The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
This is a film about the bonds of friendship between a German boy, and a Jewish boy in a concentration camp.
Pontypool (2008)
A virus that spreads through the human language. Possible? Maybe. A good film? Undoubtedly. Read the review here.
Director: Todd Phillips
Writer: John Lucas & Scott Moore
2009
Alright, so this film was actually more hilarious than I thought it would be. It’s not one of those overrated comedies where all the funny stuff is in the trailer and the rest of the film is lame. The Hangover provides genuine laughs – its brand of comedy is smart, carefully constructed and not cheap. What I like about this film is, we never get scenes showing what the characters were doing the night before in their drunken stupors, no flashbacks or those ‘maybe this happened’ flashbacks that posit what the characters were doing even if it didn’t really happen. We find out what happened, and what they did, as they find out – and that’s what makes it fun. The onscreen chemistry between all the actors (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) provides for perfect comedic timing and that is hard to fake or act your way out of. You either have it or you don’t. And this film has it, which makes it well worth your laughing efforts.
The review for Public Enemies is finally up. And I saw The Hangover over the weekend, so the review for that will be up this week. I thought it was so funny, so it’ll be a favourable review.
In other movie news, of course the new Harry Potter film broke records at the box office, no surprise there. In North America alone, it raked in over 160 million! I wonder how long it can stay at the top of the box office.
Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann, Ann Biderman (screenplay); Bryan Burrough (book)
2009
Whaddya hear, whaddya say? I say Michael Mann has outdone himself with this spectacular film. Yes, it is ’spectacular’. Everything about it is – the acting, the editing, the music, the story, the style, the historical accuracy. For those who aren’t aware, this film chronicles the crime spree of John Dillinger and his gang in the 1930s. Johnny Depp is Dillinger and is as phenomenal as ever, really capturing the essence of the man who was ‘public enemy number one’ in America. He is pursued by Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) who is assigned to the Dillinger case by J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup). Often overlooked as a really talented actor, Christian Bale is in one of his finest roles; his performance is so understated, he doesn’t need a lot of dialogue because he manages to act so well through his facial expressions, demeanor and his actions. He is subtle, yet powerful. Marion Cotillard is superb as Dillinger’s girl, Billie Frechette, and gives a wonderful, honest and genuine performance.
Now, on to the master, Michael Mann. He went to great lengths (as always) to make this film historically accurate and even shot scenes in and around where the real events occurred. Besides the chilling and fantastic music, what stands out is the camerawork and overall style used. There is a lot of handheld camera action and the film doesn’t even ‘look’ like a typical movie and has more of the feel of a documentary. Public Enemies is no frills filmmaking at its best. No obvious fancy cinematography, special effects, CGI, or that pristine sheen of most Hollywood films. Because of this, it seems as though we are along for the ride. So, do you wanna take that ride with him?
