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Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Ridley, Ridley, Ridley....How could you???
Just saw the film tonight and can't recommend the film to anyone expecting to see interesting characters, on-screen chemistry or a cohesive scenario.
Where to start? Saw it as one of 600-odd cheap b*stards like myself who got a free pass (which is a good thing 'cuz I'd be especially p*ssed if I'd dropped $25 to take my wife to it). I found that the entire experience left me cold. I find myself not caring about Orlando Bloom. He just didn't project any charisma at all. It's like he telephoned-in most of his performance from the Keanu Reeves School of Dead-Eyes Acting. At almost no point during the entire film do I find myself getting interested in whether his character lives or dies. The one exception being nearly 2 hours in when there's a face-to-face meeting with Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). For a tantalizing few moments, there's some chemistry! Thank God for small mercies! With Sybilla (Eva Green), the nominal love interest, nothing, nada, rien, zippididoodah, SFA! On an emotional level, there just isn't anything to cling to. To paraphrase a line from Amadeus, people aren't interested in stories about Gods that look like they're going to sh*t marble. Thus the problem with Kingdom of Heaven.
If I had to isolate the shortcomings to one area, I'd say it's the script. There's just too much glanced over. You don't even get the Coles Notes (Cliff's Notes for those south of the 49th) version of what's going on and why I should give a d*mn about the significance of what's about to happen. And a couple of technical gripes: A:) The tight-shutter shooting during the battle scenes that gave Savin private Ryan it's distinctive look. There it worked because it was imaginative and conveyed the staccato nature of perception in high-stress situations. Here, overall it almost never works. The one exception that really worked was a shot that started off in real-time, camera pans over to Oralando Bloom for his reaction which is in slow-motion, and then proceeds back into real time. Quite effective in that instance only. The rest of it? been there, done that. B:) Attention DOP John Mathieson. Panoramics are lovely. But let's not make a movie of them no matter many extras the director's managed to array.
Anyway, enough rant. This film just isn't up to normal Ridley Scott snuff. Rent Gladiator or Kenneth Branagh's Henry V if your looking for scale and human interest in one package. Kingdom of Heaven just ain't it.
Phil the Alien (2004)
Enjoyably twisted
Saw this film today after hearing the buzz from last year's Toronto International Film Festival. It was supposed to open two weeks ago but was held-up for reasons unknown. Anyway, the reviews were generally good and, being a died-in-the-wool Canadian film fan, I checked it out. Time well spent all-in-all. The secret American base beneath Niagara Falls was a hoot. Hello Marineland! :) A note for anyone expecting a blow-your-mind effects budget; fergeddit! However, the film takes its low-budget conceit to heart and makes the most of it. It was clearly shot on tape and the up-convert to 35mm doesn't always hold up all that well in daylight scenes which (by and large) are few and far between. Gregor Hagey's cinematography was well done and the pace of Warren Sonoda's editing compliments the deadpan comedy well. BTW, nice to catch Dwayne Hill and Mike Beaver in this as well.
I'd say see it first-run if you can but if you can't, when it's set to come out on DVD, make a clamour for it at your local video store (Blockbuster, Rogers, whatever) so that it gets more than the usual token copy hidden away.
Nice work guys. Keep it up!
Monday Report (2004)
Half-hour current-events comedy show that really seems like it's 22 minutes long
From the man show made Stockwell Day and Doris Day synonymous, "Monday Report", is one of those rare shows that seems to pass by in less time than advertised. In tandem with "This is Wonderland", made CBC's Monday-night line-up true must-see TV during their premiere season and are poised to repeat the feat this season. Rick Mercer zeros-in on current-affairs and skewers them with laser-like precision as well as poking fun at Canadian foibles. Darren Jones' segments are also a treat and his style is an interesting counterpoint to Mercer. No cow is too sacred or too elusive to escape. The show is coming back as of October 18th for another season and is definitely worth checking out if you haven't already.
La grande séduction (2003)
Tasty!
As un maudit anglais (apologies for any attrocious spelling to my Québecois brethren), I recommend this film highly. I had the pleasure of meeting the director, Jean-François Pouliot, on a shuttle bus from Salt Lake City to Park City, Utah during the 2004 Sundance Festival and what I find truly remarkable about him is just how down-to-earth he was as if he hadn't done anything particularly remarkable. This even though the film had already opened in Toronto (and elsewhere) to warm reviews. The film's been well received wherever it's been shown though, like many Québecois films, will be most treasured by the people who best understand the linguistic subtleties that don't necessarily translate to English. I haven't had a chance to check out any of his previous works but will be eagerly waiting for his next directorial outing.
Perfectly Normal (1990)
Twister from north of the 49th
You want conventional? Forget it! This film is for those who love a delightfully skewed view on life, in this case the so-called life of one Renzo Parachi. After the death of his mother, into his life comes a whirlwind of a well-meaning shyster in the form of Alonzo Turner (aka Robbie Coltrane), at once turning his life upside-down while simultaneously bringing out the inner opera-loving Renzo. This film ranks as one of my favourite films because of its delightfully skewed world that at the same time holds true to itself. Renzo can never be considered an everyman but, if we're honest, we can maybe hear an echo from somewhere within.
Well acted, well written, well shot and edited. If you're looking for formula comedy, you'd better off with some other film. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Love, Sex and Eating the Bones (2003)
Thoroughly enjoyable
Won't bother reitterating what's already been said about the film. It was well worth seeing and though the budget was less than what most Hollywood films spend on craft services, every cent shows on the screen and the dynamics between the leads are sparkling. Ed Robinson (of Barenaked Ladies fame) works well and Kenny Robinson as Robbie, the porn store owner plays suitably subdued which, for a comic, is no easy task. The supporting cast all play well, blending-in and emphasizing without stealing the spotlight from the leads. If I have any quibble with the film it would be that I maybe could've done with a little less of the porn star fantasy but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed the film.
Mystic River (2003)
Almost had me and then boom
Just saw it last night and thought it was worth the investment of time until the end of the Bacon/Penn curb-side scene. I haven't looked at others' posts but for me, the POV shot of the car pulling away down the street with the young Tim Robins character looking out the back window just completely blew a heretofore enjoyable film. The whole emotional tone shifted sideways in an unpleasant way and everything after that came off like a studio add-on to neatly wrap everything up with a bow. Didn't need Laura Linney doing Lady Macbeth, didn't need the parade scene (although I'll grant that it did add in the sense of showing the isolation and desperation of Marcia Gay Harden's character).
Everything could have been wrapped up in an emotionally satisfying way with Kevin Bacon driving off with his suppressed suspicions of his childhood friend and Sean Penn to deal with his actions.
It's like someone at the studio put a gun to Eastwood's and Cox's head and said "you're going to add this because I don't get the ending".
I'm normally forgiving of films but this one disappointed me.
The Arrow (1997)
An interesting (not perfect) story
Having seen the mini-series when it initially aired and seen again since, I think that what "The Arrow" tries to do (and accomplishes pretty well, I'd say) is to do what few Canadian films do: that is, it tries to introduce a little bit of mythology into a Canadian story. Certainly, as far as Canadian events go, the story of the Arrow is one that still resonates in the Canadian psyche as an opportunity thrown away by the politicians of the day. Having the Arrow fly off to parts unknown at the end plays into that wish to be able to correct the mistakes of the past.
That said, it was an enjoyable mini-series and didn't play any faster or more loosely with the facts than most of what passes for "historical" narrative. The casting was well-done and it did a good job showing the social impact of the Arrow project