Mud Songs

Rocky Balboa is a completely watchable Rocky movie. Not great but not bad. I was never a big fan of Rocky. I’d say this one is the best of them all.

The Third Man is a classic film noir with more Dutch angles than you can throw a dead cat at. Deep dark crazy shadows all over the place, Orson Welles never looked better, cloak-and-dagger intrigue and a cool chase scene near the end to cap it all off.

The Take is a sometimes moving documentary with Naomi Klein about workers taking over abandoned factories in Argentina. Interesting bonus features too. It’s amazing what national banks and corporations can get away. Some people are really getting screwed by globalization.

In a Lonely Place is an unremarkable Humphrey Bogart movie I’ve already forgotten.

I like the vibrant look and the often surreal quality of The Hanging Garden. It accurately captures the rural culture of Nova Scotia and the difficulty of being different in that environment, especially when what makes you different is considered a sin (ya gotta love Catholicism). It’s more dream-like than emotionally-engaging, but it’s a good story and one of the best Canadian films of the past 10 years.

I am Phillip with 2 Ls! Hark! Be warned! Hearing “I am Beowulf!” ten times in two hours gets old really fast! Computer-animated humans will never be as good as the real thing! When the people aren’t real, the drama isn’t real, not for a second! My time would have been better spent playing Donkey Kong! Arrgh! (Note: I didn’t see the 3-D Imax version of Beowulf.) If it’s meant to be a dramatic telling of Beowulf, it fails. If it’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek, then it might be a good laugh. I don’t know. I don’t plan to see it again either way.

The Hidden Fortress is a light-hearted adventure comedy about two losers trying to take the money and run, more or less. Add to it a warrior and a princess, some exciting chase scenes and a couple of fights — under the direction Akira Kurosawa, just about every frame of it is a work of art.

Three Times consists of three quiet Taiwanese love stories told in three different time periods with the same two actors. Beautifully shot, slow-paced with minimal dialogue, it reminds me of Kim Ki-duk’s films, but lacking the emotional resonance. The second story is shot like a silent film with only a light piano score throughout and title cards for dialogue, which is odd but kind of cool. If the third story had picked up the pace and given us something to care about, it could have been an extraordinary film. At least the first two stories are worth watching.

Badlands is another Terrence Malick film that didn’t grab me. The story was a zero. I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of it. So sue me.

A Very Long Engagement tells the story of a young woman (Audrey Tautou from Amelie playing a slightly less quirky version of the same child-like character) trying to track down her boyfriend who was supposedly killed in the trenches in World War I. Just about all the shots — from the warm, picturesque rural scenes to the cold, brutally realistic battle scenes — are composed like paintings, so much so that the subtitles are distracting at times. That’s one minor criticism. The other is the storyline which does meander a bit (some tighter editing might have improved the pacing). But the performances are great and there’s magic and fantasy and something beautiful in every scene, so who cares? It’s an excellent film.

The Queen is a well-made movie about the Queen with some great performances. But who really cares about the Queen? Not me.

The Pursuit of Happyness has Will Smith playing a straight up role as a guy struggling to make ends meet. Good performances in this feel-good underdog story.

Into The Wild is the true story of a young guy just out of university who travels across the US to live in the wilds of Alaska by himself — and who should have taken some survival courses before he got there. Although more interesting than dramatically engaging, it’s a well made road trip movie that’s worth a look, especially if you share the idealism of Thoreau. (Sean Penn, the director, discusses the film on Charlie Rose.)

In Michael Clayton, George Clooney plays a burnt out lawyer. It’s only been a few hours and I’ve already completely forgotten it.

Gone Baby Gone is Ben Affleck’s directorial debut and it’s pretty damn good. It’s the story of a private investigator looking for a little girl who has gone missing in his neighbourhood, and brother does he get messed up in some serious shit. And just when you think you know what’s going on, you don’t, and it’s at that point the film shifts into high gear and doesn’t let up until the very last shot. It’s not just a thriller; it’s an intellectually engaging and morally challenging film, one that will give you something to talk about while the credits are rolling. That’s an accomplishment for any film. (Not recommended for parents with small kids, though.)

Some of the best films I’ve watched recently also happen to be the least conventional: The Science of Sleep, The Fisher King, The Fountain, and now Everything is Illuminated, a quirky, colourful, fantastic road trip movie that may surprise you with its poignancy. It’s funny, it’s touching and, yup, it’s illuminating. Another pleasant-surprise movie not many people have seen.

Transformers may be the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It’s not even worth the trouble of a download just to see how bad it is (unless you’re 10 years old and don’t know any better; I thought Dukes of Hazzard was the best show on TV when I was 10). Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is a masterpiece next to this.

When Worlds Collide is one of the most watchable “sci-fi” B-movies from the early ’50s — and in colour! It’s about some scientists (or scienticians) who build a big rocket ship to take a group of people to the planet Zyra because the earth is about to be destroyed in a collision with some other rogue planet. Or something. 3 out of 4 stars on the cheese-o-meter. Couple it with Forbidden Planet, and you’ve got yourself a great double feature.

Striking cinematography and good acting cannot make up for the fact that the story is so %$#@! up and depressing, it leaves you feeling dirty, like it’s time for a really long shower now. The Dead Girl is a well-made film but definitely not for everyone.

Ponette is an extraordinary film about a 4-year-old girl dealing with her mother’s death — and it’s not a downer. From the first frame to the last, you are living in a 4-year-old’s reality as dramatic and moving as any adult world. It’s a one-of-a-kind film that’s hard to forget. Highly recommended.