Quartet of Wild Angels

     Today we cover a bi-sexual three way romance, another bi-sexual three way romance, and a tale about an elderly foursome.  Always trying to keep you on your toes here at TheMovieFrog.  Age before beauty...

  Quartet - This film was the directorial debut of acting legend Dustin Hoffman.  While it is not the most deeply affecting film you are likely to see this year, nor the most imaginatively rendered, it is a solid ensemble performance piece.  Often when actors are transitioning into the role of director, the aspect of the job that comes most naturally is motivating and guiding other actors.  Such would certainly seem to be the case here.  To Mr. Hoffman's credit, he chose a script that lent to great performances.  Academy winning writer Ronald Harwood (who adapted from his own stage play) has certainly written more ambitious scripts (The Pianist, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), yet Quartet does an excellent job of providing interesting character frameworks for the actors to build upon.
     The film really is an actor's showcase first and foremost.  Although all four of the primary actors do extraordinary work, bringing well rounded characters to life, Tom Courtenay is probably the least memorable.  I do not think we can hold it against him too much, though, as every comedic ensemble must have a "straight man", and Reginald is the (relatively) reasonable member of the title group.  He is a bit curmudgeonly, but once men round a certain age that passes for suave.  Billy Connolly is his polar opposite and best friend as the outlandish and delightfully cheeky scoundrel Wilf.  The "oafish clown whose external nature masks a true self that is calm and wise" persona has certainly been done numerous times before, but Connolly brings real charm and sincerity to the role, embellishing a slightly tired character "type" with genuine humanity.
     The ladies REALLY steal this show, however.  Pauline Collins plays Cissy, a delightfully daft alto who appears to be in the early stages of dementia.  What she lacks in reliable cognitive function, she more than makes up for in radiant goodness.  It is impossible not to love Cissy, even as you laugh at her slow ruination, then hate yourself just a little for doing so.  Ms. Collins never treats Cissy as a joke, and the effects of this choice enhance both the character's comedy and pathos in equal measure.  Then, of course, there is the truly incomparable Maggie Smith. No one plays the crusty old Brit with a heart of gold quite like Smith, and that is exactly the sort of role that Jean, the film's true diva, qualifies as in spades.  While it's not exactly new territory for the veteran actress, it is terrain she travels in style.
      In many ways, we've seen the story of Quartet before.  It is essentially Cocoon without the fountain of youth.  However, we have rarely seen this tale told with such a consistently high quality of acting talent involved, and this keeps the film well worth paying attention to.  I wouldn't say that Hoffman has knocked it out of the park with his directorial debut, but he hits a solid double...4 out of 5 stars.

  Angels of Sex - As I mentioned before, this film and Young and Wild are very similar in terms of both story line and thematic center.  Both films involve a central character caught in a love triangle in which they have fallen for two people, one of each sex.  As such, both films delve wholeheartedly into questions of gender identity, sexual orientation, and society's relative acceptance of the bisexual.  I have to admit that I preferred Angels of Sex, but this could be because I find it more relevant to my own life experience, having gone through a phase of my life when I was a guy sexually involved with both genders.
     You also can't argue with the power of eye candy, and all three of the leads in this story are definitely pretty to look at.  Astrid  Berges-Frisbey plays Carla, who starts out as the woman wronged when her boyfriend gets a boyfriend of his own. She previously crossed over into English language films in Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides.  Lorenc Gonzalez plays Bruno, the boyfriend with the wandering eye and Kinsey scale score. His previous acting experience has mostly been on Spanish language television.   Both of these actors give fine performances, but it is Alvaro Cervantes (who may be recognizable to English speaking viewers from the feature Hanna) in the role of the tempter Rai, who steals the show for me.  Of course, as the tempter Rai, he is meant to steal everything, but he does so remarkably well.
     I won't say that Angels of Sex is a revolutionary film or that it revisits its story's ideas with a lot of original insight.  I WILL say that it was entertaining, and featured a believable and palpable chemistry among the cast's central trio.  It also managed to mislead me at the end, faking me out a bit.  As many movies as I watch, that has to count for something...4 out of 5 stars.

  Young and Wild - Then there's the OTHER mixed gender three way romance of this post.  I actually had somewhat higher hopes for this film.  I found the mixed message of spirituality played against more bestial instincts to be thematically intriguing, but didn't ever really feel as if the film developed these ideas enough for my liking.  While I did see potential in the film making technique of director Marialy Rivas (this is her first international breakout feature, and the second one period), her skills as both a writer and a director may still be a little too raw to handle such ambitious subtext gracefully or in manner that probes it deeply enough. I do hope that she sticks with it, and meets enough success that she flies onto TheMovieFrog radar again.
     I WAS quite impressed with the film's young star Alicia Rodriguez, who brought a sort of bemused vitality to her role.  If anything was lacking in her performance, it would be chemistry with her two co-stars, but I found them lackluster next to her in general, so this may have been due to no fault of Ms. Rodriguez's.
     All in all, Young and Wild was a film with several great moments that never quite found a cohesive whole to belong to...3 1/2 of 5 stars.

Struck by the Rabbi's Color

     Yeah, I know, this is the part where I usually give you cute little teasers about the three films I'm going to be reviewing.  Today's post, however, is special because it is our first At Home Viewing article that includes 2013 releases, specifically Upstream Color and Struck By Lightning.  We are not, however, quite done with the 2012 films as I have about twenty left to do. Today they are represented by the animated feature The Rabbi's Cat.  Might as well get under way...

  Upstream Color - This is the second feature from writer/director/star Shane Carruth.  I have not seen his first film, Primer, but after checking out this movie, I'm more than a little interested.  Upstream Color is, quite simply, the most creative and original science fiction movie that I have seen in a long time (at least since Inception).  I don't ever say this lightly but I was quite literally blown away.  I went into the film with very few expectations one way or another (the picture is still quite obscure, flying under most movie goer's radars).  This is probably to the film's advantage because it is said air of mystery and uncertainty that is the film's greatest strength.  To that end, I am not going to give away any more of the plot than is absolutely needed.
     Upstream Color is not for the impatient or easily frustrated.  The plot is quite literally baffling in the film's first half.  It is the sort of film that you need to just let wash over you for a time until the pieces finally begin to come together.  Even when you have seen the whole film once, chances are that it will not all make sense.  I admit to re-watching it a couple of times myself almost immediately.  Of course, this means that I can say without reservation that this is definitely a feature that highly rewards multiple viewings.
     Besides its ambiguity, the only other real complaint that I've read about the film is the acting performance of director Shane Carruth.  I, however, found both he and Amy Seimetz's lead performances to be fantastic. They both come across as listless and emotionally disconnected, but there is a very good reason for this.  Just trust me.  I actually found that both of them gave multi-layered performances, letting you see glimpses of their more humanizing emotions seeping out through the cracks of their general disorientation.  Andrew Sensenig is also delightfully creepy in a supporting role and Thiago Martins absolutely terrified me in the first half hour.
     I guess at this point I don't really have to say that I HIGHLY recommend this picture.  Besides surely being one of the best written films of a year that is just getting started, and being very well acted, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous.  You can once again thank the multi-talented (and multi-hat-wearing) Mr. Carruth, who also composed the original music and had a hand in the editing.  He instantly goes to the front of the class of exciting new auteurs with Brit Marling and Benh Zeitlen.  I cannot think of a more perfect low budget science fiction flick...5 of 5 stars.

  Struck By Lightning - This marks Emmy winning actor Chris Colfer's (best known for playing Kurt on the television show Glee) debut writing credit on a feature film. I have really enjoyed Mr. Colfer's work on Glee, especially the way in which his character has helped to change public perceptions of young gay men.  As such, I was very hopeful that this film would be just as much of a delight, whether it addressed similar themes or not.  Unfortunately, I cannot say that it was.  It was actually a rather flawed effort which failed to really go anywhere or say very much of anything.
     It tells the story of an ambitious young high school student who is trying desperately to effect his escape from the small town he feels is hampering his growth.  Or was that Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Rushmore? No, no...Election. Get it? Subplots include his relationships with his estranged parents.  His mother is a pill popping head case who acts as if she couldn't care less about him while his father is absent and plays no part in his life whatsoever.  Both of these relationships provide rich potential for development, but were never given enough time or focus to evolve into anything that would provide growth or insight to either the characters or the viewer.  Carson (Colfer) starts a literary magazine to try and improve his college chances and blackmails other prominent members of the student body into participating.  We never really see his plan's success or see him face consequences for his unscrupulous methods.  Some effort is made to insinuate that the students involved might have learned something about themselves through the process of writing, but this thematic thread doesn't go far enough, and sort of trail off into nothingness.
     Mr. Colfer also stars in the film, and I think that he may have been thinking more as an actor than as a writer during the process of conceptualizing his script.  Carson (his character), besides being bitter and witty, is left as sort of an everyman, the straight man (or voice of reason if you want to get really technical in a literary way) in a field of extreme personalities.  I can only assume that this was done to demonstrate that the actor possesses range well the flamboyant exuberance central to his characterization of Kurt on the show that made him famous.  This does not serve the plot as well as it could have, but it REALLY does a disservice to the young artist as an actor.  Mr. Colfer has tremendous talent, but it is as a CHARACTER actor.  This is not to say that he must always be relegated to supporting status, but standard everyman type leading characters are a waste of his rare gift for quirkiness and going over the top.
     The best things about this film are the performances of SOME members of the supporting cast.  Allison Janney is captivating as always even when delivering slightly stilted dialogue as Carson's mother.  Polly Bergan is likewise delightful as his dementia ridden grandmother, although we have certainly seen her play somewhat similar roles in the past.  Sarah Hyland (best known as the youngest daughter on Modern Family) does a respectable job although she, too, is cast to rather familiar type.  Allie Grant (who played young lesbian plus size model Isabelle Hodes on the first several seasons of Weeds) probably stretches herself the most as the uptight yearbook editor.
      Late in the film, Mr. Colfer tries to tie in some sort of metaphoric subtext about bitterness and "personal rain clouds".  Like most of the other threads of the script, this one comes off as frayed.  I do hope that Mr. Colfer gets another shot with another screenplay (or at least another leading film role) because I feel that he has a lot more to offer than just one great role on one good TV show.  Next time, however, I hope he gives himself a more interesting character that stretches his bag of tricks in some way besides being less obviously homosexual. I also hope that he takes a little more time with his other characters and situations so as to avoid quick and easy stereotypes.  Maybe even a story outside of the overly dramatized and over played struggles of American high school students...3 of 5 stars.

  The Rabbi's Cat - Typically, European animated films are quite different from their American counterparts in several key ways.  They tend to be aimed more at the entertainment of both adults and children (you know, like Pixar in the old days only more so).  They rely a lot less on musical interludes delivered in the style of a Broadway play (if at all).  The cast of characters in no way seem to have been designed with an action figure line already planned out.  They involve a little more thought (and wit) than cuteness (and fart jokes).  The biggest difference, however, is that Foreign 'toons seem to be written in a far more literary style, at least attempting to develop something a little more thematically complex than a one sentence moral presented in a far more clumsy and obvious way than Aesop ever did.  The higher meanings behind last year's Animated nominees, for example, could be summed up like this:
                                1. Don't be ruled by fate, but don't forget who you are.
                                2. Sometimes weird is good and even necessary.
                                3. If you set out to do the impossible you may succeed, but it will be an empty victory if your motivations are not rooted in love. (Which ain't half bad and is why Frankenweenie should have won)
                                4. Don't be ruled by fate, but don't forget who you are. (This would have been good advice to both the parent studio and its subsidiary.  Maybe if they'd paid attention to their own platitudes they wouldn't have both made the same cartoon last year.)
                                5. It's funny when stupid clumsy pirates get hurt. (Sorry Aardman, but this was such a make-up nod for nominating three films that were nowhere near as good Arthur Christmas for the 84th Oscars.)
     Which brings us, at long last, to The Rabbi's Cat.  It is not an "adults only" type of animated story.  It doesn't indulge in the sort of lusty sensuality (not to mention excessive overindulgence in alcohol) of Chico and Rita.  It IS, however, the most thematically ambitious piece of 100% animated film making that I have ever seen.  Race relations, the quality of truth, religious tolerance, the nature of faith, love (in a world beyond fairy tales) and tradition versus innovation are all topics that have been skillfully woven into the tapestry of this tale.  I cannot stress enough how refreshing it is that these serious subjects of thought emerged  organically from the interaction of the characters and events.  The Rabbi's Cat is no message movie, nor does it attempt to give pat or easy answers to the questions it raises.
     The picture is based upon the graphic novel of the same name by French actor/writer/director Joann Sfar.
Of course, he had help on the directing side of things from Antoine Delesvaux, and on the writing side from Sandrina Jardel.  I incorrectly assumed that having created the original story was Mr.Sfar's only qualification for these positions, but he actually had previous directing experience on Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (which I have never seen).  The translation from printed medium to dramatic representation was accomplished with sensibilities that show deft awareness pertaining to the requirements of the medium.
     I do have a couple of reservations about the film, however.  While I usually abhor dubbed translations on Foreign Language Films, I actually prefer them to subtitles (which this film implemented) when the film in question is animated.  In live action movies, the dubbing of (usually inferior) English interpretations of the lines detracts far too much from the power of the actors' performances.  In a cartoon, where every element besides the voice is supplied artificially, it is difficult to pull much depth of feeling from the words if you do not understand them. It is something of a lesson about how essential facial expressions and body language are to our perceptions of not only the craft of acting, but all observations of human expression.  At any rate, The Rabbi's Cat went with subtitles which is far too distracting from the animation itself, as it requires that you look at it to appreciate it.
     The only other complaint that I can muster is that the film ended a little too abruptly for my tastes.  While I understand that the thematic questions raised in this picture are far too expansive and elusive to enable neat and easy solutions over the course of one feature length cartoon.  Trying to wrap them up in the finale would have been disastrous.  The problem lies in the fact that even the plot lines seemed to just sort of rush through a denouma and end, without resolving any of the characters' plots.  Still, you have to give Mr. Sfar points for courage and chutzpah...4 of 5 stars.
     

Daddy's Evil Plan

     And the second installment of the 2010 rewind series finds me covering an Italian true crime thriller, a romantic dramedy of errors, and a tribute to the best worst Dad ever.  Today's selection is really about some LITTLE films that most of you were probably completely unaware of.  I hear echoes of a time JUST before TheMovieFrog was set loose...

  Angel of Evil - The Salamander actually caught this on Netflix Instant Play and insisted that I make it a part of the rewind series so I decided to check it out.  It is the first film that I have seen from Italian director Michele Placido but it reminds me very much of the French crime thrillers I have seen in recent years such as Headhunters and particularly the Mesrine films.  Highly stylized violence with a charming but reprehensible leading man that still packs more surprises than your average American action flick.
     I am likewise unfamiliar with the career of leading man Kim Rossi Stuart, who plays the infamous outlaw Renato Vallanzasca with cockiness and vulnerability.  The actor has the charisma to pull off that most precious of characters: the one you love to hate.  He refers to himself in the third person and you loathe him for it, but then he almost gets killed and you ache at the thought of no longer getting pleasure from detesting him.  It is a fine performance, which only suffers by inevitable comparisons to both Vincent Cassell as Mesrine and Edgar Ramirez as Carlos the Jackal, both in movies released around the same time.
     Which is really my one complaint with the film overall.  It's just not QUITE as good as those other flicks.  I enjoyed it but it felt a little like watching an American remake of a great European picture often does, something in the formula seemed a little hinky.  Maybe the problem is that Italian acting and film making styles are rather demonstrative and in a film where the lead character has such a naturally bombastic personality a guiding hand that takes a little more time with the subtleties is more in order...3 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Plan B - The debut feature from out German writer/director Marco Berger has disproved my previous impression that Wolfe releasing dealt strictly in lesbian themed films.  Apparently they distribute films about gay men as well.  In this picture, one man (Bruno) decides to try and get his ex-girlfriend back by seducing her new lover Pablo, who is rumored to be bisexual.  Of course, over the course of the story the men fall in love with each other for real, etc., etc.
     As I'm sure you can guess from just that briefest of synopsis, the film has three primary weaknesses.  The first is that the plot is such a hackneyed, contrived thing.  Obviously.  The second is that the film is totally predictable, and unspools exactly as anyone who has watched very many "gay" movies will expect it to.  The third is that the primary character's motivations are so petty, and his methods so deplorable, that it is difficult to garner much sympathy for him or his rather unbelievably discovered emotions.
     Fortunately, most of the little details are a bit more acceptable.  The script takes this improbable situation and injects it with so many vivid, valid details that you almost begin to believe it.  Bruno and Pablo's overall journey is ludicrous, but the little steps that they take along the way are nicely handled.
     The film's other saving grace is that the primary actors Manuel Vignau (Bruno) and Lucas Ferraro (Pablo) both do decent jobs with their roles and there is a LITTLE sizzle to their onscreen chemistry.  They are both best when they play towards awkwardness, maybe because the premise itself is so clumsy.  I wasn't angry about the time I lost watching Plan B, but I'm not coming back if they make a Plan C...3 of 5 stars.

  Daddy Longlegs (aka Go Get Some Rosemary) - This largely autobiographical film from the Safdie brothers tore up the independent film circuit in 2010 although the chances are probably quite good that you've never heard of it before.  Star Ronald Bromstein won the Breakthrough Award at the Gothams.  The film itself was given the Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirits.  All of this despite the fact that it looks not so much like a low-budget film, but a no-budget film.  In fact, the whole thing might have been shot on a Super 8 camera the brothers found in their parents attic (just a wild guess).  So why did people like it so much?
     Well, two reasons.  First, the script tells a small scale story very, very well. It is basically a character study, one that delves into a very extreme character.  Rather than try to neatly sum up a personality with so many disparate sides, it gives you episodes in the course of a life.  Many of these seem so contradictory that it is hard to believe that they are all about the same person.  Slowly, laboriously, you begin to understand the man as a whole.
     Of course, this sort of tale would never work without a strong central performance, and Ronald Bromstein gives just that.  He never seems to judge or condone Lenny, he just is Lenny.  We may be shocked at Lenny, even appalled by Lenny, but we can never bring ourselves to hate Lenny.  Both lovable and infuriating, Mr. Bromstein's performance allows you to put yourself emotionally into the shoes of Lenny's children with regards to how you perceive him.  Which is, of course, seems to be the Safdie's intention in this backhanded tribute to their father...4 of 5 stars.

  Related articles:  Monsieur Cat-Hunter (Headhunters 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)

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

The Five-Day Fade

     Today's at home viewing reviews include a musical rewind to the sixties, a travesty of justice from the seventies, and another of the same from the eighties. Let's hop some decades...

  The Central Park Five - Documentarian Ken Burns is famous mostly for his work on PBS series and specials that have illuminated various topics and times from the history of America.  Apparently, the calling is to be a family affair, because with this film his daughter Sarah joins him as co-director.  The picture tells the story of five black and Latino youths who were convicted (on the flimsiest of evidence) of raping a woman in New York's Central Park in 1989.
     While the story IS heart breaking and thoroughly told, I'm afraid that the movie comes across as a little dry.  Told mostly in straightforward interviews interspersed with vintage footage, there are few of the cinematic flourishes we have come to expect in recent years from feature documentary films.  Also working against the picture are the inevitable comparisons to the Paradise Lost series, which told a similar story in a much more dramatic fashion.  While "Central" does address racial issues not inherent to the West Memphis case, otherwise it mostly covers the same thematic ground...3 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Any Day Now - In this movie, writer/director Travis Fine takes on the issue of gay adoption through the true life story of a 1970's couple who tried to legally adopt a teen-age boy with Down Syndrome after being granted temporary custody by his negligent mother.  It's not a pretty story, but it is one that is well told.  It does become a tad melodramatic in the final act, but the facts of the case are a true American melodrama.
     The film hinges upon the performances of Alan Cumming and Garrett Dillahunt, who play the lovers Rudy and Paul.  I am most familiar with Alan Cumming in the role of Nightcrawler in the first X-Men film franchise, but his work here is excellent and nuanced.  Rudy is a drag queen and easily the more flamboyant of the two.  Whereas most actors would approach a character like this (complete with over the top cabaret numbers) with broad strokes, Cumming fills Rudy with details and delicate touches that allow him to easily avoid creating a mere caricature.
     Most of you are probably familiar with actor Garrett Dillahunt as the star of the TV show Raising Hope, although he has certainly played a number of smaller roles on the big screen as well. In this film he plays Paul, the closeted assistant DA who gives up everything to be with Rudy and raise Marco with him.  He plays the character with great calm determination, creating a dynamic in which each member of the couple lends their relative strengths to each other.  The viewer never doubts the love between the two, nor the love that they have available for Marco.
     While the complaint could be made that most of the other characters are played as unrepentant villains, this is not so much a flaw in characterization as a reflection upon how far we have come as a society.  During the time in which the action of the film takes place, their attitudes and opinions would easily have been touted as ethically sound.  Looking at them through modern eyes, they seem hopelessly insensitive to both the feelings of the couple and the needs of the child.  Perhaps in another thirty years, the entire issue will seem ridiculous...4 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Not Fade Away - Writer/director David Chase is probably best known as the creator of The Sopranos television series.  In Not Fade Away he presents us with a different vision of New Jersey as we follow the adventures of several teen-age boys in the 1960's who try to start a rock band.  As a period piece it works quite well with lots of historical milestones filling in the background of the boys' world to keep us rooted in the era.
     The film is also tied to the television show by the presence of James Gandolfini, who plays the main character's father.  His interaction with lead John Maguro forms the basis for most of the film's dramatic highpoints and the two have excellent onscreen chemistry.  In fact, Maguro is quite excellent throughout and the main reason for seeing the picture.  His rendition of "Time is On My Side" is actually a little inspired.
     My biggest complaint with the movie is that the narration is delivered by Maguro's character's younger sister, who is largely uninvolved in the action of the film, and would have in fact been unaware of most of the story as it was happening.  One can assume that her brother filled her in later, but that of course skews the whole story to his perceptions.  A small complaint, but one that bothered me nonetheless...4 of 5 stars.
     

The Great Gay Film Festival of 2011

     There were also several films with gay themes of note that I failed to catch back in 2011, so I put three of them together to make this post.  Why the hell not?
     Today's "colors in the homo rainbow" include a teen transsexual, a man so far in the closet he's in Narnia, and a sci-fi thriller about sexual coming of age.  I am happy to report that this batch of movies was MUCH better than the 2012 version of the festival.  Less snark, more recommended viewing!

    Gun Hill Road - Believe it or not, this one was already on my viewing list and it JUST released on DVD earlier this month.  I believe it first came within range of my radar due to young star Harmony Santana's Gotham Award nomination for the Breakthrough Award which the young transsexual actress deserved in spades.  As Michael/Vanessa she gives a performance that is nuanced and pained, yet demonstrates a confidence and understanding of exactly who the character is.  No doubt many points in the film mirror experiences and feelings in her own life, but she creates a character that is far more than a stock personality.
     I also have to take a moment to compliment actress Judy Reyes, who plays Michael/Vanessa's mother.  Rarely has a performance captured such unconditional love of a parent for a child, or such yearning for a closeness to one's husband that seems just beyond the character's grasp.  The actress certainly proves that she has dramatic chops that go far beyond the comedic stylings of SCRUBS.
     Unfortunately, actor Esai Morales's performance seems slightly forced by comparison as the conflicted father.  We definitely get his frustration and confusion, and they ring true for the most part.  However, some of his scenes seem to degenerate into a stereotypical, macho "But he's my boy" litany that could have been played with a little more variety.
     This is the first feature for writer/director Rashaad Ernesto Green, and I hope that the limited commercial success of Gun Hill Road does not hinder his ability to make another.  The script is written with intelligence and sensitivity to ALL of the parties involved and his direction indicates an ability to draw truth from the performances of his actors.  I definitely recommend this film, especially for the parents and families of children whose sexual identity may fall outside of the norm...4 of 5 stars.

  Beauty - Winner of the 2011 Queer Palme at Cannes, Beauty is a South African film that tells the story of Francois van Heerden, a man in his mid-40's who enjoys sex with men (unknown to his wife and family), but hates "faggots" (which should be clear to anyone around him).  Francois is played brilliantly by actor Deon Lotz, who manages to make the character both horrifying and oddly sympathetic.  Excellent supporting turns are provided by actors Charlie Keegan (as the young man he develops feelings for) and Michelle Scott (as the unsuspecting wife), but make no mistake, this is largely a one-man show.
     Writers Oliver Hermanus and Didier Costet were previously unknown to me, but they have crafted a tale that lends real irony to the film's title.  Francois's inability to accept his own attraction to "beauty" leads him to live a life full of bitterness and ugliness.  It is a marvelous example of how living in the closet (or in any other form of denial) can turn a man into a monster.  Hermanus also directs, and he pulls together a tightly knit and expertly handled production.  Beauty is not an easy film to watch, but it is well worth the effort and discomfort...4 1/2 of 5 stars.

  Kaboom - In my experience, the work of writer/director Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation) is always trippy and surreal, but I don't think I've ever seen him have so much fun with a film.  Kaboom is one part sexual awakening tale, one part sci-fi thriller, and one part farce.  Somehow all of these disparate parts stew together into a wholly unique movie that is improbably cohesive in tone.
     The ensemble cast as a whole is great, but the film belongs (acting wise) to Thomas Dekker, who plays Smith.  It took me most of the film to remember where I had seen the young actor before I remembered that he played John Conner in TV's Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles.  This is a very different role, one that enables Mr. Dekker to show an acting range that lies well outside the previous one.  He does so marvelously, aided by one of the most hypnotic [pairs of eyes ever put on the big screen.
     Mr. Araki wisely understands the confusion and alienation experienced by college age kids who are just beginning to understand themselves and their bodies.  Smith's feeling that he is "alien" in some way and caught up in forces beyond his control is something of a metaphor for how everyone feels as a young adult.  This is the "serious" thematic core of the piece.  The fact that, in his case, there are external forces to justify said feelings only adds to the general hilarity and mystery. The ending is a LITTLE disappointing, but I can largely forgive the film maker because I had so much fun getting there...4 of 5 stars.

     Related Articles: The Great Gay Film Festival of 2012

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 Preview - Part 3: Little Pics That Might Could

    Below is my third list of films for the 2013-2014 Awards season, titled Little Pics That Might Could.  Each article in this series will present 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 the fifth post). This post is in honor of the year 2011, when the little art house film (most too small for Oscar to notice) ruled the day.  In its honor, I present this set of films destined for limited release and crossed fingers.  This category can contain many genres, but it is mainly the stomping ground of dramas and dramedies.
     On a side note, 2013 is showing early signs of a strong art house year already.  Films like Mud, Fruitvale & Ain't Them Bodies Saints are already tearing up the festival circuit and we still have films from Jeunet and Gillam coming down the pike.
      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 Little Pics That Might Could in 2013 are...

  01/11 - Quartet (stars Maggie Smith)
  03/15 - Better Mus Come
              Ginger & Rosa (Elle Fanning is supposed to be amazing)
  03/22 - My Brother the Devil (gay themes and Islam collide in Great Britain)
               The Sapphires (the 2012 festival sensation finally makes it stateside)
  04/26 - Mud: So, director Jeff Nichols blew me away with Take Shelter in 2011 and Michael Shannon (my #1 lead male performance of 2011 for Shelter) is reunited with the film maker for this picture.  This film has received almost universal praise on the festival circuit.  Oh, and for those who feel Matthew McConaughey was unduly snubbed for his work in Magic Mike last year, this is supposedly the best work of his career.  Also features Reese Witherspoon.
               The Reluctant Fundamentalist
  05/03 - What Maisie Knew (Julianne Moore & Alexander Skarsgard & the trailer looks GREAT)
  05/17 - The English Teacher (Julianne Moore again)
  05/31 - Shadow Dancer (Andrea Riseborough's lead performance has received near universal acclaim)
  06/07 - Passion (Brian De Palma directs a sapphic thriller starring Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams)
  06/14 - Bling Ring (director Sophia Coppola's follow up to Somewhere looks far less drowsy)
  06/21 - Unfinished Song (Terrence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave)
  07/19 - Girl Most Likely (Kristen Wiig and Matt Damon)
  07/26 - Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen's latest)
               Fruitvale: This film already won writer/director Ryan Coogler both the Grand Jury Prize and an Audience Award at Sundance before being picked up for distribution by The Weinstein Co.  I don't know how your math adds up, but that sounds like a potential awards player to me.  Star Michael B. Jordan is also generating buzz.  Octavia Spencer supports.
  08/16 - Ain't Them Bodies Saints: This one won the Cinematography award at Sundance and David Lowery won the Directors To Watch award at the Palm Springs Film Festival.  With a cast that includes Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, and Ben Foster, this one could also be a major player.
  TBA -   Austenland
               Berberian Sound Studio: This little horror film cleaned up at last year's British Independent Film Awards as well as with the London Film Critics Circle last year.  Lead actor Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) has also won a lot of acclaim. Now if it would just get a U.S. release date...
               Bluebird
               Breathe In (writer/director Drake Doremus's follow up to Martha Marcy Mae Marlene)
               Calvary (writer/director John Michael McDonaugh's follow up to The Guard)
               Concussion
               Dallas Buyer's Club: Matthew McConaughey may have the best year ever in 2013.  He stars in this tale of a homophobic man infected with HIV in the mid-80's who founds a smuggling ring to get unapproved meds into this country.  Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria, Cafe de Flore) directs and Jennifer Garner co-stars.
               The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers
                                             and
               The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His: Two films that tell the same story from two different perspectives.  This will be the debut feature from writer/director Ned Benson but he managed to attract a cast that includes Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Ciaran Hinds, William Hurt and Viola Davis.
               Effie:  Emma Thompson penned this one and has a meaty supporting turn.  Oh, and it stars Dakota Fanning.
               Francis Ha (Noah Brumbaugh and Greta Gerwig's follow up to Greenberg)
               Gambit (script by the Coen Brothers)
               Jayne Mansfield's Car (written & directed by Billy Bob Thornton)
               Kill Your Darlings: Writer/director John Krokidas's debut feature is a thriller set in the world of the beat generation.  The film stars (get ready) Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall, Elizabeth Olsen, Ben Foster, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyra Sedgewick & Dane Dehaan.  Krokidas was cited as a director to watch at the Palm Springs film festival.
               Laurence Anyways: Winner of the Queer Palme at 2012 Cannes, this film from director Xavier Dolan (I Killed My Mother) follows a transexual's relationship with her lover as she changes.  Actress Suzanne Clement also was awarded Un Certain Regard.
               The Look of Love (from Michael Winterbottom, director of 24 Hour Party People)
               Madame Bovary: This latest adaptation from director Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls) is being kept fairly quiet at the moment.  However, any film that stars Ezra Miller, Mia Wasikowska & Paul Giamatti has my interest.
               Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom: The Weinstein Company has already picked up this latest from director Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl), which always boosts a film's chances at recognition. The film stars Idris Elba and Naomie Harris as the Mandelas.
                Mother of George
                Night Moves (Jesse Eisenberg & Dakota Fanning)
                Nightingale
                Nymphomaniac: Writer/director Lars von Trier is both a genius and a madman, his films both amazing and disturbing.  This follow up to the masterpiece Melancholia stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Bell, Christian Slater, and Willem Dafoe.
                Parkland (Zac Efron, Paul Giamatti, Tom Welling, Billy Bob Thornton, Jackie Earle Hayley...)
                The Railway Man: Oscar loves movies tied to World War II and true stories and this is both.  More than that it stars Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgard, and War Horse star Jeremy Irvine.
                Sunlight, Jr. (Naomi Watts & Matt Dillon)
                Touchy Feely
                You Can't Win
                The Young and Prodigious Spivet: Writer/director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's work (Amelie, City of Lost Children, Micmacs) is always creative, playful, dark and wondrous simultaneously.  This time he's working in English with Helena Bonham Carter, Rober Maillet (a usual suspect), Callum Keith Rennie and Judy Davis.
                Zero Theorem: Terry Gillam has got to be one of the most pivotal directors of the last several decades to have never received a Best Director nomination (although he did get a screenwriting nod for Brazil).  Granted, his work is usually VERY bizarre, but surely the Academy has to recognize what a unique cinematic voice the man has.  Oh, well, they'll probably ignore this one too, and I'll probably love it.  The cast features Christoph Waltz, Matt Damon, Ben Whishaw, Tilda Swinton, David Thewliss & Melanie Thierry.
             
        And that does it for the Little Pics That Might Could in the coming year.  Two more sets of films remain.  Next up: "The Usual Suspects" covers the true Oscar Bait.  Hop aboard my lily pad and take a look.
                                                                                             Froggy

  Related Articles: Upcoming 2013 Award Season Preview: Part One: Pulpy Players, Part Two: Specialties That Might Spellbind, Senna, Take 13 (Take Shelter review), Where Did the Magic Spider Go? (Magic Mike review), Martha's Certified Method (Martha Marcy Mae Marlene review), WE Guard Rum (The
Guard review), Beautiful Melancholy Conspirator (Melancholia review)

(Byg)on(e) the Road

     As far as I can tell, this is the second film that Walter Salles has directed in the English language, following the tepidly received feature Dark Water.  I have not seen that picture.  My familiarity with the director derives from his classic Spanish and Portuguese language movies: The Motorcycle Diaries and Central Station.  While On The Road doesn't quite live up to the par set by those films, it is a valiant effort at a very daunting task.
     The picture is based on Jack Kerouac's classic manifesto of the beat generation of the same name, which was long thought to be unadaptable.  To do the impossible, Salles reteamed with Motorcyle Diaries scribe Jose Rivera.  I have only read the first couple of chapters of the novel (and that was back in college), so it is difficult to say for sure if Mr. Rivera hit all the points that fans of the book would have expected him to.  However, I will say that he managed to pen a pretty cohesive story from a source that I recall as being a fairly rambling and stream of consciousness type of book, which is always difficult.  While certainly not the year's most riveting screenplay, On The Road held my interest throughout.
     One thing that often WAS riveting about this movie going experience was the photography from cinematographer Eric Gautier (Into the Wild, Motorcycle Diaries) whose vision of America is quite beautiful to behold.  The landscape of almost an entire country as seen from its roadways must be tough to capture the essence of in a couple of hours, especially one as large and diverse as the U.S.  On The Road is a quintessential story of American culture during a particular slice of time, however, and it is just as much about the places as it is about the people.  I would say that Mr. Gautier did said places justice, to put it mildly.
     On The Road IS also about the people, though, particularly the subculture known as the Beat Generation (or Beatniks).  These were the original lost youth of the twentieth century, a backlash to the almost Victorian repression prevalent in post-war America.  Backlash to repression manifests most clearly along a spectrum that runs from hedonism to a pure yearning for self-expression.  The two lead characters of this story manifest both of these tendencies, yet favor one over the other.
     Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) is a writer.  Although he is the "main character", he is more of an observer throughout most of the film.  We watch the other characters through his eyes more than we watch him.  When we are watching him, he is mostly sitting alone and scribbling on whatever scraps of paper he can find.  Obviously, his escape from the chains of societal norms is found primarily through artistic expression.  He records the antics of "the mad ones" in order to show America how the pressure to keep up appearances eats at its youth from within.  Mr. Riley gives a nice, understated performance that is a far cry from the incessant mugging he ALMOST was able to get away with in Brighton Rock.
     He is COMPLETELY upstaged (which is actually appropriate to the characters, honestly) by co-star Garrett Hedlund in the role of Dean Moriarty.  Dean is hedonism personified.  Life within a ten foot radius of Dean is a whirlwind of pot, booze, speed, and sex at all times.  He is Sal's favorite muse, the embodiment of his restless theme.  Any conversation Dean holds with ANYONE is laced with sexual tension, be they man or woman, gay or straight.  Hedlund pulls this off flawlessly, and that's just the beginning of what he captures in this performance.  In his hands, Dean is truly a charismatic force of nature, but sooooo hurting, needy, and desperate at his core.  I'm glad I got to see this film before I put together my Supporting Actor list for the Best of 2012 series (coming soon).
     The cast is chock full of amazing talent including Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Elizabeth Moss, and Steve Buscemi. I don't think I've seen Tom Sturridge in anything since Fairy Tale when he was just a lad, but he is fantastic as Carlo Marx, often fighting Hedlund for focus in their shared scenes.  Kristen Stewart also made the most of her screen time as Marylou; I think this may be my favorite thing that she's done.  Her general wistfulness plays well in this part and I totally bought it.
     The thing that really keeps On The Road quite clearly short of greatness boils down, in this little Movie Frog's opinion, to a matter of timeliness.  The book was quite clearly one of the most innovative and titilating novels of its era, but it is an era long past.  The Hippies outdid the "lost generation" status of the Beatniks only to be one upped by the Punk generation, and so on.  Of course, the "shocking" elements of On The Road (particularly the homo-eroticism) are a huge part of what kept it from being adapted to film decades ago.  Now that you can put such things in movies without limiting their exposure to a very specific segment of the populace, the story has also lost much of its shock value.  It's hard to be horrified at Dean's excesses after watching an episode or two of Breaking Bad.  It's just a fact.  It's not really anybody's fault, and I applaud everyone involved for their efforts.  There is nothing really "bad" about the film at all.  It only disappoints because a story that was really designed to startle the viewer out of their stupor instead lulls the modern audience into a state of nostalgia...4 of 5 stars.

  Related posts: Orange Rock Diaries (Brighton Rock review)