To put it bluntly Danny Boyle makes incredible life affirming movies that are not for the squeamish. Early reports of people passing out at screenings of this true story adaptation may be exaggerated, but having witnessed many walk outs when working at a theater during the run of Boyle's last movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, I can safely say that many folks are going to have a wee bit of trouble stomaching this.However those who can get past the one particular extreme scene - it can't really be a Spoiler to say what happens since it's been so well documented - the "amputation scene" are in for a gripping and invigorating ride for "127 Hours" is one of the best movies of the year.Boyle begins with pulsating rhythmic shots of crowds of commuters and hoards of people at sporting events; the masses that make up our world, then focuses on the solitary life of a man who wants to get away from all that.James Franco plays the part of that man, Aron Ralston, with great gusto. You can feel his thirst for adventure and nature as he attacks the trails of Blue John Canyon in Utah. Before his accident, Franco befriends and flirts with 2 women (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn) while hiking and helps them find their way around the area. The women are unfortunately are long gone and can't hear him yell for help when he falls into a deep crevasse along with a boulder that crashes on top of his arm trapping him there.Franco does everything he can to dislodge the boulder but to no avail. He has a backpack with a bottle of water, a video camera, a watch, a little bit of food, and a pocket knife with a dull blade. The major hook the film has is that he told no one where he was going.For being mostly set in one small space there's a lot to be said for how there's never a dull second here. Boyle fluidly captures the manic mindset of Franco's predicament and never loses it.It's a career best performance by Franco - a tour de force that even eclipses his wonderful work in "Howl". I'll be shocked if he's not nominated for an Oscar.At one point Franco does a humorous mock morning TV show interview with himself on his video camera. It's completely believable and gels with how the film makes a statement about our perceived conceptions of the world around us. In a number of Franco's many flashbacks while trapped we see an ex-girlfriend (Clémence Poésy). He breaks up with her at a basketball game surrounded by hundreds of people. He flashes back to this moment of feeling intense loneliness in a crowd again and again. Like just about every other element in this film that has a powerful effect. We're never truly alone like we think we are most of the time. It's in those very rare horrifyingly tragic circumstances that we most appreciate other people. Ralston's story may be difficult to watch for some, but it's a must see movie in absolutely every respect. In so many ways it's as memorable and moving as motion pictures can get.127 HOURS: The Film Babble Blog Review
127 HOURS (Dir. Danny Boyle, 2010)
To put it bluntly Danny Boyle makes incredible life affirming movies that are not for the squeamish. Early reports of people passing out at screenings of this true story adaptation may be exaggerated, but having witnessed many walk outs when working at a theater during the run of Boyle's last movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, I can safely say that many folks are going to have a wee bit of trouble stomaching this.However those who can get past the one particular extreme scene - it can't really be a Spoiler to say what happens since it's been so well documented - the "amputation scene" are in for a gripping and invigorating ride for "127 Hours" is one of the best movies of the year.Boyle begins with pulsating rhythmic shots of crowds of commuters and hoards of people at sporting events; the masses that make up our world, then focuses on the solitary life of a man who wants to get away from all that.James Franco plays the part of that man, Aron Ralston, with great gusto. You can feel his thirst for adventure and nature as he attacks the trails of Blue John Canyon in Utah. Before his accident, Franco befriends and flirts with 2 women (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn) while hiking and helps them find their way around the area. The women are unfortunately are long gone and can't hear him yell for help when he falls into a deep crevasse along with a boulder that crashes on top of his arm trapping him there.Franco does everything he can to dislodge the boulder but to no avail. He has a backpack with a bottle of water, a video camera, a watch, a little bit of food, and a pocket knife with a dull blade. The major hook the film has is that he told no one where he was going.For being mostly set in one small space there's a lot to be said for how there's never a dull second here. Boyle fluidly captures the manic mindset of Franco's predicament and never loses it.It's a career best performance by Franco - a tour de force that even eclipses his wonderful work in "Howl". I'll be shocked if he's not nominated for an Oscar.At one point Franco does a humorous mock morning TV show interview with himself on his video camera. It's completely believable and gels with how the film makes a statement about our perceived conceptions of the world around us. In a number of Franco's many flashbacks while trapped we see an ex-girlfriend (Clémence Poésy). He breaks up with her at a basketball game surrounded by hundreds of people. He flashes back to this moment of feeling intense loneliness in a crowd again and again. Like just about every other element in this film that has a powerful effect. We're never truly alone like we think we are most of the time. It's in those very rare horrifyingly tragic circumstances that we most appreciate other people. Ralston's story may be difficult to watch for some, but it's a must see movie in absolutely every respect. In so many ways it's as memorable and moving as motion pictures can get.
To put it bluntly Danny Boyle makes incredible life affirming movies that are not for the squeamish. Early reports of people passing out at screenings of this true story adaptation may be exaggerated, but having witnessed many walk outs when working at a theater during the run of Boyle's last movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, I can safely say that many folks are going to have a wee bit of trouble stomaching this.However those who can get past the one particular extreme scene - it can't really be a Spoiler to say what happens since it's been so well documented - the "amputation scene" are in for a gripping and invigorating ride for "127 Hours" is one of the best movies of the year.Boyle begins with pulsating rhythmic shots of crowds of commuters and hoards of people at sporting events; the masses that make up our world, then focuses on the solitary life of a man who wants to get away from all that.James Franco plays the part of that man, Aron Ralston, with great gusto. You can feel his thirst for adventure and nature as he attacks the trails of Blue John Canyon in Utah. Before his accident, Franco befriends and flirts with 2 women (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn) while hiking and helps them find their way around the area. The women are unfortunately are long gone and can't hear him yell for help when he falls into a deep crevasse along with a boulder that crashes on top of his arm trapping him there.Franco does everything he can to dislodge the boulder but to no avail. He has a backpack with a bottle of water, a video camera, a watch, a little bit of food, and a pocket knife with a dull blade. The major hook the film has is that he told no one where he was going.For being mostly set in one small space there's a lot to be said for how there's never a dull second here. Boyle fluidly captures the manic mindset of Franco's predicament and never loses it.It's a career best performance by Franco - a tour de force that even eclipses his wonderful work in "Howl". I'll be shocked if he's not nominated for an Oscar.At one point Franco does a humorous mock morning TV show interview with himself on his video camera. It's completely believable and gels with how the film makes a statement about our perceived conceptions of the world around us. In a number of Franco's many flashbacks while trapped we see an ex-girlfriend (Clémence Poésy). He breaks up with her at a basketball game surrounded by hundreds of people. He flashes back to this moment of feeling intense loneliness in a crowd again and again. Like just about every other element in this film that has a powerful effect. We're never truly alone like we think we are most of the time. It's in those very rare horrifyingly tragic circumstances that we most appreciate other people. Ralston's story may be difficult to watch for some, but it's a must see movie in absolutely every respect. In so many ways it's as memorable and moving as motion pictures can get.
DVD Review: BEST WORST MOVIE
BEST WORST MOVIE
Meet George Hardy.
He's a dentist in Alexander City, Alabama who is much loved by the local community.
Hardy seems a normal nice guy except for one crucial piece of information: in 1990 he starred in a notoriously awful movie titled TROLL 2.
TROLL 2 was a direct to video schlock horror flick that had no connection to TROLL (1986). The movie has inexplicably gained an audience over the years while maintaining its 0% rating on the Rotten Tomatometer.
Why? Well file this under case file: "it's so bad that it's good".
TROLL 2 is about a family taking a vacation in a small town named Nilbog (goblin spelled backwords) who are taunted and tortured by vegetarian goblins (not trolls, mind you).
As its reputation tells us, it contains some of the worst effects, the worst acting, worst writing, and worst direction of any film in history.
For the record though, I must say that I agree with Horror Movie Journalist M.J. Simpson who appears in this doc that there are far worse movies - but that's a whole other blog post.
This documentary, made by Michael Stephenson who was the child actor in TROLL 2, explores the minor fan phenomenon surrounding the supposed "Citizen Kane" of suck.
Stephenson follows Hardy as he attends sold-out revival screenings as well as interviews many fans and cast members including Margo Prey, Don Packard, Darren Ewing, Jason Wright, and Connie Young.
Ironic or not, the love for TROLL 2 is hilariously contagious as Hardy and the rest of the cast are treated like rock stars at these screenings, but the film goes from funny to fascinating to sad fairly swiftly.
Stephensen travels to Italy to interview director Claudio Fragasso (credited as Drake Floyd in TROLL 2) and his wife Rossella Drudi (who wrote the screenplay for TROLL 2 also credited to Drake Floyd). Fragasso talks pretentiously about the film:
"It's an important film which talks about the family, the union of the family resisting all of those things that want to destroy it and see it dead."
At a cast re-union/screening, Fragasso, who speaks very little English, has trouble answering a question from a fan about why there are no Trolls in the film. It had to be repeated a few times: "Why is it called 'Troll 2' when there are no trolls in the film?"
Fragasso only has this response: "You don't understand nothing."
After amusing scenes of cast members re-enacting scenes from TROLL 2, the doc starts to get sad as Hardy who's gung ho about enjoying his semi-celebrity status, visits a memorabilia convention in Britain manning a TROLL 2 table that hardly anybody visited.
Hardy to passerbys: "Have you seen 'Troll 2'? No? Aw, you're missing it - worst film ever made!"
Some cults only extend so far it seems.
Special Features: a slew of deleted scenes and extra interviews equaling over an hour of bonus BEST WORST MOVIE goodness.
If you want to see what the fuss is about - TROLL 2 is currently available on Hulu.com and streaming on Netflix Instant as its celebrating its 20th anniversary.
More later...
The Godfather- DVD Review
Based on Mario Puzo’s best seller novel, The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola is probably the only film which finds its place in most top ten movie lists.
Winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture, The Godfather was nominated for an additional eight Oscars. With intriguing depth, it provides audiences with a glimpse into the notorious underworld of warring New York crime families.
Marlon Brando as the Godfather turns in, arguably, the most memorable performance of his career. Also this Hollywood classic boasts of a number of actors who became Hollywood legends with this film.
Considered as one of the most perfect movies ever made, The Godfather is like a Worldwide benchmark for many a film maker, actor and writer.
Godfather is the greatest mafia film ever produced, and perhaps the best drama in all of cinema history. A dramatic story of family and change, of youthful idealism and the pragmatism of adulthood, The Godfather is a must-see for any serious cinema aficionado…although one cannot really concentrate on the film making part of the movie because the story is so compelling that one can’t help but get involved in the story and forget about the technicalities of the making.
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SUNDANCE 2011 - Like Crazy
Sunday, 23 January, 2011 
Like Crazy (2011) dir. Drake Doremus
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead
Like Crazy (2011) dir. Drake DoremusStarring: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead
***½
By Alan Bacchus
It’s been three days and us writers waiting in line of the P&I screenings are constantly trying to figure out what the ’it’ film of the year. It may have just arrived Drake Doremus’ epic romantic bittersweet journey of love.
Anna and Jacob are in love. They meet in the first scene in a college class, follow each other home, hang out, giggle, hold hands, eat, play around, maybe they kiss, maybe they don’t. Either way they are hopelessly in love. Oh what bliss, what could possible separate them? Well, Anna is British on a school visa, which of course will run out. But she’s a romantic and nothing can stop her from being with her man. So she stays in the US to stay in bed and make love for two months.
She can’t escape reality though and it comes crashing down when Homeland Security detains her for violating her visa after a brief trip back home to the UK. Now, it’s a long distance relationship with the US government separating them. Thus begins the rollercoaster ride of love, the ups and downs of Anna and Jacob - like Going the Distance made by Michael Winterbottom.
After the opening act, Doremus puts his cynical hat on and tests our ability to believe that these two should be together. So are we watching Blue Valentine? Or (500) Days of Summer? Doremus keeps us on edge at all times. Anna flirts with other boys back home, so does Jacob, but their I-phones always connect them. Doremus constantly oscillates between these extremes of love struck pit of your stomach romance and the agonizing missteps, miscommunications which road blocks us between love. Just when we think they’re splits for good all it takes is a short text across the ocean to jumpstart the rollercoaster ride once again.
Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones are close to the last word as recent on screen romantics. Doremus’ frequent close-ups connect them like intertwining vines. Whenever they’re in the same space together, on screen, they seem to engage in a graceful sensual dance .
Pitch perfect hip music compliments the new millennium courtship these two are engaged in as well as Winterbottom/Boyle visual aesthetic employed by Doremus. And so, just as I’m close to shooting myself having to constantly hear about the authenticity in the highly overrated Blue Valentine, I can latch onto Like Crazy, the superior antidote to that other film.
Bollywood Movie Wanted Review
Cast Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Mahesh Manjrekar, Asseem Merchant
Director Prabhu Deva
Rating: **1/2
‘Wanted’ is Salman Khan’s Ghajini. No, he doesn’t suffer from any short-term memory loss in the film. Rather he mouths about half a dozen times the dialogue: “Ek baar maine jo commitment kar di, phir main apni bhi nahin sunta”. But, like Aamir, Sallu does get to flaunt his rippling muscles, his biceps, triceps, abs, and what not (including the glint of his Vicco-vajradanti teeth), in a series of bone-breaking, jaw-crushing, blood-spluttering fights that makes you feel he’s the ‘last action hero’ that sadly came too late in the day.
Salman Khan, the darling of masses, plays to the gallery in Wanted. To an extent, the movie is a showcase of Salman’s looks, his brawny bod, his dance moves and his overall personality, save his acting. And the star, whose career obit has already been penned and will now be edited by his detractors, manages to pull it off with the flamboyance that will get wolf whistles and catty squeals from his loyal fans. Ceetee!!!
A remake of the South hit Pokkiri, ‘Wanted’ tells the story of a sharpshooter and serial bone-breaker named Radhe (Salman Khan), the man who shoots his gun and pumps bullets into his rivals as if he was forwarding an SMS joke to a pal. Cold blooded and only loyal to those who offer him the most wads of money, Radhe switches sides from one gang to another and makes his entry into the gang of Gani Bhai (Prakash Raj), the dreaded gangster on the most wanted list of Mumbai police.
The handsome killer loses his heart to a cute call-centre employee Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia) at first sight. When Radhe saves her from the frisky hands of a corrupt and testosterone-driven cop Talpade (Mahesh Manjrekar), Jhanvi too feels her heart beat and soon is in love with Radhe.
Even as the duo’s love story keeps hitting speed bumps, Radhe is sucked inside a deadly gang war.
Be ready for a twist in the second half that might hit you harder than Salman’s punches hit the baddies.
It’s strongly advisable to rest and resign your thinking faculties while watching ‘Wanted’. Alone, Salman bashes up a dozen goons blue and black in his intro scene and in the next scene is shaking his leg with the likes of Anil Kapoor, Govinda and Prabhu Deva (who pop out of nowhere for this cameo) in a Ganpati song. More than once in the film, a romantic song or a club number is thrown in at the oddest of places. The most bizarre is the end, when Salman walks into the den of the Mafioso Gani Bhai and goes bang, bang, bang, and shoots down everyone without getting as much as a scratch on his shirtless body (yes, Sallu doffs it again).
But then, given that ‘Wanted’ is no cerebral challenge to its viewers, but just a harmless, full-on masala entertainer, a viewer can flush these flaws down with cola and corns.
‘Wanted’ rests on the strong muscles of Salman and powerful performances by Prakash Raj and Mahesh Manjrekar. Ayesha Takia is a treat to the eyes and she can act as well (a combination hard to find). Vinod Khanna is wasted in the most shoddily written role in the film. In fact, some of the dialogues in the film leave you cringing. Sample this - Salman takes on a bunch of goons single-handedly and says “Sooar (pigs) jhund mein ghoomte hain, par sher ekele shikar karta hai.”
Thankfully, director Prabhu Deva sprinkles ‘Wanted’ with regular doses of humour to keep the violence-filled movie light-hearted. Even until the very end when Sallu shoots his last bullet, there’s some silly laughter to be had.
So even though the film is senselessly violent at times, you’ll find some fun in the edgeways.
Now Out On Blu Ray/DVD: FREAKONOMICS: THE MOVIE
FREAKONOMICS: THE MOVIE (Dirs. Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Rachel Grady, Eugene Jarecki, and Morgan Spurlock, 2010)
Journalist Stephen Dubner and economist Steven Levitt's best selling book seems a ripe one to adapt into film, but with its simplified statements, glitzy graphics, and overall glib tone this creaking adaptation more resembles a collection of TV news magazine segments than a hard hitting documentary.
At the beginning Dubner says: "If there's only one element that I say is there in almost everything we do, is the idea that incentives matter and if you can figure out what people's incentives are you have a good chance in guessing how they are going to behave."
With 6 different directors, all noted documentarians, the authors attempt to explore that thesis through contained pieces entitled: "A Roshanda By Any Other Name", "Pure Corruption", "It's Not Always A Wonderful Life", and "Can A Ninth Grader Be Bribed To Succeed?"
Seth Gordon (THE KING OF KONG) ably and amusingly links the film together with transitional segments narrated by Dubner and Levitt.
Morgan Spurlock (SUPERSIZE ME) handles the first segment ("A Roshanda...") about whether parents' name choices affect their path in life, and while there some good points made, the jokey nature, unnecessary employment of actors, and people on the street sound bites overshadow any actual insights. Infomercial type animation doesn't help either.
Alex Gibney's (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE) lengthy contribution ("Pure Corruption") concentrating on cheating in the world of Sumo wrestling fares much better. With well edited footage, insightful interviews, and stirring statistical info, "Pure Corruption" makes a fascinating case study.
However when journalist Yorimasa Takeda in the segment opines: "I read Freakonomics and thought it gave numerical evidence of something very difficult to prove" he could be stating the problem with the entire project.
Eugene Jarecki (CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS, ALL GOOD THINGS) takes on what is posited as one of the most crucial sequences of the film - "It's Not Always A Wonderful Life" - which deals with data that ostensibly indicates that the legalization of abortion in the 1970s is one of the primary reasons that crime rates were down in the 1990s.
Jarecki's segment makes a convincing argument, but its flashy use of cartoon framed footage just highlights that the bottom line theory just isn't that compelling.
Likewise for Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's (JESUS CAMP) concluding segment "Can A Ninth Grader Be Bribed To Succeed". It looks very interesting at first - the experiment of rewarding students with money for higher grades, but it doesn't give us results that mean anything. Some kids are pushed to work harder, some aren't. So what?
I haven't read the book yet, but I suspect its really where to go for the detailed and engaging lowdown on this material. As a film FREAKONOMICS is an mostly unappealing stylistic mishmash with precious little educational takeaway.
Bonus Features: Additional interviews with Levitt and Dubner, directors' commentary, producers' commentary, and HDNet: A Look at FREAKONOMICS
More later...
My uncle Antoine
Thursday, 6 January, 2011 
Mon Oncle Antoine (1971) dir. Claude Jutra
Starring: Jacques Gagnon, Lyne Champagne, Jean Duceppe, Claude Jutra
Mon Oncle Antoine (1971) dir. Claude JutraStarring: Jacques Gagnon, Lyne Champagne, Jean Duceppe, Claude Jutra
****
By Alan Bacchus
Mon Oncle Antoine is like Citizen Kane of Canada. In numerous polls conducted over the years in this country, this film each and every time ranks as the greatest Canadian film ever made. The story of a rural and wintery Quebec mining town as seen through eyes of a young teenage boy, Antoine is deserved revered internationally for it's poetic depiction of an aging and soon to be outmoded way of life, a timeless classic, John Ford-worthy elegance transplanted to a French-Canadian winter.
We’re told it’s a long time ago but never exactly how long ago (it's actually the 1940's). Jutra dramatizes Benoit's journey like a grandfather telling a bed time story, recounting his youth through the filtered lens of nostalgia. Young Benoit (Jacques Gagnon), 15, lives with his drunk and surly Uncle Antoine and his Aunt. He works at the general store owned by Aunt and Uncle helping to serve the miners who work extracting asbestos from the nearby quarry. Antoine also is the town undertaker, a job which has him moving bodies around by horse-powered sled. For most of the film we're observing the relationships of the townsfolk through the eyes of Benoit. The romance of these working class folks is surpringly sweet and tender and humour, their healthy libidos often cause them to find trysts in barns and attics on a whim.
Benoit is thoroughly fascinating offering us the point of view of this bygone era. The young actor Jacques Gagnon has a remarkable face like Jean-Pierre Leaud in 400 Blows. He barely speaks instead we find emotion through his silent and stoic reactions to the events around him. The moment Benoit sees the corpse of the young Poulin child who has died is heartbreaking, and even more so as seen through the innocent eyes of Benoit.
This terrific scene leads to the stunning and poignant third act journey home where we see the dramatic confession of Antoine and the completion of Benoit's rite of passage and ascendancy into adulthood. The final supremely emotional image of the boy watching the grieving family is as powerful as it gets in cinema.
The asbestos mine looms over the town and thus the historical context of the movie. Health concerns are not mentioned, but knowing the dangers involved and likely the exploitation of the miners adds another level of sadness and melancholy. In fact, though it's not mentioned we can't help but wonder if the young boy's death was not influenced by the asbestos we see billowing into the sky from the quarry.
Those who know their Canadian history will find links to the landmark labour strikes which would occur shortly after this time and the beginning of the 'Quiet Revolution' which provided the seeds for French separatist movement in the 60's. These levels are never referenced overtly, yet so profoundly affect us subliminally.
The poetic and melancholy tone is remarkably affecting. The relationship of the characters to their environment, the omnipresent snow and wind which the characters seem to be guided by reminds us Terrence Malick’s characters drifting through the wheat fields in Days of Heaven. Perhaps the best comparison would be another film from 1971, Peter Bogdanovich’s Last Picture Show, another Ford-influenced coming-of age-story from another era. Mon Oncle Antoine is as good as all of the above.
Mon Oncle Antoine is available as one of the recent titles from the Criterion Collection, the ideal showcase for one of the greatest films ever made.
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