Summer Coda Dir. Richard Gray Year: 2010 Aus Rating: M Running Time: 108mins
Delicately handled, exquisite to look at and charmingly acted, Richard Gray’s debut feature proves to be another lovely addition to the roster of quality Australian films for 2010. Gray’s film has been gestating ever since coming in second on the Australian Project Greenlight five years ago, and that passion is evident in the finished product, but the film is perhaps too laid back for its own good and mirrors the calm, breezy vibe of the Mildura region where Summer Coda is set, a little bit too much.
In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!
SCENE 28 Length: 1min 37secs Primary Characters: Deputy Dewey and Gale Weathers Pop Culture References:
None
Writing about this scene today is quite bittersweet in a way, because it's the scene in which Dewey and Gale's connection truly starts (for real, not in a I'm-gonna-flirt-for-information kinda way) and where they (and, one presumes, Arquette and Cox) share their first kiss. And now that these two actors have split it, their relationship really is a kind of crazy parallel with this franchise. I know it's pure tabloid to talk about it, but it's true. They met on Scream, confirmed it all by getting engaged during Scream 2, got married just before Scream 3 and Cox has said Gale is "bored" in her marriage in the lead up to the events in Scream 4 and then, almost like clockwork, out comes the news that they're separating and all that mumbo jumbo. It feels cheap to pry into their lives, but... really! It's life imitating art. Or art imitating life. Or art imitating life imitating art or whatever.
Aw, just look at those two!
Of course, Gale is saying she thinks the nickname "Dewey" is much better than his real name of Dwight. Is one really better than the other?
"What about Gale Weathers? Sounds like I'm a meteorologist, or something."
That is kinda true, Gale, but I do the name.
I've said multiple times before that this film has such a good eye for depth. Whether it be the length of corridors in Casey's house or the way a simple wide shot in Stu's house show how close Tatum was to help in the garage. This is another instance, with the car lights in the background, watching as they get closer.
I like how it's almost as if they've just walked so far from the house that they might've even forgotten what they were trying to find (a car that someone spotted in the bushes... reckon Billy/Stu made that call to get Dewey and his gun/police radio away from the house as they started their rampage?)
I like how Dewey tells the drivers to "slow down" and to "freeze". Perhaps that's why the town doesn't take you seriously as a police officer, Dwight!
I know I should be groaning and rolling my eyes, but no. NO I WILL NOT! This is cute. I don't care what anybody says. I wonder if they have any kissing scenes in Scream 4, because that'll be awkward! People are going to look into that movie like it's a documentary!
By the way, speaking of Scream 4, have you seen the latest official image that's been released? It's a reunion!
Back to business!
"Is that what you're looking for?" "My whole life..."
Is Deputy Dewey a virgin? Is that why he survives getting knifed in the back?
Uh-oh! Neil Prescott's car! I wonder who put that there? And who was it that pointed the finger at Mr Prescott? Hmmm.
One of the reasons why I enjoy these movies so much, and more so than many other slasher films, is that it has as much interest in, affection for and time paid to the adults as it does the teenagers. It's fun watching these two investigate because they seem much more likely to be able to figure things out rather than having the screenplay make these plucky 16 and 17 year olds far too wise beyond their years. There's a reason why all the teenagers are so knowledgeable about films and little else.
Ben Affleck has returned behind the scenes with The Town, his second directorial effort after 2007’s Gone Baby Gone. What his latest film may lack in nuance and originality, it gains in sheer scope and technical prowess. While he never quite got the respect that he occasionally deserved as an actor, as a director, Affleck has quickly become one of the most exciting and interesting names in Hollywood.
If I had more of a word limit I would've gone into the individual moments that the cast members did well at. I really liked Affleck's brief moments of levity in his performance. The jokes of the laundromat scene or the way he, as director, has fun with the various costume changes that he and his heist crew switch through. Renner's cheekiness at the lunch sequence and, despite not liking the rest of the performance, Blake Lively has a moment at the very end of the scene between she and Hamm in the bar where so many things rush across her face. I, too, enjoyed the ever-constant idea that Hamm's FBI agent was perhaps a little bit sexist or, perhaps, a little bit infatuated with Rebecca Hall's hostage victim just like Affleck was.
One of the other bits I bring up in the review, but which I couldn't elaborate on too much, were the similarities to F Gary Gray's Set It Off from 1996. Having only just watched that movie recently, it was obviously fresher in my mind than anyone else, but I was still surprised at how similar the two were. That all-female heist movie is more flawed than The Town, but is ultimately more enjoyable because of the vivacious talent of its leading quartet; the other two actors in the crew of The Town, Slaine and Desmond Elden, aren't given much to do.
Prince of Thieves, the book by Chuck Hogan that The Town (what's up with that dud retitling, by the way?) is based on, was written in 1995 so it's not like Gray's film took its inspiration from Hogan's book. Nevertheless, the similarities are numerous. The heist crew of four from an impoverished neighbourhood, one of which has an innate knowledge cars and another who dates the manager of one of the banks they rob. They both feature similar sound tricks - loud design followed by quick alternate shots in silence - and visual hooks. And the final heist? Very similar, again. Both include one member of the crew driving towards the cops as a decoy, both feature the toughest member of the crew making one last stand and both - big SPOILER here, so highlight to read - have one member of the crew die early in the heist while another gets away in the end, fleeing to somewhere where they won't be found.END SPOILER
Still, it's a good movie, don't you think? And, dare I say, Ben Affleck is a more interesting person right now than Matt Damon and I am so glad. I've always been on Team Affleck (although, as even I can admit, those Gigli does her ROUGH!)
Let Me In Dir. Matt Reeves Year: 2010 Aus Rating: MA15+ Running Time: 115mins
Hollywood’s tradition of taking foreign-made films and remaking them for local filmgoers has been around since sound was introduced and audiences realised they had to read subtitles in order to enjoy international cinema. Let Me In is a remake of Let the Right One In, a Swedish vampire film from 2008 that gained a critical and cult following. Matt Reeves’ (Cloverfield) remake is a good one, but sadly fails to emerge out of the towering shadow of the original.
In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!
SCENE 27 Length: 4mins 26secs Primary Characters: Randy Meeks, Stu Macher, Sidney Prescott, Billy Loomis, Gale Weathers, Deputy Dewey, Kenny the Cameraman and the various party guests (including Expelled Teen #1 from Scene 14) Pop Culture References:
Halloween (They watch it at the party)
Trading Places (A discussion on Jamie Lee Curtis' breasts references this movie)
I like how this scene acts as a bridge between one generation to the next. Not only are they watching Halloween, one of the most iconic and the obvious inspiration behind Scream, but talking directly about the cliches and formulas that people have learnt in the 20 years since it came out. Laurie Strode wouldn't have known any of this stuff in 1978! And I like how it shows Halloween in a loving light and yet does things to make sure the audience is still with Scream and never drifting off into daydreams of "I wanna watch Halloween." The telephone there in the foreground is a good one since it immediately brings you back to the Scream universe, hoping someone in the house gets "the call" very soon.
What is Stu doing? It's not like he can't stand the sight of blood! And look at our lil Kristen Bell lookalike sitting in the corner there, looking like she walked in off the set of The Secret World of Alex Mack.
Do you want to see Jamie Lee's breasts?
"I want breasts! I wanna see Jamie Lee's breasts! When do we see Jamie Lee's breasts?" "Breasts? Not until Trading Places in '83. Jamie Lee was always the virgin in horror movies. She never showed her tits 'til she went legits ... That's why she always outsmarted the killer in the big chase scene - nly virgins can do that. Don't you know the rules?"
It's like poetry, isn't it? But I do love that it sets up the loophole for Sidney (as she is about to break one of the cardinal rules of a horror movies.) Nevermind, what are these rules you speak of, Randy? I am intrigued...
"You can never have sex." (The sin factor. Sex = Death)
"You can never drink or do drugs." (Continuation of the above sin factor)
"Never, ever, ever under any circumstances say 'I'll be right back'" (Because you won't be back.)
Now, I'd like to bring up the fact that Randy's introduction to "the rules" includes the line:
There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie.
I find it interesting that in the original trailer (below) that had to censor the word "horror". That sounds crazy right. They're advertising a horror movie, but they can't use the word horror? Instead the line because "in order to successfully survive a scary movie." Furthermore, the trailer calls Wes Craven "the first name in suspense" when, again, I'd call him the first name in horror. Maybe that's just me.
Back to the rules, I love the shat screencap up there with Randy standing besides the TV with Halloween paused on a moment of Michael Myers - the last generation of horror villain if you will - swinging a knife through the air. It almost looks like one of two things: a) Randy about to get stabbed, or b) Randy being pointed to as the killer by a big shiny arrow. "It's him!"
Truth be told, I've never been able to figure out what Stu is saying here! Blasted DVD not having any subtitles! Can anyone help me out?
SINNERS! Already breaking the rules.
I'd also like to point out that Stu's parents have hideous taste. What's all that crazy crap on the wall? And we haven't even gotten to the cluttered attic sequence yet!
"I'll be right back!"
I like how of all the people who say "I'll be right back" during Scream (he and Gale being the only other - more on that in a very short moment) it is indeed Stu that doesn't come back (technically he does "come back", but in a completely different way to how this "rule" was imagined.
One of my absolute favourite moments (the individual bits that usually get lumped together into one big brush stroke) is this bit as Gale and Kenny sit in their van watching the live camera feed from inside Stu's house. Kenny with his twisty (or cheese doodle or whatever they're called over there) and Gale making his hilarious bored/repulsed expression that reminds me of Lisa Kudrow's Phoebe on Friends. I like how it sorta represents the stereotypical view that many adults have of horror movies, that they're just a bunch of teenagers talking boring nonsense and yet they are the ones that perpetuate it by actually making this boring nonsense. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.
Meanwhile I am including this, as well the the next bit with Sidney and Billy, as one scene because they're all about the same thing: Knowing the rules and characters breaking them. All of Randy's rules get broken within the span of just a couple of minutes when they'd been left well neglected for the whole movie to this point.
Case in point this moment right here of Gale saying "Be right back", but as we all know, she does come back.
Now, of course, I think Gale's "be right back" was an after thought. You can tell this because the line has been dubbed in over something else. Quite poorly, in fact, since it's very obvious she wasn't saying "be right back" when they shot this take. Makes me think that Craven realised they actually had nobody saying something to the effect of "I'll be right back" (as Randy quotes it) to negate the rule so they threw it in here with Gale. Tatum would've been the perfect choice for the line in a traditional way, but then it wouldn't be twisting the rules, would it?
"You're not scared, are ya?"
To be honest, I'd be less scared if I was walking down a deserted road in the middle of nowhere while a killer was on the lose if I was with Gale rather than with Dewey. She looks like she could kick serious arse! I guess, Dewey has a gun, but we all know how that pans out, don't we?
"Do you know what that constellation is?" "No, what is it?" "I dunno, that's why I was asking you."
I like to imagine that David and Courteney's personal courtship involved such words.
Sidney's about to break the cardinal sin! What a hussy.
Meanwhile, I love this progression of shots about the "obligatory tit shot" from Halloween.
Although I can't see many teenage boys having the same reaction to shots like these:
They'd have better luck just imagining Rose McGowan with no top on. It's not that hard considering the top she had on earlier was hardly concealing.
Love this shot. That nondescript telephone looking so threatening and you know nothing good can come out of framing it like this.
I love how the filmmakers had slowly started to weave the Halloween soundtrack into their own film, so much so that this and other scenes are actually scored by Halloween. And to great effect to. That movie is so unnerving and so, well, good! But I also love how these two moments parallel each other. On screen Jamie Lee is just starting to realise that something may not be as it seems and so too are the characters in Scream. They're about to realise that this is no ordinary high school house party and the shit is going to hit the fan.
And Kenny the Cameraman bids you a fond farewell until next time (which will hopefully be sooner than it took me to get around to this one... my past week has been strange, hence the delay. Hopefully back to more frequent Screaming!)
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.
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.
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.
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-
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.
Delicately handled, exquisite to look at and charmingly acted, Richard Gray’s debut feature proves to be another lovely addition to the roster of quality Australian films for 2010. Gray’s film has been gestating ever since coming in second on the Australian Project Greenlight five years ago, and that passion is evident in the finished product, but the film is perhaps too laid back for its own good and mirrors the calm, breezy vibe of the Mildura region where Summer Coda is set, a little bit too much.
