Month: June 2019

Kiss Me Kate (1953)

Kiss Me Kate (1953)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, June 2019) The early 1950s were some of the best years for MGM musicals, and Kiss Me Kate is a pretty good example of the form. It’s not next-level terrific like some of its contemporaries (I’m specifically thinking of thematically-similar The Band Wagon, also released in 1953), but it’s pretty good as a straightforward musical with no compulsions about what it is. While Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel both star as a divorced couple rediscovering each other over the course of a theatrical premiere, I frankly watched the film for my own favourite Ann Miller, who has a secondary but substantial role as a dim-witted but skilled dancer/actress. Much of the plot revolves around a staging of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, around which revolves a romantic reconnection plot and a pair of not-so-threatening gangsters holding the production hostage. I probably would have enjoyed the film more if I was more knowledgeable with Shakespeare’s comedies, but the final result is somewhat fun even for uncultured viewers. The song and dance numbers, after all, are the thing. “Too Darn Hot” doesn’t have much to do with the rest of the story, but it gets the film off to a roaring start with Miller vamping her way through a naughty song. “Wunderbar” gets the romantic subplot going, while “…any Tom, Dick or Harry…” gets Miller another chance to shine. “I Hate Men” is a cute number, and “Always True to You in My Fashion” has a few laughs—as does “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.”  The gender roles are 1950s-ish to the point of being uncomfortable today, but keep in mind that the plot of the original Broadway show reflects a late-1940s attitude toward a Shakespearian text: not exactly a hotbed of progressivism. It’s all in good fun, mind you, and the public spanking of the heroine (yes, really) has its mitigating factors. But you don’t watch MGM musicals for their liberalism—you watch them for the songs, the dances and the carefree fun. On those qualities, Kiss Me Kate certainly delivers.

Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)

Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, June 2019) The second half of Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac is not a standalone story—it requires having seen the first film and does not stand on its own even as it concludes the story. It does start with a few revelations, though, as the nature and motivations of both the narrator and interlocutor become clearer in the first few minutes. Less digressive and surprisingly more plot-heavy than its predecessor, this Part II takes us through more eventful episodes of the narrator’s life. The sex gets quite a bit more unusual (all the way through to the clinical services of a sadist with a waiting room of women waiting for his harsh whips) while remaining just as graphic as the first film. If frontal erect nudity is your thing, then Nymphomania should satisfy. In keeping with the this-is-not-porn aesthetics, however, none of the nudity is meant to be arousing. Still, we get more of the first part’s strange mixture of the comic and the dramatic, except significantly less comic and far more dramatic as this second part eventually build a plot to go along with the philosophical musings. It ends on a cheap and depressing note, although one notes that the worst of it happens after the traditional “fade to black.”  Still, Charlotte Gainbourg and Stellan Skarsgård do equally well—Gainbourg has a bit more to do here than in the first part. Willem Defoe shows up in a small role, although Jamie Bell gets a more substantial part as the professionally sadistic K. Does Nymphomaniac amount to much? Well, I suppose that everyone will have their say. While I did see the “censored” four-hour version, I feel absolutely no desire whatsoever to see the full five-hour-plus original Director’s Cut: I can’t see what it would add to the story or the point of the film. In fact, as I write this after making it through the finishing line of Part II, I feel no desire whatsoever to re-watch ever again—I may have to follow up this viewing with a dumb comedy. And yet (and this is a becoming a familiar refrain with this director’s work), I didn’t dislike Nymphomaniac as much as I thought it would—there are some laughs, insight and cinematic success in the middle of the self-pretentious lengths and pointless digressions and cheap graphic sequences. While I’m done with Nymphomaniac, I may eventually watch another von Trier film at some point.

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013)

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, June 2019) Maybe, one day, they will make a movie in which some poor battered soul will tell a non-cinephile about his or her lifelong quest to appreciate Lars von Trier. Maybe they will call it Cinephiliac, and split it in two parts. I put off viewing Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac for about five years, only succumbing to the temptation when the two parts of the film played in rapid succession on cable TV. That delay was probably for the best—I have at best mildly appreciated von Trier’s work before (such as Melancholia). He comes to movies from an entirely different approach, and we’re clearly not interested in the same things. But even in his most irritating production (Probably Breaking the Waves so far) has something intriguing to it—a style, an idea, an approach not quite any other film. That streak goes unbroken with Nymphomaniac, a four-hour two-part exploration of a broken woman’s life, as told by her bruised self to a good Samaritan happening upon her after a violent attack. As she recuperates in his small apartment, she goes through the episodes of her life, through trauma and heartbreak and tragicomic incidents. The portrayal of the sexual episodes couldn’t be more graphic, but this is not meant as pornography—for one thing, there is not attempt here to arouse; and for another, the sex is a symptom of a deeper condition that the film keeps exploring. References to philosophy, religions and classical music (with graphical inserts) keep viewers on their toes, while the extreme portrayal of behaviour well outside norms (as the protagonist says, juggling two handfuls of men per day) is executed with some deftness. Charlotte Gainsbourg is quite good in a movie that rests upon her shoulders, while Stellan Skarsgård makes for a sympathetic audience surrogate. Shia Labeouf and Uma Thurman are featured in showy secondary roles. This is not a film built for mainstream audiences—the subject matter alone would send most casual audiences screaming from the theatre, while the extreme length of the result (and there’s no use pretending that Part I is a complete story) will sap the good will of most others—especially when it becomes obvious that the digressions are the point of the film. Now let’s see what Part II has in store.

Encino Man (1992)

Encino Man (1992)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(In French, On Cable TV, June 2019) Prehistoric fish-out-of-water meets high-school humour with a side of stoner antics in Encino Man, a dumb but good-natured teen comedy that just happens to feature Brendan Fraser in one of his most prominent early roles. It’s not much of a clever script—no matter where the fish comes from, the out-of-water part is similar from one film to another, and this one seems dictated by the wishes of two teenagers looking for high-school celebrity and romance. Much of Encino Man’s fun is in the antics of the characters, especially the prehistoric man thrust in early-nineties California living—including a visit to the local convenience store for a horrifying lesson in nutrition. It’s easy to see why Brendan Fraser would turn out to be a major comedy star in the nineties. Pauly Shore and Sean Astin also star and keep things running while Fraser does his thing. It’s not much, but it’s pleasant enough.

Coneheads (1993)

Coneheads (1993)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(In French, On TV, June 2019) There is a very specific type of humour at play in Coneheads, and you may not have such a good time with the film if you’re not tuned in. Reheating the tired old “alien makes funny observations about humans” trope, Coneheads still manages to score a few points without even trying. Much of the humour stems from the same source, what with aliens candidly describing ordinary human habits, using big words when short ones would suffice. The alternate joke is to talk about human things in alien terms. That, by itself wouldn’t be enough to sustain an entire comedy film, but the script does go for a few better jokes: perhaps the best being the ease with which the alien protagonists can fulfill the more complex rituals of society (finding and holding a job, buying and maintaining a house, founding and sustaining a family) while being perplexed at some of the more superficial stuff. There is also some biting social critique in the way the government is portrayed dealing with immigrants (I suspect that much of the current American administration’s immigration policy may have been lifted from the film). But here’s the thing: considering Conehead’s overall (low) wit and its episodic nature, I suspect that those interesting moments are accidental artifacts of a much more simple-minded development process led by director Steve Barron. We need the aliens to make jokes about jobs and households, so we will give them those things in short order; we need an antagonist, so we’ll crank up the government’s anti-immigration agenda to the maximum. And so on. It does bring extra flavour to a bland film, but it would have been better if it had been put there intentionally. Otherwise, Coneheads does feel like an SNL sketch stretched far too thin. Even the conclusion, which plays with some presumptions as to the nature of a climactic finale, probably ended up there through scripting laziness. I didn’t completely hate Coneheads, but I have a feeling that the result owes more to chance than design. Still, it’s not a dull watch—and there’s an astonishing number of cameos from mid-nineties comedians along the way.

The Ruins (2008)

The Ruins (2008)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(In French, On TV, June 2019) I read the horror novel on which The Ruins is based so long ago that I only remembered the premise and the extremely dark ending. But as it turns out, that was enough to make for an interesting viewing: the filmmakers changed the ending to something less depressing, and that was enough to keep me on my toes toward the end of the film. The premise, at least, remains the same: a few young Americans are tempted into visiting an ancient pyramid that doesn’t figure on any map. But it turns out that there’s a reason why it’s not on any map: before long, natives surround the pyramid and prevent them from leaving. But the real threat is inside, as the vines covering the pyramid have a mind of their own, and claim more of the group as victims. Killer plants, possibly from outer space, doesn’t sound that scary, but the bag of tricks used here includes invasive vines, whispering flowers and human protagonists being driven insane by the situation. Handled by Carter Smith, The Ruins remains a fairly ordinary horror movie, but one that remains a bit more interesting than most by dint of an unusual premise and atmosphere. The ending helps a bit, as it does include something more than the nihilistic everybody-dies nonsense. This being said, let’s not pretend that the characters are all that compelling—one of them dies in such a spectacularly dumb fashion that audiences are like to just throw up their hands at how he had it coming.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On TV, June 2019) In keeping with the times, it’s been a great decade for food-themed movies from 2007–2016 (ish). Suddenly, from No Reservations to Chef and Burnt, we had at least a dozen movies about professional chefs, restaurants and everything else peeking behind the scenes of the foodie scene. With only five years’ worth of perspective, The Hundred-Foot Journey certainly fit in the subgenre. Here we travel to rural France, as a family of Indian immigrants settles in a small town to open their own restaurant … right in front of a Michelin-star haute-cuisine establishment. Definitely approaching food as a sensual, romantic endeavour (the slow motion starts as soon as someone picks up a utensil and a bowl), director Lasse Hallström blends a feel-good mix of cultural acceptance, character growth, power-of-food homilies and straight-up romance. Helen Mirren headlines the cast, but the film rests on Manish Dayal’s likable performance, with some assistance from Charlotte Le Bon as the love interest, and Om Puri as the patriarch. There aren’t really any surprises here—the ending is almost exactly what you can imagine. But it’s a fun trip, even though the film may be a touch too long and almost certainly a bit too ponderous for what it could have been in more impatient hands. There’s a specific audience for food movies, and The Hundred-Foot Journey will deliver what they expect.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, June 2019) At a time when both superhero films and animated movies feel a bit stale, here comes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to remind us that there is always another way to do things. This newest take on Spider-Man doesn’t stray far from the usual formula—in fact, it revels in it, starting with the familiar origin story to divert from what we think we know about the character, and then using parallel-universe plot devices to bring in no less than seven other versions of Spider-Man from the silly to the sublime. But that’s only the plot part of the film, and as fun as it can be, it pales in comparison to the innovative never-seen-before visual style of the film. Taking cues from badly printed comic books of decades past, Into the Spider-Verse offers a consciously different style of computer-aided animation, going for a far more expressionistic presentation of the material than the vast majority of CGI animated features these days. Nearly every frame could come from the pages of a comic book, and if I’m not that fond of some techniques (the moiré, the step-printing, the out-of-focus backgrounds looking as we’re watching a 3D film without glasses), the overall result is so fresh and vivid that even those things don’t matter much. There’s simply too much to like here, from the appealingly diverse cast to the hard-driving score to the repeated paeans to past takes on the character. (If you’re not in love with the film by the time Spider-Ham shows up… I’m not sure what to tell you.)  Tons of freeze-frame gags will ensure that the film has a long life for fans, while the good control over the pacing of the film ensures overall re-watchability. This is a really clever take on the character, and the reconstruction of Spider-Man is up to writer/producer Phil Lord’s previous work in other genre properties. (The new take on Doc Ock is sexy and terrific, while Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Gwen are particularly well executed.) Between this and the MCU-linked renewal of the live-action character with Tom Holland, it’s been quite a sharp ascent for Spider-Man from the depths of the useless Garfield movies. The past few years have led to something far more fascinating than the ridiculous “Spiderman Universe” movie plans once in the making. Into the Spider-Verse deservedly walked away with an Oscar, not just because it respectfully found a way to play with a familiar character, but it most notably shredded the envelope of animated movies in a way that, hopefully, will lead to more innovative approaches in the future.

The Lawnmower Man (1992)

The Lawnmower Man (1992)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(Second Viewing, On Cable TV, June 2019) Growing up geek in the early 1990s, The Lawnmower Man ended up becoming a reference to my group of mid-nineties Computer Science student friends even despite being the farthest thing from a good movie. Watching it again today, I can offer no defence of the result: The plot is pure unprocessed cliché, while its main claim to fame—the digital special effects—have aged terribly and are only impressive as a snapshot of what was then state-of-the-art. The premise borrows liberally from Frankenstein, Flowers to Algernon and Tron, what with a cognitive scientist boosting the intelligence of a dim-witted manual labourer, and said super-intelligent antagonist turning irremediably evil. A murder spree predictably ensues. The only twist here is that this is all taking place thanks to virtual reality, with early-era CGI portraying now-grotesque chunks of the plot. (I’m such an early-nineties geek that I still remembered that some of the CGI sequences were repeated from the video compilation The Mind’s Eye.) The obsession about Virtual Reality is also pure early-1990s stuff, ridiculous except for the fact that I lived through it at the time. My nostalgic feeling should not be confused for any kind of appreciation for the result, which is alternately dull or actively irritating depending on how often that exact same cheap take on technology has been repeated before or since. Behind the camera, I have to acknowledge the work of writer-director Brett Leonard, grafting minimal elements from a Stephen King story onto a statement about VR as it was perceived then—not only would he also write and direct the slightly-better VR thriller Virtuosity three years later, but he would remain active at the cutting edge of movies and technology until now. Those who like actors rather than technology will be amused to see Pierce Brosnan is the leading role as an obsessive scientist and a few scenes with Dean Norris as a menacing figure. Still, much of the appeal of The Lawnmower Man today is as a snapshot of the wild expectations and easy plot possibilities of virtual reality at the earliest possible moment when it became possible to think of it. It’s irremediably dated, and that’s part of the point.

The Man with the Iron Fists 2 (2015)

The Man with the Iron Fists 2 (2015)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On TV, June 2019) I ended up watching The Man with the Iron Fists 2 because I had enjoyed the first one, although my expectations were kept firmly in check by it being a direct-to-video release without most of the first film’s biggest stars (sorry, no Lucy Liu or Russel Crowe this time around). But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the film was directed by Roel Reiné, one of the most dependable direct-to-video filmmakers out there. Reiné is a visually ambitious action director with a gift for wringing the most value out of his limited budgets, and so The Man with the Iron Fists 2 does look like a far more expensive production—foreign location shooting has its advantages, and Reiné has directed so many action movies by now that he can routinely stage decent action sequences. But filmmaking virtuosity can’t fully patch a herky-jerky script that doesn’t quite manage to bring its pieces together in a coherent fashion. The premise of the film holds promise, and even throws in a half-decent twist leading up to the final battle, but the scene-to-scene narrative is a jumbled mess that takes far too long to become interesting. The low budget also prevents the film from going all-out on its supernatural ambitions, limiting its appeal. The visual polish of the film does help it move along, but it’s a harder journey than strictly necessary. Freed from the shackles of directing but still writing much of the film, RZA is back as the titular wandering knight, er, blacksmith helping foreigners figure their stuff out—a half-inversion of the usual white saviour narrative. Carl Ng is suitably good as a villain, with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa turning it a pretty good performance. Still, there isn’t much in The Man with the Iron Fists 2 for anyone who’s not already a martial arts movie fan.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Hocus Pocus (1993)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On TV, June 2019) Over the past few years, I gradually realized that Hocus Pocus had attained cult status for an entire generation a decade younger than me. Of course, I was 18 and not inclined to kids’ movies back in 1993—no wonder it passed me by. But now that 1980s nostalgia is leading to 1990s nostalgia, here we are celebrating the youth classics of a new generation, hence Hocus Pocus’ 25th anniversary and an occasion to find out what the fuss was about. To my surprise, Hocus Pocus does hold up—from the surprisingly dark opening sequence (child-murdering witches!), to the twists and turns of the plot with a few false endings, all the way through a gleefully campy tone, it’s actually a good time to watch. Bette Midler is clearly having fun hamming it up as a buck-toothed elder witch, but Sarah Jessica Parker is just as hilarious as the most dim-witted (and cutest) of the lead witchy trio. Early performances by a pre-teen Thora Birth and a zombie Doug Jones are worth noticing, but the ensemble cast does seem to have a good idea of the kind of film it’s in. The pacing rarely flags at barely more than 90 minutes, and even the creaky special effects have their own charm—including a surprisingly convincing talking cat. (On a similar note, the feline Binx pleasantly reminded me of my other favourite 1990s talking black cat, Salem from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.)  For adult viewers, there are a number of racy references in Hocus Pocus that feel even more surprising coming from a Disney movie, and a fair number of good one-liners. Add to that the generally timeless feel of the film (and yes, “I put a Spell on You” is catchy), and there’s enough here for everyone even today.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, June 2019) I was fully prepared to, well, maybe not dislike She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but at least not quite care for it. The topline description of the movie had nearly everything I don’t care about in a western: John Wayne, frontier fetishism, natives portrayed as bloodthirsty savages… But She Wore a Yellow Ribbon eventually gets better. For one thing, it’s in glorious Technicolor, with director John Ford showcasing Monument Valley at its best. For another, John Wayne isn’t playing the obnoxious creepy uncle characters he so often does, but a grizzled veteran about to retire and trying his best not to cause a war with the natives. (The similarities with Fort Apache are there—same director, star and setting, after all.)  The film adds in a little bit of more evenly gendered content with a female character tagging along the expedition, and after a few bloody confrontations throughout the film, the climax actually avoids wide-scale bloodshed through clever tricks. I still don’t quite like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but I can respect it, and was frequently amazed at the truly exceptional cinematography featured throughout the film.

Baby Boom (1987)

Baby Boom (1987)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, June 2019) It’s a good thing I watched Baby Boom until the end before settling upon some kind of opinion, because if the credits had rolled after its first act, I would have been several shades of livid. I quite dislike the initial half-hour of the film, as a high-powered businesswoman somehow ends up with a baby. Gracelessly tackling real issues confronting career women juggling motherhood with their professional aspirations, Baby Boom, seen from thirty years later, fumbles the ball: it strings along dumb gags, revels in dated stereotypes, showcases nonsensical episodes, treats its characters like idiots and gives the impression of trivializing an important topic that still matters today. By the time our character cracks up and leaves Manhattan for rural Vermont, I was ready to light the film on fire. But it gets better. As our protagonist (Diane Keaton, increasingly sympathetic) grapples with life in the country and then her improbable comeback to the boardroom, the film acquires the complexity and sympathy that the first third fails to create. I still don’t quite like Baby Boom all that much, but I don’t dislike it quite as much as I did at the end of the first act. With a reaction so idiosyncratic, I suppose that everyone else’s mileage will vary.

Think Like a Man Too (2014)

Think Like a Man Too (2014)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, June 2019) The entire gang from the original Think Like a Man is back for more in its sequel as they all head to Vegas for a wedding. Things obviously don’t go as planned, as both the men and the women have their own bachelor/ette party adventures on their way to the wedding. To its credit, Think Like a Man Too knows how much to keep from the original film, and how much variety to include. The change of scenery to Vegas suggests not only new sights and subplots, but new familiar clichés to follow. The tone of the film also shifts slightly—while the emotional growth of the characters does find a few new areas to explore, the couples are well established already and so Think Like a Man Too strikes out for a lighter, more superficial but also more obviously comic tone. Director Tim Story has fun playing with music cues [interrupting the background score for comic effect, or indulging in a full-blown music video set to Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison”—probably the series’ comic highlight and a strong musical moment in a film with a great soundtrack] and his direction is deservedly flashier this time around: with its ensemble cast’s worth of subplots, the film packs quite a lot of stories in its 106 minutes. Plot-wise, the film indulges in familiar Vegas excesses, but seems to breathe more easily now freed of the shackles of the self-help book that inspired the first film. Still, the fun of the film is spending some more time with its sympathetic characters, whether it’s the boys or the girls. Michael Ealy has been bumped up to leading man, with Kevin Hart being used just a bit too much in his over-the-top persona and Dennis Haysbert having a very funny minor role. Distaff-side, Taraji P. Henson and Jenifer Lewis seem to have the most to do, although you’ll be forgiven for staring at Meagan Good, Regina Hall or Gabrielle Union. Shallowed but funnier than the original, Think Like a Man Too offers just enough of the same and just enough new to be a worthwhile follow-up to the original. I watched both back-to-back, and still liked everything about the series after four continuous hours.

Think like a Man (2012)

Think like a Man (2012)

ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

(On Cable TV, June 2019) As an ensemble romantic comedy, there isn’t much in Think Like a Man that hasn’t been done countless times. But knowing what happens next is part of the charm, and charm is what this film has in abundance. Part of it is akin to hanging out with friends and checking out the good-looking members of the opposite sex. We get to spend some time with characters incarnated by Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Romany Malco, Terrence J and an appropriately limited dose of Kevin Hart (far better used in supporting rather than leading roles), as well as get a good long look at no less than Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Taraji P. Henson and Gabrielle Union. It’s a wonder it took me seven years to watch the film—I should have known better. Set in Los Angeles, it’s a breezy, highly enjoyable romantic comedy, somewhat reminiscent of the 2014 version of About Last Night (with which it shares three lead actors and a setting) albeit more comic and less romantic. Given that it’s a two-hour movie with four main couples and an ensemble cast, nearly everything follows strict genre conventions, through the inevitable ups and down and semi-synchronized victories. The main problem with the film comes from its premise, not only adapting the content of comedy/relationship book by Steve Harvey [“Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.”] but also placing the book itself in the middle of the plot as a how-to guide that leads the characters in their action. Truth be told, the “wisdom” of the book is either basic or reflective of fairly set ideas about relationships: you’d think that the supposedly smart characters would know how to treat everything in moderation. But that’s the way the movie goes, so it’s not particularly useful to rebel against the premise. Thanks to some unobtrusive direction from Tim Story, Think Like a Man moves quickly and efficiently through the bits and pieces of its plot, with some well-integrated music tying it all together. Michael Ealy is a near-perfect romantic lead, Meagan Good is quite good and I would watch Gabrielle Union movies all day long if I could. (Also, Wendy Williams has a two-scene cameo.)  Still, the result is pleasant enough, funny enough and romantic enough to be a welcome watch (especially as a chaser after a few days of horror movies, Italian neorealist dramas, and noir films … but your mileage may vary). I liked it better than I thought, and I thought I’d like it a lot.