STOKER Written by Wentworth Miller Directed by Chan-Wook Park Starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman India Stoker: Sometimes you need to do something bad to keep you from doing something worse.
STOKER is both bewildering and beautiful from the moment it begins and it doesn’t let go until it is good and ready to be done with you. Chan-Wook Park’s (OLDBOY) first English-language film is a real stunner. Not only does it constantly delight your senses with its visual prowess and originality, but it also defies what we’ve come to know of the family drama genre. The Stoker’s are no ordinary family and STOKER is definitely no ordinary thriller. In fact, it is simply extraordinary.
Thanks to an extremely efficient and effective screenplay from first time screenwriter, Wentworth Miller (yes, the “Prison Break” guy), STOKER wastes no time in bringing us to the disturbing junction the Stoker family finds itself at when we meet them. It is India Stoker’s (Mia Wasikowska) 18th birthday and rather than find her usual gift of new shoes from her father (Dermot Mulroney), instead she finds out that he is dead, or more specifically, that he has been murdered. During the funeral, India is introduced to an uncle she never knew she had (Matthew Goode), and told that he will be staying with her and her mother (Nicole Kidman) for an undetermined amount of time, until the family is back on its feet. This proves to be difficult though when the family was never on solid ground to begin with. And the more they try to steady their stance, the more secrets are unearthed from underneath them.
As India, Wasikowska centers this film and does so with a confidence that only seems to get stronger and stronger with each of her performances. India has always been something of an odd girl and her uncle’s presence unnerves her for reasons she cannot quite grasp in her mind, but that she feels in her body. Goode’s poised demeanor and disarming handsomeness only further complicate the issue. The games that they play with each other as they try to figure each other out are completely captivating and deliciously devious. There are elements of attraction and respect and fear between them and, once you throw a catalyst like Kidman into the mix, it gets downright disturbing. And while all this finely acted interplay is fascinating to watch, Park’s richly engrossing visual and auditory approach to storytelling elevates STOKER to a place that is unfamiliar, unsettling and ultimately unforgettable.
ARGO Written by Chris Terrio Directed by Ben Affleck Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Alan Arkin Tony Mendez: Can you teach someone how to direct in a day? Lester Siegel: You can teach the Reese’s monkey how to direct in a day.
There was nothing simple or smooth about the mission to get six Americans out of Tehran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. That said, under the direction of multi-hyphenate, actor-writer-director, Ben Affleck, ARGO, the film based on this harrowing escape, is as smooth as they come. Affleck introduced himself as a director with the kidnapping drama, GONE BABY GONE. The people were cautious but pleasantly surprised. He then established himself as a serious player with THE TOWN, suddenly finding himself an awards contender again. And now, with ARGO, he cements himself as an important American filmmaker with something of worth to say and an incredibly entertaining way to say it.
ARGO also marks the first time Affleck gets out Boston as a filmmaker, his first two films having been set in the state of Massachusetts, where he grew up. In fact, Affleck travels pretty far to avoid getting pigeonholed as that Boston guy, as he goes back and forth between Tehran and Hollywood, California, here. Ordinarily, one wouldn’t think to naturally put these two settings together but in 1979, they were intrinsically linked to the fate of six American embassy workers. When the embassy was taken over by Islamist extremists, protesting America’s unwelcome involvement in Iran’s politics, six employees managed to get out undetected and hid at the Canadian ambassador’s personal home for what would become 79 days. Fortunately for them, the C.I.A. was working on a plan to get them home the entire time. Unfortunately for them, that plan involved posing as a film crew scouting locations for an exotic, science-fiction movie to get through airport security. At the time, this was the best plan they could come up with.
Thanks to a sharply written screenplay by first time feature writer, Chris Terrio, ARGO is a rich and layered work that operates on many levels - from satire to thriller to think piece. And as varied as the settings and tone are from scene to scene, from the often hilarious Hollywood insider track to the very real and very tense hostage situation at hand, Affleck exudes nothing but confidence and control over the vast entirety of the project. Not once, does he lose focus or pull it for the purposes of highlighting his own solid performance. Perhaps, his biggest achievement though, is telling a story where we know the whole time exactly how it will end, without sacrificing one trace of the suspense and heart-stopping fear that everyone involved must have been feeling while they were trying to pull it off. And with that, Affleck pulls off his tricky feat as well.
And here we are. Awards season typically begins to take shape during the height os festival season in September and is in full swing by the time December rolls around. ARGO and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK were the early frontrunners when they launched at the Toronto International Film Festival but this awards season has been anything but predictable, which is an incredibly welcome change for this critic. It is no fun to know exactly where everything is leading months before you get there but we are one day away now and this year's top prize could still go to LINCOLN or LIFE OF PI or ZERO DARK THIRTY. I don't see AMOUR taking it that doesn't mean it will walk away empty handed. I believe the love will be spread around this year and this is how I see it going.
The Academy Awards are but a day away and what better way to entertain your Oscar party guests before the show starts than with a test?! Who doesn't love doing tests on a Sunday night when they're already drinking? C'mon now. That is everyone's idea of a good time!
Now, there are no prizes for completing this quiz. It is all in good fun. That being said, I do encourage you not to rely too heavily on the Internet when trying to complete it. It is so much more fun to figure it all out yourself. And just think how much more gratifying it will feel to know all this useless information came directly from your mind and not from IMDB?
And with that, let's get right to it!
1. If ARGO wins best picture, it will be the first film to do so without a Best Director nomination since which film? And while we're on the subject, what was the last film to win all the guild awards (Producers, Directors, Actors), as ARGO has done, that did not go on to take home the Oscar for Best Picture? (Hint: The director of that film wasn't nominated for Best Director at the Oscars either.) (2 points)
Answer: DRIVING MISS DAISY, APOLLO 13
2. You might not think Steven Spielberg knows Ben Affleck’s pain of being snubbed for Best Director when he’s already been nominated seven times. There are however, three Spielberg films that received Best Picture nods where Spielberg himself was left off the Director ballot. Name those three films. (3 points)
Answer: JAWS, THE COLOR PURPLE, WAR HORSE
3. At 9 years old, Quvenzhane Wallis is the youngest Best Actress Oscar nominee in history. Who was the previous record holder who was nominated when she was 13 in 2004? (1 point)
Answer: Keisha Castle-Hughes
4. At 85 years old, Emmanuelle Riva is the oldest Best Actress Oscar nominee. In what 1959 Oscar nominated film did she get her big break? (Fun Fact: She will turn 86 on Oscar day!) (1 point)
Answer: HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR
5. LIFE OF PI is only the fourth film in the history of the Academy Awards to receive nominations in all seven of the technical categories. What were the first three? (Hint: The films were honoured in 1997, 2002 and 2012.) (3 points)
Answer: TITANIC, MASTER AND COMMANDER, HUGO
6. Securing a nomination is all four acting categories is no easy feat but the cast of SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK has done it this year. What was the last film to accomplish this lofty goal? (1 point)
Answer: REDS
7. All five of this year’s Best Supporting Actor nominees have won an Oscar before. For which film did each of them win? (5 points)
Alan Arkin: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Robert De Niro: RAGING BULL, THE GODFATHER II
Philip Seymour Hoffman: CAPOTE
Tommy Lee Jones: THE FUGITIVE
Christoph Waltz: INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
8. Quentin Tarantino has won a Best Original Screenplay before. It is his sole Oscar and it is shared with whom? (1 point)
Answer: Roger Avary
9. When Anne Hathaway co-hosted the Oscars (ugh), she sang a song from LES MISERABLES to her eventual co-star in the film, Hugh Jackman. What song did she sing? (1 point)
Answer: "On My Own"
10. If SKYFALL wins an Oscar, it will join a short list of two other Bond Oscar winning films. Name those films. (2 points)
Answer: GOLDFINGER, THUNDERBALL
BONUS: Does ZERO DARK THIRTY suggest the American's use of torture in finding Osama Bin Laden was entirely justified? Write a 750-word essay on the subject and be sure to include a thorough bibliography. (1 point)
I will post the answers before the Oscar telecast tomorrow. Good luck!
The Academy Awards are only two days away and Black Sheep has a couple of things to help make your Oscar day one to remember! The first is my annual playlist of music from the movies of the last year. It's an eclectic mix that you can pop on for the hour or so leading up to the Oscars themselves to help drown out the voice of Joan Rivers on the red carpet! I hope you like it.
1. MOONRISE KINGDOM: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic
20. MOONRISE KINGDOM: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Suite by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic
I've even included easy to print front and back covers for you here. Now all you need to do is download and play. Voila! Instant Oscar ambiance. You're welcome!
THE JAZZ SINGER Written by Alfred A. Cohn Directed by Alan Crosland Starring Al Jolson, May McAvoy and Warner Oland Jakie Rabinowitz: Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothing yet!
THE JAZZ SINGER is famous for one very specific and spectacular thing. When it was released in 1927, it became the first talking picture in motion picture history. Before this film was released, feature films were strictly silent and played with orchestral accompaniment. Dialogue was relegated to cards inserted in between shots to ensure that key points were made, but most of the communication relied on the actors’ expressions, which were often exaggerated and comical. THE JAZZ SINGER was a huge success for Warner Brothers and revolutionized the way movies were made, forcing all the other studios to start making talkies as well. That was then and this is now though. Does this quintessential piece of cinema stand the test of time?
The truth of the matter is that I was quite thrown by THE JAZZ SINGER at first. Given its reputation, I expected a full fledged talking picture, one that might have its technical hitches, but that would still be impressive for its achievements. That isn’t really what this is though. There actually isn’t very much talking at all in THE JAZZ SINGER. In fact, it is really more of a silent film with a few carefully placed sound cues here and there, like applause or dishes clanging. It’s true moments of spectacle all come from star, Al Jolson. Playing Jakie Rabinowitz, Jolson rejects his generational birthright to be a Jewish cantor (an assistant to the rabbi, who sings the prayers for the congregation), in favour of being, you guessed it, a jazz singer. This may tear his family apart but it does allow for what is most certainly one of cinema’s defining moments.
After about fifteen or so minutes of fairly typical silent film tropes, Jolson takes to the stage in a small jazz bar. This is when the real magic happens. He launches into rousing rendition of a little ditty called, “Dirty Hands, Dirty Face” and the sound leaves his mouth like a minor miracle. It’s like that moment in THE WIZARD OF OZ when everything changes from black and white to colour. Before there was nothing but ambient sound and title cards, but now there was true, crystal clear sound coming from the man on the screen. It is easy to see how audiences then must have been wowed beyond belief given how the moment still manages to resonate to this day. It ends there though. The man who was just singing returns to his table and stops talking. We can hear everyone clapping for him but he can’t even say, “Thank you.” THE JAZZ SINGER is still a classic but it’s a little odd to make sense of all the time (and that’s not taking into account that Jolson ends the film in blackface.)
Another awards season is soon coming to an end but before we roll the credits on 2012, it's time once again to announce the winners of the 8th annual Mouton d'Or Awards. Past winners include BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and last year's winner, DRIVE. Will this year's winner beTHE MASTER, which led the nominations in January with a total of 8? Or will LIFE OF PI, a movie which should never have really worked to begin with, take it all? Perhaps the little Sundance success that could, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, will continue its charge. Or perhaps ARGO will continue to win everything it touches. Maybe even MOONRISE KINGDOM, a movie I didn't connect with the first time around but that bowled me over in subsequent viewings, could keep working its magic over me all the way to the top prize. Not to give anything away but all five of these films feel the Mouton d'Or love is some form or another and rightfully so. Only one can take the Mouton d'Or for Best Picture though and with that in mind, let's find out the winners of the 8th annual Mouton d'Or Awards ...
(Scroll over any title to read the original Black Sheep review.)
I've now seen SKYFALL three times and it never ceases to floor me. From the incredible dialogue to the striking cinematography, from the explosive stunts to the universally talented cast, SKYFALL is technically perfect. Director, Sam Mendes is James Bond's new God and saviour.
Of the major nominees this year, AMOUR is the only one I've not seen more than once. I'm not sure if I could go through it again really. One day I will have to though because, as hard as it can be emotionally to bear at times, it is also meticulously exquisite filmmaking, featuring two very brave and tender performances. It is haunting but also oddly life affirming.
I've tried very hard to block DETACHMENT out of my head. It was an insult to my intelligence, an assault on my senses and an utter embarrassment for all involved. The issue of a declining education system is important but director, Tony Kaye, thinks the expression of his talent to be far more so. This is especially bad when there isn't any talent to speak of.
The submissions to determine the nominees in this category this year showed support for such a wide range of films that the category was expanded to 10 titles to ensure as many voices as possible would be heard. That said, when the voting started, there was a clear winner right away. ARGO earned nearly 25% of the vote and the runner-up was SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. Thank you to everyone who voted and once again, you did great, guys. I am so happy that my readers have such fantastic taste!
Only three nominees this year but three very worthy selections. Any one of which deserves the win here but for me, FRANKENWEENIE was the standout. It is classic Tim Burton in a way that even Burton himself has not been able to capture as of late.
I don't often encourage people to see a film specifically in theatres, let alone in 3D, but LIFE OF PI is an experience that needs to be had in all its grandeur, on the glorious big screen. It is constantly surprising and wondrous to behold; it almost feels at times like you too are lost at sea. And on top of all this, Richard Parker isn't even a real tiger. Just awesome, in the traditional sense of the word, that is.
I often feel that I get this category wrong after the fact. This year I know I'm not mistaken though. Hans Zimmer's scores for all three Christopher Nolan Batman films have been exquisite and their intensity has been building all this time into the culminated climax that is THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Also, when you listen to it on headphones, it turns ordinary tasks like taking out the garbage into dangerous missions.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is most masterful in THE MASTER. The character he plays may be making it all up as he goes along, while fooling everyone along the way, but Hoffman himself isn't fooling anyone. He knows exactly what he's doing at all times and his control and awareness are unmatched.
Sure, Anne Hathaway isn't in LES MISERABLES for very long and only really sings one song by herself but oh, that time she spent on screen was heavenly. And that song! Her pain reaches out and dares people not to feel for her without begging for it. Every moment she's on screen, is hers.
I debated between Daniel Day-Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix here for quite some time but ultimately went with Phoenix because of the fierceness of his performance. While Day-Lewis was transformative as Lincoln, Phoenix was almost rabid in THE MASTER. His performance was demonstrative and uncontrollably so at times but its rawness was also fresh and sometimes frightening.
The bravery in Emmanuelle Riva's performance is moving. In many ways, this win is a shout out to her co-star, Jean-Louis Trintignant as well. He supports her throughout the film and his performance allows hers to shine even brighter. Her character's struggle is so real and so often only in her eyes. Riva is absolutely heartbreaking.
I can find things I don't like about SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK but the collective charm of the cast makes me not care about those things in the least. Jacki Weaver's nervous tenderness is touching. Robert De Niro gives his best performance in maybe 20 years. Jennifer Lawrence is impossible not to fall in love with. And this is the first time I've ever seen Bradley Cooper and thought that he could really act. Under David O. Russell's direction, this ensemble turns anxiety into great comfort.
Charming and concise, MOONRISE KINGDOM is a constant delight. When I first saw it, I wanted it to be about the adults and not the kids but when I saw it again, I realized its true genius is that it is about the adults, but only told through the kids. As they fight to find love in their young lives, they fight against everything their parents passed on to them without them realizing. And we watch as young love fights tirelessly against years of decline.
This is another award that almost went to LINCOLN because the dialogue is often like poetry but ultimately it is the versatility of ARGO that wins out. One minute, it's a historical drama, the next it's a Hollywood satire and then it shifts again into a hostage extraction thriller. It may not be reinventing any of these genres but it moves through each of them seamlessly and smoothly without sacrificing a trace of tension or humour.
ANTIVIRAL announces a new Canadian talent in Brandon Cronenberg, a disturbing voice with a stylish way of seeing the morose. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, by Colin Trevorrow, is one of the most endearing and surprisingly relatable films I've seen this year. As good as these films are though, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is just that, a beast of a first film. Director, Benh Zeitlin has a fresh and focused new voice. His imagination is one I look forward to getting to know much better.
As you likely already know, I was so nervous that LIFE OF PI would be a disaster. I loved the book so much and knew that it might not translate to film at all. What Ang Lee did with Yann Martel's book, the work he must have put in to pull this great feat off, is a little miracle all unto itself. When Pi curses at the heavens in the midst of a particularly violent storm, he should know it isn't God he is yelling at. For it is Ang Lee who is making it rain and who rules with great might over this uncontrollable sea.
I'm just going to say it, THE MASTER is a masterpiece. Paul Thomas Anderson has completely outdone himself. He brings you into this strange place and makes you feel as though you're constantly half in reality and half in a dream. And though I struggled to fully understand my surroundings, I always felt safe in his hands, like he knew exactly what he was doing at all times. Anderson is the true master and I am in awe of how boundless his talents seem to stretch. I didn't think he could go any further but he truly has. THE MASTER may not have connected with that wide an audience upon its release but I feel like they will be talking about this one for year's to come for Anderson is far, far ahead of his own time.
A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD Written by Skip Woods Directed by John Moore Starring Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney and Sebastian Koch Lucy: Dad, just try not to make an even bigger mess of things.
I can’t imagine any day where it would be a good idea to die quite this hard. The fifth installment in the DIE HARD series is so far removed from what the original film embodied and also so cheaply made by comparison, that I feel like John McClane may have killed off more than just a bunch of faceless Russians in A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD. Thanks to Skip Woods’s witless screenplay and John Moore’s complete lack of direction, John McClane may have also killed off any chances of his character ever returning to the screen again. The bad news here is that he goes out in a blaze of nothing that resembles glory, while the good news is that this just may be for the best.
Do you know what was apparently horribly amiss from the DIE HARD series before now? Overwrought and completely uncharacteristic sentimentality. McClane, once again played by the now 57 years old, Bruce Willis, is reintroduced to us as a father getting on in years, who is taking stock of how he has treated the important people in his life. His son, Jack (Jai Courtney) has apparently lost his way and gotten into crime and drugs half way across the world. So McClane decides to right the wrongs of his past and make things right with his son. After all, if it weren’t for his own absence as a father, perhaps his son would have turned out better than he did. Little does McClane know though, his son turned out just fine. He is an undercover CIA operative working in Russia to thwart a nuclear plot. So when McClane goes to Russia to get him, he just gets in the way and makes a mess of everything. Typical John McClane!
I didn’t think things could get much worse after LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD but I have been sorely proven wrong. Woods’s (THE A-TEAM) script reduces McClane to a comical old man who is more concerned about talking his feelings than shooting up the bad guys. He does plenty of the latter too but it’s hard to take him seriously when he is constantly reminding us that he is on vacation, as if he were Danny Glover’s Murtaugh in LETHAL WEAPON repeating how he is too old for this shit all the time. (And how is going to Russia to collect your estranged and embattled son a vacation exactly?) Moore (THE OMEN) then takes us through a bunch of start and stop action that is heavy on the cartoonish bad guys and even heavier on the elaborate yet unbelievable car crashes. My conclusion after a scant and telling 93-minute run time, A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD is barely passable, mostly laughable and amounts to nothing more than a strong argument to put this franchise out of its misery.
FIGHTING BACK An interview with BULLY director, Lee Hirsch
By now, you’ve no doubt heard about the controversial new documentary, BULLY. This important film does not spend its time forcing statistics in its audience’s face, like how 13 million kids will be bullied this year in North America, or how 3 million kids will skip school to avoid being bullied. No, instead BULLY does something that for some reason has been absent thus far in the bullying conversation; it gives a voice to those who know how it feels first hand and that voice is both eye opening and heartbreaking.
“It is amazing to me that there has been so little done on this issue,” director, Lee Hirsh, tells me when we meet just a few hours before a screening and leading a town hall discussion on the topic itself. “To me, it’s such a connective piece about the human experience. Everybody has a story. Everybody has a connection to it. This film gives a lot of people a voice.”
Hirsch, a Long Island, New York native, began making what was originally entitled THE BULLY PROJECT in 2009, when he started following the lives of five different young people throughout their school years. Given the sensitive nature of the subject, Hirsch believed his own experience with bullying made him an ideal choice to tackle the daunting topic. “Part of it was that I was bullied so it was part of my own narrative. I felt like I could do it, like I had the emotional space and connection to be able to tell this story and be in that world. I just saw it in my head because of that.”
Alex is 12 and is bullied because he does not fit in
After premiering to triumphant reviews at the Tribeca and HotDocs film festivals last year, BULLY was picked up by The Weinstein Company for distribution. Hirsch never expected a major movie company to pick up the film to begin with so the attention the film is receiving now, thanks to a widely publicized battle with the Motion Picture Association of America over an R-rating, is beyond anything he ever imagined. “The rating argument certainly gave us a lot of energy. We never could have bought that publicity or awareness for such a small film.”
In order for the film to be given a PG-13 rating, a rating it has widely received here in Canada across the provinces, there can be no more than one usage of the word, “fuck”. BULLY has six F-words, hence the R. An R-rating means that the audience the film is intended for cannot see the film without parental permission. It also means the film will not likely screen in schools, where it should be mandatory viewing. Hirsch embraces the controversy though. “It is a blessing in disguise because it rallied people to the film. That’s the stuff of movements and that’s really exciting.”
Kelby is 16 and is bullied because she is a lesbian
Since meeting Hirsch for this interview, The Weinstein Company has cut three F-words from the final cut and the MPAA has made a special exception for the film and lowered the rating to PG-13 just in time for its wide American release.
Now, many more will hear the plight of these kids, whose experiences are varied and not so dissimilar to what most victims go through. Simply opening up this dialogue is impressive considering the shame that looms over bully victims. Hirsch elaborates his view on this, “It seems there is a stigma when it comes to talking about bullying. But there is a moment, a shift, when victims feel like they have agency to talk about it. Then the floodgates open.” The film points its most accusatory finger at school administrators and authorities for this. “With bullying, you’re going against existing beliefs that ‘kids will be kids’ and ‘everybody goes through this.’ That shuts people down.”
Hirsch, happy with BULLY's success
The goal now that people are talking about bullying is to make change. On some levels, BULLY may be preaching to the converted but if the right people see it, and if its shown in schools, then the people who need to see it, will see it, then suddenly change is possible. Hirsch offers this advice for a more peaceful future. “You don’t have to get involved with government to do something about bullying. You can just make little choices. You can act with empathy, step up for somebody, talk to your kids more. Small acts do add up. That’s change.”
With more young people killing themselves because of bullying, this particular change is long overdue.
BULLY Directed by Lee Hirsch
While the act of bullying may seem to some like a convenient and fashionable talking point for the liberal media, it is in fact a real problem in schools around the globe and Lee Hirsch’s documentary, BULLY, gives the cause the real face it has so desperately needed. Hirsch focuses his attentions on a handful of young people, all different ages and from different walks of life, who have all been bullied and still live the experience regularly. While there isn’t too much bullying caught on tape, the effects on these innocents is heartbreaking. BULLY will have you crying within five minutes of its start and wanting to make the world a better place by the time it’s done.
STOKER
