Author: Christian Sauvé

  • I Love You, Man (2009)

    I Love You, Man (2009)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, March 2015)  The shadow of Judd Apatow looms large over this movie, even though he had nothing to do with it.  It stars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, who both got huge breaks in Apatow films. But more significantly, it’s an R-rated exploration of a tricky area of modern American society, which is to say how men make friends after they hit thirty.  Here, a groom-to-be is forced to face the fact that he has no reasonable best-man prospects, and decides that he ought to make a few friends before it’s too late.  Applying the conventions of romantic comedies to platonic same-sex friendship is good for a few laughs, especially when you mix Rudd’s leading-man earnestness with Segel’s laid-back coolness.  The script isn’t bad (although the gibberish wordplay stuff gets old quickly) and it has a few things to say about a subject often neglected.  The tone is breezy, supporting actors all get a chance to shine, and the conclusion couldn’t be more upbeat if it tried.  In short, I Love You, Man is a well-executed piece of comedy that fits almost perfectly with the zeitgeist of American mainstream comedy of circa-2009.  You can’t ask for much more.

  • Brick Mansions (2014)

    Brick Mansions (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, March 2015)  Action-hero actor Paul Walker didn’t get much respect while he was alive, but his untimely death in late 2013 did much to make critics re-evaluate his solid everyman persona and how he could almost singlehandedly raise the level of even the most hum-drum production.  Brick Mansions is a good example of his skills: While the film itself isn’t much more than a routine americanized remake of French action thriller Banlieue 13, (starring parkour legend David Belle in the same role than in the original), it does seem a bit better than it is thanks to an earnest, core-persona performance by Walker.  The parkour action seems dialed-down from the original (Bell is almost a decade older, and Walker is no specialist) but the film throws in a car chase and a few other action beats to keep things interesting.  The plot, with its walled-off city and nuclear redevelopment plot, barely made sense in the French original and seems even more ludicrous on American soil, but that’s to be expected with Luc Besson writing the script.  Still, a few interesting performances are worth mentioning: Aside from Walker and Belle’s turns as protagonists, RZA is fine as a crime lord and Montréal-born Ayisha Issa makes a striking impression as a capable henchwoman.  Otherwise, much of the film blurs into an indistinct mass of running, gunplay, fights and chases.  Walker may not have been a fine dramatic actor, but he was exceptional at playing a likable action hero, and it’s in mediocre movies like this one that this talent is best appreciated. 

  • Hitman (2007)

    Hitman (2007)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, March 2015)  I’m not sure how you can go from a videogame with a rich mythos to a film adaptation that barely qualifies as an action film, but there is Hitman, an instantly-forgettable generic thriller that doesn’t have much going for it.  I’m not familiar with the video game, but the mythology described on Wikipedia doesn’t sound uninteresting.  Alas, the film itself can’t be bothered to do much with the elements it has at its disposal, presenting a generic east-European assassination story that feels as if it’s been done a dozen times before.  There isn’t much here to distinguish the result from countless direct-to-video low-budget thrillers.  Pressed for anything nice to say, it’s possible to recognize Timothy Olyphant’s screen presence, occasional visuals and maybe the four-way hitman brawl.  But that’s pretty much it for a script that revels in clichés and familiar tropes.  It’s best not to look too closely at the premise (for assassins trained to be inconspicuous, bar-coded red-tied suited skinheads may not be the best choice) nor the actual plot (assassinating a body double for… what, exactly?)  The film is just dull, and doesn’t seem to be leading anywhere where there are actual stakes.  As usual, excessive violence in the middle of a bad film makes the violence seems even more irritating.  Compared to The Divide, Hitman is not the worst film I’ve seen from director Xavier Gens, but that’s not much of a compliment either.

  • The Vow (2012)

    The Vow (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, March 2015) Do you want to weep?  Because The Vow really wants you to weep.  Adapted from real events, the film tells the story of a happily-married young couple challenged by the amnesia of the wife, who suddenly can’t remember anything in the past few years… including her entire relationship with her husband.  Cue the awkwardness, frustration, family drama, ex-boyfriend coming back and heartbreaking sequences.  The Vow may gleefully play with emotions, but it has the good fortune of being competently made, with very likable leads playing good-natured characters trying to work out an impossible situation.  Rachel McAdams has the most difficult role as a woman trying to rediscover herself from a nearly-blank slate, while Channing Tatum is a bit miscast as the husband fighting to regain his marriage.  (He is still, a bit unfortunately, too much associated with a lunk-head persona to be entirely credible as a sound engineer, but it’s interesting to compare his husband-focused role here with the one he had in Side Effects.)  There are a few fine observations about the nature of self along the way, along with a heartwarming portrait of a happy marriage shattered too soon.  (And a few not-so-subtle jokes, such as “Cafe Mnemonic”.)  The Vow is a successful film in that it manages to hit the objectives it strives for without veering too deeply into melodrama.  Does it mean that you want to see what this film wants you to see?  Well, that may be a crucial difference between romantic comedies and romantic dramas.

  • Eurotrip (2004)

    Eurotrip (2004)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, March 2015) I wasn’t expecting much from this raunchy teenage comedy, so low expectations may be behind this relatively positive review.  Clearly made in the wake of American Pie, this silly movie follows a group of friends as they make their way through Europe one the flimsiest of reasons.  Tons of stereotypical jokes follow them without much shame, every country on their itinerary earning a few dumb-American jabs along the way.  Still, some of the jokes are actually pretty good, and the inclusion of a surprising amount of nudity makes up for a number of other flaws. (But, alas, not the low-level sexism of the script.)  Eurotrip is not, to be clear, a good or even polished movie: it sinks deeper in dumbness until it beats you in submission of its lame jokes, and you know you’ve arrived at the right level when you expect lame-comedy veteran Dietrich Bader to show up… and he does.  At least the soundtrack is peppy, the direction is unobtrusive and the lead actors are likable, with special mention to Michelle Trachtenberg and Travis Wester as “the worst twins ever”.  The episodic structure of the film makes it uneven, but it finds a nice comedic rhythm midway through and keeps going well into the end.

  • Sweet November (2001)

    Sweet November (2001)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, March 2015) I’ve often been ready to defend Keanu Reeves against charges of excessive stiffness, but that resolve takes a serious hit after suffering through Sweet November from beginning to end.  From the awkward doggy-talk opening to the ending in which he takes on terrible news with barely an eyebrow raised, Reeves simply isn’t fit for the role of a San Francisco ad executive who gets a life lesson from an eccentric young woman.  He fits the early character arc as a cold and detached professional, but becomes increasingly miscast as the film asks some humanity.  The rest of the film, truthfully, isn’t much better: Teetering between romantic drama and romantic comedy, the film ultimately remains faithful to its melancholic intentions but doesn’t seem to have earned its wistfulness.  Much of the premise doesn’t make much sense either.  If you look really hard, there’s a few good San Francisco shots, a few amusing moments between the supporting characters but not much more than that: Sweet November feels belabored, mechanical and easily dismissed.  Too bad; fortunately Reeves has been used to much better effect since then.

  • Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

    Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on Demand, March 2015)  Once in a while, it’s good to sip a pure dose of concentrated moviemaking skill.  Something like Birdman, expertly directed, featuring top-ranked actors at their best, delving into weighty themes and doing it with a strong sense of style.  A comic drama about a washed-up actor in the moments leading up to his Broadway debut as a writer/producer/performer, Birdman gets inspiration from the world of theater to deliver a film presented as one uninterrupted sequence, the camera gliding from one character to another, skipping forward in time and even presenting fantastical visions alongside its realism.  It’s a giddiness-inducing piece of cinema, from the perfectly-cast Michael Keaton (playing a former superhero actor) to an equally-capable foil played by Edward Norton (making the most of a reputation as an abrasive method actor), with an unsettling drum-based score, carefully staged performances, a bit of magical realism, barbed pokes at Hollywood trends and enough laughs to make us forget that this may be a very sad story.  It’s invigorating, hilarious, poignant, impressive and accessible at once.  The inconclusiveness of the conclusion isn’t as annoying as it could have been, largely because the film delivers so many pleasures along the way.  Easily one of the most striking films of 2014, Birdman earned its various Oscar accolades: writer/director Alejandro González Iñárritu certainly knows what he’s doing, and can do it in ample style.

  • Dying of the Light (2014)

    Dying of the Light (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on Demand, February 2015) While forgettable, largely unseen film Dying of the Light does have a thing or two going for it.  The first is right up there on the poster: a visibly older Nicolas Cage, graying temples and facial features highlighting his advancing age.  This, after all, is a story about old people trying to come to grips with long-running trauma.  If Dying of the Light had stuck to this theme, it may have been successful.  Heck, had it ended ten minutes earlier, right after a meeting between two antagonists in which both measure the futility of revenge, the film would have been provocative and meditative.  Instead, it keeps going, allows some out-of-place gory violence to stain the plot and ends on an intensely familiar note.  Too bad, because for most of its duration, Dying of the Light is a meditative take on the modern espionage thriller, measuring the cost of the War on Terrorism and showing the toll that it takes on its combatants.  The film isn’t particularly interesting as it moves through Europe and then Africa, but the film doesn’t try to be anything else but a quiet low-budget thriller.  Cage, as a veteran CIA agent with a terminal illness, moves slower and with deliberation, while having two or three opportunities to indulge in his signature rants.  If it hadn’t been for that dumb violent conventional ending, Dying of the Light could have been underperforming but interesting; with it, it just becomes a hum-drum spy thriller the likes of which we see too often.  Veteran writer/director Paul Schrader is on record as being disappointed in the final result (apparently completed without his input), but I’m not sure that post-production could have fixed the script’s basic issues.

  • Project X (2012)

    Project X (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, February 2015) I suppose that every generation deserves its own wild-party movie –or, more accurately, every generation of parents deserves the utter helplessness of seeing a movie showing the depths of depravity their offspring is said to be capable.  So it is that Project X is designed to be the wildest party-movie of the decade, showing what happens in an age of social media when a party spins out of control.  There’s a tedious found-footage stylistic element to director Nima Nourizadeh’s vision, but the real distinction of Project X is to push the excess as far as it can go.  The result are literally apocalyptic, not stopping until there’s a riot and a neighborhood in flames (not to say anything about poor daddy’s car.)  Of course the debauchery is meant to be off-putting (although one notes that for all of the film’s vulgarity, drug use and wanton destruction of property, there are other areas where the film stays curiously chaste), allowing the teenage audience to vicariously indulge into what is certain to horrify their parents.  It works fine, although Project X would have been quite a bit stronger if it had featured more likable protagonists or, at the very least, a vision of things that wasn’t quite as misogynistic in its treatment of female characters.  For all of its faults, though, Project X does have a bit of a narrative rhythm to it, and once you get used to the idea that it’s meant to wallow in excess, there is a bit of curiosity in seeing how far it’s willing to go.  For post-teenage audiences, tut-tutting is included in the admission price.

  • Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

    Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on Demand, February 2015)  Perhaps the most interesting thing about Horrible Bosses 2 is the length to which this sequel is determined to follow-up on a film that didn’t need a sequel.  I mean; our heroes having gotten rid of their horrible bosses, what’s left to do?  Get newer even more horrible bosses?  For a short while, as they create their own company and bumble around making terrible mistakes, it almost looks as if the sequel is ready to invert the roles and allow them to become the horrible bosses.  But that’s not to last, as they are swindled by a horrible client, stuck with a kidnapping victim with plans of her own, and overextend itself to bring back the two surviving horrible bosses of the previous film.  All handled with a slick tone that never gets too far out of control: For all of the potential violence (and sexual debauchery) hinted at, Horrible Bosses 2 knows that it’s meant to be a mainstream comedy and wouldn’t dare go where audiences won’t like.  (Although at least one innuendo in the coda is deeply disturbing)  Still: the film moves fairly quickly, gives short but striking moments to both Kevin Spacey (as a horrible boss who won’t let prison tone down his disdain for the protagonists) and Jennifer Aniston (once again playing sultry nymphomaniac), whereas leads Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day are once again up to their own comic personas.  The film does have a few visually ambitious moments: There is a good business start-up pan shot early on, and the film is never better or more engaging than when the protagonists lay out their plan (which fails horribly, as expected.)  Otherwise, Horrible Bosses 2 is a disposable sequel that’s not too difficult to watch –a bit of faint praise, maybe, but also an acknowledgement that it could have been much worse.

  • Role Models (2008)

    Role Models (2008)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, February 2015) It’s obvious that Role Models doesn’t try to do anything new; beyond the surface of a crude comedy in which irresponsible men get to mentor impressionable teenagers, much of the film is bog-down standard Hollywood sweetness and conventional values in rude gift-wrapping.  (As with most movies in that mold, the irreverent first act gradually leads to a far more sentimental conclusion.)  At least the film doesn’t err in featuring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott in roles well-suited to their comic personas and letting them play off each other.  Jane Lynch and Ken Jeong have smaller but striking roles.  Much of the film’s interest is in the small set-pieces, or the unusual emphasis on Live-Action Role-Playing (LARP) as a sub-setting.  There’s not a whole lot more to say about the film because it’s so familiar: Playing with genre formula to the hilt, Role Models at least has the advantage of executing said formula competently, with enough laughs on the way to a satisfyingly conventional conclusion.  It’s watchable enough.

  • Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

    Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, February 2015) As a director, Doug Liman’s been hit-and-miss, but Edge of Tomorrow is a definite hit.  You could crudely summarize the film as “sci-fi Groundhog Day” (even though it’s adapted from a Japanese Science-Fiction novel) and grind your teeth at the dumb setup in which humans are somehow stuck fighting aliens in a European ground war.  But once the mechanics of the time-loop premise are laid out and the complications begin piling up for our protagonist, Edge of Tomorrow gains a strong forward narrative drive.  Tom Cruise is pretty good as a back-room officer thrust into bloody combat, especially when he has to relive the same events over and over again until he gets it right.  You can dig a bit into the film and come away with strong commentary on video-game playing and the consequences of choice, but it’s just as easy to be swept along by the fast-paced action and dark humor.  Emily Blunt has a terrific role as a battle-hardened veteran, and she sells it perfectly. (Although I would have liked an older female actress in the role, just to lower the age difference between her and Cruise) Edge of Tomorrow definitely hits its stride in its middle third as time-loop possibilities are ingeniously exploited, and the film’s editing is taught-tight.  It’s a bit unfortunate that the film’s third act seems so flaccid after such high notes: The night-time Paris sequence seem suddenly interminable and visually bleak, although I’m sucker enough for a happy ending that I won’t begrudge the sudden changes in the film’s rules in time for the coda.  Edge of Tomorrow is just different and playful enough to distinguish itself from other run-of-the-mill SF action films, although it’s flawed enough to make anyone wish for a few further tweaks.  Still: Not bad at all.

  • The Signal (2014)

    The Signal (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, February 2015)  Saying that The Signal has a Twist may itself be a spoiler in itself, but I think an essential one, because knowledge of a Twist may help is bridging the gap between a very slow and annoying beginning, and the more intriguing elements of its conclusion.  It is also a warning of sorts that the Twist is borderline-nonsensical, shining an unflattering light on the events of the film and diminishing it by way of an answer that doesn’t make any sense.  Along the way, though, there is an interesting mystery, Lawrence Fishburne in a somewhat villainous role, a Lin Shaye quasi-cameo, clever visuals on a limited budget and a big, big finale.  I’m certainly curious to see what’s next for Writer/director William Eubank.  Unfortunately, The Signal itself doesn’t make much sense.  (And reading the “Themes” section on the film’s Wikipedia page reveals more pretentiousness than clues.)  It’s all fine and well that science-fiction is attracting new filmmakers willing to play with spectacular ideas on limited budgets… but that’s not an excuse to forgo story logic and satisfying conclusions to a movie-long mystery.  Ah, if only the surface sheen of The Signal could have been matched by an appropriate depth…

  • A Haunted House 2 (2014)

    A Haunted House 2 (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, February 2015)  Even I am sometimes astonished at the kind of dumb comedy movie that I find funny, and I’m unwilling to go much further down the totem pole of stupidity than A Haunted House 2.  A Marlon Wayans parody of recent horror films (most notably Insidious, Sinister, The Conjuring and Paranormal Activity), A Haunted House 2 seemingly has no filter – given the onslaught of crude and puerile humor (usually accompanied by loud shrieks), I’d be wary of watching it with anyone else. (It doesn’t help that the sexual content of the film often goes beyond the limits of what’s usually seen in mainstream comedies.)  It fires ten gags per minute, and lands maybe one or two of those.  Still, that’s a lot of comic energy (especially from Wayans himself, willing to do anything for a laugh), and I can forgive long unfunny stretches if these are occasional smirks along the way.  I will admit that it’s not as good (if good is a word worth using) than the first one, which at least had one or two halfway decent moments and a semblance of thematic depth to its comical hijinks.  Still, I’m an easy mark for that kind of film, largely because unlike the bottom-of-the-barrel Friedberg/Setzer “parodies”, this one actually tries for laughs beyond simple re-creation of iconic sequences and slapstick violence.  I may feel guilty about it, but A Haunted House 2 gets an “eh, had a few laughs” from me.

  • The Judge (2014)

    The Judge (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on Demand, February 2015)  High-profile dramas have become a bit of an extinct species at the cineplex in this age of multi-screen spectacles, which makes The Judge’s shortcomings a bit more frustrating than usual.  It does have the advantage of a good solid cast, well-used in appropriate roles: Robert Downey, Jr. is in his element as a fast-talking lawyer forced to go back to his small-town origins in order to take care of his father, who’s most appropriately played by Robert Duvall.  Other supporting players include Vera Farmiga (radiant), Vincent D’Onofrio (dour) and Dax Shepard (hilariously clumsy).  Legal proceedings supplements a nostalgic return to small-town family, alongside romantic entanglements and portentous end-of-life drama.  If you get the sense that this is all familiar material juggled in a fairly conventional way, then you’d be right: The Judge is straight-up Hollywood classic filmmaking from the time where CGI monsters hadn’t conquered all available multiplex screens.  (Although the film does contain a lengthy CGI pull-out shot of the protagonist driving down a road that feels intensely out-of-place.)  It feels familiar and disappointing at the same time, the kind of movie everyone loves to mock when talking about Oscar-bait films and audience-friendly mainstream dramas.  Still, The Judge works more often than it doesn’t, and seeing Downey, Jr. in a non-superhero role has become, at this time, a bit of a novelty.  There’s a lot to quibble with the script’s pacing, odd choices of sub-plots, drawn-out endings (two or three of them, depending on how you count) and often-lazy approach to characterization for the secondary players.  Still, The Judge does work well at evoking a quasi-nostalgic sense of place, at creating showcase roles for the two lead Roberts and at providing undemanding drama for two hours.  It could have been worse, although it’s true that it could have been much better.