gilbert seah

Film Review: MR. GAGA (Israel/Sweden/Germany/Netherlands 2015) ***

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mrgaga.jpgDirected by Tomer Heymann

Review by Gilbert Seah

Timing is everything. MR. GAGA documentary about bad boy dance choreographer, Ohad Naharin is being released just a few weeks (though made earlier) after a similar documentary about another bad boy dance choreographer. The first doc called DANCER follows the troubled life of now 37-year old Sergei Polunin, acclaimed as ‘the most naturally gifted male ballet dancer of his generation’. Both films follow the same outline. They trace the influences (Ohad, dancing when young as a boy in the kibbutz) and childhood of the dancers, their troubles (marriage and choreograph methods), there talent and their rise to fame together with lots of footage of dance performances. Hopefully, MR. GAGA can still attract audiences after they have seen DANCER.

Ohad Naharin is the Israeli choreographer who’s revolutionized modern dance, even although he himself didn’t begin formal dance training until age 22. Now in his mid-60s, Naharin has headed up Tel Aviv’s famed Batsheva Dance Group since 1990, creating pieces and training dancers with “gaga” – a dance language he invented, whereby dancers feel the sensation of movement. In 1998, Naharin rebelled against censorship when he withdrew Batsheva from Israel’s 50th anniversary gala after organizers – bowing to pressure from religious groups – insisted he clothe his dancers more modestly.

The dance performances are well tracked and form the most interesting segment of the film – even f one is not an avid dance fan. Excerpts include:
2013 – The Hole
2015 – The Last Word
2003 – Mqnootoot
2011 – Sadeh (three times)
2005 – Three, the most homo-erotic, in that order.

The performances are put into perspective of the dance’s life, making them more relevant in the film.

As expected, the best insight into Ohad’s personality is provided by the dancers under his charge. They claim him to be ‘so strong’ and ‘so intense’. His intimidation can be seen when he tells them during their performances not to f*** it up, as it is his life. He would use words like: “Don’t f*** with me,” and “You are boring me”. These only goes to show that talent can never be substituted for hostility not matter how talented the antagonist is. There is no interview with his wife. It would have been even more interesting to know what living hell living with this man might have been. Director Heymann allows Ohad to have his say as well. Ohad claims that he is able to get the most of of his dancers. A former dancer recalls that everyday someone would leave the studio either yelling or crying.
Judging from most of his choreography, Ohad has a lot of aggression in him. His moves are fierce and hard and often include movements like falling and hammering. As expected, the genius and spoilt boy behaviour is incorporated in the same one person – in Ohad.

But Heymann keeps the audience on track with Ohad’s likability. If the audience hates the subject, it usually follows them hating the film. When the Government forces Ohad’s dance to wear leotards instead of their original skimpy outfits, he announces the change of costume to his dance troupe and subsequently resigns. This causes massive protests in the country. His wife and true love also dies of cancer and Heymann shows the power of dance to heal through Ohad,

The film is shot in English and Hebrew.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/139907441

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Film Review: BEFORE I FALL (USA 2016) ***

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before_i_fall.jpgDirector: Ry Russo-Young
Writer: Maria Maggenti (screenplay)
Stars: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Cynthy Wu

Review by Gilbert Seah

The teen best-seller BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver, as well as its film adaptation, asks these questions: What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

BEFORE I FALL is a teen take of MEAN GIRLS and GROUNDHOG DAY. The plot centres on Samantha Kingston (Zoey Deutch), a high school senior who finds that she may be living the last day of her life over and over until she gets it right. She gets up early morning on Cupid’s Day (St. Valentine’s Day) and dies in a car accident in the early hours of the next day after a house party. She wake up the same Friday morning again and again, like living in hell. She tries everything different – to be especially bad and then good, to see if she will not wake up in the same hell. She finally untangles the mystery surrounding her death, and the story is actually quite a good and unpredictable one at that.

Being a teen groundhog day movie, there are pluses and minuses. The minuses can be observed at the film’s start when director Russo-Young sets up the stage for the plot. The audience follows 4 really spoilt, annoying teen girls as they scream, sing and bully others including mistreating their family members. This route is unfortunately repeated again and again just as Sam relives the same day in her life. But the annoyance is corrected as Sam tries to better herself and thus her group as well.

Though advertised as a comedy, BEFORE I FALL takes a quick turn towards a serious tone. In fact, Russo-Young makes this a message film at the end. But it works, thanks to her directing skills. Russo-Young has made two other unreleased films before this one, with the last one being voted as the best unreleased film of the year.

Zoey Deutch plays well the bad and the good girl, trying two different characters to see how to get out of her repeated day. Elena Kampouris stands out as Juliet, the blond long-hair bullied girl called a psychopath by Sam’s group. Jennifer Beals (FLASHDANCE) still looks very pretty as Sam’s mother.

The dance anthem played at the house party is one of the best mixes I have heard this year. The anthem is repeated as Sam repeats this incident.

There is one goof on Sam’s cell phone – the date at which she finishes the day with. It shows Feb 13th when it should show the 15th, in the early morning after Cupid’s Day. I was confused when I saw the date, which I assume is a goof on the filmmakers’ part. One minor goof should not spoil the film, though one one expects continuity in a film to be important.

BEFORE I FALL turns out a much better film than it appears from the ads and trailer. For a teen film, it surprisingly has enough adult characters (Sam’s parents) and material to keep adults from being annoyed the hell out by the teen characters.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Zyy4ZXegE

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Film Review: TABLE 19 (USA 2016)

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table_19.jpgDirector: Jeffrey Blitz
Writers: Jay Duplass (screenplay), Mark Duplass (screenplay)
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson

Review by Gilbert Seah

TABLE 19 is the low-budget small comedy typical of director Jeffrey Blitz and writer Jay and Mark Duplass. Blitz directed THE OFFICE episodes, the feature BOTTLE ROCKET and the documentary on the spelling bee SPELLBOUND. The Duplass brothers are famous for THE PUFFY CHAIR, JEFF, WHO NOW LIVES AT HOME and BAGHEAD. All these films are not masterpieces but sweet little films that are entertaining enough.

The protagonist of the new Duplass/Blitz film is Eloise McGarry (Anna Kendrick, MR. RIGHT, UP IN THE AIR the PITCH PERECT movies). Eloise has just been dumped by her boyfriend, Teddy (Wyatt Russell) who is the brother and best man of the wedding. Eliose does not want to attend but does. She ends up at TABLE 19, the wedding ‘table of losers’. There are 6 at a table. The others at TABLE 5 are:
Walter Thimple, just out of prison (Stephen Merchant)
Bina Kepp, unhappy wife out for a affair (Lisa Kudrow)
Jerry Kepp, her unhappy husband (Craig Robinson)
nanny of the family, Jo Flanagan (Judy Squib) and
Rezno Eckberg (Tony Revolorif from THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL)

Half way through the film, it suddenly dawns that this film is not that funny. The jokes are mild at most, often a few off-coloured ones (to distinguish the film from a TV movie) with a few scenes with drug use. But TABLE 19 turns out to be a serious comedy.

Nothing is what it seems! Eloise also meets and sort of falls in love with a wedding crasher, a handsome guy called, Huck (Thomas Cocquerel) but again, Huck is not who he seems to be as revealed in the manipulative script.
Anna Kendrick is charming and helpless enough in her leading role. Oscar nominee Judy Squib plays the know-it-all ex-nanny but the most laughs come from Stephen Merchant.

The script turns each character of the table to be actually very nice people – even the ex-con had good intentions for embezzling the money. The big ‘turn’ happens during the confrontation between Eloise and Teddy. Teddy is somewhat sweet and hapless. But the problem is the script being too manipulative and eager to please.

The script centres on the TABLE 19 guests. As Eloise actually planned the seating arrangement of the wedding, there is a scene where she describes each table from Table 1 to Table 19 from the singles table to the parents table and so on.

Fortunately, the script does not distract with the other guests. The appropriately lively bride and bridegroom are given just enough screen time to keep the subject of wedding on track.

TABLE 19 should please the less demanding audience. At the promo screening, I could overhear the comments of the audience. Most enjoyed the film, with adjectives like ‘sweet’, ‘romantic’ and ‘funny’. But the script should have been less manipulative and predicable. TABLE 19 turns out too sugary sweet for my liking and my guess for the liking of most critics.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRVzyiM8Sgo
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Film Review: THE SHACK (USA 2017)

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The Shack (2017).jpgDirector: Stuart Hazeldine
Writers: John Fusco (screenplay), Andrew Lanham (screenplay)
Stars: Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Tim McGraw

Review by Gilbert Seah

THE SHACK is a faith movie that loses the ‘Christianity’ label but whose theme would probably include the Christian faith. God appears in many forms, as male papa (Graham Greene), female papa (Octavia Spencer) or Jesus (Avivi Alush) or Sarayu Sumire Matsubara.

Though the Christian God’s name is absent, many of the teachings of Christ are present in one form or another. In the film, God appears in the film as a trinity, though the trinity is not in the form of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost but in the form of papa, Jesus and Sarayu. The preaching of forgiveness, very important in Christianity is also emphasized in the story.

The film opens with a young boy, MacKenzie as he witnesses his father abusing his mother and then giving him a beating after he tells on him at church. The abuse obviously flows into the boy’s adult life. The film forwards to the present where the boy is now a grown man, (Sam Worthington), married with two children. Christianity loves to test the faith of its believers and in this case, the patience of the audience as well.

After his young daughter is murdered during a family camping trip, Mack Phillips spirals into a deep depression causing him to question his innermost beliefs. Facing a crisis of faith, he receives a mysterious letter urging him to the shack where the crime occurred, deep in the Oregon wilderness. Despite his doubts, Mack goes there and encounters an enigmatic trio of strangers led by a woman named Papa. Through this meeting, Mack finds important truths that will transform his understanding of his tragedy and change his life forever.

Director Hazeldine’s straight forward storytelling technique leaves nothing to the imagination. Apart from a few dreamlike sequences, the story unfolds in chronological fashion with hardly a flashback The film is more interesting (though this is not saying much) in the first 15 minutes or so, because there are incidents happening. After, when redemption is the order of the day, the film just ponders along ponderously.

There are no special performances in the film. Worthington appears to be faith blindly walking though his role The same goes for the rather well-known name cast that includes Radha Mitchell, Octavia Spencer and Graham Greene. I have never seen Spencer in such a painful performance, forcing laughter too many times as in this film.

The film is suitable for a family audience. There is no foul language. Even the child beating scene is done without any violence and the reason for Missy’s appearance is mentioned in a ‘too polite’ manner.

An overlong faith movie running at 132 minutes which is as slow and tedious as it tests your faith and patience, see THE SHACK only if you absolutely MUST.
The film end with an equal tedious song “Keep Your Eyes on Me” by Faith Hill and actor Tim McGraw.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL0yUbSS5Eg

 
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Film Review: AFTER THE STORM (Japan 2016) ***1/2

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AFTER THE STORM.jpgDirector: Hirokazu Koreeda
Writers: Hirokazu Koreeda (original story), Hirokazu Koreeda (screenplay)
Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Yôko Maki, Satomi Kobayashi

Review by Gilbert Seah

 I was totally amazed with the first Hirokazu Kore-eda film I had seen called AFTER LIFE in 2003, which I considered a minor masterpiece. The British magazine did a 5-page article on him and the film hoping the publicity would get the then undistributed film distribution. It did. Kore-eda followed AFTER LIFE with a few other films, most notable being the Cannes Palme d’Or winner in 2013 LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON – again an excellent film.

AFTER THE STORM is not Kore-da at his best but at his mildest filmmaking. Don’t expect the drama of LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON or the imagination of AFTER LIFE. Yet AFTER THE STORM is not without its pleasures. On the surface it is a simple film, a kind look at a loser. Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) is a failed writer, a third-rate detective, and a hardened gambler. As the film’s title seems to suggest, the salient moments of his life have already passed before the beginning of the story. He won an important literary award when he was young, but his promising career vanished into thin air. Now, his father has died and his wife has left him. What he makes as a private detective, he loses on gambling and can barely pay his child support. After the death of his father, his aging mother Yoshiko (Kilin Kiki) and his ex-wife Kyoko (Yoko Maki) seem to be moving on with their lives. Renewing contact with his initially distrusting family, Ryota struggles to take back control of his existence and to find a place in the life of his young son, Shingo (Taiyo Yoshizawa). Ryoto seems resigned to his position on the sidelines of the boy’s life. But Ryota works with another young man, his private-eye assistant, who fills in the position of his absent son.

The audience is left to judge Ryoto. Ryoto is a man, not without vices, but still honest man despite dishonest doings. And he is still a handsome man, besides his age, able to attract the opposite sex, as in the old classmate he meets at the beginning of the film.

Thefilm’s climax takes place one night when a typhoon strikes. The broken family is forced to spend the night together at Ryota’s mother’s home. The ensuing interaction that is both bittersweet and tender forms the film’s highlight. “I never want to grow up to be like you.”, the son says. “I will always love them. They are my family.” The father says at one point. These are the sensitivities always prevalent in Kore-eda’s films that make them memorable. Great performances here come not only from Abe but from Kirin Kiki as Ryota’s mother, who is so funny she steals every scene she is in. And as in all Kore-eda’s films, there are a lot of scenes of trains. Kore-eda has said that this film is based on his personal experience of the death of his parents.

Also interesting is the observation of the ex-couple’s arguments. Ryota argues with his ex-wife over seeing his son and child support. In this film, typical of Japanese films, there is argument with reasoning without any shouting or display of cheap theatrics that are common to European and American films.

There is a beautiful shot of a delicious braised pork brewing stew at one point in the film when Yoshiko tells her son: “A stew needs time for the flavours to sink in; so do people.” The same applies in AFTER THE STORM – patience is needed for the audience to savour the pleasures of Kore-eda’s film.

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

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Film Review: GET OUT (USA 2017) ****

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get_out.jpgDirector: Jordan Peele
Writer: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener

Review by Gilbert Seah

Imagine a horror version of GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER with a director trained in comedy with an act at Second City, Chicago, and the result is the priceless horror comedy GET OUT that opens this weekend and the most fun at the movies so far this year.

Now that Chris Washington (British Daniel Kaluuya, SICARIO, JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy (Catherine Keener) and Dean (Bradley Whitford). At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behaviour as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.

First of all, there is the weird as hell maid, Georgina (Betty Gabriel) who has the uncanny ability to cry while laughing at the same time. Then there is the assortment of guests that show up, apparently for an annual event, all of whom treat Chris with the greets oddity. The best inspired character is the blind owner of an art gallery, Jim Hudson (Stephen Root).

Things take a turn for the worse when Missy hypnotizes Chris to strop smoking. Chis finds himself stuck in a void whenever Missy stirs tea in a tea cup, which is actually one of the scariest scenes in a horror movie this year – credit to director Jordan Peel.

Director Peel appears to figure that if he directs very act set-up to perfection, then the combination of all these acts would make a perfect movie. The tactic actually works. Each horror set up is devised with the greatest of both creepiness and campiness that delight the audience, judging from the laughter and scares of the audience at the promo screening.
Every actor performs his or her part to almost perfection. Peel appears to be able to elicit excellent performances from all. Catherine Keener is again a pleasure to watch, and I have never seen her in a bad film. She has the knack of picking the best films.

There are a few forgivable flaws in the script, which is also written by Peel. One is the careless placement of the red box, discovered by Chris revealing all of the family’s past victims. The box should have been kept under lock and key. The other is Dean performing the operation before the victim is wheeled into the operating room.

But the film is deliciously wicked, from the camp humour to the suspense to the sexual innuendo and racial connotations. The film is also brave enough to attempt a horror film in which a black man is the victim with a racial setting. (Director Jordan Peel is black.)

My favourite camp horror is Dario Argento’s OPERA. GET OUT marks a close second. Low budget but high in hilarity and entertainment. Highly recommended!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRfnevzM9kQ

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Film Review: SHADOWS OF PARADISE

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shadows_of_paradise.jpgDirector: Sebastian Lange
Writer: Sebastian Lange

Review by Gilbert Seah

SHADOWS OF PARADISE is a not-your-usual documentary about Transcendental Meditation. It answers the question how do TM’s adherents continue when a spiritual luminary dies.

With intimate access to two of Transcendental Meditation’s new leaders – iconic filmmaker David Lynch and dedicated disciple Bobby Roth – director Sebastian Lange documents the Movement’s metamorphosis following the passing of its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Having himself grown up within the Movement, director Sebastian Lange approaches his subject through an introspective and essayistic lens, seeking to reconcile TM’s present-day incarnation with the teachings and practices that have shaped his worldview. The film documents the star-studded galas hosted by Lynch’s Manhattan-based foundation to a perilous cliffside cave in Madhya Pradesh.

Word of warning: The inspiration of the teachings propaganda-d in this film originated from Guru Dev. Guru Dev lived in a distant cave, north of India and dismissed normal life for meditation. So, this film might not be for everyone. In fact many will likely laugh at the film’s teachings, so if you are not with open mind, it is best to skip reading this review as well as the film – no insult to the person involved. Even if one is of open mind, there is a lot to take and believe in this film. Before reading this review, please bear in mind that this reviewer is no proponent of transcendental meditation (TM). This reviewer is a nonbeliever of TM, but will try to have an open mind in reviewing the film and in the examination of the subject.

Director David Lynch is a champion of the cause of TM. He has made MULHOLLAND DRIVE, a film critically acclaimed as one of the greatest films of all time. It is a film that is as weird as it is brilliant and covers multiple layers of consciousness. But I wonder now if Lynch has not lost some of his marbles. His hairstyle in the film – a streaked white coiffe does not help his looks either. Other celebrities involved whose presence are seen on screen include Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Lynch has a special ‘Lynch Foundation’ that collects money and donations for the cause.
Director Lange is quick to point out that TM is neither a religion, cult, government or industry. But he fails to define what TM really is.

For a film that champions TM, there is little about what TM actually is. It is only near the end of the film when the audiences sees a practical illustration of TM as executed by both Roth and Lynch. The director of the film Sebastian Lange is also a believer. His goal, which forms the climax of the film is to understand TM as well. His quest is to search for this remote cave that both Maharashi and Guru Dev spent years in. But it is reputed that the cave is swamped with bees and many who have ventured there have ended up in hospital.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/184505918
 
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Film Review: DEPARTURE (DEPART) (UK/France 2015)

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departure.jpgDirector: Andrew Steggall
Writer: Andrew Steggall
Stars: Juliet Stevenson, Alex Lawther, Phénix Brossard

Review by Gilbert Seah

 The reason for the bilingual title is that the film is shot in South France and in both French and English, though English is the main order of the day.

DEPARTURE tells the simple story that in reality could have layers making it more complex. Beatrice (Juliet Stevenson) is going through a marital crisis and she has brought her son – Elliot to help her pack up their idyllic summer home in the south of France. The two hardly do any packing but wander around the market in the village. Elliot is of the age of puberty. He sees a local lad swimming in the reservoir and smoking a cigarette and decides he has to get to know this boy better – nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what I mean?

This lad is rural Clement (Phénix Brossard) all macho and a complete opposite in character and physique from Elliot. It is hard to believe that he has no clue the reason of Elliot’s fondness for him. What happens after makes the rest of the film. Whether the film succeeds depends on director Steggall whether he can invoke enough interest from the audience or maybe bring some twist to the plot.

Steggall does however, create a believable idyllic atmosphere of a rural French village – with English outsiders treated politely as income generating tourists for the French peasants. There is little hostility, at least, and none that needs to be built up or included into the story. Steggall tells his tale directly with few distractions.

Some films have little going on in appearance. DEPARTURE is one of those films. But to be fair to the writer and director of DEPARTURE, there could be more than meets the eye – if the audiences were to read between the lines (or see between the images). But there is quite a lot of inane dialogue – lines that make no sense being there. One sample occurs in the beginning of the film when Elliot asks his mother about a photograph he finds: “Who is this man in the boat with dad?” he asked. “I don’t know,” she replies. Another lengthy conversation takes place between the boy and a cafe owner about poetry, acting and plays – which has little impact on the plot, exempt to maybe establish (not very credibly) that the boy is a gifted writer.

Elliot, the boy is not the perfect model of a son. Elliot, the wannabe poet (his talent is questionable) is described as a cliche by Clement. Elliot acts like a spoiled little princess half the time, who wants his mother dead so that he can have a sex life. He is indifferent to his dad’s visit. He masturbates with a carrot from the fridge and dumps the soiled vegetable in the bin, which his mother discovers.

DEPARTURE is extremely slow moving. After 30 minutes of the film’s running time, nothing much happens – except the boy has seen another boy and the mother and son is still in the French village.

It is good to see Juliet Stevenson (famous after her role opposite the late Alan Rickman in TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY) on the screen after a long absence, though she does not get to do that much. Alex Lawther who plays Elliot has played big roles in the past, like the young Alan Turing in THE IMITATION GAME and the math film X + Y

DEPARTURE has gone on to win a few awards already at minor film festivals. But it is slow haul which will test the patience of many a viewer. The film is available DVD / VOD on March 7th in the U.S. and Canada via Wolfe Video.

Trailer: https://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2016/feb/02/departure-watch-an-exclusive-trailer-for-the-new-british-drama-video

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Film Review: I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (USA/Fr/Belg/Switz 2016) ***1/2

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iamnotyournego.jpgDirector: Raoul Peck
Writer: James Baldwin
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Dick Cavett

Review by Gilbert Seah

The title of this new documentary immediately implies a film that would rock the boat in the topic of racism. It also implies an era when the ’n’ word was widely used before deemed inappropriate. The opening credits are done in black and white to emphasize the film’s seriousness.

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO, by Raoul Peck attempts to reveal that the ‘negro’ thought understood by most Americans is in fact a stereotyped misunderstood one The doc is based on the unfinished book by James Baldwin (narrated by Samuel L.Jackson) and looks at the impressions made by 3 murdered negroes – Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. The three black men were killed roughly three years apart. As informed by the voiceover, these are three different men, each of whom have done so much for the people who have betrayed them.

The premise of the film is to tell the history of the black men as seen from the eyes of Medgar, Malcolm and Martin Luther as purported by a book that is to be written by James Baldwin. The book never got past 30 pages, due to Baldwin’s death. The film illustrates what happened and which truths have been revealed. The film gives the feel that director Peck wants his film to be as controversial as possible, hopefully to stir discussion on the topic of racism.

Peck spends screen time mourning the deaths of the three – with voiceover relating the details. He also mentions through Baldwin, that the Americans do not know what to do with the black population while the ‘nigger’ has never been happy in his place, just trying to survive in America. John Wayne and George Washington were the typical white men as perceived by a black person. Often he sees the piles of black men pile up. When the black stands up, he attacks the power structure of the entire world.

The film offers many arguments illustrated with many archive stills. The most interesting revelation of the film is the argument between King and Malcolm X – showing the two different approaches of dealing with black racism. The doc also includes rare clips of ‘negro’ old movies (WAY OUT, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, THE DEFIANT ONES, all with Sidney Poitier who appears in all the controversial movies) which were acceptable then but considered unacceptable now. Also shown are unforgettable scenes like one on on a bus with the segregation of black and white seating at the back and front of the bus respectively.

The film ends up successfully criticizing America from the black man’s point of view. It also riles up emotions of the black man with appropriate examples given. The film ends with the footage of the Rodney King beaten by white police – still a very disturbing scene to watch.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year (with long line-ups), garnering praises together with other racial-themed films like MOONLIGHT, LOVING and A UNITED KINGDOM. The film has been nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar.

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

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Great way to get your story out: http://www.wildsound.ca/logline.html

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Film Review: LOGAN (USA 2017) ***

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

logan.jpgDirector: James Mangold
Writers: Michael Green (screenplay), Scott Frank (screenplay)
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen

Review by Gilbert Seah

 
For those unfamiliar with the Marvel comic universe – LOGAN is the name of the Wolverine mutant in the X-MEN series. He has been played by actor Hugh Jackson in the past as well as in this latest edition, which is supposed to be his last. To put everyone in line with the Wolverine Universe, LOGAN is intended to be the tenth installment in the X-Men film series, as well as the third and final Wolverine solo film following X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013).

Director James Mangold has made a slew of movies, but I fir
st noticed his film COP LAND which dealt with an ageing sheriff played by Sylvester Stallone, forced out of his complacency to do what is right. The premise of LOGAN is quite the same. Wolverine (Jackman) just wants to be left alone – drinking and driving his car for hire, until he encounters mutants running away from a government control experiment gone haywire.

The setting of the story is the near future with Wolverine. dealing with his age and ailment. His abilities are not what they once were”. So, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X aka Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) with an albino mutant called Caliban (Steven Mercahnt) in a hideout on the Mexican border. (Caliban is named after Prospero’s slave, the ugly monster of the island he is shipwrecked in, in Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST). His attempts to hide from the world and his legacy, however, are up-ended when a young mutant, Laura (Dane Keen) arrives, being pursued by dark force. The first fight arrives a late 45 minutes into the film.

As in the Marvel action films, the fight scenes have to be awesome. The ones here meet the standard, being violent enough with head rolling off and sharp blade slicing up bodies. The editing is quick, but the scenes held long enough for the audience to figure out what is happening.

The script, partly written by Mangold together with Scott Frank and Michael Green, shows occasional bouts of brilliance. At one point in the film, Logan discovers X-MEN comic books in Aurora’s bag. Reading them, he finds that the Eden place that they are going to is described in the comic book as well as certain past events. The film here takes an eerie look, with a chilly feel similar to what could be felt in David Lynch’s MULHOLLAND DRIVE. The story also pays a clever nod to the classic western SHANE that appears on the television. Logan, Charles and Laura on their journey to find Eden, encounter a family, just as the stranger SHANE does in the film, and their encounter affects the destiny of the family who like the movie SHANE, is being hustled out of the land by mercenary gunmen. The script does not shy away from senseless killings, which is a good thing. A lot of innocent people die in this movie.

LOGAN costs a whopping 127 million to make. It is a handsomely mounted production with impressive special effects and great fight choreography. It should make is money back based on the fact that the film is quite good. Only thing is that much publicity is required to let the world be aware that this is actually another X-MEN movie despite the words “X-MEN” missing from the innocently chosen title.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Div0iP65aZo

_________

Also, Free logline submissions. The Writing Festival network averages over 95,000 unique visitors a day.
Great way to get your story out: http://www.wildsound.ca/logline.html

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

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month:http://www.wildsoundfestival.com