Film Update – 15 December 2008

Here’s a re-cap of the films I’ve seen from 2008 so far and what I think of them:

• Jumper / F
• High School Musical 3: Senior Year / D-
• You Don’t Mess With the Zohan / D-
• Rambo / D-
• 27 Dresses / D+
• The Incredible Hulk / C-
• I Could Never Be Your Woman / C-
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull / C-
• 21 / C
• Bonneville / C+
• Cloverfield / C+
• Then She Found Me / B-
• Charlie Bartlett / B-
• Get Smart / B-
• Religulous / B-
• The Life Before Her Eyes / B
• Pineapple Express / B
• Quantum of Solace / B
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall / B
• Be Kind Rewind / B
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day / B+
• Wanted / B+
• Tropic Thunder / B+
• Kung Fu Panda / B+
• Iron Man / B+
• Blindness / B+
• Funny Games / B+
• Changeling / B+
• Gran Torino / B+
• [Rec] / A-
• Burn After Reading / A-
• In Bruges / A-
• Happy-Go-Lucky / A-
• Frost/Nixon / A-
• The Reader / A-
• Rachel Getting Married / A
• The Wrestler / A
• Doubt / A
• WALL-E / A+
• The Dark Knight / A+
• Milk / A+
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button / A+
• Slumdog Millionaire / A+

I still need to see Revolutionary Road, I’ve Loved You So Long, Frozen River, The Visitor, Bolt, Defiance and a few others before I can sum up the year.

But for now, this is what I rate the year as a whole:

2008 / A-

A great year for film… not nearly as good as 2007, but better than most other years this decade.

The Golden Globe Nominations Announced Today!

This morning at 8 AM, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, along with its four celebrity presenters (Brooke Shields, Rainn Wilson, Elizabeth Banks and Terrence Howard) announced the nominees for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

The nominees are as follows:

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Eileen Atkins / “Cranford”
• Laura Dern / Recount
• Melissa George / “In Treatment”
• Rachel Griffiths / “Brothers & Sisters”
• Dianne Wiest / “In Treatment”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in  a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Neil Patrick Harris / “How I Met Your Mother”
• Denis Leary / Recount
• Jeremy Piven / “Entourage”
• Blair Underwood / “In Treatment”
• Tom Wilkinson / “John Adams”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama

• Sally Field / “Brothers & Sisters”
• Mariska Hargitay / “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
• January Jones / “Mad Men”
• Anna Paquin / “True Blood”
• Kyra Sedgwick / “The Closer”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

• Gabriel Byrne / “In Treatment”
• Michael C. Hall / “Dexter”
• Jon Hamm / “Mad Men”
• Hugh Laurie / “House M.D.”
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers / “The Tudors”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical

• Christina Applegate / “Samantha Who?”
• America Ferrera / “Ugly Betty”
• Tina Fey / “30 Rock”
• Debra Messing / “The Starter Wife”
• Mary-Louise Parker / “Weeds”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical

• Alec Baldwin / “30 Rock”
• Steve Carell / “The Office”
• Kevin Connolly / “Entourage”
• David Duchovny / “Californication”
• Tony Shalhoub / “Monk”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television

• Judi Dench / “Cranford”
• Catherine Keener / An American Crime
• Laura Linney / “John Adams”
• Shirley MacLaine / Coco Chanel
• Susan Sarandon / Bernard and Doris

Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television

• Ralph Fiennes / Bernard and Doris
• Paul Giamatti / “John Adams”
• Kevin Spacey / Recount
• Kiefer Sutherland / 24: Redemption
• Tom Wilkinson / Recount

Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Bernard and Doris
• “Cranford”
• “John Adams”
• A Raisin in the Sun
• Recount

Best Television Series – Comedy/Musical

• “Californication”
• “Entourage”
• “The Office”
• “30 Rock”
• “Weeds”

Best Television Series – Drama

• “Dexter”
• “House M.D.”
• “In Treatment”
• “Mad Men”
• “True Blood”

Best Foreign Language Film

• Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
• Maria Larssons eviga ogonblick
  
• Gomorra
• Il y a longtemps que je t’aime (I’ve Loved You So Long)
  
• Waltz with Bashir

Best Animated Film

• Bolt
• Kung Fu Panda
• WALL-E

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

• Clint Eastwood / Changeling
• Alexandre Desplat / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• James Newton Howard / Defiance
• Hans  Zimmer / Frost/Nixon
• A.R. Rahman / Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

• “I Thought I Lost You” / Bolt
• “Once in a Lifetime” / Cadillac  Records
• “Gran Torino” / Gran Torino
• “Down to Earth” / WALL-E
• “The Wrestler” / The Wrestler

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

• Eric Roth, Robin Swicord / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• John Patrick Shanley / Doubt
• Peter Morgan / Frost/Nixon
• David Hare / The Reader
• Simon Beaufoy / Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director – Motion Picture

• Danny Boyle / Slumdog Millionaire
• Stephen Daldry / The Reader
• David Fincher / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard / Frost/Nixon
• Sam Mendes / Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

• Amy Adams / Doubt
• Penelope Cruz / Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Viola Davis / Doubt
• Marisa Tomei / The Wrestler
• Kate Winslet / The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

• Tom Cruise / Tropic Thunder
• Robert Downey Jr. / Tropic Thunder
• Ralph Fiennes / The Duchess
• Philip Seymour Hoffman / Doubt
• Heath Ledger / The Dark Knight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

• Rebecca Hall / Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Sally Hawkins / Happy-Go-Lucky
• Frances McDormand / Burn After Reading
• Meryl Streep / Mamma Mia!
• Emma Thompson / Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

• Javier Bardem / Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Colin Farrell / In Bruges
• James Franco / The Pineapple Express
• Brendan Gleeson / In Bruges
• Dustin Hoffman / Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

• Anne Hathaway / Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie / Changeling
• Meryl Streep / Doubt
• Kristin Scott Thomas / Il y a longtemps que je t’aime (I’ve Loved You So Long)
• Kate Winslet / Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

• Leonardo DiCaprio / Revolutionary Road
• Frank Langella / Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn / Milk
• Brad Pitt / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Mickey Rourke / The Wrestler

Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

• Burn After Reading
• Happy-Go-Lucky
• In Bruges
• Mamma Mia!
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Motion Picture – Drama

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Frost/Nixon
• The Reader
• Revolutionary Road
• Slumdog Millionaire

And those are the nominations.

I think there were many snubs and many inclusions which are definitely not deserved.

But then again, the Golden Globes are all about star-power and who they can reel onto the red carpet. So I can’t say I’m surprised.

I will have more to say about the nominations later today.

Oscar Predictions – 8 December 2008

Okay, let’s get right into this. My predictions for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Animated Film will be posted here today.

Best Animated Feature Film

• Kung Fu Panda
• WALL-E
• Waltz with Bashir

Best Costume Design

• Catherine Martin / Australia
• Jacqueline West / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Jenny Beavan / Defiance
• Michael O’Connor / The Duchess
• Albert Wolsky / Revolutionary Road

Best Art Direction

• Catherine Martin / Australia
• Donald Graham Burt / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Nathan Crowley / The Dark Knight
• Briggite Broch / The Reader
• Kristi Zea / Revolutionary Road

Best Cinematography

• Mandy Walker / Australia
• Claudio Miranda / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Wally Pfister / The Dark Knight
• Chris Menges / The Reader
• Roger Deakins / Revolutionary Road

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Eric Roth / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• John Patrick Shanley / Doubt
• Peter Morgan / Frost/Nixon
• Justin Haythe / Revolutionary Road
• Simon Beaufoy / Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay

• Dustin Lance Black / Milk
• Jenny Lumet / Rachel Getting Married
• Woody Allen / Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Andrew Stanton / WALL-E
• Robert D. Siegel / The Wrestler

Best Supporting Actress

• Taraji P. Henson / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Viola Davis / Doubt
• Rosemarie DeWitt / Rachel Getting Married
• Kate Winslet / The Reader
• Penélope Cruz / Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Supporting Actor

• Heath Ledger / The Dark Knight
• Philip Seymour Hoffman / Doubt
• Josh Brolin / Milk
• James Franco / Milk
• Michael Shannon / Revolutionary Road

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Meryl Streep / Doubt
• Sally Hawkins / Happy-Go-Lucky
• Anne Hathaway / Rachel Getting Married
• Kate Winslet / Revolutionary Road

Best Actor

• Frank Langella / Frost/Nixon
• Clint Eastwood / Gran Torino
• Sean Penn / Milk
• Leonardo DiCaprio / Revolutionary Road
• Mickey Rourke / The Wrestler

Best Director

• David Fincher / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Christopher Nolan / The Dark Knight
• Ron Howard / Frost/Nixon
• Gus Van Sant / Milk
• Danny Boyle / Slumdog Millionaire

Best Picture

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• Slumdog Millionaire

Well, that’s what I have to say for now. My next predictions will come after the Golden Globe Awards are announced on Thursday, December 11th. I will review these and post updated ones in a week.

Film Update – 8 December 2008

Since I haven’t utilized this blog since July, I will take it upon me to update my top 10 of 2008, my Oscar predictions and everything else that has happened in the film world since July. At least I will try…

Here’s a point form list of what I have done relating to film since the end of July:

• Attended the gala premiere of the film Blindness at the Toronto International Film Festival
• Attended a screening of the film The Wrestler at the Toronto International Film Festival
• Saw the Coen Brothers’ new film Burn After Reading in the theaters
• Saw the disgusting sequel High School Musical 3: Senior Year in theaters
• Attended a special presentation at my school, York University, from cinematographer Paul Sarossy. He screened one of Atom Egoyan’s films that he worked on: Where the Truth Lies.
• Saw the 22nd Bond film, Quantum of Solace, in theaters
• Saw Clint Eastwood’s film Changeling
• Attended a special screening of David Fincher’s new film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at an AMC in downtown Toronto on December 3rd
• Finally watched WALL-E on DVD

That’s pretty much all that has happened since the beginning of August. Sad, I know.

But I also have three exciting films that I will be seeing all in one day on Wednesday, December 10th, 2008. These films are: Milk, Frost/Nixon and Slumdog Millionaire.

I will post here with an even more up-to-date top 10 of 2008 list after I see those films.

But for now, this is my current top 10 of 2008:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. The Dark Knight
3. WALL-E
4. The Wrestler
5. Changeling
6. In Bruges
7. Burn After Reading
8. [Rec]
9. Funny Games U.S.
10. Blindness

I have to say I am pleased with this list so far… but I know [Rec], Funny Games and Blindness will not be on the list for much longer.

As for what has happened Awards-wise… the National Board of Review announced its winners on December 4th. They were as follows:

Best Picture of 2008 - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director - David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Actor - Clint Eastwood for Gran Torino

Best Actress - Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married

Best Supporting Actor - Josh Brolin for Milk

Best Supporting Actress - Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Original Screenplay - Nick Schenk for Gran Torino

Best Adapted Screenplay - Eric Roth for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button & Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Film - Mongol

Best Documentary - Man on Wire

Best Animated Feature - WALL-E

Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actor – Dev Patel for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actress - Viola Davis for Doubt

Best Directorial Debut – Courtney Hunt for Frozen River

Spotlight Award - Melissa Leo for Frozen River & Richard Jenkins for The Visitor

Best Ensemble Cast - Doubt

Top Five Foreign Films - The Edge of Heaven, Let the Right One In, Roman de Gare, A Secret, Waltz with Bashir

Top Five Documentaries - American Teen, The Betrayal (Nerakhoon), Dear Zachary, Encounters at the End of the World, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Top Ten Independent Films - Frozen River, In Bruges, In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Mr. Foe, Rachel Getting Married, Snow Angels, Son of Rambow, Wendy and Lucy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Visitor

Top Ten Films - Burn After Reading, Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Defiance, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Milk, WALL-E, The Wrestler

Overall, I was pleased with the winners. The ones that surprised me the most were Clint Eastwood for Best Actor and Gran Torino for Original Screenplay. I haven’t seen the film yet, but I just don’t understand the constant Eastwood love. I hope the film is great and Eastwood deserves it, otherwise I will be very angry. I also don’t quite understand why Mongol, a film nominated for the Foreign Film Oscar in 2007, won the award here for this year. Either way, the awards were all great and undoubtedly well deserved.

In my next post I will discuss my Oscar Predictions as of now.

TIFF ‘08: The Toronto International Film Festival

On September 6th and September 13th, I attended The Toronto International Film Festival. The Festival, which started on September 5th, was full of wonderful films this year and I was lucky enough to see two of them. On September 6th, I attended the gala premiere of Fernando Meirelles’ new film Blindness. On the 13th, which was the closing day of the festvial, I attended a screening of Darren Aronofsky’s new film The Wrestler. Both of these films were great and the experience will stick with me for a long time. It was my first film festival experience, but it definitely won’t be my last.

Alice Braga in Blindness (2008)

The best part of the festival had to be seeing all of the stars walk down the red carpet at the gala premiere of Blindness. Stars like John Malkovich, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal, Geoffrey Rush, Evangeline Lily, Dominic Monaghan, Danny Glover, Sandra Oh and the extremely lovely Julianne Moore walked only steps in front of me down that luminous carpet. After waiting outside for a long time to get into the theatre, a friend and I took our seats in the second row and awaited the speech from director Fernando Meirelles. Once he walked out onto the stage I was in awe. He was literally six feet away from me speaking about his work on the film and how proud he was to be presenting it at the Toronto International Film Festival. Meirelles is one of my favourite directors and watching him speak with such passion about his art was really inspirational. After he spoke, he introduced his cast and had them walk out on stage. Having Julianne Moore stand only eight feet away from me is something I will never erase from my memory. She looked fantastic and I was so lucky to share the viewing of this film with its fantastic cast and director.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler (2008)

The screening of The Wrestler, however, was not a gala premiere. There were no stars or director on a red carpet, but the experience was still wonderful. The film screened in one of Ryerson University’s theatres and we once again got decent seats. This film was miles better than Blindness and I was in shock over Mickey Rourke’s performance. I never knew the man could act like he did. This is a film that will, or at least should, be recognized come Oscar season.

The Film Festival experience of mine was truly memorable. I shared it with good friends and I know they won’t forget it anytime soon either. I cannot wait until next year for TIFF ‘09! I will certainly be going and seeing even more films in the upcoming year.

The Tragic Tale of The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight (2008)
director: Christopher Nolan
starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

-Before you read this review, know that there are many spoilers herein-

As you all have heard by now, this is the greatest film of the year. If you haven’t seen this movie, you’re behind and if you have seen this movie, you must understand that this is a great cinematic achievement. What The Dark Knight brings to the table is exactly what Batman Begins did, but with much more detail, gloom and realism. If you thought Batman Begins displayed a strong sense of realism, you’re right, but it doesn’t even come close to even compare with the unstoppable force called The Dark Knight. This film is epic, revolutionary and groundbreaking. Comic book films have never been known to be deep, dark or poignant. The Hulk, Fantastic Four and Daredevil, to name a few, were examples of what Marvel transformed into film versions in order to capitalize on the titles and make a decent dollar (which is exactly what happened). In 2004, Spider-Man 2 was released. This was the first comic book adaptation to actually delve deeper into social and political issues and tackle a much broader subject. Iron Man was the next comic book adaptation to have such success in both the box office and with the critics. However, no comic book film in history has ever amounted to the success of The Dark Knight. This second installment in the revitalized Batman franchise is perhaps one of the greatest crime dramas I have ever seen. It displays self-awareness in terms of genre, strong themes which aren’t usually associated with comic book films and corrupt characters which have such profound importance that you can’t help but find inspiration in Christopher Nolan’s filmmaking.

Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008)

This is the first Batman film that doesn’t actually have the word “Batman” in the title. This film’s title, The Dark Knight, is more suitable than any other title this film could have received and it’s better this way. If “Batman” was in the title, it would have made the film seem less mature than it is; this film is an exercise of societal understanding. Through it’s blatant corruption and downfall, this film automatically becomes one of the most dark crime dramas ever made and giving this film a title such as The Dark Knight allows not only Batman to battle his character, but gives us insight into the other characters’ battles as well. This quote that Harvey Dent says perfectly describes the outcome of the film: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Ultimately, what this film depicts in its finale is the destruction of society’s trust in a hero. After Harvey Dent is killed as Two-Face, Batman decides to protect society by posing as the villain and letting Dent be recognized as the hero. Even though Dent was corrupted by The Joker and went on a vicious killing spree, Batman and Detective Gordon both understood what needed to be done in order to preserve the stability of society in Gotham; Batman let Dent be seen as the hero for he believed that a hero should have a face and relate on a human level to the citizens (even though Dent later destroyed his “white knight” reputation). Batman knows he can no longer be acknowledged as a hero and finds it hard to relate to the public through his costumed self. Batman lacks human qualities and this adds to the study of his identity crisis, but in this film, the one thing that allowed us to see the humanity in his character was his love for Rachel. When that was destroyed, Batman hit a dead end and became corruptible again. The deep character analysis of Bruce Wayne/Batman is lengthy, but it is one that’s more philosophical than any other character out there.

The character relationships in this film are somewhat complex, but very understandable. The three main characters are Batman, The Joker and Harvey Dent. In a detailed triangle of conflicts, all three of these characters are foils to one another. The most evident foil being between Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. Aside from the main Batman storyline, Harvey Dent’s storyline is probably the most important in the film. Dent is easily a character which we can sympathize with and feel his pain. Once Dent is transformed into Two-Face, he becomes an agent of vengeance and his character development deepens. Literally having two faces allows his character to openly battle his identity and dilemmas (good versus evil in most cases, which is why his coin is also an important symbol). He has incredible importance to this film in terms of exposing Batman’s corruptibility and the degradation of law and order in Gotham.

The Joker is also a vital character in the film. His origin and motives are unnamed, but this is for a reason. The Joker doesn’t need an origin for he illustrates mayhem and anarchy and isn’t really that significant other than for the sole purpose of wreaking havoc and being a catalyst for the battle between Batman and Two-Face. Comparing The Joker with previous film villains might reveal other integral facts about his limited importance. Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men and John Doe from Se7en are two characters which come very, very close to The Joker in terms of origin and motive. Having none allows this character to be completely chaotic. As I said in my review of Se7en, the villain character completely goes against the normal conventions of cinema and takes it to another level. The same goes for this film. The normal film conventions of the villain are completely diminished almost instantly in the first scene of the film in which The Joker (masked as a bank robber), murders all of his accomplices and keeps the money to himself. Having no morals, values or ethics brings The Joker that much further in the state of corruption and evil that is being placed upon Gotham.

Christian Bale as Batman in The Dark Knight (2008)

As an ensemble, this cast is excellent and as singular performances the cast is even better. Assembling a cast of great actors like this and having them all play characters with such vital roles could not have been easy to do. Utmost congratulations to Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer for creating such terrific characters and a masterful screenplay. The Bruce Wayne/Batman character was written with much more depth than it was in the first film. Allowing Batman to have such a strong character foil that is Harvey Dent gave him a huge obstacle to overcome, which only lead to a tragic ending for everyone. Aaron Eckhart was also fantastic as Harvey Dent. Dent is a character that takes a great actor to play and that’s what we received with Aaron Eckhart. He takes his performance to higher levels each time we see him on the screen, especially when he is transformed into Two-Face and exudes a dying hope in humanity that makes it easy for him to be compared to one of Shakespeare’s tragic leading men. Supporting performances from Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are all fantastic and each of them have at least one part in which they steal the scenes. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes in the role of Rachel Dawes, the love interest of Bruce Wayne (and Harvey Dent in this installment). She is a vast improvement over the dull Holmes and gives an emotionally wrought performance that still sticks with me days after I’ve seen the film.

I’ve tried to leave the best for last and this is a better time than any to mention the powerhouse performance by Heath Ledger. The Joker is visibly an extremely tough role to play and Ledger not only played the role perfectly, he embodied the character and nailed every single intricacy. Talks of an Oscar nomination for his role are going around and I cannot help but support the campaign for a posthumous nomination. No one has ever played a villain with such commitment and Ledger’s performance ranks up there with Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter and Perkins’ Norman Bates. His portrayal blows Jack Nicholson right out of the water and makes him look like a fool for ever trying to play The Joker like he did. Not only is Ledger’s performance the best of this film, but easily one of the best performances I have seen by an actor. I will continue to praise Ledger and spread news of his performance and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves for this performance which is truly haunting. Rest in peace, Heath.

In general, this film exhibits such mastery in its way of dealing with such topical issues. Christopher Nolan’s direction is not only superior to that of his first installment, but superior to any other director that has attempted this kind of cinematic commentary before The Dark Knight. As Peter Travers stated, this film has come along way and breaks the barriers of being known as just a comic book film and delves into the depths of cinema and grounds itself with such masterpieces as Goodfellas, Heat and The Godfather. It’s a crime drama like no other that not only displays an acute sense of social and political emphasis, but much more interesting relationships like that of William Shakespeare’s tragedies. Many connections can be made between this film and Shakespearean plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth and even Romeo and Juliet. It would be ridiculous of me to even bother saying I highly recommend this, because that’s obvious. This film is an epic masterpiece and a vehicle for success. It will go down in history and be praised for a long, long time, guaranteed.

Theatrical trailer for the film:

TOP 10 #1: Favourite Movie Posters

The is the first entry of a TOP 10 list. Once in a while I will be posting random Top 10 lists which relate to either film, music or some kind of other pop culture.

In this first edition of TOP 10, the subject is Favourite Movie Posters. The following list is my top 10 favourite movie posters of all time. There were some which I had to leave out, but I have decided that these 10 are my favourite. In reverse order, here is the list:

#10 Lord of War (2005)

#9 Straw Dogs (1971)

#8 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

#7 Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

#6 Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

#5 All About Eve (1950)

#4 Brick (2005)

#3 The Descent (2005)

#2 Downhill Racer (1969)

#1 Paris, je t’aime (2007)

That’s it for this TOP 10.
Check back soon for the next edition of TOP 10.

-j.taylor

Film Update – 20 July 2008

This is my first film update on this blog. In these film updates I will be talking about the films I have seen in the past few days, what reviews are coming soon and some brief thoughts on the week film-wise and otherwise. Lists will undoubtedly be common to these posts, too.

This past weekend (18 July – 20 July), I’ve seen some very amazing films. Some new ones and some that I decided to re-watch.

On July 18, I went to the local Cineplex to try and buy tickets for The Dark Knight. I knew I was going to be unsuccessful, but I thought I’d try anyways. There was over 1,000 people in line and it was way passed the sold out point. So I just bought tickets for the Saturday night show (10:30). I came back on Saturday and waited in line for forty-five minutes. I must say it was worth the wait. The Dark Knight is not only the greatest film of 2008 thus far, but one of the best films I have seen. It had everything I was looking for and it blew my expectations right out of the water. It was brilliant and I will definitely be seeing it again very soon.

Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008)

Apparently The Dark Knight has set two box office records, also. It has the highest opening day numbers with well over $67 million and the highest three-day weekend numbers with well over $155 million. It just surpassed Spider-Man 3’s numbers by a few million dollars to take the record. The Dark Knight was also successful on www.imdb.com. As of July 20, it has been voted by its users to be the #1 film of all time. Naturally, it will drop back down on the list, but this is quite the achievement. The Godfather has been holding that position firmly for many, many years and only one film has come close to dislodging it; The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in early 2004 (which peaked at #2). I wish the film good luck and I hope it will break more records and be successful not only in North America, but worldwide.

I also have to mention the late, great Heath Ledger. His performance in the film as The Joker was absolutely phenomenal. Talks of a posthumous Oscar are undeniably possible. He makes Jack Nicholson look like Betty Boop and brings a new meaning to “comic book villain”. I will write more on Heath in the upcoming review of the film (which I am very excited about).

So far, this year has been good. Not as impressive as 2006 or 2007 yet, but we still have Awards season to get through which I have high hopes for.

My ten most anticipated films of 2008:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher, USA)
2. The Dark Knight (Nolan, USA)
3. Revolutionary Road (Mendes, USA/UK)
4. Blindness (Meirelles, CAN/BRZ/JAP)
5. Burn After Reading (Coen, USA)
6. Vicky Christina Barcelona (Allen, USA/SPN)
7. Changeling (Eastwood, USA)
8. Australia (Luhrmann, USA/AUSL)
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Yates, UK/USA)
10. Iron Man (Favreau, USA)

Also, here’s a list of what I consider to be the ten best films of the year so far. Keep in mind, I haven’t seen many films. I’ve only seen a few, but these ten stood out.

Top 10 of 2008 Thus Far:

1. The Dark Knight
2. [Rec]
3. Funny Games (U.S.)
   
4. Kung Fu Panda
5. Iron Man
6. Wanted
7. Be Kind Rewind
8. The Life Before Her Eyes
9. Charlie Bartlett
10. Then She Found Me

I also re-watched the following movies this week (and updated some ratings):

• Fight Club (1999, Fincher) [10/10] ♥30
• The Usual Suspects (1995, Singer) [10/10] ♥50
• Paris, je t’aime (2007, various) [9.5/10] ♥150
• Hable con ella [Talk to Her] (2002, Almodóvar) [10/10] ♥30
• Goodfellas (1990, Scorsese) [10/10] ♥20

* ♥s indicate the placement of the film on my favourite films list (eg., ♥50 means the film is in my top 50 of all time)

That’s it for this update. A review of The Dark Knight will be coming soon along with reviews of Taxi Driver and The Edge of Heaven (Auf der anderen Seite).

-j.taylor

Criticism on Media Violence or Just an Examination of the Self?

Funny Games (1997)
director: Michael Haneke
starring: Ulrich Mühe, Susanne Lothar, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering, Stefan Clapczynski

Arno Frisch and Stefan Clapczynski in Funny Games (1997)

After a few months, I’ve finally come back to review this film. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the easiest film to watch or the easiest film to understand at first, but after reading about this film and watching it two more times, I think I finally understand what the point of this film is. This film wasn’t made with intentions of generating a fan base or hitting it big at the box office, it was made in order for director Michael Haneke to show us how disgusting we, the viewing public, are.

Haneke shatters film conventions and presents us with material that we normally would not see in a movie. Violence is used, but we don’t see it on the screen. People are shot, killed and tortured, but we never see it happen. We hear it, we see the aftermath and we resonate as the characters do over what just happened. It’s so real and comprehending why something so vividly disturbing is in a film makes us want the scene to be over with. Haneke uses techniques such as breaking the fourth wall, the real-time method and, most famously, a reverse effect to contest our regular film experiences. What we expect to come from this film is not what we get. I don’t mean there is a twist ending or some surprising character reveal, but we get exactly what we don’t expect: reality. People die in this film. There isn’t a dramatic rescue scene and the protagonists do not win in an epic finale. This film is brave and it lets its audience see the opposite side of formulaic thrillers.

This film is not hypocritical. Many have accused this film of being hypocritical in its depiction of violence, but it’s exactly the opposite. This film is ultimately a criticism on the use of violence in contemporary culture and media. Why the violence in the film then? The “violence” in Funny Games is used to satirize all other films that exploit their characters and their situations by showing blood, guts and nakedness. This film is like a kick in the face in terms of its bravura, it’s saying “Watch this!” to its American counterparts and shows everything that we usually don’t see, but cuts out everything we normally do see. We are shown the raw emotional impact that is thrust upon the victims in this film. We don’t need to see the gruesome deaths when such emotion lets us know how bad the situation is. The actors in Funny Games (most notably Ulrich Mühe and Susanne Lothar) omit such painful emotions and this is Haneke’s way of countering the exploitative violence from other films of this nature. We are shown a side we normally wouldn’t see and this shocks us, angers us and, for a select few, pleases us.

Haneke presents situations in this film that normally would result in a bloodbath or nudity, but holds back when given the chance to show such content. One scene in particular, perhaps the most famous scene, involves a shotgun and a remote control. The violence isn’t shown, it’s out of the frame, but the result we do see. One of the antagonists has been blown away by the shotgun. But this isn’t supposed to happen in this film, the antagonists aren’t supposed to win or even be granted a speck of hope. The remaining antagonist picks up the remote control from the table and quickly rewinds the film to right before the incident occurs and prevents it from happening. Now everything is back on course and the hope for relief is diminished.

One of the antagonists in this film constantly breaks the fourth wall (the fourth wall being when a character from the film gestures or talks to the audience). This brings us, the audience, into the film even more to experience the torture and pain this family is going through. At one point, Paul addresses the audience saying, “We’re not up to feature film length yet” and we know we’re still in for more torture.

This film was made to shock us, torture us and make us realize who we are and what we have grown to expect from a film. When Schorschi is killed, we do not see it on screen. The viewers probably sighed for they don’t get to see any blood in this movie. When Paul makes Anna take her clothes off, we don’t see it on screen. The viewers probably sighed again, for they don’t get to see any nudity in this movie either. As a film-going audience, we have grown to expect certain things from films. If someone is going to be shot, we expect to see it. If someone is going to have sex, we expect to see it. With Funny Games, Michael Haneke literally laughs at us because with this film, filled with violent happenings, we don’t see anything violent on the screen, but only the emotional lapse that follows.

People can either view this film as a pointless exercise in attacking violence in films or a masterpiece that has shattered conventions, played with our minds and presented something brave and new to the cinematic table. I agree with the latter statement and I know I am not alone, but I also know how many people despise this film. It’s a shame that Funny Games isn’t widely appraised, because I do think that this revolutionary approach is not only audacious, but artistic, too. I have only good things to say about this film and Michael Haneke. He has presented something to us that everyone else fears to. He is a fantastic director and doesn’t have to rely on formula to make a film work. He has stepped up to new extremes and his originality and bluster has made him very well respected by myself. I highly recommend this film, even though I know many of you will not like it. However, I do believe that everyone should watch this film and experience the masterpiece that is called Funny Games.

Theatrical trailer for the film:

An Amazing Take on Realist Horror

Se7en (1995)
director: David Fincher
starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey, Richard Roundtree

Kevin Spacey in Se7en (1995)

When I first watched this film four years ago, it was the most thrilling and exhilarating film I had ever seen. Nothing compared to it in terms of suspense and thrills. When I watched this film recently, I realized why this film had such an impact on me four years ago. This film is by far the most suspenseful film I’ve seen and it plays with your fears like they are toys. The direction is impeccable; David Fincher is highly aware of this film’s genre and uses it to the best of his ability. He bides his time and keeps all of the thrills contained until the climax and definitely unleashes them in the conclusion. Comparing Se7en to thrillers released after 1995 is difficult because none of them hold a candle to this masterpiece. The only films of this genre who are anywhere near the quality of Se7en are The Descent, 28 Days Later and Zodiac (which was also directed by Fincher). Through examining the film’s genre and visual style, it is easy for me to say that Se7en is one of the best films I have ever seen.

When thinking of the horror genre, the first thing that usually comes to mind is monsters, zombies, ghosts or some other fictitious creature that we normally see attacking people in films. When The Silence of the Lambs was released, it re-introduced the idea of realism in horror films. Realism had not been popular in the horror genre for decades; in the 1950s, most of the thrillers were in the film noir style where the villain was not a monster, but rather an insane human who was battling himself as well as others. The duality of the characters was what made them frightening. For example, Harry Powell (played to perfection by Robert Mitchum) from The Night of the Hunter was one of the most frightening antagonists from the ’50s. But the idea of realism was lost until 1991, when it became more popular.

In 1995, Se7en introduced what would become one of the iconic villains of the 1990s: John Doe. He was a human. He was evil. He was real. He murdered people, but added a twist to his killings: he murdered them based on their sins, one death for every one of the seven deadly sins. The one difference between Se7en and other horror films incorporating realism is the fact that the villain doesn’t have an inner battle with himself. Usually we know the villain’s past and usually this past is what causes the villain to become villainous in the first place. With John Doe, we don’t know his past, he doesn’t have fingerprints and he is nameless. The fact that he has no identity is one of the most important bits of this film. Having the villain appear half way through the film and giving him no identity gives the evil deeds in the film much more ambiguity in terms of whose fault they were. The evilness ultimately lies in the victims. Yes, murder is a sin, and we see what becomes of John Doe in the conclusion, but his victims died because of the evil he saw in them. In terms of film history, Se7en is groundbreaking in the originality department. It establishes new takes on both the villain and on realist horror conventions. It’s brilliance should be remembered for it brought around a totally new type of psychological thriller.

Se7en was not only revolutionary in what was aforementioned, it also exuded mastery in the editing department. The opening credits of this film are almost as intense as the film itself. They display graphic images of grisly murders, mutilated bodies and bloody jars. What we are watching is John Doe at work in his scrapbook where he keeps pictures of his killings. The sharp and jolting editing mixed with the also gruesome song “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails gives the opening credits an extremely eerie feeling. This is a perfect introduction for it establishes what we can expect from the film itself. Stylistically, this film is excellent. The editing, music, cinematography and art direction are used perfectly in accordance to the thematic elements. The dark look this film has diminishes hope and the dirty city gives the feeling of unease not only for the characters, but for the viewers, too.

Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman both give deep performances. The two characters they play each have their gloomy, secretive sides, but are likable characters nonetheless. Kevin Spacey gives yet another astonishing performance as the villain in this film, John Doe. Unfortunately, he goes uncredited on the film’s posters and opening credits, but for good reason: shock value. His monologue in the police car as Brad Pitt interrogates and mocks him is amazing and proves why he is such a fantastic actor.

Se7en is one of the essential films of the 1990s. It redefined the horror genre and established new techniques and conventions that shocked the viewing public. It’s a disturbing film which has poignancy in its core, but I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint of heart. It’s grisly and graphic, but the gore is necessary for such a film. It instantly became one of my favourite films and I think it could easily pass as my favourite film of all-time. An excellent thriller that will be recognized as revolutionary for years to come.

Theatrical trailer for the film: