2016 movies

Film Review: WHAT’S WEARING MUMMY (UK) Family/Comedy

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Played at the December 2016 Best of Family/Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERWHAT’S WEARING MUMMY, 15min, UK, Family/Comedy
Directed by Oliver McMillan

What’s Wearing Mummy? tells the story of two little sisters, Sofia and Matti, who believe their mother has been taking over by aliens due to her suspicious behaviour, and will do anything in their power to get mummy back.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Whats Wearing Mummy,  directed by Oliver McMillian, is a step back into a time when our lives were alight with the wonder and magic of youth. Enter the imaginative world of two young sisters, Mattie and Sofia, their sense of adventure being nurtured by their stay-at-home-dad. This film, which has a well balanced mixture of comedy and suspense, takes the audience through a supernatural mystery as seen through the eyes of childhood.

 

After witnessing the disgruntled scene of their mother coming home late from work to find them not ready for bed, and their father feeding their appetite for spooky science fiction, Sofia and Mattie agree that something must be up with mom. They sneak through the bathroom, where they discover strange things- like their mothers recently discarded face mask- and jump to the conclusion that she is definitely being possessed by some sort of evil alien.

 

They attempt to catch their mother off guard and get the alien out of her, scenes that are often cushioned in the background by their perpetually high-stress mother taking out her frustration on her husband. When Sofia and Mattie enlist their father to help them catch their mother and get the alien out of her, he agrees to help, with surprising results.

 

This is one of those magical films that comes together through the strong moral core- that compassion and thoughtfulness can diffuse anger, and that childhood is not something that can only be enjoyed while a person is young. Whats Wearing Mummy invites and reminds us to enjoy childhood all over again, as both a viewer and a participant, whether through a movie or by actually interacting in the lives of young people.

 

A charming family story with a happy ending, this delightful film has a nice twist. Our heros, Sofia and Mattie aren’t totally wrong that something is up with their mom. Her recent behaviour might actually be related to a new development in all their lives. But what is it you ask? This reviewer can’t possibly spoil the surprise. You’ll have to watch and see.

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Film Review: THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT (USA) Animation/Comedy

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Played at the December 2016 Best of Family/Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERTHE GRAVEYARD SHIFT, 2min, USA, Animation/Comedy
Directed by Lara Arikan

It’s long past midnight when the tired and jumpy waitress decides to go and investigate the ominous noise she hears right outside the roadside coffee shop she’s working at.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Coming to us from Laura Arikan, Graveyard shift is a quick comic splash of fun, sprinkled with some horror. Sweet and largely silent, Graveyard Shift is a great example of the trite cinematic rule of “Show, don’t tell!”. A young girl, bored and alone at the night shift at her truckstop cafe is terrified to find her small coffee shop filled with Zombies. But no, they don’t want her brains. They want coffee.

 

It is not totally clear if coffee magically cures the zombie truckers, or if it is a metaphor for the long and solitary transport job putting its’ patrons into sluggish grey stupors, but it is likely the latter. No worries though, because this quick two minute animation delivers enjoyment whichever way you interpret it! A delightful cinematic romp into imagination, now comes with a caffeinated kick.

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Film Review: BIRTH WEAVING LIFE (Japan) Animation/Documentary

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Played at the December 2016 Best of Family/Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERBIRTH WEAVING LIFE, 6min., Japan, Animation/Documentary
Directed by Arisa Wakami

This is a documentary animation on the very beginning and the mystery of life, told from the point of view of a mother.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Welcome to the incredibly personal stories of three women as they recount the birth of their children. Each tale exquisitely told from a unique voice and animated differently, Birth-Weaving Life will make you laugh and hit you right in the “feels” with it’s honest emotional portrayal of new parenthood being a time of panic, pain and fear, but also utter joy.  

 

Each story is set against simple artistry that nevertheless creates effective storytelling, masking the intimacy of childbirth with the colorful visual metaphor. Waves and Rollercoasters are used to describe something that is hard to imagine if one has not been there.

 

These film is a collaboration piece, making it a rich tapestry of human experience. Most beautifully, perhaps, is the tender honest and authenticity that can be felt through the subtitles and transcends the different language it is spoken in. This film recounts an essential human experience that speaks across any social barrier.  

 

Birth- Weaving Life is a beautiful and poignant look at child rearing from inside the mind of the mother- the fear, the worry, the pain and the incredible, unmatchable happiness that accompanies the creation of life.

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Film Review: MAN’S BEST FRIEND (UK) Family

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Played at the December 2016 Best of Family/Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERMAN’S BEST FRIEND, 7min. UK, Family/Animation
Directed by Rob Sprackling

10 year old Zach loves his football – and his football loves him back. They enjoy playing in the garden, going to the park and spending time together, just like a boy with a faithful dog. But when his ball gets lost, Zach must team up with his neglected Mum, to find his best friend. In doing so, Zach and his Mum re-find each other.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Man’s Best Friend, written and produced by Rob Sprackling, is a classic story of companionship with an unusual twist. Hovering somewhere between My Dog Skip and Toy Story, Man’s Best Friend takes a look at the relationship children develop with the objects in their life that carry significant weight. In this case, a soccer ball.

Our young hero has a steadfast and deep connect with his soccer ball, which has been cleverly anthropomorphized with the simple addition of an animated smile. A clear metaphor for a boy with a pet, the two characters are inseparable and find deep joy in each other’s company. But while out one night the ball is kicked into neighbors yard by bullies, and our hero cannot find their friend. He and his mother attempt to locate the ball, and even consider getting a new one, but no dice- this ball cannot be replaced.

Beside the clever metaphor for the ball being a pet, what makes this film unique is its’ utter simplicity. The film has no dialogue and functions with only one beautiful piano song throughout. The acting, directing and cinematography are all to be commended. The animation is simple but incredibly effective and the whole movie is wrapped up in a family-friendly feel-good bow. Yet there is also deeper meaning lurking in this piece. On the surface it is a boy and his friend, but it is also a story about a boy and himself. It is a story about what happens when we lose a part of ourselves. Unlike a dog, that is dependant on their owner, this boy has lost the passion of his life- his ability to play soccer via the ball. And unlike a dog, which may need to be returned by another person, this ball returns to his master all by itself. Or, rather, our Hero reconnects with his passion, on his own terms. A simply story with some profound undertones, Man’s Best Friend it a true delight.

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Film Review: LIVE BY NIGHT (USA 2016)

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live_by_night_movie_poster.jpgDirected by Ben Affleck

Starring: Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Messina, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Chris Cooper

Review by Gilbert Seah

Ben Afflecks’s fourth film (after ARGO, THE TOWN and GONE BABY GONE) is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane which like BURN,BABY, BURN is a novel that contains a lot of plot. But LIVE BY NIGHT contains too much plot dealing with as many issues as there are plot turns. Unfortunately, Affleck’s script is unable to cope and the film fails despite worthy efforts.

Set in the 1920s and 1930s, the story follows Joe Coughlin (Affleck), the prodigal son of a Boston police captain (Brendan Gleeson). Joe is a World War I veteran of Irish decent who is in love with Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), mistress of the notorious gangster Albert White (Robert Glenister), the boss of the Irish Gang of Boston. Joe’s father disapproves of Emma. Joe and Emma decide to move to California escaping the wrath of White, but to their misfortune the head of Albert’s rival Italian Mafia Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone) finds out about their affair and blackmails Joe to kill Albert. The story goes on, leading Joe to finally work for Maso and rising in the ranks. Success comes with a price with a lot of casualties in the process.

The best thing about LIVE BY NIGHT are its impeccable performances. Gleeson at his growling best, plays Joe’s chief of police, who unfortunately dies 20 minutes into the film. The gap, fortunately is filled by Chris Cooper as Irving Figgis, another chief of police, who is as pious as he is crazy. The other supporting cast members are uniformly good from Matthew Maher (as a creepy Ku Klax Klan member) and Anthony Michael Hall as an overconfident lackey for a crime boss.

Affleck’s script is all over the place and tries to handles too many issues like father/son relationship; romance; crime; good vs. evil; racism and loss of innocence just to name a few. The dialogue also includes a fair amount of ‘f’ words including the ‘mother f” words that are out of place in a film set in the roaring twenties.

The handsome mounted production from the vintage cars (in the robbery car chase) to the wardrobe, music and props make the film a memorable period piece. Affleck dresses himself very sharply, always in pressed white suits and hat.

As the story deals with war between crime families, LIVE BY NIGHT will inevitably be compared to Francis Ford Coppola’s GODFATHER films. Joe keeps his criminal activities from his wife, Gracilea (Zoe Saldana) reminiscent of how Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) hid his crime duties from his wife played by Diane Keaton. This is when one can detect the inferiority of of LIVE BY NIGHT. The power and bite are just not there.
LIVE BY NIGHT is well paced with a good speed in the first third of the film. The varying pace from the highly edited car chase to the slow paced meeting a a tea shop between Joe and Loretta Figgis (Elle Fannng)
.
The film also contains dialogue with heavy Irish accent (from Gleesona nd Miller) which is occasionally hard to understand.

The film could have done with some script doctoring. Affleck taking the co-producing, writing, directing and lead acting duties has obviously got his plate full in this $65 million production.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtFZcAuH-qI

 

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Film Review: PATRIOTS DAY (USA 2016)

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patriots_day.jpgDirector: Peter Berg
Writers: Peter Berg (screenplay), Matt Cook (screenplay)
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, J.K. Simmons

Review by Gilbert Seah

PATRIOTS DAY tells of the heroes behind the capture of the Boston marathon bombers. Arriving 3 years after the incident, the film is still as timely owing to similar terrorist attacks around the world – in Miami and Paris, just to name a few. In fact, the film also pays homage to the victims of those attacks as they are mentioned during the film’s closings credits.

The second film in less than year from director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg sees PATRIOTS DAY as an improvement with a more serious tone than the previous DEEPWATER HORIZON. More so, since the film is a re-creation of the Boston Marathon bombing on the holiday Patriots Day, which the title of the film derives from. It is the star vehicle again of Wahlberg and it is not surpassing he chose this role as Boston is the star’s hometown.

The film is an earnest account of Boston Police under Commissioner Ed Davis’s (John Goodman) actions in the events leading up to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists behind it.

The film takes a while before establishing a sound footing. The first third of the film feels like the garbage that was in director Berg’s DEEPWATER HORIZON as in the scene where Wahlberg’s young daughter explains to him and wife how an oil rig could explode with a can of coke at the breakfast table. The family scenes of various characters at the film’s start sets the film up like a soap opera with the director like a traffic cop, but the film improves from there getting to the main business at hand.

The film’s best segments are those that involve the terrorists – as one is always curious of a world one knows very little of. The best of these is the interrogation segment where a lady expert is brought in to question the wife of the deceased bomber. One cannot help but admire the professionalism on display here – from the scripted questions to the suspenseful staging of this scene. The ultimate question that needs to be answered is “Is there another bomb?”

The film feels racist in the one scene with the asian whose car is hijacked by the terrorists. He speaks with a typical Chinese accent with all the ‘r’s pronounced as ‘l’s. But when the actual Chinese portrayed appears at the closing credits, he speaks with the same accent pronouncing all the ‘r’s as ‘l’s.

The purpose of the film is clearly a dedication to the strength and courage of the citizens of Boston from the law enforcement to the victims to the FBI. The last 10 minutes including the end credits are specially devoted for this purpose and though director Berg overdoes it, one can hardly complain over words like ”We consider ourselves not the victims of violence but the ambassadors of peace,’ voiced from the actual bomb victims.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWPRxMj8Wl8

 

 

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Film Review: MONSTER TRUCKS (USA 2016)

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monster_trucks_movie_poster.jpgDirector: Chris Wedge

Writers: Derek Connolly (screenplay), Matthew Robinson (story by)

Stars: Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Thomas Lennon

Review by Gilbert Seah

A monster truck is a vehicle (usually a pickup truck) that has been modified with a larger suspension and larger tires so as to compete in shows and mud bogs. While vacationing in New Brunswick years back, I was taken to a mud bog. It was the most boring time of that vacation. But there is no monster competition show in this film called MONSTER TRUCKS. But there is a real life monster living inside a truck, the one modified by the protagonist Tripp (Lucas Till) who drives it.

Looking for any way to get away from the life and town he was born into, Tripp Coley, a high school senior, builds a monster truck from bits and pieces of scrapped cars. After an accident at a nearby oil-drilling site displaces a strange and subterranean creature with a taste and a talent for speed who he names Creech, Tripp may have just found the key to getting out of town and a most unlikely friend. The rest of the film has Tripp rescuing the creature, embedded in his truck (don’t ask) and retiring it to its habitat, ET-style. The story was reported to originate from ex-Paramount President (reason he is now ex-President is obvious) and his 4-year old son.

Director Chris Wedge (who made ICE AGE and the forgettable animated features like EPIC and ROBOTS) appear to be just going through the motions with his latest feature. The film is cliched from start to finish. But the greatest fault of the film is the seriousness everyone seems to be taking of the material, despite the film’s really ridiculous plot of monsters surviving near oil wells and able to join in human beings and amalgamate with their trucks.

It is the same old cliched story of boy wanting to escape from small town with subplots of single mother trying to keep son in town; overbearing mother’s boyfriend (Barry Pepper) who must be the sheriff of the town; pining wannabe girlfriend; loner befriending monster and so on. With uninspired direction and writing, the film turns boring within the first 10 minutes. The silly message about caring for the environment does not help the film’s originally either.
Lucas Till (the X-MEN films and yes, in that teen awful film HANNAH MONTANA) is plain awful as the lead who appears o be hired for the job based on his looks. The sequence where he pretends to drive a truck in the garage proves how bad he is. Amy Ryan as is mother is totally wasted but Barry Pepper is at least watchable. Pepper is an actor from Vancouver and likely hired as the film was shot in the Vancouver Production Studios.

The film has so far garnered negative reviews (example 22% on Rotten Tomatoes as of time of writing). Paramount is reported to be taking a $115 write down for the film which cost $125 million to make, mostly for the special and CGI effects, which are the only impressive things about the film, despite looking silly (tentacles protruding from the body of the trucks). MONSTER TRUCKS turns out to be a big awful monster of a movie.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQrj2M-2Uiw

 

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Film Review: Mostly Sunny

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mostly_sunny.jpgDirector: Dilip Mehta

Writers: Deepa Mehta, Dilip Mehta

Stars: Daniel Weber, Sunny Leone

Review by Gilbert Seah

 MOSTLY SUNNY is not the first documentary made on a porn star. Two of the most memorable documentaries made on a porn star are PORN STAR: THE LEGEND OF RON JEREMY in 2001 and SAGAT: THE DOCUMENTARY. Both of these films featured a male porn star, one an American and the other French. Both of the adult stars like SUNNY, became more famous than they ever imagined.
All the three films are radically different in the way they dealt with their subjects. RON JEREMY was well- known not because he was handsome or attractive but because he had an enormously huge tool that could be kept functioning for long periods of time. Despite the humorous treatment of Jeremy, the doc took quite a serious look at the underground pornography industry. SAGAT, only 80-minutes in length was as lively as its subject, Francois Sagat was. And Sagat is quite the showman. (I have seen him perform in Toronto during the Gay Pride Military Party where he was not too bashful to jerk-off onstage. But that doc treated the subject in dead seriousness, tracking Sagat’s rise to fame.

In MOSTLY SUNNY, Dilip Mehta (COOKING WITH STELLA) continues the lightness of his previous film with his portrait of Indian porn star Sunny Leone. For those unfamiliar, Sunny Leone is the most famous of all the porn stars in India and who has now ventured into Bollywood Cinema.

MOSTLY SUNNY is produced by Deepa Metha (FIRE, WATER, EARTH, MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN, THE BEEBA BOYS) and her husband David Hamilton. For those wondering about the connection, Dilip is Deepa’s brother.

Those venturing to watch MOSTLY SUNNY should not expect too serious a film or a message or even controversial film. Metha’s treatment of his film and subject is as breezy as his subject Sunny Leone. Sunny is filmed in most scenes smiling or laughing. Even when talking about a serious topic like the reason her father chose to live in a small Ontario town of Sarnia, she is laughing and giggling. So, the subject of Sunny in the adult film industry, infuriating her parents and Indian community is treated as a brush off. Her fame in porn is also treated lightly. Those expecting to see Metha in any sex act in his doc will be disappointed, though there are a few nude pictures. The only one time Sunny gets really open, is when she tells the camera (through a past interview) that she is bisexual and got really excited when she shot a film segment in which the male came in both hers and another girls’ mouths. Metha shows more of Sunny in her non-porn Bollywood films than in her porn films.

The film runs at slightly over 80 minutes. Metha is short of material on his easy-going doc as evident in the segment where he tries to get any member of Sunny’s family still living in Sarnia to have a word or two to say to the camera.

As it turns out, Metha’s doc about a porn star is not really about a porn star – but about an ordinary hard-working Indian immigrant who just happens to turn out to be a porn star by accident. And it is not a bio-pic of Sunny either. Sunny is teated as mostly normal throughout the film, also marrying the one true love of her life – her manager who has accepted her past work. Perhaps a more appropriate title of the film wold be MOSTLY NORMAL.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmC1DOLiCBg

 

 

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Film Review: MAPPLETHORPE: LOOK AT THE PICTURES

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mapplethorpe_movie_posterDirectors: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato

Stars: Nancy Rooney, Harry Mapplethorpe, George Stack |

Review by Gilbert Seah

Robert Mapplethorpe. Artist or pornographer? Or a bit of both?
Using two retrospectives at LA’s Getty and LACMA museums as a backdrop, Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey’s film profiles the controversial artist from early childhood, to his beginnings in NYC and his meteoric rise in the art world, to his untimely death in 1989. By then, audiences can decide on their own the answer to the question regarding the controversial artist.
They say that a documentary is only as interesting as its subject. No one could be as interesting as the late artist Robert Mapplethorpe who died from a complication of AIDS at age 42. His works and lifestyle are as intriguing as the man is beautiful and daring.

The subject is only shown in archive paintings and photographs. It is without argument that the man is extremely attractive. As in the words of Mapplethorpe’s ex-boyfriend, “Everyone liked him, men and women. Even dogs liked him.”

The film offers lots of talking heads, from Mapplethorpe’s family, friends and artists, possible since the subject is still ‘recent’, having only passed away un 1989. Unfortunately, the artist himself is not alive or is there any archive footage for him to have his say.

Mapplethorpe’s art doubtless shocked America. The images forces whoever’s looking at them to continually stare and be shocked at what they see – be it genitals, the naked body or bondage S&M. But Barbato and Bailey does not let their camera linger on the pictures. The images are shown fleetingly, perhaps to whet the audience’s appetite to want for more. The images are also explained in context by the talking head experts.

The directors do not offer a reason for Mapplethorpe’s lifestyle or art. But they deliver a good researched background of the artist, leaving the audience to determine for themselves the reason for the choices he made in his life. Robert is shown from his Catholic background as a boy who never failed to attend Sunday mass. His priest, who is still alive, also says a bit about the boy and how different he was. Surprising too, is Mapplethorpe’s first love, who is a female of the opposite sex. Patti Smith and Robert were very much in love, before Robert switched sides. Robert’s drug and decadent lifestyle is also mentioned in the film. A fair bit of screen time is also devoted to Robert and his long term partner and benefactor Sam Wagstaff.

The doc first premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January 2016, followed by the international premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February, and a world television premiere on HBO in April. The film has been already released theatrically in the US and UK in April 2016. The reason the film is now being reviewed is that it will screen as part of the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) film series entitled ART ON SCREEN”, that begins January 18th, 2017.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrVYqB0geMo

 

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Film Review: SILENCE. Directed by Martin Scorsese

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silence_movie_poster.jpgDirector: Martin Scorsese

Writers: Jay Cocks (screenplay), Martin Scorsese (screenplay)

Stars: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson

Review by Gilbert Seah

SILENCE. directed by Martin Scorsese and written by him and Jay Cocks is Scorsese’s labour of love. He was supposed to have made this film decades ago, but had to postpone the project many times owing to his obligation to direct other films. Finally, SILENCE is here, and despite all the hullabaloo, the film is surprisingly pristine and distant.

There is a lot of talk about the dedication and sacrifice the Jesuit priests went through. But the film never goes into the details of the source of this self-sacrifice. The only clue is the quoted scripture from Mark: 13, “Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation.” Apart from that, all the audience is given is lengthy talk of the priests insisting of going to Japan. There is one lengthy, unconvincing scene where priests Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garrpe (Adam Driver) argue with their superior (Ciaran Hinds) to be given permission to travel to Japan to locate their mentor Father Cristóvão Ferreira (Liam Neeson).

The film, based upon the 1966 novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō is set in the 17th century. The two main characters are the Portuguese Jesuit priests — Sebastião Rodrigues and Francisco Garrpe. They face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate Father Cristóvão Ferreira, who has committed apostasy after being tortured. The story is set in the time of Kakure Kirishitan (“Hidden Christians”) which followed the defeat of the Shimabara Rebellion (1637–1638) of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Tokugawa shogunate.

SILENCE contains many awkward scenes, the funniest is the one which involves the act of apostasy. Apostasy is the formal disaffiliation from, or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. The term is also used is used by sociologists to mean renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to, a person’s former religion, in a technical sense and without pejorative connotation. In the film, Father Ferreira apostates and talks about it. It is a hard word to pronounce and in that scene Neeson blows the pronunciation. It is a wonder why Scorsese did not cut that scene out of the film.

Another is the homo-erotic hugging of the two priests played by Driver and Garfield before they depart. Their odd look – as if they know what the scene could indicate but totally ignore the fact – is priceless. But the first scene with the torture of the priests by the Japanese soldiers using leaking ladles is quite ridiculous. I am sure the Japanese could have devised more torturous and less cumbersome instruments.

The film is shot in both English and Japanese. As the priests were Portuguese, whenever the actors speak English with a weird accent that is supposed to be Portuguese, The English is supped to stand for Portuguese. Fortunately, Japanese is left as Japanese. But these pose problems when in one scene pre sits asks: “Do you speak my language?” in English which stands for Portuguese.

The film contains too many set-up conversational pieces and laborious inquisitions for its own good. The lengthy 160 minute running time does not help either. SILENCE ends up a long, laborious and boring affair.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqrgxZLd_gE 

 

 

 

 

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