Ok, so here's everything else I've been watching lately. Some of these will be pretty short as in some cases it's been about a month since I saw the movie.
Of Gods and Men
French movie that won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2010 (Grand Prix being the second highest prize after the Palme d'Or) Of Gods and Men documents a true story about a group of Christian monks living in peace with Muslim majority in Algeria until they start to face threats for Islamic extremists. Beautifully shot and paced, the film explores with passion yet without sentiment the test of faith and character these men go through in their decision whether or not stay and honor the commitment they have made. Perhaps lacking slightly in character development, although an exploration of each individual character isn't really the name of the game here, rather a reflection on how the men bond together to make their decision and an exploration of the inner most part of the human psyche. Haunting, inspirational and highly recommended.
****1/2 out of *****
Hesher
Hesher, the title character of the movie, is a crazy, violent heavy metal fan who one day decides to forcibly move in with a young kid and his family, who are grieving the loss of a family member, by threatening the kid he will hurt him if he tells his dad he doesn't really know him. Yep, bizarre movie which at times feels to be lacking any serious point and the concept alone makes no sense, however the exploration coming to terms with grief and character relationship dynamics is oddly compelling and original. Certainly worth a look.
***1/2 out of *****
Friends with Benefits
The second film of 2011 about a relationship between male and female which they agree will be just sex between friends and no romance (the other being No Strings Attached, which I haven't seen) Friends with Benefits starts out as a comedic send up of the romantic comedy genre, and is actually quite funny. By the end, though, it has of course turned into a pretty standard rom com. The chemistry between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis however lifts it above your average rom com fare, so this little film is not bad at all. I kinda hope JT keeps making movies as he's really not a bad actor.
***1/2 out *****
Rango
Oh, man, this is probably the film I've left the longest to write about. So er, what do I remember? It's an animated film about a lizard who gets appointed the sheriff of a town running low on water. It's very cleverly written, and has pays homage to a lot of old Western movies. And it's very good. How's that? Good enough I think. Rent it.
**** out of *****
The Troll Hunter
Norwegian film shot in the style of The Blair Witch Project, being that it's presented as being real footage that was discovered after the filmmakers disappeared. Hunting trolls. Hence the, er, title. The trolls look pretty cool and there's plenty of action, so it should be pretty accessible to anyone deeply rooted in Norwegian folklore and subtitled. Apparently there's an American remake planned. Seems pretty pointless, just watch this one.
***1/2 out of *****
Rare Exports: A Christmas Story
A Finnish Christmas movie in which Santa Claus is actually an evil monster thing and his elves are a bunch of crazy old naked dudes.... Still reading? Original idea, yes. Entertaining and well executed? Only kinda. It was really a strange, silly movie, and only mildly recommended.
*** out of *****
The Beaver
Directed by and staring Jodie Foster, The Beaver features Mel Gibson playing her husband who, dealing with depression and separation from his wife, comes across a beaver puppet and takes on it's personality to help deal with his pain. Silly concept as in the above film, however it's dealt with in such a serious manner that you can (almost) entirely accept it. Quite a nice story about dealing with damaged family relationships, The Beaver really does come close to overcoming premise to be a genuine character study, if perhaps just not quite getting there.
***1/2 out of *****
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Probably the less known about this one before seeing it the better, so all I will say is that it explores a mother's (Tilda Swinton) experiences dealing with a son who is not only extremely difficult to handle but displays violent and manipulative tendencies. Played out like any mother's worst nightmare, this incredibly disturbing account of human behaviour is presented in a very stylish yet frenetic manner, constantly flashing back and forward between past and present. The acting is brilliant, both from Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller, who plays Kevin, and Swinton especially should have gotten more recognition during award season. I found some elements of Kevin's behaviour quite difficult to believe, however despite this We Need To Talk About Kevin is a very engaging and almost realistic horror story. Prepare yourself for one crazy roller coaster ride of emotion if you do check it out.
**** out of *****
Arrietty
I missed the first few minutes of the newest Studio Ghibli film to hit Australia due to a long line at the cinema and, apparently, barely ads before the film, the one time I actually wished there was an abundance of them. Bit annoying, buy oh well. Arrietty is a tiny person, belonging to a race known as the borrowers, who live under the floorboards of house and "borrow" things from inside the house for their own use. She soon forms a relationship with a terminally ill boy living at the house, who has heard about Borrowers from his auntie, and he wants nothing more than to protect Arrietty and make sure she is safe from the other crazy old hag who lives in the house with them. As with most Ghibli film Arrietty is original, creative and heartfelt. Do I need to say more, it's a Ghibli film. Of course it's good.
**** out of *****
The Artist
It's been a while since a film has looked so certain to win the Best Picture Oscar. In fact, The Artist may be the surest lock to take the gong since Titanic almost 15 years ago. When you consider that The Artist is a French film that is in black and white and, for the most part, silent, it's almost perplexing. But here we are. So, is it really worth all that hype? Well, no, but it is still very good. The Artist does struggle to rise above it's gimmick (I don't see how anyone could say it's not a gimmick) with a fairly formulaic story about a silent movie star's fall from the spotlight with the birth of the talkie (sounds similar to the storyline of a certain musical about singing during a certain weather pattern, doesn't it?) and a tired morality story about not letting success get to your head. This isn't to say that the storyline isn't engaging, because it is, very much so, and where The Artist DOES rise above it's gimmick is in it's gorgeous black and white cinematography and a number of impressive sequences, in particular a dream scene where all of a sudden sound effects exist. To conclude, The Artist probably doesn't deserve to win the Best Picture Oscar, but it will, and it won't be a travesty in any way, shape or form.
**** out of *****
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Sequel. Not as good as the first. Still some good action and comedy. Still stylish. Overall ok. Meh.
*** out of *****
Now that's all off my chest... Seeing how long this catch up took it should motivate me to post more regular updates (we'll see). Also, I've decided to stop writing about older movies I watch for the first time and just stick to newer ones, from the past 2 - 3 years or so. But I have seen a bunch of older movies lately, with the highlights being Persona and Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman, Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa and Taste of Cherry by Abbas Kiarostami.
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