In Praise of Jeff Nichols

Take Shelter (2011)

Mud (2014)

Midnight Special (2016)

With the glut of new releases that Hollywood churns out seemingly nonstop, it is hard to find the few independent gems that come and go from year to year. One such indie director I would like to recommend is JEFF NICHOLS, who has produced three original, thought-provoking movies in a row.

His first feature was the well-received "Shotgun Stories" (2007), set in his native Arkansas. I didn't see it. The first movie of his I did see also had a real sense of place and respect for its characters:  the 2011 release "Take Shelter," starring his frequent collaborator Michael Shannon and the lovely Jessica Chastain. An unsettling look at one man who may or may not be going crazy, it is well-paced in slowly revealing its secrets.

 The same can be said of his latest feature: the little noticed "Midnight Special." I suspect it garnered little attention because of its lame and misleading title! The story concerns an Everyman Dad (once again playing by an always on-the-edge Mr. Shannon) who kidnaps his own son to protect him and his special powers from "the authorities." The nature of those powers is kept secret for much of the movie (like the question of "Is he or isn't he crazy?" question in Take Shelter). Because the movie is not about the supernatural, but about faith and family, as is Nichols' themes throughout his movies.

The best of those movies is still "Mud" starring the great Matthew McConnaughey (No. 10 on FFG's Top Ten List for 2014!). A classic Southern coming-of-age story, it also centers on young adults and the choices they have to make. It will be interesting to see how Nichols treats a story involving adults only: this Fall's much-anticipated look at the Supreme Court miscegenation case titled "Loving."

In Praise of Jeff Nichols

Take Shelter (2011)

Mud (2014)

Midnight Special (2016)

With the glut of new releases that Hollywood churns out seemingly nonstop, it is hard to find the few independent gems that come and go from year to year. One such indie director I would like to recommend is JEFF NICHOLS, who has produced three original, thought-provoking movies in a row.

His first feature was the well-received "Shotgun Stories" (2007), set in his native Arkansas. I didn't see it. The first movie of his I did see also had a real sense of place and respect for its characters:  the 2011 release "Take Shelter," starring his frequent collaborator Michael Shannon and the lovely Jessica Chastain. An unsettling look at one man who may or may not be going crazy, it is well-paced in slowly revealing its secrets.

 The same can be said of his latest feature: the little noticed "Midnight Special." I suspect it garnered little attention because of its lame and misleading title! The story concerns an Everyman Dad (once again playing by an always on-the-edge Mr. Shannon) who kidnaps his own son to protect him and his special powers from "the authorities." The nature of those powers is kept secret for much of the movie (like the question of "Is he or isn't he crazy?" question in Take Shelter). Because the movie is not about the supernatural, but about faith and family, as is Nichols' themes throughout his movies.

The best of those movies is still "Mud" starring the great Matthew McConnaughey (No. 10 on FFG's Top Ten List for 2014!). A classic Southern coming-of-age story, it also centers on young adults and the choices they have to make. It will be interesting to see how Nichols treats a story involving adults only: this Fall's much-anticipated look at the Supreme Court miscegenation case titled "Loving."

Summer Snapshots

Summer is the slow season for the FFG, so I all have to share with you are these random thoughts about the movies I have seen over the past two months:

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP (D. Whit Stillman) -- the best of the summer movies by far, this engaging, sophisticated souffle of a movie combines the talents of English author Jane Austen with the urbane wit of (Manhattanite) Whit Stillman to concoct a thoroughly entertaining, if somewhat broadly-drawn, romp through 19th-century British society. Kate Beckinsale's best role to date.

MAGGIE'S PLAN (D: Rebecca Miller) -- Ms. Miller wants to channel Woody Allen (circa when he was making funny movies) in this tale of dissatisfied, intellectual urbanites. She succeeds to a degree (the performances by Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and especially Julianne Moore as the jilted wife in this love triangle, are excellent), but the characters they play are so frustratingly self-absorbed and selfish that you can only walk away thinking they deserve each other. Julianne Moore is brilliant as the cold Danish intellectual who ends up being the most-believable and sympathetic character in the movie.

THE LOBSTER (D: Yorgos Lanthimos) -- I have a two-word review of this movie (I saw the American version, with Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell sporting an unflattering "Dad bod"--but I am sure the same review applies to the Greek original): "RELENTLESSLY STUPID." Put THAT on the promotional poster!

The Huntsman: Winter's War

April 25, 2016

I may have over-promised a tad when I referred to the upcoming release of "The Huntsman: Winter's War" as 'surely to be the greatest movie ever.' Sadly, it is not. 

Through no fault of the lead actors, might I add; specifically the lovely Charlize Theron and the even lovelier Jessica Chastain, who light up the screen with every appearance. I read that Ms. Chastain "had fun" making this picture, which is reason enough for its existence for THIS (admittedly biased) film critic.

In Charlize's case, it is an all-too-brief appearance: the one (and ONLY) original idea in this big studio mish-mash is that it is both a prequel AND a sequel ... I will pause while you digest that concept.

That means that Theron's evil queen Ravenna is featured in the prologue, and after the filmmakers dispense with the entire original Snow White story, "The Huntsman," with a lame "Seven Years Later" inter-title, Ravenna gets to come back at the end to inject some life into the moribund story. [I'm too tired to explain how this is possible, since she died in the original.] In another first in movie history, I can proclaim that a movie suffers from not having Kristen Stewart in it!

For the intervening 90 minutes, the audience must sit through a pastiche of ideas stolen from "The Lord of the Rings" "Game of Thrones" "The Golden Compass" and every recent live-action Disney movie. Does it want to be a comedy? A fantasy? A comedy-fantasy, with sex? I'll let the director and the army of screenwriters fight over that, since they obviously have yet to reach a consensus.

(However, when you are stealing ideas from "The Golden Compass," you are obviously bereft of ideas, and should consider another line of work).

As for the dialogue coaches, I will give them an A for effort. I will not go so far as New York Times critic A.O. Scott, who described the accents as "straight from the Groundskeeper Willie Academy of Dialect Sciences" (burn), but they do go in and out like the waves on the Firth of Forth. Again, I must cite to a superior TV series--in this case "Outlander"--and wonder why this $100 million+ budgeted movie pales in comparison to what I can see on the small screen?

Oh yeah, Chris Hemsworth is in it, too.

The LAST Top Ten List for 2015

March 8, 2016 --

I say LAST because I am woefully behind in my movie-going this year! I have no one to blame but myself. That said, I thought 2015 turned into a strong year for movies (after a slow start). Still, my list of disappointments (at the end) is longer than usual. I even had to introduce a new category for two films I had very mixed feelings about. I am calling it "Impressive but problematic."

Now, onto the important categories:

TOP TEN MOVIES of 2015

1.     SPOTLIGHT
2,     CAROL
>>It was a close rate for No.1. I went back and forth for the last 3 months, but the Academy got it right this time!

"I like the hat." THIS hat, not the Christmas one!

3.     BROOKLYN -- full of life and heart; how could anyone NOT like this movie!?!?
4.     WHITE GOD (Hungary) -- a dog fable that will stay with you for a long time
5.     SICARIO
6.     ROOM -- claustrophobic and compelling
7.     MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
8.     THE BIG SHORT
9.     The End of the Tour
10.    45 Years

Honorable mention
Creed
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Trumbo
Truth

Saw & enjoyed:
An Alicia Vikander double feature: The Danish Girl and Ex Machina
Crimson Peak (keeping alive my streak of honoring at least one Jessica Chastain movie per year!)
Far From the Madding Crowd
Me & Earl & the Dying Girl
Macbeth

Best docs:
Salt of the Earth
The Best of Enemies
Listen to Me, Marlon

*Impressive but problematic* (new category!)
THE REVENANT
SON OF SAUL (Hungary)

Movies that left me disappointed ... and broke:
Bridge of Spies; The Martian; In the Heart of the Sea; The Hateful Eight; Clouds of Sils Maria; While We're Young; Irrational Man.

OSCAR Shorts Part II: Live Action Shorts

February 27th --

This category is clearly a two film race, but I will briefly remark on all the nominees:

AVE MARIA -  This supposed 'comedy' about three grossly stereotypical Israeli settlers stranded at a convent in the Arab part of the West Bank as the Sabbath approaches is poorly shot, over-acted, and (oh yes) not funny! How it made the cut boggles the mind.

ALLES WIRD GUT ("Everything will be okay") - Gripping (at first), this story of a divorced father's plans with his unsuspecting 8-year-old daughter (very well-played by Julia ('yoolia') Pointner), builds the tension slowly, but the overlong climax makes you think the filmmaker just didn't know how to end the movie.

DAY ONE (USA) - A story of an Afghan interpreter's first day on the job with a U.S. unit is commendable: good camerawork, production values, acting. The story, however, is a bit melodramatic for my tastes (it could be a dark-horse winner).

Like a well-crafted short story, these next two nominees are perfectly realized: concise, atmospheric, and moving. Of course, I thought the same thing in 2014 with the exceptional French-Chinese entry "Butter Lamp," and it lost! #OscarsSoStupid

STUTTERER (UK) - The  British entry tells the story of a shy, witty introvert who has a way with words online and in his head, but when he tried to verbalize them ... the title says it all. The crisis comes when a longtime online girlfriend wants to meet: the resolution is satisfying and 'sweet' (and no, that is not a put down).

SHOK (Kosovo) - My pick to win the Oscar, hands-down, is this gut-wrenching story from the Serbian war in Kosovo. Two boys' friendship is tested as one tries to do business with the Serbian troops who are occupying his land. The theme of innocence and complicity in an indifferent world is the stuff of great Italian cinema, which this short recalls -- no mean feat in a 30-minute film! The two young leads (Andi Bajgora and Lum Veseli) are naturals (and I assume are non-professionals, like much of the cast). The ending will haunt you -- and I will haunt the Academy of this film doesn't win!! #OscarsSoStupid

A short recap of the Oscar "Shorts" categories (Part 1)

February 24th:
As a tune-up for the Big Reveal of my OSCAR Predictions at the weekend, here are my impressions (and predictions) for two of the "shorts" categories: Best Documentary Short and Best Live Action Short. (I call it a short recap, because for the third year in a row I am boycotting the Best Animated Short category, as the company that releases the "Oscar Shorts" programs insist on charging separate admission for what is, at most, 40 minutes of nominated films. They always pad it with another 35 minutes of non-nominated animation to (barely) get to 75 minutes. Rip off!

In Part 1, I cover
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
I skipped this category last year, because the subject matter of the films was too depressing: Suicide-pollution-terminal illness-old age-and death! This year's features are more upbeat: Ebola-honor killings-capital punishment-birth defects-and (wait for it) The Holocaust! Welcome to the world of documentary shorts.

This category has come a long way in a short time--and that is not necessarily a good thing! I blame HBO and other television "providers" that have flooded this category with well-produced, high-quality films. Why is that a problem? Because in six months, you know they are going to be shown on TV, then nominated for Emmys! That does not seem fair: pick a format, HBO, and stick to it!

The first nominee, "Body Team 12" would have been in contention in years past: it is a brief slice of life following a Ebola body disposal unit in Liberia. While an important, under-reported subject, it just does not have the production values (or length) of the other nominees. And this is one of the 3 HBO Documentary Films!

The other two HBO Films are: "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness" and "Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah." HBO loves to use that colon (:). The first, dealing with a botched 'honor killing' in Pakistan, is thought-provoking, beautifully-filmed, and powerful: all features it has in common with the last film I championed that won this category in 2013: "Saving Face" -- about acid attacks against women ... IN PAKISTAN! (WTF Pakistan?) I am compelled to add that this was an HBO Film, too -- HBO knows where the Golden Goose is! Although it is a little too slick for my tastes, I predict this film WILL WIN the Oscar.

The Lanzmann movie is better, in my opinion. It is gripping and introspective throughout (I admit I am drawn to the subject matter, having seen the director's 9.5-hour magnum opus "Shoah" in one, all-day screening). In any other year, I would WANT this to win, but the final nominee blew me away. No, it is not the most-slickly produced, technically superior film among the five, but it has all the heart, determination, and spirit of its subject: I am talking about "Chau, Beyond the Lines." It is the story of a Vietnamese youth born with horrible birth defects, caused by his mother's exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam during the war. I still have not recovered from watching Chau overcome indescribable odds to pursue a career as an artist, while confronting my own complicity (as a U.S. citizen) in contributing to his condition, and that of many other youth who are surviving despite the world's indifference.

The less I say about the last nominee, "Last Day of Freedom," the better. Not for its subject matter: an interview with the brother of a black Vietnam Vet suffering PTSD long before society took notice of such a condition, who has an episode that results in the murder of an elderly woman in Sacramento, CA. The reminiscences of the brother who turned him in and later watched his execution are inherently powerful. So why did the filmmakers rely on the distracting, and distancing device of animating the entire movie? It was a chore to sit through (but it may be a dark horse choice for the #OscarsSoWhite Academy). No pun intended!

Next: Part II:
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

A belated review of MAD MAX: Fury Road

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Director: George Miller

(Gearing up for the Academy awards -- Sunday, Feb. 28th @ 7PM on ABC!! -- I recently caught-up with this movie in its theatrical re-release, and feel compelled to share my thoughts before the big unveiling of my own TOP TEN MOVIE LIST -- date TBD).

This action movie is nothing short of 'visionary' -- of course, this being the latest in the Mad Max franchise, the vision is of a dystopian, post-apocalyptic Hellscape called Australia -- but what can one expect? 

After a 30-year hiatus since Mad Max went Beyond Thunderdome, what is amazing is that the septuagenarian Aussie director George Miller not only still has the vision, he gives the series a jolt of adrenaline to excite both old and new audiences. (J.J. Abrams does something comparable with STAR WARS, under much more pressure from fans, and he likewise succeeds beyond expectations).

Mr. Miller can teach every Hollywood young-gun director a thing of two about staging action scenes : this entire movie is one extended chase sequence, on an epic scale, and he piles on one mind-blowing set piece after another (think 'pole-vaulting bad guys').  From the opening scene, the movie drops you into a horrifying existence, with little exposition, and forces you to go along for the ride.

The visual effects alone are worthy of an Oscar, but the cinematography, hair & make-up, sound mixing, and sound effects editing are also top notch. A note on the actors: amidst the chaos around her, Charlize Theron conveys more with her eyes than many a silent film star did. It is loud, confusing, and unrelenting. And for a movie-lover, it is why you go to the movies.

Annual OSCAR Rant - 2016 version

There are certainly people with more deserving OSCAR RANTS than your humble foreignfilmguy (#OscarSoWhite:TheSequel), but I have to admit I didn't see "Straight Outta Compton" or "Creed", so I cannot comment on those snubs. What I CAN and WILL comment on are the following outrageous SNUBS:

No Best Picture or Best Director nominations for perhaps (I don't want to give away my Top Ten List too early) the Best Movie of the Year: "CAROL"! WTF#1? It is clearly the class of the Oscar season (the backing of those no-good Weinsteins notwithstanding) Instead, we have to suffer the far inferior BRIDGE OF SPIES and THE MARTIAN as Best Picture (not to give away my Not Top Ten List).

"SICARIO" - snubbed for everything but Best Cinematography, Score, and Sound editing (it should win for all three).

Screenplays: Aaron Sorkin not getting nominated for "Steve Jobs" is a snub, especially since the lame script for "The Martian" did get one. I have yet to see "The Hateful Eight," but I am sure there is more wit and artistry in the first five minutes of it than in the entire patchwork, obviously written by several hands mess that is "Bridge of Spies."

Best Costume Design: NO recognition for the outstanding costumes in "BROOKLYN"?? WTF#2!

I am sure all five best documentary features are deserving, but to leave out MY two fave docs of the year -- "Best of Enemies" and "Listen to Me, Marlon" -- seems wrong.

Best Song: I'm sorry, Sam Smith fans, but as soon as I heard the opening song for the new James Bond film "Spectre" I was ready to declare it the WORST Bond Film song EVER! (And that is saying something!)

At this point in my annual RANT, you expect to hear me go off on my favorite Oscar whipping boy: JOHN WILLIAMS. Well, this year, I am not gonna do it! It's STAR WARS, after all. That is the man's bread-and-butter! Props to JW! In his stead, I am awarding the honorary John Wiliams Rant to another composer who is clearly a hack unworthy of Oscar recognition, and that person is . . .

THOMAS NEWMAN, "Bridge of Spies"! You, sir, suck as a composer! What an ingratiating, hackneyed, obvious and unrelenting score that was! No matter what the rest of the movie was like, I knew the score would ruin the entire movie for me. Have I mentioned that it's not that great a movie, anyway?

MACBETH

Starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard

Lady M goes to town with her eye shadow!

I hesitated before buying my ticket to the latest cinematic treatment of one of the Bard's classics -- in spite of its stellar lead actors -- wary of sitting through yet another stage-bound retelling of a work I know so well. Boy, was I in for a surprise! This film doesn't simply 'open-up' the play, it de-constructs and re-constructs it into the time and place where it was originally set: the wild Scottish Highlands where witches and omens co-exist with the harsh realities of life in the Middle Ages.

The landscape -- fog and fire and breathtaking natural wonders (filmed on the Isle of Skye, I learned later) -- grounds the action to a time and place where the gruesome events don't seem so out of place. Call it the "Game of Thrones" effect, but the grimness of the setting makes the blood-drenched action more believable. And there is a lot of blood: from the battle Macbeth wins to first early glory, to the chaotic murder of Duncan and his guards, to the final battle against MacDuff, you are immersed in it.
All of this comes at a price, however: the price of Shakespeare's beautiful verse. I was continually struggling to decipher the thick Scottish brogue in many of the line readings. Some of his most-cherished soliloquies sneak-up on you -- in a way that is both organic, yet somehow offhand. This worked effectively in Lady Macbeth's "Out, damned spot!" speech; less so in Macbeth's "Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow" (delivered by an otherwise excellent Michael Fassbender as he drags around his lifeless wife). A final word about said lifeless wife: Marion Cotillard was so good I almost wished they changed the script so Lady M wouldn't have to die! She nailed the English verse like a true professional. And she's French! The ultimate compliment (for this visual medium of film) is perhaps this fact: I spent the 'dead week' at work looking into B&Bs on Skye to wander the heath where this movie was filmed.