CIFF 34 Quickies: HANNAH FREE, FALKENBERG FAREWELL, TOE TO TOE
Hannah Free (2009)–** An aging lesbian lays in a nursing home just rooms away from the comatose partner she is barred from seeing. Even with its topical subject, this softball romance never reaches a dramatic peak. What could have been a gay The Notebook is instead a cumbersome, often boring, theater adaptation that is actually hindered by its attempts to be more cinematic. A few good lines and an endearing performance by lead actress Sharon Gless make the film watchable, but everything else makes it totally forgettable. Directed by Wendy Jo Carlton. Falkenberg Farewell (2006)–**** Five friends try to keep on living any life they can in the small Swedish city of Falkenberg until one of them decides he’s had enough. Beautifully photographed and spontaneously acted, Jesper Ganslandt’s first feature does exactly what it sets out to do: shows...
Read MoreTHE APE movie review – CIFF 34
The Ape (2009)–***1/2 Director Jesper Ganslandt says that his film The Ape was inspired by the true crimes he read about in newspapers. But he didn’t want the fiction behind those stories. For 81 minutes, Ganslandt thrusts us into the life, and the psyche, of a man dealing with the aftermath of a violent act of his own making. It’s not an easy experience, and by the end of the film, you question how rewarding it was at all. Yet, Ganslandt, whose clearest objective may simply have been to unsettle the audience, succeeds in intimately tying the character’s psychology to our own. The film opens with Krister (Olle Sarri), a man in his mid-to-late 30s, waking up on his bathroom floor covered in blood. You don’t immediately get the sense that he has done anything, but something terrible has...
Read MoreQuickie: CRAZY HEART
Crazy Heart (2009) — ***1/2 Quickie Review A washed-up, alcoholic country singer named Bad Blake tries to get his life and career in order after meeting an upstart music writer in Santa Fe. With the humble lyricism of a great country song, this understated drama from first-time director Scott Cooper aches with the spirit of musical roots. As Blake, Jeff Bridges gives a performance so good that lesser filmmakers would have let it consume the movie. Thankfully the story and the songs are a strong as the headliner, even if it doesn’t appear so at first glance. Also starring an outstanding supporting cast that includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, and Robert...
Read MoreQuickie: THE LOVELY BONES
The Lovely Bones (2009)–** Quickie Review A young girl who is brutally murdered remains in between heaven and earth, watching her family, her friends and even her murderer endure the aftermath of her violent death. As tepid as it is inauthentic, the Peter Jackson picture never finds a balance between fantasy, horror and reality. There are moments of great filmmaking here, but that can only go so far when the characters feel like they were written for a broadcast TV movie. As the killer, Stanley Tucci is lucky to have the most fully-realized character and performs admirably because of it. Everyone else, in particular a terribly miscast Mark Wahlberg, must contend with their shallow characters and a screenplay with as much emotional nuance as a drugstore greeting card. Also starring Saoirise Ronan, Susan Sarandon, and Rachel...
Read MoreQuickie: NINE
Nine (2009)–1/2* Quickie Review In 1965, Italian film director Guido Contini struggles to make his latest film while grappling with the women in his life. Based on the Broadway show that was inspired by Fellini’s 8 1/2, this movie musical is an affront to fans of cinema and musicals alike. In trying to capture the manic spirit of Fellini’s masterpiece, the film, not shockingly, fails to produce a coherent narrative. Director Rob Marshall’s theatrical flair further undermines the story with silly musical numbers that, as filmed, are neither necessary or entertaining. The excess of Hollywood glamour (including six Oscar winning actors), rather than helping the picture, turns a simple tragedy into a Titanic disaster. I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT GO SEE THIS MOVIE. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, Judi Dench, and Kate...
Read MoreAVATAR movie review
Avatar (2009)–**** Avatar goes far beyond simple entertainment, transporting audiences to an exotic new world in a bold new way. It’s a film that must be seen in 3D. Yes, if you see Avatar in 3D, you’ll have experienced something that’s not just groundbreaking, but could very well change the way you watch movies. Of course that’s what James Cameron set out to do, wasn’t it? He’s been talking about it for years. That this early proponent of digital 3D cinema succeeds here is astonishing enough. But that he does it in such a glorious fashion is a testament to his skill as a filmmaker and to the power of the medium. From the moment we first see the bioluminescent Pandoran landscape, we’re willing to go anywhere Cameron, this master of film entertainment, wants to take us. We also...
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