Film of the Week: Nightcrawler (**** 4/5)

One of the last of the great 2014 releases is finally in cinemas in South Africa. Nightcrawler is a twisted thriller on news reporting, set in dark and crime-ridden Los Angeles. The film is carried by Jake Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of Lou Bloom, an unemphatic and desperate man in search of success. Once he discovers the art of nightcrawling, selling breaking crime news to networks by being the first to film on the scene of the crime, his ambition for dollars grows stronger than his ability to uphold the threshold of moral standards. Would one temper with a crime scene to get a ‘better shot’? And what measures would you take to fend off your competition?

What makes Nightcrawler so great, is the ability to engage an audience with a character that has such little moral standards. Gyllenhaal does a great job in being persuasive, manipulative, driven and just slightly odd. One might argue that his performance is of much bigger challenge than portraying a well-known historic figure that already has much sympathy, yet the Academy seems to think otherwise.

Renee Russo does a fine job as a cold-hearted network producer, clearly in need of success and equally willing to ignore the boundary breaking methods of Gyllenhaal’s character in order for her stories to succeed. Director Dan Gilroy keeps the pace and action high (the film has an incredible car chase sequence reminiscent of Drive), and the impressive cinematography upholds the dark mood of night-time Los Angeles. The great soundtrack is also worth a mention.

I think Nightcrawler has been terribly overlooked in the award season (especially Gyllenhaal), and it’s definitely worth the watch. It is this week’s well-deserved Film of the Week

Nightcrawler is currently screening in Ster Kinekor and NuMetro cinemas

My List: Best of 2014

Since the film season for those living outside of the US has some release date delays, I’ve had to let the season run until March 2015 in order to see most of 2014’s films. Hence, with a little delay, here is my Best of 2014 list:

Top 10 Films

1. Birdman

One of the first times my favourite film also wins the Best Film Oscar for that year. Birdman is incredible, thanks to its originality, writing, cinematography and brilliant acting. It was also beautifully entertaining. Without a doubt my nr 1.

2. Whiplash

High-paced, intense and engaging. I was on the edge of my seat watching Whiplash, and clapped when the credits rolled. I watched it again with similar pleasure a week later. Great film.

3. The Grand Budapest Hotel

Have always been a fan of Wes Anderson, and this is one of his best. Funny, quirky and beautifully made.

4. Locke

Tom Hardy’s one man show is an actor’s masterclass in how to engage an audience. It’s very intense and Hardy kept me glued to the screen.

5. Under the Skin

One of the most unusual and eerie films I’ve seen, and I could not stop watching. It does what the title suggests, and I loved it.

6. Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal again shows his class as one of the best actors around. Nightcrawler is uber cool and dark, and has one of the most intense car chases since Drive.

7. The Skeleton Twins

Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig carry this dramedy with impeccable chemistry. What a joy are they to watch on screen. Skeleton Twins was moving and funny, and is definitely underrated.

8. Interstellar

Visually great, and immensely ambitious

9. Guardians of the Galaxy

Hands down the most entertaining blockbuster of the year.

10. Gone Girl

Twisting and turning, Gone Girl is one awesome thriller

Best Acting Peformances

1. Tom Hardy, ‘Locke’

2. Jake Gyllenhaal, ‘Nightcrawler’

3. Patricia Arguette, ‘Boyhood’

4. Mark Ruffalo, ‘Foxcatcher’

5. J.K. Simmons, ‘Whiplash’

6. Bill Hader, ‘Skeleton Twins’

7. Steve Carrell, ‘Foxcatcher’

8. Edward Norton, ‘Birdman’

9. David Oyelowo, ‘Selma’

10. Scarlett Johansson, ‘Under the Skin’

The Oscars 2015 Recap: The Winners & Losers

The Oscars of 2015 proved to be an exciting show, as it provided a surprise winner, at least three great live performances and slightly awkward puns by (a seemingly more entertained) host Neil Patrick Harris.

The Oscars, often a end-of-award season predictability based on endless Producer’s Guild/Bafta/Golden Globes celebrations beforehand, had an unusual tie between two films of great technical achievement. Boyhood, the 12-year coming-of-age achievement by veteran Richard Linklater, and Birdman, the original single-shot satire of the current film industry. Competing outsiders included box-office hit but controversial American Sniper, and multiple nominated visionary quirkfest The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Birdman proved to be a surprising victor, snatching up both Best Film and Best Director ahead of Linklater’s Golden Globe-winning, more conservative favourite.

In between the nominations the usual gags and entertainment were provided, this time hosted by Tony and Emmy success Neil Patrick Harris, who, after a third pun (“You can eat her with a spoon, it’s Reese Witherspoon!”) made us desire a last-minute replacement by last year’s success, Ellen DeGeneres.

The Best Actor statue went to Eddie Redmayne for portraying a young Stephen Hawking in the Theory of Everything, a favrourite considering the Academy’s weak spot for biopics (one of three biopic nominated actors!), and Jullianne Moore finally got lucky with her Best Actress win after 4 unsuccessful campaigns. The Best Supporting Actor went to Whiplash’ J.K. Simmons, who, after scooping up all other accolades in the past few months, was a clear win on his portrayal of Jazz conductor-cum-drill-sergeant Terrence Fletcher. Patricia Arguette saved Boyhood from going home empty handed and took the Best Supporting Actress prize.

12-time nominee Roger Deakins (Unbroken) again was not fortunate in the Cinematography category, as Emmanuel Lubezki scored his second win in a row for Birdman. The Best Original Screenplay also went to Birdman, bringing the film’s total to four awards. The similar amount of awards were given to multi-nominee the Grand Budapest Hotel, for Production Design, Music, Make-Up and Costume Design. The Imitation Game won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was followed by the most heartfelt speech of the night by Graham Moore, who openly spoke about his own suicide attempt.

The Best Song (Glory) for Selma was the only consolidation in what had been a surprisingly disappointing campaign for the movie, lauded ahead of the award season as one of the favorites. Big Hero 6 won the Academy Award for best Animated feature in what has been a forgettable year for animated films, and Ida (Poland) won ahead of Russia’s Leviathan for Best Foreign feature.

Big winners of the night: Birdman, for taking home four of the biggest categories. Whiplash, for winning 3 awards (Supporting Actor, Editing, Sound Mixing) despite its low budget and early 2014 release. The Grand Budapest Hotel, for winning 4 out of 9 nominations.

The losers: Boyhood, the big favourite that went home with only one statue (Best Supporting Actress). American Sniper, who despite all the success and nominations only got one win (Best Sound Editing). The Lego Movie for, after a surprising absence for Best Animated Feature also was not able to win best Song for ‘Everything is Awesome’. Hans Zimmer, for losing out on one of the most incredible film scores of the decade.

Best Joke of the Night: Neil Patrick Harris on whistleblower Edward Snowden: ”Edward could not be here tonight, for some treason.”

Worst Joke of the Night: Neil Patrick Harris’ prediction box skit

Best Live Performance: Lady Gaga for her incredible Sound of Music Medley

Second Best Live Performance: ‘Glory’ by John Legend and Common

Most Awesome Live Performance: Everything is Awesome

Most Awkward Award Presentation: (a not very excited) Sean Penn making inside jokes about Mexican director Innaritu’s green card

Most Awkward Clap: Wes Anderson

Most Awkward Stage Cameo: John Travolta creepy face touching Idina Menzel

Most Powerful Speech (there were many heavy ones this year): Graham Moore (the Imitation Game) on being different

Second Most Powerful Speech: Patricia Arguette (and Meryl Streep’s cheer) on equal rights and pay for women

Film of the Week: Whiplash ***** (5/5)

Last year we were treated to two great suspense films of high intensity, Gravity and Captain Phillips, that kept me at the edge of my seat for the entire running time. An astronaut trying to survive in space and a ship captain being held hostage by pirates were pretty exciting subjects. Whiplash is a film about a drummer, yet its levels of intensity achieve exactly the same.

The film is about a young jazz drummer Andrew (played by Miles Teller) who attends the top conservatory for young musicians in pursuit of his aspiration to be the best. He soon gets to join the band ensemble of Terence Fletcher (played by J.K. Simmons), the top ensemble of the school. Terence is a relentless and unorthodox teacher, who thrives on pushing his students to the limit. “There are no words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job’.”, he tells Andrew. And he means it.

Like a drill sergeant, Fletcher becomes an antagonising bully pushing Andrew beyond reasonability. This is a raw look into a competitive music environment with actual blood, sweat and tears to reach levels of achievement. I can’t recall any films that were able to portray such a harsh yet chemistry-bound relationship between a teacher and a student. Are Fletcher’s teaching methods and mental abuse really creating a next legend? Or is he beyond the brink of sanity in order to encourage his students to become the best?

Whiplash plays with great speed and high levels of intensity, and Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons astonish in their characters. Their performances bring such tension in every scene, it lures, draws and engages the viewer in their disturbed yet believable dynamic, leading up to an ovation of a finale (I clapped). Additionally, to think that Miles Teller had to crash course his basic drumming skills to such high levels ahead of the shoot is still beyond me. The soundtrack is obviously superb.

The film was the undisputed winner of the Sundance Film Festival last year, and is currently nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture. J.K. Simmons will, without a doubt, win the statue for the Best Supporting Actor category.

I can make up some cheesy puns about drumrolls, how it is my tempo or how it did not hit a false note. Instead, I’m just gonna call it the well-deserved Film of the Week. Go see it!

The 10 Best Films of the 2000’s

I like to believe I started to have a conscious look on film after my 17th birthday, in 2002. This means most of my accurate cinematic history will have to be from whatever what was released after 2000. However, lots of catch-up and growing up with plenty of television made me see most of what came out in the 80’s and 90’s, two incredible decades for film. The latest decade has shown a shift to superhero cinema, CGI, economic markets forcing studios to produce less films with lower risk, endless franchises, sequels and more CGI. However, it has also brought out a new stream of original independent cinema. Here are the 10 best films made after 2000:

10. Das Leben der Anderen (the Lives of Others, 2006, Germany)

This German drama about a stasi agent (East Germany’s secret police before the Fall of the Berlin Wall), who secretly listens to people’s conversations as part of a strict surveillance, deservedly won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2007. Incredibly moving and suspenseful, the film taught a sad historic truth of life in East Germany before the fall, and tapped on some current topics regarding invasion of privacy. Shockingly, the film’s promising director went on to make ‘the Tourist’ (dreadful) in 2010.

9. Birdman (2014, USA)

As much as it still has to prove the test of time, this is one of the most daring and original films on this list. Birdman takes on the film industry, fame, our individual perception of significance and narcissism through a tragic yet relatable character, crafted with sheer technical brilliance. It might move up this list once it matures, I love it.

8. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001, USA)

We all got to know Wes Anderson in the 2000’s. His unique style, quirky characters and dry portrayal of family issues (most of them paternal, as a recurrent theme in his films). Never have his films declined in quality or bored through repetitiveness, as they led to the brilliant and most recent Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Of all his films, the Royal Tenenbaums is his most significant, memorable and flawless. (and the one I’ve seen most times)

7. The New World (2005, USA)

Of all of Terrence Malick’s films, the New World is the most overlooked and perhaps most underrated films in his oeuvre. Love him or hate him, his philosophical, suggestive-rather-than-explanatory films are always of great beauty. If they do touch a nerve, Malick has the ability to put wonders on the screen. In an era full of mind-numbing simplification, the New World was a daring breath of fresh air. Going back to the origin story of Pocahontas, this is the ‘Avatar’ you should actually see.

6. A Separation (2011, Iran)

Another Oscar winner in the list, this time from Iran (Best Foreign Film, 2012). A morally complex drama about a collapse of a relationship in modern day Teheran. It shows the hardships of living in Iran as well as providing a powerful look at the justice system dealing with flawed and decent characters alike, keeping the audience in sheer suspense. The ending left me with a standing ovation.

5. El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth, 2006, Mexico)

Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy thriller set during the Spanish Civil War is a fairy tale for adults. Combining Alice in Wonderland with a grueling war drama, the film is so hauntingly engaging and beautiful, it is somewhere on top of my ‘rewatch’ list. A magical piece of art. Nominated for 6 Oscars (unique for a foreign film). It won 3.

4. There Will Be Blood (2007, USA)

I really thought ‘Magnolia’ would make this list, only to find out it actually came out in 1999. I’ve been a major Paul Thomas Anderson fan ever since. I remember seeing There Will Be Blood at a film festival, and completely forgetting what else I saw that weekend. Daniel Day-Lewis is such a force on screen, the character study of this flawed character was an absolute joy to watch. Stunningly shot and scored (what a haunting soundtrack!), this film is a classic.

3. The Dark Knight (2008, USA)

In an era of countless superhero films, there is one that probably will be considered the best. Although part of a strong trilogy, the Dark Knight stands out with its post-9/11 views, the fight on terror, invasion of privacy and a bleak portrayal of one of the most iconic cinematic villains ever put on screen by Heath Ledger. Dark, realistic, intense and absolutely perfect.

2. Lost in Translation (2003, USA)

It is described as a comedy about melancholy. I see Lost in Translation as the most layered and realistic modern portrayal of life on film. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson have such impeccable chemistry, and their flawed and almost tragic state of being fuels their attraction. The acting is perfect. Balanced with hilarious wit and beautiful settings, its minimal dialogue and simplistic plot create magic on the screen. Should have won the Best Film Oscar in 2004.

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, USA)

This has to be the most inventive love story to touch on something that remains so close to anyone’s experience of life. We all deal with love, loss, regret, and sorrow. In this story we go into the mind of a man trying to erase his memory of a recent relationship gone wrong, and regretting it along the way. The film goes back and forth between his memory and the real world, and marvels with inventive ways to show how technology can influence our lives yet leaves us with a core feeling of human attraction that ultimately conquers. With unusually daring casting (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are incredible), beautiful cinematography and camera trickery, this film engages on every level. Was awarded an Oscar for its screenplay, yet the film and actors should have deserved equal treatment. A masterpiece.

Honourable Mentions (films that almost made the top 10):

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004, Argentina)
American Psycho (2000, USA)
Pixar’s UP! (2009, USA)
The Prestige (2006, USA)
City of God (2002, Brazil)
Les Intouchables (2012, France)

Film of the Week: Birdman ***** (5/5)

It is four weeks before the Oscars, and Birdman has 9 nominations, including Best Film. Enough reason for me to go and see it, I’d say. Not to say I just blindly follow the Oscars of course. I mean, this is the same institution that actually nominated ‘Moulin Rouge’, of all films (and ignored the Dark Knight in 2008!). This year, they completely forgot about Under the Skin and Tom Hardy’s performance in Locke, for instance.

After so much buzz like Birdman has had, a film might drown in the build-up of high expectations, and some have done so with me in the past (‘American Hustle’ and ‘The Artist’ were not more than “meh” experiences), However, this year has been a particularly strong year for film (the Grand Budapest and Boyhood were both amazing) so my hopes were up.

Birdman is absolutely magnificent. I can’t recall having such joy in the cinema for a long time. The film is so tragic yet so funny at the same time, as it magnifies and mocks the film and theatre industry, and shows us the true search for existential purpose and admiration through an actor in decline, played by Michael Keaton (ironically the actual first 1990’s Batman). Subsequently, the cast is topped up by one of the best performances by Edward Norton, playing an egocentric asshole of an actor who destructively method acts his way through Keaton’s self directed and starred play to save his career in search of doing something meaningful. Keaton’s constant self-doubt in whether he is still significant or if he is a good father to his rebellious post-rehab daughter (played by Emma Stone) is balanced by his imaginary and clearly unhinged subconscious trying to convince him of his worth and importance.

What is then, the importance of being? Ironically, the movie poses multiple events where Keaton gets more love through unintentional events, like his parade march in underwear-video being more popular than his actual play, and shows us a more critical look on fame and art in terms of love and actual emptiness. He too plays a character in his play that doubts his own significance, and the story within the story aligns itself with the events that make him conclude his own struggles.

Technically, the film is of such achievement it in itself deserves all accolades for that alone. The film paces through the story with completely uninterrupted single shot takes through underlit backstage corridors and dressing rooms. I could not believe my eyes. It enhances the mood of Keaton being in his own non-glamorous bubble of struggle, as we turn and slide through the scenes following his every move around the theatre. The film is complemented by an off-beat jazz drummer (who often appears in the scenes as well) and the dreamy sequences get an orchestra to accompany the necessary moods.

Once you’ve reached the unexpected conclusion of this highly original story, you might question what actually happened and hopefully leave, as I did, in absolute amazement. Birdman is the undisputed Film of the Year Week.

Film of the Week: Foxcatcher (2014)

Foxcatcher is a great film. A mesmerizing story layered with underlying themes of ambition, power, jealousy, rivalry and insecurity comes together with impeccable acting performances and a cold, slow and melancholic style. Director Bennett Miller, after making the fantastic Capote and Moneyball, made yet another stylish and intriguing drama.

Nominated for three Golden Globes (Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor), the film is based on the true story of John du Pont (played by an unrecognizable (!) Steve Carrell), one of America’s wealthiest in the 1980’s, who offers to take Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), then olympic wrestler together with equally successful older brother Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), into his management at his custom built training facility on the family’s private estate. John not only has a passion for winning, patriotism and wrestling, he convinces Mark of his independent potential without being in his brother’s shadow.

John is deeply egotistic, and his self proclaimed role of mentor and father figure to the naive yet equally insecure Mark creates a slowly growing sadness as to why these two are heading towards a more destructive relationship. The whole setting on the estate is more eerie and cold rather than glamorous and joyous. Du Pont’s loneliness and growing frustration with his sense of rejection by his mother is portrayed in his treatment of Mark, who often seems to serve more as a fulfillment of personal accomplishment. Mark’s older brother, Dave, has a much more stable life and his dynamic to understand and coach Mark more sufficiently is a necessity for Du Pont to add him to the training team. Yet this merely grows John’s feelings of inadequacy, rivalry and resentment, moving this story to an unexpected conclusion.

The film deals so well with all the characters through a series of brilliantly performed scenes, including a stunning piece by Dave (Mark Ruffalo) who has to describe Du Pont as his ‘mentor’ in his orchestrated documentary. Steve Carrell does an incredible job as a pathetic and disturbed John du Pont, not only thanks to his physical performance but through his mannerisms and awkwardly distanced conversations. Yes, this is the same guy who plays ‘Brick’ in Anchorman, and with two months to go, there is every reason for him to start preparing his Oscar speech. Channing Tatum is equally flawless as Mark Schultz, played with such self-doubt and naivety, perfectly orchestrating his dynamic with his brother Dave without being over-explanatory. There is no doubt that he has really grown into an A-class actor.

I thoroughly enjoyed Foxcatcher, and it definitely has a place on my list of this year’s best (2014’s film season runs till March). It’s a beautiful Film of the Week, go see it!

Foxcatcher was released on the 1st of January 2015, and is now playing in all major cinemas in South Africa

Great Scenes: Alec Baldwin’s speech – Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

There are many great scenes that I consider my favourites, and I love watching Glengarry Glen Ross for its fantastic cast and acting performances. This 1992 film, adapted from a Pulitzer prize winning play of the same name, follows a group of real estate salesmen on the brink of getting fired, and their use of foul office politics to retain their job in relentless and cutthroat corporate US.

Hardly leaving one location, the film relies on its fantastic script and the powerful array of acting performances. With a crazy good cast of Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Alec Baldwin, this is an acting powerhouse that delivers the most fantastic scenes. Pacino has an amazing monologue in a bar, but the speech by Baldwin in the following monologue is just absolutely brilliant:

Trailer watch! Knight of Cups (Terrence Malick, Christian Bale)

The latest trailer for a new Terrence Malick film was released. This a director who at one point released only 5 films in a few decades, but in recent years has definitely upped his game. One of the most unique directors in Hollywood, he has a reputation for using many months, actors and edits to finish his films, with occasionally cutting a few actors out, regardless of their name and status. George Clooney and Sean Penn got much smaller roles than expected in The Thin Red Line and Tree of Life, and he is known for sometimes only shooting for 5 minutes a day just to get the ‘perfect light’. However, most of these perfectionist efforts lead to stunning pieces of art. Often with little dialogue (or just a voice-over), containing philosophical and spiritual undertones and a primary focus on visual sensation, elements, nature and sounds, his films provide an experience that is particularly unique in American cinema.

I am a huge fan of his work (Tree of Life and the New World are so so beautiful), and this week his newest trailer was released for Knight of Cups (in mysterious development for around 2 years now). The film, surrounding a story about celebrity and excess, stars Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Imogen Poots, Antonio Banderas, Jason Clarke and I think I also saw a glimpse of Freida Pinto. Oh, and my favorite cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki shot the film. Enjoy! ->

Film of the Week: Under the Skin

Quite often it is easy to explain films to people. With Under the Skin, it is quite hard for me to do so. This is more about how it makes you feel, or how it relies on your interpretation, and I can fully understand that some might not connect with this film at all. For that reason, it is completely understandable that some might disregard this film in their yearly Top 10 lists (it was completely ignored by the Globes too), yet it seems to pop up a lot on other’s best of the year lists (the Guardian even calls it the Best Film of the Year).

Under the Skin is an eerie, moody and particularly weird film. The film follows Scarlett Johansson’s character driving through Scotland trying to pick up strangers in a van, only to lure them in her dark and empty house where these clearly hypnotized men succumb to her seduction and willingly sink into an oily goo that serves as some harvesting/dissolving matter. It is clear from the beginning that Scarlett’s character (not even given a name in the credits) is not from here, and her dreamy and particularly unemphatic character acts like an observing and inhuman being, merely interested in the human species as a source of energy. We see Scarlett not fully comprehend a person drowning in panic and, in one of the most disturbing sequences I’ve ever seen, she slowly drags a dead body over a beach, completely ignoring a baby that is left behind. With every other character she meets, she uses her charm and natural seduction to lure her victims in, although gradually her understanding of the species she targets grows, and through subtle changes in her behaviour she begins to show small elements of vulnerability.

Although it seems completely bonkers, I could not help but be captivated by what was showing on my screen. Some of the sequences in Scotland seem orchestrated, yet most of the characters she encounters seemed to be normal people on the streets of Glasgow. Combined with real footage of the city life, Johansson’s dreamy glaze and insensitivity to her unfamiliar surroundings make her as alien as she is supposed to appear. She had to be the perfect choice for this role, and performs it beautifully.

The film does exactly as the title suggests, and powered by the oddball cinematography and fantastic soundtrack the film completely creeps up on you. Many moments left me in shock, but created equal curiosity and amazement. I suggest you give Under the Skin a try and see if you, just as I, sit in silence a few minutes after the credits roll. Under the Skin is a well-deserved Film of the Week.

Under the Skin is for rent at DVD Nouveau