Coming of Age/WTF Were Thinking Celluloid- The Neon Demon (2016)

Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon is a modeling film that rewrites the genre. The best way to describe Demon is a David mash up.

Huh? Let me explain that. Take equal parts David Lynch, David Cronenberg, & David Fincher blend briskly with libation & drugs of your choosing.

Elle Fanning mesmerizes as Jessie. She’s got the look those other stick figures hate. The natural beauty can drive the competition to extremes.

Jena Malone puzzles us as Ruby. She’s a makeup artist in more ways than one.

However, the film’s best supporting role is by Keanu Reeves. He is out of his comfort zone as a sadistic, night manager.

The Neon Demon makes The Lobster look like Finding Dory. Viewers might also find similarities between it and Black Swan.    However, Swan succeeded by melding Fight Club with Swan Lake.  Yet, Demon feels more like an homage to 1980’s horror films with too much Karo Corn Syrup.  It is destined to become a cult classic of 2016 and for years to come.

Road Trip Celluloid- A Walk in the Woods (2015)

Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) is suddenly stuck after the loss of a neighbor. However, a trip to an Appalachian Trail marker ,near Hanover, NH, sparks an idea. He decides to hike the entire trail.  One problem:  He’s a reporter and not a hiker. Kathryn Bryson (Emma Thompson) tries to discourage him with death reports and bear attack literature.  Her actions make Bill want to attain this goal even more than before.

He decides to call most of his friends for a hiking buddy.  All of them have an excuse and/or they think he’s crazy.  Yet, it changes with a random call from an old colleague.  Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte) is interested in making the journey.  Katz has two bum knees and is not on best terms with Bill.  It doesn’t matter to him.  He wants someone to accompany him on the trek.

Will Bill and Stephan make it from GA to ME in one piece?  Will they maul each other like angry bears?  What happens when we get to our destination.

A Walk in the Woods is based on Bill Bryson’s book.  The book was originally published in 1998.  However, the studio decided to set the film in 2015.  Despite this fact, the film works on numerous levels.  Redford and Nolte play terrifically off of each other.  Redford’s class as Bryson contradicts Nolte’s crass as Katz.  It shows the differences between varying generations during the journey.  Katz & Bryson are continually frustrated by the younger hikers but they still persevere.  The younger hikers helped them along their journey but not the entire way.  Yet, it’s the older generation that provides the most solace during the trek.

Take this humorous,heartfelt walk and hike the trail with a friend or companion.  It is always nice to take the path less traveled on occasion.  Remember, Watch For Bears!

 

We Need A Decision, Now! Celluloid- Eye in the Sky (2016)

Col. Catherine Powell (Helen Mirren) wakes up in her U.K. home.  She checks her secured laptop for the daily briefing.  Then, she makes her way to the command center.  When she arrives, the target is established to be an Al-Shabaab safe house in Nairobi.

Meanwhile in Nevada, Lt. Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) wakes up at the same time as Col. Powell.  He is a drone pilot for the U.S. Air Force.  When he arrives on base, he awaits the mission brief.  The mission brief will be delivered by an Air Force Lt. Col.  However, it is overseen by Col. Powell.

The goal is to bomb a safe house containing two former British nationals and one former American national.  However, they are considered three of the top five terrorists in Kenya by British and U.S. intelligence.  The man calling the shots for the British military is Lt. Gen. Frank Benson (Alan Rickman).

Yet, they have a covert officer in Kenya.  His name is Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi).  However, he’s at the greatest risk of all.  Farah’s assignment requires him to operate small drones within the terrorist safe house.  The drones resemble a hummingbird and a beetle.  However, the beetle is the key.  It is the eyes and ears within.  Without this drone, the mission could be compromised.

It sounds easy enough.  Target the terrorists and blow them up.  What could possibly go wrong?

Wait, what’s the young girl doing?  She is setting a bread stand.  Oh, okay.  No wait; it’s right behind the target.  Take the shot and risk an innocent life or make a compromise.

Will the U.K. and the U.S. make the right call?  Will the terrorists be stopped in time?  What about the young girl?

Eye in the Sky is skillfully directed by Gavin Hood.  Hood is best known for the 2006 Oscar winning film Tsotsi.  His direction is beautifully complimented by Guy Hibbert’s pretzel logic screenplay.  Haris Zambarloukos’ cinematography takes viewers from inside the terrorist safe house to the international skies above Kenya.

Mirren commands the screen as Powell.  Paul is brilliant as Watts.  Abdi thrills and is in danger as Abdah.  However, Alan Rickman gives us a heartfelt and occasionally hilarious performance as Lt. Gen. Benson.  His final role will be the feather in the cap of a stellar career.

Rickman, Mirren, and Paul should be considered as acting nominees at the 2017 Oscars.

Eye in the Sky is the reason that we seek out smaller films.  It gives us a bird’s eye view into the war room of one mission.  Although, we have no idea how many times this scenario happens daily.  Yet,  we go on reading US Weekly, kind of ignoring The Kardashians, and flipping past the real headlines to get to the sport scores.

Hood should be proud for directing one of 2016’s best and potentially most talked about films.  He gave viewers an opportunity to question how they would address & handle the situation.  I overheard film goers questioning the on-screen actions of the war room during the screening.  It is an atypical and provocative film when such reactions occur.

 

 

 

Coming of Age Celluloid- Sing Street (2016)

Sing Street takes place in Dublin circa 1985.  Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is the middle child in a Protestant, working class home.  Due to his parents’ limited employment, he is forced to enroll in Synge Street, a Catholic school.  Well, what’s the old saying about shite running downhill?  It describes his introduction to this new environment.  He’s already on the bad side of Father Baxter, the headmaster, by wearing brown shoes.

However, brown shoes are the least of his worries.  Barry, a bully, is under the presumption that Conor is gay (he’s not) but decides to make his life hell.  Yet, the solution is obvious and comes from an unlikely source.  Darren (Ben Carolan) has an idea of starting a band.  Conor isn’t keen on this but a young lass changes that notion.  Raphina (Lucy Boynton) is her name.  She has the hybrid style of Sheena Easton and Madonna.  Oh, she’s a model for print and in videos?  Videos as in Top of the Pops and MTV.

Conor is asked to sing by her and she’s hooked.  The name of the band is Sing Street.  One big problem:  No instruments, no musical abilities, and no band members.  Hmm, problem solved.  He has a friend named Eamon (Mark McKenna).  Eamon could be the Mick version of Prince and has musical chops (along with mutton chops).  Problem seems to be solved.

Will Raphina be their video vixen?  Will Conor ever beat up Barry?  Will Sing Street rock the school and then the planet?

Sing Street is written and directed by John Carney (Once).  He has captured the essence of adolescence and musical discovery.  He co-wrote the original songs including “The Riddle of the Model”, “Drive It Like You Stole It”, “Up”, and “Go Now”.  The success of this film lies within the talented ensemble.  The actors in the group Sing Street are all singers and musicians.  Without this ability, the film would’ve hit a sour note.

However, this isn’t the case.  John Carney has captured the magic of MTV.  Yes, they used to play videos and still do.

Yet, Carney has done something viewers could never fathom. He brought to life “The Coolest ‘What If?’ in Teen Cinema History.”

Ready for it. Here Goes. What if John Hughes had made a teenage version of The Commitments? You’re welcome!

In giving birth to this concept,  Carney has created one of 2016’s best throwback films.  Also, it is one of 2016’s Ten Best Films.  Viewers will find themselves humming and singing while leaving the cinema.

So, take a chance, form a band, and sing like there’s no tomorrow.

 

Before Trilogy Celluloid- Before Midnight (2013)

Before Midnight opened with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) bidding his son Hank adieu in a Greek airport.  Hank is heading back to Chicago and to Jesse’s ex-wife.  Meanwhile, Celine (Julie Delpy) waited for him outside the terminal. However, it has been nine years since Paris.  They are married with two twin girls, Ella and Nina.

The five, now four, of them are winding down a six-week holiday to the Southern Peloponnese.  While the girls rest, Jesse and Celine pickup an adult conversation.  They are on their way to visit Patrick, an acclaimed professor, before the trip concludes.  We find them at ease with the Mediterranean’s beautiful vistas and saline, saturated air.  They enjoy the seaside estate and dinner with Patrick’s friends.  One of the couples has a wonderful surprise for them; a night at a luxury hotel.

Will this be the spark that Jesse and Celine need to refresh their courtship?  Or could it spell the end of the strangers’ love on the Viennese train?

Before Midnight was the third and final installment of the Before Trilogy.  Richard Linklater saved the juiciest and best film for last.  He captured the passion of Before Sunset and married it with the angst of an Ingmar Bergmann film.  Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke relish and ignite the screen one last time as Celine and Jesse.  They also co-wrote the film along with Richard Linklater and earned a 2014 Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The three writers seamlessly blended improvisation with scripted dialogue.  At times, viewers will find themselves laughing and feeling a gut check as well.  The film has a true triumvirate in Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke.

How many times in cinema can one director over three films and two decades accomplish this?  The only other director with more films with the same two stars would be Woody Allen.  The difference between Linklater and Allen lies within the character confines.  Linklater’s films featured the same characters over two decades.  Yet, Allen’s films/pairings featured himself and Diane Keaton as different characters, who were only once portrayed as married.  Also, Linklater’s characters had some neuroses but Allen’s characters were filled with them.

Yet, the two find common ground with rich, heartfelt, and humorous dialogue.  Viewers should be grateful to live in a world with these two independent masterminds.

I’ll back off the soapbox for a moment.  Linklater has constructed a trilogy of intercourse films.  Alright, I hear some jackass making XXX jokes while reading that last sentence.  Intercourse as in talking not fornicating…GOT IT!

He took a gamble on a Texan and a Parisian and struck Indy Gold.  Also, viewers were treated to Viennese, Parisian, and Peloponnese sightseeing along the way.  He gave us the ultimate “Wait until next fall or year or decade love trilogy”.  We are forever thankful for this Before Trilogy and look forward to Linklater’s next phase as a filmmaker.

http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/577435-mapping-before-midnight-follow-celine-and-jesse-around-southern-peloponnese

True One of a Kind Celluloid- Miles Ahead (2016)

Miles Ahead chronicled the unlikely pairing of Dave Braden (Ewan McGregor), Rolling Stone reporter, and Miles Davis (Don Cheadle), music legend.  Davis was not seen performing after 1975 in Tokyo.  He was taking a breather.  However, Columbia Records was in his craw over a new album.  They presumed it was a “comeback album” but Davis saw it differently.  Braden entered his life with a cold call that resulted in a Miles cold cock..  However, things unraveled when Braden drove Davis to Columbia.  The head of A & R didn’t set up an interview with Rolling Stone.   A sour note like no other was struck.  The result was a violent outburst from Davis and Columbia demanded the tape for the $20k rights upfront.

Would Davis get the master tape to Columbia?  Would Braden survive a stint with “The Howard Hughes of Music”?  Bitches Brew would be the least volatile drink from Davis to Braden.

Miles Ahead is produced, directed, co-written, additionally composed, and starring Don Cheadle.  Cheadle is the man to beat for Best Actor at the 2017 Oscars.  He captures Davis like no other and even learned the trumpet for the role.  However, he did play the saxophone in high school.

He joined by a great supporting cast including Ewan McGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and Theron Brown.  McGregor is a terrific balance to Cheadle’s Davis.  He provides some of the unlikely moments of the film.  However, Emayatzy Corinealdi is an early contender for Best Supporting Actress as Frances Taylor.  She stands toe-to-toe with Cheadle without backing down.  Theron Brown is terrific as an upstart jazz musician named Herbie Hancock.

Miles Ahead is one of 2016’s 10 Best Films.  This will silence all the “Oscars Be So Lily White!” haters.  Don Cheadle will be one of several Oscar nominated black actors, actresses, producers, directors, and/or writers at the 2017 Oscars.  Here’s to Miles Davis, a truly, original musician.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Davis

True LGBT Celluloid- The Danish Girl (2015)

The Danish Girl followed the lives of artists Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) and Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne).  However, their lives were changed one day.  Gerda didn’t have a female model and decided to have Einar substitute.  She was inspired beyond words and he was in a new world.  The paintings were a huge success and everyone became curious about the model’s identity.

Einar became Lili Elbe, Einar’s cousin, for appearances with Gerda.  However, the appearances began to take on a different life.  Lili was becoming a regular fixture and Einar slowly faded into the canvas.  As with all art, it has an immeasurable price one’s existence.  He began to struggle with his own gender.  However, Gerda felt strained between the husband she loved and the model that she painted.

How would Einar become Lili?  Would she live up to his expectations?  What would Gerda do once she lost her husband?  Does the female form truly represent the model?

The Danish Girl is based on David Eberschoff’s novel.  It is loosely based on the live of Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe.  Lili Elbe was one of the first recorded cases of sexual reassignment surgery.  Tom Hooper directed this challenging film.  He is blessed with two great leads in Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander.

Redmayne shows us that his Oscar for portraying Stephen Hawking wasn’t a fluke. He provides a deep, multi-faceted performance as Einar/Lili and earned a 2016 Best Actor nomination.  However,  Alicia Vikander delivers a beautiful portrayal of wife torn between the man she loves and the woman trapped within him.  She earned a well deserved 2016 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

The film delves into territory that Ishmael Merchant & James Ivory never dared.  They did deal with gay issues in some of their films.  However, they would’ve had a game changer with this one.

The Danish Girl is difficult to watch at times.  Yet, viewers must considered it a drop in the ocean in comparison to the struggles of transgender individuals.  It is astonishing how views of this community have changed since the early 20th Century until now.  Although, the world still has a long way to go.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lili_Elbe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerda_Wegener

http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/danish-girl/

https://community.pflag.org/transgender

http://www.tghelp.org/

http://www.glaad.org/transgender/resources

 

WCW Mind Altering Celluloid- Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind introduced viewers to Clementine (Kate Winslet) and Joel (Jim Carrey).  They fall madly in love with each other.   However, it ended one day and something strange occurred.  He was having strange sensations for an unknown reason.  Then, Joel received a letter from Lacuna, a memory removal clinic.  It was sent out by mistake but he decided to check it out.

Once there, he spoke with Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) and was briefed on the process.  Joel decided to go through with the procedure.  Later that evening, Patrick (Elijah Wood) and Stan (Mark Ruffalo) were erasing the itemized memories at his home.  However, the procedure received a curve ball from Joel.  He had a change of heart internally.  Could he stop the erasure in time?  Would Clementine be gone and lost forever?  Don’t think too hard, her memory could be…

Eternal Sunshine was directed & co-written by Michel Gondry.  He is given a great ensemble to work with.  The featured players included Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Carrey, & Kate Winslet.  Jim Carrey gave one of his best, subdued comic performances to date.  Winslet is haunting and eccentric as Clementine.  She earned a Best Actress nomination at the 2005 Oscars.  The film received a Best Original Screenplay award for Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufman, and Pierre Bismuth.

The film gave us a beautiful, hilarious, and heartbreaking (at times) insight into the mechanics of love and lust.  However, Who in the *@#K would want to erase Kate Winslet?!  Maybe, Sam Mendes.   Yet, viewers will be unable to erase this masterful, sci-fi gem.  Don’t miss this misplaced memory anytime soon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Winslet

Boomstick Trilogy- Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

Evil Dead 2 found Ash (Bruce Campbell) back at the cabin with Linda.  Wait a damned minute?  Linda is alive and Ash is smitten?  No, it is only a dream.  Ash wakes up after surviving one hell of a spring break.  Take that Girls Gone Wild!  He is now possessed with a demon.  No, don’t get ahead of yourself, She Bitch is in Army of Darkness.

Meanwhile, we found Annie (Sarah Berry), Professor Knowby’s daughter, and her boyfriend, Ed Getley.  They have arrived back from an archaeological expedition with newly, discovered pages of the Necronomicon.  Annie was on her way to her father’s cabin.  However, they arrived to find a vast canyon and a blown-out bridge. They were pondering how to access the cabin.  Who knows them woods better than Jake and Bobbie Joe, his best girl.

However, they arrive to find a stranger with a bloody hand.  Annie presumed that Ash killed her parents.  Yet, she’s mistaken.  Will they be Dead by Dawn?  Will this be “A Farewell To Arms”?  We are only assured of one thing.  It Will Be Groovy!

Dead by Dawn was directed and co-written by Sam Raimi.  He departed from the seriousness of The Evil Dead but left the gore intact.  Bruce Campbell was as dapper and groovy as ever.  The second installment introduced fans to Evil Ash and the chainsaw arm.

Sam Raimi didn’t something unexpected with this film.  He made one of the scariest, funniest films since Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.  Go ahead, take a moment to be confused.  Then, it hits like a bolt out of the blue.  The comedy team battled their way through a mysterious castle.  They faced laughs, screams, scares, and less gory deaths than Ash.  However, Raimi proved that slapstick never goes out of style.  Bruce Campbell referred to this installment as “The Introduction Of Splatstick.”

We got our groove back without loosing our heads.  We lost our hand and maybe got enough gas to fuel the chainsaw in exchange.

True Resolve Celluloid- Eddie The Eagle (2016)

Eddie the Eagle is the true story of Eddie Edwards. He grew up as a working class child with dodgy knees. Ultimately, he always dreamed of being in the Olympics.

However, his clumsy tendencies wore on his father, a drywaller. Yet, Eddie (Taron Egerton) had a revelation while working with his dad. It was training for the Winter Olympics instead of the summer.

He excelled in skiing but lacked the poise that the British Olympic Committee desired. So, they shunned him. Did that stop Eddie? No Way!

He left Britain to train like an Olympian in Germany? Yes, Germany. Who would reluctantly befriend a dodgy klutz? Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman) would.

Would they attain their individual goals? Would Eddie qualify for Calgary? Damn Straight!

Eddie the Eagle soars high and inspires. It is one of 2016’s Ten Best Films. Egerton & Jackman are perfectly cast as this unlikely dream athlete & fallen champion.

George Richmond’s cinematography is mesmerizing. He puts viewers in Eddie’s skis with beautiful detail. Matthew Margeson’s score would perfectly accompany any Olympic ceremony/event.

Look for this film in the Best Picture Category at the 2017 Oscars.