This is a love story. Superbly nuanced performances from Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay and exquisite direction by Andrew Haigh, who also co-wrote the film, turn an apparently everyday story of a marriage in quiet crisis into something rather extraordinary. A subtle examination of the persistence of the past and the fragile (in)stability of the present, this is a portrait of a rock-solid relationship facing a fissure that cuts to its very core in the runup to the titular wedding anniversary.
Category Archives: Film
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Zürich Film Festival – Spotlight Has it All
SPOTLIGHT stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schrieber, and Stanley Tucci. It tells the riveting true story of the Boston Globe‘s Spotlight investigation team who uncovered a scandal that would rock the city and shock the world. For years, whispers of the Boston Archdiocese’s cover up of sexual abuse within the Catholic church were largely ignored by the media, the police and the legal system. Against all odds, the spotlight team fought to expose the truth. SPOTLIGHT is directed by Academy Award (R) Nominee Tom McCarthy.
Zurich Film Festival – Wolfpack
This is a very cool movie. Wolfpack – a documentary that couldn’t be made up. Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed the Wolfpack, the brothers spend their childhood re-enacting their favorite films using elaborate homemade props and costumes. With no friends and living on welfare, they feed their curiosity, creativity, and imagination with film, which allows them to escape from their feelings of isolation and loneliness. Everything changes when one of the brothers escapes, and the power dynamics in the house are transformed. The Wolfpack must learn how to integrate into society without disbanding the brotherhood. Brilliant cinema.
Spotlight – A Favorite For Toronto
Spotlight has already received some positive notices but this isn’t just drafting behind them. I have been a fan of Tom McCarthy’s films such as The Visitor and The Station Agent because he’s a director who can elicit the best performances from his previously underutilized actors including Richard Jenkins, Peter Dinklage and Bobby Cannavale. This is one of the brightest prospects of the Toronto Film Festival.
Show Me a Hero – The Wire Revisited
Two words: Oscar Isaac. If that isn’t enough: The guys that brought you The Wire… Show me a Hero is an amazing new series produced by good old HBO.
The plot:Mayor Nick Wasicsko took office in 1987 during Yonkers’ worst crisis. When federal courts ordered public housing be built in the white, middle class side of town, it divided the city in a bitter battle fueled by fear, racism, murder and politics.
The trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyD4U8nd4ho
Demetri Martin – Live – At the Time
Netflix knows what people want – or at least what TrendEngel wants. The new standup special featuring Demetri Martin is just – for lack of a better word – hillarious. See for yourself:
Regression – This Looks Exciting
Just the facts:
A father is accused of a crime he has no memory of committing.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar
Writer: Alejandro Amenábar
Stars: Emma Watson, Ethan Hawke, Aaron Ashmore
And of course: The Trailer:
The Diary of a Teenage Girl – Feminism Revisited
It’s hard to find a film that accurately and truthfully portrays the sexual experiences of a teenage girl – strange considering it’s a subject that concerns half of the world’s population. As such, Californian writer/director Marielle Heller’s astonishing debut film, The Diary Of A Teenage Girl, feels revolutionary in refusing to trivialise its characters’ natural feelings, while also deftly traversing such an emotional and ethical minefield.
What makes The Diary Of A Teenage Girl so special is the fact that it presents the young woman at the centre of its story without judgment. It doesn’t gloss over Minnie’s true feelings about sex (“I really like getting fucked,” she declares at one point) and it doesn’t demonise anyone involved, least of all Minnie. Instead, it’s a rare depiction of the truth of growing up – one that should be an accepted norm rather than an oddity. The trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSnjJrbu1tY
Mississippi Grind – A Real American Movie
This is good. Mississippi Grind. Not since Sideways we have seen a buddy movie like this. Down on his luck and facing financial hardship, Gerry teams up with younger charismatic poker player, Curtis, in an attempt to change his luck. The two set off on a road trip through the South with visions of winning back what’s been lost.
Slow Learners – A Real Comedy
The plot is simple:Jeff and Anne, two close friends and co-workers, are embarrassingly unlucky at love. They hatch a plan to transform themselves over the course of a sex-and-alcohol-fueled summer. Adam Pally and Sarah Burns make this little gem something really special. Watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMC_Asnb8qQ