X-Men: First Class

Directed by Matthew Vaughn who also directed the highly acclaimed film Kick-Ass (2010), one of my favorite films from last year, this X-Men film is extremely effective and satisfying as a set-up film for the X-Men trilogy of 2000 – 2006 and explains how the whole rivalry between Professor X and Magneto began. Although there is not as much action in this film as in previous X-Men films, this one keeps you hooked into the story because of the great characters portrayed by wonderful performances from Kevin Bacon, from Apollo 13 (1995), Michael Fassbender, recently from Inglourious Basterds (2009), James McAvoy, recently from Wanted (2008)and The Last King of Scotland (2006), Jennifer Lawrence, recently from Winter’s Bone (2010), and Nicholas Hoult, recently from About a Boy (2002)and Clash of the Titans (2010), and soon to be seen as Jack in Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) directed by Bryan Singer who also directed the first two X-Men films, X-Men and X2: X-Men United, and wrote and produced the current X-Men: First Class.

 ‘We must adapt to survive’, says one of the mutants in the new prequel to the X-men trilogy that shows the beginnings of young Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender). It is a time before mutants were known to exist to humans and to each other. Mutants are mostly just hiding their freakish abilities from the conservative society of the 60s and just want to fit in. But one mutant, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), has harnessed his abilities and is convinced that he and other mutants like him are the next phase in human evolution and that they could never exist together with humans who, he believes, are on the brink of extinction much like the Neanderthals before them.

Neanderthals existed for thousands of years in Europe and Eurasia before early Homo sapiens known as Cro-Magnon man arrived. When that happened the days of Neanderthals were numbed although it took another roughly 50,000 years after the Cro-Magnon man’s arrival in Europe, but during that time period when Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon co-existed together, we can only imagine what contact between these two very different species of humans must have been like. 

X-Men: First Class tries to answer some of those questions with their own version of an evolutionary mutation that will try to out-compete and displace the current human population to extinction. Not all mutants agree with this aggressive point of view. Some believe that peaceful co-existence with humans is possible. The humans on the other hand who foresee their own marginalization will do anything to destroy all the mutants.

The young Charles Xavier and Magneto make an astonishing discovery in this film due to Xavier’s telepathic abilities and a new invention that amplifies his powers. They realize for the first time that they are not alone and that far more mutants exist all over the world than they ever imagined, all with unique powers. They start to recruit mutants and create a school to help them learn to harness their abilities. But the mutants are of two minds and split up into two camps. Those that want to speed up the inevitable and take revenge for how they have been made to feel as outsiders, ashamed of their abilities, and hasten their demise, and those that want to protect, help and work with the humans.

The humans are also split into two camps, Communist and Democratic societies are at war with each other but when it comes to mutants they are united in their fear. Some humans want to work with the mutants but most would rather just get rid of them if they could. But there is the dilemma. Mutants are superior in every way to humans and humans can only hope that mutants will be merciful. And so it was with Neanderthal. Although Neanderthal appears stronger physically and better able to withstand extreme climates, they were not as smart as the weaker early modern humans and eventually they were out competed to extinction. It was our brains that gave us the edge.

The X-Men franchise has an opportunity here to show what might have occurred in this critical evolutionary phase of human history. Competition between people goes on in our daily lives every day. We are always competing for jobs, wealth, opportunities, education, fame, and there are always people who lose out and fall by the way side. Mutants have far more powerful and advanced abilities but alone they are isolated freaks. Our natural instinct is to cheer for the underdog and in the beginning we cheer for the lonely, outsider mutant but soon the mutants group their talents in gangs and become arrogant and just want to use their abilities to destroy mankind. Then we cheer for the mutants who help humans and fight against the more aggressive mutants. 

What I liked about the previous X-Men films is that mutants who started out in one camp would end up by the end of the film in the opposite camp. For example a mutant starting out in the Xavier or pro-human camp would decide by the end of the film to change to the Magneto or anti-human camp and vice versa. A previously known bad mutant would by the end of the film decide to join the good mutant camp. This new prequel film continues this trend and we see how some mutants can change, through ideology, from one camp to another, either because they feel sympathy for humans or because they admire someone in the opposite camp.

This movie franchise has been extremely successful so far and all the movies in the franchise are great as far as I’m concerned, including the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie about the origins of a popular X-Men character called Wolverine. If you are unfamiliar with the X-Men franchise and want to see all the movies this is a good one to start with.

JP

Clash of the Titans: A hero's journey continues

At the end of the 2010 remake Clash of the Titans you have the feeling that a fully realized world has been created were many new stories can be told with memorable characters and beautiful realistic production design. 

Everything about this remake is an improvement on the 1981 original. The visual effects department of course has taken full advantage of the digital revolution that has taken place since 1981 and this is the perfect type of film to showcase those effects. The original was already an effects heavy film back in 1981 when it was released in the same week as Raiders of the Lost Ark. But this being a very low budget film Ray Harryhausen was hired to do his signature stop-motion animation old school style. This was the last film that Ray Harryhausen worked on using his once very popular stop-motion technique that made such films as 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) so popular.

Laurence Olivia, Harry Hamlin, Maggie Smith, Clair Bloom and Ursula Andress have been replaced by Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Sam Worthington and the late Pete Postlethwaite. The new film is faithful to the original but has a much more international feel with a cast and locations from around the world. Filming took place in Tenerife the Canary Islands, Malta, Italy, Wales, England and Ethiopia.

There are many memorable action sequences from the original that fan boy director Louis Leterrier, who also directed The Incredible Hulk (2008), wanted to retain for the new film but needed updating for a modern audience. Some of the best and well known of these new updated scenes are the God's temple on Mt. Olympus, the Scorpioch battle, Medusa’s cave temple battle and the awesome Kraken sequence. In between we get an array of other worldly and mythological creatures from Hades and the Hades effect, winged half-simian bat like flying harpies, Calibos the deformed king, the Stygian witches, Pegasus the flying horse, and the Djinn who are ancient sorcerers living in the desert. 

What I really liked about this new movie was the beautiful realistic depiction of mythical places like Mt. Olympus and the ancient city of Argos. The Greek city of Argos was beautifully rendered digitally as a massive complex of structures built into the side of a sea-side cliff that was filmed in a place called Los Gigantes, Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands using ancient structures filmed in Italy to make up the City. The God’s home on Mt. Olympus was rendered as a wide open round hall with the floor completely open and looking down on a satellite image of the earth from space complete with clouds and realistic topography.

There is a travelogue type sequence in the film depicting our heroes as they journey on the backs of the Scorpiochs across different landscapes on their way to find the Stygian witches and ultimately Medusa's cavernous temple. The photography in that sequence is breathtaking as we are treated to stunning vistas that were filmed in exotic locations all over the world and adds an epic feel to the journey.

Clash of the Titans is a classic tale of the hero’s journey. Perseus played by Sam Worthington, recently from Terminator Salvation (2009) and Avatar (2009), is born a demigod son of Zeus, half human half god, and must find a way to stop Hades from destroying the city of Argos and awakening the fearsome Kraken, a mythic sea creature that lives in an underwater sea cave. Along the way he obtains a loyal following of men, sorcerers and gods who help him fulfill his destiny. Perseus is tested with trials and given magical weapons before he finally confronts Hades and the enormous Kraken. 

The climactic Kraken sequence improves on the original in every way and does not disappoint. The original sequence was quaint but did not have the scale and realism of this new updated version. Now the Kraken sequence is truly awesome in scale and realism and excitingly filmed and edited. It shows not only the Kraken but also street level action in the city of Argos while Perseus is flying through both Kraken tentacles and Argos streets on his flying horse Pegasus.

Here’s hoping we get more films in this promising franchise. What? They’re already working on it?

Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to Clash of the Titans is now being filmed in Tenerife Spain as I write this. This is exciting news. Jonathan Liebesman, who also directed this year’s excellent Battle: Los Angeles, has replaced director Louis Leterrier, but the cast and crew from Clash of the Titans are mostly all back including Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Sam Worthington as Perseus and Danny Huston as Poseidon. The new film is due for release on March 30, 2012.

The following is an official summary of the storyline from Warner Bros. Pictures

‘A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus-the demigod son of Zeus-is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans' strength grows stronger as Zeus' remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth... Written by Warner Bros. Pictures’  

JP

Source Code

A smart, thought provoking Sci-fi thriller that really challenges our ideas of time and for the most part you have no idea where it’s going. Directed by sci-fi fan and son of singer David Bowie, the promising young Duncan Jones, whose directorial debut film was the excellent Moon (2009) lives up to his reputation here as a director of films with heart.

The concept is a mix of time travel/parallel reality and elements of Avatar (2009). A soldier’s injured body is kept alive and his brain is hooked up to an experimental computer program called the ‘Source Code’ used by the military to occupy someone else’s body during the last eight minutes of his life to discover a future terrorist bombing threat. The soldier, whose consciousness is being used to change the future, must learn in only eight minutes where the bomb is planted, disarm it and identify the bomber so that a future dirty bomb can be prevented from going off in downtown Chicago.

I saw this film just after Bin Laden had been killed so the topic of terrorism seemed very timely. There is a surprise ending which took me a little while to figure out what had happened but the ending is very satisfying. There is enough action, humor and surprises to keep the movie moving along and it’s never boring despite the repetition of the eight minutes that Mr. Gyllenhaal is forced to relive over and over while he figures out what is going on.

Jake Gyllenhaal, recently from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) and Love and Other Drugs (2010), gives a very convincing performance and keeps us captivated by his character’s, marine captain Colter Stevens, dilemma. We also get an excellent performance by Vera Farmiga, recently from Up in the Air (2009), who plays Colleen Goodwin, the military coach who talks our hero through what he thinks is a training exercise simulation for a new mission.

There are elements in Source Code that are similar to Moon. The movie takes place in very confined spaces, both movies deal with corporate miss use of their employees and there is an unraveling puzzle solving element in both. In fact it was Jake Gyllenhaal who recommended Duncan Jones to direct the film after having seen and loved his earlier work Moon.

Colter Stevens learns more information each time he goes through the ‘source code’, which takes place on a commuter train, so that the events are slightly different each time as he is changing them. The movie is also about making big changes in our lives when we are frustrated by the rut of our daily routine and that we shouldn’t take for granted the beauty and potential that exists all around us.

This movie, like The Adjustment Bureau (2011), has a message but tells it in a very entertaining and sometimes humorous way. Russell Peters, the Canadian comedian, has a small role and most of the cast and crew are Canadian. It will be interesting to see what this promising young director will end up doing next but whatever it is you can be sure it will be another thought provoking Sci-fi action film with heart.

JP

Battle: Los Angeles

Battle: LA is actually an excellent war movie along the same lines as Black Hawk Down (2001) and Green Zone (2010) but here the Marines are fighting aliens during an earth invasion. Unlike other alien invasion films like War of the Worlds (2005), Cloverfield (2008) and District 9 (2009), which are told from the POV of civilians, Battle: LA is unique in that it takes a soldier’s POV and is an all-out war film.  Here we have the best of two of my favorite genres in one film.

A military Sci-fi film, Battle LA has more in common with Terminator Salvation (2009) in terms of its visual style and pacing. Excellent visual effects combined with exciting non-stop action and realistic characters make this a pulse pounding adrenaline rush. Aaron Eckart, recently from The Dark Knight (2008) and Rabbit Hole (2010), gives a very human, vulnerable and compelling performance. His performance as Staff Sergeant Nantz, a decorated soldier who has just retired from the Marines but is pressed back into service when a new world crisis is revealed, keeps us hooked into the story throughout the duration of the film while it literally throws everything possible at us.

We follow a ragtag group of soldiers, who are a mix of survivors from different platoons, much like what would happen and did happen in real war situations against a superior enemy about who they and we the audience know nothing. We learn, as they do, about the enemy as we go. It is easy to see why Eckart was so enthusiastic about his role and the movie during press promotions. I remember him saying how he really got into his role and it shows.

This is a big budget Hollywood film that has lots of visual style and spares no expense on the visual effects. The cast is mostly unknown except for Aaron Eckart and Michelle Rodriquez, recently from Avatar and Machete, which adds to the authentic feel of the film. The hand held documentary style photography covers the action from every angle and gives a ‘you are there’ feel, adding to the realism.

I was excited about the Trailer for this film when I first saw it and when I finally saw the movie I was not disappointed. It delivered what I had expected and more. Although the aliens are not as advanced as I would have liked, the battle is messy and there is a lot of on-the-ground man-to-alien fighting which looked great, think Terminator Salvation, but I would have liked to see more in the air dog fights. Some of the best scenes are with CH-46 and Huey helicopters in the air transporting our soldiers to the battle front while the battle rages below and above. In fact the movie opens with just such a scene.

This movie easily holds up to such war films as Black Hawk Down and Green Zone as well as such alien invasion films as War of the Worlds, Cloverfield and District 9, in fact you get a great mix of both in this movie. Well worth seeing if you’re a fan of those genres.

JP

The Adjustment Bureau

Another film adapted from the great American science fiction novelist Philip K. Dick whose novels have been the inspiration for such films as Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990), Screamers (1995), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and Next (2007). This time the movie The Adjustment Bureau (2011) is based on a Philip Dick short story called The Adjustment Team.

The movie is an alternate reality sci-fi film that is accessible to everyone even if you’re not a fan of the genre because the movie doesn’t look sci-fi or Matrixy. It’s about a mysterious group of men (The Bureau) who are like guardian angels called 'case officers' but look more like special government agents with special powers that adjust our destinies by subtly nudging or encouraging us in directions that are according to a grand plan. We are told that this was deemed necessary because whenever we were left on our own, with free will, we almost destroyed the planet. For example Dark Ages, World War I, Fascism, World War II, Holocaust, and Cuban missile crisis. One of the funny lines in the film is when the Matt Damon character David Norris says to a Bureau agent called Thompson, played by Terence Stamp, ‘If you’re in control of the important things then your incompetent because when I look around these days the world still seems a pretty screwed up place?’ to which the answer is ‘It’s still here. If we’d left things in your hands, it wouldn’t be.’

When a New York politician David Norris (Matt Damon), recently from Hereafter (2010) and Green Zone (2010), and a Dancer in a ballet company Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), recently from The Wolfman (2010) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006), get together and fall in love accidentally despite plans that they should not meet, the grand plan is disrupted and the special agents go to work to fix the potential damage by keeping them apart. We later learn that there is a reason that these two have such strong feelings for each other and they will not give up trying to be together.

It’s a fascinating and original concept and the story is well thought out. What makes this film even better is that the performances and chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are genuine. Besides being a mix of action thriller, love story and sci-fi/alternate reality, it also has a great message. You come out at the end of the film thinking about philosophical questions of our fates and how much are we in control of our own fates and how much is chance. How much free will do we really have and how willing are we to break away from our pre-determined destinies and follow the path of our passions and beliefs? These are very big and difficult questions to answer but this movie is not afraid to ask the big questions in an entertaining way. This exposes the viewer to entertain the idea of opening his mind to new possibilities which so few movies do anymore.

It’s a great movie to take your girlfriend or spouse to see. It reminded me in many ways of the 1998 movie Pleasantville with Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon which also asked big questions using an entertaining alternate reality that was accessible to everyone even if you’re not a fan of the genre. It's more of a romantic comedy but has great performances by an excellent cast just like The Adjustment Bureau and both projects are labors of love. These two movies make for a great double bill of back to back viewing.

JP

Total cinema for your home theatre - Part 1

In this series I will look at some of the best films that will showcase your new high-definition, wide screen home theater system to its fullest. Films you may not have considered before but are truly awe-inspiring in their scale, beauty and clarity. From a select number of conventional Hollywood big budget films to BBC Wildlife documentaries to IMAX and 3D documentaries and finally computer animation. Whatever your home theater system, these movies will wow your guests. For the cinema purist with a high-definition home system, blu-ray disc is the format of choice when viewing any of these films. (see sidebar for movies being released in blu-ray format)

‘Sound is at least 50% of the experience’. Anyone who has a home theater knows that when it comes to enjoying movies to their full immersive potential, just how true that statement is. To experience a movie the way it was intended by the film makers it is essential to have a surround sound system. The best sound systems not only give you the big sounds in a big way but also reproduce the silences and softest sounds with absolute clarity. Effects heavy films are especially good for taking advantage of the new home theater technology to give one the closest experience that matches the cinematic. But there is also another type of movie that showcases the potential of the home theater system even more beautifully.

Non-verbal visual documentaries are filmed in the most exotic and sometimes isolated locations around the world and accompanied by only an eclectic soundtrack of music and natural sound. With no story or dialogue, the awe-inspiring images take on a profound and heightened sense of wonder, while at the same time showing our destructive impact on the planet.

These films are a small niche sub-genre within the documentary genre made by only a hand full of very dedicated, independent film makers. People you have probably never heard of but sound vaguely familiar, people who have, with their visions, influenced many conventional filmmakers and television commercials. These people want to make you think about what you’re watching and you can see something new with every viewing. These films are timelier now than ever and have lost none of their significance.

People who watch these movies rarely see them only once. The timelessness, pure beauty and thought provoking nature of these movies makes people want to see them over and over again. There are people who have reportedly watched these films 50 or 60 times if not in the hundreds. I consider them must viewing at least once every year.

Godfrey Reggio, Philip Glass, Ron Fricke, Alton Walpole, Mark Magidson, and Lawrence Taub are just some of the people involved in the production of these amazing films.

If you love beautiful cinematography of exotic locations put together in thought provoking ways and accompanied by a broad array of eclectic music, you will love this non-verbal, visual form of Total Cinema, where sound and image is everything. Don’t miss these amazing films.

Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance                       1982       Godfrey Reggio

Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation                      1988       Godfrey Reggio

Naqoyqatsi: Life as War                                       2002       Godfrey Reggio

Anima Mundi                                                         1992       Godfrey Reggio

Chronos                                                                1985       Ron Fricke          

Baraka                                                                 1993       Ron Fricke

The following movies are more silence than sound but are wonderful visual meditations on life.

Into Great Silence is a documentary without narration or a soundtrack and has long scenes of stillness so it can be challenging to watch for the modern audience who is used to a faster paced action packed movie.  But this documentary has its rewards for the patient and curious as it reveals the daily life of monks living in what must be one of the, if not the most, isolated monasteries in the world.  Nestled high in the French Alps, the Grande Chartreuse monastery of the Carthusian Order - founded by St. Bruno of Cologne in 1084, is completely restricted to outsiders and has some of the most stunning picturesque scenery. Its monks are totally dedicated to the service of God and practice permanent silence. Only after years of persistent requests was the German director Philip Groning finally given permission to film inside the monastery. What is revealed is quite amazing as monks in complete silence go about their daily routines of worship and we are shown a world untouched by technology and stunning beauty.

Babies is another excellent documentary with very little dialogue and no soundtrack as it follows four babies from four different parts of the world (Kenya, Mongolia, Japan and USA) from birth until they are one year old.  This interesting experiment reveals how different cultures treat and raise their infants and the impact that our environment has on us as we learn to take our first steps. I like this movie because of the interesting differences in cultures and environments, and the different personalities of the babies themselves.

JP

Tron Legacy IMAX 3D

A video game designer is accidentally sucked into and trapped in his own video game and thought dead for years until a cryptic message sent to his teenage son with instructions, opens the possibility that his father may still be alive and living inside the game. The son discovers a living virtual world when he steps inside the game that his father created.

This is a great visual treat for anyone who has ever wished they could live inside their favorite video game. Tron Legacy was not a great movie, but it was a great spectacle. If you saw it in IMAX and 3D as I did, it was an amazing sensory experience of light and sound which made you feel fully immersed.
 

One thing I noticed about Tron Legacy is how much some of the story elements reminded me of Star Wars. Being a lifelong Star Wars fan I didn’t mind this so much except that Star Wars did it so much better and it is now a 34 year old movie that is still being copied but not bettered. Star Wars just had so much more going for it that this movie didn’t. Some of the elements that Tron Legacy borrowed from Star Wars are as follows.

• The father son relationship, with the son redeeming the father’s sins in the end. 
• The apprentice who turns against the master or teacher and becomes evil in pursuit of order/perfection. Clu in his pursuit of perfection saw his master as being part of the imperfection he is charged with eradicating. Vader also seeks to restore order in the Galaxy and eventually views the Republic and the Jedi Knights as being the obstacle to that order. He must now join with the Emperor to eliminate the Jedi and restore the order that the Emperor promised him if he joined the Dark Side. 
• The stealing of secret plans that hold the key to power and have potential for miss use by evil apprentice.
• The color scheme of red for bad guys and light blue for good guys when using flying disc weapon similar to the light sabers in Star Wars. 
• The vulnerable girl who is the last of her kind after her people are destroyed by the evil apprentice, similar to princess Leia who’s planet was destroyed by the Empire. 
• The video game quality of the action scenes and flying scenes with the hero fending off the bad guys, who are in pursuit after escaping their stronghold, with a laser turret mounted on the back of a flying vehicle.  
• The father in this case is also part Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi with an interest in Zen and meditation philosophy. He also has special powers as the creator of a digital world in which he is trapped. 
• The creation of an invasion army of programs is similar to the creation of the Droid army in The Phantom Menace, and the Clone army in Attack of the Clones.

Anyone who knows the Star Wars films as intimately as I do will immediately recognize these story elements from the Star Wars saga.

But Tron Legacy has some excellent visual flare of its own, especially during the motorcycle racing sequence on the grid with multiple levels that allow for more suspenseful and visually interesting racing action. 

Tron Legacy also has a beautiful futuristic set and vehicle design with glowing stripes that gives it a clean and sleek feel which I like. Unfortunately there is not much contrast in the design, nothing to balance it with a rougher, more organic look except during the beginning of the film which is set in a city of the 80s. But this is also a little too sleek for that time period.

Other things that caught my eye was the digital version of a younger Jeff Bridges who was a little off putting at first as you could tell he was a digital creation although it was extremely realistic. There was just something about the movement of his mouth that gave it away.

The costumes and make up were also very cool and I noticed some influence of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in the Jeff Bridges hide out apartment that looked very similar to the room where the astronaut finds himself after his psychedelic ride through space with antique furniture and lighting coming from underneath the floor and ceiling.

The ending being quite similar to the ending of Lost in Space (1998), emotionally and visually, it was quite derivative but overall a fun light and sound show.

JP

The Illusionist

The Illusionist is a beautiful traditionally animated film by the same people who gave us The Triplets of Belleville. Based on a 1956 unproduced script by Jacques Tati it was a story he wrote but did not have a chance to make into a film. 

The story is about a magician (played by Tati) who travels around Europe performing in small theaters and night clubs with his rabbit. In a small Scottish village where he is invited to perform in a pub he meets a young girl who befriends him and innocently believes his magic is real. The girl follows him back to Paris where through the course of the film she matures into a woman just as the magician is running out of money to support her.

The movie shows how small town girls are seduced by the big city ways of life and fashion and how the old traditional forms of entertainment have been replaced by new ones. The film is like a typical Jacques Tati film in that it has very little dialogue and relies on visual humor of awkward or unusual situations. The physical humor of Jacques Tati is very accurately recreated here and the film may seem slow to someone not used to Tati’s type of humor. I recommend you see some of Jacques Tati’s classic films first like Jour de Fête, Mr. Hulot’s Holiday, Mon Oncle, and Playtime.

The hand drawn animation is very detailed and looks extraordinarily beautiful as it depicts, very realistically, locations in Europe from small coastal villages to big city landscapes. The film is set in an unknown past but it looks to be around 1959 as many old ways were giving way to new ones.

Like all of Jacques Tati’s films it is well worth seeing and has a very intimate old world theatrical feel to it as you get to know the characters only through their actions and expressions.

JP

Moon

Similar to a young George Lucas when he made his first visually innovative feature film THX-1138 (1971) with a minimal budget but a smart, thought provoking story, set in the near future about an individual escaping against all odds from a society exploiting its citizens with mind controlling drugs, a young sci-fi geek of the next generation who grew up with these films from the 70s and 80s has now come out with his own debut, low budget film and the results are just as innovative and thought provoking. 

Duncan Jones will be one to watch as George Lucas was in his time. His first feature film Moon is the child born of such brainy sci-fi films as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Silent Running (1972), Outland (1981) and the first Alien (1979) movie, which itself was inspired by Star Wars (1977). But it also has other elements from classic dystopian sci-fi films such as Blade Runner (1982), and The Island (2005).

Moon is a gem of a film. Like THX-1138, Alien, Blade Runner and The Island, Moon is about escaping from a predetermined destiny imposed by an oppressive Corporate entity and concerns itself with the exploitation of innocent people and unethical use of clones. A person left for three years to work on the moon for a company that mines an energy resource discovers that he is not alone. After he has an accident and is knocked unconscious there suddenly appears another person that looks and acts just like him. Together they are able to find out the sinister policies of the company they work for. While the company sends out a team to deal with the situation the two clones work together to plan their escape. This visually stark but beautiful and interesting movie is thought provoking, smart and keeps you in suspense to the very end.

Moon is a project of passion made by self-professed, dedicated sci-fi fans Duncan Jones, who is the son of singer/rock star David Bowie, and the star of the film Sam Rockwell from Galaxy Quest (1999) and Conviction (2010). Duncan who is a big fan of Sam Rockwell’s work wanted him in his first feature film and wrote the movie just for him, hoping he would accept the role. The script, the visuals and Sam’s performance were so amazing that Kevin Spacey also came on board to lend his voice as a HAL 9000 type computer assistant robot. 

The movie has a beautiful, retro aesthetic and set design inspired by futurists Syd Mead and Ron Cobb who also worked on Alien, and Blade Runner. The special effects combined the time honored traditional miniature models photography with CGI to get the best visual look for the limited money that was available.

Moon was made with heart and resourcefulness that would not have been possible to do with this kind of visual flare on such a bare-bones budget even 5 years ago. But this team of film makers pulled it off with great success.

Duncan has already made his next film called ‘Source Code’, which opens at the South by South West interactive Music and Film festival in Austin, Texas in March and in theaters April 1, 2011 and stars Jake Gyllenhaal. An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. Let’s hope it has the same heart and innovation that Moon had.

 

Duncan is also working on a sci-fi homage to Blade Runner, one of his favorite films, called Mute which will get a graphic novel treatment to attract investors before it can be made into a movie.

JP

2010 Oscar Winners

The King’s Speech and Inception rule at the Oscars with 4 Oscars each.

Not exactly the results that I would have expected or hoped for. None of the films that were nominated got an overwhelming amount of Oscar love.

The King’s Speech with 12 nominations only won 4 Oscars but it won in all of the important categories including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay. Remember it was voted the People’s Choice award this past September at The Toronto International Film Festival. Toronto audiences again showing that they are the early predictors of the Oscar winning best film.

True Grit with 10 nominations very surprisingly won no Oscars at all. It reminded me of the year that Gangs of New York was nominated for 10 Oscars and also won nothing. But I thought that True Grit was a much better film and many predicted it would win an Oscar for Roger Deakins' Cinematography which he lost to Inception. This was his 8th nomination for Cinematography.

Inception did very well winning 4 of its 6 nominations in the technical categories of Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Cinematography.

127 Hours which got very high praise this year and is the 7th highest rated film of the year, just behind The King's Speech, but didn't win any of it's 6 nominations.
 
Black Swan which was highly critically praised, getting on to many top 10 lists and the 2nd highest rated film of the year, only won 1 of its 5 Oscar nominations, winning for Best Actress Natalie Portman.

Most surprising was The Social Network which was the number one highest critically acclaimed film of the year, winning almost every Critics Choice Award in North America and at the top of every Critics list (see previous blog post below) only won 3 of its 8 nominated Oscars, winning for Best Editing, Adapted Screenplay and Original Score. David Fincher was widely expected to win for best Director but lost to The King's Speech director Tom Hooper.

The Fighter won 2 of its 7 nominations, winning for Supporting Actor Christian Bale and Supporting Actress Melissa Leo.

Toy Story 3 also won 2 Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song “We Belong Together” by Randy Newman who has been nominated 20 times and won twice. His Uncle Alfred Newman was nominated 54 times and winning 9 Oscars including for The King and I. Randy also had one of the funniest acceptance speeches of the evening.

For a complete list of winners see side bar link to Oscar ballots 2010.

JP

The Social Network tops the best films of 2010

OK, here it is! After compiling a collection of 145 movie critics top ten film lists from newspapers, magazines and web sites across the US and Canada, I finally have the best 29 films of the year in order of the most listed and highest rated.

It was in some ways a more difficult year to judge than others as there were many films that were very close to call. But the number one film of the year won by a huge margin, appearing on 109 lists out of 145 and 31 times as number one on the list. The next closest film, Black Swan, in the number two spot appeared on 66 lists and only 11 times as the number one film. The Social Network even beat out last year’s winner The Hurt Locker which appeared on 69 lists and only 17 times as number one.

David Fincher’s The Social Network is the Slumdog Millionaire of 2010 and should win most of the major awards. It has already won the Critic’s Choice award for best film of the year and now the Golden Globes have awarded it for Best Picture, Director, Screenwriter, and Score. It will probably go on to win the same at the Oscars.

Whenever I ask people if they’ve seen The Social Network their response is always the same. They say that the subject matter doesn’t interest them. Well I can assure anyone who isn’t interested in seeing the movie that the film is far better than they imagine. It is not so much about the invention of Facebook as it is about how relationships and friendships are destroyed by fame, money and ambition in the very fast moving world of the internet. It is beautifully photographed and edited, and the music score and screenplay are perfect.  It has some of the most realistic performances I’ve seen by the young cast of actors Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake.  As the screenwriter said at the Golden Globes in his acceptance speech “the director David Fincher makes watching a movie about people looking at computer screens so suspenseful that it’s like watching a slow motion car crash.” It is a film I could watch over and over again, and enjoy every time.

The Social Network is now available to rent or buy on DVD and Blu-ray. I highly recommend you see this excellent film ASAP. It will keep you glued to your seat.

Here then are the Critics highest rated films of 2010.  

(Find the complete 2010 Critics top 10 lists in the right margin of this blog)

Summary of 2010 Critics Top 10 Lists
1	The Social Network
2	Black Swan
3	Inception
4	Winter’s Bone
5	Toy Story 3
6	The King’s Speech
7	127 Hours
8	The Ghost Writer
9	Carlos
10	The Kids are All Right
11	Another Year
12	True Grit
13	Exit Through the Gift Shop
14	A Prophet
15	The Fighter
16	Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
17	Dogtooth
18	Blue Valentine
19	Inside Job
20	Let Me In
21	Animal Kingdom
22	I Am Love
23	Red Riding Trilogy
24	Shutter Island
25	Four Lions
26	Never Let Me Go
27	Rabbit Hole
28	Mother
29	Please Give

Here is a list of 20 Best films of 2010 compiled from Film Comment magazine’s editor’s and contributors top ten lists.

This is a more international list as there is a larger selection of foreign films due to many of the contributing critics being from different parts of the world. But notice that The Social Network still comes in at number two, very close behind the number one film, even on this more international list.

Film Comment Magazine’s Final Cut 2010 Critics Top 10 Lists
1	Carlos
2	The Social Network
3	White Material
4	The Ghost Writer
5	A Prophet
6	Winter’s Bone
7	Inside Job
8	Wild Grass
9	Everyone Else
10	Greenberg
11	Mother
12	Toy Story 3
13	Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl
14	Another Year
15	The Strange Case of Angelica
16	The Kids are All Right
17	Shutter Island
18	Around a Small Mountain
19	Our Beloved Month of August
20	Ne change rein

The British film magazine Sight & Sound: The International Film Magazine has compiled a list of top 13 films of 2010 from its 85 contributing critics and curators. Even on this list of films compiled from a very international group of critics and curators The Social Network still comes out on top. Winter’s Bone and Carlos also rank very high on all three lists. 

But notice that The King’s Speech, which is favored to win the Oscar this year, is nowhere to be found on either the Film Comment list or the Sight & Sound list and only comes in at number 6 in North America’s list.

 

Sight & Sound – The International Film Magazine’s Final Top 13 List of 2010 films compiled from 85 of it’s critics and curators
1	The Social Network
2	Uncle Boonmee who can Recall His Past Lives
3	Another Year
4	Carlos
5	The Arbor
6	Winter’s Bone
7	I Am Love
8	The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
9	Film Socialisme
10	The Illusionist
11	Nostalgia for the Light
12	Poetry
13	A Prophet

JP