Here are reviews of the films that I saw at the Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day:

     "Life During Wartime" is Todd Solondz's droll and observant companion piece of sorts to "Happiness".  This brilliant film concerns several characters including a single mother named Trish (Alison Janney) who rekindles her love life.  Her first husband has recently been released from prison.  Joy (Shirley Henderson) is haunted by the ghost of a former lover (Paul Reubens) who killed himself.  Both films have deadpan dialogue and begin with an awkward date scene in which queasy truths are reached.  Solondz's precise mise-en-scene is a most peculiar thing and one of a kind, as his style balances deep emotions with a detached irony. (4 stars)

     Introducing "The White Ribbon" at Telluride, director Michael Haneke wished the audience an uncomfortable screening.  The film is set in a town in pre-World War I Germany as a series of bizarre events and vandalisms grip the community.  The movie does have a way of beating you over the head with its plot elements and ideas, but all that is justified with ravishing black-and-white cinematography and a fascinating scene where a child and his nanny have a conversation about death. (3 stars)

     "Vincere" is a superb melodrama about how Mussollini had a son with his mistress and later denied it.  The mother was placed in an insane asylum away from her child.  The movie has a heartbreaking whallop and rampant emotions.  Bold montages reflect director Marco Bellochio's deft filmmaking. (3-1/2 stars)

     Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" is a rich character portrait set in a fictional prison in France.  Absorbing and astonishingly well-made, the airtight script follows a prisoner who unwillingly gets involved with lowlifes who threaten to kill him if he doesn't kill another prisoner.  Another inmate with books tells him that the idea is to leave prison a little smarter.  (4 stars)

     "Fish Tank" is an interesting slice of life centering around a teenage girl who is fond of hip hop dance and is enamored with her mother's boyfriend. (3 stars)

     "The Road" is a grungy post-apocalyptic story of survival set in a dystopian future where a father (Viggo Mortensen) struggles to keep his son and himself alive on their quest to the sea.  The fine performances (including a cameo from Robert Duvall) distinguish the film apart from its murky look which doesn't allow much light or beauty to peek through.  (3 stars)

     "An Education" is a sophisticated coming-of-age film and a sweet confection filled with strong performances (most notably the lead, an energetic newcomer named Carey Mulligan).  Mulligan plays a schoolgirl headed for a prestigious university who gets schooled in another way (in life) when she meets an older man (Peter Sarsgaard).  They meet quirky on a rainy day when he offers her a ride after seeing her cello, tells her he's a music lover, and would hate to see the instrument ruined.  He introduces her to nightclubs, travel, recitals, art, and romance.  What ensues is complications between school and her idea of a new life without dull, boring essays on Latin.  The movie is sure-footed and a satisfying delight.  (4 stars)

     "Bright Star" is a lush, romantic period piece about the poet John Keats and a young lady named Fanny who loves his work.  Elegantly scored and with a scenery-chewing performance by Paul Schneider as a patron of Keats, the film is a return to top form by director Jane Campion.  (3-1/2 stars)

     Nicolas Cage deserves an Oscar nomination for his over-the-top and incredulously joyful performance as a drug-addled cop in Werner Herzog's pungently artful "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans".  The film opens with a shot of a snake swimming through murky water in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.  The film boasts scenes of such ingenious and quirky invention that they have to be seen to be believed.  Shakedowns, a big bust, some iguanas, and much corruption infuse the film with fascination and humor.  (4 stars)

     Herzog was also at Telluride with a most peculiar film called "My Son My Son, What Have Ye Done?" about a man who has killed two people with a sword as part of an obsession with a play.  An inquiring detective (Willem Dafoe) and two flamingoes make their way through the proceedings.  Fine performances from the cast enliven the quirky plot.  (3-1/2 stars)

      Two short films were also shown including one by Herzog set in Africa based on La Boheme about unrequited love.  "Plastic Bag" by Ramin Bahrani is so perfectly timed and such a charming curiousity. It is about the travels of a plastic bag from the grocery store to a lady's home to the landfill and finally into the sea.  The droll narration from Werner Herzog punctuates the amazing adventure and gives the inanimate object a personality.  You just had to be there. 

Tags: Telluride Film Festival

0 comments View Entry

Hi,

     Patrick Kelly here in New York City.  I just saw the premiere of Joe Pantoliano's "No Kidding, Me Too!" and it is an enlightening, absorbing documentary chronicling a handful of people who are afflicted by brain dis-ease.  One of the subjects fell out of a ninth story window and his story of perseverance is inspiring.  Another subject deals with substance abuse and bipolar, noting that substances don't work after a while.  One subject deals with schizophrenia and hearing voices since a young age and another subject pulled it together to become a surgeon.  Psychiatrists and psychologists are also interviewed. 

     Post traumatic stress disorder (especially among war veterans) and traumatic brain injuries are also given a spotlight.  Pantoliano's sense of humor infuses the film and his interview skills are sharp enough to shed light on important issues.  Laughter is noted to release chemicals in the brain that can make one feel better.  Snippets of information are given between segments that are insightful.  At one point while visiting a brain bank, Pantoliano says "There are more brains in here than in the oval office" and a subtitle notes that he is referring to the W. administration.  The film is a cathartic and emotional experience and has some beautiful songs about hope in it.  The documentary is more entertaining than most and will most likely show on PBS, though a big-screen engagement is also called for.  A good line from the end of the film says that the negative behaviors portrayed in the film should not be pursued.

     On the way up to New York City from Arlington, Texas my father, brother, and I stopped by Chicago for the Chicago International Film Festival as well.

  I have here a revised best films of all-time list:

Best Films of All-Time

1.  Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spielberg)

2.  Santa Sangre (Jodorowsky)

3.  Requiem for a Dream (Aronofsky)

4.  Nosferatu, the Vampyre (Herzog)

5.  Apocalypse Now (Coppola)

6.  Dark City (Proyas)

7.  The Hairdresser's Husband (Leconte)

8.  Mulholland Dr. (Lynch)

9.  Being John Malkovich (Jonze)

10.  Exotica (Egoyan)

11.  Citizen Kane (Welles)

12.  After Hours (Scorsese)

13.  Rachel, Rachel (Newman)

14.  Raging Bull (Scorsese)

15.  2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)

16.  Ikiru (Kurosawa)

17.  Shy People (Konchalovsky)

18.  Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Zemeckis)

19.  Dekalog (Kieslowski)

20.  The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah)

21.  Metropolis (Lang)

22.  Dr. Strangelove (Kubrick)

23.  Singin' in the Rain (Donen & Kelly)

24.  Adaptation (Jonze)

25.  Fargo (Coen)

26.  8 1/2 (Fellini)

27.  The Godfather (Coppola)

28.  Taxi Driver (Scorsese)

29.  Pulp Fiction (Tarantino)

30.  Princess Mononoke (Miyazaki)

     Stay tuned for more reviews to come, I'm planning reviews of the films mentioned above and I also have reviews of ten films from the Telluride Film Festival which was held over Labor Day.  Todd Solondz's "Life During Wartime", Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet", Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans", and Lone Scherfig's "An Education" were highlights at that wonderful festival in Colorado. 

     I am still taking my psychiatric medication (Abilify) every day. The use of a pill box makes taking the medicine an exact science and makes me feel good about myself.  My twin brother, Sean, is taking his medication as well (Prozac, Seroquel, Neurontin, Trileptal).  We are going to try our best not to pursue negative behaviors.

My best,

Patrick Kelly

patrickthecritic@yahoo.com

Tags: Premiere Film Medication

1 comments View Entry

"Whatever Works" is quintessential Woody Allen:  long takes, witty dialogue, some pessimism, and a character that is a surrogate for Allen.  Larry David, of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fame, plays a physicist named Boris whose theory of the world, which gives the film its title, is tested when he befriends a runaway.  The film has a quirky comic spirit.

     "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" suffers from being a bit too talky and claustrophobically intense.  Tony Scott's thriller scores some points for being stylishly shot and rivetingly acted (by Denzel Washington and John Travolta as a subway train hijacker) but is a marginal effort.

     "Up" is a colorful, buoyant animated film from Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc.") and Pixar studios.  The protagonist is a 78-year-old widower who doesn't want to give up his house to land developers.  The opening stretch of the film is masterful storytelling as it shows the man's marriage which began with a courtship based on adventure and a fixation on a paradise waterfall in South America.  The film takes flight when the man's house floats off to South America with the help of numerous balloons.  A boy scout, a dog with a collar that allows him to speak, and a colorful bird add to the proceedings.  Christopher Kelly of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes that the film "has the heart and anguish of an Ingmar Bergman chamber drama."

     "Watchmen" is an intricately designed adaptation of a celebrated graphic novel about superheroes.  The film has a stirring soundtrack and is a triumph of bold visuals.  One fascinating character is Rorschach who has an ink blot test for a face.

     "Bruno" is an outrageous comedy about a flamboyant Austrian talk show host.  The character is one of three comic inventions from Sacha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show, Borat) and his travels will have some moviegoers rushing out of theaters.  Those who stay will be treated to hilarious sights as Bruno literally stumbles onto a fashion runway show, adopts an African baby boy, offends a talk show audience, overacts playing an extra on a jury in a "Law & Order" episode, insinuates himself into a swingers party, involves a politician in an uncomfortable situation, and astonishes a focus group with mixed results.  All of the raucous shenanigans are punctuated by techno music.

     "Public Enemies" is stylish filmmaking from director Michael Mann.  The period detail and digital cinematography blend brilliantly.  The results are astonishing and tough to shake.  Johnny Depp plays the elusive outlaw John Dillinger who gives the feds a run for their money.  The freshly Oscar-ed Marion Cotillard plays Dillinger's girlfriend and both actors give taut performances.  The film employs bravura action set pieces during the bank robberies, jail breaks, and the feds' attempts to collar Dillinger.

     "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is impeccably mounted and elegantly scored.  The plot, hard to follow as usual with these Potter films, involves Harry's attempts to find out more information about Tom Riddle (a.k.a. the evil Voldemort) from the new professor at Hogwarts who taught Riddle years ago.  Some emotional developments ensue, giving the series more gravitas than the last few pictures were able to.  Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, and Alan Rickman steal the show.

     "The Hangover" has a stroke of genius in not showing the bachelor party that the plot centers around, but instead introducing elements that hilariously make no sense at first.  Those elements include:  a chicken, a Vegas stripper, an infant, a stolen police car, Mike Tyson's tiger, a missing tooth, a trashed room at a pricey hotel, and three friends with killer hangovers who are searching for the fourth, who is getting married.  The comedy is a sloppy success with moments of inspired hilarity.

Stay tuned for more reviews and Telluride Film Festival coverage,

Patrick Kelly

patrickthecritic@yahoo.com

Tags: Movie Reviews

0 comments View Entry

     Hi, my name is Patrick Kelly.  I take medicine for schizophrenia.  I have been diagnosed and prescribed various medications since 2003.  I have been taking Abilify almost every single day for the last three years.  It is important to take the medicine daily.  I have also taken Risperdal for an extended period of time.

     I have a twin brother named Sean.  He has been diagnosed as having bipolar since 2002.  He takes multiple medications and I will elaborate on that later.

     I met Joey in April of 2008 at Roger Ebert's Film Festival in Illinois where "Canvas" was shown.  I am very grateful that my movie reviews were posted on Joey's page.  It has been a pleasure to write about movies for this web site.  Thank you, Joey.  And thank you Lauren, Alex, and John.

Sincerely,

Patrick Kelly

patrickthecritic@yahoo.com

Tags: Film Reviews

0 comments View Entry