2015

Saint Laurent

Video posted on by moviebloke

(France 2015)

Ah, the dark side of genius. Saint Laurent is packed with eye candy and has an awful going on visually—but sadly, that’s all it has going for it. A line from Saint Laurent (Gaspard Ulliel) himself sums up the problem concisely: “I like bodies without souls”—the soul of Saint Laurent being somewhere else. Not here in this film.

I was bored, which is a crime considering the real-life material director Bertrand Bonelli had to work with. Some of his choices are puzzling—the temporal chopping effect going back and forth through time is more an annoyance than anything, and I’m at a loss as to why he devotes so much time to seemingly trivial events like a board meeting in New York and a drug trip in an apartment. Who gives a shit, and why would they? Ulliel as young Saint Laurent is charming, full frontal and otherwise; but not even he can elevate this pedestrian slice of an interesting life.

(AMC River East) D

http://www.sonyclassics.com/saintlaurent/mobile/index.html

Iris

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

A slice from the life of feisty millionaire fabric lady, NYC socialite, and longtime fashion maven Iris Apfel and her century-old husband, Carl. Crammed with quips and witticisms, observations, and tips on life and fashion, Iris is a much sunnier endeavor than the Maysles’ better-known Grey Gardens. Those bangles, baubles, and beads, oy!

I found Iris the person entertaining and mostly dead-on with her observations about life, but slightly annoying. She shares a birthday with Aaron, Michael Jackson, and John McCain, if that says anything. In any event, she was fun to watch, but Iris ended just before I couldn’t stomach any more.

(AMC River East) C+

http://www.magpictures.com/iris/

The World’s Largest Ball of Twine

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

Only in America can something like a ball of twine serve as a point of pride and a heated contest that continues after 50 years. But that’s exactly what it was for Francis Johnson of Darwin, Minnesota, and Frank Stoeber of Cawker City, Kansas, as the two competed in the “Battle of the Balls” for the prestigious title of “World’s Largest Ball of Twine.”

Trivial but amusing. I can relate to a schlep to Nowhere for no other purpose than the goofy thrill of seeing some bizarre roadside attraction like the world’s tallest thermometer (done it) or prairie dog (have not). I expected a more interesting execution of the story, though. The World’s Largest Ball of Twine does a nice job getting behind its subject matter—it just turns out that its subject matter isn’t all that interesting. Side note: the graphics looked cheap and gimmicky; intentional or not, this detracted from the experience.

(St. Anthony Main) C-

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival

http://prod3.agileticketing.net/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=123046~36893ed1-b0b9-423c-bbab-90f22d0aeafe&

’71

Video posted on by moviebloke

(UK 2015)

’71 is French television director Yann Demange’s finely crafted drama of a British soldier (Jack O’Connell) sent to Belfast to keep the peace amongst the rioting Catholics one day in 1971. After getting separated from his troop during a melee exacerbated by a child running off with a gun, he spends the next 12 hours or so fending off a band of IRA militants intent on killing him. The action is shot up close and in the dark, and the pace is perfectly nerve-wracking. More than just a “war movie,” ’71 is a thriller jammed with suspense and psychological drama that examines human nature and the instinct to survive.

(AMC River East) B+

http://71themovie.com/#/trailer

Cinderella

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

What’s to say, really? Kenneth Branagh’s reboot of the classic cartoon was pretty much what I expected, Disney milquetoast and all. Lily James makes a good Cinderella, and Cate Blanchett makes an even better evil stepmother. Two things I enjoyed: the backstory the original did not tell and the prince’s (Richard Madden) junk showing through the white tights he wore in every scene. Helena Bonham Carter, downright magical as the fairy godmother, stole the show; her scene was by far the best if only for how giddy it made me.

(AMC 600 North Michigan) C

http://movies.disney.com/cinderella

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of the comic book The Secret Service by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar is, in a word, “eh.” Sadly, not even a big budget and above-average performances by big-name talent (Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Caine to name just a few) salvaged this silly, boring imitation of a James Bond flick.

(AMC River East) D+

http://www.kingsmanmovie.com

Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

Matthew Shepard’s legacy needs no introduction. This tender but powerful little documentary, however, sets out to show us who Matt Shepard was, as a person. Directed by Michele Josuehe, a friend from his teenage years at a Swiss boarding school, the film is packed with intimate details of his life that have not been shared—at least not on a mass level. Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine shows Matt as an imperfect kid who was searching to find himself, like we all were at his age.

The film bravely confronts topics like Matt’s final hours, how his killers have fared, his parents’ decision to request (successfully) that the death penalty not be imposed, and a painfully uncomfortable interview with a priest about forgiveness. Although it takes a little while to get going and occasionally dips into nostalgia, Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine is a worthy effort.

Screening followed by a live Q and A with director Michele Josuehe.

(AMC River East) B-

http://mattshepardisafriendofmine.com

Match

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

A ballet instructor (Patrick Stewart) at Julliard grants an interview to a “grad student” (Carla Gugino) doing research for a dissertation on the history of dance. Accompanied by her husband (Matthew Lillard), the interview takes a bizarre turn when the topic of the dance scene in 1960s New York City and one of its members is raised.

A thoughtful and thought-provoking story based on director/writer Stephen Belber’s play of the same name, Match ponders sexuality, family, career, and the consequences of choices made in the context of these. Somehow, it’s fun to watch Stewart play an aging gay man who keeps a jar full of his fingernail clippings.

(Gene Siskel Film Center) B+

http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/match/

Mortdecai

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

David Koepp’s adaptation of English author Kyril Bonfiglioli’s comic detective novels. The hunt for a lost Goya painting leads a bumbling English art “dealer” (Johnny Depp) and his manservant (Paul Bethany) on a transatlantic adventure. Depp gives more than a nod to Austin Powers in his portrayal of Charles Mortdecai in this silly but fun dope-a-rama that would have made more sense as a summer release. Total fluff.

(AMC 600 North Michigan) C-

http://mortdecaithemovie.com

Inherent Vice

Link posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice is a total stoner flick. It’s loaded with amusing moments and notable actors—Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Maya Rudolph, and Martin Short to name a few—having fun with their parts. It’s an entertaining farce—entertaining only to a point, that is.

Unfortunately, the plot meanders with spurts of energy and dead stops, and ultimately fails to go as far as maybe it hoped. The running time—two and a half hours!—does not help. I found myself underwhelmed, though I certainly didn’t hate it. Inherent Vice lost me before it got to the end. I’ve never read anything by Thomas Pynchon, and I’m in no hurry to after seeing this.

With Joanna Newsom, Katherine Waterston, Jordan Christian Hearn, Taylor Bonin, Jeannie Berlin, Eric Roberts, Serena Scott Thomas, Martin Dew, Michael Kenneth Williams, Hong Chau, Shannon Collis, Christopher Allen Nelson, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Haena Kim, Jena Malone, Vivienne Khaledi, Yvette Yates, Andrew Simpson

148 minutes
Rated R

(Landmark Century) C-

http://inherentvicemovie.com