I'm not exactly sure what I expected from this PD James-adapted action movie, but it certainly wasn't that I'd see one of the best movies I've seen this year, and one of the most intense and interesting sci fi movies to come along in a very long time.

Clive Owen is as handsome and brilliant as always, no surprise there, but I was surprised to find how realistic his character is. Not a Rambo-superman, but a regular, albeit unreasonably handsome, regular guy who spends little (to no) time kicking ass and most of the movie trying to escape with his life.

Children of Men takes place in the near future, and if you're pessimistic, it seems like a pretty accurate depiction. Mankind has become barren. Only fear, war, paranoia and madness thrive. Owen becomes the reluctant protector of the last pregnant woman and has to deliver her safely to a possibly imaginary activist group.

The film is bleak and gut wrenching, especially since it's not too difficult to imagine yourself in some of the worst case scenarios in this plausible futurescape. A thinking man's action movie with top rate performances and stunning visuals.

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Posted on May 28, 2007

It's been a Guy Maddin kind of week (see what to do with an hour). That doesn't mean things have been looking blurred and vignetted. Nor does it mean that I've been experiencing vivid memories with weird sexual subtext that pay homage to film history. Just that I've seen two of his movies in a row.

While The Saddest Music in the World, a funny and bizarre film is second in my heart to previous Maddin pick Careful, it's one of the most accessible of this master of experimental feature filmmaking. It's got musical numbers and not only does it have dialogue, but dialogue that's snappy and witty.

Few artists work in this genre with as much success and, more importantly, almost none works in this genre with such a refreshing, genuine sense of humor. That rare humor takes center stage in Saddest with Isabella Rossellini and Mark McKinney delivering sensational performances, while Maria De Medeiros is adorable, as always.

The movie takes place in Winnipeg, which has won the dubious prize of being the saddest city in the world three years running. To Celebrate, Lady Port-Huntley (Rosselini) throws a contest to find the saddest music in the world. She also has no legs and receives a gift of beer-filled legs from her former lover (McKinney)'s father who will always love her but can never gain her graces after severing her legs in the first place.

If you are new to Guy Maddin, this is the kind of plot line you can expect, and you can also expect to get drowsy. His films have a lullaby quality that you should be prepared for. That being said, there is nothing quite like one of his films and it will open your eyes to the possibilities of the art of movie making.

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Posted on May 14, 2007

Making a sophisticated and touching sexual romp is a difficult task. Even director Alfonso Cuar?n didn't succeed his first time.

In Y Tu Mama Tambien, his break out hit, starring two of the most handsome exciting young actors of today he succeeds in creating a singular movie going experience. The story involves two young men that convince an older woman to accompany them on a trip to a secret beach. Erotic adventures and heart to heart confessions arise in the pristine atmosphere. The sex scenes, the buzz about which contributed to it's popularity with audiences, are as steamy yet tenderly realistic as you can imagine.

There is also an underlying feeling of foreboding, the ghost of mortality, aging, and losing ones innocence is like a forth companion to the three main characters on their journey to find paradise.

Cauron has gone on to direct the best Harry Potter film to date, and Children of Men, one of the best films of last year. We should all anticipate the next move from this varied and talented director.

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Posted on April 30, 2007

Culminating in the bloody baccahlian/ misguided rock concert now known as Altamont, this film documents the exact moment many people say the Summer of Love offically ended.

The Maysles brothers, Mick and crew, et al of course had no idea that things would end as they did, and, after some trippy live footage at Madison Square Garden, had assumed their concert film would capture the second Woodstock; the next explosion of youth-love and understanding. They were only correct in predicting the explosion.

Like in their other films, Grey Gardens and Salesman, the intimacy the film makers capture and their absence of judgement is astonishing. Even a smoking Tina Turner perfomance shot in front of thousands of people feels profoundly private and, frankly, a little dirty. The film follows the Stones on tour as they try to arrang a free concert at the Altamont Speedway in Northern California. The second half of the film captures everything: in one scene a naked woman howls on a bad trip, in another Mick gets punched in the face, and that's early in he afternoon.

Presiding over the maddness are the Hell's Angels. Real Hell's Angels–dangerous and mean–acting as the “protection” and doing some “policing”, but as their engines roar and the sun sets the ominous feeling that something bad is going to happen is tangible. Of course something bad does happen, and the infamous murder is caught on film.

In stark contrast, other parts of the movie feel calm and subdued and there some nice quiet moments too, like the band listening to You Got the Silver at the legendary Muscle Shoals studio. Mick comes off the worst of the group, spewing hippie rhetoric but feeling small and insecure despite his rock star act. The real stars are the Maysles, who manage to capture all the right things on a very wrong night.

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Posted on April 16, 2007

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I had never seen this until last week. In my defense, finding a movie-mate for an epic three hour plus sci fi picture where the first line isn't spoken for nearly an half hour is tough. Besides, everyone I know had already seen it (or at least claimed they had–I think 2001 is the second most lied about movie, next to Lawrence of Arabia of course).

Well, now that I have finally seen it, all I can say is Wow. It's mind blowing. I thought I pretty much knew the gist of it from all the scenes and clips I'd seen, many of which have become iconic and are always popping up in documentaries about filmmaking or special effects and boring tributes to filmmaking, special effects, old Hollywood, dead people, etc at the Oscars. But I was very wrong (the Oscar tributes had totally misinformed me), because there is no other movie quite like it in the world and the whole experience is bigger than the sum of its parts.

The fact that geniuses were behind it is abundantly clear. Arthur C. Clarke spent many years working on the script with Kubrick and the stories that combine to make the narrative are intriguing and, at times, harrowing. It's important to note, however, that the film and the book do differ. Although I haven't read it (yet), I have read elsewhere that there's a more cohesive, less confounding ending, which makes the book form sound like a perfect companion to the film for all of you (myself and Arthur C. Clarke included) who didn't understand the trippy ending in the movie. (but I would kill for that room).

But don't lose heart, some dude who is far smarter than us all (I quote: “I am amazed that the story of 2001 is misunderstood by so many; to me, the story is easy to understand… THINK”) has written an essay “For the benefit of those who say they still don't understand 2001”. The theories are many, and of course that was Kubrick's intention.

The look of the film, its award winning and ground breaking special effects as well as the art direction and cinematography are unreal. They hold up today almost 40 years later and they look ten times better than anything in current mega hits like Wing Commander or Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid. And who else is with me when I say the shot of the cheetah attack during the Dawn of Man sequence is one the coolest visuals ever?

I can only imagine how brilliant this looks in the theater on a big screen. I hope I someday have the opportunity to see it. After all, for me (an atheist), it's the film's filmic qualities that keep me entranced far more than the search for answers to the mystery of God, life, the universe, and everything that the film asks us to ponder–I'm much more into man's achievements, including this amazing film, than our heavenly father's. *I should also mention it has a soundtrack worth listening to.

I realize this is full of hyperbole (and long), but when faced with a piece of art like this, it's hard not to get carried away. I mean, in between watching Heavyweights and Access Hollywood, seeing a film like this is worth getting worked up about.

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Posted on April 2, 2007