Forgotten Frights II: The Curse of the Cat People

Forgotten Frights is back! To celebrate the second anniversary of our annual horror movie roundup, every weekday for the next month we're going to sound off on a scary good sequel (or, if we want some cheese with our corn syrup, a schlocky second), ruminating on the returns of our favourite monsters, murderers, heroes (or heroines), creepies, crawlies, chills and thrills.

What came before it: A B-movie called Cat People about a strange woman named Irena who turns into a panther when she's aroused (sexually or angrily). However, being a cat person psychologically tortures Irena, as she's not allowed to express her love. Things take a turn for the worse when she catches her husband getting too friendly with another woman. Eventually, her inner darkness leads to her demise.

What remains: The couple from the first film now has a six-year-old daughter, Amy, who feels isolated and left out by her peers, much like the feelings Irena felt. One day she calls out for a friend. Irena appears and befriends her, a secret she must keep from her parents. However, when her parents find out, they refuse to believe her and force her to feel even further isolated.

Why you should giving it a second (or third, or fourth) chance:

• It focusses on the psychological torment of a young child and her greatest fears of loneliness and betrayal. Plus, there are some very strange and spooky moments.
• It reminds me of The Turn of the Screw. We think we believe, but we're always doubting whether or not Irena is actually a ghost or a figment of Amy's imagination.
• Amy says some disturbing things about herself, like after she blew out her birthday candles, "You know what I wished, daddy? I wished that I could be a good girl," making us wonder if she's actually a malicious child or just misunderstood.
• Reference to Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "The Unseen Playmate" about children's imaginary friends but in the context of a horror story, with lines like "When children are playing alone on the green, In comes the playmate that never was seen," it can get creepy.
• Truthfully, it's not exactly a horror movie. It's more haunting and unsettling, but sometimes that's what you need for a more lasting effect.

The Great Gatsby, Possibly My Next Favourite Movie

I just watched The Great Gatsby trailer and I am in love. I know, the trailer came out five months ago but I refused to watch it. Allow me to explain.

Every time a movie comes out that I want to see but it's based on a book, I feel that I have to read the book first. Most of the time, this doesn't work out. Water for Elephants looked amazing; it seemed like a magical, heart-wrenching story with a gorgeous circus for its setting, not to mention, I love elephants. So, I bought the book, but I didn't read it. I didn't see the movie in theatres because I was so determined to read the book first. After a while, the movie came out on DVD and I gave up. I watched it. It was good, but not amazing. A year later, I read the book. Now, that was amazing. Sometimes, it's the other way around. Although I didn't badly want to see Savages, I had the book, so I read it. It was terrible. It was a painful read, so much that I didn't really care to live through it again if the movie might be so terrible. So, I didn't see the movie. Both of these scenarios had played out a gazillion times.

I heard they were making a Great Gatsby movie. The book had been on my "to read" list for too long. I didn't really know much about it except that a lot of people loved it. I told myself that I would read the book before the trailer came out. I didn't. But I refused to watch the trailer. I didn't want the images of the actors to alter my perceptions of the characters in the book. Luckily, the movie got pushed to a later date and I wasn't bombarded with trailers on TV, so it was easy to avoid.

I finished reading The Great Gatsby last night. It was alright. I'm not a fan of the writing style but the story is just poetry. What the story needs is a new visualization, something dramatic and pulsing, glamourous and decadent. It needs someone who isn't afraid to be bold, who paints his scenes with glitz, who will give a love story the power it needs to crush you in the end.  Moulin Rouge! is my favourite movie because it is all these things, as well as a beautifully poetic story. What this book needs is exactly Baz Luhrmann and absolutely no one else. Luhrmann and The Great Gatsby is purely magic-in-the-making and it better break my heart.

Never Seen It! Sunday: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

You know when someone asks if you’ve seen their favourite movie and say you seen “parts of it” because you don’t want to seem like a total pop culture pariah? Yeah, we do too—and we hate ourselves for it! That’s why every other week, we’ve vowed to watch at least one movie we’ve put off, ignored, rejected or just plain-out forgotten about. Join us as recount the popping of our cinematic cherries, complete with awkward, over-analytical details!

DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD

DATE RELEASED: June 7, 2002


DATE WATCHED: March 31, 2012


WHY NOW? For a night in, there's not much releasing on DVD now that I haven't already seen or that I have any interest in watching, so I've been going through older movies that I've always wanted to watch but haven't had the chance to. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is always on TV but I never catch it in time.


WHY NOT THEN? As a young teen, I had no interest at all in a movie about a club of older women. What did I know about their issues? Their lives? Their experiences? Better yet, what did I care?


EXPECTATIONS:

• Older women gossiping about womanly things
• A movie reminiscent of Now and Then
• Some humour that I still might not get

WHAT I ACTUALLY GOT...

DVD: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I read this book a really long time ago. Almost seven years ago. I intended to get Jonathan Safran Foer's other book, Everything is Illuminated, which was also being made into a movie later that year, but when I flipped through Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I had to get it. It was so much more than text on paper. There were photographs, sketches, red pen copy-edited pages, text with kerning running tighter and tighter into black masses. It was so interesting. Unfortunately, the story wasn't so much, but all of its visual creativity made up for it.

When this movie came out late last year, I really didn't care to see it. Of course, it couldn't retain the same innovation of its print form, but there's always room for innovation in direction. But I wasn't counting on it. And I'm glad I didn't, because for the most part, this movie was pretty flat.

Oskar (Thomas Horn) was really close with his dad (Tom Hanks). In the socially-awkward kid's eyes, they were best buds. They had inside jokes, they riddled each other with intellectual puzzles and no one else quite got Oskar like his dad did. So, when his dad dies in the September 11 attacks, Oskar is heartbroken, as anyone would be, and withdraws even further from the world. That's until he finds a key in his dad's closet one day and feels compelled to find out what it opens. His dad must have left it there for him, he thinks, it's another puzzle for him to figure out. So he takes to the city alone, at first, to figure it out.

It's not a terrible story. It's heartfelt and sweet at times, but it's way too slow and repetitive. For two hours, you follow this kid on his search that continues to lead nowhere. He does nearly the same thing everyday. Admittedly, it is more of an emotional coming of age story, and that train progresses, but a little more tension or novelty would have been nice.

What pulls this film through is its tremendous acting, particularly on the parts of Max von Sydow as the renter living with Oskar's grandmother and Sandra Bullock as Oskar's mom. As I've said before, Bullock was snubbed during this year's awards season. While at least Max von Sydow was nominated for an Oscar, Bullock saw nil. Fuelling this outrage was the fact that she won Best Actress two years ago for a performance that was just whatever. In this movie, she was so moving, so emotionally connecting, so convincing. I was completely blown away. What did they not see?!

If there's one basis I can recommend this film on, it's to see Bullock give a truly memorable and award-worthy performance. Otherwise, there's not much else here. B-

Starring Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn, Max von Sydow and Sandra Bullock. Directed by Stephen Daldry. 129 minutes. PG

The Hunger Games

Photo: Murray Close / Alliance Films

In the film Winter's Bone, Jennifer Lawrence’s Ree hunts and skins a squirrel alive, hoping to feed her malnourished brothers and sisters. The traditional selfish desires of a teenager are no match for her undying desire to keep her kin safe. In The Hunger Games, Lawrence’s character, the much beloved heroine of Suzanne Collins' novels, Katniss Everdeen, faces an eerily similar struggle, but with even more fearless aplomb.

Like Ree, Katniss is a Destiny's Child-approved leading lady—she's an independent young woman and a survivor. She’ll do anything to keep herself, her sister, Prim (Willow Shields) and her mother alive, including illegally snaring and sautéing forest critters and fighting to the death against 23 other teenagers (a.k.a. tributes) as a part of the Hunger Games—an annual, publicly broadcasted event hosted by her corrupt government and its unusually cruel regulation system.

As many other critics have pointed out to near-obnoxiousness, we've already seen kids hack at each other on screen in Battle Royale. But there's a reason why the hit YA book series that inspired this film has such a rabid, age-defying following. This particular treatment of the concept, with its endearing, strong-willed and anti-Bella Swan lead, ironically colourful and allegorical backdrop and spots of purposefully unresolved, unrequited romanticism (Team Peeta? Team Gale? More like Team Katniss!), aims for and hits an emotional bullseye.

Garry Ross manages to recapture the intently moving and philosophically challenging quality of original text and its characters...for the most part. The script, partially penned by Collins, stays fairly true to form, although a few fiddles could prove harmful later in the series. (Katniss’ mockingjay pin—a huge symbol, especially in the third novel, Mockingjay—is hardly explored). The sets are simply spot-on, especially the forested arena. The costumes are spectacular, albeit occasionally overshadowed by poor CGI. The soundtrack is a fine-tuned folksy fancy (T. Swift, The Civil Wars, Once’s Glen Hansard), but is poorly underused (just the credits—really?) And, of course, the casting is exceptional.

Many of the main actors are worth mentioning—Lenny Kravitz wears Cinna’s gold eyeliner with quiet pride, Woody Harrelson is Katniss’ boozy mentor Haymitch, and Josh Hutcherson bakes extra charm into his Peeta, Katniss’ competitor and doomed suitor. But the winner here is, suitably, Lawrence. She takes to Katniss and her weathered braid as Katniss does to a bow and arrow—with precision and well-earned ease. Katniss’ inner narration  is absent and Lawrence embraces the silence, letting her eyes and mannerisms tell us what we need to know.

You could say The Hunger Games is Lawrence's Hunger Games. That her short-yet-sweet film career (Winter’s Bone, X-Men: First Class) has just been training for playing this rebel with a heart and a pin of gold. For her true breakthrough—the performance we’ll remember and salute with three fingers and a kiss to the sky. B+

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson. Directed by Gary Ross. 142 minutes. PG



Home Theatre Tuesday (March 20, 2012)

Each week, we bring you a quick run-down of what's out on DVD so you don't miss the hits and you can skip the misses.

Buy it: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The story of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is compelling, and I was curious how Fincher would adapt and interpret the narrative I had become familiar with. I was also drawn in by Daniel Craig, a perfect, spot-on choice for Mikael Blomkvist, and intrigued by the casting of Rooney Mara, a relative unknown, in a role that has become so iconic (Lisbeth Salander), and was performed so brilliantly by Noomi Rapace in the original Swedish-language films. So, I went. And despite myself, I really liked this movie.
 

Read the rest of Jennifer's review.

Buy it now: The Muppets

For lifelong fans, like the gigantic presence that is star and writer Jason Segel (who originally revealed his fandom--and freakly bod--in Forgetting Sarah Marshall), The Muppets is a fitting return to flat-out punny form after the flop that was Muppets in Space. For those who did not grow up with Kermit and his furry friends, it  is the perfect, meta first meeting (the plot is about the Muppets trying to save their Studio and careers from disappearing). I'm not sure that life really is (as the first song of the film states), a "Happy Song." But when I left the theatre, I certainly felt like it.

Read Emily's Top 10 of 2011. 

Monsieur Lazhar

Monsieur Lazhar opens with a shocking, incomprehensible tragedy: an elementary school teacher hangs herself in her classroom. The rest of the movie takes us on a journey through healing after loss steals our sense of reason and reality. It does this in a quiet, pensive, delicate way, as the characters place blame on themselves and one another, and try to forgive themselves, their friends and colleagues, and especially, the suicide victim herself.

After the suicide, the students need a new teacher, but the school principal has trouble finding someone to come under these circumstances. Enter: Bachir Lazhar (Fellag), an Algerian refugee who we come to discover has lost his entire family to political terrorism in his home country. In desperation, the principal hires him. Bachir’s methods are old-fashioned, both in the classroom and with his colleagues, but his heart is well-intentioned. The school has called in a psychologist to talk with the class and help them come to terms with the loss of their teacher. The administration and other teachers are made so uncomfortable about the woman’s suicide that they insist on keeping quiet about it, not speaking of her death, especially not with her students.

Monsieur Lazhar, however, has other ideas about how best to help the children heal. He sees them coping in their own, immature ways with their senses of blame and guilt, their horror at having discovered the hanging body, their desire to move on and their guilt around that. One student explains that they, the children, aren’t the ones who are upset: it’s the adults who are so distressed by the suicide. Of course, this isn’t exactly true, and perhaps because Bachir also grieving the loss of his family, he is more comfortable than the other teachers and principal with talking about death and grief. He sees the value in expressions of grief, and gives the children space to do that. The parallel stories of the students’ grief and Bachir’s grief intertwine beautifully.

Monsieur Lazhar is a beautifully acted movie, full of tender and sometimes aching performances, primarily from the children. One boy is ostracized after the teacher’s suicide, because he had complained to the principal about her not long before she died, for inappropriate student-teacher contact. In one heartbreaking scene, the boy insists that he was right to complain because he hated it when she had hugged him. He was the first to discover her body, and he imagines that the teacher was punishing him because she knew he would be the first one in the classroom that morning. He both blames himself, and does not want his classmates to blame him.

In all, Monsieur Lazhar is a lovely little study of grief and loss that both breaks and warms your heart, and leaves you with a vague sense of hope: that it is possible to come out of the confusion of tragedy and back into the light of day once more. A

Directed by Phillippe Falardeau. Starring Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Danielle Proulx, Émilien Néron, Jules Philip. 94 minutes. PG-13

By: Jennifer Simpson

Films I love: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fargo, Being John Malkovich, Melancholia, Volver, Juno

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Directed by Lynne Ramsay. Starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell. 112 minutes. R

We need to talk about We Need to Talk About Kevin.

First of all, Tilda Swinton is a genius. Her emotional range is phenomenal, her intellect shines through every moment she is on screen, and her incredible talent is simply breathtaking. She should have been nominated for an Academy Award for this performance. If she had, I might have chosen her over Meryl to win this year. She is a force of nature.

Secondly, this movie turns the nature vs. nurture debate on its head, following a somewhat reluctant mother (Swinton) whose child is a psychopath. From the moment he is born, Kevin (Ezra Miller) seems to despise his mother, Eva. He screams all day, until his father (John C. Reilly) comes home, and then coos and giggles like an angel. Kevin’s will to torment Eva continues throughout his entire childhood: he refuses to speak until about four, he stays in diapers until six or seven, and he tries to drive Eva crazy while simultaneously making himself into a model child. His father works outside the home, and has no idea what Eva goes through. He continually undermines Eva’s intuition/feelings around raising this little hellion, telling her that “He’s just a sweet little boy” and that she’s paranoid, making everything Kevin does into a personal vendetta. He never once thinks that Kevin’s behaviour might actually be just that.

We also see Eva doing things that no child should experience. In a moment of frustration/provocation, she physically assaults Kevin. At one point she tells him, “Mommy was happy before Kevin came along.” She suffers from post-partum depression, sleep deprivation, and nervous exhaustion after Kevin is born, and cannot quite bring herself to love him. At one point, Kevin says, “Just because you’re used to something doesn’t mean you like it. You’re used to me…” Eva also lets Kevin get away with behaviour that likely contributes to his psychopathic development, seemingly because reprimanding him would require too much effort.

The questions Kevin raises about nature vs. nurture are complex--I’m not sure we can point to one or the other for answers. However, I am deeply bothered by the implication that if a mother doesn’t cuddle her kid enough, he might turn out to be a psychopath. That is a hell of a lot of responsibility to lay on mothers. Sometimes, kids are just horrible, and do horrible things.

The movie takes place in two intertwining time periods. In one, Eva lives alone and is heavily medicated, reviled by her community, and completely falling apart. In the other, Eva is raising her family. Something has clearly happened, but it isn’t until the very end that we discover what that was. The movie is full of moments that are confusing, tense, dark, and shocking. Its emotional pitch is always high, but is an undercurrent, leaving us guessing and uncomfortable. Kevin is one of the most disturbing, eerie movies I’ve seen in a long time. A

By: Jennifer Simpson

Films I love: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fargo, Being John Malkovich, Melancholia, Volver, Juno

DVD Review: Hugo

Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Christopher Lee and Emily Mortimer. 126 minutes. PG

For a while, I didn't really know what Hugo was about. I knew it was a Scorsese movie, I was pretty sure it was kid-friendly and I kept hearing praise about its visuals. But when I heard that it was a movie about movies, I had to see it.

The eponymously-titled Hugo follows the story of a young orphan boy and his journey to finding a purpose. Set in Paris, Hugo (Asa Butterfield) is sent to live with his uncle after this father dies. His alcoholic uncle, who works fixing clocks in a train station, pulls Hugo out of school and sends him to work, also fixing clocks. While working full-time, Hugo's also continuing a project he'd begun with his father before he died, fixing an old, broken automaton, a robot of sorts. It's almost working, save for a heart-shaped key he needs to get it started. Hugo eventually runs into trouble with Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley) who works in a toyshop in the station and befriends his goddaughter Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz), who joins him in uncovering a mystery greater than he ever expected. This movie is one of the most charming I've seen all year (actually, only in competition with the other France-set blockbusters of the year: Midnight in Paris and The Artist).

There's no way to talk about this movie without mentioning its stunning visuals. It's got a seamless, surreal blend of CGI and live action. Costumes are pay homage to their era though are still interestingly anachronistic. The sets are finely detailed and gorgeous to look at. It's just a beautiful movie. Even the peculiar films within the movie are fun to look at, reminiscent of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, though this time done right.

The cast is perfect. Butterfield and Moretz are sweet, naive and innocent. The ageless Kingsley (can you believe Gandhi was 30 years ago?!) is more than convincing, whether playing the grumpy, old toyshop owner or his young self, the excited, exuberant filmmaker. However, the most surprising performance comes from Sacha Baron Cohen as the stern station inspector always on Hugo's tail for loitering around. I'm a big Cohen fan and I think that he's brilliant, so it's even more impressive to see him a role that doesn't require him to be one of his absurd politcally-challenging characters and still be funny and captivating.

If I haven't sold you yet, let me just say one more thing: cute dogs. As if Uggie in The Artist and Arthur in Beginners weren't doggy cuteness overload, there are several more in this film. Seriously, the two that become friends in the station, so cute.

Believe me, none of what I'm saying is because of Hugo's Oscars sweep. I saw this movie and I fell in love. It's just so magical. A+

DVDs for V-Day: Love Stories

I'm a hopeless romantic and as such, I can't help but be drawn to epic romance stories. I'm not too big on campy rom-coms (though I've seen too many of them) and I'm not into second chances (true love gets it right the first time). I'm into stories about deeply honest, pure love that goes to no ends to make sure that it is fulfilled. It also helps if someone tragically dies at the end.

This Valentine's Day, I'd like to ask you to suspend disbelief for a few moments and indulge in these moving, deeply emotional stories about love.

4) COLD MOUNTAIN

While Inman (Jude Law) and Ada (Nicole Kidman) are separated throughout most of the film, it's their enduring distant love that pulls you in. Although conscripted in the American Civil War, Inman can't help but follow his heart back to Ada, even if it means deserting the war. Meanwhile, as he treks his way back to her, Ada is left to worry about his safe return, while mourning the death of her father and trying to work the family farm without him. It's a story about hope and faith in a love that endures what feels like endless time to findally be reunited.

3) THE NOTEBOOK

It's tough to put The Notebook on this list without fear of being cliché, but I have to do it. There's a reason that this movie resonates as one of the greatest modern love stories of all time. It's about a guy, Noah (Ryan Gosling), who's unrelenting in chasing his true love, Allie (Rachel McAdams), when things being to fall apart after their picture-perfect summer. Through years of pain and waiting, Noah is unyielding, making for a very bitter-sweet ending.

2) KITES

This underrated Bollywood movie has been one of the most surprising movies I've seen in the past couple years. While it seems much of Bollywood dismisses it because it's so different from their usual fare (no dance numbers, a mix of languages, and extremely rebellious), it's gone mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world who don't look out for Bollywood exports. J (Hrithik Roshan) is an American who marries immigrant women to get them green cards, but when he marries Mexican woman Linda (Bárbara Mori), he feels there's something more there. Meanwhile, she's actually engaged to someone else and plans for divorce once the arrangement is through. But after discovering their true feelings, divorce is out of the question. Of course, her fiancé doesn't take it well and the two flee the country, running from guns and threats and car chases, until they can finally be alone together.

1) MOULIN ROUGE

This is my favourite movie ever. Of all time. Just watching the trailer nearly makes me teary. It's the most epic love story I've ever seen. Christian (Ewan McGregor) is a "penniless writer" who falls in love with Satine (Nicole Kidman), a courtesan and star of the Moulin Rouge night club. Of course, their love can never be; her job prevents her from falling in love, especially with someone who can't afford to keep up with her demands. But their love is destined to be and despite all odds, they see it through. Aside from being a beautiful story, it's also got some of the most stunning set and costume design, along with truly convincing acting. It is the most emotional movie I've ever seen.

DVDs for V-Day: Love/Hate Stories

I swear I'm not here to piss on love stories.

In all honesty, I have much love for more than a few well-known wistful weepies (see: the Brokeback Mountain still kicking around my bedroom wall). But, to build on an idea dreamed up by a possible plagiarist of an Englishman, I think love is much more interesting (not to mention real) when its either sprung from, or becomes remains steeped in, some form of highly repressed hate. And no, it's not because I'm perpetually single. (Although, I'm sure it helps.)

This Valentine's Day let's buck the happily ever afters and those til-death-do-us-part paramours, and celebrate the anti-romances we can't help but love.


4) WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

When I was in high school, I read the Edward Albee play which this 1966 film based on. Immediately, I compared it to my then-favourite movie, American Beauty. Looking back now, I admit there are some similarities between the two  - American dreams indefinitely deferred, fully grown couples acting like children towards one another - but this is much more heartbreaking. While American Beauty takes moments to grace our cheeks with rose petals and smidgens of helpless hope, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? laps up the irksomeness, focusing solely on an awkward dinner party between jaggedly jaded, long-married man and wife, George and Martha (real-life doomed duo, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor), and their clueless newlywed guests. Martha's words are so cutting towards her husband at times, her tongue ought to fly off.


3) BLUE VALENTINE

This 2010 drama was almost completely ignored come awards season due to its adverse effect on audiences, who apparently wanted to see Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling cuddle and make like Mr. and Mrs. Smith (no, not the Angelina/Brad kind) for two hours. What they got instead was something groundbreaking - an up close and too personal (both in script and suggestive shooting) exploration of a relationship that never really was and thus, never really can be, through the eyes of two, equally unremarkable characters. What they got was far too many people's harsh truth.


2) REVOLUTIONARY ROAD 

Before this film, an adaptation of the Richard Yates novel of the same name, was released, it was touted as the much-awaited Jack and Rose reunion we had been waiting for since '97. But unlike Titanic, which brought a fresh-faced Leo DiCaprio and a fire-haired Kate Winslet together through the bow of a boat and the belts of Celine Dion, Revolutionary Road doesn't even try for a happy, heaven-set ending.  Every aspect of this 1950s suburbia-set drama - the bleak coloured clothes, the slow-progressing storyline, and DiCaprio and Winslet's brilliantly vacant, Oscar-deserving (but not nominated) performances - is depressing. But then again, so were plenty of marriages back then, when divorce was a fate worse than death.


1) SID AND NANCY

This one takes the poisoned chocolate cake simply because its doomed subjects - who led destructive, drug- and dagger-addled side-by-side lives until one of them died in a hotel bathroom - were real. The 1986 biopic documents the way-highs and skin-crawling lows of the infamously short-lived romance between Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his peroxide-happy girlfriend, Nancy Spungen.

Vicious and Spungen's journey was a dirty, sex, suicide pact and syringe-filled one, a fact that is not only admitted in this film, but embraced with reckless artistic abandon. Director Alex Webb brings out an unmatched (unless you count this), brutally infected rawness in his stars, Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb, making much of the movie, which is made up mostly of long-winded verbal and physical fights followed by rabid love-making, near-unbearable to watch. But there's also macabre beauty to all of it, like when Oldman takes to an empty, florescent light-covered stage to sing Vicious cover of "My Way" to his barbed wire crowned babe, or the bloody pair embrace in what will become one of their death beds.

Weekend

Directed by Andrew Haigh. Starring Tom Cullen and Chris New. 96 minutes

We meet Russell and Glen. Both late 20s gay men living in England and trying to work out what they want in life. They meet Friday night and sleep together. Instead of ending it there they decide to see each other again later that day and realize they are really enjoying their time together, until Glen reveals he’s leaving for art school on Sunday. This is a sad reality for everyone of their (and my!) generation: expiry dates. There is always somewhere to go and something to do. It isn’t an issue for the two guys at first as they just spend time together and get to know each other. They’ve made an unlikely and real connection, even though they are very different and about to be separated.

I had heard that this movie was “the best gay movie ever” and it turned out to be one of the most accurate and genuine movies about my generation I've seen as well as a real step forward for queer cinema. I’m going to ignore the “Queer Cinema” aspect of this film for a second. The movie is about two young people doing what two different trendy young people do. One hangs out with old friends, works a steady job, bikes to work, dresses comfortably, quiet and reserved, lives alone with Value Village type kitchen wear. The other is a career-driven, art school student, outspoken and restless, lives with a trendy roommate, has a trendy job that’s “just for now,” and is constantly waiting/planning to leave. These two characters are everyone my age, in one sense or another. There’s a general sense of dissatisfaction and restlessness, and on the other hand, there is a back to basics, down to earth need.

This movie still falls under the category of “Queer Cinema” and when looking at niche film markets there will always be some really bad films. Whether they are ground breaking or very significant to the genre, they’re just bad. This film on the other hand is everything “queer cinema” has been needing. A lot of queer cinema over the years has been overly campy, overly sexual, lacking in plot, lacking in complex characters and too preachy. It’s so nice to see a film that is clearly about young gay men and about modern gay culture in England, but also about a real relationship and realistic characters. There are for sure some political issues being addressed during their time together (for example, the pair argue about gay marriage and showing affection in public) and there are sex scenes but they are all just backdrop to the connection these two men are feeling. The real thing that makes this film unique from other queer films is the details. The details are true to the characters and the story, not to the niche market.

What really makes this movie are the two players and the director, that sounds obvious but I really mean it! Andrew Haigh is a fairly new director (this the first film I've seen by him) and its obvious he knows what he wants to say. This whole film looks like iPhone photos taken in a friends apartment. The (very limited) soundtrack is carefully chosen and the lighting is almost all natural. The scenes look natural and comfortable. If he's trying it doesn't look it. The two actors (Tom Cullen and Chris New) are like comfortable old slippers; all their dialogue feel improvised, they are easy to watch, they have completely absorbed their characters. This movie is just an honest love story with all the inevitable bummers of a present day setting. I'm obviously thoroughly impressed by this film but I also just really liked it. A

By Isa Montagnese

Dream cast: Gene Wilder. That's it.

Contraband

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Caleb Landry Jones and J.K. Simmons. 110 minutes. 14A

Like I said yesterday, I'm not much into action movies. But after seeing The Italian Job, I realized I need to give them more of a chance, which is why I saw Contraband. So if you're one of those who often shy away from gun-yielding, adrenaline-pumping, high-speed chase action movies, then this post's for you.

Actually, Contraband isn't so much of an action movie as it is suspense. The story follows Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg), a former drug smuggler who was clean until his younger brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) got into the business and botched a deal. It's up to Farraday to save the day, but any other way than getting back into smuggling.

While there are some high adrenaline physical moments and hot chases, the movie is more comprised of palpably tense phone calls and confrontations. Combined with talented roster of actors (well, I'm not so much a fan of Wahlberg but this is his genre if there was one), these scenes make for a captivating suspense-thriller with perfect pacing and occasional bouts of action.

The problem with this movie is that it was (almost) exactly what I expected: a marginally above-average action movie. As I described my usual expectations of Wahlberg yesterday, he was a "tough guy with a warped sense of righteousness," ie. a former drug dealer who wouldn't go to the cops to right a wrong, but would break the law in almost-equally as consequential ways to avoid doing another deal himself.

However, I was taken aback by the supporting cast, namely Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Foster and Caleb Landry Jones. Actually, Jones has given strong performances in a lot of movies recently that have gone unnoticed (ie. The Last Exorcism, X-Men: First Class). I think we'll need to keep an eye out for him.

Overall, it's good. But it's just that. If you love action and suspense, see it. If you don't but you're not really feeling anything else, see it. B

Never Seen It! Sunday: The Italian Job

You know when someone asks if you’ve seen their favourite movie and say you seen “parts of it” because you don’t want to seem like a total pop culture pariah? Yeah, we do too—and we hate ourselves for it! That’s why every other week, we’ve vowed to watch at least one movie we’ve put off, ignored, rejected or just plain-out forgotten about. Join us as recount the popping of our cinematic cherries, complete with awkward, over-analytical details!

THE ITALIAN JOB (2003)

DATE RELEASED: May 30, 2003

DATE WATCHED: January 3, 2012

WHY NOW? Over my winter break, I watched a bunch of movies I'd always wanted to see. But The Italian Job wasn't on the list until my sister brought it up. So, I watched the trailer. It looked good. And not just good for an action movie. I mean really good.

WHY NOT THEN? For the most part, I wasn't into action movies. Truthfully, I'm still not really (unless it's Tarantino) but I give them a chance. The Italian Job wasn't even on my radar. I'd heard of it. I knew they'd named a ride after it at then-Paramount Canada's Wonderland (now the Backlot Stunt Coaster, as you ride in Mini Coopers through a tunnel. Lame!). But I don't even like roller coasters.

EXPECTATIONS: (pre-trailer viewing)

• Too much action, and like I said, I don't like action. It's mostly the pace that throws me off, too much going on at once. Or conversely, too little going on and sharp, jolted shots trying to make up for it.
• Little dialogue, a common action stereotype.
• A "guy" movie. OK, don't get me wrong, I love Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Superbad, and whole lot of other stereotypically "guy" movies. But for some reason (I think it's the timing my life, when guys and girls in my view were still so different), the masculinity of this movie just made me feel it wasn't for me.
• Mark Wahlberg as his usual tough guy with a warped sense of righteousness.
• Statham as his usual tight-lipped, I-think-I'm-so-cool tough guy.
• Norton as his usual top notch performance.

WHAT I ACTUALLY GOT...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Directed by David Fincher. Starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Robin Wright and Christopher Plummer. 158 minutes. R

I didn’t want to like this movie. Mostly because it’s so irritating that American audiences need an English-language version of a series of films that have already been made quite wonderfully in Sweden (disclaimer: I have seen all three Swedesh films in the Millennium series, but have not read any of the books), where the story is set, where the actors speak the language because they are from there, and where the author wrote the book and envisioned the story taking place, in response to that particular culture and its social mores. Also, the long-time domestic partner of the author (Stieg Larsson) is getting totally screwed over by his family right now. Under Swedish family and estate law unmarried couples without children have no legal rights with respect to their relationship, and thus cannot inherit from one another (read a review of Eva Gabrielsson’s memoir here).

That being said, the story of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is compelling, and I was curious how Fincher would adapt and interpret the narrative I had become familiar with. I was also drawn in by Daniel Craig, a perfect, spot-on choice for Mikael Blomkvist, and intrigued by the casting of Rooney Mara, a relative unknown, in a role that has become so iconic (Lisbeth Salander), and was performed so brilliantly by Noomi Rapace in the original Swedish-language films. So, I went. And despite myself, I really liked this movie.

Young Adult

Photo: Paramount Pictures

Starring Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson and Elisabeth Reaser. Directed by Jason Reitman. 94 minutes. 14A

Last time Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody teamed up, for the dividing 2007 Sunny D-elight Juno, they introduced us to a hipster girl (Ellen Page) who was pushed into early adulthood after being knocked up by her gawkward track team BFF (Michael Cera). Now, with the Cody-penned, Reitman-directed Young Adult, the dynamic duo are telling the opposite story, one that's not being retold repeatedly via MTV reality shows, but is not all that uncommon either. Here, lies the tale of an modern day, Marc Jacobs-wearing J.M. Barrie character, a selfish thirtysomething woman who refuses to grow up. 

Whether you like to look back at the photographic evidence of your Sketchers obsession, take your favourite mix tape out for another spin, trying, try on your old Mathlete uniform or simply attempt to forget that awful nickname your Regina Georges thrust upon you, everyone hearkens back to their high school days now and again. That's why YA fiction, films and movies remain remarkably popular with the post-post-secondary set. There's something strangely addictive about revisiting and rethinking that troubling transitional period and figuring out how much you've grown since then.

But what if your mind never caught up with your much-improved, matured bod? What if you couldn't get past your so-called glory days, when you didn't have any responsibility except passing algebra and making sure you closed your window after sneaking back in from that bitchin' bush party? That's the problem facing Young Adult's heroine, if you can even call her that, Mavis.

Mavis, played with party monstrous zeal by a raccoon-eyed, Diet Coke-head Charlize Theron, is a teen novelist who keeps boxes of her first boyfriend's stuff in her dirty clothes-covered, Cheetos wrapper home of a one bedroom apartment. She seems totally satisfied with her undeveloped life until she gets two equally crushing e-mails: one from said former beau (Patrick Wilson) and his current wife (Elizabeth Reaser) announcing the birth of their new baby, and another, from her publisher, stating that she's only got one book left to write before her deal is up.

Instead of nose diving into a traditional, black tear-filled threesome with Ben and Jerry, Mavis decides this is her signal to head back to her childhood town and get her ex - and the perfect life that should have been hers - back. What follows is a highly discomforting, funny only to those that can't handle it, series of unfortunate events.

Mavis meets up with Buddy and not-so-subtly throws herself at him, assuming he returns the feelings and wants an escape from his lady, who may just be the nicest woman in the world. She also starts a strange relationship with former classmate Matt (Patton Oswalt, Cody's United States of Tara), a action figure obsessed nerd and victim of a heinous high school hate crime. 

Mavis' relationships with both men are cringe-worthy, as she desperately seeks some hint of the attention she got as a jail bait princess and never quite finds it. They are also extremely well-acted. Theron is the best she's been since she won the Oscar for Monster, bearing this woman's ugly, make-up-masked soul again and again (we literally play Rear Window to the murder of her natural beauty by way of lip waxes and good wigs several times). This is especially obvious in her scenes with Oswalt.

The comedian, who was praised, but not rewarded for his equally hard-to-watch role in Big Fan, brings out the best and worst in Theron, and remarkably, comes out even stronger. He sucks you in with his droopy eyes, which carry his bullied, garage boozing baggage around day in and day out, and keeps you hanging on until the way-bitter end. If this movie gets one Oscar nomination, it should go to him.

Fans of Cody's other work, including Juno and the highly misjudged Jennifer's Body, may be disappointed by the lack of  snappy catchphrases and unexplained pop culture references in this film. But this script, ironically her most mature yet, fits the material - not to mention the style of Reitman's more recent projects - like a tailored Letterman jacket.  It comes across almost like a waste case lady friend of Up in the Air, exploring the life of another person who masks their sadness in clear obsession and, even when confronted with the root of their issues, may never be ready to move on. 

The dialogue of Young Adult feel ripped out the girl's diary no one would have bothered reading, even if it was left open at a house party. It's simple really, but bleeds harsh truths (Mavis tries to tell her parents that she "might be an alcoholic" and they pretend like they just heard the lunch bell), which could make it difficult for those who have never bit their tongue (or conversely gnawed their foot to the bone) to gulp down. (Especially if they're using a Breaking Dawn commemorative cupped Mountain Dew chaser to do so).  But if these things didn't burn a little, the film wouldn't have the lasting effect Cody intended.

Many reviewers have found fault in the film simply due to Mavis' off-putting personality. I found much fascination in it. Sure, her surly demeanor and bad intentions may make you want to cover your eyes on occasion, but as one of my favourite flawed YA heroines use to allude to, often times the most spectacular people are those that hurt the most to look at. A-

Café de Flore

Directed by Jean-Marc Valleé. Starring Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent, and Evelyne Brochu. 120 minutes. 14A

I almost don’t want to tell you anything about this movie.

In a perfect world, you, dear reader, would simply trust me, and go and see this film based purely on me telling you to go and see this film. But, you don’t know me, at least not yet, and so I don’t blame you for the lack of trust between us, the doubt you might have at being told simply, this film is excellent, and you should see it.

So, if it helps at all, in case you have more trust in him than you do in me, which would make sense because you probably know him and you probably don’t know me, George Stroumboulopoulos named this film as one of his top 5 of 2011. Since George is my boyfriend, as he has been telling me each weeknight for several years now, I know him, and I trust him as an arbiter of taste (which I think is George’s greatest talent), and based purely on this film’s appearance on George’s top 5 list, I decided to go and check it out. I knew practically nothing about it going in, except that it is a Canadian French-language film, and that it stars Vanessa Paradis, partner to hunky pirate impersonator Johnny Depp.

And, dear reader, that is the kind of experience I want for you to have with this film. I want for you to discover it in the same way I did, not having expectations that can either be met or not met. It was such a beautiful experience to encounter this film in the way I encountered it, that I wish the same kind of experience for you.

So, if you feel adventurous, stop reading here, and go buy your tickets.

For the skeptics among us, here’s a bit more information. Beware, however: I’m still going to tell you as little about it as possible for a film critic to tell you in a review.

Never Seen It! Sunday: Monster

You know when someone asks if you’ve seen their favourite movie and say you seen “parts of it” because you don’t want to seem like a total pop culture pariah? Yeah, we do too—and we hate ourselves for it! That’s why every other week, we’ve vowed to watch at least one movie we’ve put off, ignored, rejected or just plain-out forgotten about. Join us as recount the popping of our cinematic cherries, complete with awkward, over-analytical details!

Photo: impawards.com

MONSTER


DATE RELEASED: December 17, 2003

DATE WATCHED: November 26, 2011

WHY NOW? My sister wanted to. So, seeing as Charlize Theron won an Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG award for her performance in it, I said sure. Plus, it seems like she's got a big year ahead with Young Adult out this Friday, and Snow White & the Huntsman and Prometheus on the way.

WHY NOT THEN? I remember all the talk about her make-up "transformation," from the glamourous red carpet gal to a homeless prostitute (much like they talked about Nicole Kidman's nose in The Hours, which I also haven't seen). But as a young teen, a drama about a hooker-turned-serial killer was just too much drama for me. I was watching X2 and Dreamcatcher and Kill Bill instead. (I also missed another brilliant drama, Cold Mountain, that year too.)

EXPECTATIONS:

• Charlize as the best I've ever seen her. (Mind you, I haven't seen her in much. But I have seen The Cider House Rules.)
• Slow drama that builds into intense moments, but for the most part, crawls along.
• A disturbing, true story.
• Not much else. After all, it took eight years to convince me to see it.

WHAT I ACTUALLY GOT...

Home Theatre Tuesday (Dec. 6, 2011)

Each week, we bring you a quick run-down of what's out on DVD so you don't miss the hits and you can skip the misses.

 Photo: amazon.ca

Must buy: The Help

Mississippi writer Kathryn Stockett's rendering of African American life in the southern U.S. in The Help, earned her a spot on the NYT Best Sellers list as well as critical scorn for re-imagining the slavery of Blacks in the pre-civil rights movement '60s as a struggle concerning white folk themselves. (Things like where will whites allow their 'help' to use the toilet and what ingredients should they bake into pies.) Director Tate Taylor (Pretty Ugly People) picks up on the book's self-imposed dilemma and runs with it, all the way, including a meditation on what these answers would look like (comedic, it appears) in his adaption of the self-same book.

Read the rest of Ava's review.

Don't even rent:  The Hangover Part II

You know that dismal feeling when you’re watching a film, and everything seems so... familiar? You know all the punch lines, can predict every plot twist, and once-interesting characters are about as engaging as wet paint. Fans of The Hangover will likely experience this very melancholia after the second instalment of Todd Phillips' burgeoning franchise, which is little more than a tired carbon copy of its predecessor. 

 Read the rest of Manori's review. 

My Week With Marilyn

Photo: Laurence Cendrowicz/ The Weinstein Company

 
Directed by Simon Curtis. Starring Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Judi Dench, Julia Ormond, and Emma Watson. 99 minutes. 14A. 

Let’s start with the obvious: Michelle Williams looks very little like Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn was a bombshell: glamourous, voluptuous, with an hourglass figure (although reports she wore a size 16 dress have been somewhat overstated), and a delicate, heart-shaped face. Michelle Williams is a waif: cute rather than gorgeous, stick-thin (the padding Williams wore holds no candle to Marilyn’s curves), with a full-cheeked round face. Physically speaking, the only thing the two women really seem to have in common is their blonde hair.
 

Luckily, Michelle Williams is extremely talented. After the initial inevitable physical comparison in her first scenes, we forget any doubt we may have had about Williams. In ways that go beyond physicality, Williams captures the spirit of Marilyn Monroe beautifully, and the physical dissimilarities fade away. Williams’ performance is mesmerizing. Which is a very good thing for this movie, since the protagonist is predictable and flat, and the excellent supporting cast is underutilized. Ultimately, though, we couldn’t care less about the protagonist, or the supporting characters. All we really care about is Marilyn.
 

My Week with Marilyn takes place in 1956, during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl, in which Marilyn played opposite Sir Laurence Olivier (Branagh) in a role made famous onstage by Vivien Leigh (Ormond), of Gone With the Wind fame. Monroe was at the very height of her fame, newly married to playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), and very serious about being a serious actress, immersing herself in “the Method.” However, her emotional insecurities led to conflicts on set and in her personal life.
 

A major theme in the film is the divide between Marilyn the person, and Marilyn the persona. She laments, “All they see is Marilyn Monroe, and when they find out I’m not her, they leave.” Later on, before making an impromptu appearance to staff at Windsor Palace, she asks, “Shall I be her?” before launching into what can only be described as a “bit.” The Marilyn persona is where Williams truly sparkles, but playing that part seems to both depress and exhilarate Marilyn the person. This divide comes with a set of expectations and misunderstandings about who Marilyn Monroe really is that no one character in the film seems to truly avoid. The protagonist thinks he knows Marilyn better than the other characters, but he just projects his own expectations and desires onto her, as all the others do. He flatters himself to think that his desires are different than those of the others, more pure perhaps, but I’m not so sure about that.
 

One line about midway through really made me think. In an argument with Olivier about the character she is playing, in which she struggles to express why she doesn’t relate to or understand the character (a hallmark of “the Method”), Monroe says in exasperation, “She’s not real!” It struck me, once again, how difficult it is for me, as a woman, to connect with most of the female characters I see in films—they aren’t real. (This is why so many women critics, writers, and viewers were so excited about Bridesmaids this past summer—the characters and their portrayals felt genuine to us, like real women that we know.) It also struck me how difficult it must be for actors to portray these unreal female characters with any integrity for their craft. Female characters in film tend to be stereotypes and tropes, and their role in the story is so often to act as a vehicle for the personal development of the male characters.
 

In that respect, My Week with Marilyn was not so different, as the protagonist was not Monroe but the young man who has a brief but life-changing romance with the most famous woman in the world. Thankfully, however, Williams had a truly interesting and complex character, with her individual set of motivations, emotions, and demons, to work with. And she played it—the role of a lifetime, really—beautifully.
 

All in all, My Week with Marilyn survives on its star performance, and its success as a period piece, with gorgeous replicas of famous outfits worn by Monroe and Olivier. (I will admit to darkening my eyebrows and sweeping my eyeliner outward just a little bit afterwards.) Go see it for Marilyn’s glamour, but stay for Michelle’s tremendous talent. I’m going out on a limb, on the record, and predicting she’ll win both a Golden Globe and an Oscar this year. A- (at least 3 letter grades of which come from Williams’ performance alone)

By: Jennifer Simpson

Films I love: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fargo, Being John Malkovich, Melancholia, Volver, Juno