Daily Archives: November 10, 2007
Cashback (2006)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: After his girlfriend dumps him, insomniac art student Ben (Sean Biggerstaff) takes a supermarket night-shift job and deals with his boredom by pretending he can stop time –a tactic that reveals life’s hidden beauty and draws him to the intriguing checkout girl (Emilia Fox). Surrounded by equally creative co-workers, Ben learns that by freezing time, his world opens up to unimaginable possibilities, including a cure for his chronic sleeplessness.
REVIEW: A quirky British like-love story with interesting characters but imperfect execution, lots of voice-over, an overdramatic climax, and a sweet (but sort of predictable) ending.
After Ben, an art student, gets dumped by his girlfriend (or, rather, she throws stuff at him because he says that he doesn’t think she can be happy), he becomes afflicted by insomnia. Realizing that he now has 8 more hours to his day, and not a penny to his name, he gets a job on the night shift at a local supermarket. His way of passing time is to exercise his gift for _stopping_time (which makes for interesting visual effects in the movie), usually undressing women shoppers to draw or paint them. He soon begins to fall for one of his co-workers, and the usual romantic comedy parade ensues (his co-workers play pranks, she gets asked out by a jerk, they share a “moment” on the stoop outside her apartment, there’s a miscommunication, causing the relationship to sour, etc.).
We also learn about Ben’s hangups about sexuality and women through long flashbacks into his childhood, which play either as sweet memories or tired excuses that everyone seems to use. Ben’s new romance cures him of his disease, but only temporary. The formulaic miscommunication near the film’s climax lowers the rating here. The sweet relationship between protagonist Ben and his new love keeps the movie enduring.
Don’t expect laugh-out-loud comedy, or a romance as unique or interesting as, say, Amelie. And even though the “details” say “graphic nudity,” it merely means that women are shown frozen in time fully nude. There’s no hot, steamy sex scenes or Jello wrestling (sorry dudes). But it’s a very nice, light, easy rental that both parties in a couple will moderately enjoy.
3.5 Stars
Kyle
Hannibal Rising (2007)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Director Peter Webber takes on the myth of the menacing Hannibal Lecter in this terrifying prequel that attempts to trace the murderous roots of the cannibalistic killer. The film follows Lecter from his hard-scrabble Lithuanian childhood, where he witnesses the lengths to which hungry soldiers will go to satiate themselves, through his painful sojourn in France and his final facedown with FBI agent Will Graham, leading to his eventual capture.
REVIEW: This prequel to the celebrated Hannibal Lecter series illuminates Lecter’s childhood in Lithuania during WWII. As you might guess, it wasn’t pleasant. In the second act, Hannibal the teen sets out to avenge those who wronged him and his family, and the plot deteriorates into a stock revenge fantasy — Hannibal’s Death Wish, if you will. The story, based on Thomas Harris’ excruciatingly dull novel of the same name, manages to defang Lecter’s villany by abolishing the mystery of his background. Gaspard Ulliel chillingly apes many of Lecter’s mannerisms as portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, but it’s not enough to inspire the true terror and madness of Hopkins’ exceptional performance. Cat and mouse psychological games with a War Crimes investigator and a revelatory twist at the end elevate the plot somewhat, but not enough. Hannibal Rising is almost a curiosity for those who enjoyed the previous, and superior, films.
3.5 stars
HAWK
The Page Turner {La Tourneuse de Pages} (2007)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: As a child, pianist Melanie’s (Déborah François) dream of studying at a prestigious musical conservatory is shattered when the chairwoman of the jury (Catherine Frot) distracts her during an audition. Years later, a coincidence leads to Melanie’s employment in the woman’s household, and she finds herself in the perfect position for revenge. Directed by Denis Dercourt, this stylish psychological drama co-stars Pascal Greggory.
REVIEW: Like a classy, elegant, French version of The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, the title of the film refers to Melanie’s responsibility to turn the pages of the sheet music for the mother of the household, who is a concert pianist. The mother doesn’t recognize Melanie (now a very grown, and very attractive – they always are in these types of films, aren’t they? – nubile, young woman) when she comes to stay in her household to take care of the couple’s young son, Tristan, also a budding pianist.
As is described in the synopsis, Melanie’s sole motivation for being employed in the affluent household is to seek revenge for the mother’s distracting Melanie during her audition to be accepted into a prestigious conservatory, an audition at which the mother was one of the judges. The film depicts a young, confident Melanie at the piano, someone entering the room to hand off a picture or other written document to the mother, and then back to Melanie, now misplaying the memorized piece. The film then cuts to an eyes-brimming-with-tears Melanie leaving the conservatory with her mother, but not before she silently and coldly flips the piano keys cover onto another practicing student, narrowly averting the students’ fingers. So we know that Melanie can clearly hold a grudge!
Cut to many years later and Melanie is employed by the household. The film at first drew me in with its elegance and decidedly French subtlety (revenge, French-style), but the storyline was so very predictable and the film scenes seemed to just go through the motions of a storyline everyone’s seen before: ingratiate yourself with mother, abandon mother at her most important and most public time of need, arouse the suspicions of mother’s friends but mother of course ignores them, maim someone not an immediate member of the household but integral to the plot to show that Melanie isn’t all innocence and light, try to hurt the child of the family, etc. – all actions that move the film along towards its predictable conclusion. All that was missing was seduction of the father, though perhaps that was replaced by Melanie’s seduction of the mother.
It’s not that the film was horrible. In fact, the music (as you would expect in a film called The Page Turner) is lovely, and the cinematography and crispness of the shots are inarguable. If you’ve never seen Hand that Rocks the Cradle or similar films, you might appreciate this subtler, classier, icier French version.
I might have been more impressed with The Page Turner if I hadn’t just seen Clouzot’s Le Ceremonie (review is up on the website). There, as here, a woman is employed into an affluent French household with unfortunate consequences for her employer. Unlike here, however, the motivations are much more complex than simple revenge, the characters are much more interesting, and the outcome is truly shocking.
3 stars
Audrey
Silent Hill (2006)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Determined to save her terminally ill daughter (Jodelle Ferland), Rose (Radha Mitchell) ignores the wishes of her husband and takes her to a faith healer. But her well-intentioned efforts somehow land them in an alternate reality — the deserted town of Silent Hill — where her daughter mysteriously disappears. Now, with only a police officer (Laurie Holden) to assist her, Rose is left to search for her child in a world of darkness and shadow.
REVIEW: For a film based on a video game, Silent Hill is genuinely disturbing. The acting is awful all the way around, but the direction was somewhat solid and the atmosphere was creepy.
3 stars
HAWK
Transformers (2007)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Based on the popular toys that transform from machines into giant robots, this live-action movie from Pearl Harbor director Michael Bay finds the planet Cybertron inhabitants engaging in a secret war for control of Earth’s natural resources, which they desperately need for fuel. Able to disguise themselves as cars, airplanes, boats and more, the transformers prove a tough enemy in this film starring Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel and Jon Voight.
REVIEW: Michael Bay’s best film since The Rock. The script is dumb as dirt, par for the course with Bay, and there is about 30 minutes of material that should probably have been left on the cutting room floor (the eye-rollingly bad scenes with the parents should have been the first to go), but the special effects and action are so fun that I gladly went along for the ride anyway.
3 stars
HAWK
Saturday Night Live: Halloween (1998)
Saturday Night Live: Halloween 
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Wayne and Garth, also known as Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, host this Saturday Night Live Halloween special with some unique comedy sketches that will scare you silly! Includes the top 10 “excellent babe” costumes list and an appearance by Pamela Anderson.
REVIEW: Typical SNL skits based around Halloween; some giggles but most of them aren’t very funny and they drag on too long.
2.5 stars
HAWK
Masters of Horror: Stuart Gordon: Dreams in the Witch House (2006)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: In hopes of making progress on his graduate thesis, stressed-out student Walter Gilman (Ezra Godden) rents a room in a crumbling old house. But with so many distractions — including a wall that could be a portal to another dimension and fiend with the face of a rat — it’s unlikely he’ll make much headway. Director Stuart Gordon brings H.P. Lovecraft’s short story to life in this shocking installment of the “Masters of Horror” series.
REVIEW: It’s hard to translate H P Lovecraft’s material to the big screen, but this episode gives it a shot, although the script changes the story a lot while updating it to the modern day. I liked it because I’ve read the story, but those who haven’t might not get the same kick out of it.
3.5 stars
HAWK
Volver (2006)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, this humorous fantasy stars Carmen Maura as Abuela Irene, who revisits her hometown in the La Mancha region — in spectral form — to resolve problems she couldn’t settle during her life. Abuela’s spirit gradually becomes a reassuring presence to her daughters (Penélope Cruz, in an Oscar-nominated performance, and Lola Dueñas) and granddaughter (Yohana Cobo).
Cast: Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Carmen Maura, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave, Leandro Rivera
AWARDS:
2007 Academy Award®: Best Actress nominee: Penélope Cruz
2007 BAFTA®: Best Actress nominee: Penélope Cruz
2007 BAFTA®: Best Foreign Language Film nominee
REVIEW: Harkening back to my days in Spanish class, I recall that “volver” means “to return” in Spanish. And what a great title on so many levels – the return of Penelope Cruz after lackluster American movies and American scripts in a wonderfully original film in her native language, the return of Almodovar to his exalted status as one of the world’s great current directors after seeing several flicks of his that I thought overrated, and of course, in the context of the film, the return of Abuela, Raimunda’s (Cruz) and Sole’s (her sister) mother, from “the dead.”
After being somewhat disappointed by Almodovar’s other films (though to be fair, several of Almodovar’s most famous and mostly highly praised films are still unavailable on Netflix), I was so encouraged by how great this film was. Finally, I understood why everyone regards Almodovar as such a great director, and particularly, as Billy Wilder was in his day, such a great director of women. If you see this, you’ll understand that he is one of the few directors nowadays who truly understands women.
All of the film’s major roles are held by women and Almodovar’s deft direction explores the relationships between these women, the sisters, the sisters’ relationships with their mother and with their friends, and Raimunda’s relationship with her daughter. It takes a very skilled director to impart realistic emotions, reactions, thoughts, words and feelings that the audience will not only buy, but buy so completely as to fall in love with the characters.
Too many movies that focus on women seem inept and quickly devolve into stereotypes, “weepies,” “chick flicks” or Lifetime movies of the week – or they result in biopics (Elizabeth the 8th anyone?) – too many hankies, drama queens and hystrionic acting. With Volver, Almodovar gives me much hope that original, smart, touching films can indeed be made about women.
I couldn’t get over how realistic the actors were, like they were playing scenes from their own lives, whether they reflected on screen as laughs, anger, regular daily speech, amazement, reluctance, or any of the millions of feelings and reactions that a human can possibly go through during the course of a day, including boredom. Cruz’s reaction and perpetual sniffing of the air when she thinks she smells something very similar to her mother’s…errrr…flatulence is hilarious but also endearing. 😉 The result is that you will leave the picture touched and optimistic.
The acting is first-rate, not just Penelope Cruz, but the actresses who play her cancer-stricken friend, her sister, her daughter, and the wonderful Abuela. Talk about another highly talented foreign actress in Cruz that’s been written off stateside to act in hackneyed, boring movies like Sahara (Gong Li being another). In Volver, she shows she has better acting chops than most American actresses considered “A-list” today, whatever that means anymore.
Almodovar’s trademark high-intensity color palette is used to marvelous effect here – the blossoms popping off of Cruz’s various low-cut blouses (Almodovar does appreciate the female form!), the pop art graphic blooms of the opening and closing credits, the technicolor turquoise blue of the restaurant that Raimunda secretly runs after her friend entrusts it to her to sell to any interested buyers are just some examples.
An absolute must-see that will restore your confidence in great female performances and great story-telling.
4.5 stars
Audrey
The Thing (1982)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Kurt Russell leads a team of American scientists at a base in Antarctica. Their uneventful lives are disrupted by a group of Norwegians in a helicopter firing at a lone dog. When the chopper crashes, the dog moves in with the scientists. During the night, the canine metamorphoses and attacks other animals at the base and members of the team, who soon discover that an alien that can take any shape is in their midst. John Carpenter directed.
REVIEW: More gory than its predecessor (The Thing From Another World — both were based on a John W Campbell short story “Who Goes There?”) but closer to the source material. This film still holds the standard for non-computer-generated special effects. Rumors abound of a remake….
4 stars
HAWK
Netflix Cinemajig 
