ChickFlicking – People Like Us Review (Nadia Sandhu)

People Like Us

Starring Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Hall D’Addario, and Michelle Pfeiffer

Directed by Alex Kurtzman

The first thing I noticed when I saw the trailer for “People Like Us” was the amazing chemistry between Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks, which would be great if this was a rom-com, but it isn’t.  This is a film about siblings – a brother and a sister, only she doesn’t know they are related.

Now that I have seen the film, I’m sorry to tell you that this ick factor apparently wasn’t unintentional- seems the entire plot hinges on Sam (Chris Pine) not revealing to Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) that he is her half-brother.  Instead we spend fully half the movie in standard rom-com mode with Sam meeting and charming not only Frankie, but her young son Josh (Michael Hall D’Addario) too.

The film is written by director Alex Kurtzman and writing partner Roberto Orci – better known for their work on Transformers, Cowboys vs. Aliens, and the Star Trek reboot.  The plot was apparently inspired by events in their own lives, and they don’t do too badly with the emotional authenticity.  The main problem lies in the plotting and what appear to be two entirely different films mashed into one narrative.

Sam is a slick “barter” salesman whose wheeling and dealings have taken a wrong turn with the loss of a shipment of boxed soup whose cheap transportation arrangements did not include refrigeration. With a boss expecting him to make up for the financial loss by buying the client a new house extension and the FDA investigating, Sam gets a call from his Mother (Michelle Pfeiffer is playing older mom’s now!!!) – his father has died. When Sam finally shows up after the funeral, he finds out that his cold distant music producer father has left him his vinyl collection, and entrusted him with a shaving kit full of money for a sister he didn’t know he had.

It would appear that Kurtzman and Orci felt the film would be over if Sam revealed his relationship to recovering alcoholic Frankie.  So instead he leads her on.  As you do.  Our writers clearly couldn’t imagine any other ways that this film could play out, and that is the real shame here.  This could have been a Cameron Crow film about a son coming to terms with his family dynamics, or it could have been a really good rom-com.  Instead it is overlong, with a maternal subplot suddenly tacked on at the end, shifting the tone and focus of the story and needlessly dragging the ending on.

BTW Olivia Wilde is in this film, not that you would know it from the marketing.  A sign of how fast her star has fallen in just one year.

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5 Broken Cameras Review (Kirk Haviland)

5 Broken Cameras

Starring – Emad Burnat

Written by Guy Davidi

Directed by Guy Davidi and Emad Burnat

A brilliant premise is behind the filmmaker Guy Davidi’s 5 Broken Cameras. He used footage from said cameras collected over the span of 5 years by Emad Burnat around his village to tell a griping story of defiance and tyranny. He then had the man who shot the footage narrate the goings on all while telling the story of his young family and how they cope with growing up in this war-torn backdrop.

Emad is a villager in the Palestinian village of Bil’in. When his fourth son is born, Gibreel, Emad comes in the possession of his first video camera. Meanwhile the Israeli army has started to encroach on the village’s land and build a barrier to keep the villagers at bay while they illegally build new housing on the these lands so that they can move Israelis in. The villagers organize protests against this barrier as it has started to harm their land and taken away the olive trees, a staple of the Palestinian villager’s diet. Emad’s family grows up fast in the background of this and in front of the cameras. Through the course of the five years of struggle Emad’s cameras are shot multiple times, destroyed by soldiers multiple times and in the case of camera four wrecked in a car accident that put Emad in hospital for two months. We meet the leaders of the revolution as they protest and are sent to jail, as is Emad. And of course through it all the ever growing Gibreel is witnessing the struggle firsthand and growing up quick.

The footage captured here is gripping and horrific, as it includes people being shot and maimed at close range and the villager’s mourning their losses, both human and land, as the once beautiful countryside is butchered. Emad makes for a fascinating narrator, and you really feel for all four of his sons as they deal with the realities of their situation. Young Gibreel is forced to grow up way too fast and at the age of five is already asking his dad why he doesn’t fight back and kill the soldiers, a telling yet harrowing reflection of the time and place Gibreel has been force to grow up in.

Brilliantly conceived and executed with a strong and vital message, 5 Broken Cameras is a definite recommend.

Till Next Time,

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TKFF 2012 – A Tale of Two Sisters Review (Kirk Haviland)

Toronto Korean Film Festival 2012

A Tale of Two Sisters

Starring Kim Kap-su, Yum Jung-ah, Lim Su-jeong and Moon Guen-young

Written and Directed by Kim Jee-Woon

After bursting on to the scene back in the late nineties with The Quiet Family (1998) and the Foul King (2000), director Kim Jee-Woon’s first international success came with A Tale of Two Sisters in 2003. This film has personally been avoiding me for a while, despite the fact that I actually OWN a copy of the DVD and for some reason it’s never jumped to the top consideration for movies in the pile of other contenders. But thanks to TKFF I was able to see it not only on the theater screen at Innis but also on a beautiful 35mm print. And I have to tell you I’m so glad I waited.

A Tale of Two Sisters starts with the return of Soo-mi (Su-yeong) and Soo-yeon (Guen-young) to their home in the country after stay in a mental health institution. The Sisters were placed under psychiatric care after the death of her mother, the details of which we are not privy to right away but will see unfurl over the course of the film, which had a dramatic effect on the two of them. Their step-mother Eun-joo (Jung-ah) is awaiting their return; she came on the scene during their mother’s illness and never left. Eun-joo is a domineering and abusive woman and takes out her frustrations on Soo-yeon as she physically assaults her and throws her into a wardrobe and locks the door on her. Soo-mi is defiant and pushes back against Eun-joo at every turn while desperately try to fill the void of missing mother for the more gentle Soo-yeon. But things are never as they seem in this household and Soo-mi’s secret could cause everything to come crashing down.

A Tale of Two Sisters is the story of a troubled young girl and requires a strong performance to pull it off. Fortunately the performances are strong all around. Brilliantly paced and thought out, Jee-woon has crafted a sublime little thriller here. The sisters played by Lim Su-jeong and Moon Guen-young are completely believable as siblings. Both turn in fantastic performances despite having little experience at the time. Yum Jung-Ah as the step-mother is ingeniously vicious and menacing throughout. Jee-woon’s expertise is used to the fullest here creating a creepy and uneasy atmosphere and never taking the easy way out with the story. You can easily tell where the staging here has paid off in later films of his, like 2010’s I Saw the Devil.

Gripping and involving, A Tale of Two Sisters succeeds in both tone and story. I can say that Tale of Two Sister is a pretty strong recommend.

The Toronto Korean Film Festival continues until July 1st with screenings of the amazing Mother, Failan and a near perfect cinematic closing night of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and one of my favorite films of ALL TIME in Oldboy. Tickets still available.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

Make sure to keep up with what’s going on at Entertainment Maven by liking our Facebook page and having updates delivered right to your Facebook News Feed. It’s the only way to stay on top of all of our articles with the newest blockbusters and all the upcoming films and festivals in Toronto.

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TKFF 2012 – Save the Green Planet! Review (Kirk Haviland)

Toronto Korean Film Festival 2012

Save the Green Planet!

Starring Shin Ha-kyun, Baek Yun-shik, Hwang Jeong-min and Lee Jae-yong

Written and Directed by Jang Joon-hwan

TIFF Midnight Madness veteran Save the Green Planet closes out Sci-Fi night at the inaugural TKFF. Jang Joon-hwan’s bizarre and surreal abduction black comedy has been garnering accolades for years on the festival circuit and seems to be the perfect companion for the opening film on Sci-Fi night, Invasion of Alien Bikini. Green planet also brings mental illness and possible delusion into the mix to further muddle the issue.

Lee Byeong-gu (Ha-kyun) is a troubled man who is convinced aliens live amongst us and that he is the only one who can protect us from the oncoming onslaught. After recruiting his spouse/girlfriend Su-ni (Jeong-min) into helping him, he drugs and kidnaps prominent businessman Kang Man-shik (Yun-shik), convinced he is really alien in disguise. Byeong-gu hypothesizes that Man-shik’s status must allow him access to the more protected of alien information and he must derive from him the information as to when the alien prince will land on earth and decide earth’s ultimate fate. Meanwhile, disgraced Inspector Choo (Jae-yong) starts to put the pieces together with other missing person’s cases and sees a pattern. Determined to get all the information out of Man-shik, Byeong-gu embarks on a torture campaign to extract the information, while downing anti-depressants like candy. Eventually Su-ni leaves as she no longer can trust blindly what Byeong-gu is doing. And as the police close in is Byeong-gu’s delusion manifesting as he has forced his beliefs on an innocent man. But wait, did Man-shik just confess he actually IS an alien?

A bizarrely goofy film from beginning to end, Save the Green Planet! is a scattershot jumble of comedy and torture that plays out like you’d imagine it does in Byeong-gu’s head, but it works. Lots of laugh out loud moments surrounded by strong performances and a fascinatingly original premise help makes Save the Green Planet! a fun watch from beginning to end. From its re-imagining of human history and brilliant 2001 homage to the drug addled ramblings of its lead, Green Planet works on almost all levels. Shin Ha-kyun and Baek Yoon-shik’s performances are the driving force of the film and they both prove more than up to the task. Hwang Jeong-min’s Su-mi is adorable and the most sympathetic character of the piece and she grounds the film in places where it can go completely go over-the-top.

The film goes in place you will never expect with homages to popular North American cinema peppered throughout. Save the Green Planet! is a solid recommend as it ranks as one the most original and funny comedies to ever come out of Korea.

The Toronto Korean Film Festival continues until July 1st with screenings of the amazing Mother, Failan, and a near perfect cinematic closing night of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and one of my favorite films of ALL-TIME in Oldboy. Tickets still available.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

Make sure to keep up with what’s going on at Entertainment Maven by liking our Facebook page and having updates delivered right to your Facebook News Feed. It’s the only way to stay on top of all of our articles with the newest blockbusters and all the upcoming films and festivals in Toronto.

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TAD Summer Screenings 2012 – The Pact Review (Kirk Haviland)

TAD Summer Screenings 2012

The Pact

Starring: Caity Lotz, Casper van Dien, Haley Hudson, Kathleen Rose Perkins and Agnes Bruckner

Written and Directed by Nicholas McCarthy

MINOR SPOILERS

The second half of the first night of TAD’s summer screenings brought us the Sundance hit The Pact. Billed as a creepy supernatural house based horror, The Pact hits a lot of similar notes as this year’s Lovely Molly did. But while both films deliver strong performances from their female leads, does The Pact succeed where Lovely Molly faltered?

Nicole (Bruckner) is attempting to prepare for the funeral of her late estranged mother. Nicole is in her mother’s house as she calls her sister Annie (Lotz) for help, yet Annie wants absolutely nothing to do with the funeral or her mother’s house. Later while talking to her young daughter via laptop Nicole notices weird things occurring in the house that appear to be emanating from a hallway closet and then she promptly disappears. The disappearance and pleadings of her cousin Liz (Rose Perkins) prompt Annie to do the thing she does not want to do, go back to the house she grew up in. Liz arrives for the funeral with Nicole’s daughter Eva, whom she has been taking care of while her mother has been missing, and the three stay overnight in the house. During the night strange supernatural occurrences happen that result in Annie fleeing with Eva as Liz disappears just as Nicole did. Annie goes to the police station where she encounters the unpredictable detective Creek (Van Dien) who while reluctant to believe her story, agrees to go investigate the house and take some pictures. Upon returning, Annie and Creek discover a hidden room that Annie, despite living in the house for 16 years, had no idea even existed. Annie turns to Stevie (Hudson), a former classmate in high school who has developed a sense for the supernatural, to see what she can sense in the house and gets more than she bargained for. The scares continue to the big twist finale that changes the complexion of the film entirely.

The Pact’s impact lies almost squarely on the shoulders of the talented Lotz. Her Annie is angry, scared, determined and resilient, all encompassed in tiny package. Her performance is the reason The Pact works when it does, and the intimate moments we get with her character are when the film is at its best. Unfortunately everything else outside of that plays unevenly as some performances work and some don’t. And one performance is all together awful, that of Casper Van Dien’s. Completely miscast and never believable, Van Dien’s performance may also have lead this film directly to the VOD and Direct to DVD market without a theatrical release. Brukner, the other person cast to cash in on name value, fares better even if it’s a very brief performance. Director Nicholas McCarthy does manage to fill the house with enough impending doom and creepiness factor that most of the stuff involving the house directly is a success.

Not a total win, The Pact is still an enjoyable enough ride to warrant a recommend even if it’s a mild one. The Pact may hit most of the same notes as Lovely Molly, but it definitely manages those notes more astutely.

TAD’s summer screenings run for a second night on Wednesday July 11th with the Sci-Fi/Comedy/Horror mash up Detention at 7pm and the Sundance midnight programme runaway smash hit horror anthology V/H/S at 9:45pm. Tickets and info at the links.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

Make sure to keep up with what’s going on at Entertainment Maven by liking our Facebook page and having updates delivered right to your Facebook News Feed. It’s the only way to stay on top of all of our articles with the newest blockbusters and all the upcoming films and festivals in Toronto.

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