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Comedy, Filmmakers, Foreign Film, In Theatres, Independent Film, Narrative, Oscars, Review

Review: The Artist

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NOTE: This review contains spoilers.

Some time last year, I thought to myself, “Why doesn’t anyone make a silent film today? It would be interesting to see a contemporary filmmaker’s take on early cinema.” And then The Artist came along …

I had been looking forward to seeing The Artist since it screened at Cannes mid-last year. The film follows 1927 silent screen superstar George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) as he holds firmly onto his principles at the expense of his career in the wake of the emergence of “talkies.” Following a chance encounter with one of his fans, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), who bumps into him (literally), she is immediately bitten by the Hollywood bug. As her acting career takes off in the talking pictures, Valentin’s begins to flounder. It’s the stuff A Star Is Born is made of.

Typically, I’m a sucker for movies about movies, and being a classic film buff, I was excited about the prospects of watching a modern-day silent film set in the ’20s, a pivotal period in early cinema. Having just watched it, I can say that it’s a terrific film. As is the case with any great film, all elements come together to make one great picture—a reminder that the sum should always be greater than its parts. The film, much like its leading man Dujardin, is debonair, classy, and charming. The beautiful black-and-white cinematography by Guillaume Schiffman merges with some dazzling performances by Dujardin, Bejo, and John Goodman (who plays a Cecil B. DeMille-type studio executive).

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Drama, Narrative, New Release, Review

WARRIOR Strikes Hard

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I caught a screening of Warrior a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised. Generally, I’m not a sports movie fan (except for some noted gems, like Rocky), but this mixed martial arts (MMA)-based film is more than just a sports movie. This is a character-based film with heart. Rising stars Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) and Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom, Kinky Boots) play estranged brothers opposite their screen dad Nick Nolte. The brothers find themselves participating in the same MMA tournament, only to find themselves standing across each other in the finals. Both men have much to gain and even more to lose. This film is well written, directed, acted, scored, etc., etc., etc. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year, and I didn’t even notice it ran a little long (139 minutes). Definitely check it out when it hits theatres on September 9.

Click here to read Limité Magazine‘s review by Stephanie Dawson.

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Screenwriters: Gavin O’Connor, Cliff Dorfman, Anthony Tambakis

Producers: Gavin O’Connor, Greg O’Connor

Cast: Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison

Genres: Action, Drama, Sports

Distributor: Lionsgate

Runtime: 139 min.

Rating: PG-13, for sequences of intense mixed martial arts fighting, some language, and thematic material

Release Date: 9.9.11

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/LionsgateLIVE?v=rESBZ3bbS2o&feature=pyv&ad=16313219874&kw=warrior%20download]
Drama, Hit & Miss, In Theatres, Independent Film, Narrative, Review, Sci-Fi, War

Hit & Miss: Another Earth, The Devil’s Double

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I’m usually a pretty good judge of movies before even watching them. I can often tell whether I think a movie is going to be good or bad based on the trailer, logline, filmmaker, cast, or any other factor. Of course, this is not unique to me. Many of us have this super power. But every now and then, my senses go awry and I find myself in disbelief. Here are a couple of recent examples:

Hit

ANOTHER EARTH

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hEwMMDtFY]

Going In: I’m not much for sci-fi, and after having seen the trailer, I just had a feeling—this is not going to be a good movie. And that’s a shame, because Fox Searchlight is my favorite distributor—but hey, even Fox Searchlight is entitled to a not-so-great movie once in a while. (Has anyone seen The Tree of Life?) Another Earth looked sleepy, boring, quiet, and any other number of synonyms that describe bland.

Stepping Out: BEST. MOVIE. OF. THE. YEAR. (so far) I can’t believe how wrong I was with this one. Brit Marling. Remember that name. She wrote, produced, and stars in this micro-budget indie that was directed by Mike Cahill. Nearly everything about this film is perfect. The dynamic performances. The breathtaking cinematography. The mesmerizing music. And most especially, the complex characters in a simple, original story. It just goes to show you, a film’s budget is no barometer for how good a movie is. The writing is (among other things). You can go into space with a tight script. And this film is proof.

Miss

THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auE1FAGP1Kc]

Going In: The true story of the man who was forced to act as Uday Hussein’s double. (That’s Saddam’s son, folks.) I was easily intrigued, quite simply because I hadn’t seen anything like this before. And speaking of something I haven’t seen before, (based on the trailer) it looked like Dominic Cooper was turning in a performance unlike any other he’s done. I’m sold.

Stepping Out: WTF! Sure, there is gory violence, but this film isn’t nearly as gritty as I thought it would be. Sure, Cooper’s performance is solid, but that’s pretty much all this Lee Tamahori-helmed film has going for it. It’s glitzy, golden visuals are clearly implied in the trailer and poster, but I was mostly going into this film with the overall concept in mind. Clearly, I wasn’t paying close enough attention. This film resembled more of a flashy music video than any film worth my time. (I was actually expecting something on par with The Hurt Locker, in style and substance.) Mind you, I didn’t hate it—and “not hating it” is the best compliment I can offer.