There are two distinct Terrence Malicks--the genius, and the GoPro enthusiast. Likewise, there are three David Gordon Greenes--the arthouse guy, the stoner comedy dudebro, and the mainstream nondescript filmmaker. There are also multiple Gus Van Sants. And, of course here we have one of the better Richard Linklaters'. I'll never forget the utter disappointment I felt after The Newton Boys. How could the director of Slackers do this? Last Flag Flying is an excellent film. It's pretty mainstream. It's certainly not Slackers, the Before trilogy, or even Dazed and Confused. Nor is it School of Rock. Whatever it is, it's a really solid movie with some excellent movie stars by an excellent movie director. Last Flag Flying is a buddy dramedy road movie adapted from the novel considered the spiritual sequel to The Last Detail, and takes place in 2002. It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laurence Fishburne as three men reunited after 30 years (since they served in Vietnam). This was a 4 tissue film for me. I laughed and I cried. This film balances its lightness with its darkness. I kept forgetting this was a Linklater film, but no matter, go see it. It's superb. 5/5 |
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Borealis is an enjoyable Canadian road dramedy about a gambling addict, single-father (Jonas Chernick) who takes his teenage, pot smoking daughter (Joey King) from Winnipeg to Churchill to see the Northern Lights before she goes completely blind. Of course Jonah, the father, owes money and so he's also on the lam with two gangsters (Kevin Pollack and Cle Bennett) hot on his tail. This is a delightful little Canadian film. King delivers as the daughter who is rapidly losing her vision. Chernick wrote and produced the film. This is the 5th collaboration between Chernick and director Sean Garrity. Ultimately, the film could have dispensed with the gambling debt/mob sub plot but truly, Pollack and Bennett are really enjoyable as Tubby and Brick. Give it a whirl. Support Canadian cinema. 4/5 Wild at Heart is a road movie in which Lula and Sailor, two young lovers, take to the road in order to escape Lula's "wicked" mother. Take a young Laura Dern and a young Nicholas Cage and a snake skin jacket. Add Diane Ladd, Harry Dean Stanton, Willem Dafoe. Stir in some Jack Nance, John Lurie and Pruitt Taylor Vince and more than a dash of Twin Peaks with Grace Zabrinski, Sherlyn Fenn, and Sheryl Lee. Let simmer. Wild at Heart is classic Lynch; it's super bizarre and riddled with insanity. This is extremely enjoyable and well worth your time. It will blow your mind. 5/5 Red Flag is a film by Alex Karpovsky, whom you may know as Ray on HBO's Girls. I was surpised to find out that Karpovsky has made several films. His earlier film The Hole Story is a very funny and clever mockumentary that I can't recommend highly enough (5/5). Red Flag is a road trip movie again about a fictional version of Karpovsky; the indie filmmaker who embarks on a short 6 state tour of his (real) film Woodpecker after a break up of a long-term relationship. I love a good road trip comedy, and this one doesn't disappoint. Red Flag is charming with its wry, self-deprecating humor. 4/5 Magic Mike XXL is the highly anticipated sequel to Magic Mike, one of my favorite films of 2012. This is a super fun time. Many Edmonton women were pleasantly scandalized this evening at the mall. XXL reunites several characters from the first film, adds in a few more good ones, and follows them all to Myrtle Beach for a Male Stripper Convention. While the first film was more about the strippers, this is very much about the audience, and therefore very much about women and the female gaze. Both films were shot and edited by Soderbergh, though this one was not directed by him--this was directed by his longtime Assistant Director Gregory Jacobs. Still, I'm delighted to notice Soderbergh's thumbprints here and there. That was a nice throwback Warner title card. That cold open, no credits? Perfection. Those slow zooms? Nice. Overall, however, this is a completely different film from the first Magic Mike. It's an excellent sequel, and it's more than capable of delivering what the more basic audience wants as well as catering to more sophisticated tastes. Also, this movie is pretty darned feminist. Do it. 5/5 La Strada (Frederico Fellini, Italy, 1954) All my favorite Fellini's are the ones starring his wife Julietta Masina (check out Nights of Cabiria and Variety Lights). Subsequently these are his films that lean more heavily on the tradition of Italian Neo-Realism than his more Surreal films such as Satyricon and 8 1/2. Here, Masina is brilliant as Gelsomina--a young woman sold by her mother to a travelling sideshow strong-man, Zampano, played by Anthony Quinn. Gelsomina is forced to leave her life and follow Zampano on the road. He treats her absolutely horribly, but finally breaks away, goes out on her own, and finds her own path. This film is utterly beautiful and tragic. 5/5 Highway 61 (Bruce McDonald, Canada, 1991) When I first saw HIghway 61 (at 13) my brain imploded. I had no idea movies could be like this. First of all, Highway 61 was the first Canadian film that I ever saw that was genuinely good while also being distinctly Canadian.* This was my first encounter with a English Canadian film that was so truly excellent. It looked good, it sounded good, and it was funny and original. Highway 61 is a road movie (so many of my favorite films are road movies). When small-town barber, Pokey Jones, finds a dead body in his backyard rock'n'roll roadie Jackie Bangs claims it's her younger brother, whom she needs to transport to New Orleans. When Pokey agrees to drive Jackie and the body all the way down Highway 61 from Thunder Bay to the Big Easy, what he doesn't know if that Jackie is actually transporting a large amount of drugs in the body. Oh, and there one other small catch. The Devil is on their tail and wants the body! Watch for Jello Biafra as the border guard. Highway 61 is the second of Bruce McDonald's Rock and Roll Road Movies, following Roadkill and preceding Hard Core Logo (all highly recommended and rated 5/5). 5/5 *Don't get me wrong, there are some GREAT Canadian films, but if you know Canadian cinema you know that particularly English Canadian movies typically cast one or two B list Americans cast in the lead roles, not Canadians. |
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