2017 movies

Film Review: TANNA (Australia) ***

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Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

tanna.jpgSet on a remote Pacific island, covered in rain forest and dominated by an active volcano, this heartfelt story, enacted by the Yakel tribe, tells of a sister’s loyalty, a forbidden love affair and the pact between the old ways and the new.

Directors: Martin Butler, Bentley Dean
Writers: Martin Butler, John Collee
Stars: Mungau Dain, Marie Wawa, Marceline Rofit

Review by Gilbert Seah

 Tanna is the first film shot in the South Pacific nation of Vanuata, based on a true story that happened there in 1987 as interpreted by the Yakel tribe. Hardly a word of English is spoken in the film. The dialogue is totally in the tribal language which all the tribes in the story appear to be able to speak and communicate with each other with.
The film plays like a Romeo and Juliet story. The story centres on doomed, star-crossed lovers. There are two warring tribes but the lovers belong to the same tribe. The bride, Wawa (Marie Wawa) of the Yakel tribe is betrothed to the enemy Imedin tribe as a peace offering. But Wawa is in love with the grandson of the chief (Mungau Daen) and they have slept together already. The lovers escape to another part of the island. The chief (Chief Mikum Tainakou) of the Imedin tribe is furious and sends his men to find the lovers – to kill Daen the boy and bring Wawa back to be wed. Wawa’s father, Lingai (Lingai Kowia) also travels to find Wawa to bring her back and to warn Daen. And so the story goes.

When the film opens, the audience is immersed in a fairy tale land. It is interesting to see the customs and living practised in another country. The film works like a fairy tale just like African films made of their tribes such as the excellent 2004 film, MOOLAADE by Ousmane Sembène. The people are clothed with straw skirts and mostly topless. The children play unfamiliar games. The people live in strange-looking huts and they speak in a different language. Unfamiliar sights are displayed on screen – like a big black sow with piglets sucking from her nipples.

Directors Butler and Dean love to use the smoking volcanoes in their film – both as a metaphor and for its landscape beauty.

Though the story is set in a different land, the human problems encountered are not different. Love is once again restricted by social culture. The lovers are unable to show their love for one another in public. Wawa is forced to decide between the fate of her tribe and her personal desire for happiness.

The directors choose to tell their story from two points of view, from Wawa and from her younger sister Selin (Marceline Rofit). Selin is the prepubescent younger sister of Wawa who though still playing childish games like hide-and seek is aware of what is going on. She eventually helps her sister by aiding her tribe find Wawa and Daen. The audience sees as a result, how Wawa’s decision will affect the lives of Selin and the later generations.

The directors were reported to have spent 7 months living with the Yakel tribe to understand the tribal customs and to capture them accurately on the screen.

TANNA works as the perfect combination of an ageless romantic story of true love set in a fresh never seen before setting.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di2cHkHrPwg

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Film Review: BAD RAP (USA 2017) ***

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bad_rapFour Asian-American rappers run into tough obstacles as they try to make it big in Hip Hop, a genre rooted in black culture.

Director: Salima Koroma
Stars: Awkwafina, David Lee, Richard Lee

Review by Gilbert Seah

 Asian hip-hop is what director Salima Koroma’s odd but occasionally insightful documentary is all about. In this review, hip-hop music and rap music is considered to be the same, as is considered so by the majority.

Rap has got quite the bad rap so far. Of all the music out there, Rap is known for its use of foul language, use of images of violence, sex and guns. It is everything parents do not want their children to listen to. And with reason. Rappers talk shit half the time with the word shit coming out in almost every few sentences. If the word shit or other vulgar four letter words are not heard, the word ‘like’ is used. Poor grammar and mis-spelling is common. The subjects in this film are not like the subjects of other documentaries like CITIZENFOUR where the subjects are often people (Edward Snowden in this case) who have changed the world for good. So, one has to hand it to director Koroma for capturing the energy of these young Asian rappers and creating a film that is an absorbing watch.

The film follows the origin of hip-hop. Hip-hop culture has transcended many racial and cultural boundaries after its founding in the ’70s by African-American and Latino youth in the South Bronx. Since then, rappers have emerged as legitimate pop culture stars around the world and hip-hop’s global movement has become increasingly more diverse. Yet the face of rap in America remains primarily black, brown, and white. This film looks at Asian rappers.

BAD RAP follows the lives and careers of four Asian-American rappers trying to break into a world that often treats them as outsiders. Energetic too, are the dynamic live performance footage and revealing interviews.
The four rappers on display are Dumbfounded, Awkwafina (a female), Rekstozzy and Lyricks.

Koroma shows a side of the rapper seldom seen. Lyricks is revealed as a filial son, helping out in his parents very hot steam cleaning factory. He acknowledges his parents who work very hard for him. And Rick goes to church. His mother on interview, talking about her son forms the film’s most amusing segment.

The film’s dose of brilliance comes when the video of each of the 4 rappers are played to 4 different promoters to judge their reactions. It is here that the audience sees more to rap – as the experts voice their opinions on each song and performer.

Also partly in view for a shooter span is the Chinese rapper Jin the MC. Jin is the most charismatic of the Asian rappers on display and one wonders why Koroma did not give him more screen time. His video “Learn Chinese”, a big hit is funny and unforgettable.

Koroma’s film concludes neatly with a look at the 4 rappers 2 years after their interviews – showing where each of them are, and with them talking about how they have grown.

Will BAD RAP will turn the most skeptical critics into believers?
BAD RAP is available on VOD on all major platforms May 23rd. Warning: Lots of could language and graphic content!

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ROfSpDfa70

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LGBT Inside Out Festival: THE HANNAS (DIE HANNAS) (Germany 2016)

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the_hannasANNA and HANS belong together; all their friends simply call them the HANNAS: a well-balanced long-term couple in their sleepy thirties united by a cooking obsession.

Director: Julia C. Kaiser
Writer: Julia C. Kaiser
Stars: Julia Becker, Tim Blochwitz, Till Butterbach

Review by Gilbert Seah

The Hannas are Hans and Anna, a long married couple who have been together so long that they are basically the same person. Friends refer to them as THE HANNAS rather than calling them by their individual names.

But there is trouble in paradise as each falls victim to cheating on each other, Anna for Kim (a lesbian relationship) while Hans for Nicola. Nicola is later revealed to be Kim’s sister. There are more twists in the relationship of the 4, revealed as the film progresses.

Everything in this story turns out too well than in real life. Hans and Anna are too forgiving and loving, and in real life it doesn’t happen that others will give up everything for someone who is already married. The film has a more feminine point of view being directed by a woman, such as more emphasis on Anna than on Hans.

Anna is shown at work as a massage therapist while little or nothing is shown of Hans at work. The film has a good start but eventually Kaiser’s quirky film tends to be more annoying (like her characters) than funny.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzuIHmyYTU8
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LGBT Inside Out Festival: HOOKED (USA 2017

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hooked.jpgDirector: Max Emerson
Writer: Max Emerson
Stars: Jared Sandler, Katie McClellan, Conor Donnally

Review by Gilbert Seah

In the United States, 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. (In Toronto, the estimate is anywhere from 20 to 40 percent.)

Max Emerson’s crowd funded film HOOKED as in Hookers) aim at two goals. The first is to make a relevant film on the subject and the second to reach out to people for funds to help the LGBT homeless.

His film has the subject of an 18-year old hustler called Jack. Jack and his boyfriend Tom are an item, close and very much in love with each other. Otherwise, Jack is impulsive and explosive with few redeeming qualities.

A married man, Matt who has not come out of the closet takes Jack from NYC to Miami with the intention of helping him. The trouble with this well intentioned but terrible film is that it is laden with cliches such as Matt’s unforgiving wife to his unfunny priest offering ridiculous advice.

At worst, Emerson’s film is preachy to the point of annoying with the the story leading to a predictable climax when the film ends asking unashamedly for donations. Every male in the film appears to have hard and beautiful bodies, a fact so terribly false, in the real world.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfLodk5fH7w

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LGBT Inside Out Festival: HEARTSTONE (Iceland 2016) ***

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heartstoneA remote fishing village in Iceland. Teenage boys Thor and Christian experience a turbulent summer as one tries to win the heart of a girl while the other discovers new feelings toward his best friend. When summer ends and the harsh nature of Iceland takes back its rights, it’s time to leave the playground and face adulthood.

Director: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Writer: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Stars: Baldur Einarsson, Blær Hinriksson, Diljá Valsdóttir

Review by Gilbert Seah
 

HEARTSTONE is the dramatic story of two pre-teens, Thor and Christian who are so good friends that others around think that they might be gay.

As homosexuality is looked down upon in the small fishing village setting, things get to a boil. It does not help that Christian has an abusive often-drunk father and Thor, two older bullying sisters and a single mother who becomes the talk of the village when she starts dating again. A big plus of HEARTSTONE is its Icelandic setting.

The landscape and photography are nothing short of stunning. For example, when the from door opens in once scene where Christian bolts out of the house, one can see the sea and mountains in the background. As the film progresses, Thor begins to attract the attention of a local girl while Christian wrestles with his new unfound feeling towards Thor.

The film begins happily in summer where the boys are mainly playful and ends with the arrival of winter when they have to face the realities of adulthood and their sexual feelings.

Guðmundsson captures the complexity of youth, showing more of the pains and hurt than the joys of youth in his earnest feature.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9Tcw-_SrcA

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Film Review: EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING (USA 2017)

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everything_everything.jpgA teenager who’s lived a sheltered life because she’s allergic to everything, falls for the boy who moves in next door.

Director: Stella Meghie
Writers: J. Mills Goodloe (screenplay), Nicola Yoon (based on the book by)
Stars: Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, Anika Noni Rose

Review by Gilbert Seah
 
EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING is the kind of film that teenagers in love would flock to see. It falls in line with the most awful films of the 70’s like THE BLUE LAGOON, YOU LIGHT MY LIFE and S.W.A.L.K. Young lovers fall in love despite all odds and love conquers all. All logic should be thrown to the wind.

EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING based on the book by Nicola Yoon tells the story of Madeline Whittier (Amandla Stenberg) suffering from some immune deficiency. It can hardly be believed that a book was actually written with this storyline. Any Harlequin paperback would have sufficed and been more believable. The deficiency (referred to as SID – severe immune deficiency in the film), as explained in Maddy’s voiceover prevents her from being exposed to the outside world. She lives in a locked and sealed glass house, with only her mother (Anika Noni Rose) and angelic private nurse, Carla (Ariana Grande) (a latino for political correctness) being her only human contacts.

So what happens? She falls in love with the new neighbour, Olly (Nick Robinson), gets the courage to leave the house and lives happily ever after with no more illness. How does this state of affairs happen? If you really need to know, it is best to read a review with the spoiler than watch this totally bore of a movie. After the first 10 minutes, I was dying for the film to end. No pun intended!

Worst of all, the audience is ‘treated’ to a trip to Hawaii. Apparently Maddy is smart enough to use mother’s credit cards or hack the internet to buy plane tickets for Hawaii and her Olly. They arrive in Hawaii. Lo and behold, they are able to travel in a jeep (courtesy of credit cards) and stay in a stunning resort by the sea. They go swimming and jump off cliffs.

The story skips the details of Olly’s life. The audience sees Olly beaten up by his father. The mother finally separates and leaves with the family to NYC. How can Olly’s family afford such a beautiful home next to Maddy with no solid income?

The attempted political inter-racial romance does not work either. The kissing scenes look awkward. At least the audience is spared from any graphic sex scenes. Kissing is as far as the romance goes. Of course, there is a lot of hugging and shots of smooth teenage skin.

It would have helped if the script by J. Mills Goodloe was at least a bit funny. The only humour present is Ollie’s lame attempts to amuse Maddy through the window. His antics of dropping of cakes as a joke looks more silly than funny. The use of the astronaut as a symbol for Maddy’s seclusiveness is odd. Whenever the couple communicate by text, the film shows them in ridiculous settings, like in a library or in outer space.

One thing that one might do when watching the film is to take out paper and list all the loopholes in the story. Bring lots of paper!
EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING has absolutely nothing to offer in terms of insight into young love, the sickness or family drama. EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING is totally lame in all departments – acting, story, pacing, direction and writing.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42KNwQ6u42U
 

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Film Review: THE COMMUNE (Denmark/Sweden/Netherlands 2016) ****

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the_communeA story about the clash between personal desires, solidarity and tolerance in a Danish commune in the 1970s.

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Writers: Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg
Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Fares Fares, Trine Dyrholm

Review by Gilbert Seah
 

The latest from Thomas Vinterberg (CELEBRATION, THE HUNT) details what happens in a commune. Communes were popular in the 70’s in Denmark, also the time when the film is set. Vintergberg does not judge the workability of a commune environment but shows both sides of its workings – both good and bad.

Vinterberg’s film is a detailed study of the start (and end?) of a commune. He begins with a couple’s rationale on starting their commune. It all happens when Erik’s father passes away. The couple must decide what to do with the huge house that Erik grew up in, as it’s too expensive for them to occupy on their own. So, they decide to form a commune. They believe a commune will solve the problem of money and being able to live at a large residence close to sailing and the sea while living with friends. Anna, the wife also desires change. The question then is whether the couple is ready with problems that may arise. This is what the film examines. It is a good observation, too, that people seldom look at the possible problems when they get too excited on a new venture.

The first 30 minute of the film is up-lifting. The couple decide on the commune, interview the other co-communers. They sign the papers, move in, and frolic naked, drink beer, drink and be merry. All this is demonstrated through the downward spiral of a couple Anna (Trine Dyrholm, who won Best Actress at this year’s Berlinale for her performance and is the best thing about the movie) and her husband, Erik (Ulrich Thomsen). Though the problems that ensure are predictable – jealousies; some that do less work than others; untidy habits – the events that occur are still well conceived and well executed.

The film also works on different levels. It is also a family drama that concentrates on the couple as well as a psychological study on human behaviour. The film gets interesting when members of the commune sit down for their annual meeting. Each member is asked “How are you?” Mona is accused of too much traffic in and out of the house (she is seeing too many men) while Allon is crying after being accused of not paying his deposit.

Every scene in the film is also ripe for analysis on behaviour. One scene in which Erik interviews Allon as a possible candidate for living in the house illustrates the interaction of two different characters with intriguing results. Another is Erik’s humiliation of Jesper, one of his students. The reason of his doing so forms a good topic for discussion. Yet another is when Erik’s daughter catches her father cheating on the mother.

Compared to other Vinterberg films like CELEBRATION, the images are crystal clear and there is much less hand held camera used. When the actors are seated, the camera is mounted and when the actors are walking or on the move, it is hand held camera (fortunately held quite steady without noticeable jittery movements). THE COMMUNE is Vinterberg’s most emotional film.

The main message of commune living would be that it works if one works at making it work. An insightful and absorbing film!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsEXwrgKjQ0
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LGBT Inside Out Film Festival: PROM KING 2010 (USA 2017)

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prom_kingA young romantic navigates college dating while striving to reconcile homosexuality with his classic, cinematic ideals.

Director: Christopher Schaap
Writer: Christopher Schaap
Stars: Julia Weldon, Mikaela Izquierdo, Lionel Thomas

Review by Gilbert Seah 

PROM KING 2010 is a teen movie directed, written and starring a teen, Christopher Schaap. The story has a loose narrative that follows protagonist Charlie (Schaap) through his college dating days.

Charlie comes across on screen as a princess with Nancy boy mannerisms who cannot decide but thinks he knows what he wants and cries any time he cannot get it. There are flaws in the film but one should also give the the young director some credit.

Schaap does bring his little world into focus, realistic as it is, seen though one would find it difficult to sympathize with his character. What he goes through, puppy love, infatuation and the need to have a boyfriend and the need to be accepted are all the actual things young gay boys go through.

Schaap obviously idolizes Woody Allen from the poster of Allen’s MANHATTAN pinned up in his room. For a film about a boy in college, there are hardly any scenes on campus grounds or on him having to study or take exams.

In the end, Schaap’s film goes nowhere though one would expect at least to have some of his insight as in Woody Allen’s MANHATTAN.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/203858177

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Film Review: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL (USA 2017) ****

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diaryofawimpykid_2A Heffley family road trip to attend Meemaw’s 90th birthday party goes hilariously off course thanks to Greg’s newest scheme to get to a video gaming convention.

Director: David Bowers
Writers: Jeff Kinney (screenplay), David Bowers (screenplay)
Stars: Alicia Silverstone, Tom Everett Scott, Charlie Wright

Review by Gilbert Seah 

Few things that need to be known before watching the new Wimpy Kid film, the 4th instalment of the series! The new film is a family road comedy film based on the book (the 9th) of the same name by Jeff Kinney. It is intended to be a sequel to 2012’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. The original cast and crew members from the first three films will not be reprising their roles, making this the first film to feature an entirely new cast for the reason that the originators have all grown too old for their parts.

Jason Drucker is winning in his role of the wimpy kid, Greg Heffler, taking over from from Zachary Gordon. Charlie Wright who plays his elder brother is even funnier than Devon Bostick. Alicia Silverstone who plays mother is now grown up from her teen films like CLUELESS.

What is rarely seen in films with a loose narrative like this one are the many instances in which slight gags are not only tied into the story but re-appear again at different parts of the film. The piglet that is won at the country fair, is seen again doing ‘poopie’ later in the car and re-appears once again at the reunion with the family. The wronged ‘beardo’ (the wimpy kid’s term for the weirdo with the beard) appears half a dozen times in the film. The mother’s favourite song is sung once again at the end of the film. The diaper hands joke at the start of the film also has significance at the end of the film.

The incidents occurring in the film are not totally identical to the book by Jeff Kinney, but have been modified for the big screen. The deviations work very well.

There is also much to appreciate in this apparently commercial family film. The camera work in one segment is nothing short of amazing. The 5-minute hilarious sequence shot in the cramped space of a car where the audience is treated to a piglet poop, a runaway piglet, a spit-out pacifier and other family antics is indicative that enormous talent is also necessary to make a comedy like this one.

Two hilarious sequences pay homage to Hitchcock films THE BIRDS and PSYCHO. In the one scene, seagulls attack the family car with that segment ending with a seagull literally thrown at actor Drucker just as Hitchcock threw a bird at his star Tippi Hedren. The PSYCHO shower scene is extremely well done complete with chocolate syrup running down the tub hole and the shower curtain ripped off the railing and even funnier than the similar scene in Mel Brooks’ HIGH ANXIETY.

This latest WIMPY KID outing proves that with a good script and direction, perfect comedic timing and winning performances, a film can be thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable for the target family audience and beyond. It turns out that this film is 100 times funnier than the other Fox comedy, SNATCHED released two weeks back.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7PLDbPPL7w

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THE BLEEDER (former title: CHUCK) (USA 2016) ***

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chuckA drama inspired by the life of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner.

Director: Philippe Falardeau
Writers: Jeff Feuerzeig, Jerry Stahl
Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Naomi Watts, Ron Perlman, Liev Schreiber

Review by Gilbert Seah

 Quebec director Falardeau has made some excellent Quebec films like CONGORAMA, MONSIEUR LAZHAR (his most famous and critical acclaimed film) and MY INTERNSHIP IN CANADA. THE BLEEDER with all its good points, however, is unable to reach the director’s high point, probably due to its depressing subject matter, though based on a true story.

The film is based on the life of Chuck Wepner (Liev Schreiber). It traces the rise to fall to redemption of Chuck, the man concentrating on his personal life rather than his boxing. It is tough to see a man from the Bronx, go down after gaining fame. The life of fame and riches seduced the man, resulting in him leaving his wife, doing drugs like cocaine and flirting around.

The atmosphere of the 70’s where the story takes place is authentically created. There are 70’s period films that do not look as if they were made in the 70’s, The BLEEDER looks as if it was made in the 70’s. Everything from props, dialogue, hair, music and sets is perfect.

This is the life of Chuck Wepner, best known for his 1975 fight with the heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali. The film is called THE BLEEDER because Chuck is able to take punishment, which allowed him to stay that many rounds in the ring with Muhammad Ali.

Live Schreiber plays Chuck the loser that he is. He is not too bright either. When he learns that Stallone stole his life story, he calls United Artists and asks to speak to directly to Stallone. When Chuck finally meets Stallone, he does not even ask him for royalties. One problem with the film is that Chuck is not a likeable human being. Worse, is that he is a loser with few redeeming qualities. It is hard to feel sorry for a man who was married three times who keeps cheating on his wives. His daughter is understandably upset with him. Everyone would be, including the teacher at a PTA meeting who walks away disgusted. Unlike the film ROCKY, which is based on Chuck’s life a film that became so popular because ROCKY was about a winner, THE BLEEDER is about a loser.

The boxing scenes are violent and necessarily so, as the film has to show the character living up to the name of Bleeder. The main match, the one between Muhammad Ali and Chuck is convincing enough to look like the real thing.
Schreiber is excellent in his role as Elizabeth Moss is as his second wife. The film does not really explain how Sylvester Stallone learned about Chuck’s life to portray him so accurately in his Oscar Winning film. The actor, Morgan Spector playing Stallone is totally laughable in his look – looking like a skinny though toned version of the Stallion.

THE BLEEDER is not a bad film. But a depressing film about a loser is going to be a tough sell to attract audiences.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AQXwOOqNNw

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