Last House on the Left (1972)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess
Running time: 84 minutes (Uncut), 91 minutes (Original)

This one sure is not for the faint of heart, but what a powerful knockout punch of a film. It tells the story of two late teen girls who go out on the town for a concert. In the process, they get kidnapped, tortured, rape and killed by a gang of escaped psychopathic convicts. After committing their crime, the thugs have to take refuge in a house nearby for the night because their car broke down. What they come to find out is that the people who take them in are the parents of one of their victims. And, unbeknownst to them, the parents find out the truth before morning comes.

Wes Craven reportedly wanted to make his film more graphic than it actually is, but he had to do some heavy editing considering the era it was shot in. In spite of the restrictions of the time, the torture and rape scenes are still hard to stomach. The acting and some of the sound effects may be a bit campy, but that is to be expected with the exploitation horror genre. It will certainly not leave any emotionless.

Craven would get his wish when the movie would be redone by someone else, with new actors and especially more freedom, in 2009. Still, the original remains a film to be seen by fans of this particular genre. It will stay with you for a couple of days, for sure. For the time it lasts, if you can stomach it all, you will not want to miss a beat…and a single drop of blood.

Rating: ««««

 

The Stepford Wives (2004)

Genre: Science-fiction / Comedy

Directed by: Frank Oz

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler
Running time: 93 minutes

This movie is a remake of a 1975 film and is still based on the novel of the same name by author Ira Levin. Joanna Eberhart (Kidman), the head of a TV network, has to leave her job, so she moves to the fictional town of Stepford, Connecticut, with her husband Walter (Broderick) and their children. She quickly starts to find it suspicious that all the women in Stepford are docile little dolls, while all the men are nerds, so she investigates the situation with her friend Bobbie (Midler).

Contrary to the 1975 original, this movie was played for laughs. The first one was a creepy little thriller, but the filmmakers were trying to tickle our funny bones with this one. Work, it didn’t. They tried to reinvent the story, with different plot twists, but all they accomplished was screwing it all up.

There supposedly was a lot of fighting between director Frank Oz and many cast members. It is also said that there were many rewrites of the script before the movie was finally made. It shows. They were probably trying to appease some feminists or other groups that were offended by the original flick, so they invented a whole new ending that made no sense. In the end, many actors and actresses regretted their participation in the movie.

There definitely was a compelling story to tell here, that of a bunch of insecure men being intimidated by their very powerful wives and wanting to control them by turning them into docile robots, who cook, clean and make love on demand. The problem is in the delivery. The filmmakers tried to get too fancy with it, and, in the end, it all fell really flat.

The acting was also subpar. Considering all the acting talent involved here, that is quite a shame. There were a few glimpses of promise through it all, but nothing that was ever sustained.

Rating: ««

Thor (2011)

Genre: Superhero
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston
Running time: 114 minutes

 

When it comes to superhero movies, there are some very good ones and some not-so-good ones. Thor falls into the first category. It tells the story of Thor, a godly warrior about to replace his father as king of his people. Unfortunately, after showing some arrogance and defying orders, he has his godly powers taken away from him by his dad, and he is sent down to Earth (in New Mexico) to live as a mere mortal. When his father falls ill, Thor’s brother, Loki, seizes the throne and tries to prevent his older sibling, of whom he has always been envious, to be brought back home. Thor will have to fight his way back in.

Superhero movies often contain a certain dose of cheesiness. Thor is no exception. You just have to suspend disbelief and get with program, accepting the mythology that is being put on screen. For this particular genre, the acting is pretty good. Considering the cast involved, it should be no surprise. I mean, Anthony Hopkins is also on board, along with Colm Feore and Rene Russo. So, we have here a great ensemble of actors working on a great action-superhero movie that is well put together. The story is compelling and will have you rooting for the hero. Well worth a watch for the fans of the genre.

Rating: ««««

The 5th Quarter (2010)

The 5^th Quarter (2010)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Rick Bieber
Starring: Ryan Merriman, Aidan Quinn, Andie MacDowell
Running time: 101 minutes

 

Honestly, I have rarely seen a movie so boring and cringe-worthy in my life. The 5^th Quarter is based on the true story of the Abbate family, who lost a son in a tragic car crash, and how it inspired the Wake Forest football team in its 2006 season.

The whole beginning, with the accident and the aftermath, gives us acting so overly dramatic and poorly delivered that it all comes off like a public service announcement or an infomercial for organ donation and the power of prayers. And it’s not as if we have all unknown actors here. Aidan Quinn and Andie MacDowell were, at that point, already seasoned veterans of the acting world. Yet, they were so campy in their portrayal of the heads of the Abbate clan, it was sad to witness. I blame the director, because, in many other films, these two have done good work.

On a side note, the director has Bieber for last name. Quelle surprise!

After the initial part of the movie is done with, and we move along to the story about the eldest son in the Abbate clan and his football team, business does pick up a bit. Unfortunately, it doesn’t pick up quite enough to make this movie any good.

I was watching this on a snow day, and the wife and dog both fell asleep on the couch while watching with me. Feeling a little more dedicated, I made it through. I envied my wife and dog afterwards. It is unfortunate, since similar stories have been told with more success in the past and it made for good times in front of the screen. This particular story offered much promise, but, on the delivery, the filmmakers stumbled the ball and stunk up the joint.

Rating: «

Henry’s Crime (2010)

Henry's Crime (2010)

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Directed by: Malcolm Venville
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, James Caan
Running time: 108 minutes

 

Henry (Reeves) is toll-booth employee sleep-walking through a small town life with his wife. One day, while out with friends, he gets arrested for an armed robbery he did not commit. He decides to escape his life by taking the fall alone, although he knows who did the crime. When he comes out, 18 months later, he decides that, since he did the time, he should do the crime.

 Keanu Reeves was certainly the perfect actor to play a guy sleep-walking through life.  We are so used to see him sleep through his movie lines.  Though the choice is perfect, it does not make the movie great. There are few interesting little gems here, but not enough to save this off-beat romantic comedy. I would not recommend this, unless you are a fan of the genre or of Keanu Reeves.

 

Rating: ««

Resurrecting the Champ (2007)

Genre : Drama
Directed by: Rod Lurie
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett. Kathryn Morris
Running time: 112 minutes

Erik Kernan Jr. (Hartnett) is a young sports journalist trying to make a career for himself and live up to his father’s name. One day, while leaving a boxing match that he was covering for the newspaper, he meets a homeless man (Jackson), who calls himself Champ and claims to be former boxing contender Bob Satterfield. The reporter decides to write a story on him, but, in his excitement to get that big story, he forgot a premiere principle in journalism: Fact-checking.

As a former journalist, I had a hard time at first understanding how a reporter could make such a grave mistake. After a moment, I remembered what it was like to be young and hungry. Also, in Kernan’s case, he had that pressure of feeling like he needed to impress his young son. That can bring on so many lies that get very hard to carry.

Josh Hartnett, who I usually find to be very dry and boring as an actor, does a fine job here. He carries that character quite well. The viewer can feel his plight.

The star in this one, in all aspect of the term, is Samuel L. Jackson. As usual, he sinks into his character and makes you believe it. He pulls you in and never lets you go. What is interesting here is that he doesn’t play Champ in an overly dramatic way. He shows vulnerability, which is cool for an actor who has played to many tough guys and badasses, but he doesn’t go overboard trying to draw tears.  The voice he chose for his character was kind of grating at first, but I got used to it.

While not the greatest sports or boxing movie of all-time, taken for what it is, Resurrecting the Champ is a very good film.

 

Rating: ««««

La tête en friche (2010)

Genre : Franco / Comedy
Réalisé par : Jean Becker
Distribution : Gérard Depardieu, Gisèle Casadesus, Claire Maurier
Durée : 82 minutes

Ce petit film français savoureux nous raconte l’histoire de Germain Chazes (Depardieu), un homme qui, toute sa vie, a été la constante victime des railleries de son entourage, même de sa mère qui n’a jamais voulu de lui. Malgré tout, il demeure fidèle à ses proches. Un jour, il fait la rencontre de Margueritte, une vieille dame qui fait la lecture chaque jour dans le parc. Les deux se lient d’amitié et Margueritte développe l’amour des livres chez Germain, qui est illettré.

La chimie entre Depardieu et Casadesus est très forte à l’écran. Les deux acteurs réussissent à nous livrer deux personnages si attachants, qu’on voudrait les voir plus évoluer plus longtemps sous nos yeux. La tête en friche est un très court film, mais, dans ce petit laps de temps, il amène les spectateurs dans  un petit voyage rempli d’émotions. À voir. C’est sur Netflix, sous le titre anglais Afternoons with Margueritte. Le film y est en français, sous-titrée en anglais.

Rating: «««««

Syriana (2005)

Genre: Thriller
Directed by: Stephen Gaghan
Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper
Running Time: 128 minutes

A loaded cast is at work is this political thriller that deals with petroleum politics and the oil industry. The result is a convoluted film that goes from one storyline to another between five different ones. I won’t go on at length about this one, because, quite frankly, I did not find it that inspiring. This movie won some awards, but I had a hard time staying awake through it, no matter how many chances I gave it. Not for me, some of you may feel otherwise.

Rating: «

American Sniper (2014)

Genre: Biographical / Drama
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes
Running Time: 132 minutes

When Clint Eastwood straddles a new project, he does not choose the easiest one; he picks the most ferocious bull in the rodeo and rides it all the way to the end. The man has showed that he enjoys a challenge, and we appreciate him for it.

American Sniper is the true story of Chris Kyle, a man who left the nowhere cowboy life of rodeos and beer drinking at age 30 to join the Navy Seals. He then became the most effective military sniper in US history, with 160 kills to his credit.

Far from being a tribute to war, this film shows the negative effects those military conflicts can have on soldiers and their families. Many other movies have shown the same thing before, but this Eastwood film does it with quite the effectiveness.

Bradley Cooper comes out shining. No wonder he got an Academy Awards nomination for this role. The man has shed his pretty boy image and gained some weight to portray Chris Kyle on the big screen. He is solid here. The rest of the cast also does great work here.

I have nothing bad to say about American Sniper. When the movie ended and images of the real Chris Kyle started popping with the credits, nobody in the theater moved to get out.  Everybody seemed to be still in a trance after watching this great piece of cinema.

Rating: «««««

The Stepford Wives (1975)

The Stepford Wives (1975)

Genre: Science-fiction / Thriller

Directed by: Bryan Forbes
Starring: Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss and Peter Masterson
Running time: 115 minutes

 

A young wife and professional photographer, Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross), moves from NYC to the fictional town of Stepford, Connecticut, with her husband Walter (Peter Masterson) and their two children. She quickly starts to feel lonely in this quaint little town. She’s a rebel at heart and she finds it suspicious that most of the other wives in town are completely submissive to their husbands, who are all members of the Stepford’s Men Association. She finds a friend in Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss), another young wife who finds the situation quite suspicious. Together, they start investigating the city of Stepford trying to understand what is going on. What will they find?

Contrary to the remake that would come almost three decades later, this original film based on the book of the same name by Ira Levin is given a very serious tone. There is an aura of creepiness around the whole thing. The movie is built around the growing paranoia of Katharine Ross’ character towards the city of Stepford and the men within it. As they say, it’s not because you are paranoid that they are not really after you.

So, in this movie, director Bryan Forbes worked on setting a certain mood and atmosphere, and he did it well. The actors also displayed some good acting chops to make this Sci-fi/Thriller a successful one. The tension builds towards the ending, and I was certainly kept interested all the way through. There are a few little corny aspects to this story, but I think it was to be expected considering the subject matter and the era in which the movie was made. The pacing is also a little slow. All things considered a very entertaining offbeat movie that is well worth a watch.

Rating: ««««

 

Mommy (2014)

Mommy (2014)

Genre: Franco / Drama

Réalisateur: Xavier Dolan
Distribution: Anne Dorval, Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clément
Durée: 134 minutes

J’ai eu la chance d’aller voir ce film au cinéma récemment et j’avais de grandes attentes. Il faut dire que, depuis la sortie de J’ai tué ma mère, le « buzz » à l’égard de Xavier Dolan et de ses films est toujours élevé. En plus, Mommy était tellement encensé par la critique et le public. On nous parlait des Oscars et ainsi de suite, on nous le vendait comme un grand film. Malheureusement, le visionnement du film m’a laissé sur mon appétit. Peut-être mes attentes étaient-elles trop élevées, je ne sais pas.

L’histoire se déroule dans un Canada d’un avenir rapproché (2015), où une loi autorise les parents d’enfants très difficiles à les confier à une institution d’État. C’est dans ce contexte que Diane (Anne Dorval), une veuve habitant la banlieue de Montréal, récupère la garde de son fils Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon), un ado agressif et même violent souffrant de TDAH, après que ce dernier ait été expulsé d’une telle institution. La mère et le fils se lient d’amitié avec leur voisine Kyla (Suzanne Clément), enseignante au secondaire en congé sabbatique suite à un drame.

Le jeu de tous les acteurs dans ce film est solide. Rien à redire. Tout le monde campe bien son rôle et dégage la crédibilité à plein nez. Les spectateurs ont droit à l’intensité pure et dure en regardant évoluer à l’écran une famille dysfonctionnelle à souhait. Xavier Dolan fait aussi du bon travail de réalisateur du point de vue technique.

La faille dans ce film, et ce n’est que mon opinion de cinéphile, est que, malgré la durée du film, soit plus de deux heures, nous nous retrouvons au bout du compte avec tant de questions sans réponse. Je ne vous dirai pas lesquelles, question de ne pas vendre de punchs, mais disons qu’il manquait des éléments importants à l’histoire selon moi. En plus, j’ai trouvé que le film se terminait en queue de poisson.

Mais, bon, le film a quand même obtenu un franc succès, et je suis content pour Dolan, qui a certainement un avenir prometteur à son jeune âge. Espérons qu’il décidera un jour de varier sur les thèmes un peu. Les relations mère-fils, c’est bien, mais faudrait voir sa versatilité. Je suis sûr que cette dernière existe.


Note: «««

Dream House (2011)

Dream House (2011)

Genre: Thriller
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, and Marton Csokas
Running time: 92 minutes

Dream House attempts to bring the viewers on a thrill ride down a tortuous road filled with plot twists and turns. Is it successful? Only partially.

This film starts with Will Atenton (Daniel Craig), a successful editor in Manhattan, who is on his last day at his job. He is quitting and leaving the city, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. They are moving to a house, where, he comes to find out, some brutal murders were committed five years earlier. As it is often the case in movies, things are never exactly what they seem to be. And, here starts the attempt at a thrill ride.

The story itself is compelling, quite interesting. The main fault I find with this movie is the acting. I have always found Daniel Craig to be too dry of a performer on the big screen. Even as James Bond, he always tends to bore me. In this one, he tries to show more fire, and he achieves it sometimes, but his performance is very uneven overall. Same goes with the rest of the cast.

Another fault I find with Dream House is that it offers some big doses of hokeyness, though I don’t believe it is meant to be that way. When a movie is voluntarily corny, it can be charming. When it tries to be serious and often fails, it is a different story.

So, in conclusion, Dream House has some interesting plot twists the viewer did not expect at first and an interesting story to tell, but it fails on the delivery.

Rating: ««

Howl (2010)

Howl (2010)

Genre: Biographical
Directed by: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Starring: James Franco, David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Bob Balaban
Running time: 85 minutes

This is a very artistic and even poetic film, which is understandable considering it covers the life and times of famous beat poet Allen Ginsberg. This movie also delves into the 1957 obscenity trial against the publisher of Ginsberg’s Howl. What we have here is a very good look at the issue of censorship in a era where artists like Ginsberg where thinking outside the confines of conformity.

In Howl, Ginsberg is portrayed by James Franco. I have never been Franco’s biggest fan, always finding him just OK as an actor. In this one, though, he does a brilliant job. He manages to make you forget the actor and just care about the man he is portraying. He does not go over-the-top either, really showing respect to the great American poet that is Allen Ginsberg.

The story is told here in nonlinear fashion, which does make it a little hard to follow at times. Different cinematic techniques, such as animation, are also used to illustrate the poet’s poems when they are being read in various scenes through the actor’s mouth. Howl is not the kind of title you put in your DVD player on a slow night where you want the relax. The story being told is very interesting, it just requires a little work and openness on the viewer’s part. In my opinion, it is well worth it, for the historic aspect of this particular story and for James Franco’s acting work.

Rating: ««««
　

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Genre: Drama / Author’s Favorites

Directed by: Milos Forman
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson, Brad Dourif
Running time: 133 minutes

Given that the title of this movie inspired the name of this blog and that it is my favorite film of all-time, it was only natural for me to make this particular title the first one to be reviewed. As I sat watching it again last night, it fully dawned on me that this movie is so rich in content and meaning that it can be watched again and again and will always have something to offer. In fact, it SHOULD be watched over and over again, at different times in your life. I had not seen this film in a couple of years, and last night’s watching was as rich as ever, if not more, considering I am now at my oldest (yeah, big discovery there).

Here is the story of Randall MacMurphy, a man who is arrested for the statutory rape of a 15 year old girl. To avoid a stay in the work farm, he has himself committed to a mental institution, thinking it will be a smoother ride. There, he is confronted by a cold and castrating authority figure, Nurse Ratched.

This movie can be analyzed to death, and everybody will interpret it in their own way, I won’t go into my own in-depth analysis, so as to avoid spoiling anything for those who have never seen it (I know some of you). I will leave it at saying that it is a powerful and riveting look at the eternal battle between authority and rebellion. I have always felt at odds with overbearing authority figures, so Randall MacMurphy’s (Jack Nicholson) rebellious battle against the stern and cold authority of Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) definitely struck a chord with me.

I will say this: Jack Nicholson is my favorite actor. In this particular film, he is at his best. He is convincing, he really makes you believe he is that guy stuck where he should not be. He won his first Oscar for that role, and he deserved it fully. Louise Fletcher was also recognized at the Academy Awards for her role, and she deserved it too. She brought that character from Ken Kesey’s book to life in such a way that it became one of the biggest villains in movie history. Forty years later, the name Nurse Ratched is still used to describe a battleaxe or an overbearing and evil authority figure. We have all known at least one in our lives.

In the supporting cast, you will also find some great actors who were making their debut on screen. Names to be mentioned are: Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif. All of them, plus many others, were all convincing in their respective roles.

So, as I wind down this review, all I can say is: If you have not seen this film yet, go ahead. It is a movie that stays with you. It makes you think. There are some funny moments, but there are also some very hard ones. Some might fight hard to stand, depending on their particular sensitivities. It tackles a difficult subject, mental illness, to make a bigger point. Different people will take different things out of it. If you have seen it, a long time ago, do it again; it is well worth it.

I leave you with this particular gem of a line: But I tried, didn't I? At least I did that.

Rating: «««««