The Party, a dark comedy, is a 2018 British film written and directed by Sally Potter. It is a small budget art house film that shot entirely in black and white and has a small A list British cast. Janet, played by Kirsten Scott Thomas, hosts a small gathering in her house to celebrate her new political posting. The gathering of friends, for a champagne toast, along with her preoccupied husband, all bubble over with news of their own.
The short 70 minute film, is direct and to the point. At times, the dialogue and wit that graces the script, is eminent of an older British thriller or film noir style movie. While there weren't many aspects to categorize this film as either thriller or film noir, it'd be better to be considered more of a satirical approach to present day society. As a modern twist on Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolfe, there are times where the jabs of societal struggles are almost too poignant.
The movie commences with the typical awkward scenes of parties kick starting. While the cast did not seem to gel as well in the beginning as the latter half of the movie. Between the wine pours and whining of characters of the plagues of their life, there are a plethora of jabs for all walks of life. I think the movie was catering more to the 50's generation, as it seemed to be more of their ilk and desires, the stark contrasts of grays, blacks, and whites draw in the viewer despite this.
The angles portrayed and framing of the scenes gave the film much more of the illusion of tight space that I think Potter was trying to achieve. The mere staging of the camera at many points in the film give far more of an objective view of the stifling tight space that the dialogue and cast of six seem to drum up with projected announcements of recent and past discretion, changes in life, and the unwillingness to progress forward in any real sense of personal growth.
While, as a viewer, I know that I may not have been the ideal target audience that Potter was looking for generation wise, but I had an overall appreciation for the artistry approach brought through this film. It was not my favorite recent plot driven or character study movie, but I certainly think Potter has some promising concepts to bring to the table.
Monday, 19 March 2018
Sunday, 18 March 2018
Nostalgia
Nostalgia, a 2018 film by Mark Pellington, is a strong star studded casted movie, but falls short in many respects on everything else. The characters and setting of the movie shifts throughout, but the little vignettes centralizes around the general theme of Nostalgia. The script, was written and based on a grouping of short stories, would have been better left off screen, or written more specifically for the the theater rather than the movie screen.
Nostalgia is a connection of people reminiscing on different pieces of their life and the keepsakes. What makes things noteworthy to save, what are things of value to an individual, trinkets that you'd want to pass on. Each character has a bit of time to get nostalgic about whatever bit it is that is their central focus in the film. You start with an old man and an agent whom is going through his house to then report back to the old man's grand daughter to fill in if there's anything noteworthy in his small house suffering through hoards of piles. The agent then goes to an old lady's house who burned down, and saved the Ted Williams ball that's been in her family for generations. She doesn't seem to know much about it, other than the fact it's been in her family for generations. She then in turn goes out to Vegas, to a memorabilia dealer to see if it's worth anything. The dealer, then goes to visit his sister to help her pack up their parent's house that have downsized and moved to Florida.
For a roughly two hour film, there's just too much jam packed into the movie, plot and character development wise. And while you're segwaying into a different component of the story the voice overs are filled with cliched metaphors and platitudes on why these trinkets or random objects have a deep seeded connection into existence.
This is the type of book, collection of short stories, or a play that I would have probably enjoyed because I felt that the written word probably could have done a better job at connecting the stories. And while I usually like most movies that John Hamm is in, I just felt this movie was an overall flop and trying to be more than it actually could pull off. While the premise of the story was interesting, and the ideas of what mattered, I think this movie would have been better executed by a well thought out book or stage production, where they could focus more on the shift of characters and their development. There were so many missed opportunities in the film with a dire need for better dialogue, character shifts and development.
Nostalgia is a connection of people reminiscing on different pieces of their life and the keepsakes. What makes things noteworthy to save, what are things of value to an individual, trinkets that you'd want to pass on. Each character has a bit of time to get nostalgic about whatever bit it is that is their central focus in the film. You start with an old man and an agent whom is going through his house to then report back to the old man's grand daughter to fill in if there's anything noteworthy in his small house suffering through hoards of piles. The agent then goes to an old lady's house who burned down, and saved the Ted Williams ball that's been in her family for generations. She doesn't seem to know much about it, other than the fact it's been in her family for generations. She then in turn goes out to Vegas, to a memorabilia dealer to see if it's worth anything. The dealer, then goes to visit his sister to help her pack up their parent's house that have downsized and moved to Florida.
For a roughly two hour film, there's just too much jam packed into the movie, plot and character development wise. And while you're segwaying into a different component of the story the voice overs are filled with cliched metaphors and platitudes on why these trinkets or random objects have a deep seeded connection into existence.
This is the type of book, collection of short stories, or a play that I would have probably enjoyed because I felt that the written word probably could have done a better job at connecting the stories. And while I usually like most movies that John Hamm is in, I just felt this movie was an overall flop and trying to be more than it actually could pull off. While the premise of the story was interesting, and the ideas of what mattered, I think this movie would have been better executed by a well thought out book or stage production, where they could focus more on the shift of characters and their development. There were so many missed opportunities in the film with a dire need for better dialogue, character shifts and development.
Kekszakallu
Keszakallu is Gaston Solniki's 2016 film out of Argentina. It originally premired in Baltimore, MD, at the 2017 Maryland Film Festival. I missed it in the film festival, but was able to catch it when it came back to the Parkway theater for it's theatrical run.
The movie takes a fly on the wall approach of the lives of several daughters of the wealthy industrialists of Argentina. This film, much like Porto, did not have a linear plot line or direction it chose to go for the feature length. While both were short feature films under 90 minutes, Solniki was able to achieve far more visual feats that Klinger was unable to achieve in Porto.
The title of the movie, is taken from the Spanish title of an opera, and included music from the opera while on board a ferry, in the midst of a sausage making plant. While it was frequently hard to determine the scatter plot approach of the story line, and it only seemed to have one partial resolution to some of the young lady's stories, it was easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of the well framed scenes. The only downside is that for many of these, there was no real semblance of a connection, and it was often hard to keep track of who was who, and if there was a relationship between the large cast and what those connections may have been.
While I feel it was an interesting approach to the beginning of Argentina's turn into an economic recession, I would have enjoyed a little more glue to the stories and how the women were connected a bit more.
There were some wonderful stark contrasts of the natural beauty of Argentina, with pool scenes, scenes in a country estate, fields, contrasted with the developments of the rising sprawls of cities, pools, and machinery of the industrial workforce. There were art references lost on me, as I haven't done much with art history, or with the idea of theater or operas, so that side was lost on me. I did enjoy the photography approach to how the movie was framed. It just would have been better served with a more developed plot and character development and distinctions.
The movie takes a fly on the wall approach of the lives of several daughters of the wealthy industrialists of Argentina. This film, much like Porto, did not have a linear plot line or direction it chose to go for the feature length. While both were short feature films under 90 minutes, Solniki was able to achieve far more visual feats that Klinger was unable to achieve in Porto.
The title of the movie, is taken from the Spanish title of an opera, and included music from the opera while on board a ferry, in the midst of a sausage making plant. While it was frequently hard to determine the scatter plot approach of the story line, and it only seemed to have one partial resolution to some of the young lady's stories, it was easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of the well framed scenes. The only downside is that for many of these, there was no real semblance of a connection, and it was often hard to keep track of who was who, and if there was a relationship between the large cast and what those connections may have been.
While I feel it was an interesting approach to the beginning of Argentina's turn into an economic recession, I would have enjoyed a little more glue to the stories and how the women were connected a bit more.
There were some wonderful stark contrasts of the natural beauty of Argentina, with pool scenes, scenes in a country estate, fields, contrasted with the developments of the rising sprawls of cities, pools, and machinery of the industrial workforce. There were art references lost on me, as I haven't done much with art history, or with the idea of theater or operas, so that side was lost on me. I did enjoy the photography approach to how the movie was framed. It just would have been better served with a more developed plot and character development and distinctions.
Western
Western is a 2017 film from Germany. It is a slow burning thriller that follows a group of German Construction workers installing a hydroelectric plan in a remote, rural Bulgarian Town. The foreign land awakens the sense of adventure in the workers. This begins with swimming in and around river areas, getting worked up around local women bathers. As the film develops, Meinhard, the new comer to the construction crew, begins seeking out time spent in the local village, and starts to befriend some of the villagers. While some of these budding relationships, have some tender and tension filled moments, the film brings to the table the role of foreign seasonal workers in remote areas that may or may not want the help.
The two sides of people in the film speak different languages, in addition to sharing a troubled history. The stark, mountainous landscape, creates a visually harsh backdrop for the film. While most of the construction workers vie for attention of the local women, and try to show off, much of their own prejudices and mistrust of the villagers and their mistrust of each other and the villagers creates a mounting pressure and thriller type of feel to the movie.
The film is visually stunning, with its large sweeping approaches to the mountainous and river landscapes. Dialogue is minimal and very pointed. I found the dialogue to carry more of a heavier tone, than most thrillers or film noirs, out of the US or Britain, which tend to be a bit more quippy. While I find most thrillers, especially Hitchcock films reminiscent of a look at human behavior, I found Western to take a more darker philosophical tone. The historical approaches and mistrusts added a more humanistic approach to the film and drew the viewer in a bit more. I found the scenery and much of the cinematography and non dialogue scenes far more fascinating and more of a driving tour de force of the movie. This movie's a bit more refreshing in the sense that much of the sweeping views of the landscape were not CGI altered, which gave far more to the natural, rocky, dusty and grit needed to help drive the visuals and story-line. Well worth seeing on the large screen.
The two sides of people in the film speak different languages, in addition to sharing a troubled history. The stark, mountainous landscape, creates a visually harsh backdrop for the film. While most of the construction workers vie for attention of the local women, and try to show off, much of their own prejudices and mistrust of the villagers and their mistrust of each other and the villagers creates a mounting pressure and thriller type of feel to the movie.
The film is visually stunning, with its large sweeping approaches to the mountainous and river landscapes. Dialogue is minimal and very pointed. I found the dialogue to carry more of a heavier tone, than most thrillers or film noirs, out of the US or Britain, which tend to be a bit more quippy. While I find most thrillers, especially Hitchcock films reminiscent of a look at human behavior, I found Western to take a more darker philosophical tone. The historical approaches and mistrusts added a more humanistic approach to the film and drew the viewer in a bit more. I found the scenery and much of the cinematography and non dialogue scenes far more fascinating and more of a driving tour de force of the movie. This movie's a bit more refreshing in the sense that much of the sweeping views of the landscape were not CGI altered, which gave far more to the natural, rocky, dusty and grit needed to help drive the visuals and story-line. Well worth seeing on the large screen.
Sunday, 4 March 2018
The Road Movie
The Road Movie, Dmitrii Kalashnikov's 2017 movie out of Russia, is more one of those movies you watch more for the pure enjoyment of crazy things or guilty pleasures on the big screen.
The Road Movie is a compilation of Russian dashboard camera montages. Roughly 5 years ago, Russia made it a requirement to have dashboard cameras, in order to help with insurance purposes. These videos were recently brought to US light with The Daily Show and Jon Stewart. This was mostly done when there was a comet that hit the earth and was caught on Russian Dashboard cameras with minimal to no reaction. Stewart then showed some highlights, which sparked a guilty pleasure for many.
The Road Movie certainly didn't disappoint with random street scenes. There's a nice montage of angry drivers, forest fires, and things that would typically surprising on the streets in the US or European streets, but certainly not Russia.
While there is no real direct theme, aside from horrid drivers, the stories don't really connect much, aside from the mere random and angry drivers, it's more of a guilty pleasure movie. Certainly an enjoyable simple film, if you go in with that mindset, and fun seeing on a larger screen. Especially with the forest fire scenes, as somebody who lives on the east coast of the United States, it is especially difficult to fully understand the magnitude of these types of disasters when you hear about them on the news.
The Road Movie is a compilation of Russian dashboard camera montages. Roughly 5 years ago, Russia made it a requirement to have dashboard cameras, in order to help with insurance purposes. These videos were recently brought to US light with The Daily Show and Jon Stewart. This was mostly done when there was a comet that hit the earth and was caught on Russian Dashboard cameras with minimal to no reaction. Stewart then showed some highlights, which sparked a guilty pleasure for many.
The Road Movie certainly didn't disappoint with random street scenes. There's a nice montage of angry drivers, forest fires, and things that would typically surprising on the streets in the US or European streets, but certainly not Russia.
While there is no real direct theme, aside from horrid drivers, the stories don't really connect much, aside from the mere random and angry drivers, it's more of a guilty pleasure movie. Certainly an enjoyable simple film, if you go in with that mindset, and fun seeing on a larger screen. Especially with the forest fire scenes, as somebody who lives on the east coast of the United States, it is especially difficult to fully understand the magnitude of these types of disasters when you hear about them on the news.
Have A Nice Day
Have a Nice Day is a neo-noir feature length 2018 film out of China. The animation much like a well done graphic novel, takes to the screen much in the same sort of appearance. A hard rain is about to fall on a small town in southern agriculture based town of China. Xiao Zhang, a driver, is in a huff to find a way to raise money to help fix the botched plastic surgery job of his girlfriend. As a result, he steals roughly 1 million RMB from his boss, and shortly after, most of the small town hears of the shakedown. A cast of about 10 other townies then search out Xiao and the money before the skies open.
I thought the animation was well done and not your typical approach to animated features. It was the classic neo-noir, almost Gotham-esque but southern China. Having lived in a small southern Chinese town, southwest of Shanghai, I could appreciate the despair of the town. The farmers, resturant hole in the walls, the general public all up in your kool-aid, the question of authenticity of money paid by outsiders, the odd fascination with internet cafe's. I'm sure that it'd be a stretch of culturalisims for some, but overall for film and thriller buffs, it'd be a good film to check out.
The characters seemed to be right out of a noir graphic novel, and not developed as much as I would have liked. I would have enjoyed more of semblance and development for some, and felt some characters could have been omitted. Much of the movie has the makings of a good thriller: creepy non-descript man in black hunting down the crime plot, multiple people trying to thwart the bad guy while not being the best people either, rising tension, and funky plot twists. The plot twists for Have a Nice Day ranged from small, to colliding cars at different points. Not quite the classic Hitchcock, but sort of a mild sleeper of Batman, without the Batman.
The overall length, 77 minutes seemed about right for the story-line, but could have used some heavier editing towards the end. There was a nice play on time warps, time perceptions, and plays on space. I enjoyed many of the sweeping shots, and oddball sleeping workers, which made me wistful for days spent wandering down Chinese alleys. This is Liu Jian's first feature film, and I'd be curious to see what he develops in years to come.
I thought the animation was well done and not your typical approach to animated features. It was the classic neo-noir, almost Gotham-esque but southern China. Having lived in a small southern Chinese town, southwest of Shanghai, I could appreciate the despair of the town. The farmers, resturant hole in the walls, the general public all up in your kool-aid, the question of authenticity of money paid by outsiders, the odd fascination with internet cafe's. I'm sure that it'd be a stretch of culturalisims for some, but overall for film and thriller buffs, it'd be a good film to check out.
The characters seemed to be right out of a noir graphic novel, and not developed as much as I would have liked. I would have enjoyed more of semblance and development for some, and felt some characters could have been omitted. Much of the movie has the makings of a good thriller: creepy non-descript man in black hunting down the crime plot, multiple people trying to thwart the bad guy while not being the best people either, rising tension, and funky plot twists. The plot twists for Have a Nice Day ranged from small, to colliding cars at different points. Not quite the classic Hitchcock, but sort of a mild sleeper of Batman, without the Batman.
The overall length, 77 minutes seemed about right for the story-line, but could have used some heavier editing towards the end. There was a nice play on time warps, time perceptions, and plays on space. I enjoyed many of the sweeping shots, and oddball sleeping workers, which made me wistful for days spent wandering down Chinese alleys. This is Liu Jian's first feature film, and I'd be curious to see what he develops in years to come.
90th Academy Awards
I think this is one of the first years I'm not overly invested or excited about the Oscars. Mostly because I thought the selections this year were pretty weak. Lady Bird, the big buzz film, aside from Porto is one of the weakest films I've seen. Usually there is at least a film or two within the pool that grabs me, but most of the films were either lower on my 2017 enjoyable films, and certainly not within my top 10 list.
But this is what I'm predicting for the winners:
Best Picture: Three Billboards
Lead Actor: Gary Oldman: The Darkest Hour
Lead Actress: Francis McDormand, Three Billboards
Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards
Supporting Actress: Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Director: Jordan Peele, Get Out
Animated Feature: Coco
Animated Short: Lou
Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By your Name
Original Screenplay Get Out
Cinematography: Bladerunner 2049
Best Documentary Feature: LAst Men in Alleppo
Best Documentary Short: Traffic Stop
Best Live Action Short: Delkab Elementary
Foreign Language: The Insult
Film Editing: Dunkirk
Sound Editing: Blade Runner 2049
Sound Mixing: Blade Runner 2049
Production Design: Blade Runner 2049
Original Score: Three Billboards
Original Song: This is me, Greatest Showman
Makeup and Hair: The Darkest Hour
Costume Design: The Shape of Water
Visual Effects: Blade runner 2049
But this is what I'm predicting for the winners:
Best Picture: Three Billboards
Lead Actor: Gary Oldman: The Darkest Hour
Lead Actress: Francis McDormand, Three Billboards
Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards
Supporting Actress: Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Director: Jordan Peele, Get Out
Animated Feature: Coco
Animated Short: Lou
Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By your Name
Original Screenplay Get Out
Cinematography: Bladerunner 2049
Best Documentary Feature: LAst Men in Alleppo
Best Documentary Short: Traffic Stop
Best Live Action Short: Delkab Elementary
Foreign Language: The Insult
Film Editing: Dunkirk
Sound Editing: Blade Runner 2049
Sound Mixing: Blade Runner 2049
Production Design: Blade Runner 2049
Original Score: Three Billboards
Original Song: This is me, Greatest Showman
Makeup and Hair: The Darkest Hour
Costume Design: The Shape of Water
Visual Effects: Blade runner 2049
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