gilbert seah

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

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

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) ****

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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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Film Review: RISK (USA 2017) ***

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rick.jpgThe story of WikiLeak’s editor-in-chief Julian Assange as seen by documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras.

Director: Laura Poitras
Writer: Laura Poitras (narration)
Stars: Julian Assange, Sarah Harrison, Jacob Appelbaum

Review by Gilbert Seah

One might remember the name – Laura Poitras. She was the one who accompanied Edward Snowden from Hong Kong to Moscow when he was in exile, while making the comprehensive doc Oscar Winning CITIZENFOUR that educated the world on the world’s most famous NSA whistleblower. Poitras returns to her roots, dealing again with what she knows best – making docs on whistleblowers or the like. Her new subject is an equally wanted man by the FBI, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Julian is from Norfolk, England.

As with documentary subjects, the subject has to be larger than life, more than a normal person. In a surprise interview with singer/activist Lady Gaga at the embassy, Assange’s answer to one of her questions sums up the man. “Let’s not pretend for a moment I’m a normal person.”

The film begins with his call to the top brass in the U.S. , Julian wishing to speak personally with Hilary Clinton. His famous quote on the phone, Julian Assange: We don’t have a problem, you have a problem. Of course the U.S. authorities do not believe him, and the film documents the escalation of how Julian became one of America’s most wanted men.

As a result since the summer of 2012, Assange has been living at Ecuador’s London Embassy, having received asylum following sexual assault allegations in Sweden – offences Assange denies committing. Going to Sweden would also make him eligible for extradition to the U.S.

One of the most interesting things about documentaries is that the documentarist can never be 100% sure of the film’s end outcome. The same can be said for RISK. Her subject says that he never foresaw the events happening the way they did, and she herself was concerned with the film’s ending. The most important fact is that the doc would highly compromise Julian’s safety.

The film also detours with the side subject of Private Manning who was prosecuted by the U.S. and finally sentenced to more than 140 years of prison.

RISK, as in her other films, incites the anger of the audience at the U.S. authorities especially the FBI, a favourite target. The silly excuse of terrorist protection is again given as an excuse to compromise the privacy of the public. But the case is that they lie and do not reveal how much they have already violated citizen’s rights. The doc is good to explain that unless one is in their radar, they cannot do much with the data that they have – a case of too much data and too little manpower.

RISK ties in with Poitras other doc CITIZENFOUR with Sbowden on display in this film as well.

Because of the film’s nature and subject, it is at times all over the place, as Julian runs from one safe haven to another. The film also feels like an espionage thriller – only that this is the real thing. A fascinating documentary that should be seen!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1teM525rVlc

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Film Review: JEREMIAH TOWER: THE LAST MAGNIFICENT (USA 2015) ***

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jeremiah_tower.jpgBoth a biopic of a complicated man and an exploration of the gathering forces that converged to shape a new American cuisine and create the cult of “celebrity chef”.

Director: Lydia Tenaglia
Stars: Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain, Francesca De Luca

Review by Gilbert Seah

 What’s so special and who is this Jeremiah Tower that the man deserves a full length documentary dedicated to his honour?

Tower is a Master Chef and restaurateur who change the look of restauranting. As chef, he would mingle among the customers, something never done before and he created the importance of a chef’s name in a city. Tower was also a very intriguing person, a visionary and someone, everyone admires.

“I have known Jeremiah for 14 years and yet I can say that I do not know him.” So says one of Jeremiah’s friends. The documentary takes considerable amount of time to introduce this Master Chef and restaurateur to the audience. It is only after 15 minutes that the doc links food to the man, in a cruise ship where Jeremiah, as a boy tastes his first cream cake dessert.

JEREMIAH TOWER: THE LAST MAGNIFICENT is the new food documentary tat explores the remarkable life of Jeremiah Tower, one of the most controversial and influential figures in the history of American gastronomy. Tower began his career at the renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1972, becoming a pioneering figure in the emerging California cuisine movement. After leaving Chez Panisse, due in part to a famously contentious relationship with founder Alice Waters, Tower went on to launch his own legendary Stars Restaurant in San Francisco. Stars was an overnight sensation and soon became one of America’s top-grossing U.S. restaurants.

After several years, Tower mysteriously walked away from Stars and then disappeared from the scene for nearly two decades, only to resurface (as when the film opens) in the most unlikely of places: New York City’s fabled but troubled Tavern on the Green. There, he launched a journey of self-discovery (offering loss of voiceover for the film on this matter) familiar to anyone who has ever imagined themselves to be an artist. Featuring interviews by Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain, Ruth Reichl and Martha Stewart, this delicious documentary tells the story of the rise and fall of America’s first celebrity chef.

The film traces using a combination or home movie footage and re-enactments how Jeremiah grew into cooking. He was always living in posh hotels whee he discovered the kitchen, dazzled by the cooking aromas. The hotel kitchen staff adopted him as their own. The audience is told Jeremiah read menus more than story books and concocted meals form the menus as well as collected menus. All this explains Jeremiah’s chef roots in a fascinating manner.

Besides haute cuisine, director Tenaglai also reveals the personal and difficult life of the man. Tower was a homosexual, coming out during taboo times. His restaurant, Stars was singled out by the AIDs activists, despite him paying the hospital ills for two of his employees who came down with the disease. Everyone wanted to sleep with him – and he did with both sexes. His relationship with Alice Waters, an important part of his life is also given due screen time.

JEREMIAH TOWER: THE LAST MAGNIFICENT is an interesting account of an interesting man. The doc will not disappoint.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lSwXSPigOk

_________

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Film Review: HOUNDS OF LOVE (Australia 2016) ****

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houndsoflove.jpgVicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple.

Director: Ben Young
Writer: Ben Young
Stars: Emma Booth, Ashleigh Cummings, Stephen Curry

Review by Gilbert Seah 

 Not wholly original, but still absorbing, HOUNDS OF LOVE, writer/director Ben Young’s story of an abducted teenager by a disturbed couple pays homage to David Lynch’s BLUE VELVET. The slow motion beginning of HOUNDS OF LOVE and the common theme of kidnapping reminds cineastes immediately of BLUE VELVET.

HOUNDS OF LOVE is supposed to be based on true events – macabre as they may be. The setting is 1987, Perth, Australia whee a seemingly typical Australian suburban couple have a secret hobby – kidnapping schoolgirls and murdering them. But their latest desperate victim finds ways inside their heads.

The slow motioned tracking shot of schoolgirls playing netball after school is stunning as it is eerie. One can tell something is going to happen – the abduction of the first victim of the kidnapping couple. For those unfamiliar with the game (played in places like Britain, Australia and Singapore where this reviewer was born), the scene is even more fascinating with the girls in netball outfits tossing a ball into a net.

The film then settles on the next victim. Vicki (Ashley Cummings), a rebellious teen, is first seen in the film after having ‘it’ with her boyfriend Jason (Harrison Gilbertson). Vicki is staying with her mother, Maggie (Susie Porter) who she cannot get along with. After being grounded, Vicki sneaks off to a party at night when she is abducted by Evelyn and John White (Emma Booth and Stephen Curry). The audience would likely think that this is what Vicki deserves, after misbehaving and disobedience. But then, no human being should go through what she does in the next few days.
The one thing that stands out in this film (and differentiates from Lynch’s BLUE VELVET) is director Young’s ability to connect his audience with his characters.

Director Young devotes a lot of time towards his female characters. Evelyn is shown to be the most sympathetic of the film’s characters. She loves her dog, her partner-in-crime, John (a real nasty piece of work) and is just caught with all the bad luck. The audience ends up sympathizing with both her as well as Vicki. Vicki’s mother, Maggie is also portrayed as a strong mother, who despite having to take s*** from her daughter, loves her to no end and will not give up in the search for her. The father, Trevor (Damian de Montemas) and Jason are hilariously given token roles.

What is impressive too are the top notch performances all around. Emma Booth carries the lead role confidently as well as the two other women Cummings and Porter. Stephen Curry who plays the nastiest villain seen in a while, looks completely different (most remembered from the Aussie film THE CASTLE) with his tacky moustache. Young spends some time with him grooming his moustache in the mirror before strutting out of the bathroom like a stud.

The film is expectedly violent and the ending matches the violence of BLUE VELVET without resorting to tricks like the cutting off of an ear. The climax of the film is a real nail-biter.

HOUNDS OF LOVE unsettled festival audiences in Venice and at SXSW and will definitely do the same with audiences everywhere. Young is clearly a talent to watch. Universal Pictures has already signed him on to direct the new 2018 sci-fi thriller EXTINCTION.

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

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FILM REVIEW: THE DINNER (USA 2016) ***1/2

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

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

the_dinner.jpgA look at how far parents will go to protect their children. Feature film based on a novel by Herman Koch.

Director: Oren Moverman
Writers: Oren Moverman (screenplay), Herman Koch (novel)
Stars: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan

Review by Gilbert Seah

 THE DINNER is basically a four handler psychological drama which shows how far parents will (or will not go) to protect their children. In THE DINNER, two family of parents sit down to a dinner at a posh restaurant to discuss the implications of their children who have killed a homeless woman by setting her on fire.

As appropriate for a film entitled THE DINNER, the film is told in four parts – aperitif, main course, dessert and digestif. The film also contains acute and often hilarious observations, lightening the film’s serious theme, of the posh restaurant. It is clear that director Oren is not fond of these hip establishments. Paul Lohman (Steve Coogan) constantly hurls insults at the waiters and servers to the point of vulgarity. It is of great relief that at one point the maitre’d finally tells him off.

Director Moverman (THE MESSENGER, LOVE AND MERCY) is expert at getting the audience’s attention and creating drama at the dinner table. This is evident at the one hour mark of the film when all the hidden facts of the incident are slowly revealed. The key confrontation scene takes place in the Library section of the restaurant. It is really odd that the music is played quite obtrusively during the conversation. I am not sure whether this is done on purpose to up the ante during the segment because the music is really loud and annoying. It is certain that this kind of music is never played at any restaurant’s waiting area.

Steve Coogan ditches his British accent to play a sarcastic American teacher. The reason he was chosen for this film THE DINNER has likely something to do, though it does out really matter, being in the food/restaurant critic films THE TRIP and THE TRIP TO ITALY. Coogan, known to be sarcastic in real life, steals the show, managing to elicit a few laughs from his sarcastic remarks at the awkward dinner situation. It is surprising that he gets second billing to Richard Gere, likely because this is an American film and Americans might not know who Coogan is. Gere is quiet in the first half of the film, showing his true acting colours only after the second half. Laura Linney is as usual, very good as the mentally disturbed wife.

The film accurately touches the right chord on when human beings cannot come to an agreement and cannot no longer live with each other. This comes about, as the film demonstrates, when ones basic principles go against another’s. Stan wants his son to pay for his crime, his wife does not and neither does Paul’s wife Claire. It is clear that mothers will normally go all out to protect their children, particularly sons, while fathers are more inclined to teach their sons to do what is right.

Moverman manœuvres his film towards an exciting climax where no one can foresee who will do what at the end. The ending turns up quite a brilliant touch too (not to be revealed in the review).

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP26KWVw5jE

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