REVIEWS
TIFF 2019: 'Ford v Ferrari' is the Most Dad Movie Ever Made For Dads
Sometimes a movie doesn't need to do anything extraordinary, but just be "ok". Sometimes you see a movie and after 15 minutes you just know that your dad will love it. At this year's Toronto Film Festival, that movie was Ford v. Ferrari, a movie that seems engineered and assembled by a committee of dads to be seen and enjoyed by dads everywhere. Director James Mangold takes on the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966, more specifically, Ford's bid to build a race car worthy of beating the undefeated champion, Ferrari. We follow Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), a former race car driver who had already won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959, being the rare American to do so. Sadly, his career comes to a halt due to a weak heart valve.
› Posted September 15 in Review | Comments
Venice 2019: Atom Egoyan's Muddled Story of Guilt 'Guest of Honour'
What a strange, strange film this is. Egyptian-Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan has returned the festival circuit again with another peculiar feature film, this new one titled Guest of Honour (the extra "u" still included because this is the Canadian title and they use British English up there) which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The film focuses on a father-daughter relationship and the various events that have lead them to the situation they're currently in - the daughter is in prison, the father is lonely and frustrated. And despite his attempts to secure her early release, she isn't interested and intends to stay in prison. It's an odd study in guilt, various layers of it and different characters that must deal with it, but it never amounts to much. And the filmmaking feels so slight and unexciting that it's just more puzzling than satisfying to watch.
› Posted September 9 in Review, Venice 19 | Comments
Venice 2019: Questioning the Truth of Art in 'The Burnt Orange Heresy'
How much of the art world is bullshit? All of it? None of it? Some of it? At the beginning of the year, we had the funky art world satire Velvet Buzzsaw to make us wonder about the validity of art, and now at the end of the year we have The Burnt Orange Heresy. This film is much more serious, not at all a satire, with only a few drops of levity and much more drama. Along with heaps of philosophical discussion about art and what really matters and whether any of it is real, or if it's all just a bunch of bullshit yet everyone loves it anyway. The film opens with a thought-provoking presentation by the main character about the importance of criticism, which by the end also completely breaks down art criticism as a nonsensical job that can build up or tear down art that is truly separate (in its truth or purity or originality) than what others say about it.
› Posted September 7 in Review, Venice 19 | Comments
Venice 2019: Katrin Gebbe's 'Pelican Blood' Brings Evil into the Home
Sometimes horror films don't have much horror, and sometimes dramas can be just as horrifying as horror films. Sometimes films defy labels and don't fit into any one genre. Pelican Blood is a good example of all of this, a film that presents itself as a challenging straight-forward drama about a woman adopting children. But there's something much more sinister going on within, and it reveals itself part of the way through. This film is the ultimate "and you thought your child was evil, wait until you see this one" joke, but it also has something beautiful to offer - an earnestness that separates it from all the other horror films that integrate similar concepts about evil children. Pelican Blood (originally titled Pelikanblut) is a German film from filmmaker Katrin Gebbe, and it's one of the most unique discoveries at the Venice Film Festival this year.
› Posted September 5 in Review, Venice 19 | Comments
Venice 2019: Eliza Scanlen is Superb in Fresh & Funny 'Babyteeth' Film
A sweet, heartfelt, smart tale of young first love. Babyteeth is the feature directorial debut of Australian filmmaker Shannon Murphy, after making a number of shorts and TV series previously. The film earned a spot playing in the main competition line-up at the Venice Film Festival, and it damn well deserves that spot. Babyteeth is a major player, one of my favorite films of the festival. I can certainly admit that I loved it - easily the highlight of this second half of the festival for me. It's way better than I was expecting (watch the first trailer), with one of the best upbeat soundtracks of songs out of any film here. It's not exactly anything groundbreaking, but the way it's presented is so compelling and all the characters are wonderfully complex.
› Posted September 4 in Review, Venice 19 | Comments
Venice 2019: The Power of Positivity in '45 Seconds of Laughter' Doc
Can laughter change the world? Can happiness save a life? Those are the kind of questions that might come to mind while watching this documentary, and at times, you could actually believe the answer is yes. 45 Seconds of Laughter is a doc film directed by actor Tim Robbins. He takes his acting group called The Actors Gang inside of a high security prison in California, running a week-long workshop where prisoners participate in a group in various theater / acting exercises. We've seen films like this before, and performing theater inside prisons isn't new, but it is always moving to watch. There's just something remarkably stirring about seeing prisoners, perpetually unhappy and angry, suddenly finding happiness and making tiny steps forward. It reminds us once again how the incredible power of positivity can be as a great force for change.
› Posted September 3 in Documentaries, Review, Venice 19 | Comments
Venice 2019: Soderbergh's Ingenious Money Satire 'The Laundromat'
Welcome to Steven Soderbergh's history class. Today we will be learning about the history of money, and how our obsession with it has gotten seriously out of hand. Steven Soderbergh's latest feature film, titled The Laundromat, is an ingenious social commentary based around the Panama Papers and the terrifying truths they revealed. Following in the footsteps of The Big Short, this fourth-wall-breaking comedy / drama / satire / educational film / cautionary tale features a brilliant script written by Scott Z. Burns (of The Informant!, Contagion, Side Effects, The Mercy, The Report) that borrows heavily from Adam McKay's film in style and structure. It's essentially a film about the despicable men behind Mossack Fonseca, but it shows us a number of parables to remind us all just how much trickery, greed, corruption, and bullshit is out there.
› Posted September 1 in Review, Venice 19 | Comments
Venice 2019: Todd Phillips' Demented 'Joker' Movie Doesn't Hold Back
There will be before Joker. And there will be after Joker. Nothing will be the same after, we'll be living in a whole new world. That's not even hyperbole, just the truth. I don't know if the world is ready for this movie. Or maybe it is? We'll find out soon enough. There's no stopping it now. I can't believe it exists. But it does, and it's coming. And no matter if we're ready or not, it's going to make an impact. Director Todd Phillips' new take on the origin of the DC Comics villain known as "The Joker" just premiered at the Venice Film Festival and oh my goodness, it is crazy. It is GNARLY. It is audacious. It doesn't hold back. It's subversive, provocative, dark, demented, twisted, and terrifying. Joker will likely end up being one of the most divisive movies of the decade, with some people hating it with a passion, others heralding it as a bold masterpiece.
Venice 2019: Haifaa Al-Mansour's 'The Perfect Candidate' is Inspiring
I'm happiest when I watch a great film. Not just a good one, but a really great one. Something that fills me with energy, that reminds me this is why I love going to film festivals. And I'm happy to report that the new film from Saudi Arabian filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour (director of Wadjda, Mary Shelley, and Nappily Ever After previously), titled The Perfect Candidate, is indeed an outstanding film. After spending some time in Hollywood making a few films, Al-Mansour returns to her roots in Saudi Arabia to tells this story of a young woman in the country who discovers her voice. It's an inspiring & uplifting film that moves briskly and gives us a good story to follow. No matter where you're from, you can connect with and enjoy this film.
Venice 2019: James Gray Goes on a Trip into Deep Space in 'Ad Astra'
What is out there? What is waiting for us in the stars? James Gray's long-awaited sci-fi adventure Ad Astra has finally arrived. This time Gray takes us out into deep space on a journey with an astronaut named Roy McBride, set in the near future when we've colonized the Moon and Mars but have only just started to reach the edges of our own solar system. McBride is sent on a mission to find his missing father, hoping to figure out what's causing electrical storms wreaking havoc on Earth. This lonely, slow burn space movie is an awe-inspiring, magnificent journey into the stars. As a big time space geek, it ticks every last box. It's sensational to watch, meticulously realized and meditative, more melancholic than exciting but still a stellar experience.
Venice 2019: 'Marriage Story' is One of Noah Baumbach's Finest Films
"I can't think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can't talk to, or worse, someone I can't be silent with." (–Mary Ann Shaffer, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society") That feeling of being high on cinema is the feeling I had coming out of Marriage Story at the Venice Film Festival. Bliss. Goddamn I am totally floored by this film. Noah Baumbach has been making beautifully honest stories about families for years, but this one is extra special. It definitely does seem a bit personal, something he has been through himself, but he is able to transfer this honesty to the big screen and tell us an emotional story and show us how love remains, even after a divorce. Marriage Story is actually a Divorce Story, but instead of calling it that Baumbach made "a love story that reveals itself within the breakdown."
Review: Survival Thriller 'Ready or Not' Packs Heat & Plays for Keeps
Formed in 2011 by directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, along with their executive producer Chad Villella, the filmmaking trio collectively known as "Radio Silence" has been working in the horror genre for nearly a decade. They made their initial debut in the 2012 horror anthology film, V/H/S, with the segment known as 10/31/98, in which a group of friends in search of a Halloween party stumbles upon an actual house of horrors. In 2014, the collective delivered their first feature, a found-footage take on Rosemary's Baby titled Devil's Due, before contributing two segments to the 2015 horror anthology film Southbound. Now, Bettinelli-Olpin & Gillett are back in feature mode with the film Ready or Not, a black comedy thriller about an eccentric wealthy family bound by a deadly, time-honored tradition.
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