Telluride
2014
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
really, really good/great films. They made my day:
Escobar
In Columbia a young, idealistic surfer (Josh Hutchinson, who is excellent)
meets a girl whose uncle just so happens to be Pablo Escobar the notorious
drug lord (played by a menacing Benicio Del Toro). Fast action flick that
is fascinating and horrifying at the same time.
Merchants of Doubt
Documentary by the director of Food, Inc. A well done, fascinating (and
horrifying) examination of the pro-industry science deniers. A tell-all
about how advocates of nuclear deterrence, climate change deniers and
pseudo-science by cigarette manufacturers successfully “brand” and sugar
coat their messages. A must-see, regardless of your politics.
The Imitation Game
An award-worthy film all around … from the story – based on fact – about
the tiny group of mathematicians who were given the task of decoding Nazi
Germany’s encrypted military messages to the star, Benedict Cumberbatch and
his able supporting cast (Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance).
This well done film provides the story of a thrilling piece of history few
of us knew anything about … bravo.
Rosewater
Jon Stewart’s first foray into directing, starring Gael Garcia Bernal as an
Iranian born journalist sent to cover the 2009 presidential elections in
Tehran. Based on a true story, the journalist is jailed as a “CIA-Zionist
spy”. Tense, fascinating and very, very well done it adds insight to the
plight of the many “political” journalist prisoners sin cells all over the
world for trying to cover international news.
Wild
Having read Stared’s book about her solo 1100 mile hike along the Pacific
Crest Trail, I was skeptical that a film could capture the thoughts and
emotions that accompanied this life-changing trek. OMG Reese Witherspoon,
Laura Dern and the director Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club) nailed
it! Academy Award nominations are sure to follow. Though I knew the story I
was nevertheless totally engrossed in this film from beginning to end.
“good” but not for everyone:
Foxcatcher
Based on a true story about the American millionaire John Dupont and his
obsession with wrestling and the subsequent murder of one of the Olympic
wrestlers he “mentors”, this is a gripping film with award-worthy
performances by Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo. It is not –
however – for everyone. For most of the film I was just baffled by the
various turn of events … they literally made no sense. Guaranteed to make
you view Carell in a new light.
Mommy
This film showed waaay past my bedtime, and I had already seen 4 films so I
skipped this one. Depending on who you talked to, this was either a
brilliant or stupid decision. This received the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes.
It’s about a working class widow who adores her son who has a “propensity
for sociopathic violence” and is also her sometime lover.
lots of positive buzz from “the line”:
99 Homes
The 2008 foreclosure of millions of homes is the backdrop of this story
about two ordinary guys … a real estate broker (Michael Shannon) and the
guy he evicts (Andrew Garfield).
Dancing Arabs
A bittersweet 80s coming of age drama adapted from two novels by the
director of The Lemon Tree. A gifted Arab teenager wins the chance to
attend a prestigious Jewish boarding school in Israel. Heartbreak, tragedy
and politics intervene.
Diplomacy
In 1945 Hitler ordered one of his generals to destroy Paris’s iconic
landmarks (think the Eiffel Tower). This fictional tale is the diplomatic
“dialogue” between the Nazi general and a Swedish diplomat who “discuss”
the reasons why the general should ignore Hitler’s order.
Madame Bovary
Mia Wasikowska is a young woman suffocated by provincial life whose longing
for sensuous pleasure leads to her downfall.
Mr. Turner
This has already gone on my Netflix list. The filmmaker Mike Leigh shares
his fascination for the visionary, radical mid 19
th century
British painter J.M.W. Turner.
Red Army
Documentary. During the Cold War the Soviet hockey team were national
heroes. This tale of glory and sorrow is told through the eyes of the
talented, youngest ever captain of the team who eventually wins the Stanley
Cup as part of the U.S. National Hockey League.
the acting was fine - maybe even brilliant - the cinematography
lovely/unique, however …
Birdman
This is a tour de force for the central character played by Michael Keaton.
Maybe even award-worthy, but the story about a faded Hollywood action star
trying to produce and star in a play on Broadway was just too ridiculous
and full of fluff for me. There were definitely some funny, outrageous
scenes and the supporting cast (Ed Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan) was
good.
’71
I wanted to like this film set in 1971 in Belfast. It was – in places -
quite good but keeping track of which of the British and Irish combatants
were good and which were corrupt was nearly impossible. It did offer some
insight into today’s bitterly fought wars (Ukaine, Syria, Israel,
Palestine, Somolia come to mind) in that sometimes it’s really hard to
figure out who is good and who is evil … since both sides have a liberal
dose of both.
Two Days, One Night
A down on her luck factory worker (Marion Cotillard) is threatening with
being fired. Pushed by her husband and a co-worker she decides to use the
weekend to try to drum up support for her re-hiring. To say the film is
slow is an overstatement. I wish I would have cared what happened to our
heroine, but I really didn’t. He passivity made me want to scream. On the
other hand, Cotillard does a good job etc. etc.
disappointing …
The 50 Year Argument
Documentary. Everything you ever wanted to know about The New York Review
of Books and it’s editor Robert Silvers. Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Interesting but slow … very, very slow.
The Homesman
Hilary Swank, Tommy Lee Jones, a phenomenal supporting cast and beautiful
cinematography … what could possibly go wrong? Well, the story, for one.
Adapted from a novel - perhaps the book made more sense - this frontier
story of a lone – supposedly unattractive – woman (Swank) who for some
reason agrees to take 3 “crazy” wives back home to their families was a
real disappointment.
Omg, I didn’t see any truly “ugly” films this year!
