Review: The Day After Peace (2008)

directed by: Jeremy Gilley

It’s probably not well known that September 21^st is UN International Day of Peace.  Maybe you saw a 5 second bit on the news, or had no clue at all like me.  Even if today is a Day of Peace – what does it mean?  Is it just as obscure and ignored as much as Wife Appreciation Day (September 19^th)?

The Day After Peace is a documentary showing one man’s determination to make September 21^st more than just a day on the calendar.  Jeremy Gilley founded the organization Peace One Day in an effort to get countries all over the world to agree to a day of cease-fire and non-violence.  Faced with cynicism and rejection, Jeremy spent over a decade meeting with different representatives and organizations determined to make the International Day of Peace truly a day of non-violence.

This film played at Cannes and a variety of film festivals all over the world in 2008 but received no theatrical distribution, at least as far as I could tell from IMDb.  I will admit that the film itself is a bit of a mess – with the first 30 minutes seeming aimless and tedious.  The film gradually celebrates small successes, including a media endorsement from Angelina Jolie.  But it isn’t until Jude Law and the World Heath Organization get involved that the film starts to focus on the possibility of real strides in the name of peace.

In the summer of 2007, Jeremy and Jude travel to Afghanistan in attempt to promote the upcoming International Day of Peace.  The goal is to have a cease-fire understanding from all parties so that neutral health organizations can vaccinate children in areas of the country that are typically too dangerous for aide workers to travel.

The breakthrough came in the form of a signed letter from a high-up member of the Taliban movement which stated the importance of the health of the children and agreed to a cease-fire so that aide workers could provide vaccinations.  Because of this, 1.4 million children were vaccinated on the UN International Day of Peace and no aide worker was harmed.  In addition, there were other non-violence successes and celebrations around the world.

Jeremy and the Peace One Day organization continue to promote non-violence on September 21^st with the idea that one day of non-violence is a stepping stone for having world peace every day of the year.  In addition, Jeremy continues to document his efforts which will be included in a new version of the film currently in production.  I hope Jeremy considers making improvements to the structure of the first 30 minutes next time around.  If you want more information on Peace One Day, go to www.peaceoneday.org.

Oh right…I’d give it a C+.

A Decade in Film – 2000 to 2009

After having threads devoted to each year of the previous decade, now seems a good time to look back at the overall decade and see what was the best (and the worst).

I’ve got to admit that overall I found the previous decade of films less than inspiring. Sure, there were plenty of good, solid, enjoyable films but there were surprisingly few imo that were truly exceptional pieces of cinema. I don’t think there’s a single film I’ve seen that I would regard as a classic.

As a result, I’ve defined my ‘best of’ list as those I considered to be A-Grade films which I’d define as very high-quality films. But I don’t consider any of them to be flawless, 5 out of 5 films imo (although ‘Good Night… and Good Luck’ probably is closest to that)

A-Grade films (in no particular order) – Good Night and Good Luck (probably the best made film of the decade imo), Michael Clayton, The Queen, The Lives of Others,  Brokeback Mountain, Kinsey, About Schmidt, About a Boy, Auto Focus, Gosford Park, Ghost World, High Fidelity, A Single Man, Children of Men

Worst  – Righteous Kill, The Oh in Ohio, What Planet Are You from?, Scary Movie (it was a particularly dismal decade for comedy), Mission Impossible 2 (couldn’t watch it all the way through), Thir13en Ghosts 

Most Overrated – An Inconvenient Truth, Superbad, Kill Bill, Wonder Boys, Meet The Parents, Spiderman 2

Most Overlooked/Underrated – Auto Focus, The Assasination of Richard Nixon

Year by year threads:

2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Review: District 9

District 9 is a distinct and wholly original take on the alien sci-fi genre. A relentless action film that moves at full-speed right from the beginning, it’s a deftly-handled, tightly-written and furiously-paced parable about humans and aliens struggling to co-exist.

District 9 Directed by Neill Blomkamp

The idea that one can mix the tenets of a fully-formed parable within the genre framework of a kick-ass action picture is quite staggering to watch unfold. As with Sleep Dealer before it, District 9 (albeit on a much slicker and far better effects budget) proffers remarkably deep ideas about humans and what it means to exert control over another race. The fact that the race in question is from another planet holds absolutely no bearing in our belief in or our ability to surrender to this supremely talented filmmaker, a young man who has created a living society of creatures through amazing special effects for the budget and incredibly seamless direction and camerawork and placed them in a world that we feel exists completely.

It is a testament, also, to the digital camera that will, quite easily, supplant the Genesis and even the Filmstream as the go-to digital cameras for “New Hollywood”. The striking resolution of the images blew away anything in Zodiac or Superman Returns. (Shot on Filmstream and Genesis, respectively.) The film-like images and lack of digital-flash in the movement was a wonder to behold. Unlike other major action films shot on digital, this movie moved and moved and moved and jumped and jiggled and never stood still, but not once did it feel as though we were watching a video image (except when it was supposed to feel that way), and never once did we say ‘hold still’. The format worked for what the movie was and the camera is nothing short of a sensation and mark my words, it will be used for many years to come on many more major movies. It’s nothing less than a complete game-changer.

The movie itself relies more on the framework of its ideas than anything substantially deep in the plot department as it sets up a situation that involves a worker for a major arms dealer/everything-else-controlling-corporation going into the slum to clear all the aliens into a de-facto concentration camp with the thought of making the aliens’ lives better. What everyone knows but fails to acknowledge (except an extremely perceptive talking head) is that this corporation wants to control alien weapons, and they will do genetic tests to achieve just that goal.

When the main character ignorantly infects himself with alien DNA, the corporation finds out and wants to take his tissues for experimentation. The rest of the movie is a race against time to find a way to ‘cure’ the lead character’s transformation. What really solidifies the amazing structure of the movie is its absolutely pitch-perfect and satisfying ending, the first ending in a long time that left it wide-open for a sequel while being insanely satisfying in itself. (A lot like the final episode of The Shield. A lot.)

But what struck me the most, and what no review I’ve read has yet touched on, is just how…completely ‘modern’ the director’s and writers’ handling of the material comes across.

At times, this is as close to watching a first-person shooter as you’re going to find. That is in no way a knock on the film, quite the contrary, it gives such a visceral feel to the film while at the same time triggering something within the viewer that says: “I know this conceit…and I really, really like it.”

The allusions to popular video games are sometimes so strong, one in particular involving a pig and a “Blackwater” Agent, that I wondered why more of the young men in the crowd didn’t yell “BFG!” or “Half-Life” when many of them so obviously knew what had happened. And honestly, I had to take a second and say: “Please, please give this man the Halo movie.”

For me, it was incredible to see this, the first director actually using the video game conceits, sometimes to the letter, for an action film that you may as well, at times, have been playing with a joystick in your hand. The way people died, even…I just…unless you’re an avid gamer, which many in the audience obviously were, I’m not sure you’ll understand. This was the first movie in a long time where the crowd was audibly gasping in fear and anticipation and then cheering at situations on the screen. In so many aspects, this movie represents the ushering in of a new era. Its implications will be felt for many years to come.

We have only just begun to touch the surface of modern filmmaking and like OK Computer in ’96, District 9 will be seen as the movie that correctly ushered in a new way to treat an old art form.

Review: Baby Mama (2008)

 

Baby Mama is a comedy about Kate (Tina Fey), a single, successful late-30s businesswoman who suddenly has a desire to have a child but finds that her body seems incapable of having one. She turns to surrogacy and frictions arise with the working-class surrogate mother Angie (Amy Poehler) whose personality and attitude towards pregnancy are at complete odds with Kate’s high-maintenance views. When Angie moves in with her after leaving her cheating husband the friction inevitably increases.

In its opening third the film seemed to be about how two characters from vastly different socio-economic backgrounds would learn to adjust and like each other in a challenging situation. While it appeared to be heading down a predictable path I was quite fine with that as it was enjoyable enough and had a pretty good comic sensibility.

But alas, from the moment we learn that Angie is in fact faking the pregnancy that the film falls apart. While still having its reasonable share of funny moments, the plot (even by mainstream Hollywood standards) becomes increasingly contrived. The finale where numerous idiotic events occur to create a happy ending – which would’ve been much easier to do if they’d stayed with the plot of the opening third – is mind-numbingly idiotic.

(Warning: spoilers follow)

To use one example of a problematic plot turn, at a fairly late stage in the film Kate learns that the baby Angie is carrying (who is pregnant through her husband) isn’t hers. You would presume this piece of deceit would be devastating for her and would lead to much understandable bitterness and anger towards Angie. Instead, after some brief remorse from Angie at a court hearing, that is all forgotten and Kate is right by Angie’s side as she’s about to have her baby as if she’s her best friend!

It’s a shame that these plot weaknesses hurt the film because it has a reasonable share of funny moments, helped by writer/director Michael McCullers who displays a decent sense of comic timing. As for the cast, while Fey and Poehler weren’t really successful at creating fully-fledged three-dimensional characterisations (especially Poehler) their comedic skills ensured they were enjoyable to watch. Steve Martin is mildly funny in a minor role as Kate’s boss but the real standout support performance was Sigourney Weaver who, as the somewhat eccentric head of the surrogate institute, is very amusing and avoids the obvious trap of overplaying her role. Greg Kinnear was somewhat wasted as Kate’s love interest and Maura Tierney continues to be stuck with thankless support roles that she was doing back in the 1990s.

Despite its good qualities this film wasn’t a particularly satisfying experience. Even in a conventional comedy like this some level of intellectual rigour needs to exist for it to work successfully.

(Note: image from http://seantm.blogspot.com/)

Yeah, God hates you.

Following Warner Brother’s aggressive one-sheet campaign for The Dark Knight (during which new posters seemed to pop up daily) they’re now employing the same strategy for another eagerly-anticipated sequel: Ace Ventura Jr:

I’d assume the above will be littering multiplexes from coast to coast soon, although it’s still unclear whether AvJR is a theatrical or DTV release.  Here’s hoping for neither.

Source: filmz.ru

Worst poster of 2008, candidate for decade

Behold: The ugliest, most laughable poster for a studio film I’ve seen in years.  Given that it’s part of one of the most inept marketing campaigns in recent memory, I probably shouldn’t surprised.

Note: I’m not including a preview of the image because I really think it deserves to be seen in it’s full glory.

Trailer for Frank Miller’s Feature-Length Calvin Klein ‘Obession’ Commercial

The co-Director of Sin City + The visual style of that film and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow + Lionsgate + Dick Tracy style characters + Tight-looking budget + ScarJo’s eye for quality + Samuel L. Jackson =

UPDATE: All copies of the trailer have been removed from YouTube.  You can still find a non-embedded version HERE.

No way, no how, not with a gun to my head.

It’s going to be a long Fall.

Tracking numbers are just not ‘Happening’, Hulk a hit

Despite my prediction that FOX’s marketing machine would save the day: M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening is DOA in terms of the latest tracking numbers:

According to Hollywood.com: M. Night’s killer plant movie is only at 54% Awareness and a 4% 1st choice. Compare that to Universal’s Hulk (opening that same day) at 91% Awareness, 35% Definite Interest and 9% 1st choice.

Hulk is on-track to open above 50 million and possibly higher depending on how successful Uni’s campaign is these next two weeks. The Happening is looking at something in the low/mid 20′s.

First look at Josh Brolin as John Kerry in “W.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly

AICN posts highly-negative Indiana Jones review, reports that screening reaction has been “uniformly rough”

“The Indiana movie that you were dreading”

Endurance Test: 3 minutes of Speed Racer

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Trailer 2

It won’t be up long, but someone has posted a decent quality bootleg of the full Indiana Jones theatrical trailer on YouTube. It’s INFINITELY better than the bland teaser released earlier in the year.

Updated Quicktime links:
480p
720p

A round-up of 88 Minutes Reviews

Fool me once…

The actual track list for John Williams’ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull score: