2017 movies

Film Review: VIOLET (Belgium/Netherlands)

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violet.jpg15-year-old Jesse is the only one who witnessed the stabbing of his friend Jonas. Now he has to face his family and friends form the BMX riders crew and explain the unexplainable – how he feels about it.

Director: Bas Devos
Writer: Bas Devos
Stars: Cesar De Sutter, Koen De Sutter, Mira Helmer

Review by Gilbert Seah
 
Bas Devos has been described by the film’s publicist, from his film VIOLET as a young Bela Tarr. Though both directors share their love for long takes, there are also differences and similarities. For one, VIOET has a running time of only 81 minutes compared to the lengthy Bela Tarr epics.

VIOLET tells the story of the aftermath emotional trauma caused on 15-years old Jesse (Cesar de Sutter) when he witnesses the meaningless killing of his friend Jonas in a mall. The entire horrible incident is captured on close circuit television, and viewed by the mall’s security as well as the audience. Director Devos puts the audience in voyeur mode. But what is seen is from the point of view of what is in front of the camera rather than what is at the end of it.

Another segment, worthy of mention has the camera placed outside Jesse’s house at night time. From the figures in the windows that are lit up, the audience can see what is happening with the three family members – a sort of a more ingenious take of the split screen technique.

The most stunning visuals are shot in the woods where Jesse and his BMX rider friends ride their bikes across the moguls. The sight of the bikes and riders jumping up and down, without showing the ground will well be remembered from the film.

The killing is seen in a long take, as observed by an unseen security guard (who even goes and returns from a break). Afterwards, it shifts to the activities and emotional trauma of Jesse.

What is important is that Jesse feels guilty that he did nothing to intervene with his friend’s stabbing. His friends and family cannot understand why Jesse’s behaviour either. His guilt is heightened by one if his friends ostracizing from his bike group, saying to him that he cannot be one of them. The deed results in the additional odd behaviour of his parents (Raf Walschaerts and Mira Helmer). His father shows him sudden bursts of affection like hugging and kissing while his mother acts as if nothing has happened, as evident in the scene where the two eat popcorn and laugh, watching TV.

The film is characterized with long takes and imagery that is often hazy, distorted, colour saturated and blurry. Perhaps they are used to emphasize Jesse’s the mental state.

The film contains intervals of silence. The film title is taken from the musical group Deafheaven’s song “Violet”. In contrast, the film contains a heavy metal song in a set-piece when father and son attend a Deafheaven concert, where the spectators are seen (out-of-focus) jumping up and down.

VIOLET has an open ending in which there is a 6-minute long, long take that is both mesmerizing and puzzling.

Though this art house piece might be too slow and artsy for commercial audiences, Devos’ film is nevertheless fascination in its look, presentation and execution. That is perhaps the reason this 2014 film took a while, but at least got commercial distribution.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77d1wq-1qBw

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Film Review: PARIS CAN WAIT (USA 2017) Directed by Eleanor Coppola

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paris_can_waitAnne is at a crossroads in her life. Long married to a successful, driven but inattentive movie producer, she unexpectedly finds herself taking a car trip from Cannes to Paris with a business associate of her husband. What should be a seven-hour drive turns into a carefree two-day adventure replete with diversions involving picturesque sights, fine food and wine, humor, wisdom and romance, reawakening Anne’s senses and giving her a new lust for life.

Director: Eleanor Coppola
Writer: Eleanor Coppola
Stars: Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin, Arnaud Viard

Review by Gilbert Seah

 PARIS CAN WAIT opens at the Cannes Film Festival (where the film was shot). (Nothing is seen of the Cannes film festival or of any stars though, so one assumes that it was not shot during that time.) Anne (Diane Lane) is here with her producer husband Michael (Alec Baldwin) who can be observed as loving his wife yet too busy to pay her much attention. When she thinks he is answering her questions, he is actually speaking to the person on the other side of his phone. When an earache prevents Anne from flying to Budapest with Michael, Michael’s film associate Jacques (Arnaud Viard) offers to drive her to Paris, while Michael heads to Budapest for a film.

But Jacques diverts on the trip, and hence the title PARIS CAN WAIT. Anne filly arrives in Paris at the end of the film, delayed while her husband grows suspicious. In the mean time, Jacques plays on his charm to woo Anne – and finally makes his move.

PARIS CAN WAIT is a light comedy that is neither very funny nor amusing. The characters are superficially pleasant, but only to each other. If one looks deeper, each one is selfish to each one end.

Coppola’s film is full of little observations. She uses her characters nuances to point out flaws and strengths in their personalities. But the three characters are the idle rich who probably have lived all their lives in luxurious decadence. As a result, the audience can hardly feel for any of the three – whether they cheat or remain faithful. They just come across as three annoying people unconnected to the real world.

In the film, Coppola takes her audience to see the France only the fortunate see. Thee are no scene of poverty or minorities or any of the hardship that is taking place in the E.U. The characters wine and dine in luxury, always complaining about the ridiculous. Anne complains a great deal about how she cannot get cheese at room service that she had to order a cheeseburger to get some. It is a haughty and selfish behaviour with that spirit prevailing throughout the film. The two principal characters are travelling around in a gorgeous Peugeot convertible.

It is surprising the this is the same director that made the insightful documentary HEART OF DARKNESS that revealed the insides of her husband’s APOCALYPSE NOW. Where did all the talent and insight disappear to?
The film is shot in English and French without any subtitles for the French portion. The dialogue is mostly inconsequential which means that is no need for any translation.

The climax of the film is the scene where Anne ends up putting a clip to tidy up her hair behind her head, as if tidying up all the ends that have taken place, a clever subtle metaphor in the film. It is an odd way to end the film, as it is an odd film – indulgent, insufferable and impossible.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTrT6QSqnGs

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Film Review: THE GARDENER (Canada 2016) ***

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the_gardener.jpgThe Gardener is a documentary directed by Sebastien Chabot about Frank Cabot’s Les Quatre Vents, aka Cabot Garden, a magnificent private garden in the Charlevoix region near Quebec City.

Director: Sébastien Chabot
Writer: Sébastien Chabot
Stars: Francis Cabot, Anne Cabot, Adrienne Clarkson

Review by Gilbert Seah
 
Veteran of Canada’s TV industry, director Sébastien Chabot first feature documentary THE GARDENER offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience arguably the most beautiful garden in the world. This garden is designed and cultivated by Frank Cabot (recently deceased in 2011), THE GARDENER of the title who is also a philanthropist and horticulturalist.

The garden’s beauty, as well as Cabot’s boundless passion and his commitment to refining their every last detail are captured in the pensive and stunningly photographed film.

The garden is called Les Quatre Vents (The Four Winds) at Malbaie, Quebec. It is only near the end of the film that Chabot reveals that this Garden of Eden is now open to the public. It is open only for 4 Saturdays of the year at a price of $30 per person and sold only in November. Needless to say, the tickets are always sold out and each person is allowed a maximum purchase of 4 tickets. (this year’s tickets are sold out and the 2018 tickets go on sale in December). It is practically a sure thing that anyone watching Chabot’s film will mark this calendar date to book the tickets.

The film contains two days of interviews of Cabot. It is fortunate as audiences get to hear Cabot’s perspective on life and on the design of his garden. Cabot was ill at that time but agreed to be interviewed. His wife and close friends also tie in their points of view on the garden.

The best segments of the film are the shots of the garden. From the tiered waterfalls, sculptured hedges, flowers and stone sculptures to the garden paths, the tour of the 20-acres of Cabot’s land is nothing short of magnificent.

Cabot talks about his garden being like a symphony. It is a bit tacky that Chabot immediately follows this comment with symphony music. It is also quite obviously artificial that he adds in the sound of bird chirping during the tracking shots. These are a few forgivable complaints on the film. Original music of the film is provided by Luc St-Pierre.

Chabot spends a fair amount of time, necessarily on the background of the man. It is insightful to see where his ideas originated. Cabot was a rich and wealthy man and a genius in his own right. One can see that a man full of riches and owner of such a magnificent garden would eventually want to share the beauty with the rest of the world. He thus opened the garden to the public for the first time in 1987.

“It was a true pleasure to document the beauty of Les Quatre Vents, and the bold vision of Frank Cabot,” said director Sébastien Chabot. “I’ve been elated to see festival audiences respond so enthusiastically to the film, it’s a privilege to offer people the opportunity to experience a stunning place that only a lucky few have had a chance to see.” These are the same thought echoed in the words of Chabot when interviewed in the film.

The film offers a rare opportunity to see true beauty. Don’t miss it! From May 19, THE GARDEN opens theatrically at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema for a week-long run.

Trailer:​ https://vimeo.com/213602278

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Film Review: ALIEN: COVENANT (USA 2017) ***1/2

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alien_coventent.jpgThe crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.

Director: Ridley Scott

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride

Review by Gilbert Seah

 
ALIEN helmer Ridley Scott (he directed two of the series) proves that at the age of 80, he still has it. The latest ALIEN called ALIEN: COVENANT the second of the prequel before the first ALIEN movie and the sequel to the last PROMETHEUS shows Scott in top form. ALIEN COVENANT is far superior to copycat space horror films like the recent LIFE and PASSENGER. ALIEN: COVENANT is the real thing – with real horrors in the abyss of space that will keep one at the edge of the seat watching face clingers and torso busters (called more mildly face huggers and chest bursters in the film).

The film begins with a short flashback showing Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) while he is still alive; he addresses a synthetic android (Michael Fassbender) who would become part of the Prometheus expedition. Weyland asks the android to select a name for himself and the android selects ‘David’ as his preferred name.

The film moves to the present which is 2104. The crew of the colony ship Covenant is bound for a remote planet with two thousand colonists and a thousand embryos aboard. While en route to their destination, an energy surge damages the ship, killing its captain and waking the crew. As they repair the ship, the crew intercept a radio transmission from a nearby planet and decide to investigate as the transmission is human in origin but the planet is supposedly lifeless. This is when the horror begins.

The first ALIEN film was panned by the critics with the critic at Time Magazine calling it a bastard movie, a cross between STAR WARS and JAWS. One can see why. Like JAWS, the first sight of the alien occurs almost a third into the movie just as the first sight of the shark was never seen till half of the film elapsed – a Hitchcock trait (best example: THE BIRDS). But once the monsters starts bursting out of the victim’s bodies – watch out ! Sound effects, special effects and all the horror instruments filmmakers use are perfectly combined to scare the hell out of audiences and for a fairly lengthy interval of time at that. PASSENGER never achieved that level of effect while LIFE imitated a few of the scares. The alien clinging on the outside of the spaceship as it strives to enter the ship, is seen in both LIFE and COVENANT. There are more characters in COVENANT than in any of the past ALIEN Films or in LIFE and PASSENGER resulting in more grisly deaths as well.

COVENANT is neatly tied in to PROMETHEUS though the audience need not know much about the original film. The film also contains an intricate enough plot, with a sufficient twist at the end, brilliant for the fact that the audience is supposed to guess it.

The only complaint is of the film being a bit confusing, though the confusion can be sorted out with a bit of reflection. One is the use of actor Fassbender to play the two androids David and Walter. The other is the flashback at the start of the film, which is not clearly conveyed to the audience as a flashback. When Fassbender appears on the ship, one assumes he is David, but he is actually Walter. Another disarray arises with the large number of crew suddenly descending on the planet as the film only showed a handful of humans awakened from their slumber.

Scott still uses the gimmicks of the past ALIEN films to ensure the film’s success. Katherine Waterston as Daniels, a terraforming expert looks like a younger Sigourney Weaver, especially in her sweat-soaked undergarments. The sight of the alien eggs before hatching still looks as eerie as before. A few new additions are added like the bath scene (looking almost pornographic) which is comical in a way as the alien strikes like a snake-like creature.

ALIEN: COVENANT returns the franchise to its roots and to what works. Fans and audiences would shriek in delight!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0VW6sg50Pk
 

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Film Review: BON COP BAD COP 2 (Canada 2017)

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boncopbadcop2.jpgA francophone cop and an anglophone RCMP officer reunite to investigate a large car theft ring led by an Italian mobster.

Director: Alain Desrochers
Writer: Patrick Huard
Stars: Colm Feore, Lucie Laurier, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse

Review by Gilbert Seah 

 It is a wonder the reason it took a full 10 years before the highly box-office successful ($12 million) and quite funny sequel to the 2006 BON COP BAD COP to emerge.

The title, a French take on the GOOD COP BAD COP cop genre mentality, again features David Bouchard (Patrick Huard), the rule-bending, francophone detective for the Sûreté du Québec and Martin Ward (Colm Feore), the by-the-book anglophone Ontario Provincial Police detective. The bilingual detectives must once again resolve their professional and cultural differences as well as their bigotry and prejudices to solve a case. When the film opens, Dave is undercover on a car heist job when Martin and his men break into the garage. Following the events of the first film, Martin Ward (Feore) and David Bouchard (Huard) have remained friends but have gradually grown apart as their lives and careers have taken them in different directions; Ward is now a senior officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In the present day, they are reunited to investigate a car theft ring which turns out to be a front for a much bigger terrorist plot.

Quebecois actor Patric Huard seems to have taken more than he can chew. In the sequel he is producer, writer and main actor. The first was written by Huard and 3 other writers, and this one he tackles the whole task alone. While the script contains a few genuine brilliant bits, especially concerning Canada’s American neighbours, but the script is far from funny and dips into too much sentiment. If Martin is not working hard enough and suffering from a degenerative motor-malfunctioning disease (the Lou Gehrig disease), Dave is faced with a neglected wife. And if that is not enough, Dave’s son has gone bad and almost gets himself killed. The script also contains a few discontinuity problems. At the start, during the illegal vehicle takedown, Martin is heard telling his men over the wire that Dave, while taking him hostage is undercover. Why then in the next scene, does Martin insist on Dave beating him up to convince his men of his escape? The car chase at the film’s start also has continuity problems. (The same background of the Toronto highway and viaduct is shown twice at different parts of the chase.)

BON COP BAD COP 2 is the kind of film that will make the big bucks in French Canada. Huard also brings in the national game of hockey for additional boost. But English Canada will likely stay away from this film, and even more so for the southern neighbours, the Americans, especially when they are insulted this much in the film.

The film is shot in both French and English. Feore proves himself to be quite the bi-lingual actor, cursing all the time in French like a true natural. Feore and Huard make a good team in the film.

Number 2 is not as funny as the first (which I recall was very entertaining), and not even as exciting.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un2iSp0VEMY 

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Film Review: THE WEDDING PLAN (Israel 2016)

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the_wedding_plan.jWhen her fiancé bows out on the eve of her wedding, Michal refuses to cancel the wedding arrangements. An Orthodox Jew, she insists that God will supply her a husband. As the clock ticks down.

Director: Rama Burshtein
Writer: Rama Burshtein
Stars: Dafi Alferon, Noa Koler, Oded Leopold

Review by Gilbert Seah 

THE WEDDING PLAN is not the first film where the female protagonists decides she should get married and then starts to find a suitable groom. Eric Rohmer’s 1982 comedy of manners LE BEAU MARIAGE share the same premise.

In the Israel film THE WEDDING PLAN, Michal (Noa Kooler) at the age of 32, is finally looking forward to the comfort and security of marriage. But unexpectedly, she has just been ditched by her fiancé. No total fault of the fiancé. Michal practically scares him away from the alter from her obsessiveness for answers, showing her to be a control freak, something no man can tolerate.

THE WEDDING PLAN is that rare comedy that examines the anxieties arising from a marriage. Most wedding comedies are romantic comedies that mostly assume that everything is perfect once the wedding takes place. But as writer/director Rama Burshtein (FILL THE VOID) demonstares, this is often not the case. One is settling down with a total stranger, and each would want their own way, and both do not want to be controlled.

After being ditched (in a comical yet believable way in which the audience both feels for Michal despite her part blame), she decides to book the wedding hall in 28 days and then find a groom. Being a Jewish film, religion plays a big part. Michal convinces herself that marriage is the best thing for her and why would not God want the best thing for her. Good reasoning, but what unfolds might not be directly what she think’s God plan is.

Unwilling to return to lonely single life, Michal decides to put her trust in fate and continue with her wedding plans, believing Mr. Right will appear by her chosen date. Confident she will find a match made in heaven, she books a venue, sends out invitations and buys a wedding dress, as her skeptical mother and sister look on with trepidation. During Michal’s month-long search for a spouse, she enlists the help of two different matchmakers, goes on a series of disastrous blind dates and finds an unexpected connection with a charming but utterly unsuitable pop star — all while dismissing pleas by concerned friends and family members that she reconsider her risky plan. As the day of the ceremony grows closer and no suitor appears, Michal puts everything on the line to find happiness.

The success of the film rests on the performance of lead actress Noa Kooler. She delivers sincere and heartfelt performance that many will sympathize with, as many would likely be in the same boat as Michal.
The trouble with the film is its last 20 minutes. At that point, it becomes obvious who she will marry. Burshtein’s film also becomes annoyingly manipulative. Everything Michal does is fine and everything works too conveniently well towards her big wedding day. There is a family song and dance that is so awfully coy that it is unbearable to watch.

Like most romantic comedies with female protagonists, THE WEDDING PLAN is clearly a chick flick and one with religion thrown in. THE WEDDING PAN eventually lies on the list of forgettable Hollywood romantic comedies.

Trailer: http://www.filmswelike.com/films/the-wedding-plan

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Film Review: THE LOVERS (USA 2017) ****

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the_lovers.jpgDebra Winger and Tracy Letts play a long-married, dispassionate couple who are both in the midst of serious affairs. But on the brink of calling it quits, a spark between them suddenly reignites, leading them into an impulsive romance.

Director: Azazel Jacobs
Writer: Azazel Jacobs
Stars: Debra Winger, Tracy Letts, Aidan Gillen

Review by Gilbert Seah

Filmmakers have alway been fascinated with ex-wives with the best romantic comedies (this reviewed film included) been made on this subject. Immediately coming to mind are Paul Mazursky’s 1973 BLUME IN LOVE where George Segal spends the entire film wooing his ex-wife played by Susan Anspach and the 2001 French film MA FEMME EST UNE ACTRICE where actor/director Yvan Attal falls in love with his ex-wife played by his real life wife Charlotte Gainsbourg.

When I first saw the trailer for THE LOVERS which is advertised as a grown-up comedy about a married couple who cheat on their lovers – with each other, I had the least desire to watch the film. But as fate turns out, THE LOVERS turns out to be a brilliantly executed piece of work that excels in all departments.

Jacob’s’s film is one of the most romantic films seen in a while, and filled with romantic touches. Gestures like husband Michael placing his hand on wife, Mary’s shoulder or talking ‘duck’ takeout to her on the cell phone demonstrate a true and sincere love that many couple should follow.

Michael and Mary are a decades long married couple with a son coming home from college with his girlfriend. Each is having an affair and both intend to end the marriage after the son’s visit.

Mary is played by three time Oscar nominee Debra Winger (SHADOWLANDS, AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN and TERMS OF ENDEARMENT). Michael is played by the excellent Tracy Letts, who many might not know. Letts is a Tony-Award winning actor from WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? and he was also remarkable in the supporting role of the Dean at the college in last year’s INDIGNANT). Letts displays a kinder and more charming character than his other two previously mentioned roles. Letts is a total charmer (to his wife, mistress and to the audience) able too, to elicit total sympathy despite cheating on his wife – quite the accomplishment. In the scene where his son Joel (Tyler Ross) calls him a cheating piece of shit, and he walks away head lowered and mutters, “I am”. One can immediately sense the presence of a great actor.

Composer Mandy Hoffman exceptional score has a retro feel for most of it is written in E-flat, reflecting the sensation of Mary and Michael’s off-kilter world. Near the end, it switches to a sharp key, providing a new joyfulness. A key scene of the film at the end has actor Letts playing the piano and singing the 1971 Labi Shiffre song “It Must be Love” while images of both Michael and Mary’s present and past loves flash across the screen. The original pop song performed by the group Madness was tacky but Jacobs lifts this song to a whole new level for his film. It is a scene that shows that the choice of a partner is not always an easy one and that it can be painful to be so much in love.

Jacob’s film also manages to elude the typical ending where Michael and Mary decide on staying or leaving. It is a sort of fade-to-black but subtly done. But mostly, THE LOVERS is a film about love that has survived because love that can never die.

Warning: Bring lots of Kleenex for the movie. A totally charming and entertaining love story that is still an eye-opener for everyone who has been in a relationship.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk-T71VhP8I

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Film Review: SNATCHED (USA 2017) ***

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snatched.jpgWhen her boyfriend dumps her before their exotic vacation, a young woman persuades her ultra-cautious mother to travel with her to paradise, with unexpected results.

Director: Jonathan Levine
Writer: Katie Dippold
Stars: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Kim Caramele

Review by Gilbert Seah

 Written by Katie Dippold, inspired by her own relationship with her mother, the new Mother’s Day comedy SNATCHED follows the unexpected adventures of a daughter Emily Middleton (Amy Schumer) and mother Linda (Goldie Hawn) when they get kidnapped while vacationing in Ecuador.
The script offers plenty of opportunities for hilarity. The story calls for Emily to be jilted by her boyfriend (Randall Park). She convinces her single mother, who never goes out to vacation with her. While on holiday, Emily’s constant flirting with men causes her to be conned on a day trip where she drags mother along. It is a trap for a kidnapping and ransom. Their escape means a possible hilarious escape through the Amazon while dodging bullets and arrows. Throw in a few very odd characters like Emily’s agoraphobic brother who is a mamma’s boy, two fellow tourists who are supposed to be experts on South America, jungle doctors and a Indiana Jones adventurer who is dying of cancer and one might expect a big hit comedy.

Not quite! The many opportunities for comedy result in the film often being all over the place. This fact might be good in a way, as it escapes the trap (almost) of dealing with the past broken mother/daughter relationship. To director Levine and scriptwriter Dippold’s credit, a few of the comedic set-ups are really funny – laugh-out loud funny.

The segment in which Emily is discovered with a tropical ailment – the infection of a tapeworm is inspired madness. The local doctor lures the tapeworm out (a monster of a reptile equivalent to anything from the ALIEN films) with a chunk of meat before the monster worm squirms itself out of Emily’s mouth.

The prized comedic performance goes to Ike Barinholtz as Jeffrey, Emily’s crazy brother who she initially despises. But when he discovers his mamma (that is what he calls her in the film) and sister kidnapped, he bravely leaves the house, contacts the American Embassy and leads a rescue mission in Colombia. Barinholtz , who has never been anything short of hilarious (remember him as the loud laughing clown in NEIGHBORS TWO) totally steals every single scene in this movie. It is hard not to laugh every time he utter the word ‘mamma’. Goldie Hawn who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress way back when in CACTUS FLOWER still proves she has the acting chops. In the one dramatic scene where she stands by her principles touting her unthankful work of a mother, she demonstrates once again a superior screen presence. John Cusack and Wanda Sykes play a ‘gay’ couple who help rescue Emily and Linda. Cusack’s military stunts are perfectly timed for hilarity.

The film does not shy away from being an adult comedy. Schumer showcases her breast in one funny scene. There are quite a few killings in the film, though the bad men are the ones accidentally shot or speared.

Despite the film’s few flaws, SNATCHED has lots to enjoy – Goldie Hawn on the scene again, scene stealer Ike Barinholtz, Joan Cusack’s acrobatics and mostly, the priceless laugh-out loud moments.

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

_________

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Inside Out LGBT Film Festival Review: THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR (USA 2017) ***

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allencarArmed with a limitless Rolodex and a Benedict Canyon enclave with its own disco, Allan Carr threw the Hollywood parties that defined the 1970s. A producer, manager, and marketing genius, Carr built his bombastic reputation amid a series of successes including the mega-hit musical film GREASE, until it all came crashing down after he produced the 1989 Academy Awards, a notorious debacle.

Director: Jeffrey Schwarz
Stars: Goldie Hawn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bette Davis

Review by Gilbert Seah 

Those who remember the fabulous documentary TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL screened at Inside Out two years back can expect the same fabulousness in director Jeffrey Schwarz’s new documentary of another Hollywood larger-than-life figure.

The subject is gay producer and promoter Allan Carr (before known as Alan Solomon). Carr is a short, fat little man but did not let his non-fabulous features stop him from being the celebrity and everyone’s darling party organizer. Carr has to his credits, the films GREASE (the highest grossing film of 1978), CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and also the infamous Snow White at the 1989 Academy Awards.

But the film also traces his disastrous flops like GREASE 2 and WHERE THE BOYS ARE. Schwarz captures all the glamour of Hollywood and its stars, from the eyes of Carr who narrates a fair part of his autobiography.

The film contains lots of nostalgia with lots of film clips from oldies and goodies like GREASE with a few archive footage of the old Hollywood gay scene.

But most important is the fact that the film also tells the truth about the real Carr – warts and all and, as his personal assistant describes, his Jekyll and Hyde behaviour.
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Full Review: THE BELKO EXPERIMENT (USA 2016) ****

festreviews 2017 movies, movie, Movie Review , , , , , , ,

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the_belko_experiment_poster.jpgIn a twisted social experiment, 80 Americans are locked in their high-rise corporate office in Bogotá, Colombia and ordered by an unknown voice coming from the company’s intercom system to participate in a deadly game of kill or be killed.
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Director: Greg McLean
Writer: James Gunn
Stars: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona

Review by Gilbert Seah
 
Aussie director Greg McLean (Australians always have their special edgy sense of humour) and scriptwriter James Gunn (remember his super-gross SLITHER?) join forces to deliver the perfect horror thriller on office culture. Originally premiered in the Midnight Madness section at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the film still proves a fascinating watch the second time around.

Office politics turns into a real-life survival of the fittest when workers at Belko Company are forced into a sick game of kill or be killed by unknown sinister forces (revealed at the end of the film) that lock down their building, in this gruesomely funny horror thriller. It at first seems to be an ordinary morning on the job for a group of Americans working for a not-for-profit company in a modern office building in Colombia. After noticing that their Colombian colleagues have not arrived for work, office worker Mike (John Gallagher, Jr.) spots some unfamiliar security guards entering a large hangar nearby. Moments later, an icy voice comes over the building’s PA system and calmly explains that the employees must kill 2 other employers of their choice within 30 minutes — if not, they will be killed themselves. While the boss (Tony Goldwyn) tries to calm the troops, Mike belatedly realizes that something truly sinister is going on — and when metal doors come sliding down on all the building’s exits and windows, it becomes clear that friends and colleagues are now suddenly enemies in a bloody and brutal battle to the death.

Even before the action begins, McLean delivers lots of inside office jokes like the isolation of working in a cubicle, sexual harassment and the introduction of new employees. The film contains a good cross-section of workers like the maintenance men, the security, the bitchy lady manager et al. The film is a mix between disaster, sci-fi, horror and comedy which means that the filmmakers have plenty to play around with. In the kill to survive scenario, there is the good guy with all the right motives, the bad boss (handsome Goldwyn doing the villain as he did in GHOST), the unstable psycho, the asshole, the plump good meaning lady and so on.

The music, by Tyler Bates (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2), is an assembly of musical numbers from classical Tchaikovsky to a Latino version of “I Will Survive” effectively used at appropriate intervals. The sounds effects are superb especially the metal closing of the windows and doors.

Besides being a well-made horror thriller, McLean also squeezes in office satire and a fews good metaphors like the segment of the dos shitting and covering up its shit outside the Belko compound. There are a few predictable parts – like the one involving the office pervert/asshole sexually harassing the pretty employee. His comeuppance, with his life at her mercy comes as no surprise but provides the biggest cheer of the movie.

Best of all, the ending is unexpected, also providing a good twist to the story. THE BELKO EXPERIMENT proves to be very violent and satisfactory fun, if one can stomach the graphic violence.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W46xo3AvBA
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