Film Review: DUMBO (USA 2019) ***

March 28, 2019 festreviews 2019 Movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, DUMBO, film review, gilbert seah, Michael Keaton, Tim Burton

A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.

Everyone loves and remembers Disney’s 1941 favourite animated feel-good fantasy, DUMBO. Dumbo, the baby elephant is born with huge ears that allow him to fly thus becoming the sensation of the circus. Don’t expect the same with the live action film DUMBO written by Ehran Kruger and directed by Tim Burton. Burton’s most famous films were BEETLEJUICE, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS all known for its darkness and nightmarish ideas. It is not surprising then that Burton’s DUMBO is dark and gloomy. Dumbo rarely smiles, the scenes are mostly dark and the soundtrack is filled with loud and annoying sounds like chimpanzees screening, loud circus music and people yelling rather than talking normally. Those prone to migraines best stay away from this one.

The films starts on a bleak note where a rundown train carrying the circus that is falling on hard times travel through poverty America. Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) is returning by train home to his children after the war. It is revealed that he has lost one arm. His wife has also passed away from influenza. Holt is out of a job because circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) sold his horses). How more gloomy can the plot get?

More! Baby Dumbo is born and separated from his mother. The circus is sold to a conniving entrepreneur, V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) who is out to make money out of the new sensation of the flying elephant. Dumbo’s act needs to be polished and creates havoc when Vandevere wants the bank to invest money in his amusement world.

The magic of the original DUMBO emerges only a few times in the movie – mainly when Dumbo soars into the air. Even then, most of the flight takes place in the enclosed tent and if outside, occurs in the dead of night.

A lighter note is added with the characters of Max Medici and Vandevere’s French girlfriend Colette (Eva Green). Both have the propensity to do good. The end up taking Dumbo’s side. Even the one henchman of Vandevere ordered to kill Dumbo’s mother tells on the deed, and quits his job out of disgust at his boss. Keaton in full powder-packed make-up, hams up his villainous character to the extreme of being cartoonish. His love for money ends up his downfall.

Nico Parker as Milly Farrier, Holt’s daughter and Finley Hobbins as Joe, Holt’s son are sufficiently charming reminding audiences that this is supposed to be a family movie. The other circus performers are just there for show with little much to do except for Miss Atlantis (Sharon Rooney) who does a few mermaid tricks and the snake charmer (Roshan Seth) who gets to utter the magic words “Fly my little one!”

But for whatever is director Burton’s vision for the film, he does effectively capture the gloom of a struggling circus as he does on a world recovery from the war. His mark is certainly stamped on this movie.

For all that it is worth in terms of gloom vs. feel-good, DUMBO does grab the audience into the adventure of the circus and one does feel sorry for the elephant when his mother is forced to leave him.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NiYVoqBt-8

ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. (USA 2017) ***

November 15, 2017 festreviews 2017 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized Carmen Ejogo, Colin Farrell, dan gilroy, Denzel Washington, ESQ. (USA 2017) ***, film reviews, ROMAN J. ISRAEL

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Denzel Washington stars as Roman Israel, a driven, idealistic defense attorney who, through a tumultuous series of events, finds himself in a crisis that leads to extreme action.

Director:

Dan Gilroy

Writer:

Dan Gilroy

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo |

Writer/director Dan Gilroy’s ROMAN J. ISRAEL is a film that tries very hard to be perfect, just as its subject, ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ (Denzel Washington) tries to be. But perfection is a state that is almost impossible to achieve with regards to the film and its subject, and this point comes clear at the end of the film. Which is a shame considering writer/director Gilroy’s noble intentions.

The film begins with a document in the making, with a plaintiff and defendant named the same person Roman J. Israel, Esq. The film flashbacks three years earlier to explain how this state of affairs comes to be.

Gilroy introduces his man, Israel as a noble man, but one that is not respected by many as this is a man not of the world, but of humbler means but with proud aspirations. He works in a small law firm with his partner taking on small cases that matter in terms of human rights and fairness. The partner does all the court appearances while Israel all the ground work. When his partner, the firm’s front man, has a heart attack, Israel suddenly takes on that role. He finds out some unsettling things about what the crusading law firm has done that run afoul of his values of helping the poor and dispossessed, and he finds himself in an existential crisis that leads to extreme action.

Into the his world arrives two people that make a difference. One is Maya (Carmen Ejogo) who looks up to him and who he eventually falls in love with. The other is the head of a well established and successful law firm, Arthur (Colin Farrell) whom his partner taught and inspired in law school. Arthur takes Israel in, hoping to find his conscience that he has almost lost in the world of business and law.

What stands out in this incredible story is Roman’s downfall. Like any other man, he is tempted by the good life. Roman takes a bite of the apple in the garden of Eden. The apple arrives in the reward money Roman quietly takes from one of his cases. And he is found out.

A lot of the film rests on Oscar Winner Denzel Washington’s performance. Roman is the main subject who is in almost every scene. Roman not only undergoes a character change once but twice from good to bad and to good again. The character also undergoes a rites-of-passage where he learns about life itself. But the surprise and prized performance comes from Colin Farrell. Farrell douses his unkempt and portly appearance he donned in THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER and THE LOBSTER to reveal a sexy business executive, a Mr. Perfect looking sharp and sexy in his perfectly tailored suits and groomed hair. He finally shows his transition from action actor to star commanding the screen presence in this film so magnificently.

One wishes ROMAN the film would have come out more powerful. The main problem is the film aiming too high. A classic movie arrives with minor flaws, some dull parts and surprises just as what life dishes out. Gilroy’s ROMAN J. ISRAEL, entertaining though it may be, is just too meticulously planned.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CItEtnp3nPY

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Full Review: THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (UK/Ireland 2017) ****

October 31, 2017 festreviews 2017 movies, movie, Movie Review Alicia Silverstone, Colin Farrell, Efthymis Filippou, Full Review: THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (UK/Ireland 2017) ****, gilbert seah, movie review, Nicole Kidman, Yorgos Lanthimos

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Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister.

Director:

Yorgos Lanthimos

Writers:

Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Alicia Silverstone, Colin Farrell

Greek director (DOGTOOTH and THE LOBSTER) Yourgos Lanthimos’ latest feature is a supernatural psychological thriller that is the most difficult to watch despite its bouts of black humour. The reason the film is titled THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER becomes apparent at the film’s end and exposing the reason would spoilt the film’s key plot point.

The film follows Dr. Steven Murphy (Farrell), a cardiac surgeon who is first seen at a diner meeting with a 16-year-old named Martin (Barry Keoghan). The doctor buys the boy an expensive watch as a present. The relationship between the two is revealed as the film goes on. Steven introduces Martin to his wife (Nicole Kidman) and two children. Martin, determined to ingratiate himself into this unfamiliar new family, becomes something like an adopted son. Strange things begin to happen with the children developing paralysis right out of the blue. Dr. Murphy and his team of surgeons are unable to put a medical explanation for the illnesses.

Secrets start coming out of the closet. Director Lanthimos unveils bits at a time, thus keeping the audience in anticipation. Revealing more of the plot in this review will definitely spoil ones enjoyment of the film, and thus no more of the story will be revealed.

It is safe to say that the film gets more and more serious and ends up becoming quite a disturbing watch. Lanthimos does not skimp on the violence and language. The film has a lot of anger and the anger is slowly but surely unleashed by every one in the part concerned.

The humour often comes in the form of inconsequential dialogue, often spoken by the main character, Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell). Hunour is also provided in the way drain information, is relayed to the audience. For example, Steven tells his colleague out of the blue for no reason, that his daughter has begun her menstruation.

The sex scene between husband and wife is as expected a strange one, but sufficiently erotic. Kidman has an almost perfect body. Farrell, Kidman and Keoghan all deliver chilling performances.

The film demands the audience sit back and immerse themselves in the environment of horror. The film is clear a horror film with scary results that resulted in quite a few of the audience at the screening walking out.

The film uses quite a bit of choral music wit a scene of a scene of the daughter singing in the choir. Sound is also used effectively as when Steven takes off his wife’s panties, like the snapping sound of him taking off his surgical gloves.

The film contains some very scary scenes. These include the ones with the son and daughter both paralyzed from the waste down, dragging their bodies around the house, up and down the stairs using their arms. There is also an almost unwatchable scene of Russian Roulette

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER is a well executed psychological and emotional horror film. Not for everyone!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOxiMR6aL74

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TIFF 2017 Movie Review: THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (UK/Ireland 2017) ***1/2

September 9, 2017 festreviews 2017 movies, movie, Short Film Movie Review, TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews Alicia Silverstone, Colin Farrell, Efthymis Filippou, gilbert seah, ireland tiff movies, Nicole Kidman, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER movie, tiff 2017, TIFF movie review, UK tiff movies, Yorgos Lanthimos

Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister.

Director:

Yorgos Lanthimos

Writers:

Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Alicia Silverstone, Colin Farrell

Greek director (DOGTOOTH and THE LOBSTER) Yourgos Lanthimos’s latest feature is a supernatural psychological thriller that is the most difficult to watch despite its bouts of black humour.

The film follows Dr. Steven Murphy (Farrell), a cardiac surgeon who is first seen at a diner meeting with a 16-year-old named Martin (Barry Keoghan).

The doctor buys the boy an expensive watch as a present. The relationship between the two is revealed as the film goes on. Steven introduces Martin to his wife (Nicole Kidman) and two children. Martin, determined to ingratiate himself into this unfamiliar new family, becomes something like an adopted son. Strange things begin to happen with the children developing paralysis right out of the blue.

Secrets start coming out of the closet. Director Lanthimos unveils bits at a time, thus keeping the audience in anticipation. It is safe to say that the film gets more and more serious and ends up becoming quite a disturbing watch. Lanthimos does not skimp on the violence and language.

The film has a lot of anger and the anger is slowly but surely unleashed by every one in the party concerned. THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER is a well executed psychological and emotional horror film but not for everyone!

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

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER