bernardovillela

Mini-Review: Night Across the Street

Posted on August 29, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

This is a post that is a repurposing of an old-school Mini-Review Round-Up post. As stated here I am essentially done with running multi-film review posts. Each film deserves its own review. Therefore I will repost, and at times add to, old reviews periodically. Enjoy!

Night Across the Street

It can be most difficult to assign a numerical value to a film told in magical realism, which means you can pay less heed to the number assigned and more heed to what is said about the film. The reason it becomes difficult is that there are two interpretations you’re trying to quantify: your intellectual interpretation and your visceral one. These two interpretations of a film with more literal forms of cinema are virtually intertwined. With magical realism, or any other subgenre that ventures outside the norms or representative realities, it’s harder to gauge.

One can definitely take a symbolist approach to this film and try to devise a schema wherein the entirety of this film encapsulated in a dream, a hallucination or fancy. However, what bears noting is that this is the kind of film wherein there will be varying interpretations of plot points, symbols, uses of color, place, abuse of time, and all will be right, wrong, and somewhere in between. The truth of the film and its meaning lies in the thematic basics of it, which is mainly that an old man on the brink of death is reflecting on his life and everything is coming back to him all at once, and is always there, and always will be.

That may sound cryptic but this is a film where, if you watch closely enough, you may even begin to doubt when certain events, like his impending death happened, or if they happened.

I cannot say it’s magical realism at its most accessible. It’s definitely one recommended for those with at least some grounding in it, as it is intentionally dizzying. However, for the most part the calculations in Ruiz’s final film add up. This film lends itself to re-viewing and analysis, and refuses to leave you disengaged and inactive, and will prompt debate, which are all great things for a film to do. It doesn’t do them impeccably, but it does them with a lot of style, great cinematography, effects, and a unique editing language that I picked up on as it went along.

8/10

Mini-Review: Arcadia

Posted on August 28, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Arcadia

One of the greatest tools at a filmmaker’s disposal is their ability to manipulate time. I recall in one of my screenwriting courses we were asked how long, hypothetically, it would take in movie time to dispose of a murder victim. Answers varied. We were then shown what I believe was a 15 minute sequence in Blood Simple wherein a murder victim was stowed, transported and buried. There is no correct answer to the hypothetical question, what determines the answer is how intrinsic said activity is to the plot and the film as a whole.

This brings me to Arcadia which tells the tale of a father and moving with his children cross-country by car. There are a few things that are purposely nebulous throughout (what this job is, why their mother isn’t with them, what the nature of their temporary separation is) but the film get stretched out past its simple parameters with cutaways and b-roll to accentuate the passage of time a bit too effectively.

This film is a very good character study, that could plumb deeper depths sooner if it so chose too. It features standout performances by John Wilkes, who since Winter’s Bone has been cornering the market on meaty character work for male characters of his age and type; Ryan Simpkins who in smaller films, and of less frequency than she merits, is finding challenging roles and rising to the occasion as stoically, if not more so, than Chloe Moretz; and her brother Ty Simpkins, in an example of casting real life siblings working brilliantly, he frequently steals scenes both of comedic and dramatic nature. Yet, these performances, and the plot they operate within, don’t have the impact they could in the end because of the drag of time this film consciously implements. Verisimilitude can be a great thing, and emotionally the ebb and flow makes sense, however, a quicker, more violent storm likely would’ve made as much sense, and carried significantly more weight.

What will stay with me from this film is the outstanding, dynamic performances of the Simpkins siblings, and how I wish the overall experience was as electric as their work in it.

5/10

NOTE: Ty and Ryan Simpkins were the first brother and sister nominated for BAM Awards in the same film!

Mini-Review: Philomena

Posted on August 27, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Philomena

This film came as a great surprise and, once again, is a case of knowing very little about it going in. Based on the commercials you knew the basic premise: an elderly woman seeks to discover the fate of the child she put up for adoption 50 years prior. It plays it up like it’s going to be all giggles and a heartwarming “human interest story” as Steve Coogan’s character would’ve derisively put it at the beginning of the film. But much like that journalist we are treated to, yes, some laughs, quite a few surprises (both good an bad), and some tears. The film has some touches to it like its montages of home video that foreshadow the child’s life being learned about and the weaving through time Philomena’s memory occasionally does. Judi Dench is positively marvelous, as is Steve Coogan who plays against type and wore many hats to help make this film happen.

9/10

Mini-Review: Extracted

Posted on August 26, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Extracted

This is a film with a lot of good ideas aside from just the basic premise of being able to access people’s memories. The issues are mainly that all the kinks aren’t ironed out yet and the film’s reach exceeds its grasp in terms of production value. I staunchly avoid discussing budget most of the time. Budget does not dictate quality, unless you’re doing something outside the reality of your allowance. This film falls into that realm on occasion but it is clever and resourceful enough most of the time to avoid those issues, it’s really the finer points being corrected that would’ve brought it up some. It’s an entertaining enough watch, but doesn’t follow through on its promise.

5/10

Mini-Review: Europa Report

Posted on August 25, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Europa Report

Found footage as a technique is one that has been talked about ad nauseum, by myself included. Usually, it is the shortcomings that make us take more notice. However, we should not turn a blind eye to those films that do implement the technique well. This is one of those films. This is a film that has minimalist chills and scares that isn’t the slickest space-bound story this year, but has its strong points, moments of terror, moments of character, and a very good ensemble at its disposal. It also takes a sci-fi tale just slightly beyond the current limits of science, but not that far into the distant future.

8/10

Mini-Review: Homefront

Posted on August 24, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Homefront

It’s rather poetic justice that in a year when the old guard of the action film, namely Stallone and Schwarzenegger, would have some hard times opening films like they once did; or just providing serviceable action vehicles, that it would be Jason Statham in a script adapted by Stallone that would be in a film I could really get behind. It’s almost a symbolic passing of the torch. Statham has been around for a bit, and I’ve been tough on him; action stars need not be thespians but the films I’d seen were also not that great. This one, if you can get past a silly wig and a fairly clichéd set-up, delivers the goods. There’s of course the family man angle that helps give it some emotional pull. The fact that young Izabela Vidovic is fantastic and that Statham interacts well with her helps. However, another boon is that the inciting incident leads the aggrieved sister to call on her brother Gator (James Franco) who becomes the antagonist. He’s a really great in this film because there are a few facets to him, and his performance is magnetic, locked-in. All the build, even things that don’t seem like they’ll matter, follow through and the finale is really exciting. I tweeted that it may make a Statham fan of me, see his unseen projects, and just maybe revisit some. The first may happen if he has more upcoming like this because this movie really works and put him in a position to succeed.

8/10

Announcing the Criterion Blogathon

Posted on August 23, 2015 by bernardovillela

I will be participating in The Criterion collection blogathon covering The Tin Drum.

Criterion Close-Up

Criterion Collection animated gif

We are pleased to announce the first annual Criterion Blogathon!

The blogathon will take place November November 16th to 21st, and I have the pleasure of co-hosting with two of my favorite bloggers and favorite people: Kristina from Speakeasy and Ruth from Silver Screenings. This is not their first rodeo, as they’ve hosted numerous fantastic Blogathons. Earlier this year they hosted the Great Villain Blogathon and the Beach Party Bash Blogathon. What’s great about these two is that they turn these Blogathons into events, which is what we are planning for November.

Just last year, The Criterion Collection celebrated their 30th anniversary. That’s an amazing accomplishment for a physical media label. They began with laserdiscs, transitioned to DVDs, and now are the top boutique label for Blu-Ray/DVD. They have established credibility with their film choices, ranging from mainstream classics to some of the best art films the world…

View original post 504 more words

Upcoming Blogathon Participation: Swashathon! by Movies Silently

Posted on August 23, 2015 by bernardovillela

In November I’ll be contributing to Movies Silently’s Swashaton. As I did here and here, I will be contributing by writing about a short film. This time it will be about the Looney Tunes classic Robin Hood Daffy.

It may be a short but the post may not be as there is much to discuss among the swashbuckling, versions of Robin Hood, and the team lead by Chuck Jones that brought this film to its fruition.

Mini-Review: True Grit

Posted on August 23, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

This is a post that is a repurposing of an old-school Gray Area post. As stated here I am essentially done with running multi-film review posts. Each film deserves its own review. Therefore I will repost, and at times add to, old reviews periodically. Enjoy!

True Grit

This film falls into the Gray Area because I only managed to see it in January though I had chances to in December. For the record, I would not retroactively include this film in my Top 15 of 2010, however, that is one of the few things I can really fault it for. The film works and it works well I could just never get as involved with it as it wanted me to be.

The other thing that is a little bothersome is that in a rather realistic and well-spoken film you get an ending that smacks of a hollywood cliché. The annoyance of false climax aside it’s two perils combined in one to add a little more running time and a quasi-tragic button to the whole affair.

Regardless of that the film is beautifully photographed by Roger Deakins and is played very convincingly by its cast particularly Jeff Bridges and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. It’s a plot that’s simple enough but also intriguing enough that it naturally becomes a character study without ever being tiresome.

8/10

Mini-Review: Electrick Children

Posted on August 22, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Electrick Children

Certainly when the premise of a film is such as this: a Mormon girl listens to a cassette tape with forbidden rock music and has an immaculate conception; you’re wandering into a tale that will likely not tell its tale, or resolve itself, conventionally. That would all be fine if there wasn’t a preponderance of coincidence later on that made it seem as if there would be a tidied, more clear conclusion.

Instead what you have is a journey that is not completely devoid of enjoyment for the open-minded viewer but rather one that just feels like a beginning; it doesn’t feel like an opening ending but rather a not-quite-complete tale that reaches what it considers its ending a bit too easily.

5/10

The Movie Rat