Death at a Funeral review

I have a soft spot for British humor, and a fondness for black humor as well. Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral does both very, very well.

The film follows a bunch of family and friends(Matthew McFayden, Rupert Graves, and Alan Tudyk, among others) of a recently deceased man. After a mishap involving hallucinagenic drugs, the funeral is thrown into chaos. To make matters worse, a mysterious midget(Peter Dinklage) shows up with a devastating family secret.

From the first scene of the movie, you know the film has great timing, hilarious dialogue, and absolutely ridiculous situations. Ohhh, it's so hard not to give anything away!

I'll just say that this film has a killer(pardon the pun) sense of humor. It's bleak yet not morbid. It's dry, but not boring. It's timing is the real reason this movie works. On at LEAST three occasions an absurd situation is immediately followed up by a perfectly timed sight gag or observation or coincidence that just hilights the comedy perfectly.

The acting, the cinematography, and the music are all pretty much secondary to the plot and script, but it's all serviceable to good.

The film is pretty short, only 91 minutes, but it seems to drag a little bit during the first twenty minutes and the last ten minutes. But the hour in between, boy is it a riot.

It isn't for everybody, though. Many a person have told me that British humor is "stupid," and it really is an aquired taste. But if you love Monty python or the like type of dry situational comedy, Death at a Funeral is definitely for you.

86/100

Persepolis review

Persepolis is a French animated film that was nominated for the 2008 Best Animated Picture Academy Award. The film somehow made it to limited release in the US and even made it to my local theater despite not really having an audience here.

The film tells the story of a nine-year-old girl in Tehran, Iran circa the Iranian Revolution. It follows the war and her relationships as she comes of age and learns the difficult lessons of life.

This movie is absolutley, stunningly beautiful. The animation is so fluent yet so subtle. The characters just spring to life. All of the backgrounds and scenery are like paintings. It's rare I can say that, but it's true. It is just breathtaking.

The plot of this film is what shocks me. It is about the Iranian Revolution and how it affects a particular family. The message it portrays is one that can misconstrued as anti-American, anti-Capitalist, and pro-communist. But that's not the message here. The message here is that every person has the capacity to do harm, but it is our responsibility what we do with our life.

It portrays a side of life Americans have never had to face. It shows the real problems with Capitalism, and don't say there isn't any, because that's just naive. Every government is trying to find the balance between equality and freedom. You can't have all of both. This film is so important in that regard.

The characters and the dialogue is amazing as well. it manages to show real morality and life lessons along this child's journey, and the film is violent and depressing at times, but it also knows how to make you laugh at just the right time. It has all shades of emotion packed into a portrait of sizable beauty. Truly amazing!

Unfortunaetly, this movie is hard on the mind and is not very accessible. I found it quite the achievment, but I can certainly see where someone else wouldn't. Overall, I give it a

94/100

Be Kind Rewind review

Be Kind Rewind is Micehl Gondry's fourth movie in five years(after directing hits like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Dave Chapelle's Block Party), and the director has developed a following for his wide use of "whimsy." That word right there confuses me, and I'll get into that in a second.

The movie revolves around three people in a VHS store that happens to be the birthplace of a famous(or so the owner of the store contends) jazz musition "Fats" McGee or some ther stereotypical jazz name. One of the guys, the out-of-work conspiracy theorist Jerry(Jack Black) gets magnatized in a freak powerplant accident, and proceeds to erase all the tapes. The store is condemned and about to be demolished, so the mild mannered clerk Mike(Mos Def) must re-make all the tapes AND collect enough money so the building will survive.

Now, back to "whimsy". That's most most people are calling the humor in this movie. I call it completely out of place and useless wierdness. A lot of made-up words, completely nonsensical situations, and unbeleivably random acts litter this movie that I can only call "quaint," and that isn't a good thing. Let me give some examples:

The townspeople actually enjoy the fake 20-minute tapes.

Jerry and Mike grab some random girl who, for some reason, agrees to join them and asks virtually no questions.

Words like "Sweded"(what they call their process of movie-making) are invented with rationale like "Like Sweden, because it's such a big process it has to be named after a country."

The scene where Jerry gets magnetized is completely absurd. The way he gets un-magnetized is even more absurd. Then, with about 30 minutes left, the film goes way out on left field and pulls a 180. All of a sudden they're sued for copyright infringement(in a "whimsical" manner, of course) and...well, I guess I can't spoil it for you.

None of this feels in place. It's lacking in any real humor. The only times I laughed was at the sheer unbeleivability. For a film to go out of it's way to attempt a real-life setting and create a useful message, it goes even farther out of the way to make sure you say, "Wait, why are they saying/doing this again? It makes no sense whatsoever!" I thought, "Man, this would be great if this was a dream, but it isn't."

All in all, though, the characters were colorful enough and the plot was a great idea. It did bring me back to a time when I would rent cheapo VHS tapes. Those were the good 'ole times. Too bad this movie didn't do anything other than a few "cute" or "whimsical" moments and initiate some nastalgia. A great idea that never comes to full fruition.

It's horribly disjointed, but ay least it didn't stoop to lows like most comedies do nowadays. It tried something new, but didn't make it.

54/100

No Country, Blood, and Bourne Win Big at Oscars

This year's 80th Annual Academy Award ceremony went off with a bang after a nearly four month writers strike ended a few weeks ago. Here's a quick rundown of the year's big winners:

No Country for Old Men: Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Picture.

There Will Be Blood: Best Cinematography, Best Actor

The Bourne Ultimatum: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound, Best Film Editing

La Vie en Rose: Best Makeup, Best Actress

Juno: Best Original Screenplay

Michael Clayton: Best Supporting Actress

Ratatouille: Best Animated Feature

Atonement: Best Original Score

Once: Best Original Song

Sweeney Todd: Best Art Direction

Elizabeth The Golden Age: Best Costume Design

The Golden Compass: Best Visual Effects

Only four films received multiple awards, and the big winner- No Country for Old Men- only received four of the eight it was nominated for. The Bourne Ultimatum won all three awards it was nominated for. La Vie En Rose was surprisingly strong, winning makeup and actress. I was personally disappointed that There Will Be Blood only won two of a possible eight awards. I was pissed when The Golden effing Compass won Visual Effects(because we all know that Transformers had by far the best visual effects put to the screen to date). I was extremely happy when Day-Lewis won for Acting and Once won Best Original Song. I was disappointed that Ratatouille only won one of the five awards it was nominated for. Overall, a pretty good night. It was funny, exciting, and overall had that classic vibe to it that's been missing recently. Great awards night.

Vantage Point review

Bittersweet.

That's the best word to describe Vantage Point, the new thriller directed by Pete Travis.

The film is shot with a Rashomon/Reservoir Dogs-style multiple viewpoint perspective. The plot revolves around an assasination of the U.S. president by terrorists at a world peace conference. Two secret service agents(Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox), a news crew(headed by Sigourney Weaver), the terrorists, a local police officer, the president(William Hurt), and a tourist(Forest Whitaker) all have their perspectives shown as the labyrinthine plot unveils itself.

The way the film is shot pretty much guarantees a bittersweet experience. The basic plot unfolds by one perspective. When that perspective is done, the movie literally rewinds(select scenes, not the whole movie) and starts over at the beginning from another viewpoint. It even flashes 12 o'clock so you know what time it is. The problem is, this happens four times. By the third, it's funny; by the fourth, tedious.

It is entertaining, though. And that is the positive. It is very thrilling. It isn't boring, and it accomplishes its job very very well. You are actually involved with how the plot is going to unfold. The twists, for the most part, are very good. There is a very good car chase near the end of the film.

Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is meh. The acting is serviceable, the score decent, the characters pretty much stock and cliche. The plot devices are occasionally manipulative, and overall it's a very shallow, superficial experience.

There is one particular twist that is totally ruined by the trailer, and the ending is completely and totally unbelievable.

It's a good rental, but I wouldn't see it in the theater unless you are a die hard political thriller fan. It really had a lot of potential, but a keen eye can spot the cliche and shallowness in this otherwise engaging movie.

69/100

In the Valley of Elah Review

Director Paul Haggis had himself during the 78th Academy Awards. His film Crash won Best Picture over Steven Spielberg's Munich and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. This year, his film In the Valley of Elah is nominated for one award- Best Actor for Tommy Lee Jones. Could this independent film come away with an upset as well?

The film follows a father(Jones) and a police detective(Charlize Theron) as they hunt for his awol son who just returned from Iraq. Things turn out to be much more sinister than first seems.

Once again, I am blown away by a film's ensemble cast and chemistry. Jones is terriffic here and maybe my second favorite lead performance this year aside from Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood and Casey Affleck in Gone Baby Gone. Theron give a good supporting performance, as does Susan Sarandon in the role of Jones' character's wife.

So, why didn't this movie get a wide release? Well, it is a very touchy movie that explores some dark themes that really reflect America's condition right now. The themes regard fear and heroism. The film's title comes straight from the Bible: The Valley of Elah is where David fights Goliath. There is an absolutely hypnotic scene where Jones tells a little boy the story of David and Goliath to help him overcome his fear of the dark. Our hero must face his own fears as he follows the tracks in what becomes a very god mystery.

The film's premise looks like setup for an anti-war movie, but do not fret. It is FAR from an anti-war movie. Sure, it shows the gigantic mess that our troops are in as well as the condition of America. However, it paints a wonderful picture of true heroism. Morality is still alive in cinema. The classic hero still exists. It's a breath of fresh air in a year rife with anti-heroes and corruptible protagonists. It made me feel like I could go out and change the world for good. The film is full of such powerful and moving images.

Negatives...well, the film, like most, has a couple "coincidences"(codename for plot devices) that move the story along, but probably would never happen in the real world or during a real investigative process. But how can i fault a film on this? It's almost impossible to write a film with zero plot devices or mcguffins or deus ex machinas. This film uses them well, and Paul Haggis shows his mastership at his craft. Somehow, I can't help feel a little bit manipulated, though.

I was thoroughly engrossed and mesmerized by this movie. It's the perfect length- long enough to feel fully fleshed out but not so long that it feels tedious. I didn't want it to end.

91/100

Right at your Door review

Right at your Door is an independent thriller film in wich "dirty" bombs, or chemical weaponry, is detonated in downtown Hollywood, causing havoc and much pain.

I have extremely mixed feelings about this film. On the one hand, it's extremely realistic and it hits home in this post-911 world. On the other hand, it's inept and unfocused in the way the story is told.

We have a young married couple who are separated one morning due to a massive bombing of L.A. The husband Brad(Rory Cochraine) is stuck in his house with the radio by his side. His wife Lexi(Mary McCormick) is stuck outside in the toxic cloud.

The film is frightening for the first half of the 96 minute runtime. It really gets down deep and makes you paranoid. What if this could really happen? It CAN really happen...

The acting is good, but the script leaves something to be desired on occasion.

Unfortunately, the film slows to an insanely repetitive lull during the last 40 minutes or so. Throughout the movie we see the interaction between the two central characters as Brad has sealed off the house on suggestion by the news on the radio. It gets insanely boring as the same conversation is had over and over and over again.

There are two glaring problems: firstly, that we never actually see all the panic. It's all described on the radio. In fact, probably the only message in the film that's hinted at is that the media may not be a reliable source of information and may be hiding something. I was expecting this big twist at the end where its revealed that the government was behind it all, or there really wasn't any poison, or something regarding misinformation.

But, no, we get this butt-fuckingly STUPID twist ending that attempts to make the aforementioned point but fails miserably. It's a useless plot device and cheapens the film immensely. It seemed like a shocker just tacked on to jolt us back after we dozed off during the last "When will I get rescued?" speech. We never get any of the answers to the questions the characters ask. Why build up to just screw us over like that?

The film manages to make me feel genuinely frightened and genuinely pissed at the same time. It has moderately high production values, and for an independant film it is above the pack, but it could have been sooooo much better.

62/100