2014 Cannes Film Festival Recap

     

     The 2014 Cannes Film Festival concluded this past Saturday and from the majority of scholarly reactions, critics and film bloggers, this is was quite an exceptional year on the French Rivera. The Festival included films from David Cronenberg, Bennet Miller, Jean & Luc Dardenne, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Xavier Dolan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Jean-Luc Godard. Top heavy with Cannes veterans and highly anticipated film premieres. The eventual winner of the coveted Palme d'Or was Mr. Ceylan and his 3 hour and 16 minute film Winter Sleep. The film was heralded all-around, but it was not a complete unanimous series of appreciation. That does not detract from the excitement I have at looking forward to seeing this talky, slow paced film from the great Turkish filmmaker. His past work, especially Climates (2006), is quite special.
     The best news in my book was the high praise David Cronenberg's Hollywood satire Maps to the Stars received. Once again, this film polarized critics (no surprise there) but the one's that really liked, really, really enjoyed it and thought it was one of Cronenberg's best. Julianne Moore won Best Actress for her role in the film and I hope it leads to serious Oscar attention for this amazing, amazing actress. The screenplay by Bruce Wagner is supposedly quite brilliant as well. Another film that received almost unanimous praise was Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner, which focuses on the great, oddball British painter J.M.W Turner. The film was loved by many film reviewers and the great Timothy Spall won Best Actor for playing the title role. Loving Leigh's films, and really loving Cronenberg's work, I am highly excited to see both of these films.
     Bennett Miller's third film, Foxcatcher, had its world premiere and the reviews were ecstatic. The film, which many said is a dark look at the American Dream, stars Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo and an almost unrecognizable Steve Carell. Both Tatum and Carell received high acknowledgments for their roles and will both be in the race for best actor. Miller and the film will most likely receive many Oscar nominations and from the trailer, it appears to be an extremely dark, bleak film. Miller received Best Director at the festival.
     So, already four films that look amazing and sound great, but nothing compares to the critical appreciation and over-the-top high marks for Russian auteur Andrey Zvyaginstev's fourth feature film, Leviathan. I mean, the Internet went insane for how good this multiple character, crime and corruption drama film appears to be. Having seen his first film, The Return (2003), and still needing to see his third, Elena (2011), I can only anticipate how great this film will be. It has to be. Sony Pictures Classic picked it up quickly and that is great home for foreign films. The film won Best Screenplay at the festival and apparently just missed the Palme.
     The other two films that received consensus adulation were the Argentinian black comedy Wild Tales, from Damián Szifron, and the Canadian wonder kid Xavier Dolan's, he is only 25 and has five films under his belt, Mommy. The Szifron film I knew little about, or him for that matter, and Dolan is Quebec's version of a young Godard. Both films received very positive notices and both appear to be necessary viewing. Dolan's film tied with, ironically, Jean-Luc Godard's well received, shocker in France, although I love Godard, Goodbye to Language, for the Jury Prize. And Alice Rohrwacher's The Wonders took home the Grand Prix and started a high bidding war for distribution.
    Not everything was a complete knockout though. The opening night, out-of-competition film Grace of Monaco, starring Nicole Kidman, got brutally panned. Ryan Gosling's directorial debut Lost River, although receiving some positive recognition and comparisons to David Lynch and Beasts of the Southern Wild, overall got beat-up pretty bad. Still looks quite interesting, even if it is in the fantasy drama realm. Tommy Lee Jones second feature film directorial effort, The Homesman, received mixed notices, although I believe there were more positive than negative. Big word was on all the odd, eccentric turns the film took throughout. And the much loved and admired French auteur's the Dardenne Brothers returned to the festival with the Marion Cotillard starrer Two Days, One Night. Nothing was really standing out from the reviews I read, but nothing bad either. The same can be said of Ken Loach's supposed last film, Jimmy's Hall. Nothing bad, but nothing signifying greatness.
     Whew... What it would be like to attend this festival just once. Following all the film bloggers and websites, reading reviews and tweets was exciting and exhausting, just sitting on this side of the fence. My list for films to see throughout the rest of the year and into the beginning of next is growing and growing. All of these films appear to be really exciting and Jane Campion and her jury appear to have been well-rounded in their respect and appreciation for the films, has evident by the awards given at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Oscar and festival season, and September, are only a few months away!!!

Photo credit by totalfilm.com.
   

UNDER THE SKIN

Under the Skin

Directed by Jonathan Glazer

Written by Walter Campbell & Jonathan Glazer

     What a surreal, psychological trip Under the Skin is. I watched director Jonathan Glazer's existential science-fiction, horror film a week ago and it has not really left my mind since that viewing. It is quite powerful, but not over bearing or too arty. It results in many unanswered questions. It is mesmerizing, sensual, horrific, frustrating, engaging and immersive. I said it was a science-fiction, horror film, but one that is unlike anything made before. It feels has if Glazer paid an impressive tribute to Kubrick, Lynch, Jodoworsky and Roeg, and created his own link in this chain of undeniably, distinct great filmmakers. Under the Skin is one haunting damn film that will stick with me for quite some time and, at the same time, will be one that requires multiple viewings.
     An unnamed Scarlett Johansson plays an alien in human form that seduces passersby on the streets of Glasgow, Scotland. She brings them back to a vacant house. Once she is in the house, she slowly walks, unclothing, as do her male counterparts, walking over a glossy black mass. The men seep into this eerie black liquid while she walks undisturbed. She is feeding something. An urge. A hunger. A hidden ship or father alien. A seduction and extermination of sexually obsessed men with nothing more on their mind. No reason is fully given, but these continuous scenes engage the audience to uncover the deeper meanings, dissect the varying masculine and feminine symbolism, and attempt to unlock any figurative suggestions that the filmmaker is putting forth. The real questions is, what is being said?
     The first half of the film is strictly Johannson driving around Scotland picking up strangers and bringing them back to this house. Once she picks up a shy, deformed young man, she begins to feel some sort of humanity and sympathy. She allows this man to not be ravaged by this black substance and frees him from this feeding. This enrages her counterpart, another unnamed character, the man on the motorcycle. He appears to be some kind of leader or boss over Johansson's character. Once she has freed the deformed man, she is on the run, not in a panicked, commercial thriller way, but in this artful, highly beautiful, haunting situational dilemma. Her journey from hunter to hunted rounds out the film, and her identity is uncomfortable unveiled towards the end. The big point is that realization of having no feeling or understanding of where you are at, to feeling compassion, discovery and fear in this foreign world.
     I will fully admit that I left the cinema somewhat confused, full of questions and a little frustrated, but in a good way. This is a film that requires multiple viewings. What is the deeper significance of sex and the bad versus good nature of human beings, or foreign ones? What is it like to be required to perform a service and then go against the grain in the passion and confusion of new discoveries? Is it a film that has deeper meanings, but is equally and specifically focused on pushing the boundaries of style and sound in film? Is it a film that shows the objectification of woman as merely sex objects in the view of brute, disgusting males? So many questions that outweigh the answers. That is one of the joys and discouraging pleasures of Under the Skin.
     The questions will only be enhanced, or caught, through more discussion and analysis with more viewings. It is undeniable that Ms. Johansson gives a subdued, yet powerful, engaging performances. It is probably her best work and she is striped down, both literally and emotionally. There are many scenes where she is fully nude and I hope this film is not fully watched just for that. There is so much more amazement with this film then Ms. Johansson's nudity. She has few lines, but what she does with her eyes, body and gestures is quite stunning. She appears to be so natural on Earth, but ironically is not from this planet. She has put on a suit of beauty to acquire her task. A facade to drain and hide. She speaks with a charming English accent when seducing her passersby. However, these men speak with an almost indecipherable thick Scottish accent and this really speaks to the barriers between these different beings. The range she gives form the first half of the film where she is picking up en, to when she is on the run and going through the varying discoveries of her human skin and body is seriously fine, haunting work.
     Glazer, who has not directed a film since 2004 with Birth, has one artistically, stylized vision. The references earlier of Kubrick, Lynch, Jodoworsky and Roeg are evident from the visuals; to the mesmerizing opening sequence of her eye, and more, that is something magnificent to witness on the big screen; to the haunting, penetrating, brooding score from Mica Levi. Everything can be seen as an homage to these great filmmakers, but Glazer has created a work of his own, full of multiple textures and meanings. A film that will be polarizing to some and something of a masterpiece to others. I fall into the latter category, even if I feel I need more viewings, which is always a good thing. One of the amazing things about this film is that I cannot wait to see it again, even though there are some highly disturbing moments. Especially the one with the family at the coast. Seriously chilling and unsettling.
     And yes, that score from Levi is something to behold. It is without a doubt one of the most haunting things I have heard since Jonny Greenwood's brilliant work on Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. The music is so key to the ebbs and flows of this film. The mood is set, enhanced and evolutionary with every striking string, deep breath and pounding beat. It has stuck with me since the film and I got the films soundtrack from a friend immediately after seeing the film. It is so special, terrifying and is flat-out genius. With that score, the moody, grayish cinematography from Daniel Landin is a perfect fit as well. I could look at this film with just the score and cinematography, and be completely satisfied. All elements are working at the highest form in this film.
     Under the Skin is one of the best films of 2014. When a film holds my attention completely, asks the audience, and myself, to be so engaged in every line and scene, and causes serious mental aptitude in its dissection, I am fully appreciative and thoroughly pleased. It is a shockingly beautiful art film, haunting horror film and mystifying science-fiction film, all in the realm of deep existentialism. All elements work beautifully and Scarlett Johansson gives an astonishing, muted, brilliant performance. Under the Skin will not be for everyone, but this is the type of film I love and one I am dying to see again.

Photo credit by IMDB.

Film Trailers: MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT

     The trailer for the annual Woody Allen film has arrived. His latest, Magic in the Moonlight, comes hot off the heels of his well-recieved effort from last year Blue Jasmine. I have stated this before that Allen is my favorite filmmaker of all time and anything he makes, I am first in line. Allen's new film appears to contain many themes that have been present in his past works: oddity of the male-female relationship, dissecting the fantasy from the real, and doing all with an undercurrent of wry, ironic, neurotic humor. Colin Firth, who has been in a rut since his run of good films like A Single Man, The King's Speech and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, plays a English stage performer who is brought in to debunk a believed-to-be mystic, played by Emma Stone, in the South of France. Emma Stone feels to be the perfect fit for Allen's style and narrative assembly. The trailer looks solid and the only question is whether this is Midnight in Paris Allen or Scoop Allen. The Allen of Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters is long gone. Cannot wait regardless. Enjoy, and the film will be released on July 25th.

Photo credit by ropeofsilicon.com and trailer by YouTube.

Film Trailers: LIFE ITSELF

     When I really became obsessed with cinema a little over ten years, part of that love of film came from  watching Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel discuss, debate and breakdown film on their critics show on TV. I loved watching them go at it over films they agreed upon and did not. Ebert is that critic that is the most accessible for all film lovers and the casual observer. He could write so intelligently, but without a hint of being pretentious or didactic. I owe so much of my cinema education to his reviews and books, and he really enhance my appreciation of cinema as a true art form. I am really excited to see the new documentary on Ebert's life from Steve James, Life Itself, which also received raves at this years Sundance Film Festival. This is an instant for any film lover and does not look to be just a puff appreciation piece. Ebert was the most famous mainstream film critic in the world and one of the best. Enjoy!

Photo credit by IMDB and trailer by YouTube.

GODZILLA (2014)

Godzilla

Directed by Gareth Edwards

Written by Max Borenstein

     Godzilla, at least from the trailers, felt like my only hope for a decent blockbuster film this summer. Sadly, it was a disappointment. Not a total wash, but a missed opportunity. The biggest issues is the miss guided story and the flat, dull performance from one of the leads. Well, the lead that took over from the quality acting from Bryan Cranston. I can respect the beginning of the film, but after the filmed moved forward, that quality was nothing more than a waste and had little interest or valued purpose to the rest of the film. The best part of the film was the tease building up to the big reveal of Godzilla himself, but nothing more. Just a way, way too long, remake/reboot that had no pulse and life. The one chance I had hoped for this summer came down hard, much like San Francisco in Godzilla.

     Godzilla focuses on nature reclaiming its rightful place at the top of the food chain on Earth. A prehistoric monster, attempted to be killed by atomic tests in the 1950s, but failed. Scientist Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) inspects an enormous fossil at a mining site in the Philippines in the late 1990s. What he uncovers is something much more frightening as a spore, a parasite, still alive after all these years somehow, has managed to break free from this fossil in search of food in the form of radiation. It travels to a nuclear plant in Japan where nuclear engineer Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) realizes that the tremors the plant is feeling is not an earthquake, but something much, much worse. The plant implodes and we move forward 15 years. 

     Not a bad build up. Somewhat dramatic, if a little too hammy or Spielbergian, and suspenseful. I am into it, but then if fell off the tracks. We are introduced to the biggest problem with this film -- the character of Ford Brody, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Ford is the son of Joe and has recently arrived back home in San Francisco from the military as a bomb specialist. Right away when he goes home to his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) and son, he has absolutely no emotion, personality and one annoying whiny little voice. Sorry, but the horrible acting, and more terribly, the storytelling is just completely uninteresting. You think you would have a tremendous amount of emotion seeing your family for the first time in awhile, but he just has this dull, boring look on his face. Got to give me something more than that. Taylor-Johnson's character and acting is just one of the most boring, dull performances I have seen in a long time. 

     Ford travels to Japan where his father has become somewhat of a obsessive nut and is in jail for trespassing on the quarantined site where he worked at the nuclear plant. Joe knows something is amiss and he must find out. What they unravel is that a gigantic, insect-alien looking creature is the cause for the collapse of the plant and this creature has come out of its shell. This thing is quite impressive to look at and goes on a rampage seeking out its mate. Ok... Destruction ensues, lives are lost and we are only slightly teased at the behemoth monster that lives in the deepest parts of the ocean. Now that this MUTO, as it is called, has come out, Godzilla is on the way to battle this, and the female MUTO that was stored at a nuclear waste site in Nevada. The battle is on. The king of the Earth is at stake. Honolulu, Las Vegas and San Francisco are demolished. That is your film, but what garbage, Hollywood crap it turned into. 

     I have already mentioned the bad acting and character writing for Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but killing off his father in the first thirty minutes and turning Ford into the main lead was an horrendous decision. Cranston kept me engaged and excited for the film and when he died, so did the rest of the film. Taylor-Johnson brought nothing, but Watanabe, Olsen, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche (in a small role) and David Strathairn at least kept the acting up to par. The beginning of the film ended up being completely irrelevant to entirety of the film. It stretched it out way too long and exemplified poor decisions in the narrative. At least that beginning was at least good on its own merit. Bad choice by director Gareth Edwards (Monsters) and screenwriter Max Borenstein to kill off Joe and turn the boring Ford into the main human character in the film and waste that start to the film. 

     Yes, it is all about the monster, and he looks fantastic. So much better than the shit look of Godzilla in the Godzilla film from 1998. Detail focused and the insect-looking MUTO's look quite impressive as well. I also liked the fight sequences between Godzilla and those MUTO's, but that is about it. Well, I did like the slow build up to the eventual unveiling of the famous monster. The story is just so flat and boring. It feels like the inspiration wants to be there, but was held back for whatever reason. Too much softness and Godzilla being here to safe humanity. NO. He was not saving human beings, but killing off the enormous creatures that threatened his powerful existence. There is a scene when Godzilla is somewhat beaten and exhausted, and while he is laying on the ground he and Ford look into each others eyes. Is this suppose to be some sort of recognition or connection? From the human standpoint, yes, I can see that, but the monster could care less about the human beings. Too stupid and had the soft, emotional acceptance from a Spielberg film, except nowhere near as good. Just overall a disappointing conclusion and overall film.

     Gareth Edwards Godzilla has a few, and I mean a few, decent moments, but is overall not a very good film. This film is nowhere near as good as the original Japanese film Gojira (1954). I love the suspense and silliness of that film, but this one could have been so much better. Keep Cranston as the main character and the film could have gone in so many better, more creative directions. The attempt at keeping the myth and lure of the monster Godzilla is there, but not enough to even remotely make this film interesting. Good luck to the rest of the summer. I am sure more and more disappointments will be on the way. 

Photo credit by IMDB.

Criterion Collection Releases for August 2014

     The Criterion Collection announced its new releases for August 2014 last Thursday and we finally get a title that has been anticipated for quite some time. The film has been hinted at in New Year's Day Criterion drawings for a couple of years and it is finally being released. Alfonso Cuaron's wonderful road, coming-of-age comedy/drama Y tu mamá también (2001). The film is one of those special films that can be quite raunchy and daring, but at that same time be touching and one hell of an emotional ride. The film really put actors Gael García Bernal (along with Amores Perros), Diego Luna and Maribel Verdú on the American film map and supplanted Alfonso Cuarón as one of the top directors in the world. I completely thrilled that this film is getting a stellar release from Criterion. I am sure some of the hold up was Cuarón working on Gravity, but this is an instant buy. I can finally replace my old DVD. The film will be released in dual-format on August 19th and I really like that exquisite, poignant cover art.

     Another release I am really excited for is the introduction of the great Spanish auteur Pedro

Almodóvar into the Criterion Collection with Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990). One of my top ten favorite directors and one that has not made a terrible film yet. This is one that will be another instant purchase. Containing dark, sexual comedy and not afraid to take on just about anything, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! follows an unbalanced former mental patient played by Antonio Banderas and the woman he holds as his prisoner in trying to convince her to marry him. Almodóvar is like no other filmmaker in the world and his beautiful and blunt use of dialogue and language is incomparable. Cannot wait for this one to be on the film shelf. The film will be released in dual-format on August 19th and the colorful cover art is perfect.

     John Cassavetes gets another film in the collection with Love Streams (1984). If you have not seen a Cassavetes film, change that immediately. Start with A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and continue. You will not be disappointed. I have seen all of the films in the Cassavetes box set form Criterion, as well as Husbands, but I have yet to see Love Streams. Being a devout Cassavetes admirer, this is another instant purchase. He creates stories and films for actors. It is all about the actors and creating honest, real worlds for real people. The best, and it is one of his last films he starred and directed in. Also, working with his wife and brilliant actor Gena Rowlands. The film will be released in dual-format on August 12th. The cover art goes right along with the style of the box set as well. 

     The other new release during the month of August is Bob Fosse's fast paced musical All That Jazz (1979). The film is somewhat of an autobiography of the director and choreographer Fosse's own life and contains a career best performance from Roy Scheider. Not being the biggest musical fan, I am really excited to see this film for the first time, especially on bluray. The colors will be bursting off the screen and everything I have read on the film is that the energy and exhausting work ethic is presented in an intense, lavish way. The film will be released in dual-format on August 26th. The cover is quite nice too.

   

     The final film, and only upgrade, is the Japanese film from Shohei Imamura, Vengeance Is Mine (1979). This film is a blunt, vigorous and seriously intense crime thriller with a touch of dark, dark humor. The film follows the seventy-eight day killing spree of a Catholic man through Japan. I remember the first time I saw this film it somewhat disgusted me with how perverse and remorseless this man, Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata) could be, but also how brilliant of a crime film this was form Imamura. Textbook greatness right here. This is just a bluray upgrade since the DVD came out not too long ago, about 6-8 years. I want the bluray, but I already own the DVD so I might wait on this one for awhile. I love that cover. Quite sinister, strong and revealing. The bluray will be released on August 26th. Another great month of releases form the Criterion Collection. 

Photo credit by The Criterion Collection.

Full INTERSTELLAR Trailer

Trailer credit by YouTube.