Movie Review

  • John Dies at the End (2012)

    John Dies at the End (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On DVD, June 2013) The beauty with quasi-cult films aimed at specific audience is that once in a while you are the target audience.  So it is that John Dies at the End blends science-fiction/horror influences with an irreverent lack of respect for otherworldly terrors, two very sympathetic protagonists and a dynamic blend of quick pacing and terrific direction.  Writer/director Don Coscarelli nails the quirky tone of David Wong’s source novel and delivers a near-unclassifiable film that nonetheless plays beautifully to genre audiences.  Often crude and unsubtle, John Dies at the End is nonetheless fairly sophisticated in the way it dares audiences to follow along a dense thicket of ideas, plot developments, dramatic turns and throwaway jokes.  It’s a film that moves quickly and doesn’t stop for people to catch up.  The first half is a dizzying accumulation of strangeness, while the second gets down to the sometimes fastidious task of explaining the plot and tying up loose ends.  Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes are good choices for the lead roles, but Paul Giamatti is near-perfect at the skeptical journalist hearing their story.  Best of all, perhaps, for fans of the novel is how the film is only a partial adaptation: the second half of the book is nearly missing from the film, an important half of the plot having been skillfully amputated.  This gives enough space for an already-madcap accumulation of details in the film, and leaves a pleasant surprise to fans of the film wishing to read the book. 

  • Did you Hear about the Morgans? (2009)

    Did you Hear about the Morgans? (2009)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on Demand, June 2013) Newsflash: comedy aimed at middle-class Midwestern Americans espouses and promotes middle-class Midwestern values.  In the generally unobjectionable (if rather empty-headed) Did You Hear About The Morgans?, a couple of upper-class newyorkers accidentally see something that lands them in the witness protection program, where they are relocated to an isolated Wyoming town where they discover the values of hard work, law-and-order enforcement and factory outlets.  The script practically writes itself around the fish-out-of-water gags and the impending-arrival-of-hired-killer ticking clock, and the result is just about as formulaic as it can be.  Fortunately, the film is more or less saved by two pairs of performances: Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker as the amusingly estranged lead couple that has to re-learn life in the slow lane, as well as Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen as the no-nonsense cops that host them.  Did You Hear About The Morgans? isn’t particularly sophisticated, but then again consider the broad target audience: the easy jokes all line up in a row, and the ending is as pat as it needs to be.  The actors don’t have to stretch their usual screen persona, and everyone is more or less happy by the time the credits roll.

  • Samsara (2011)

    Samsara (2011)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) Clearly, my moviegoer’s brain demands narrative, because when I’m confronted to a mostly plot-and-dialogue free succession of images such as Samsara, I’m left wondering when it’s going to mean something.  It’s curious, because I’m often the first to praise impressive cinematography in plot-driven films –why was it such a struggle to get through Samsara’s nearly-constant barrage of exceptional imagery?  Director Ron Fricke has travelled the globe in search of beautiful sequences, and what’s featured in Samasa is often awe-inspiring: from wide-screen industry to time-lapse nature, it’s one impressive image after another.  The best way to see the film is to let it flow in its entire splendor, and avoid asking questions such as why or even where was this shot?  Where I’m not so enthusiastic is in trying to make sense of it all; the film seems purposefully aimless (except when it’s not, such as its depiction of industrial agriculture) and trying to impose meaning is as exhausting as unavoidable.  Samsara is quite an experience, more akin to film poetry than filmed prose, but it may perhaps best be seen either with a director’s commentary… or as the showpiece of a still-hypothetical 8K ultra-high-definition home theater setup.

  • The Lorax (2012)

    The Lorax (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) There’s a basic and inherent self-contradiction in seeing big-budget Hollywood productions espouse the virtues of environmentalism: The vast expenditure of effort and resources required to make, distribute and promote those films is staggering, and given the mere-entertainment result it’s hard to reconcile it with the good that an equivalent amount of money could have been done had it been spent on concrete projects.  But then again, entertainment can inspire… and I just spent 90 minutes watching a film while I could have been picking up litter at the nearest riverfront, so who am I to criticize?  Taken on its own terms The Lorax is at least entertaining enough, and responsible enough in the message it’s teaching to its audience.  While the whimsy of Dr. Seuss’ original book is completely squashed by the de-rigueur aesthetics of modern action-packed animated features, this film adaptation contains a few effective moments, a sympathetic pair of protagonists, a colorful vision of a fantasy world and a few decent action sequences.  The animation, coming from Illumination Entertainment, is a top-notch blend of technical savvy, bright colors and effective direction.  The musical numbers are generally good, especially when they manage to advance the plot along the way.  While The Lorax may strike a few as hypocritical, it’s relatively enjoyable once you get past the most obvious issues.

  • Happy Feet Two (2011)

    Happy Feet Two (2011)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) Let’s hand it over to writer/director George Miller: He’s never content to deliver something entirely conventional, and so it is that Happy Feet 2 gladly takes up wildly different protagonists that (almost) never meet, adds a live-action sequence in the middle of an all-CGI film, tackles existentialist philosophical issues, heightens the dramatic stakes beyond expectations and brings everything together in a stomping-tapping-clicking climax.  Not everything works all the time, but the film manages a few high notes along the way, including a laugh-aloud opening medley, banter between two unusually bright krill and some spectacular Antarctic scenery.  While the film can feel aimless (especially compared to the first one), it has the decency to build to a good conclusion.  Sure, Happy Feet 2 could have been better… but why complain when it’s cute, charming, toe-tapping fun?

  • Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

    Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) As an unlikely casual fan of the Resident Evil series (I liked the first one, hated the second one, tolerated the third before the fourth hooked me again), I’m better-disposed than most in liking a new installment in the series, and Retribution does deserve a bit of love despite some basic problems.  For fans of the series, the best thing about this fifth entry is the way it dares bring back past elements such as Michelle Rodriguez (who, in-between this and Fast Six, seems to be on her “Hey, world, remember me?” tour) and a glimpse at the protagonist’s pre-zombie suburban days.  The film winks at its own mythology, and has the most obvious nods at its video-game origins by explicitly setting the story in discrete “levels”.  Much of the series’ motifs are also in place, from the way the opening sequence quickly riffs off the ending of the previous film, to the final apocalyptic shot meant to set up the next installment.  Milla Jovovich is also up to her usual standards, which is always good news.  There’s a lot to smile about here, and that’s even before getting into director Paul W.S. Anderson’s impeccable visual composition.  At times, Retribution is so beautifully shot as to approach art-house levels of cinematography: Witness the opening “backward” battle, the stark white-hallway fight, the New York sequence or the presentation of the secret base in which everything takes place.  Given this, it’s regrettable that the film isn’t quite as good as it could be: some of the action scenes are meaningless, Rodriguez isn’t used as effectively as she could be, and there’s no escaping a sense of repetition among the chaos and explosions.  Still, the visuals make up for many sins, and so I am really looking forward to the sixth installment.

  • Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)

    Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) I have only seen two films directed by John Hyams (Dragon Eyes being the first one), and I’m already developing a bit of a dislike for his work.  While I can appreciate his eye for good cinematography and strong action sequences, his obvious inability to deliver a coherent narrative is far more irritating than the amount of eye-candy he can deliver.  Crucial narrative moments are missing, intriguing ideas are abandoned as soon as they’re raised, and nothing seems to matter as much as the camera angles that he use.  While action movies (and direct-to-DVD action movies in particular) have never been too strong on story, there are basic mandatory requirements than Hyams isn’t even meeting.  The plot is a muddle of enhanced-soldier stuff overlaid with rogue agents, military conspiracies, fake memories and who know what else; it’s handled so badly that it’s hard to care about any of it.  While Jean-Claude van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are hyped as being “back” in the series and the film, viewers should temper their expectations and expect merely a few unconnected quasi-cameo appearances. Scott Adkins handles protagonist duties, and the best one can say is that he does not embarrass himself.  The same can’t be said about Hyams, who seriously needs some adult supervision before he’s allowed to mangle another script again.

  • The Pentagon Wars (1998)

    The Pentagon Wars (1998)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) There’s a lot to admire in the first half of The Pentagon Wars and, unfortunately, less and less to like as it goes on.  This is a somewhat unusual film that dares tackle military procurement as a comedy (!) and the beginning of the film has to do a lot of exposition (in a relatively painless fashion) to get viewers up-to-speed with the basic premise.  Cary Elwes isn’t too bad as the sometimes-bewildered officer who comes to learn the dirty history of the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, whereas Kelsey Grammer doesn’t break any typecasting as the fanatically right-wing general who slowly becomes the antagonist of the film.  The Pentagon Wars is, at first, fairly clever and generally fact-based; unfortunately, this changes in the second half of the film, as it becomes increasingly slapstick based: the script becomes steadily dumber, to the point where characters start acting like buffoons in a broader and broader (read: stupider) military comedy… much like Down Periscope, also featuring Kelsey Grammer.  The film’s visible departure from reality may lead a few viewers to investigate the real story behind the film, leading to further disenchantment with its liberties.  As it turns out, not testing the vehicle to destruction is actually a good idea when dealing with multi-million-dollar items: you get more value out of each test vehicle.  But the film’s insistence in painting everything in goofier shades of black and white ends up damaging what started out as a relatively more clever comedy.  Let’s hand it to HBO, though, for producing a film with a relatively cerebral premise, and following through with a decent budget.  The result may be disappointing, but it’s already more ambitious than many other.

  • Hotel Transylvania (2012)

    Hotel Transylvania (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) From the first few moments, in which we see a vampire father taking care of his baby daughter with hilariously re-worked parenting lullabies and tricks, it’s easy to be won over by Hotel Transylvania’s easy blend of sweetness, humor and dark visuals.  One of many recent kid’s animated movies to exploit horror imagery in relatively non-threatening context (also see; Frankenweenie, ParaNorman), Hotel Transylvania is easy to watch because of the gags inherent in “a hotel for monsters”, but remains compelling because it has something not too saccharine and not too rebellious to say about the need for teenage independence.  Adam Sandler turns in one of his least-annoying performances to date as the voice of the father-vampire, but it’s Genndy Tartakovsky’s direction that keeps things moving.  As with nearly all contemporary animated features for kids, the plot of often interrupted by musical numbers and frantic action sequences. (The final sequence with a vampire flying alongside a jetliner shows a bit of invention.) For adults, there’s a bit of fun in seeing horror monsters re-used to comic effect, as well as the exploitation of traditional tropes from the monster’s point of view.  Hotel Transylvania all amounts to an enjoyable family film, with a surprising amount of heart.

  • The Fly (1986)

    The Fly (1986)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, June 2013) As amazing at it may seem, I had actually forgotten that The Fly was directed by David Cronenberg.  Don’t worry, though: within moments, it all came rushing back… as did the memories of being utterly terrified by bits of the film at age 12.  Seen from the perspective of an adult, The Fly isn’t as terrifying at a purely visual level.  It is, however, quite a bit more insidious about its body horror and the gradual devolution of its character into a mindless beast.  Jeff Goldblum can still look upon this as one of his most defining performances as the mutating scientist, while Geena Davis strikes just the right notes as a journalist who finds herself with a lot more grief than she expected chasing a good story.  What really doesn’t work so well is John Getz’s character arc going from creepy ex-boyfriend to shotgun-wielding saviour.  Cronenberg’s craft means that the film still, more than twenty-five years later, works quite well despite analog effects and sometimes-torpid pacing.  The Fly is worth a look, and not just as part of Cronenberg’s filmography.

  • Barton Fink (1991)

    Barton Fink (1991)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, June 2013) Barton Fink’s reputation as a mystifying piece of cinema precedes it by years, and after watching the film I’m no wiser than anyone else in trying to explain what I’ve just seen.  It starts simply enough, as a New York playwright moves to Los Angeles to write scripts for Hollywood.  The initial satire of the industry can be amusing at times.  But then the film moves in another direction entirely with a run-down hotel, a threatening next-door neighbor, a brutal murder, more symbolism than anyone can use, and enough references to other things that one can profitably mine the film for endless analysis.  John Turturro is compelling as the title character, while John Goodman is surprisingly menacing as his neighbor/id.  What Barton Fink does not contain, however, is a simply digestible experience: It’s a hermetic film that seemingly delights in throwing off its audience and multiplying contradictory interpretations.  As such, it’s kind of fun: The Coen Brothers’ skill in putting together the film mean that individual scenes are compelling to watch, even as it’s maddening to piece them together in a coherent whole. 

  • Absentia (2011)

    Absentia (2011)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) Horror and low-budgets are nearly made for each other, and films like writer/director Mike Flanagan’s Absentia continue to show why horror films made on a shoestring can still be worth a look.  As the film begins, we come to understand that our lead protagonist is nearly done grieving after her husband disappeared without a trace seven years earlier.  Putting up the last of her remaining “Missing” posters, she’s about to move away, give birth and settle down with her new lover.  But there are complications: First, her ex-junkie sister shows up, and then, right after signing the death-by-absentia papers, so does her husband.  What’s going on?  And what’s the link with the mysterious tunnel not too far away from their home?  Absentia doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on spectacle, but what it does put on-screen is worthwhile.  This is a quieter horror film that works on suggestion (even the CGI effects tend to be subtle apparitions in shadows), dread, existential horror and the tragedy of denied grief.  For jaded horror audiences, it’s a useful reminder that it’s certainly possible to do interesting things with a bit of imagination and skilled execution.  While Absentia certainly can’t shake its low-budget credentials (the acting is dull, the cinematography is grainy and the sets are definitely limited), it does a lot with what it has at its disposal.  The most annoying element of the film comes at the end, which is about as abrupt and tediously nihilistic as anyone would fear: it solves little and feels like an arbitrary way to end the film.  Still, let’s not be overly sour: Absentia works well, and sometimes better than many other bigger-budgeted horror films. 

  • 50/50 (2011)

    50/50 (2011)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) Cancer is usually the domain of the made-for-TV sentimental tear-jerker aimed at women, not the kind of quasi-comedies aimed at young men.  But 50/50 takes the bet that it has something to say about cancer and friendship between young men and the result is far more impressive than you’d think.  Joseph Gordon Lewitt stars as a young radio producer who discovers that he’s got a rare and potentially fatal form of cancer.  Seth Rogen brings most of the laughs as his crude friend trying to cheer him up.  (The film squarely earns one of its most emotional moments when the protagonist discovers the highlighted best intentions behind his best friend’s cheerful facade.)  Meanwhile, Anna Kendrick gets a thankless role as a grief therapist who, against nearly all imaginable ethical guidelines, falls for her patient.  As a refreshingly younger and brasher take on the familiar cancer narrative, 50/50 ends up reaching a new audience in an honest way, and the result is both hilarious and affecting. 

  • Sparkle (2012)

    Sparkle (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2013) There’s something extremely comfortable in Sparkle’s story about three female singers trying to make it in late-sixties Detroit.  It doesn’t take a detailed history of The Supremes to know the place, understand the challenges and guess the dangers they face from boyfriends, drugs, fame and familial disapproval.  The music is familiar to the point of being curiously forgettable, the period detail easily mirrors countless other similar films and the stage cinematography feels like an old comfortable sequin dress.  The plot, more episodic than tightly-wrapped, can be followed along with some narrative pleasure even it’s a blend of conventional elements.  The only real question is whether the actors can do something with this material, and whether the music is worth it.  Sparkle doesn’t exactly sparks when it comes to its songs: they all skew toward the sultry rather than the rhythmic side of Motown –viewer’s appreciation will vary according to their own tastes.  Fortunately, the film does quite a bit better when it comes to performances: Mike Epps is deliciously evil as the antagonist, while Carmen Ejogo does fine as his main victim.  Jordin Sparks is comparatively duller as the title character (it’s not a challenging role, especially compared to Ejogo’s harsher dramatic arc) but relative newcomer Tika Sumpter gets a little bit more substance as the third sister of the ensemble.  Elsewhere in the cast, Whitney Houston gets one last role as the matriarch-who-learns-better, while Derek Luke is unexpectedly charming as the good guy.  While Sparkle won’t have much of a legacy, it is an acceptable film for those who want just a little bit more of that Motownish magic.

  • Black Gold aka Day of the Falcon (2011)

    Black Gold aka Day of the Falcon (2011)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on Demand, June 2013) If you feel that there’s been a dearth of desert-adventure films out there, then take heart in Day of the Falcon’s existence and enjoy a trip to 1930s Arabia for an old-fashioned epic.  Tahar Rahim stars as Prince Auda, a bookworm son who eventually learns to lead an army and uphold progressive values at a time when the West is taking an interest in the oil reserves under the sand.  A co-production involving four countries, Day of the Falcon has a decent budget and a refreshingly earnest viewpoint toward traditional values in the face of western imperialism.  Directed with competence by veteran French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud, the film can be enjoyed for its epic scope, interesting visuals and sympathetic characters.  It’s hardly perfect: there are a few pacing issues, and as much as I like Mark Strong and Antonio Banderas, casting them as warring emirs feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity for ethnicity-appropriate actors.  (The same goes, to a lesser extent, for Freida Pinto, except that she’s sultry enough to make anyone believe that the hero would wage all-out war simply in order to come back home to her.)  Historical parallels with the early days of Saudi Arabia are interesting (albeit not to be taken at face value) and so is the obvious commentary on the dominance of the oil industry in the region.  Parallels with Lawrence of Arabia are obvious, especially considering that the film offers a few desert-war sequences not commonly seen elsewhere in movies.  The stilted dialogues and acting definitely take a back seat to sweep of the film’s adventure.  For a film that probably flew under the radar of most north-American moviegoers, Day of the Falcon definitely qualifies as an underappreciated gem.