REVIEW of film: “COPACABANA” [ = Report # 16 re 46th CIFF ]

2010, 10-01:

Review of film: “COPACABANA”  [ = Report # 16 re 46^th CIFF ]

               REPORT # 16 on the 46^th CHICAGO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL =     

As best I can tell, I was the first Chicago reviewer to view the Festival’s DVD screener of this France / Belgium co-production dramedy:

…  Eliza – calling herself Babou (played by ISABELLE HUPPERT) -- is a FLAKE.  Some may call her way of life “Bohemian”, but whatever you call it, she’s out of the “mainstream”...

...  She has little money, can’t seem to get or keep a decent job (always with “excuses” for things, like why she arrived late to an interview, etc.), and she is always looking to live on the “cheap” as she bounces from one flippant devil-may-care interest to another…

…  Due to Babou’s flighty spur-of-the-moment lifestyle, she’s “schlepped” (moved) her family around a lot, and her daughter Esmeralda (LOLITA CHAMMAH) has reacted very POORLY to that impulsive situation, having a generally antagonistic attitude towards Babou… 

...  Babou simply doesn’t seem to CARE what other people “think” of her, & continues her impulsive ways (such as by concocting an “Indian-theme” dinner with appropriate music, costume, food, etc.)… 

…  At one point, Esme informs her mom that she plans to MARRY her longtime boyfriend Justin (JOACHIM LOMBARD)--  but that the Babou is NOT welcome to come to the event, because “I don’t want you to EMBARRASS me…” 

...  She admits that yes, it’s also because Isabelle is “broke” & can’t come up with any money towards the wedding.  Esme informs her that her fiance’s parents are being told Babou would be “busy” because she’s supposedly visiting “BRAZIL”.  Very hurt, Babou says, “In that case, I’m NOT your MOTHER anymore!”…

…  Babou has an old friend named Patrice (LUIS REGO) who she commiserates with about her life.  He tells her of a job opening he’s heard about re selling TIMESHARES in Ostende, Belgium--  but he couldn’t take the job because you have to LIVE there to do the sales… 

...  Having nothing else feasible to do to earn a living, she works to borrow a car from her leery friend Suzanne (NOÉMIE LVOVSKY) to GO to Ostende to apply for the position…

…  It turns out the timeshares are in a seaside building that’s still being constructed, & she has to share a room with another job applicant, a crusty, unfriendly older lady named Lydie (AURE LATIKA) who has a background in real estate (whereas Babou has NO such experience)… 

...  In time, the applicants learn the job (which has no minimum salary) is really as APPOINTMENT-setters to bring people in for the well-paid sales reps to try to close on sales…

…  Babou gamely tries to do the new-to-her work, but does POORLY at it--  until she meets a friendly middle-aged local man named Bart (JURGEN DELNAET) who gives her helpful “tips” on the best places to go & what to do to try to find prospective clients.  In time, they grow closer romantically… 

…  Babou chances to see a homeless couple squatting across the way from her building &, reminded of her own past life, takes pity on their situation.  She thus invites Kurt (GUILLAUME GOUIX) & Petra (VEERLE DOBBELAERE) & their dog to secretly LIVE in one of the rooms in the timeshare building (which, typically, is against the strict “rules”)…  

…  Unexpectedly, Babou does WELL at lining up people to consider buying timeshares, & her fellow agents start to grow jealous of, & hostile towards, her…  

...  Also surprising is the way Esme works to try to “FIX” things a bit with Babou--  tho she still doesn’t want her to attend the planned wedding, & looks down on the way her mom helps out the homeless people (whom Babou consider to be “fun” to be with)… 

…  Since Babou has a history of “screwing-up” things in her life, will she do that in THIS case?...  Will things move forward with Bart?  Will anything be truly patched-up with daughter Esme?...

...  Will we learn more about WHY the movie refers to a beach in Brazil & what “connection” it will have to the plot by the end of the movie?...  Naturally, you will find answers to ALL those questions in the film…

…  Isabelle really “GRABS-ON” to her “Auntie Mame”-type role in this film, making her character a memorable and JOYFUL experience for the audience.  The others in the cast are also quite effective, & it all adds up to a plot that really “WORKS”, with a finely cheerful conclusion... 

…  It’s very effective in showing the different “types” of people & situations we all meet & deal with on an everyday basis (the slackers, the pushy “A”-type business people, the rare helpful ones, things that keep going wrong in life, etc.)...

...  Thus, it turned into an unexpected PLEASURE as an overall film.  Accordingly, I’m rating it an 8 out of 10 stars…

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Review of film: “TRUST” [ = Report # 02 of 46th CIFF ]

2010, 09-22 =

Review of film: “TRUST”  [ = Report # 02 of 46^th CIFF ]

                             Re:  CHICAGO INT'L. FILM FESTIVAL

This “advance screening” review was originally posted on various internet sites as my Report # 2 on the 46^th CHICAGO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL held in 2010...   It’s being posted now (03-28-11) as the movie I reviewed is close to being RELEASED nationally... 

DAVID SCHWIMMER is best known as one of the stars of the long-running TV series “FRIENDS”...

...  But he also has a strong connection with Chicago, since he was a co-founder of Lookingglass Theatre, where he (as a still-current Ensemble member) both acted in and directed various productions...

...  Another one of his interests is the Rape Foundation in Santa Monica, California, where he serves on the Board of Directors…

…  Recently, he has been expanding his directing work, in the HBO series “Little Britain USA” and in films such as “Run, Fat Boy, Run” and “Since You've Been Gone”…

…  Mr. Schwimmer has recently directed a new film  called “TRUST”, which was based on a production at the Lookingglass, & I saw an advance screener of that effort which will be shown 3 times at this year’s CHICAGO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL:

…  “Annie” (excellently portrayed by LIANA LIBERATO) is a happy teenager who’s just turned 14 at a party held at her comfortable family home with her younger sister, her warm and loving older brother “Peter” (SPENCER CURNUTT) who’s about to leave for college, and her encouraging father (CLIVE OWEN) and mother (CATHERINE KEENER)…

…  Things go along easily for her, until a “bump” enters her life in the form of a new BOYFRIEND named “Charlie” who she meets ON-LINE...

...  Charlie (played by TRISTAN PEACH) claims he’s 16, & keeps encouraging Liana to meet him in PERSON.  “Taken” with him, Liana meets him at a mall--  & is surprised when the guy who’d claimed to be 16 & then “changed” that to “20” turns out to be far OLDER than he’d claimed…

 …  Charlie keeps telling her how “pretty” she is, & encouraging her to go out on a DATE--  & then “more”…  In time, a friend of hers tells a “3^rd party” of seeing them together, & that leads her father Clive to try to go “AFTER” Charlie on a charge of RAPE …

…  How does Liana “REACT” to what her Dad & others (such as the FBI) are claiming about Charlie’s supposedly being a sexual predator?...  Whose “SIDE” is she on, & will she CHANGE her attitude?... 

...  The film operates on a very REALISTIC & generally “controlled” level (even when people seem OUT of control)… 

…  There are IMPRESSIVE performances by all the lead characters, & I recommend it with a rating of 8 out of 10 stars. 

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Review of film: “THE GREATEST”

2010, 04-05:

Review of film:  “THE GREATEST”

           

Director:

Shana Feste

Writer:

Shana Feste

Starring:

Carey Mulligan

Aaron Johnson

Pierce Brosnan       

Susan Sarandon

Johnny Simmons   

Kevin Hagan           

Miles Robbins

Cara Seymour

Ramsey Faragallah

Colby Minifie           

Zoë Kravitz   

Portia 

Michael Shannon   

Dante E. Clark

Ron Scott

MPAA Rating:

R for language, some sexual content and drug use.

Quotes:

“She’s coming back very soon.”
“When in grief—.”

“The one bad thing was--.”

“…. like grief culture.”

“… yet to say goodbye…”

“I loved him more than anything.”

“I’m gonna sue your whole family!”

“He knew it was bad.”

MY Rating:

8 of 10 stars (based on an advance screening of the 99-minute film).

                                      MOPING is Not Coping

Bennett Brewer (AARON JOHNSON) always had a “thing” for cute schoolmate Rose (CAREY MULLIGAN) & vice versa, but he always found himself tongue-tied when her tried to talk to her...

...  The last day of high school, he finally got the courage to really speak up to Carey (as she’d been hoping he’d do).  They got along so well, it soon led to romance between them…

…  As fate would have it, their car is hit from behind by a vehicle driven by Jordan Walker (MICHAEL SHANNON), and Aaron dies from the accident.  His mother Grace (SUSAN SARANDON) simply cannot cope with what happened, and obsesses over the event to the point that she keeps visiting Michael (who’s in a coma in a hospital) to try to find out the last words spoken to him by Aaron…

…  Susan is so plagued by the death, she cannot bear to confront everyday existence, insisting Aaron’s clothes and room not be touched, regularly looking at a videotape of the car crash, etc....

...  Her attitude makes life unbearable for Aaron’s professor dad Allen (PIERCE BROSNAN) and Aaron’s younger brother Ryan (JOHNNY SIMMONS), neither of whom are able to truly accept the grief they feel over the loss of Aaron…

…  After her recovery from the car accident, Carey finds out that she’s PREGNANT by Aaron, &, having no family she can rely on, she tells his family the news.  She’s an honest, straight-forward young woman, & Pierce warmly accepts her and insists she live with them.  But Susan is very antagonistic and hostile towards Carey, blaming her for Aaron’s dying…

…  Carey tries to prepare a “baby book” as her pregnancy proceeds, she deeply wants to know MORE about Aaron as a person, but she’s unable to get anyone in the family to truly answer her innocent QUESTIONS about him (since the others find it too hard to deal with his death)…  Eventually, that attitude from them (& especially Susan’s coldness) tends to alienate Carey…

…  Little by little (thru flashbacks & otherwise), secrets of the family (and “peripheral” people) are revealed--  a past affair, reasons for the “detached” attitude of drug-user Johnny & his girlfriend Ashley (ZOË KRAVITZ), the demeanor of Carey’s best friend, etc…

…  Will grief-counseling end up HELPING Johnny cope with the loss of Aaron?…  Will Michael ever wake up from his coma & tell Susan what she wants to know?…  Will Pierce ever be able to open up & accept his own inner grieving?… 

…  Will Carey ever really LEARN information she’s seeking about Aaron?…  Will Susan be able to get THRU her fixations enough to live realistically?…  Will Carey ever be able to RETURN to the family?… 

...  Will any true “BONDS” eventually allow the separate characters to come “TOGETHER” in any real way?…  And WHO are they talking about when someone is described as “the greatest”?…

…  There’s a lot of intense action and undercurrents going on in this movie.  While it may appear on the surface to be a “potboiler” type of film, it’s NOT, in that the characters become very “REAL” in their behavior, actions and attitudes… 

…  The movie “works” because all the four major figures do a FINE job of acting, actually coming across as “underplaying” where you might expect overplaying in their roles: 

...  Pierce (an executive producer of the film) is particularly controlled in his “internal” emotional work, & Susan keeps her character’s superficial “craziness” on what turns out to be a tight (tho vacillating) fervent “leash” of plausibility…

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Review of film: “KICK-ASS”

2010, 03-04; finished 3-23-10 after a “FULL” screening to replace the “defective” 1^st one:

Review of film:  “KICK-ASS”

Director

Matthew Vaughn

Writers:

Jane Goldman (screenplay)

Mark Millar (comic book series)

Starring:

Nicolas Cage           

Mark Strong

Chloe Moretz

Aaron Johnson

Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Jason Flemyng                   

Lyndsy Fonseca

Clark Duke

Xander Berkeley

Tamer Hassan

Yancy Butler            

Michael Rispoli

Evan Peters             

Omari Hardwick

MPAA Rating:

R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use - some involving children.

Quotes:

“At some point in our lives, we ALL want to be a Super Hero…”

“My only ‘Super Power’ was being INVISIBLE to GIRLS.”

 “Would YOU do anything differently?”

“He never only existed in comic books.”

“You sold him MY coke.”

“I never felt so GOOD about myself.”

“I’m Kick-Ass!”

“I always wanted a friend like you.”

“I want his…  head on a stick!”

“Your boy did good.”

“It’s time for Frank D'Amico to go bye-bye!”

“I’m also NOT gay!”

“I care about you a lot.”

“What happened on ‘LOST’?!”

“I owe you.”

MY Rating:

8 of 10 stars (based on an advance screening of the 117-minute film, scheduled for release 4-16-10.

“With no Power comes no RESPONSIBILITY!”

The title above is a line from the movie.  Why, Gee, Gosh, Golly, Folks--  that’s a sign that that we have another film based on a COMIC-BOOK series {by Mark Millar}!…

 

…  In this film, the comic book fan is named Dave Lizewski (AARON JOHNSON), &, sort of typical of such kids, he tends to be “overlooked” in his high school.  Having nothing “better” to do, he decides to become a “Super-Hero”-- &, with characteristic teenage lack of foresight, his choice is made despite the fact that he has NO powers (super or otherwise), and no special preparation for it all…

…  His high school buddies Marty (bespectacled CLARK DUKE) & curly-haired EVAN PETERS, are equally nerdy & girlfriend-less, & they commiserate with each other’s problems when they regularly visit Atomic Comics (which also serves some food)…  Aaron talks about how he lusts after pretty classmate Katie Deauxma (LYNDSY FONSECA)…

…  All the guys tend to dislike super-rich Chris D'Amico (CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE).  His father Frank (MARK STRONG) purports to run a lumber company--  but he really is a big-time drug-dealing CROOK in town, with police Detective Vic Gigante (XANDER BERKELEY) on his payroll...

...  He has loads of goons in his employ, such as his right-hand man Big Joe (MICHAEL RISPOLI), bodyguard Stu (STU 'LARGE' RILEY), JASON FLEMYNG, Mike (TAMER HASSAN), & others…

…  Wanting to be “noticed”, horny Aaron orders a costume of green tights, calls himself “Kick-Ass”, & goes thru the streets looking for some “crime-fighting” he could do:  he tries to fight some local small-time hoods who try to break into cars & rob students (like him & his friends) of their valuables, & realizes that they often respond with physical FURY to such interference!…

…  After getting quite hurt for his do-gooder activities, “Kick-Ass” gets some NOTORIETY from people who filmed his efforts & put it on the internet & TV…  The metal inserted to help his body recover also “strengthens” it somewhat… 

…  Still, the easiest way he finds to get close to Lyndsy is to follow the urging of his buddies to let her think he’s GAY…  At one point, as he’s on a good-deed “mission” suggested to him by Lyndsy, his efforts are met with extreme VIOLENCE by the people he tracks down…

…  Luckily for Aaron, his behind is saved by a NEW Super Hero:  11-year-old martial-arts expert “HIT GIRL”, who’s really Mindy Macready (CHLOE MORETZ).  She’d been taught her combat abilities by her ex-cop father Damon (NICOLAS CAGE), who himself takes the gun-toting Batman-like persona of “BIG DADDY”…

…  When Kick-Ass & the others start to interfere with the criminal activities of Christopher’s father (Mark), Chris decides to try to help his dad by assuming the persona of another Super Hero who he calls “RED MIST”…  That sets up various machinations between the groups, with a great deal of savage FIGHTING ensuing as they try to trick & battle each other…

…  Will “Kick-Ass” SUCCEED in combating “crime” in New York?…  Will he “get” his hoped-for GIRLFRIEND?…  What will “happen” to his FRIENDS & to the OTHER “Super Hero” characters”?…

…  The main leads do a GOOD job in their acting, & Nic Cage especially “FITS” effortlessly right in to his “off-kilter” guise… 

…  The movie is a surprisingly SUCCESSFUL combination of HUMOR (most of it situational & consisting of purposely-“gross” rather than clever lines), lots of ACTION, “COMIC-BOOK” liveliness, & a bunch of convincing SPECIAL EFFECTS (done by like 5 different companies)…  

…  While it’s not “great”, it provides an enjoyably “FUN” time as the actors play it “straight” as they romp thru their roles…

[ …  As an “ASIDE”:  the advance screening was “hosted” by “CAPONE” of “Ain’t It Cool News”.  He spoke of how he’d just been mentioned in a “Time Out Chicago” article as someone with a lot of “CLOUT” in the local movie-review industry…

[…  He said, while they may have “overstated” his influence, he was pleased he was able to convince director Vaughn (at the recent SXSW Festival in Texas) to let him SHOW the film here in advance of its scheduling national opening…

[…  “Capone” remarked on how the movie had received a strong reception at “Com-i-con”:  altho it was a “rough”-cut (with an unapproved soundtrack), it was so well-received, it started a “bidding war” for distribution five or so months ago… 

[...  I wouldn’t be surprised if this film spawns a SERIES of films, in that it’s well-done overall, & the way it ends clearly “SETS-UP” the possibility of a “sequel”… ]

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