Chronicle

Chronicle
2012 [Trailer]
Director: Josh Trank (IMDB)

Based off a poll I posted Tuesday, this is the movie you, the reader, picked for me to watch today. I'm actually kinda glad it was this and not Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

Chronicle follows three high-schoolers (including Vince from FNL and or Wallace from the Wire) who after raging at a party one night, discover that the world is bleak and meaningless and that we're all animals waiting to die.... I kid, they get superpowers after touching a mysterious crystal in some cave. Their bonds of friendship are tested as their powers start to grow.

I actually quite enjoyed this movie. It's not perfect, but it's a solid superhero flick. The movie falls into the "found footage" genre, and helps it stand out amongst all the other superhero movies. The film tended to go out of it's way to remind the audience that it's being self shot and they definitely thought up lots of different ways to pull off the filming by everyone in the movie. It stood out a lot, but not in a way that ruined it for me. I loved the writing and everything seemed pretty fluid. The special effects were great, especially the crystal thing that gives them their powers, and also the flying scenes. I also liked that Seattle was the back drop for everything. I would recommend this and it's out in theaters now.

Dogtooth

Dogtooth
(2009) [Trailer]
Director: Giorgos Lanthimos (IMDB)

I'm half Greek. I went to Greece a few years ago for my honeymoon. I love Greek salads. But until last night, I had never watched a Greek film. I was curious to see this movie, as it has a lot of hype behind it, let's see if Public Enemy is right.

The story of Dogtooth centers around one family. The father has strict control over his wife and three kids, so much so that the children have never even left the grounds of their home estate. They are completely removed from everything in the outside world. As time passes they start to grow curious of what's behind the walls surrounding them.

This movie is definitely a weird one. I didn't outright hate this film, but I didn't love it either. It's very easy to say this is artsy, and I would think it'd be fitting to do so, but just because you're an art house film doesn't mean you get a pass. This movie lacked in a lot of places. Before watching it, I knew nothing about the plot and it's extremely slow to start, I'd say it's about 45 mins into the movie before you finally start to understand what's going on. Before that, I was basically like "What the fuck is the point of all of this?" I do give it props though, because as confused as I was, I was still interested in what was going on. The acting is a little over done, and didn't seem natural at times. I did like some of the cinematography and the idea of the film is cool, I just think it was poorly executed. Form your own opinion, it's available on Netflix instant and you can watch it HERE.

My Dinner with Andre

My Dinner with Andre
(1982) [Trailer]
Director: Louis Malle (IMDB)

You are either going to be one of two people while watching this film, the person that turns it off after 20 mins, or the person that watches the whole thing. I guess you'll have to read on to find out which one of those people I am.

My Dinner with Andre may sound like a simple movie, but it is far from it. It takes place at a restaurant and involves two friends (Wallace Sean and Andre Gregory) having a very involved and philosophical conversation.

Like I said before, this movie is not for everyone, but it's definitely for me. I was blown away by this. I ended the movie and immediately thought to myself that I should watch it again very soon. This is the point of my review where I'll say that if you haven't seen the movie, stop reading and go see it. Or don't, I don't give a shit, but from here I'm going to talk about the meaning that I took away from this, which I guess can be spoiler territory.

There's definitely a lot to absorb here, and my wife and I discussed it for about 15 mins after. Let's start with Andre. From the beginning we know he's unhappy with his life, based off the Bergman quote in Autumn Sonata that brought him to tears. At least we assume, or I did. He is a deep guy, and very out there (insane) at times, but his philosophy on life is strikingly astute and definitely leaves an impact on you. He makes the viewer question themselves and their place in the world. "Am I a slave to my job?" or "Am I not really living my life?" are all questions placed on you and on Wallace. Wallace is the antithesis in the film I suppose. I feel he's there to cast doubt on Andre and keep the film grounded. I don't think Wallace (or myself) necessarily bought everything Andre said, but at the end of the conversation, while taking a cab home Wallace starts to see things differently, and I think that's the point of the film. Wallace is meant to be the viewer and ultimately take away something important from the experience.

This is why I love the movies. You don't need a crazy set piece or explosions to tell a story or to make a point, not that there's anything wrong with that (just look three reviews back). I just love what you can do with the medium. That's all.

Project Nim

Project Nim
(2011) [Trailer]
Director: James Marsh (IMDB)

I feel like I say this a lot, but this is one of the films I really wanted to check out last year but never got too. Not enough time in the day I guess. I loved Man On Wire and I was definitely excited to see what James Marsh had in store for this documentary.

Project Nim follows Nim, a chimp raised since birth by humans, and trained in sign language for an experiment back in the 70's.

Fuck it, I normally don't change my best of lists after I've made them, but this is getting added to my #1 for documentaries. This film is so well put together, the direction is flawless. Marsh's use of archival footage, reenactments, and interviews transitions together so smoothly and reminds me of something by Errol Morris. This is a very stylized documentary, which are my favorite kind. Nim's story is extremely interesting and it's interesting to see the failures of the people in charge of him. I felt like if he was placed in more capable hands, the results could have been a lot better. This was just released on DVD, but not blu-ray (fail), and I would highly recommend you check it out.