MOVIE REVIEW
Passenger Side (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
With “Passenger Side,” writer-director Matt Bissonnette has managed to produce a picture that boasts not only a screenplay that is nowhere near as witty or sharp as he thinks it is, but also lacks a single discernible likable character. It’s a road movie of sorts, but it meanders rather than drives towards its (not overly surprising) conclusion utilizing a series of claustrophobic car rides as a metaphor for the protagonist’s emotional journeys.
Continue reading “Brothers of the Road Bear a Heavy Load” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Don’t Worry About Me (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
David Morrissey makes his directorial debut with an adaptation of stage play “The Pool,” effectively a double-hander exploring a developing relationship between Londoner David (James Brough) and Liverpudlian lass Tina (Helen Elizabeth) over the course of a single day in the city.
Venturing north to Liverpool on the pretext of returning a misplaced presentation to his one-night stand, David gets short shrift from his conquest’s boyfriend and ventures off into the night to drown his sorrows. Waking up in the street sans wallet, David attempts to win his fare home at the bookies but instead catches the eye of pretty assistant Tina who gives him a tip on the dogs. Buoyed by his good fortune, they go for coffee, and on a whim David persuades Tina to throw a sickie so they can spend the day together. As Tina gives David a guided tour of her hometown, they tentatively get to know each other, sharing a moment in time away from their real lives.
Continue reading “There Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Adrift (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
Vietnamese director Bui Thac Chuyên’s second feature “Adrift” is an introspective and thoughtful study of loneliness, sexual desire and experimentation. Mismatched relationships lie at the heart of the picture, which centers around newlywed Duyen (an understated Do Thi Hai Yen) and her dalliances with her young disinterested husband Hai (Nguyen Duy Khoa), solemn friend Cam (Pham Linh Dan) and mysterious alpha male Tho (a rugged Johnny Nguyen).
Continue reading “Missing in Action on the Side” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Balibo (2009)
Balibo Film Pty. Ltd./Footprint Films
Inspired by journalist Jill Jolliffe’s book “Cover Up,” Robert Connolly’s controversial and highly political thriller “Balibo” attempts to uncover the truth behind the brutal deaths of six journalists in East Timor in 1975. It’s highly charged, emotive and powerful, but it’s also exceptionally brave filmmaking because it dares to challenge the long-held official line of events of not one, but two governments (that of Indonesia and Australia).
Continue reading “Without a Trace in East Timor” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Shirley Adams (2009)
Jennifer Wheatley/
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
First-time director and scribe Oliver Hermanus delivers an astounding and intimate portrait of a mother’s struggles to care for her quadriplegic son. In Cape Town slum Mitchell’s Plain, Shirley Adams (a remarkable Denise Newman) cares for her young son Donovan (Keenan Arrison), a tragic victim of a gangland shooting which has left him paralyzed from the neck down. Shirley’s husband has abandoned the pair; and Shirley — forced to give up work to care for Donovan — lives in relative poverty, relying on the good nature of neighbor Kariema (Theresa Sedras) to get by.
Continue reading “Wiping Science Out of Fictional District 9” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Shed Your Tears and Walk Away (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
The picturesque market town of Hebden Bridge is nestled in the beautiful rolling Pennine valleys of West Yorkshire. It’s a bohemian place popular with tourists and alternative types, but filmmaker Jez Lewis finds himself returning with increasing frequency for funerals of suicide victims. Seeking answers for this spate of drink- and drug-related deaths, Mr. Lewis tracks down his old friend Cass, hoping he’ll be able to provide an explanation. But the Cass he finds is suffering from alcoholism and liver damage, and has just been given two years to live unless he can kick his booze habit. What unfolds is a raw and honest insight into what can happen when hope seeps out of a community in a brutal and emotional documentary on grief and desperation.
Continue reading “Town Says No, No, No to Rehab” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)
Laura Macgruder/Overture Films
Welsh author and documentarian Jon Ronson’s 2004 book “The Men Who Stare at Goats” examined the U.S. Army’s investigation of the psychological and paranormal and their potential uses in modern warfare. Utilizing this fascinating study of top-secret military research as source material, director Grant Heslov delivers an entertaining picture, albeit one which slightly trivializes the underlying seriousness of its content.
Continue reading “Paranormal Activists” »
MOVIE REVIEW
44 Inch Chest (2010)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
“Sexy Beast” scribes Louis Mellis and David Scinto team up once again with acting talents Ray Winstone and Ian McShane for a well-observed study of the male ego. Those hoping for a sequel of sorts will find themselves in aurally familiar territory, but this is a very different beast and it’s anything but sexy.
Continue reading “Decline Gets Better With Rage” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Liam Daniel/Sony Pictures Classics
Any picture associated with directorial visionary Terry Gilliam is always going to rouse the public’s attention, yet the tragic death of Heath Ledger midway through filming has ensured that the name “Doctor Parnassus” has been on everyone’s radar for more than 18 months. Much has been made of Mr. Gilliam’s fervent determination to finish the film and particularly the ingenious casting of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to fill Ledger’s void. Mr. Gilliam executes it with gusto, and — as should be expected from such an auteur — transports the audience into a visually fantastical world tinged with a didactic message about the importance and power of the imagination.
Continue reading “Double Dare the Devil” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Triangle (2009)
Icon Film Distribution
Director Christopher Smith is slowly emerging as one of the most interesting young filmmakers currently operating in the thriller-horror genre. Having cut his directorial teeth on the superbly spooky London Underground-set “Creep,” Mr. Smith changed tack with his follow up, “Severance,” a grisly horror-comedy. Subverting the genre is clearly something Mr. Smith seems particularly comfortable with, even intrigued by, so it should come as no surprise that his latest offering, “Triangle,” ventures rather neatly into psychological thriller territory, albeit with a delicious twist.
Continue reading “Sink or Scream” »