A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)

Genre: Comedy / Christmas
Directed by: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Cast: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris
Running Time: 102 minutes

 

Seven years after escaping from Guantanamo Bay, Harold and Kumar have grown apart and stopped speaking to each other. Harold has a job and is in a committed relationship, while his former roommate is still spending most of his time smoking dope. After two years of not speaking to each other at all, Kumar delivers to Harold a package he received for him at the apartment. It contains a giant marijuana joint that burns down the family Christmas tree that Harold’s father-in-law proudly brought over. Hoping to replace it before anybody notice, Harold and Kumar go on another adventure to track down the exact same tree.

The premise is still, but this third installment in the Harold and Kumar franchise remains very entertaining. The chemistry between the two main actors is strong, and the return of Neil Patrick Harris for a cameo was a nice touch. The guy is funny. Danny Trejo’s presence as the father-in-law was also a nice surprise. This was better than anyone could expect it to be.

Rating: «««

Sinister (2012)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone
Time: 109 minutes

 

Ellison Oswalt is a true crime writer that moves in a small Pennsylvania town with his wife and his two kids. He hopes to write a new book about the murder of a family in that town. Unbeknownst to everyone but Ellison, the murders happened behind their new house. The discovered of a series of Super 8 films and a projector in the attic soon put the whole family in grave supernatural danger.

Maybe I went in with the wrong expectations, but Sinister left me greatly disappointed. The story never really pulled me in and the acting felt uninspired. A few moments were truly shocking and shook me, giving me hope for something better, but things settled down pretty fast each time. In the end, I was just happy when the whole thing was over.

Rating: ««

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Genre: Comedy / Drama
Directed by: John Hughes
Cast: Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson
Time: 97 minutes

 

A group of five students from different cliques at Shermer High School have to report to detention on the same Saturday morning for various offenses. They are being supervised by authoritarian vice principal Richard Vernon, who instructs them to write an essay about who they are. Instead, the five kids argue, talk, engage in silliness and learn to know each other as humans.

This film is seen as a classic, and that is certainly understandable. It is a very cool coming-of-age story about the youth of a generation. It might have been made before I was at that age, but it still resembles what high school would be to me later. The Jock and The Bad Boy get the girls, while The Nerd does everyone’s homework. And seems happy to do so. And a delinquent will win over the girl if he’s cute enough and if his sob story is strong enough. He becomes a mystery to save from himself.

Even if this all rings true, it still feels a little clichéd. As such, it is a little predictable. Nonetheless, this movie is also loaded with strong acting performance and a compelling story about fighting the authority and finding yourself. I can relate.

Rating: ««««

C'mon C'mon (2021)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Mike Mills
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Woody Norman, Gaby Hoffman
Time: 108 minutes

 

Johnny is a radio journalist who travels around America with a crew to interview kids about their thoughts on life and the future. Johnny goes to Los Angeles to watch his 9-year-old nephew Jesse, while his sister Viv travels to Oakland to deal with her estranged husband Paul, who is having mental issues. As the situation takes longer than expected, Johnny takes Jesse with him on the road. While their relationship is tense, they end up bonding in a very special way.

 This is beautiful emotional story that is brilliantly carried on screen by Joaquin Phoenix and Woody Norman. The former has proven himself many times before. The latter, despite his young age, shows great promise. The film being black-and-white helps in creating a more intimate feel for the story, and the direction as a whole was very tastefully done. A film I shall revisit for sure down the line. This ia very poetic movie.

Rating: «««««

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Genre: Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken
Time: 110 minutes

 

Marty is a drinking writer with writing problems trying hard to finish a screenplay called Seven Psychopaths. His best friend, Billy, is involved in a money-making scheme, with partner Hans, where they kidnap dogs and then bring them back to the owners to collect the reward. Things go sour, and Marty becomes involve in the mess, when Billy and Hans kidnap a Shih Tzu owned by a violent gangster.

This is multi-layered dark comedy where we go back-and-forth between the story and the imagined world of one of the characters. As such, it requires quite a bit of focus. Thanks to a well-crafted and intelligent story, some funny lines and a great ensemble cast, this is a very good movie. Things might feel like a mess to understand at times, but, overall, this was an entertaining film. It was also a nice treat to see Tom Waits work again as an actor.

Rating: ««««

Deux épisodes dans la vie d'Hubert Aquin (1979)

 Genre: Franco / Documentary
Réalisation: Jacques Godbout
Distribution: Hubert Aquin (archives)
Durée: 57 minutes

 

Ce document jette un regard percutant sur la vie et la mort de l’auteur québécois Hubert Aquin. Il est question de son implication dans le monde politique, de son travail dans le milieu littéraire, de son œuvre ainsi que de ses combats personnels avec l’idée du suicide. Ce film offre des images d’archives d’Aquin, ainsi que des entretiens avec diverses personnes l’ayant connu ou côtoyé. La scène où sa conjointe discute de la journée lors de laquelle il allait s’enlever la vie est particulièrement prenante. Elle le regardait partir sachant très bien ce qu’il allait faire. Un documentaire à voir pour en découvrir plus sur un personnage fort complexe de la littérature québécoise. C’est un documentaire un peu bizarre, mais très intéressant.

Rating: ««««

Waiting... (2005)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Rob McKittrick
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Justin Long, Anna Faris
Time: 94 minutes

 

A group of friends spend their time doing not much more than partying in between shifts at a local restaurant called Shenaniganz. One of them, Dean, is questioning his future endeavors and whether he wants to remain a waiter for much longer.

There is a lot of silliness here, but a lot of the humor is funny enough to make this movie somewhat entertaining. The cast greatly helped get as much juice as possible out of the little fruit offered by the storyline.

Rating: «««