Thursday, September 30, 2010

Review: The Tree

The Tree
Dir. Julie Bertuccelli
Year: 2010
Aus Rating: M
Running Time: 97mins

Julie Bertuccelli’s The Tree is a rare breed, indeed. Based on an acclaimed novel titled Our Father Who Art in The Tree by Brisbane-born, UK-based novelist Judy Pascoe, adapted and directed by a Frenchwoman and made in Australia with a cast of local and French talent. It is a deeply moving affair that will slowly work its way into the hearts of viewers thanks to the bare emotions on display and the heart-breaking work of its cast. The Tree is something special and something to be treasured.

Read the rest Onya Magazine



I'm going out on a limb here (pun not intended) with my grade for The Tree. I know many who were either underwhelmed or merely whelmed, but I really responded to the film so I'm giving it a rare A. I can only explain it as I do in the review.

I do it find it interesting though that the two A films from 2010 involve foreigners moving to the strange land of their family. First Tilda Swinton's Russian goes to Italy to become the matriarch of a dynasty and now Charlotte Gainsbourg travels to Australia to be with her Australian husband and raise their children. I'm not sure if that's saying something to me or if it's nothing but an interesting coincidence, but it's an interesting parallel nonetheless.

I can't wait to see The Tree again and I have at all convinced you to see the film then I have some double passes to give away! To win one just email glenndunks (at) gmail (dot) com with answer to this question: What type of tree is the titular tree in The Tree.

Whoa, that's a lot of "tree"!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Review: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Dir. Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg
Year: 2010
Aus Rating: MA15+
Running Time: 84mins

It's interesting to note that Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is the greatest celebrity documentary to come along since In Bed with Madonna in 1991 because they both put a woman who has been relentless in her determination to subvert the public's perception of what a woman in their field should be and can do. And, furthermore, they do it while facing ever-mounting criticism that they are "going too far" and "too old". Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg's documentary may focus on the tail-end of the comedienne's life, whereas Alek Keshishian's groundbreaking meld of black and white backstage divadom and lavish onstage performance pieces focused on the early peak of its subject, both serve as viable testaments to the tenacity and fire-in-the-belly spirit of two women who have each been equally liberating and man-baiting in line with men's expectations. A Piece of Work isn't the masterpiece that Madonna (also known as Madonna: Truth or Dare outside of Australia) is, but it's a searing portrait and wounding testimonial for the celebrity funny woman that can also rank as the funniest movie of 2010.

Beginning at the time of Joan Rivers' 75th birthday, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work spends a year in the life of the icon (to use a word that so many of her followers, comedians and fans alike, use.) She indicates that it has been a tough time and, ever the workaholic, she will play any gig offered to her no matter the seat venue. If it's a hundred seat dive bar in the Bronx with stools held together using gaffer tape or a 4000-seat Las Vegas-style double-hitter with Don Rickles, she gives it the same energy and force. Throughout the year she will reach highs (Celebrity Apprentice, she hopes, will put her back on top), lows (the loss of a lifelong business partner and friend in circumstances that the directors leave mysteriously unresolved) and everything in between and it's all incredibly fascination.


Again, much like In Bed with Madonna, this film's big moment is one that exemplifies everything that is both incredible and terrible about its big star. Whereas Madonna strutted across the stage in 1991 performing "Express Yourself" whilst grabbing her crotch, disrobing herself and her male dancers and belting out one of the defining songs of her career so too does Joan Rivers go through, at a mile a second, all the things that have made her JOAN RIVERS: SUBJECT OF DOCUMENTARY in a bravura sequence that will split the haters from the lovers. As Rivers makes her way through a comedy routine in the Midwest state of Wisconsin, a place she jokes has no gays because they murdered them all, she breezes through joke after joke that should feel rote and blasé ("we've seen it all before" you can hear people commenting about Rivers AND Madonna in equal measure), but her energy and force power her and the audience through. It's a thrill. Of course, for Rivers, it doesn't come easy and a joke about Helen Keller brings about a heckler who, let's just say, feels the full force of Rivers' wrath (although backstage she expresses her sadness at the man's situation). Both stars are in their element in these equally compelling set pieces and much like how "Express Yourself" is the musical highlight on In Bed with Madonna, Rivers' comedy routine in Wisconsin is the funniest sequence in A Piece of Work. Even a joke about the vintage of a bottle of wine ("May? That was a good month!") kills. Sometimes, and I suspect Joan Rivers knows this too even when she wouldn't admit it, you have to have your back against the wall before you reach your truest potential.

At 85 minutes long the film is brisk and cuts very close to the bare bones that Stern and Sundberg have given the film. It does not provide a detailed, start to finish look at Rivers' life as much is missing from her story including her first marriage, her successful daytime talk show (although she is seen winner her Emmy for it) and her several film roles, which is especially odd since Rivers talks about never being taken seriously as an actress. Instead they show footage of the 1994 TV movie Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story, which she co-starred in with her daughter Melissa (as themselves), which is as navel-gazing as it gets. Whether it was the directors' intentions to omit this stuff or if Rivers didn't want it included lest audiences see that she hasn't suffered as much as she suggests, it feels sloppy.


Nevertheless, occasional sloppiness can be forgiven when the movie is as funny as it is. It's not the film itself is particularly funny - it's sad rather than uproarious - but Rivers' act is legitimately guffaw inducing. Jokes about Osama Bin Laden, vagina slippers, anal sex, Asian mail-order brides and all the other smut that has filled Rivers' repertoire for decades is as funny as ever and if you respond to Rivers' acidic comedy then you will be in good stead with this documentary.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work isn't so much about "unmasking" a famous pop culture icon - in fact the opening scene involves make-up artists putting Rivers' face on in a moment that recalls The Devil Wears Prada - but aims to show the life of someone who has seen it all and can't give up because, if she does, what does she have left? As her daughter Melissa says, her mother needs the gratification. Without it she will feel her life is a waste and so while her life may appear easy - giving out fashion advice during awards seasons for ludicrous amounts of money (although, to her, it's not ludicrous since she lives in a Versailles-in-NYC style apartment, sends her staff's children to private schools and provides for several relatives), the film proves it is not. You may not like her or her act, but you can't deny her work ethic. Furthermore, it speaks to the universal nature of why artists do what they do and how deeply they are filled with self-loathing, self-doubt and misery. Rivers' life is reduced to a few upcoming pages in a diary. If it's empty her life is meaningless, if it's covered in ink then it means she's wanted and that she has purpose, and isn't that the same for us all? It's a remarkable piece of cinema and if the same mission had been attempted with someone far less funny and far less fascinating then it wouldn't have been as successful, but with Rivers it is, indeed, a piece of work. A-

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Hit Me With Your Best Se7en

I'm feeling a bit too crook to really delve in David Fincher's Se7en as a part of Nathaniel Rogers' Hit Me With Your Best Shot series, but thankfully I revisited the film back in May so you can read that if you would like.

Naturally, I had trouble choosing just one, but choose just one I did... after choosing six others. Here are my seven favourite shots from Seven ranked from 7 to 1. I'm not going to go into the hows and whys or these very much, they are are. Enjoy.


I like the slight introduction of colour into this very bleak, very gray world.


Startling!


He is his gun. He is violence.


The first sight of the van and the unease of "what the hell is gonna happen next?" increases tenfold.


From the opening credits. It's just striking is all.


Love the composition and the way that actual beauty in this world is hard to find, but it can be found in, of all places, the symmetry of study lamps.


My favourite shot is one of the only in the entire film that radiates. Innocence, which is hard to come by, emits from her face and brings a slight ray of hope into the film. Probably why I latch onto this shot most of all.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Scream to Scream, Scene by Scene: SCENE 26 of Scream (1:07:13-1:10:00)

In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!


SCENE 26
Length: 2mins 47secs
Primary Characters: Sidney Prescott and Billy Loomis
Pop Culture References:
  • The Silence of the Lambs (Billy compares Sidney's life to this film)
  • Meg Ryan (Sidney wishes her life was more like "a Meg Ryan movie")


I'm going to be perfectly honest with you and say that I always skip this scene. Much like scene two, I think this bit is all just a bit wishy washy and slows down the picture. I get why it's there, I definitely think it needs to be in there, but once you've seen this movie as many times as I have it all gets a bit useless. Plus, I actually think it's one of the few scenes in the first two movies where the writing is on the nose.


Like this bit where Billy compares Sidney's life to the bit in Silence of the Lambs where Clarice flashbacks to her childhood. I think it just goes a little bit too overboard with the references. Nobody would bring up that at a time like this, especially someone such as Billy who is clearly trying to seduce her so that he finally gets to bed her before murdering her later in the night.


"But this is life, this isn't a movie."

For someone who seems to look at a life in a very real way, Sidney sure does sound like a movie character. All this talk about "wallowing in Post Traumatic Stress" and being "nearly filleted". Do you think she realises?


"Why can't I be a Meg Ryan movie ..."


"... or even a good porno?"


You know Billy was all like "say WHAAAAT?!"

Meanwhile, when she says she wants her life to be like a Meg Ryan movie, I take it she means something like Sleepeless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally or French Kiss and not When a Man Loves a Woman or Courage Under Fire. Or IQ. *shudder* IQ? *shudder*


Ew. Straight people getting all sexxed up in a Scream movie is just wrong! It should be repressed homosexuality or nothing at all!

Intro, Scene 1 Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14, Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23, Scene 24, Scene 25

Scream to Scream, Scene by Scene: SCENE 25 of Scream (1:06:44-1:07:12)

In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!


SCENE 25
Length: 28secs
Primary Characters: Gale Weathers and Kenny the Cameraman
Pop Culture References:
  • The Pulitzer Prize (Gale wants to win one)


Tiny scene, this one, but it's with two of my three favourite Scream characters so it gets an entry all of its own.


I wish they could have replaced Joey and Ross on Friends with Kenny the Cameraman. Yes.




"Tell me Kenneth, has a cheesy tabloid journalist ever won the Pulitzer?"
"...first time for everything!"
"You're damn right."

The way she said "Kenneth"! The way she leans in towards him and stares into his eyes as she asks her question. The way this movie actually focuses on some adults in a way that they become full characters and not just token stock "cop" characters. Love it.

Intro, Scene 1 Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14, Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23, Scene 24

Scream to Scream, Scene by Scene: SCENE 24 of Scream (1:05:44-1:06:43)

In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!


SCENE 24
Length: 59secs
Primary Characters: Stu Macher, Randy Meeks, Sidney Prescott and Billy Loomis
Pop Culture References:
  • Clueless and Alicia Silverstone (Stu quotes the film)
  • The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Randy calls Billy "Leatherface")


Do you feel that? The emptiness? It's the feeling of living in a post-Tatum Riley world. Granted, we've been living in such a world for nearly 14 years, but it feels all fresh like a scab has been peeled off an old wound.

The party in its larger form is now over. Most of the attendees leave, but enough remain so you still have to wonder who's going to drop next. If this were the final scene of Scream 3 then that would be pretty much everybody, but this isn't Scream 3, not by a long shot. I did, however, watch a few scenes from that trilogy capper earlier today and I'm actually looking forward to dissecting that one most of all since it is not only not as good as the first two (although I still like it immensely), but it's an entirely different beast altogether.

Neeeever mind. Let's move on.






I must say, I really hate this moment (except Sidney's reaction shot - she looks really good there!) It reminds me (even though it came before) the scene at the end of Titanic where the old lady drops the necklace into the ocean and makes that silly noice. I just don't get why Billy makes that ridiculous screaming sound. Like, way to make everyone feel jumpy, jerk. Of course, that is the least of the things that make him a jerk by the end of the film, but hopefully you catch my drift.


See, now they featured that shot at the very end of scene 23 of Ghostface going back into the house, but I don't see how Tatum's killer could be anyone other than Billy (since Stu would've been busy at his own party). Still, this is but yet another way of them making us think "Billy is soooo the killer."


I like all the little moments where Billy seems to be reigning Stu in from all but telling the world they're the masked killers. This bit - Billy punching Stu in the balls - is like saying "dude, why don't you just tell her to go upstairs where you'll be waiting to attack her!" in a sarcastic tone.


"What's Leatherface doing here?"

Aw, poor Randy. Poor, delusional Randy.

I remember only having a vague knowledge of who/what "Leatherface" was by having seen the VHS copies of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation of video shelves. I remember it was the latter because it features Leatherface in drag? Yikes.

Anyway. Poor, delusional, geeky, never-get-the-girl Randy.


"As if. That's all I'm sayin'. As if."


"Oh yeah, Alicia?"

Scream was released just one year after Clueless, let's not forget that. Meanwhile, how old do you feel now? :s


Poor, delusional, never-get-the-girl, virginal Randy. :(

Intro, Scene 1 Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14, Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23

Review: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Dir. Oliver Stone
Year: 2010
Aus Rating: M
Running Time: 133mins

Twenty-three years is a long time in any business- but in the stock market, just like Hollywood, it can be an eternity. In the years since Oliver Stone’s Wall Street so much has happened to the world of business that you have to admire Stone’s restraint in not producing a ten hour miniseries instead of the surprisingly brisk 133 minutes Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps that is now reaching cinemas. Unfortunately, whether Stone admits it or not, the 1987 original is not a good movie – Michael Douglas’ iconic Oscar-winning performance notwithstanding – and this sequel, timely as it is, suffers from similar issues.

Read the rest at Trespass Mag

You know, if I had more words to utilise for this review I probably could have spent an entire paragraph discussing how much fun Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, but It Does Nap was for me since I think Shia LaBeouf is a bit of all right and I tend to have a bit of a thing (some might say "fetish") for men in suits. Back in March I said that the "only reason I am going to see Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps is for Shia LeBeouf wearing suits" and he didn't disappointing since the entire movie is basically Shia LaBeouf in formal attire for over 2 hours. Well, no that's not true. There is a scene where he walks around in boxer briefs, and another where he's dressed up in tight-fitting motorcycle gear.


Uh-oh! Shia's found my blog and is now calling his lawyer about a cease and desist. Oops.

The film also gets points for having Thompson Twins on the soundtrack ("This Must be the Place"!), having the balls to show Michael Douglas with his slicked back hair again (!!!) and for having the common sense to not ask Daryl Hannah back for a cameo (I love her and wish she had a career still, but yikes!) It loses points for being so bleating obvious (be prepared for an essay on "fusion energy"), Susan Sarandon (she's from another planet) and for not having the common sense to not ask Charlie Sheen back for a cameo (he plays his character from Two and a Half Men, it seems).

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Scream to Scream, Scene by Scene: SCENE 23 of Scream (1:02:28-1:05:43)

In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!


SCENE 23
Length: 3mins 15secs
Primary Characters: Tatum Riley and Ghostface
Pop Culture References:
  • I Spit on Your Grave (Tatum jokes about the movie)
  • Casper (Tatum calls the killer "Casper")


Oh my god you guys, y'all have no idea how much I've been dreading this day since the very day that I came up with the idea of doing this project. It's like losing a best friend (in Sidney's case, very literally). As you've surely noticed throughout this series I have a big movie crush on Rose McGowen as Tatum Riley, she's some sort of awesome super being. Granted, she got herself one of the best deaths in the entire trilogy, but there's still a pang of sadness that comes with writing about her untimely death in the cat flap of a garage.


What was it that Sidney said about "big breasted girls"? Poor Tatum. I think it's yet another facet of this movie's inherent homosexuality that we never see any naked boobage (is "boobage" a word? I think when discussing horror films it most certainly is!) in the Scream films. Because, let's face it, eeewww! :) Still, this shot is quite humourous, don't you agree? Was she walking around the party like that or did the cold air of the garage just hit her all of a sudden?


Much like how I wrote about the way Wes Craven frames the art direction so wonderfully during the Casey Becker scene, I like how this shot does the same. Showing his relatively close Tatum is to everyone else at the part, the balls that "Ghostface" (in this scene, Billy) has to do something like this at such close proximity and to add to the idea that Stu's house has a lot of doors, rooms and passageways, which is something that definitely becomes obvious during Sidney's upcoming chase sequence, but we'll get to that later.


I have nothing to say for this, but I want to take the opportunity to screencap Tatum as much as possible. Poor gal!




Tatum never saw it comin'! Stu sends to her garage, he follows and closes the door behind her to keep her locked in a room with Billy aka Ghostface. So simple.



I think this is the dangerous low-budget Wes Craven having a moment here. This shot, the way it zooms in on Tatum in her tight top and mini-skirt from behind is like a crass, exploitation film that Craven would've made in his youth, something akin to Last House on the Left.




In a way, this scene is the ultimate dissection of everything that Scream is about. It acknowledges all the cliches, it even abides by them (big-breasted girl, doors that seem to close by themselves, things falling over, cats jumping out of strange places, characters making stupid choices, etc) and yet does so in a way that is both fresh and winking. The audiences knows everything that's going on in this scene and if you're unaware of the film, watching it for the first time, you may even groan at the prospect of the cat jump scare, but it all works because then when you've calmed yourself down from the silliness of such a scare out comes the actual frights and they are legitimately scary and tense and sad. Throw in a couple of movie references like you'll read below and you've got yourself a perfect storm of Scream-isms. I knew Tatum was the best!


The lights turning out mysteriously! Another cliche that feels like it should be tired and yet when placed in the right hands - in this case Wes Craven - it's like an old joke that still gets the laughs. Everyone watching this scene by now figures "Oh, Tatum's gonna die", but unlike in Scream 3 where it seems everyone just dies by getting a knife in the back or a knife in a chest or a knife in the back and the chest, this film has an ace up its sleeve that will make you remember it. You will not forget this scene!


"Hey shitheads!"

I'm not sure if that was a very 1996 insult, but I love it. It sounds so immature and yet so Tatum; "shitheads"


Confused. "Is that you Randy?" I think Randy dug himself into a hole here with everyone thinking all the freaky stuff is him when it never was. Although I do like how in the last scene (although I didn't screencap it) they show Randy saying he's going to go get a camera (to take a photo of Gale) and then never returns. Smart.


"What movie's this from? I Spit on Your Garage?"

Definitely one of my favourite film references of the entire trilogy. When I was younger I didn't get all the references in Scream, but this one I got because I Spit on Your Grave was one of the videos I always saw when I perused the horror section at the local video stores. Of course, in 1997 I Spit on Your Grave was banned and I never actually saw it until after 2004 when the ban was lifted. I'm glad that movie was unbanned, but it's a terrible, terrible movie. Still, Tatum referencing it is a hoot. I Spit on Your Garage could be fun though!


It bugs me that Billy didn't fix his mask. It's dented on the left side of the mouth. All it needs is to be popped out, but maybe he was in a rush? Or perhaps it's just the lighting and there is nothing wrong with it.


Just looking at this shot now as I've paused it and it disturbs me more than it ever has before when it's in motion. The way Ghostface towers over Tatum is quite saddening and the angle of the camera just adds another element of strangeness to it. It doesn't feel like a natural shot, like it's unreal in some way. I don't know, I don't think I'm making sense here, but there's just something about this shot that irks me. Perhaps it's just the disappointment with knowing that Tatum dies, but this shot makes her look so helpless. Of course, she proves a better fight than some others, but helpless nonetheless.


"Oh, you wanna play psycho killer?"
*nods*
"Can I be the helpless victim?"
*nods*
"Okay, let's see. Oh no, please don't kill me mister Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!"


One of the most iconic moments of dialogue for the trilogy. The way Tatum acknowledges the fact that she's such a typical victim and the referencing of sequels in itself setting up the sequel that all the characters know there is going to be.


Whatta shot! Again, has a disturbing quality to it as it's frozen in time that I'd never noticed before.


Now now Tatum, it's not time to go sitting around in ugly lawn furniture.






You gotta laugh at that fourth image there. I do like that they gave Tatum a worthy fight here. It reminds me of Jenny McCarthy's death in Scream 3 which had a similar vibe, but they ruined it by having her incapable of doing anything to defend herself. More on that in, like, 5 months time! (oh gawd, don't remind me!)


If you pay close enough attention you see that Tatum reaches for the garage door button, but just as she is about to press it she notices the killer get up off the ground so she stops what she was doing and does...






...that.

(Meanwhile, can I just point out how difficult this scene is to screencap? So fast moving!)

...and then this...



...so it would seem she has the upper hand. Until...































Yes, I took all of those screencaps. I can't quite believe it myself, but I did. phew! Still, I think it warrants it, don't you agree? It's a marvellous scene for reasons I've already explained, but this specific moment is filled with so many great individual shots that I just had to show them all. My particular favourite is the one of Tatum emerging out the other side of the cat flap. It's my favourite because it just shows how close she was to getting help. If there had been one person out there vomiting their guts up then maybe she might've made it. Oh well.

I'm not going to question how her breasts go from being outside the cat flap to inside the cat flap because, I imagine, they needed to make it look like she broke her neck when if only her neck was through the cat flap then she easily could have slid back out of it. Wait, I said I wasn't going to question it! Fun fact though, Rose McGowan actually can fit through there! She tested it herself on set and discovered it was doable. Oh well.


And back to party, apparently, Ghostface goes. Giving more credence to the "it's Randy!" theory, although it's illogical as to why Billy went inside and how he got out again since... well, that's the next scene.

What a bloody tremendous scene and definitely the most sad until a certain someone in Scream 2. After all of that (67 screencaps for this one 3minute and 16second scene!), I am exhausted!!

Intro, Scene 1 Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14, Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22