MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART (2015) review
written by: Jia Zhangke
produced by: Shozo Ichiyama
directed by: Jia Zhangke
rated: unrated
runtime: 131 min.
U.S. release date: September 28, 2015 (New York Film Festival), October 17, 2015 (Chicago International Film Festival) & April 15-12, 2016 (Gene Siskel Film Center)
Of the six movies I saw recently while flying to Bucharest and back, this was the best. Watching movies on an airplane is probably one of the worst ways to take in a movie, but here is one that I found myself enraptured by. Chinese writer/director Jia Zhangke’s eighth feature film, “Mountains May Depart” – his first since the award-winning “A Touch of Sin” – is a touching and ambitious look at family and identity, and the loss and alienation that comes with it. It’s a complex film in how it has a story that moves through time and in how it defies any definitive genre labeling, but it exudes a relevancy that is never in doubt. “Mountains May Depart” may be a fictional story, but it feels like it certainly could be someone’s autobiography, because it feels so true to life. Read more…
Keeping It Reel Goes to Bucharest!
Why Bucharest? Because I was invited and also – why not? If you were to tell me six years ago when I started Keeping It Reel that I would one day be invited to a film set, I would’ve dismissed such a thought as nonsense. Now, if you were to tell me that I’d be invited to visit the set of a film in another country, I would call you insane. Well, this weekend, such insanity is turning into reality, because this guy has accepted such an invitation and is being flown to Bucharest, Romania! So, what is this movie, what is it about and when will it get released? Read more…
ONE MORE TIME (2015) review
written by: Robert Edwards
produced by: Lucas Joaquin, Saemi Kim, Saerom Kim, Lars Knudsen, Chris Maybach, Ferne Pearlstein, and Jay Van Hoy
directed by: Robert Edwards
rated: Not Rated but features language and sexual content
runtime: 98 min.
U.S. release date: April 8, 2016 (limited, also avail. On Demand, iTunes and Amazon)
“Why do you bring that up? It’s spilt milk under the bridge.”
Despite the no-frills title, there’s much ado about everything in the new film “One More Time.” The film’s original title was “When I Live My Life Over Again,” which at the very least wasn’t as generic as “One More Time.” The original is the kind of title, however, that lets people know up front exactly how flawed the film is, and that it’s too much of a labor of love to be any good. It doesn’t desperately hide behind a title bland enough to let walk-up ticket buyers feel secure in their purchase, thanks to seeing Christopher Walken’s face next to those three dull words. Read more…
MR. RIGHT (2015) review
written by: Max Landis
produced by: Bradley Gallo, Michael A. Helfant, Rick Jacobs & Lawrence Mattis
directed by: Paco Cabezas
rated: R (for violence and language throughout)
runtime: 92 min.
U.S. release date: April 8, 2015 (limited theaters, On Demand, iTunes and Amazon)
The first fifteen minutes of “Mr. Right” is quite annoying with its lame setup and clichéd characters. Once the two leads find each other there are brief moments of fun interaction and maybe even some kind of cool action sequences, but bottom line: this movie is just plain dumb and boring. But look at it though – it stars Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell, two of the most likable working actors out there. How could this under-the-radar, genre-bending action comedy go wrong? That’s easy. One only needs to look at the pedigree of this movie’s writer and director and then it will make sense and serve as a reminder that you can have two perfectly enjoyable and talented actors in a movies – maybe even three – but if the script and directing are lousy, there’s no escaping the smell of a turd. Read more…
CLASSICS: Rear Window (1954)
written by: John Michael Hayes
produced by: Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
rated: unrated
runtime: 112 min.
U.S. release date: September 1, 1954
If there’s any medium of art that has taught us to observe the actions and behavior of others it is the cinema. It’s all there for us on the screen, so how can we look away. The movie camera of our mind is always rolling and recording who we encounter and those we observe from afar. But when does it get to the point of obsessiveness? Director Alfred Hitchcock touched on such a question in his 1954 masterpiece “Rear Window”, in which a wheelchair-bound character becomes consumed with the activity he sees outside his window. In it, the filmmaker makes an obvious statement about voyeurism – as viewers watch a movie about watching – and how the audience is no different from those they are watching. Read more…
THE WITCH (2016) review
written by: Robert Eggers
produced by: Daniel Bekerman, Lars Knudsen, Jodi Redmond & Jay Van Hoy
directed by: Robert Eggers
rated: R (for disturbing violent content and graphic nudity)
runtime: 93 min.
U.S. release date: February 19, 2016
“The Witch” is a scary film. Not necessarily because of the witch in the film, although she is quite creepy and disturbing, but because of the hold it has on us as we watch it. This atmospheric and moody film is the directorial debut of writer/director Robert Eggers and it’s not just unsettling and disturbing – it also has an unforgettable aura about it that will leave an indelible mark on a viewer’s psyche. It relies on what we don’t see and hear as much as what we do and will definitely prompt discussions of the penchant for paranoia and obsessiveness in both family and religion. Read more…
DC10: A Festival of Documentary Gems
The last thing Chicago needs is yet another annual film festival, since it feels like there’s at least one every month. Right? Wrong. There can never be enough festivals to celebrate film and even though it feels impossible to keep up with all of them or when I try like I’m chasing my tail, I will still support and embrace what I can. So, when the beautiful Music Box Theatre kicks off a brand new 3-day festival featuring the best of recent documentaries within the past year, there’s no way I could refuse checking out these films and promoting the festival. Besides, the more movies I see, the more documentaries I watch and the more I appreciate their potential and power, probably more than any other medium of film. Read more…
written by: Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol
produced by: Jacques-Rémy Girerd
directed by: Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol
rated: unrated
runtime: 84 min.
release date: September 12, 2015 (TIFF)
The creative writers/directors of the Oscar-nominated animated feature “A Cat in Paris”, Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol are back with another feature-length film, “Phantom Boy”, using the same distinctive and vibant style to tell another adventure. Acquired by American distributor GKIDS (the folks who gave us “The Boy & the World” and “Song of the Sea”), this French-language film is yet another fun and clever story that combines a pop-art, hand-drawn style with Squigglevision, which can be enjoyed by all-ages, especially those American kids who feel like their growing out of the typical animation fare offered in the U.S. Read more…
CLASSICS: Bicycle Thieves (1948)
written by: Cesare Zavattini
produced by: Giuseppe Amato and Vittorio De Sica
directed by: Vittorio De Sica
rated: unrated
runtime: 93 min.
release date: November 24, 1948 (Italy) and December 13, 1948 (U.S.)
As I watched “Bicycle Thieves”, I couldn’t help but think of all the old photos I’ve seen of the Italian side of my family since my childhood. Most of the pictures were of ancestors I hardly knew around the time of the Great Depression when they migrated from “the old country” as they began a new life in Chicago. But what of life in Italy, before America? Growing up, I’d heard stories over the years, but it wasn’t until I’d finally gotten around to viewing Vittorio De Sica’s landmark film from 1948, that I was reminded what life might’ve been like in Italy back then. “The Bicycle Thieves” is populated by people who looked just as they did in those old photos – nicely dressed yet poor, rarely smiling yet content – that’s because the film simply holds a mirror up to a certain place in time and captures life as it was, resulting in a timeless story for any period. Read more…
written by: Álex de la Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría
produced by: Enrique Cerezo
directed by: Álex de la Iglesia
rated: unrated
runtime: 100 min.
release date: September 11, 2015 (TIFF), October 23, 2015 (Spain)
The only film I’ve seen from Spanish auteur Álex de la Iglesia is his second English-language film ‘The Oxford Murders” from 2008, which I found somewhat unmemorable. That was probably not the best movie to introduce myself to the director’s work as he is known for dark comedies that are laced with dramatic and horror elements, such as “The Perfect Crime” and “The Last Circus”. In the energetic and zany, “My Big Night” or “Mi Gran Noche”, de la Iglesia effortlessly balances an ensemble cast, reteaming with his screenwriting collaborator Jorge Guerricaechevarría to co-write a hilarious story that pokes fun at entertainers and accurately depicts the insanity of a television production. Read more…
