong Kong.   Don't just wade, dive in...

  Lay the Favorite - Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  Once upon a time, director Stephen Frears crafted films like the 1988 costume drama classic Dangerous Liasons.  There was a time when screen writer D.V. DiVicentis penned a notable little indie called High Fidelity.  In 2012, this creative team brought you a Las Vegas set comedy about a call girl who tries to start a new life as a personal assistant to a professional gambler called Lay the Favorite...sigh.
     What can I say?  The script and film were cliched, predictable, and a little insipid.  The film did have a lot of potential in the cast, but most of them fall well shy of their capabilities.  Bruce Willis phones in his usual Williscisms (such a far cry from his excellent work in Looper) as the gambler. Vince Vaughan is cloying and cartoonish as a rival gambler.  However, Catherine Zeta-Jones does show us a new trick or two, disappearing far enough into her role as Willis's wife that she becomes almost unrecognizable.
     The only thing that really keeps this pic at all watchable is Rebecca Hall in the lead role of Beth.  Beth is everything you would expect from her character bio, ALMOST cartoonishly so.  In Ms. Hall's talented hands, though, the character gains much greater depth and evinces many more sides to her personality than I ever expected at the film's inception.  Beth ends up being laughably childlike, shrewdly capable, and utterly charming all at the same time.  If you are a fan of the young actress's work, I wouldn't miss her here.  Beyond that...2 1/2 of 5 stars.

  The Man With the Iron Fists - RZA wants to break into films in a big way, and making a highly stylized quasi-Kung-Fu flick with archetypal overtones like this is certainly one way to do it.  This film marks his debut as a director and screen writer, although he got an assist on the script from Eli Roth.  Quentin Tarantino produced the film and there IS something of a Kill Bill vibe going on.   "Fists" is painted in far broader strokes than "Bill" was, however, and none of the characters demonstrate the sort of subtle depth that Uma Thurman accomplished with "The Bride".
     It DOES work pretty well in a "style over substance" kind of way, though.  The fight sequences are impressive, amusing, and ridiculous. The production design by Drew Boughton (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) is phenomenal, coupling splendidly with Thomas Chong's (Fearless) delightfully gaudy costuming.  The Make-Up and Hair Design team of Jake Garber, Aileen Seaton, and Erin Ayanian complete the visual picture nicely and cinematographer Chi Ying Chan (Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame) captures it all very effectively.  The only real technical flaw here, for me, was that some of the sound track choices seemed like odd ones for the scenes in which they were used.
     There are also some laudable performances in the movie despite the fact that most of the actors are playing "stock" characters.  When given a caricature to portray, the best thing to do is just go big and no one does that as consistently well as actress Lucy Liu.  She's as good here as you would hope.  Russell Crowe also shines.  It's too bad that this film didn't come out AFTER Les Miserables.  It could have been a minor redemption.  RZA plays the understated contrast of his role to decent effect.  He's still getting his sea legs as an actor, but he's definitely giving it his best effort.  Even Dave Bautista gives a strong turn, but hey, professional wrestling's tone and sensibilities are not ALL that dissimilar to the movie's.
     Now, while I did say there was a Kill Bill tone to this, don't go in expecting a Tarantino flick.  There is a sort of (possibly unconscious) inspiration to that man's work that this picture cannot touch.  It IS entertaining, but not too much more than that.  I enjoyed it, and I'm open to checking out RZA's future projects IF they catch my interest, but I'm not planning a repeat viewing...3 1/2 of 5 stars.

  A Simple Life - Both director Ann Hui and screen writer Susan Chan have several films to their credit, but neither has broken out in the international critical community before the way that they have with this picture.  Maybe co-scripter Yan-lam Lee (on her first movie) gave them the little creative push that they needed.  It's hard to say.  What I can say is that, in A Simple Life, they have created a film that is touching, poignant, and very well put together.
     The movie tells the story of an ageing maid (played brilliantly by Deannie Yip) and the family she has toiled to take care of for fifty years.  When the maid has a stroke, the member that she currently resides with (played by Andy Lau from House of Flying Daggers) turns the tables and begins to take care of her.  Both of the leads do excellent jobs and the film is a vivid portrait of the frustrations felt by capable people as they begin to decline.  I would HIGHLY recommend checking it out...4 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Related Articles: Twist Until You Are Loopey! (Looper review), Les MostlyAbles (Les Miserables review)