Circumstance

Circumstance is a fascinating drama that looks at how a loving family in Iran falls apart under a repressive Islamic fundamentalist regime. The story is a mix of Deepa Mehta’s Fire (1996) and the German film The Lives of Others (2006) by Florian Hanckel von Donnersmarck.

Told through the eyes of the young free spirited, fun loving daughter of a liberal, well-educated family of professors living in Tehran, Iran, it tells the story of a budding romance between the daughter and her best friend, and how Islamic fundamentalists infiltrate the family through an East German style Stasi spy system.

I liked everything about this film; the beautiful poetic, dreamy visual style and pace of the film, the realistically well drawn characters, the excellent cast who are natural and totally believable and the eerie Orwellian big brother feeling that pervades the film with surveillance camera footage.

This film really opened my eyes to the oppression of not only women and youth but also how everyone in a radical Islamic state is affected by the restrictions placed on people’s freedoms. A young girl’s coming of age and love for her beautiful girl friend is shattered when her older brother, a recovering addict, lost and unable to find work as a musician, is indoctrinated into the fundamentalist Islamic faith and joins the morality police. Betraying his friends and family by spying on them, he turns them into the police to serve his own purposes, destroying the family’s liberal haven in a repressive totalitarian state.

This Sundance Audience Choice award winning film is at times very sensual and gives us a look into the underground youth culture in Iran. I thought this was a very engaging, mesmerizing and thought provoking film that touched on many issues. 

First time director Maryam Keshavarz has based the film on her own real experiences while living in Iran and has powerfully recreated the oppressive atmosphere of people living in fear of the state.

Other excellent films that deal with this subject matter in Iran include Persepolis (2007) by Marjane Satrapi and Ten (2002) by Abbas Kiarostami.

JP

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

I write about a lot of films that are unfamiliar to most viewers, so in an effort to engage more people in making comments or engage in a discussion, I decided to review a film that most people have seen, or at least few people haven’t seen. But also a film that is hated as much as it is loved. So it would have to be an older film and a controversial film that has a cult following but one that everyone has an opinion about.

Which film would fulfill all these criteria? I think that the one film that qualifies as a well-known cult classic that is loved and reviled or at least misunderstood in equal parts is The Rocky Horror Pictures Show (1975). I know I was completely baffled and appalled by this film when I first saw it and didn’t know quite what to make of it. It was certainly bold but who would make such a crazy film? I saw it as part of a University Cult Night film festival that also included a Monty Python film And Now for Something Completely Different (1971), and A Clock Work Orange (1971) that I was invited to back when I was around 17 or 18 years old. 

I’m glad that I was older when I first saw these films because I was a little shocked upon the initial viewing, never having seen anything like it before and it certainly made a big impression on me.  I later learned to appreciate these films for the powerful allegorical artistic expressions that they were.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show celebrates the uniqueness and passions of misunderstood misfits that are ostracized by society. Using the Frankenstein story structure and Rock n Roll musical genre to illustrate the grotesque outcast as lonely and tortured individuals with deep feelings, a conservative straight laced couple, stranded and seeking refuge in a haunted house full of sexual deviant outcasts, overcome their initial fear of the unknown when they find they are not so different from them in their desire for acceptance and respect. This is a fun and outrageous film with great sing-a-long music.

This film may actually be more poignant today than ever. Even though we seem to be more accepting today of different cultures, religions and life styles, there is more division between the rich and poor, the working class and the privileged, the cyclist and the SUV driver, people who are motivated by a passion for their craft and people who are solely motivated by profit, or the hoarding of wealth. Part of the problem is that we as a society encourage and reward bad behavior.  We have been taught by society to do anything as long as it makes a lot of money; that whatever you do is not worth doing unless it makes you rich. So now we have a lot of unhappy, lonely people who are working in unfulfilling jobs and we have become a society of people who allow greed for profit to always take priority over any other humane or moral obligations.

If you look at the Occupy movement that is happening in many major cities in the world, these marginalized people are being characterized as a bunch of hippies, commies, junkies, freeloaders, you name it but in fact these are people from all walks of life and from all age groups who are victims of our society’s greed for profit.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is about the persecution of those who are different; the marginalization of people who chose not to follow the mainstream and the fear we have of anything that is strange or unknown. We must respect and know that everyone has a unique ability and can make an important contribution to our society.  

JP

SENNA

SENNA is an engrossing documentary that has all the drama and suspense of a cinematic movie. Even if you have never heard of the Brazilian race car driver Ayrton Senna, or have no interest in Formula One racing, you will still be captivated by the singular genius talent of a young passionate and driven individual who could live no other way than where his heart lead him. This was his greatest strength and also his greatest weakness and ultimately led to his fatal, untimely end.

I saw this film just after the recent fatal tragedy involving two time Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon, who was killed in a 15 car crash during a race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, making this movie seem even more topical and poignant now. 

You will be captivated by the personality of this engaging young man with an unbelievable passion for driving since he was only thirteen years old and competing in go-kart races in South America. The producers of the film had the complete support and co-operation of the Senna family and had access to some amazing home video footage of Senna during his early days of racing.

The producers of this documentary clearly felt extremely passionate about bringing Senna’s story to the screen and doing it full justice, which was instrumental in getting the support of Senna’s family and also the full backing and co-operation of the Formula One organization, who provided unlimited access to  previously  unseen archival behind the scenes footage.

We get to see Senna’s whole career as a driver with intimate family video and narrated by everyone who was a part of his racing life including his mother, father and sister and many drivers who raced with him. Allowing the film footage to tell Ayrton’s story from his own perspective and using his voice gives the film the feeling of a personal drama.

We also get amazing footage from the driver’s seat of Senna’s Formula One cars while he is racing in all of his most important races, including the one he met his fatal destiny in. The camera footage from inside and outside the cars are absolutely engaging and provide such an important immersive dimension to the film, that you forget that you’re watching a documentary.

Highly engaging in its story as well as its subject, this film and the personality behind it will stay with you long after the chequered flag waves and will give you the feeling of having known intimately, someone extraordinary. And even though we know what happened to Ayrton, after getting to know him as a person, seeing exactly how and why it happened is heartbreaking and emotional. 

It’s an inspired documentary for an inspirational personality. Don’t miss it.

JP

The Eagle

Based on the 1954 historical adventure novel for children The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff and directed by the Scottish documentary film maker Kevin Macdonald, who directed such excellent films and documentaries as Touching the Void (2003), The Last King of Scotland (2006), State of Play (2009) and Life in a Day (2011), which has just been released on Blu-ray and DVD, this new adaptation of the famous historical epic, that takes place in 140 AD Roman occupied Britain, is a labor of love for both the director and producer as they had both read the book in their childhoods and still had very fond memories of it.

As a documentary filmmaker, authenticity was of the utmost importance to Kevin Macdonald and it clearly shows in this visually stunning realistic portrayal of a Roman Legion soldier, whose father and an entire 5,000 man Legion disappeared 20 years earlier, must now travel alone with his slave into barbaric and dangerous unknown northern Celtic territory to find the lost Eagle standard of the title and restore his family’s honor.

Filmed by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, the visual style and stunning beauty of the raw natural environments is what you would expect from the person who won an Academy Award for his work in Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

The story is in the same epic quest adventures of courage style as Gladiator (2000), Beau Geste (1939) and Apocalypto (2006).  A warrior soldier is captured by or must infiltrate enemy territory, to retrieve or find a lost item that will restore his family honor. But don’t expect the grand scale of those previous CG heavy movies mentioned above. This movie has done an amazing job of looking big scale but on a much smaller budget, without all the CG effects.

Filmed on locations in Scotland and Hungary, the costumes and settings are historically accurate and you get a feeling of being immersed in a well-researched genuine world in a time of our past. The Roman Empire was clearly the most civilized nation of its time and even a slave’s life in a Roman city was more civilized than a life outside of the Empire.

There is a great relationship between the two main characters of a master and his slave, where both men have something to prove by helping the other. The solid performances keep you hooked into the story of two men from different worlds, who both have very strong moral codes but are tied to each other against their will, and must somehow see past their differences to stay true to their convictions.

Since the film is dealing with primitive Celtic tribes of the British Isles only English actors were used to play the early Celtic tribes and American actors portray the Romans. This makes good sense as America is more closely associated today with the strong military power that Rome was at the time. 

This movie will stimulate your appetite and curiosity about this period in Europe’s history and will be very enjoyable if historical epic adventure is your thing.

JP

Cowboys & Aliens

A visually realistic, traditional Western with a twist, this movie is a serious integration of alien abduction sci-fi film with the classic Old West.  It’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) meets True Grit (2010) but it’s so much more. The story is a unique concept based on a comic book that has people from a small gold mining town being abducted by aliens and then going out on a rescue mission to save them from the 'demons'. On their side they have a posse that includes an abductee who has recently escaped without any memory of it, a brave ex-Civil War colonel, a kid and his dog, Apache indians, a group of outlaws and a woman with a secret.

The critics were not kind to this film but after the hype died down I finally went to see it in an almost empty theatre and was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn’t suck. Half way or more through the film I thought, this is actually a damn good story and a well done film.  I was impressed by the gripping storyline, the characters were realistic and well played by an excellent cast, the aliens and alien ships are very realistically rendered into the action and there are plenty of surprises. 

Both Westerns and Sci-fi films are what Hollywood does well and here they have nicely blended the two using Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones) and Daniel Craig (James Bond) as the two main characters in a large ensemble cast of lesser known but excellent talent including the wonderful Sam Rockwell, recently from Moon (2009) and Conviction (2010), who provides some comic relief.

Director Jon Favreau, who is no stranger to Sci-fi films as he is a big Star Wars fan and directed the two Iron Man movies, depicts both genres with a realism that is respectful of both. With Steven Spielberg producing and ILM doing the majority of the Special Effects the movie spares no expense to make it look great.

What’s funny is that the aliens, when they abduct people, they do it like cowboys on horses when they rope in their cattle with lassos. The aliens also use a sort of lasso while flying, that ropes in the people and snatches them up. The shoe is now on the other foot; the cowboys are now cattle being roped in by aliens in spaceships.

If it sounds fantastic, it is, but don’t be put off by the high concept and mediocre reviews; most people will thoroughly enjoy this film.

JP

CHE - part 1 & 2

Oct. 9, 2011 will mark the 44^th anniversary of the death of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara in Bolivia where he was captured and executed by Bolivian armed forces who were assisted by the CIA.

The Steven Soderbergh movie CHE (2008) is presented in two parts, the first part called The Argentine is about the Cuban campaign and the role that Che Guevara played in the Fidel Castro led revolution against the corrupt Batista dictatorship. The second part called Guerrilla is about Che’s guerrilla campaign in Bolivia where he was killed.

Based on Ernesto Che Guevara’s diaries and the book “Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life” by Jon Lee Anderson that includes seven years of research, director Steven Soderbergh, who also directed Contagion (2011), Traffic (2000), Erin Brockovich (2000), Solaris (2002), The Good German (2006) and The Limey (1999), uses a style of filming that is well suited to this type of biographical material.

This movie is stunningly photographed in remote locations, using a high performance digital cine camera with the quality of 35mm film mixed up with some black and white footage that gives the film a documentary feel, and in fact, the movie feels more like a diary of Che’s experiences during his time fighting in the mountains of Cuba and Bolivia. The films feel like a docudrama on how to conduct a revolution and guerrilla warfare tactics against a superior government armed force, while helping the peasant country folk, who they depend on to survive.

As a document on the hardships and problems of creating a revolutionary rebel force while living off the land in remote locations with little food or shelter, and educating the peasant class while recruiting soldiers to defend them against an uncaring government, the films succeed beautifully. But don’t expect an exhaustive portrait of the life of Che Guevara. There are no details about his personal life here; we only see parts of his revolutionary life in Cuba and Bolivia.

I, like most people, knew of Che Guevara; had seen his image and knew what he represented but never really knew how and why he became such a powerful icon of rebellion. This film answers some of those questions but what this film also does, is instill a sense of curiosity about the man and his extraordinary drive and passion to make the world a better and more humane place to live in for everyone. 

Throughout the film, you see him trying to treat everyone fairly by taking away privileges from the few and sharing them with everyone, making sure that everyone gets treated equally and without prejudice. Che is kind of like a Robin Hood figure, trying to give to the poor what the state has denied them because of greed and because they are seen simply as worthless. Because Che was a doctor, he could offer a valuable service to his soldiers and to the remote village people who normally don’t have access to medical expertise. Using this expertise freely, he was able to win over the guerrilla soldiers he commanded and the common people in the countryside. The message he brings is ‘the privileged beware because the people who you marginalize will rise up against you.’

Other excellent movies come to mind while watching CHE; like the recent Carlos (2010) which was also about a revolutionary fighter.  I am Cuba (1964) which is a Russian film about the Cuban revolution and some of the photographic style of that movie is also evident in CHE, and The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) about Che’s early life in Argentina and South America.

Benicio del Toro, recently from The Wolfman (2010) and 21 Grams (2003), gives a fantastic and very realistic performance for which he won a best actor award at the Cannes film festival. Most of the cast are unknowns to me except Catalina Sandino Moreno form Maria Full of Grace (2004), and Love in the Time of Cholera (2007). I was surprised that Matt Damon and Lou Diamond Philpps also made cameo appearances.

JP

Essential Killing

From the veteran Polish writer, actor and director Jerzy Skolimowski, comes a very unusual film with virtually no dialogue and told entirely from the perspective of a captured Afghani Taliban insurgent. It could almost be considered an art film because of the beautifully photographed landscapes and vistas of a figure running through other worldly, exotic locations.

An Afghani insurgent is captured by American forces in a canyon desert landscape and taken prisoner. Tortured and unable to understand or hear what is being said to him, he is taken to a secret location somewhere in Eastern Europe, where an accident allows him to escape. Running for his life, in a completely foreign, remote land, unable to communicate with anyone, he has no idea where he is and assumes everyone is out to kill him. 

There are elements of the Bourne series here because he is a trained soldier being pursued by secret government agents and armies and the action is non-stop. It is a visually stunning action chase film with very little dialogue and a totally believable performance by the lead actor Vincent Gallo, recently from Tetro (2009), whose character is never named. His nail biting performance is so suspenseful that you are constantly wondering what will happen to him next and how will his journey end, and who is this guy? 

Throughout the film we get short glimpses into his past life, as he dreams about his wife and home, and this seems to be what drives him to keep going. However this is not a conventional story, and we follow him for a short time but we don’t really know what happens to him. The movie finishes and we are left wondering what it all means. 

But it’s a fascinating glimpse into the crazy consequences of war, and our capabilities to survive at any cost. It shows how, in primitive and brutal circumstances, we regress to our basic animal instincts, making killing essential to survive. Similar in some ways to 127 Hours (2010), it shows how we are capable of the most desperate acts if our survival depends on it.

I would consider this to be a war film and some of the scenes are quite violent and graphic as you would expect in a war film. But it is a unique war film that shows a unique perspective on the war in Afghanistan; one that you will not see anywhere else, and this makes it worth seeing. One thing is for sure, this film is as fascinating as it is disturbing and you’re not likely to forget it. 

JP

Caramel

Stunningly beautiful, critically acclaimed Lebanese writer, director Nadine Labaki, whose first film was the charming and sensual Caramel (2007), has just won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) People Choice award for her new film Where Do We Go Now?

Caramel was a seductive and romantic look at life in Beirut from the point of view of a group of women of different ages, who work in a beauty salon and help each other out and share their beauty secrets and romance advice. We get to see women of different generations and religious backgrounds in the safe, sheltered environment of a beauty shop, where they are free to talk and discuss any subject that may be taboo in Lebanese society. 

It’s a movie that exposes some of the prejudices and restrictions that women still face in Arab society but uses a great deal of light hearted humor to show how women of all ages come together to deal with problems and enjoy life. Caramel refers to a sugar wax, which when warmed, is used to remove unwanted body hair but can also be enjoyed as a confection.

Nadine Labaki is a gorgeous female director who also stars as the main character in her films and when you see her you know why. She easily holds the audience’s attention with her stunning beauty. Her onscreen presence and feminine sensuality is so powerful that when she is on screen you can’t take your eyes off her. 

All the women in the film are non-professional actors that Labaki found living and working in Beirut, giving the film an authenticity and believability that would not be possible with actors, and we get to know these women intimately over the course of the film.

Now she has made a new film called Where Do We Go Now?, that has just won the People’s Choice award at the TIFF and is also about women who come together and help each other to deal with a serious issue of stopping the men of their village from fighting each other in a violent war. 

Again using humor to expose and deal with serious issues she retains many of her trademark story elements.

JP

Contagion

The latest film from the Academy Award winning and prolific American director Steven Soderbergh, famous for such excellent films as The Limey (1999), Erin Brockovich (2000), Traffic (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007), Solaris (2001), The Good German (2006), Che: Part One and Two (2008) and The Informant! (2009)  is a chilling, detailed and realistically smart look at what would happen if an aggressive strain of a deadly virus were to wipe out a large part of the population on earth in less than a year.

It’s frightening and shocking because the premise, although fictional, is based on real science and actual possibilities that have and are occurring today. Soderbergh’s style of filming is well suited to this type of film as the Oscar winning editor Stephen Mirrione edits quickly and smoothly between many cases around the world as the lethal virus spreads at a phenomenal rate. 

He doesn’t simplify things for us as we get a quick education in biological pathogens and shows us a very detailed account of the people, agencies, medical procedures and logistics involved in a pandemic of this scale. We are also shown how easily and quickly, through human contact, a virus can be transmitted and spread.

Known for his use of the star studded cast, he has again employed here a stellar ensemble cast of Academy Award winning actors including Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard. The story is so compelling and the performances so engaging and natural, that use of well-known actors doesn’t detract from the effect of the film. There are not many directors who can pull that off well but Steven Soderbergh is one who can, and in fact it seems to be his specialty if you look at his body of work.

This movie does for viruses what Jaws (1975) did for beaches. Stay away from people and don’t touch anyone or anything without protection. It’s a particularly relevant and topical subject as we are dealing with superbugs and virus epidemics like SARS, H1N1 and Bird flu. I was definitely more conscious of where I’d been and who I’d been in contact with after seeing this film. Everyone should see this film because not only is it an eye opener, but it’s also a very well made and entertaining film dealing with serious issues.

JP

Star Wars saga updated for Blu-ray

Most of the changes to the complete Star Wars saga on Blu-ray are of the subtle nature, correcting long standing little mistakes in the picture and sound. Unnoticeable on previous formats, but in High Definition will need to be addressed, as the picture and sound quality on Blu-ray and large HD televisions are so much higher and therefore mistakes are more noticeable. 

In addition, as with the Special Editions (1997), we will also be seeing some more digital alterations and tweaks. Most notably the puppet Yoda used in Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) will be replaced by a digital Yoda to match his look better with the digital Yoda in Episodes II and III.  The digital Yoda also allows for more natural facial expressions and body movements, which is what George Lucas has been aiming for in all his fantasy characters. Similarly, some subtle eye blinks will be added to one of the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi (1983) for a more natural facial expression, and probably a few digital characters will also be added here and there.

This is not new, or the first time a puppet has been replaced by a digital version. Remember in the Special Editions, several puppets and even actors in costume were replaced by digital characters to allow for better expressions and movements and a more realistic look. Sy Snootles, for example, the singer in the Max Rebo Band in Jabba’s palace at the beginning of Return of the Jedi, was originally a puppet character and never really looked convincing as a real creature.  The Special Editions replaced that character with a digital version and even added some new digital and live action characters to the Band, making that scene look so much better and more fun to watch. The famous Cantina bar scene in Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) also had some alien characters digitally replaced at that time. Whole scenes that were cut from the original release of the film were edited back in with digital and live action characters from later sequels inserted, tying the movie in with the newer elements of the trilogy. 

Ever since the Special Editions, other film makers have also used digital technology to update older films and TV shows. Star Trek the original TV series has updated all their special effects shots of the Enterprise in space and orbiting planets. They have all been replaced with digital space ships and more realistic looking planets giving the series a much clearer, cleaner and more realistic look. The difference, I think anyone will agree, is huge and updates the stories for future generations to enjoy.

I’m looking forward to the new changes. It’s like seeing your favorite film for the first time again, or like playing an old super Nintendo game that’s been upgraded for the new Wii system with all new graphics. I understand people who grew up with the Star Wars movies being very fond of those original versions. I was also an instant fan of those films when they first came out, but those movies were made so long ago, with limited time and money, when the technology wasn’t available to make the effects look better.   

When Star Wars first came out on VHS tapes, we were so excited to finally be able to own them and watch them at home, uninterrupted and share them with our families. I still own those very first tapes and believe me, looking at them now, they are awful compared to what we have now. The color, picture and sound quality was bad, they were panned and scanned; meaning the sides of the picture were cropped to fit into the square TVs we were using then; so we were not seeing the movie as it was shown in theaters in its original widescreen aspect ratio.  There were all kinds of visual dirt, scratches, matte lines, outdated optical effects and inconsistencies in the sound track. It was a mess but we loved it because we didn’t know any better. 

Only George Lucas knew how much better the movies could be and he showed us. With each new format upgrade, he upgraded the movies too, so they would continue to be viable and engaging entertainments for future generations. And unlike other directors whose films are owned by the studios they work for, George owned all the Star Wars movies outright because he made them with his own money, except for the first one. So he could do what he wanted. If he hadn’t done this, Star Wars today would look like the original Clash of the Titans movie from 1980 with outdated special effects that did not age well and are unwatchable today even on Blu-ray. He doesn’t just own the films but he even pioneered the technology that made these films possible and changed the film industry forever; improving it and making it easier for future generations to make these kinds of films.

One of the things that George Lucas has been able to improve, is the way that films are made and edited, making it easier to go back and change things as you come up with new ideas. While making a film, there are all kinds of budget and time restrictions placed on the film makers as the release date looms, and once the film is released to the public it was considered finished and completed. Many directors, however, would have done things differently or made improvements, if only they had the time and money to do so. George always believed that just because a film was released in theaters didn’t mean that a film was finished. For him, the films continue to be a work in progress and as long as the tools exist, the director can continue to improve his vision for later releases.

This is a huge new concept that we are witnessing in the film industry since the digital revolution, that ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) pioneered, and film makers will continue to take advantage of it to fulfill their artistic vision.

JP

Genre mixing and the alien creature film fest 2011

The alien creature invasion is a fairly standard and popular sci-fi sub-genre, but this year seems to have brought us more than the usual number of these types of films. With the recent popularity of films like Signs (2002), The Host (2006), Cloverfield (2008) and District 9 (2009) we are now seeing a major surge in the amount of films being made in this sub-genre. These somewhat low budget films with compelling human stories have been very successfully appealing to a growing audience of not only Sci-fi fans, but also action, horror, thriller and fans of other genres. That is because more than ever, film makers are blending different genres using high concept story ideas and low tech filming styles to add realism and suspense.

Signs was a low budget but very moving and compelling story that mixed a family drama in rural America with the high concept of aliens invading earth. It was Independence Day (1996) set in a small farming community where the invasion is seen only through glimpses of blurry television screens and then later only quick glimpses of the aliens are seen as the family barricade themselves from an alien attack.

The Host was an awesome Korean film which took the Godzilla concept and retooled it with a family drama, to very moving and exciting effect, also giving this movie a unique visual style. A single father family of five children takes matters into their own hands when a genetically mutated creature kidnaps their youngest daughter and the government is of no help. With dark humor and realistic performances by the mostly unknown actors, the budget was well spent on making the creature look quirky and realistically menacing.

Cloverfield was a mix of low tech and high concept; taking the Godzilla creature concept and mixing it with a low tech Blair Witch Project (1999) home video documentary filming style. It was an innovative idea that was well executed and the results were extremely suspenseful. A group of college kids, who are videotaping a farewell party for a graduating student, become unsuspecting witnesses and impromptu video documentarians to the aftermath of a rampaging creature that levels New York City.

District 9 also used the same idea of mixing a high concept of aliens landing on earth with a do-it-yourself documentary filming style in an apartheid era township ghetto environment in Johannesburg, South Africa. This also worked and was very effective in telling a compelling story that had the added benefit of having a very unique look. This low budget film benefited from a cast of unknown actors and minimal visual effects that were seamlessly integrated into the action.

Clearly, Hollywood and film industries from around the world have taken notice and we are now seeing a lot more of this genre-mixing trend. This year’s films are a reflection of this. We’re only half way through the year and already this summer we’ve seen a rash of films dealing with alien creatures landing on earth and mixing it with other genres like the War film (Battle: LA), the Comedy (Paul), the Western (Cowboys & Aliens), and the urban gang film (Attack the Block), and there are more to come. 

Apollo 18 uses the high concept moon landing film and mixes it with a super 8 video documentary visual style, to add suspense to the unseen alien attack  as in The Blair Witch Project meets  Alien (1979). 

The Norwegian film Troll Hunter, which was recently released on Blu-ray & DVD, takes the illusive mythical creature of legend and fairy tales concept, like Bigfoot and Lock Ness monster, or in this case giant trolls, and marries it with the found documentary video camera footage of Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield to achieve a high concept, low tech hybrid. 

These films are achieving great results with a much lower budget because the suspense is built up with minimal special effects. Most of these films feel more realistic because they use an unknown cast of actors, and the low budget can be used to make the fewer special effects shots needed, more special and realistic, because you’re only seeing glimpses of the alien creatures and the human story remains the center of the film.

Many of these genre mixing films this year have been very innovative and contained excellent human stories.

Battle: Los Angeles, see my previous blog, mixes the modern warfare film genre with the sci-fi alien attack on earth concept. Results are an excellent and a very unique looking, suspenseful sci-fi war film.

Paul takes the alien landing concept and turns it into a buddy road comedy. 

Super 8, see my previous blog, takes the coming of age teen boy’s family drama in a small town setting, and mixes it with an alien escaping a toxic train derailment and government conspiring to keep it secret backdrop. It’s a mix of E.T. (1982) and The Iron Giant (1999).

Attack the Block, see my previous blog, takes the aliens landing on earth genre and mixes it with some horror and the urban street gang genre of young hoodlums defending themselves and their housing estate tower block in South London, England. This is a great low budget film with unknown young actors and non-actors that increases the suspense with very low tech alien creatures that are scary because, apart from their eerie, green glowing fangs, it’s difficult to see them in the dark.

Cowboys & Aliens, as the title would suggest, is pretty self-explanatory as a Western mixed with aliens on earth. However this film is not low budget and has big name actors; high concept and high tech does not always mean success. The story is a unique concept based on a comic book that has people from a small gold mining town being abducted by Aliens and then going out on a rescue mission to save them from the 'demons'.

Troll Hunter is a mix of illusive, mythical, giant troll creatures and the found documentary video footage of a group of student adventurers who are on a quest to prove that this legendary fairy tale creature from Norwegian mythology actually exists. Using a group of mostly unknown actors and a moc-documentary style with dark humor, Troll Hunter creates a sense of realism that adds to the suspense and excitement of the film.

JP

Super heroes at large

The recent spate of films about amateur, super-hero wannabes is becoming a popular new genre that makes fun of the super-hero movies but also has serious messages about corruption, power and the responsibilities of the average citizen, and can be quite moving. It’s usually about well-meaning, ordinary people who lead a very boring, mundane existence and are forced by circumstances to act in extraordinary ways. 

There is usually some threshold of frustration that will be crossed when the idealist with an over developed sense of justice decides that this is the last straw and something must be done to fix it. But who will it be? No one else seems to be willing or up to the task. Having spent many years reading comic books and watching super hero movies, they have developed a fantasy vision of who their ideal persona or alter ego will be.  They also crave recognition and fame but are usually too shy or anti-social. The only recognition they get, is as nerdy, creepy outsiders; people to stay away from. They want their alter-ego to justify who they are in real life.

Hero at Large (1980): The first movie of this kind I saw, and still have fond memories of, was back in 1980 when Hero at Large with John Ritter was released to very good reviews. This movie was about an out of work, frustrated actor who had done a gig for a commercial wearing a super hero costume. Forgetting to take off the costume one night he walks into a convenience store to pick up some groceries when someone tries to rob the owner. Witnessing this from the back of the store, the actor, realizing he is still wearing the costume, decides to help out and use it to foil the robber. The story makes it to the papers and the actor likes the attention his costumed hero is getting, so he decides to keep the costume and tries his luck doing some more good deeds around town.

This self-styled vigilante had all the prerequisite personality traits needed to be a good super-hero but sort of fell into it by accident. It’s a wonderful, heart felt, feel good movie and John Ritter is great as the actor/super-hero. It’s difficult to find this move on any video format so if you do find it hold on to it.

Mystery Men (1999): This is an underrated film that is very funny with Ben Stiller and a huge cast of big name comedians and actors. This movie has a group of ordinary guys in costumes working together to fight crime and stars Janeane Garofalo, William H. Macy, Hank Azaria, Greg Kinnear and Geoffrey Rush. The characters in this film do possess some abilities but they are very ordinary abilities made to seem like special powers but are not so special.  It’s a hilarious send-up of the super-hero genre and quite endearing.

Galaxy Quest (1999): I will include Galaxy Quest in this list because, if you think about it, it’s sort of the reverse situation of the ordinary person becoming a super-hero but with the same concept. In this case a group of has-been TV actors, leading very dull lives, start out as heroes of a TV show and end up being anything but when confronted by the real villains. They don’t have any powers but are considered heroes by their fans and when they are made to actually live out their television personas for real, the results are hilarious. When these actors, who have their differences and rivalries off screen, find themselves in the actual life and death situations that they have been portraying on television, their reactions are not as brave and heroic as they had been in their TV show. They are shown to be very human and ordinary and must go to their fans for help.

Kick-Ass (2010): This movie kicked ass as a mix of teen-angst comedy and action super-hero movie in equal parts. Filmed in Toronto it’s like watching a Quentin Tarantino Kill Bill movie and a Spider-man movie rolled into one but better than both. This movie is funny but has some serious action scenes and is way better than you would expect from this kind of low budget film. An ordinary guy in a homemade costume gets himself in way over his head when he confronts a gang of real criminals with guns. Luckily he is rescued by a group of more experienced avengers in costumes. Together they manage to deal some serious blows to the criminal underworld.

Super (2010): This violent, low budget movie is quite disturbing and uncomfortable to watch and is a bit of a gore fest, especially the last third of the film, which reminded me a lot of Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver (1976). A mentally unstable, middle aged nerd man, with an over developed sense of justice, tries to get his recovering drug addicted wife back after she leaves him for a hip night club owner by making himself into a self-styled, violent super-hero character, the Crimson Bolt. Like in Taxi Driver he wants to lash out at the unfair corrupt world he lives in and in the process he actually does save his wife from a nasty drug dealer but you get the feeling that, like at the end of Taxi Driver, this man is just an immature, whining misfit, who is battling himself as much as he is criminals. Still it’s a powerful and poignant story but not for the squeamish.

If you enjoy these types of movies about well-meaning characters with overactive imaginations also check out these more recent super-hero wannabe installments.

Defendor (2009)

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

Griff the Invisible (2011)

JP

Win Win

A very funny but serious movie about a middle class family trying to make ends meet in the economic recession while also doing the right thing.  The story is almost identical to the movie The Blind Side (2009), with Sandra Bullock, for which she won an Oscar and was based on a true story about a middle class family, who takes in a homeless boy from the ghetto, and through his new family’s encouragement and nurturing, goes on to become a top athlete in the NFL. 

Win Win is not based on a true story and is told more from the father’s point of view, played by Paul Giamatti recently from Barney’s Version (2010), Lady in the Water (2006), Sideways (2004) and American Splendor (2003), who is a lawyer and coaches a high school wrestling team. It too is about a middle class family who takes in a runaway boy from a broken household, and through their nurturing and encouragement, discovers the boy’s hidden wrestling talents. In this movie the boy already has a known track record in the wrestling field, but it’s not known to his new family until he volunteers to be part of the high school wrestling team. Both these stories are about people in very difficult situations, who find support, friendship and even love where they least expect it.

I liked this movie because of what it had to say about how the influence of money can corrupt people’s better judgments, especially in financially trying times. Everyone in this movie has money problems and they all have different ways of dealing with them, with sometimes comic results. The father, Mike Flaherty, makes a somewhat questionable moral decision that appears to be helping someone else but is actually only helping himself with his financial troubles, which leads to a string of events that are both humorous and moving, revealing everyone’s true nature. In trying to be something he is not, he gets himself into troubles he did not expect and is not prepared for.

It brings up questions about why it seems so easy for some people to make money but is such a struggle for others and it goes back to what motivates us as individuals? Mike is a lawyer by trade but has a passion for wrestling. Unfortunately our passions don’t always make us money and we must work at other job to make a living.

Win Win is directed by Thomas McCarthy who also directed such great Indie films as The Station Agent (2003) and The Visitor (2007) which are both similar comic but moving films about people in difficult situations finding support and friendship where they least expected it.

If you like these kinds of movies I also recommend you see the excellent, and one of my favorite films, Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and Pieces of April (2003). Enjoy.

JP

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Despite what some critics may have said about the new reboot of the Planet of the Apes series being misguided or unnecessary, this is a good solid start to what I presume will be a new set of prequels to the 1968 Planet of the Apes franchise. This is an excellent origin story that is rooted in both the Planet of the Apes mythology and reality based contemporary science fiction. 

A genetic modification drug is being developed that will cure Alzheimer’s and increase intelligence in apes.  This drug is being tested on apes but when the results seem to yield some violent side effects the experimental program is shut down and a new born chimpanzee, whose mother was a test subject that had to be put down, is taken in by one of the scientists, Will Rodman, played by James Franco recently from 127 Hours (2010), Howl (2010) Milk (2008) and the Spider-man movies (2002 – 2007) to be raised secretly as a human in his own home.

What makes this movie stand out and so different from the original series is the modern contemporary look and that the apes look so much more menacing and realistic compared to the actors in costumes and masks of the original. Thanks to Weta Digital and the motion capture technology that was used and pioneered in Avatar (2009), the apes actually look like real apes. The line between the ape make-up and human emotion is completely erased now, making these apes so much more apelike but at the same time also more human.

The original series had a very unique visual style and design that you instantly recognized as being The Planet of the Apes but this movie, being an origin story, does not yet have that iconic look of the Apes culture from the original because they have not yet developed it. That will likely come in the next installments.  This may be why some critics are not feeling this movie yet. Aside from that though, you cannot argue with the time and effort that was taken to develop the story and make it as emotionally authentic and heart felt as it could be.

The filmmakers have taken a fresh new approach to the series and it has definitely paid off. The movie is very satisfying on many levels and stands on its own merits. The absolute stand out performance here is from the actor Andy Serkis who also played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001 – 2003) and King Kong in Peter Jackson’s remake King Kong (2005) and is getting critical acclaim for his performance in this movie as the orphaned chimpanzee named Caesar.  

We see Caesar raised from infancy into a brooding but intelligent adult ape who finds himself in a frightening and dangerous situation when he is eventually locked up and forced to live with fearsome, abused, unintelligent primates at a shelter for abandoned zoo and circus apes that is run like a prison. Abused by his human keepers as well as the alpha male simians in the shelter, Caesar must use his intellect to survive and win over the apes to help them escape their human captors. How he does this is the high point in the film and a defining moment that is exhilarating to watch. It is a shocking scene because you don’t see it coming and at the same time it’s beautifully tied in with the classic series.

Will is forced to use the experimental drug on his own father to save him from the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease thus taking the experiments into the human trials phase. But the drug eventually has a devastating effect on humans and the same drug that has made the apes intelligent is now also the cause of the human’s downfall.

This new series is going to be very exciting to watch for a new generation of filmgoers as it develops over the next few installments because the filmmakers, as Andy Serkis and director Rupert Wyatt insist, are dedicated to the powerful emotional authenticity of the story and making it as realistic and truthful as possible. 

What’s remarkable is how close and similar the story of this Rise of the Planet of the Apes is to a new documentary that was released recently called Project Nim (2011), which is about a real chimpanzee who is taken from its mother to live with humans as an experiment to find out what apes are thinking by teaching it to use sign language. In this documentary the intelligent ape eventually becomes too violent to live with humans and is sent to a shelter for abandoned animals. This true story does not end well for the chimpanzee but is an extremely interesting and poignant tale of human cruelty to animals despite their good intentions.

JP

The Devil's Double

A fast paced action thriller, loosely based on the autobiographical experiences of Latif Yahia, a captain in the Iraqi army who was forced into service as the look alike, body double of Saddam Hussein’s evil, sadistic eldest son Uday Hussein.

Everything about this movie is captivating; the movie is gorgeously photographed and set in exotic locations with Malta standing in for 1980s Baghdad, the style of the film is sort of a middle east version of Scarface (1983), the story of two headstrong and determined people struggling for control over each other,  but what makes this movie even more captivating is the brilliant and central performance by actor Dominic Cooper, recently from Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and An Education (2009) who plays the part of both Uday and his double with such natural nuance, that never during the film do you get the sense that it’s the same actor. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dominic is nominated for an Oscar for this role. This is the first stand out performance I have seen this year that was truly impressive. 

The story is similar to that of Gladiator (2001) in that it’s about an army captain who must deal with the jealous eldest son of the head of state, who is appalled by and doesn’t trust his own son’s behavior. Latif’s story is very compelling because he is a very decent, loyal and humble person who had plans to help his family and go into business with his father when he was forced, under threat of his family’s death, to become the brother of this psychotic maniac who had the power and money to indulge his every depraved and perverted craving with anyone he wanted, and did just that. Latif was a witness to unspeakable horrors while in the service of the Hussein clan’s inner circle, including brutal rapes and murders of innocent young girls, which affected him so much psychologically that he attempted to kill himself several times during his ordeal.

The movie is done in a gangster action suspense thriller style and attempts to touch on many of these true incidents that Latif witnessed. Uday was feared and hated by Iraqis even more than Saddam himself and there were many assassination attempts made on his life which Latif, as the body double, was on the receiving end of. In fact the term used for his job, ‘fiday’ means bullet catcher. According to Latif the violence in the film was toned down and we are not seeing even half of what actually happened. 

This movie is not for the squeamish but it’s well worth seeing for many reasons and it’s a story worth telling because it’s the first time we are seeing a major movie about the Iraqi ruling clan and by extension about the practices of many Arab ruler and their families. With many Arab dictators now under attack by their own people in violent revolutions, it makes this movie even more urgent and topical. The story is so powerful, has such a distinctive look, and is set in such a fascinating place and time, plus it has one of the best performances by an actor, that you will not be able to take your eyes off of it.

Latif has written several books about his experiences and is an outspoken critic of American policy in the Middle East which he blames for the deteriorating political stability in the Arab states.  For additional information about Latif’s experiences see his blog by clicking the link below.

http://latifyahia2006.blogspot.com/

Also watch BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire’s Edge (2004) an excellent and moving documentary by Stephen Marshall from the Iraqi people's and some American soldier’s point of view, including an Iraqi rebel soldier who was tortured and shot after the uprising by Saddam Hussein’s regime but escaped with the help of American soldiers. Now after 13 years in exile he is returning for the first time to see if his family is still alive.

Iraq in Fragments (2007) by James Longley is a documentary that is completely from the POV of the Iraqi people. Filmed in four different parts of the country, it has some of the most beautiful and unforgettable images of Iraq and Baghdad ever filmed. 

JP