Looking for Eric (2009)

RATING:	60%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.filmofilia.com/)

As a man’s life starts to get back on track, one of his estranged sons is becomes involved with illegal drugs. Yet, his relationship with his first wife improves as that with his son declines. As a father, all of these problems are caused by his various sins of omission and of commission. Inevitably, he finds that he has real friends who help with his coming-to-terms with his failures and successes.

Eric CANTONA’s charismatic presence as himself is an amusing gimmick that ultimately distracts from the story of a man piecing his life together like a moral jigsaw puzzle. Albeit that the ending is suitably hilarious and involves, among other things, Mr Cantona wearing an Eric Cantona fright mask.

(Image: http://www.filmofilia.com/)

Kenneth LOACH presents poor people as people and not as stereotypes. Blacks are also presented positively which, for a White filmmaker, is unusual. This, indeed, is his main contribution to cinema: Visual naturalism coupled with psychological realism.

(Image: http://www.filmofilia.com/)

Most drama is psychologically unrealistic because it is stereotypal rather than archetypal. Attempts are made to politically and culturally pigeonhole fictional characters to give vent to the political positions of the writers; while little is done to elucidate human nature, as such. In Loach’s work, the tail never wags the dog: Characters conform to archetypes and not our neurotic needs.

Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Jeanne la Pucelle II - Les Prisons [Joan the Maid 2: The Prisons] (1994)

RATING:	80%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk)

The general style of this fascinating epic is oddly yet appropriately silent. Sandrine BONNAIRE is too old for the part of a teenager yet she is perfectly believable as a tomboy general. In any case, it is hard to imagine an actual teenaged actress being anywhere near as good as Bonnaire. And she has to be good because if this were not a true story it would be very hard to believe an illiterate teenage girl would be given an army of 12,000 men to command against the English.

Psychologically astute and emotionally unadorned, as any tale of a simple virgin should be, Jeanne has a very strong sense of her own destiny but not of how, exactly, to achieve it. Yet, she feels she has no choice but to rise to the historical occasion. Her eventual trial and execution for heresy and sorcery is the typically-hypocritical religious policy of demanding evidence for the religious visions of others while offering none but the auditor's faith for their own.

This movie is religious as well as political in its content and context. The numinous implications are well-handled in terms of the need to fulfil ones destiny in order to be happy, the only caveat being that the whole affair is a little too long for its own good.

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Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Jeanne la Pucelle I - Les Batailles [Joan the Maid 1: The Battles] (1994)

RATING:	80%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk)

The general style of this fascinating epic is oddly, yet appropriately, silent. Sandrine BONNAIRE is too old for the part of a teenager, yet she is perfectly believable as a tomboy general. In any case, it is hard to imagine an actual teenaged actress being anywhere near as good as Bonnaire. And she has to be good because if this were not a true story it would be very hard to believe an illiterate teenage girl would be given an army of 12,000 men to command against the English.

Psychologically astute and emotionally unadorned, as any tale of a simple virgin should be, Jeanne has a very strong sense of her own destiny, but not of how, exactly, to achieve it. Yet, she feels she has no choice but to rise to the historical occasion. Her eventual trial and execution for heresy and sorcery is the typically-hypocritical religious policy of demanding evidence for the religious visions of others while offering none but the auditor’s faith for their own.

Religious as well as political in its content and context, the film’s numinous implications are well-handled in terms of the need to fulfil ones destiny in order to be happy; the only caveat being that the movie is a little too long for its own good.

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Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Real Steel (2011)

RATING:	40%
FORMAT:	DVD

(http://theinquisitiveloon.blogspot.co.uk)

Fun, but rather bland entertainment helped along by a streak of humor a mile wide.

The absent-father sentiment is not of the kind made real by the likes of Steven Spielberg and is just a gimmick to sell a silly tale. The relationship between the boy and his robot is never credible because the man-machine lacks a father’s soul; indeed, any soul.

The idea that machines will replace people in sport is sheer nonsense - as if someone really believes video games will someday become a recognized Olympic event. Humans cannot empathize with machines - unless those humans are very, very lonely.

Making replicas of men is a Frankenstein-like attempt, by humans, to understand themselves, which will always fail when the machines are designed to do things men cannot. The worship of mechanocentrism rather than anthropocentric means Humankind belittled by its own inventions - not enhanced nor improved by them.

What really makes this movie interesting is that it reflects the present-day decline of interest in world boxing among Whites because of the lack of White contenders.

This decline is explained as a desire for no-holds barred boxing - to the death. Illogical, of course, since a robot cannot die because it never truly lives; killing any potential, gladiatorial suspense.

By removing the White obsession with skin color from the story, this becomes not a narrative of human ability, achievement and success, but one of technological substitutes for genetic inability. A kind of paean to drug cheats in athletics through the simple expedient of making the drugs (the delusion) lawful. Like Rocky IV, this story is about the difference between instinct (emotion) and pure technology.

Like the CGI in modern (2012) movies, the all-important human element is missing in the narrative. Emphasized by the cliche-ridden screenplay where - typically of Hollywood - emotions are always near the surface in true soap-opera style. A Rocky movie for people who do not like boxing - or reality.

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Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

One Last Chance (2003)

RATING:	60%
FORMAT:	DVD

(http://www.flixster.com)

One Last Dunce

A tribute to the human spirit, its values and those who go their own way in life regardless of others - particularly those pretentious others with which one went to school. Yet, it's an uneasy mix of Scots’ whimsy, gallows humor and street-smart naturalism that is in danger of ending-up nowhere in particular by being unable to fully weave its stylistic strands into a coherent whole.

Nevertheless, this is in keeping with the shambolic lives of most the characters; the playing of all concerned is immaculate and the humour gentle and evenly paced. Especial credit must go to Neve McINTOSH as the narrator Fitz’s wife who makes their relationship entirely believable in her neatly-understated way.

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Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Up (2009)

RATING:	80%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.matttrailer.com/)

An ultimately-moving tribute to both the arc of anyone’s life and the intelligence of the audience - that, for once, is not held in contempt - that entertains wonderfully.

Where it fails is in a lack of human details that would have deepened the experience. Why do the couple - unable to have children - not adopt? What do they actually do for a living. These details are needed to compensate for the fact that CGI is not lifelike enough for anything other than children’s cartoons.

(Image: http://www.matttrailer.com/)

Its Wonderful Life premise is slowly introduced into a life that should have gone in one direction but ended-up going in another; leading to wasted regret. This is sharply contrasted with the villain’s biography, which is mired both in the past and in self-obsession.

(Image: http://www.matttrailer.com/)

Everything here eventually fits - although at first it seems rather random and arbitrary in its plotting - even the young Wilderness Explorer who is completely ignorant of the real wilderness. There are no plot digressions of any kind and the characters’ backstory is subtly handled with a minimum of deft (albeit too few) brushstrokes to let us know what is really going on inside their heads.

Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)

RATING:	60%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://winonaforever.tumblr.com/)

The never-less-than-excellent Robin WRIGHT PENN presides over a somewhat anodyne excursion into family drama.

The usual existential crises are in evidence such as a manic-depressive, pill-popping mother, but there is no real insight into the condition depicted nor any reasonable solution.

The film itself is as neurotic as the characters and can say nothing sensible about them - as opposed to merely humoring them for their emotional dishonesty and self-deception. Like them, the movie drifts along amiably enough but without any real direction or purpose.

Pretending to scratch away the surface of family life in the West to reveal the hidden depths lurking there, this film merely suggests that none of us is really what we seem. A hardly profound observation of people who favor material success over psychological well-being, then whinge-on about not being able to have it all in middle age. The characters remain as much ciphers to the audience as they do to each other and themselves because of the often-thin characterization.

This could have been a better film about the moments in our lives when - like our childhood discovery of the non-existence of a literal Santa Claus - we discover things about others that can both shake our self-confidence while allowing us to grow into better and more mature people. However, the emotional self-indulgence here - so common to the despised form called chick lit - is only held in check by the superb performances from all concerned.

The naïvely wishful-thinking ending only serves to emphasize the lack of any genuine dramatic catharsis here.

Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Lady in the Water (2006)

RATING:	60%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.fantastikresimler.net/)

Pleasing horror with a strong vein of absurd humor that manages to intrigue without the usual recourse to gore and melodrama. This does not quite achieve its goals of making big statements about human nature and the fact that Western culture lacks a strong ethical dimension. Instead, it is content to make barbed and self-critical comments about the nature of dramaturgical cliché while using variations on those selfsame clichés.

The true glory of this film lies in its willingness to openly confront the storytelling process itself and the archetypal myths that good stories create.

Brilliantly and stylishly directed by only showing the audience the bare information it needs to follow the drama, this manages to let its audience use its imagination when necessary. There is no excess of superfluous camera movement to distract from the acting since director M Night SHYAMALAN possesses the requisite confidence in us for him to do this and to allow us to be carried away with his character-driven conceits.

Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Party (1968)

RATING:	60%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.journeybyframe.com/)

Although this contains magic Peter SELLERS’ moments and delicious running gags, it is a rather incoherent and rambling attempt to homage the great silent comedies of the past as well as the style of Jacques Tati. It lacks any real reason to exist apart from this since it contains no social, political nor psychological satire and, thus, any real underlying function.

SELLERS, however, creates a viable character - despite the comedic contrivance on show by the director. Unlike Inspector Clouseau, his accent is impeccably-realistic, and the chemistry with his co-star Claudine LONGET is palpable. Much better as a romantic comedy than a comedy-of-manners that it is trying so hard to be.

(Image: http://oroeuek.typepad.com/)

This film shows sharply why SELLERS was never a great star - he was the character actors’ character actor - par excellence. When playing as part of a talented ensemble - as in The Ladykillers and I'm All right, Jack, he was never less than brilliant. He inhabited his roles and ably supported the other performers and the themes of his best films. However, as a star, the entire focus was upon him and, apart from playing clearly-defined characters, there was nothing else SELLERS had to offer an audience. In this film, there are few others for him to play his comic genius off and so there is a flatness and a mediocrity about the whole affair - notwithstanding SELLERS’ excellent performance. He is the Eric Morecambe of cinema since he could never hope to be funny on his own. If only he had agreed to star in Inspector Clouseau, instead of this.

Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1998)

RATING:	80%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.siteoffline.com/)

HALLOWEEN FOR GROWNUPS

A flawed masterpiece, because it is ontologically unsound, yet numinous; revealing a great dramatic, imaginative and cinematic mind at work in director Steven Spielberg. A superb silent filmmaker since he tells his story visually with an impressive and pertinent musical score.

Spielberg even incorporates the process of artistic creation itself, in his own creation, as the central characters realize that they must do what their dreams are telling them - no matter what - as the director has done to make this movie. They possess a strong inner compulsion to find an answer to their existential plight - despite the danger. People who take risks make for compelling and suspenseful entertainment in the sense of an itch that they must scratch (even while wearing a spacesuit).

(Image: http://www.moviecricket.com/)

Family life is rendered in great detail and helps overcome the unrealistic emotional logic of the behavior of, and the humans relationship with, aliens. The director gets around the fact that the story makes little sense with his genuine and sincere thematic concerns and emotive ability to make you feel rather than think too much about what you are watching.

The great problem with this movie is its approach to fatherhood. The father figure’s desertion of his family - without any hint of regret - suggests someone we should not be being invited to identify with. His rejection of his family suggests unresolved issues in Spielberg’s own life that were resolved in his later (& better) ET - the effective sequel to this movie since it also deals with a fatherless family.

Trying to weld a story of a couple disintegrating towards divorce and of alien visitation makes little sense unless the idea of external salvation is introduced - but it never is, save to make the decidedly-naive implication that aliens are automatically going to be friendly. But why would they be any more sociable than humans?

Ultimately, a rather pacifist movie; positing the notion that aliens would be friendly even though - on balance - this is rather unlikely since space exploration necessarily requires the search for resources to enable and pay for the exploration in the first place. And since resources are limited throughout the universe, conflict is more likely. Yet wishful-thinking still does make for exciting entertainment.

Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.