Monthly Archives: October 2023

Films That Got Away, Netflix, Reviews

FILMS THAT GOT AWAY #16: OFFICIAL COMPETITION (2021)

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FILMS THAT GOT AWAY #16: OFFICIAL COMPETITION (2021)

Directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn

Written by: Mariano Cohn, Andrés Duprat and Gastón Duprat

Produced by: Jaume Roures

Main cast: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez, José Luis Gómez, Irene Escolar, Manolo Solo, Nagore Aranburu, Pilar Castro
Koldo Olabarri, etc.

Cinematography Arnau Valls Colomer

**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

It’s no surprise there are an abundance of films about the actual process of filmmaking. The film industry is full of rich possibilities in terms of drama, action, tragedy, romance and comedy. Moreover, cinema down the years is replete with imaginative, tough, evil, spoilt, egotistical, eccentric, pretentious and frankly insane individuals working in the film industry. 8 1/2 (1963), Dolemite is My Name (2019), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Sullivan’s Travels (1941), Barton Fink (1991), State and Main (2000), Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019), Hugo (2011), Living In Oblivion (1995), Boogie Nights (1997), The Disaster Artist (2017), Ed Wood (1994), The Player (1992), and Tropic Thunder (2008) are just a few brilliant films about filmmaking. Now you can add the hilarious Argentinian-Spanish co-production, Official Competition (2021) to that list.

With stunningly funny performances from Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martinez, Official Competition (2021), centres on a film-within-a-film production, as Cruz’s ostentatious director, Lola Cuevas, helms a billionaire-backed-big-budget adaptation of a critically acclaimed book. Banderas is Felix Rivero, a famous movie star, while Martinez is a method-driven actor, and with the wildly unpredictable Cuevas between them, a rivalry soon develops between their different acting styles and personalities. As the production progresses any respect they had evaporates and descends into hilarious acrimony amidst a series of expertly staged comedic set-pieces.

I find it incredibly irritating that so many films get critical praise and win awards and you watch them and, while technically brilliant, they are ultimately boring and pretentious. Then we get Official Competition (2021), with a perpetually inventive screenplay by Mariano Cohn, Andrés Duprat and Gastón Duprat, that has not received nearly enough critical praise or awards. In fact, it mocks those artistically inflated directors and actors whom often get over-praised by fawning film critics and journalists. So, if you love films about filmmaking and funny ones at that, please do check this film out streaming on Netflix. It is certainly a cut above the pretentious films, actors and directors it is cleverly satirising.

Articles, Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2023)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Screenplay by: Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese

Based on: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Produced by: Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi

Main cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, Tantoo Cardinal, Scott Shephard, etc.

Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto

Edited by: Thelma Schoonmaker

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

Who can tell how the world and society as we know it would’ve evolved if Christopher Columbus, the explorer credited with finding the Americas in 1492, had not landed and begun the first steps toward colonising this uncharted part of Earth. Of course, there were existing natives in the Americas and over time they would experience first contact with Spanish, Portuguese, British and other European, predominantly white, settlers. It may be that the natives would have had equally difficult experiences, and colonists brought with them many positive things. But one has to surmise they would not have had their land and lives gradually taken from them over the centuries without the European invasion.

The violent theft of land and wealth from Native Americans forms the bedrock of the narrative of Martin Scorsese’s latest epic drama, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). Adapted from David Grann’s critically acclaimed nonfiction book, the film centres on the series of murders of wealthy Osage people that occurred in Oklahoma in the early 1920s. The motive for the heinous culling was the greed of white men. Such individuals lusted after the richness present after big oil deposits were discovered beneath the Osage people’s land. Whereas Grann’s book is a monumental study of the murders, perpetrators, the Osage culture, politics of the era, and how the newly formed FBI delved into the crimes, Scorsese’s incredibly slow and long adaptation does all that, while also exploring the romance and murderous treachery between Osage native, Mollie (Lily Gladstone) and war veteran, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Opening by establishing how the oil erupted and blackened the green land, the film then firmly sets up how the American businessmen used the legality of the headright system to manipulate the flow of sudden wealth that came to the Osage people. One such man is William King Hale (Robert DeNiro) who presents himself as a benefactor to the Osage, but truly speaks with a forked tongue. Having left the infantry unit after World War One, Hale’s nephew Ernest joins him to work and ultimately do his bidding. Hale cajoles Ernest to romance wealthy Mollie and get further feet under the table and closer to that beloved black gold money. Yet, enough is never enough for the likes of Hale and driven by another formidable Scorsese directed performance, De Niro delivers a deviously evil characterisation.

DiCaprio here takes the less charismatic role as the doltish Ernest. As Hale urges him to do further misdeeds the banality of everyday evil is palpable in Ernest’s actions. Along with a litany of professional and thuggish cowboy types Ernest and Hale’s other minions wreak havoc on the Osage people, committing arson, murder, poisonings, robbery, and shootings. All just for more money. The tragedy is that Ernest clearly has feelings for Mollie, serenely portrayed by a revelatory Lily Gladstone, but he just cannot stand up for himself against his wicked uncle. So much so that I just wondered why the hefty runtime was concentrating on Ernest’s character. I mean, Scorsese and DiCaprio give us little in the way of anti-heroism to bounce off, or even some cathartic sense of redemption. Ernest starts out as a loser and finished the story the same. Over three hours spent with a gurning idiot left me frustrated.

Directed, as one would expect with a masterful hand, mind and eye by Scorsese, who once again surrounds himself with an incredibly talented cast and production crew. Not to forget the unbelievable $200 million budget. But Scorsese’s movement of late to ultra-long and methodical cinema is an artistic choice that requires much patience. While Killers of the Flower Moon (2023 is thematically very powerful, beautifully filmed, and contains a number of exceptionally impressive sequences, there was genuinely not enough story to justify such a long running time. Whereas The Irishman (2019) was slow, it was methodically thrilling and absorbing throughout. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) on the other hand becomes repetitive in its reveals of greedy Cowboys breaking bad and raising hell to the cost of the Osage. The introduction of the FBI and their subsequent investigation comes way too late to save the over-bloated length and pace. However, there is no doubt, the film remains vital in highlighting the historial horror perpetrated upon the Osage land and people. Perhaps Apple TV should have just given the money to the Osage descendants as reparation?

Mark: 8 out of 11

Apple TV, Articles, music, New Releases

APPLE TV REVIEW : FLORA AND SON (2023)

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APPLE TV REVIEW: FLORA AND SON (2023)

Directed by John Carney

Written by John Carney

Produced by: Anthony Bregman, John Carney, Peter Cron, Rebecca O’Flanagan and Robert Walpole.

Main Cast: Eve Hewson, Jack Reynor, Orén Kinlan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Cinematography: John Conroy

Edited by: Stephen O’Connell

John Carney is a brilliant and honest filmmaker who is attracted to outsiders and people with real emotional turmoil. They tend to be at crossroads in their lives and are struggling with their dreams and relationships. He also loves musicians, flaws and all. In Begin Again (2013), a washed-up musical executive, portrayed by Mark Ruffalo, meets unhappy singer-songwriter, Keira Knightley and their first-world romance is played out to bittersweet consequences. Similarly, in Sing Street (2016), a troubled teenager comes of age through his 1980’s pop band and bittersweet romance with a rebellious and equally-troubled schoolgirl. Notice a pattern? Well, this style of music, gritty city backdrops and salty romances were established in Carney’s breakout hit, Once (2007) and are continued in his current underdog musical comedy, Flora and Son (2023).

Flora and Son (2023), believe it or not, is set in Dublin and centres around a single mum, Flora and her delinquent teenage son, Max (Oren Kinlan). Eve Hewson is the foul-mouthed-council-estate-joker, who uses anger and black humour to hide her feelings of insecurity and loss. A mourning for the loss of youth having brought up a child virtually single-handed. Her relationship with Max’s father, Ian (Jack Reynor) is fractured to say the least and they spit sarcastic barbs at each other as shared custodians of disaffected Max. While leaving her cleaning job at a middle-class household, Flora finds a battered guitar in a skip. Attempting to bond with Max, by giving him the guitar, Flora finds herself shunned. She then opens another bottle of wine, picks up the guitar and gives it a crack herself.

Taking online guitar lessons from charming and chilled American musician, Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Flora initially flirts but then knuckles down to learn the plucking instrument. The stakes aren’t particularly high here, but the feelgood acoustic numbers from Carney and co-composer, Gary Clark, certainly breeze along nicely and breath gold onto the screen. Max’s white-rap-Irish-hip-hop tracks are pretty good too and the video he and Flora make is really funny. Thus, you get the theme again from Carney that music helps to connect and heal and provide salvation to the most troubled of human situations. Overall, Flora and Son (2023), is a slight but enjoyable film with enough earthy humour, strumming harmony and kicking beats to please most.

Mark: 7.5 out of 11

New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: THE CREATOR (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: THE CREATOR (2023)

Directed by: Gareth Edwards

Screenplay by: Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz

Story by Gareth Edwards

Produced by: Gareth Edwards, Kiri Hart, Jim Spencer, Arnon Milchan

Main Cast: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Janney, Ralph Ineson and Marc Menchaca.

Cinematography: Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

The Creator (2023) is Gareth Edwards first directorial release since the tremendous Star Wars prequel Rogue One (2016). Of all the Disney-funded Star Wars products that remains my favourite. Overall, Rogue One (2016) is not just a great Star Wars film but a brilliant movie too, as it transcended the franchise while delivering a pulsating, heroic, nostalgic and emotional film experience. It also had an influence on the stunning visual look, action, and effects of The Creator (2023) too. So much so, The Creator (2023), in terms of style, often felt like a Star Wars film in all but name.

With The Creator (2023), Gareth Edwards and his talented production and effects team have invented a continually innovative futuristic look based around Artificially Intelligent robots and technologically modified humans. Indeed, based on all his directorial works, jaw-dropping visuals and themes of humans overcoming machines and monsters are always very much to the fore. But in The Creator (2023) one of the major themes poses the question – who are the real monsters? The humans or their computerised creations? As the narrative begins, in 2055, with the machines detonating a nuclear attack on Los Angeles the Americans declare war on the robots. More specifically, Southeast Asia, who still utilise A: I technology. Fast forward several years and John David Washington’s Joshua, remains part of the U.S. military plans, as they attempt to finish off the A: I threat for once and for all.

As Joshua is manipulated by the US Government, through a past romantic connection with Gemma Chan’s Maya, he is dropped behind “enemy” lines in Asia to destroy the A: I’s secret weapon called, “Alpha-O.” Along, with a paper-thin characterised group of U.S soldiers, Joshua finds the mission going south and ultimately goes on the run with “Alpha-O.” Edwards and his writers humanize the dangerous processor by giving it the body of a young girl portrayed by Madeleine Yuna Voyles. Despite the powerful visuals of the film, I found The Creator (2023) buckling under the wright of over-used ideas from other films. The cute “genius” kid being just one of those.

It’s The Terminator (1984) meets Artificial: Intelligence (2001) meets Avatar (2009) meets any number of action-hero-saves-young-child narratives. I mean can at least one film TRY and make the American warmongers more nuanced? Yes, the action, cinematography and sound design are especially impressive and thrilling and there is certain emotion on screen. However, I personally did not feel much emotion in my heart, unfortunately. Watch it on the biggest screen you can, because what The Creator (2023) lacks in original narrative and character elements, it more than makes up in nifty robotic concepts and visual cinematic grandeur.

Mark: 7 out of 11

Classic Film Reviews, My Cinematic Romance, Reviews, Under-Rated Classics

MY CINEMATIC ROMANCE #25: BURT LANCASTER

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MY CINEMATIC ROMANCE #25: BURT LANCASTER

Without planning it I watched a number of Burt Lancaster films over the last few months. It gave me a chance to reflect and re-evaluate this giant of the screen. I say “giant” because not only was Burt Stephen Lancaster physically a big guy, he also had a giant of an acting career. One which spanned fifty years in the business.

From his memorable first screen appearance in noir-classic The Killers (1946) to final performance in Field of Dreams (1989) he appeared in seventy films, as well as many television roles. Lancaster was a formidable actor, film star, producer and political activist. His fierce personality, intelligence and passion often explodes on the screen in so many classic films. But he was also capable of quiet and subtle power too. In keeping with the rules of the ‘My Cinematic Romance’ remit, here are just five of those said memorable acting performances.

** CONTAINS FILM SPOILERS **

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957)

While this is not based around actual gangsters or career criminals you won’t find a bleaker or more cynical film noir. Morals are in short supply as Tony Curtis’ pushy press agent attempts to work his way up the greasy media pole in New York. His and many a character’s nemesis is Lancaster’s media kingpin, J.J. Hunsecker, who can make or break a career with the click of a finger. Hunsecker’s unhealthy obsession with his sister drives the downfall of all the characters where no one gets what they want. Lancaster is never afraid to play a flawed and complex personality. Razor-sharp dialogue and James Wong Howe’s stark photography, allied with Lancaster’s dominant presence, the Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is a striking morality tale warning of the perils of greed, fame and ambition.

ELMER GANTRY (1960)

Wow! I’d never seen this incendiary film adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis’s 1927 novel. Starring Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, Shirley Jones and Patti Page, Lancaster is electric as the eponymous anti-hero. Gantry is a travelling salesmen-turned evangelist, who is down-on-his knees when he sees a golden opportunity to sell God instead of vacuum cleaners. Jean Simmons has never been better, but Lancaster delivers a devilishly complex characterisation of a man seeking wealth, sex, and adulation but without true belief. His firebrand sermons are powerful but without substance, and Gantry soon realises he cannot escape the emptiness of his soul. He preaches God without soul in a scathing damnation of organised religion set during the depression. Lancaster unsurprisingly won an Academy award for best actor in a risky role and intelligent film that rarely gets made these days.

BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ (1962)

I recall watching Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) when a teenager with my dad and being entranced by Burt Lancaster’s thoughtful, yet powerful performance of dangerous prisoner, turned ornithologist, Robert Stroud. Off-screen Lancaster rallied against the death penalty and argued for rehabilitation over eye-for-an-eye punishment. Thus, this story of a complex, rebellious personality who attempted personal absolution via education certainly would have had creative and thematic merit in Lancaster’s mind. From research the actual Robert Stroud was reported to be a brutal psychopath and beyond redemption. Yet, it’s a noteworthy film and stirring performance from Lancaster about a human paradox. Indeed, when did Hollywood ever let the truth get in the way of a great story. What is the truth anyway?

THE SWIMMER (1968)

Well, this was something of a surprise. I had never watched this adaptation of John Cheever’s short story, The Swimmer (1968) until I recorded it on Talking Pictures TV last month. At fifty-five, Lancaster is in incredible shape as middle-class American alpha-male, and seemingly popular, Ned Merrill. He decides one day he can “swim” across a series of Connecticut pools and back home to his wife and children. It’s certainly an original premise and peculiar take on the road movie subgenre. Merrill’s journey is peppered with both friendly and unenthusiastic meetings with his neighbours, friends and former lovers. Although it soon becomes apparent that something, despite his carefree confidence, isn’t quite right with Merrill. A progenitor to John Hamm’s Don Draper, Merrill is such a nuanced iceberg of a soul; charismatic yet with dubious ‘of-the-era’ morals. I think this could be Lancaster’s finest performance in a truly memorable masculinity-in-crisis cult character study. It’s an odd film, but worth staying with until the incredible ending.

ATLANTIC CITY (1980)

As he aged, Lancaster’s continued working with abandon. He wasn’t averse to taking a paycheck in B-movies such as The Cassandra Crossing (1977) and The Island of Dr Moreau (1979), but he also struck critical gold in Louis Malle’s romantic crime drama, Atlantic City (1980). Both Lancaster and Susan Sarandon are impressive. They have an intense chemistry in this ‘May to December’ love story, as two characters thrown together amidst the malfeasant underbelly of the gambler and gangster strewn ocean city. It’s a morally ambiguous, powerful and complex story of two characters fighting their way out of a dangerous place. Again, Lancaster proved he wasn’t fearful of taking risky roles, even in the latter stages of his career. Atlantic City (1980) would deservedly receive several Oscar nominations, including Lancaster for Best Actor.

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA FIX SEPTEMBER FILM REVIEWS including: A HAUNTING IN VENICE (2023), DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS (2023), NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2023) and more. . . .

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CINEMA FIX SEPTEMBER FILM REVIEWS

Life and work have been extremely positive and busy of late, but I have still found time to watch a number of films during September. Here are some quick reviews of just a few of the ones I have seen.

** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS **

65 (2023)

How could a sci-fi-creature film with Adam Driver battling dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago be so uninspired? This probably would have been amazing with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead and John McTiernan directing in the nineties, but the limp father-daughter narrative propellent and severe lack of dinosaur carnage left me feeling disappointed.

Mark: 5 out of 11

CINEMA REVIEW: A HAUNTING IN VENICE (2023)

I love Agatha Christie and I love Poirot. The recent renditions from Kenneth Branagh have been mixed. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) was fantastic, especially for a very familiar murder mystery, while Death on the Nile (2022) was overcooked with a number of miscasts. A Haunting in Venice (2023) is a return to form and a real Halloween treat. The murder mystery isn’t the most interesting part as the plot points, apart from one decent twist, are mostly obvious. But the spooky lighting, eerie sound, imaginative use of lenses and camera angles, plus the claustrophobic and spooky atmosphere created within the Venetian palazzo are extremely impressive. I actually wanted more supernatural scares. The cast are great, although Tina Fey was glamorously miscast as the author, Ariadne Oliver. The ITV/David Suchet version was more faithful and had a better story, but I really enjoyed this excellent piece of comfort cinema.

Mark: 8 out of 11

APPLE TV REVIEW: CAUSEWAY (2022)

Jennifer Lawrence produces and stars as a U.S. soldier/engineer blown up in Afghanistan who, while suffering from PTSD, struggles to get her life back together in New Orleans. A lower-budget and lower key drama that clearly gave Lawrence a change of pace from the blockbusters she has been starring in for years. Causeway (2022) reminded me how great an actress Lawrence is and also, how brilliant Bryan Tyree Henry is. But the character study meanders with a lack of narrative drive, clarity and dynamism Lawrence showed in Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Indeed, while a worthy advocate for a soldier’s suffering, there wasn’t much Joy (2015) to be found here.

Mark: 6.5 out of 11

SKY CINEMA REVIEW: DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONGST THIEVES (2023)

I missed this at the cinema as I was probably washing my hair at the time; what there is of it. However, this latest uber-budgeted attempt to breathe life into the table-top-dice-throwing Dungeons and Dragons game is actually really entertaining. Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant lead the energetic cast in a series of fantastically funny and frenetic action set-pieces involving magic, monsters, wizards, castles, stolen booty and of course, dragons. Pine and Grant are always very watchable, but Michelle Rodriguez steals the film with smashing physicality and deadpan humour as the barbarian, Holga Kilgore. The script has many fine gags throughout, as the likeable characters and pacey heist plot rip along wonderfully. You cannot go wrong with a ragtag group of outsiders finding community while fighting against a pernicious foe. Well, actually you can. But, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) does not!

Mark: 8 out of 11

DISNEY+ REVIEW: NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2023)

Kaitlyn Dever’s Brynn exists in a town where no one seems to speak to her or each other. But suddenly the place is overrun with aliens and Brynn must fight for her life while still not uttering a word. Hmmmm. . . in between the no dialogue cinematic contrivance becoming a bit of a bore, Brian Duffield’s excellent B-movie has some terrific action and a committed lead performance from the sensational Kaitlyn Dever. Since her breakthrough appearance in Short Term 12 (2013), she has gone from strength-to-strength as a performer. As a work of pure suspense cinema the film works mostly because of a weaponised Dever, the dynamic camerawork and the cracking sound and editing. However, the story has a number of holes, especially toward the end, which is frankly ridiculous. But Brian Duffield is a very talented writer and director and it is great that he strived for some formal originality in a familiar genre. Even though there was (yes I know it raises the tension) no organic narrative reason for the lack of speech throughout.

Mark: 7.5 out of 11

Articles, Film Festivals, Raindance

31st RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW – ACTORS-TURNED-DIRECTORS!

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31st RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW – ACTORS-TURNED-DIRECTORS!

As the Office Manager for the Raindance Film School, it is always exciting when the Raindance Film Festival is about to start. This year it runs from Wednesday 25 October 2023 to Saturday 4th November 2023 in Central London. All the amazing details can be found here: https://raindance.org/festival/

There are so many brilliant films to choose from, so it can be an impossibly difficult decision to narrow down one’s choice. If you have the time I recommend you buy a Festival Pass and go and watch everything. If you’re not fortunate enough to be able to do this you could thematically link your cinema choices.

I am always interested in following the careers of actors who become directors. The well-respected director, Dan Attias once said that,
“. . . the best training he had for directing was being an actor.” Indeed, there are many great actors who have become fine film directors, including: Clint Eastwood, Jordan Peele, Jodie Foster, George Clooney, Greta Gerwig, Denzel Washington and Ben Affleck. So, here are four brilliant actors-turned-directors who have films screening at the 31st Raindance Film Festival.

DAY OF THE FIGHT (2023)

The opening gala film is written directed by Jack Huston and promises to be an incendiary drama of power and redemption.

Opening Night Gala: Day of the Fight + Q&A SOLD OUT

EMBERS (2023)

Directed by Christian Cooke, this film is a controversial and gripping drama about incarceration and sexual rehabilitation.

Embers + Q&A

PARACHUTE (2023)

Pitch Perfect franchise actor, Brittany Snow, heads behind the camera with a gritty exploration of addiction and cathartic romance.

Parachute

WARHOL (2023)

Okay, the ultra-talented Adam Ethan Crow was not specifically an actor. Yet, he was certainly a prominent presence on the stand-up comedy scene, before turning his abundant skills to filmmaking. His latest film, Warhol, is a multi-stranded drama that connects various characters to powerful effect.

Warhol + Q&A

Paul Laight is a screenwriter, filmmaker, and blogger. In 2005, he formed Fix Films and has written and produced many shorts and other promos. Many of his films have been screened all over the world at various film festivals. Paul is currently working on feature and short film scripts for future productions. His work can be found here: 

https://www.youtube.com/c/FixFilmsLtd

https://thecinemafix.com/