November 6, 2016

This was a week to play catch up on a few movies. A few years back my daughter on a flight had watched The Book Thief on an airplane, and when it finished she had felt cheated. She had felt manipulated and cheated with the voiceover. Having seen this movie now I can concur with her assessment. This is a simple story and it has a good cast with Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. The newcomer is the young girl who plays Liesel (and despite my best efforts, every time I heard her name I thought The Sound of Music). But never mind. She incidentally is adorable, and did a fine job. Set in 1940s Germany, a young girl and her brother are going to a foster family since Mama was found to do something bad in that time and place (like be a Communist or suchlike). Brother dies on the way. Brother buried and girl carries on. She begins with new Papa and Mama (Rush and Watson). Watson could not be more stern, and grumpy. Midway Papa feels the need to house and hide a young Jewish boy. He stays for a time. Things happen and then the voiceover comes at the end. In many ways the story ends rather abruptly and you scratch your head about ultimately what the whole point was. Once I complete this review, I won’t think on it again. There are other films set in this time in Germany that tell similar stories and tell then better. Perhaps it humanizes the Germans who too often are caricatures, and we see that they had families and children and suffered loss. It wants us to cry and feel…but it wants it all just a little too much. So I cannot recommend.

Sunday I went with three kids and girlfriend to see Doctor Strange. They are the superhero movie fans really, and not generally. I finished this film and immediately asked for an explanation of what I had just watched for two + hours. Really. Yes, there were some very nice special effects, many borrowed from other movies like Contact, and Inception, and Interstellar. I like Benedict Cumberbatch, and I like his films generally. I don’t like him with an American accent. It seems forced and unnatural. It became a distraction. Our baddie is the Casino Royale bad guy Le Chiffre. Any time a movie messes with space and time and talks about alternate dimensions, it needs to be careful. Careful because time stuff, turns back on itself so much that a fading Marty McFly trying to strum chords on the guitar shows you some of the difficulties. Using time as a weapon (or a bargaining chip) with a Pacific Rim monster (well kind of) just sends my mind to TILT mode. My brain fried, eyes bugging up into my forehead I simply have to ask “WTF did I just see?!” If you can explain it, I welcome the insight. I still will be asking about The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and why she didn’t manage to figure it out, while newbie Ben has all the answers. Thanks Sherlock!! It’s elementary!! NOT!!!!

Halloween 2016 – October 31

I have not been to the theatre in some time – there has been so very little to see. Some films that I anticipated and were excited about (like Girl on the Train, and Inferno) turned out to be less than well reviewed. So I have been back at Netflix, along with watching Season 2 of Game of Thrones.

The movie was The Man Who Knew Infinity with Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel. In it, there is told the story that was referred to in Good Will Hunting. In Good Will Hunting the two professors are talking about how great Will could be and exciting math comes from unexpected places. This is the story of the unknown self taught Indian genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan. The era was around the First World War and the young man is married in India and it takes some time before people see his genius in Math. They suggest sending some excerpts of his work to England. From there his journey begins.

Irons plays a prof who is obsessed by Math, but also doing “proofs” and showing the work. He presses the genius to show the proofs and won’t publish him (as initially promised) until he does.

Where the movie fell down for me is the importance of a fellowship from the school, where he would become the youngest fellow and become more part of the University. But who cares? Why does he care? Seems even with struggling health that there is his looking for validation from the white people. His genius surpasses all of them, but he still wants this and yearns for it apparently. I saw this as a movie at TIFF, but was glad to see it. Moreso than Lady in the Van. Worth a viewing, but no need to pay big bucks for it.

This past weekend I did see Amadeus Live with a real orchestra and choir to play the music from the film. It was very well done. Hearing Mozart with the orchestra and also seeing it with an audience was a treat. From the laughter and the moving moments, you could feel this film from the perspective of one who had not seen it before. I was glad that I saw the advertisement for this outside the ROM a couple weeks back. This remains one of my favourite films of all time, and is likely the best film I could think of to see with a live orchestra. They are doing E.T. in a while but to me hearing John Williams’ score live is not the same as Mozart.

October 12th, 2016

Not sure if I wrote about the only TIFF film that I managed to see, which was the Blake Lively film, All I See Is You. About a blind woman, who lost her eyesight in her early days and is now late 20s-early 30s and married and living with her adoring husband. They are very much connected and in love. She is offered the chance at an operation to try and regain her eyesight and takes it. Her husband, played by Jason Clarke, knowing she has never seen him when she does asks “How do I look?” and her immediate response is “Different”. From there you see that she sheds her frumpy wear that he had her in, and you see that he is very conscious of his looks and station (he obviously married above his number – borrowing from She’s Out of Your League). He’s a 4, she’s an 8 and it can obviously never work! So she begins to spread her wings, and he tries to hang on. Things happen and the relationship strains and bends in ways it did not before. He yearns for the olden days, pre-sight for her. Then it becomes a tale of just what does the other person know, and how will it get resolved. Lively is paid to look pretty. She isn’t a great actor. The premise for her is good and it is worth a look on Netflix. I don’t see this having a long run in the theatres.

On Netflix I watched My Old Lady last night which was a TIFF film a couple years back with Kevin Kline who I had not seen in ages, along with Maggie Smith and Kristen Scott-Thomas. A New Yorker (Kline) inherits a luxurious and stately apartment in Paris, from his departed father, and he goes to check it out for a quick flip sale. He finds an old woman already living there and learns about the Parisian concept of paying a tenant for their life and taking ownership fully and clearly when they die. Smith is in her 90s and they start off with a rather cold reception to one another. Time passes and more is revealed as Kline imparts more of his failed life and troubles, and we learn more about Smith and the daughter (Thomas) who takes care of her. There are some great scenes of Paris and Notre Dame. There are some good observations about family and parents too. There is interesting twists and turns that lead to a satisfying conclusion. I am glad that I watched this, and think that Kline shows good range of emotion here. The cast is solid and there are some good lines. This was better than the other Maggie Smith effort set in Britain, Lady In The Van, also from TIFF, and also on Netflix. This was slow moving to the point that I had to stop watching it.

October 3rd, 2016

I like Mark Strong. I think he plays bad guys really well and effectively. He plays smart and cunning people. He was good in Stardust. Also with The Imitation Game. Then Netflix is showing Approaching the Unknown. A lousy title (initially anyway) because this looked like a poor man’s The Martian. Strong plays the astronaut who invents a way to make water from sand and makes the logical leap that he wants to go to Mars. So on he goes with a spaceship and heads towards Mars. Then not much happens. Days of routine. Something unusual happens as is inevitable and the story changes. All in all slow. And the ending is confusing and takes a different path. Suffice it to say there is a metaphor that plays out.
A word has to be said about production value and CGI. Seeing this film in comparison to The Martian or Interstellar gives you an appreciation for those films and the quality they put on film. The realism. The visuals. I couldn’t help but think the production company should have borrowed the leftovers from The Martian; case in point was the space suit. But everything. Space ship. Stars. Take off just feel like a school project or idea as opposed to a professional production with a massive budget.
I like Mark Strong. I just wish he had Ridley Scott and that production value to make for a stronger effort.

September 19th, 2016

If I could change the title of a movie, I would change the title to “Sully” to be “Birds”. It is a more appropriate name for this film I think, and provides the funniest aspect of a film that couldn’t crack a smile if it sat on a whoopie cushion.

And to be fair, the Eastwood directed film is not all that joyous and funny of a subject, since planes landing in water (it’s not a crash) is not an everyday event.

Still this is a slow and disjointed effort. Most puzzling to me is the overall tone and actions of the National Air Safety Board. Here there is a pilot who just saved 155 people (every one) on a plane by landing in the Hudson River, and is a national hero going on Letterman and Katie Couric’s show and being hailed, and you decide you want to railroad him and call it “pilot error”. Why? For what purpose? What, on earth, could be your motivation, unless you work for the insurance industry and don’t want to pay up for what is clearly a No Fault accident on anyone’s part. Laura Linney’s part is poor as she frets over bills and getting Sully back up in the air. There is a worthy short film here, but trying to stretch out a 200 second event into an almost 2 hour film just doesn’t work.

I actually took my timer out on my phone to see from the flight recorder info, just how long it took between “Birds” being heard and the decision being made to head back to LaGuardia. 43 seconds. Birds.

Labour Day 2016 – September 5th

Pete’s Dragon – this is a real life (humans not cartoons) of the 1980s cartoon of the same name. It is a basic story (with Disney there must always be parental death) for a little boy who lives and survives in a forest in the American northwest. The parents die and the boy must live – and he finds help in the form of a giant dragon – who acts more like a dog mostly and has green fur instead of scales making the dog mannerisms more canine. The story is ET-like in some ways with adults acting as hunters and also observers. The adults work to understand the child and the existence of the dragon. This is well told and has some predictable turns. It also has some good performances with the young boy (Oakes Fegley – a name destined for cereal boxes everywhere!) and some of the adults. I enjoyed this and it kept youngest son’s attention. He liked it. And that is a pretty big deal. We saw this for $12 together at a small theatre in Bracebridge. It was worthwhile.

I also finished Stranger Things. I enjoyed this. The performances from some were campy (like Winona Rider) but the chief, and the boys and Eleven were all good. Where this second season goes it has many possibilities. I would tune in and see. I thought that they did a good job with the second dimension. And the monster.

I also watched the short French series with the father who is terminal called Deep. It was in black and white and well done. There were some parallels with Breaking Bad. Thanks for the recommendation. Both of these series were good.

I am starting up Game of Thrones – now season 2. I am two-thirds finished the book. I expect the DVDs will catch up to my reading rather quickly. TIFF begins next week and it should be fun – I just can’t justify spending $56 for movies like Arrival that will be in theatres in a few weeks later.

August 8th, 2016

You know, I really wanted to like Jason Bourne. After the disappointing Jeremy Renner attempt at keeping the magic, the return of Maaatt Daaamon and the director (Paul Greengrass) from the previous series was promising.

But alas, like a date you wish was just more interesting than they really are – I stood by and watched getting more and more disappointed. By the end, the “yea right” moments as a standard SWAT SUV cuts through heavy Strip traffic in Vegas like a hot knife through butter, was just a little too much to take. And like that date, you begin to shuffle in your seat and check your watch for the time. What did that SUV do??!! And from a universe where Jason Bourne was a member of an elite squad of government operatives changing policy and governments throughout the world — we end up with Bourne chasing a guy around trying to prevent an assassination of a Mark Zuckerberg type. Huh? How the mighty fall to become so small.

The craters (read: cra-ters) on Tommy Lee Jones’ face get deeper and deeper and his agency leader is a pale comparison to a Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) who is missed.

The fighting is still shot way too tight with no one seemingly being able to hold a camera steady. Hasn’t anyone ever heard of a tripod? They were invented years ago.

I will also make mention of the motorcycle race with Julia Stiles on the back. I might believe that Bourne could MAYBE do that – but NOT with her on the back. And why do we have to get Daddy-issues with this film?? All questions that are head scratchers but in truth are excuses to set up action sequences that we have seen before. And have been done better. So I can’t recommend this movie – however much I wanted to like it and be entertained.

It has been a quiet summer with plenty of “Blocks” in the Blockbusters. Sigh. An air conditioned theatre is always a nice way to get out of the heat.

August 3rd, 2016

I tried to see Jason Bourne last night but the theatre was full and decided to pass on wrenching my neck from the first row (especially with herky jerky fight scenes that will leave one seasick).

I did watch the Final Part 2 Mockingjay Hunger Games on Netflix and was completely underwhelmed. The conclusion and big epic battle did, in fact, require the pristine heroine to actually shed some blood and put down some of the enemy, but it meandered and was directionless for so long. The ending was utterly disappointing as she ends up with a Coke and a smile and a babe in arms in a green forest – with Pita!! Little pipsqueak Pita! Who wants to be with a midget named after bread?! It was just silly. There were not even any great battle scenes and the culminating event with the Dictator was telegraphed from miles away.

So for me, this series ends in a whimper but not as quietly as Divergent. I grow weary of these stories where the heroes are teens (and the world is dependent on they coming up with the world-altering plans). Most teens I wouldn’t trust much more than mowing my lawn – let alone defeating the baddies and enemies of the state.

So little in the theatre worth watching. I do not need to see Suicide Squad and the early reviews are terrible. So I am hopeful as the end of August approaches that TIFF can bring some light on the silver screen.

July 25th, 2016

This weekend I saw Star Trek Beyond. What I discovered is that there is no universal love of the Federation of Planets. Seems it breeds maniacal dictators hellbent on causing mass destruction with many lives. In this case your future betrothed Idris Elba (an Alison favourite!). The storyline takes our well-travelled crew into an area where they are ambushed and left for dead or slaves. There are some inside jokes (the best with Bones I think). They must deal with said maniac and a weapon that seems to borrow heavily from the Matrix.
I had expected this story to address the Klingons with the ‘inevitable war’ but that was not the case. Instead we have an introspective executive not sure where they really belong until they find a force that brings common purpose.
It was fun and a good spectacle. I am not a fan of tight Bourne-like fights where the angles are so close. And I wonder why the all-powerful baddie needs to resort to fisticuffs at all. There were a few ‘yea right’ moments where I decided to suspend my disbelief. It passed. Still. This is worth seeing.
I would like to see Spock and his story explored further. What does the survivor of a holocaust of an entire planet do? How do you cope? Especially when you don’t really feel. We will see if we get there. The Sulu thing was just funny…..

July 11th, 2016

I was catching up on some Netflix movies in the past little while. I noted that they just got The Big Short which I expect to check out once again.

Last night I watched the comedy special Freedumb where he has a live talk in Nashville during this year. Jim Jeffries is the guy who did the brilliant bit about Gun Control which has gone viral. He addresses it about halfway through his special. Sadly he remarks that his email blows up when other tragic events happen (like Paris) where the gun activists will say (“See it happens everywhere….” to him).

He has an equally brilliant discussion about Donald Trump and radicalizing youth that I will leave to your own time. I had some really good laughs here, and he makes some good points and he also uses the “c-word” more than anyone I have heard previously – he is apparently the Rosa Parks of the c-word in getting it used in comedy clubs again! He also had some good points with freedom and which countries are “more free” than the US (Canada is an example).

I started watching Roger Waters The Wall, which is a film about a performance of the music, but also about his own personal journey with his own family – which is less interesting than the music. Life After Porn was interesting too as a film talking about what impacts such a life has on those who perform for a time in it.

I expect to hit the theatre again soon with the release of the new Star Trek and later the new Bourne film. So there will be some time to see more films. I have little interest in Secret Life of Pets nor other things presently out.