#Sundance
2016 Sundance Entry: CERTAIN WOMEN - Director Kelly Reichardt was once nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for her debut film River of Grass (1994) twenty-two years ago, and her latest Sundance entry Certain Women is reuniting the indie director with her muse Michelle Williams who has previously worked with her in Wendy and Lucy (2008) & Meek's Cutoff (2010). In Certain Women,Reichardt has adapted short stories by Maile Meloy to tell intersecting narratives about three women's lives in Montana; a morally stressed lawyer (Laura Dern) whose client (Jared Harris) who has become a hostage-taker, a nest-building mother (Michelle Williams) and a lonely horse rancher (Lily Gladstone) who develops an intense but innocent fascination with her tutor (Kristen Stewart).

#Sundance #2016SundanceFilmFestival#CertainWomen #CertainWomenFilm#KellyReichardt #MichelleWilliams #KristenStewart#LauraDern #LilyGladstone #FilmFestival

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IT FOLLOWS
[2015, USA - English]

One of last year's most highly acclaimed horror flicks, It Follows, was conceived based on writer-director David Robert Mitchell's childhood nightmare. “The basic idea of being followed by something that is slow but never stops is from a nightmare I had when I was a kid,” the fairly new but diverse director shared. “I would see someone in the distance, and they would just be walking very slowly towards me, and I would turn to the people around me and point them out, and they wouldn’t know what I was talking about. I immediately knew that this was a monster, something that was going to hurt me. And I would run away from it and wait, and then eventually it would come around the corner. I could always get away from it, but what was horrible about it was that it just never stopped. It was always coming for me.” This stroke of genius is what makes It Follows highly effective, a 100-minute torment packed with suspense that anchors on the anxiety of expecting something dreadful to happen: making it the sixth-most praised film of 2015 at Rotten Tomatoes.

After hooking up with her newly met boyfriend, Jay's (Maika Monroe) life descents into a never-ending nightmare where she is pursued and taunted by a shape-shifting entity, and unless she can find someone to pass her affliction on to (through sex), the relentless following monster will continue to haunt her. Jay hopelessly investigates her condition and attempts to outrun the supernatural force, flanked by her sister Kelly (Lili Sepe) and friends Paul (Keir Gilchrist), Greg (Daniel Zovatto) and Yara (Olivia Luccardi).

In a seemingly singular and straightforward premise where sex is portrayed as both the problem and solution, It Follows does not deal its cards so simply, not at all! As we follow Jay's desperate journey to save herself, director Mitchell toys excessively with our minds with obscurities; some blatantly thrown onto our faces, testing our limits while some requiring a much more fervent commitment to analyse and fully grasp the story. The set up and timeline are purposely made questionable. While the characters live in a vintage era of black and white televisions, antique cars and retro house deco, we are at the same time introduced to a "clamshell" device which functions like a sophisticated e-reader. With the accompaniment of 80’s horror-synth soundtrack, the teenagers practically live their lives in the run-down suburb of Detroit without much supervision or even presence of adults. Their parents are only introduced through minimal shots in the background and cut-out photos on the wall. It's difficult to get into too much details without giving out spoilers, but suffice to say that this film demands your focus, and your own interpretation. And yes, be prepared for an obscure ending as well.

Already touted as the new-generation horror cult, It Follows takes its own sweet time to scare its audience. Miller serves varying types of shots for us to see entire spaces and hopefully collect clues, either through long pans, tracking shots, or zooms. There won't be any jump scares or sound cue, his lingering camera becomes a character all on its own. The notion of an unavoidable death creeping towards you one step at a time will heighten your fear, and you'd find yourself can't help but sink into paranoia, having the awareness that something is out there, somewhere. I am rather entertained with the unpredictability of the plot as well, thanks again to the intended ambiguity and cryptic format. This horror flick burns low and walks slow, and it'll surely creep it's way to you.

Rating: B+

#ItFollows #ItFollowsFilm #DavidRobertMitchell#MaikaMonroe #LiliSepe #KeirGilchrist#DanielZovatto #OliviaLuccardi #Horror#HorrorMovies #FilmReview #MovieReview #thriller#ScaryMovies

Ryan Reynold's Marvel anti-hero movie Deadpool continues to rule the box office for the second weekend. Reaping US$235.39 million in just ten days, the film is already the 6th biggest R-rated grosser of all time. The Tim Miller-directed eighth instalment of the X-Men film series is the 17th biggest superhero movie and the 17th-biggest comic book movie of all time in America. It has even earned praises from other superheroes. Captain America Chris Evans and Star Lord Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) have both praised Reynold's latest in their tweets.

#Deadpool #DeadpoolMovie #RyanReynolds#Marvel #MarvelComics #ChrisEvans #ChrisPratt#CaptainAmerica #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy #Xmen#Superheroes #ComicHeroes #Movies #Films

THE REVENANT WINS BIG AT 2016 BAFTA

Alejandro G. Iñárritu didn't quite hit home run last year when his Birdman was up for ten BAFTA nominations but only went home with one for Best Cinematography, given to Emmanuel Lubezki. This year at the 69th British Academy Film Awards, the ambitious director's The Revenant finally takes the throne, nabbing five prizes including main categories Best Film, Best Direction and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Leonardo DiCaprio. Lubezki bags the cinematography category again for the second year consecutively. Well, well deserved. All these four categories are my hope for The Revenant to triumph, hopefully at the Oscars as well.

George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road takes home four BAFTAs – all in technical/production fields – Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Make Up & Hair and Best Editing. Tom McCarthy's Spotlight wins Best Original Screenplay while Adam McKay nabs Best Adapted Screenplay for The Big Short.

Brie Larson continues her sweep by winning Best Actress in a Leading Category (Room) while Kate Winslet bags the supporting role (Steve Jobs). Mark Rylance's performance in Bridge of Spies wins him Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Star Wars' John Boyega receives the Rising Star Award. The Martian, The Danish Girl, Carol and Ex-Machina all leave empty-handed this year.

‪#‎BAFTA‬ ‪#‎BAFTA2016‬ ‪#‎AlejandroIñárritu‬ ‪#‎TheRevenant‬‪#‎LeonardoDiCaprio‬ ‪#‎BrieLarson‬ ‪#‎AdamMcKay‬ ‪#‎TomMcCarthy‬ ‪#‎Spotlight‬‪#‎TheBigShort‬ ‪#‎MadMax‬ ‪#‎GeorgeMiller‬ ‪#‎FilmAwards‬ ‪#‎MovieAwards‬‪#‎JohnBoyega‬ ‪#‎EmmanuelLubezki‬ ‪#‎BestActor‬ ‪#‎BestActress‬ ‪#‎KateWinslet‬‪#‎MarkRylance‬

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THE BIG SHORT
[2015, USA - English]

The financial crisis in 2008 remains a baffling notion, for many of us who still think of OCD when we hear words like CDO. Thanks to director and screenwriter Adam McKay, we can now sit through a film about the crumbling of the U.S. housing market and the intense build-up then bursting of the credit bubble without feeling too deficient. The idea of a dramedy about the meltdown of subprime mortgages would just send me back to the lecture halls during university days, but in this case we have cameos like Robbie Margot sipping champagne in a bathtub, Chef Anthony Bourdain talking about fish in his kitchen and Selena Gomez at a Blackjack table, all explaining to us in simple terms about subprime mortgages, bonds and how the system recycles bad loans. The topics suddenly all seem so palatable. Somehow, almost everyone will walk out of the cinema learning quite a fair bit about financial lingos and concepts, and most importantly entertained at the same time.

Based on his previous portfolio (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers), no offense to Will Ferrell fans, I will not even consider watching McKay’s films. Many were in fact surprised with McKay’s seemingly odd departure from his comfort zone when he ventured into the dark dramedy, but it sure panned out well for the forty-seven year old director. It’s absurdly comical, moving fast-paced with solid performances from the cast. Adapted from the non-fiction book by Michael Lewis, the film follows three groups of investors who predict the upcoming banking crisis and decide to profit from it by betting heavily against the housing market, or what is known as “shorting” it (hence the title). Socially-awkward and heavy-metal-loving hedge fund manager Michael Burry (Christian Bale) is the augur who first sees the forthcoming catastrophe, and persuades his boss to gamble ridiculously hefty sums of their firm's capital on financial instruments that will pay off when the market collapses. This soon catches the attention of banker Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), a blowhard who in every way reminds you of smarmy and over-confident salesmen. Vennett grasps the thinking behind it and tries to get an investment team led by Mark Baum (Steve Carell) to hitch a ride and cash in on this opportunity as well. Meanwhile, small-player investors Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) and Charlie Geller (John Magaro) enlist the aid of retired broker Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) to get them into the game by betting against the major banks.

This is one of those films that keeps you intrigued in a subject that would have normally given you yawn-gaping hours in the lecture halls. With the pacy swirl of ego, anger and greed all dramatised for our entertainment, The Big Short most importantly imbues us with intense emotions with its underlying theme of how flexible morality becomes once the notion of easy money enters the frame. McKay is clear in his message where everyone in the financial sector is fraudulent, from big players like the major banks to small-time traders, exploiting the system and no one is a hero. Cynical and bold, McKay even has his actors break the fourth wall, as they narrate and explain directly to the audience. Well paced, but perhaps just a tad too lengthy for me, as the film heavily invests into the "documentary" side of the story, at the expense of a more solid development of the characters, to allow audience to care a bit more for them. All in all a gritty and entertaining piece of work.

Rating: B

#TheBigShort #TheBigShortMovie #AdamMcKay#ChristianBale #RyanGosling #SteveCarell#FinnWittrock #JohnMagaro #BradPitt#MovieReview #movies #films #FinancialMarket#SelenaGomez #AnthonyBourdain #WillFerrell#Comedy

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SPOTLIGHT
[2015, USA - English]

The newspaper industry is no longer as thriving ever since most of us started embracing interaction over the web, but inspiring journalism has provided the premise to quite a few memorable films, particularly those that involve a long hard struggle to uphold the power of truth. This includes Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), The Insider (1999), All The President's Men (1976) and my personal favorites The Bang Bang Club (2010) and The Nightcrawler (2014). When you make a film on the uncovering of true horrifying cases of child molestation, nothing could be more rewarding than to have it culminating strength and positive effect on your viewers. And that is what director Tom McCarthy has achieved with his 2015 American biographical drama Spotlight. Not only has it garnered Best Picture at Critics' Choice Awards, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards, and six Oscars nominations (including Best Picture), it has most importantly (according to Boston Globe's editor-at-large Walter Robinson) made a huge impact on the public, where more victims are coming forward because of this film. Whilst it brings forward much inspiration, igniting power within the victims, when scandal involves almost a staggering 250 priests from the Catholic Church in Boston who had molested children over several decades, we can't ignore as well the contempt flaring up in all of us and the derision which the churches has to painfully swallow. When asked about his reaction towards the film being made, Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, who took over after disgraced Cardinal Bernard F. Law stepped down pursuant to the scandal expose, says that it was "a very painful time" in the history of the church, and the series of reports forced the church "to deal with what was shameful and hidden". Insisting that the archbishop would not discourage people from watching the film, O'Malley has given his commitment in eradicating abusive priests from the church.

So Spotlight is based on this enthralling true story. It kicks off with editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) who newly joins the Boston Globe, attempting to further pursue previous column which reported on lawsuits pertaining a priest allegedly involving in sexual abuse. On learning that the judge has sealed court records to prevent the records of the priest from going public, Baron becomes determined to dig deeper to unveil the truth. Looking to expose a systematic cover-up by the Catholic hierarchy who not only knew what had happened but did everything they could to protect their own and discredit the victims, Baron then convinces the paper's Spotlight team of reporters to launch the investigation. The Spotlight team is led by Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), excitable Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James).

What's electrifying about this newsroom drama is how closely accurate it's made, and how almost "real" the story is depicted. It does not melodramatize the situations, and what we see is a group of journalists painstakingly assiduous in doing their job. McCarthy allows the story to take its place, making audience enraged as the scandal snowballs into something daunting and unnerving. I've never been too big of a fan of journalism films but this is one got me. It's pretty absorbing, the message is powerful, and the impact is deeply moving. A solid performance by the entire cast. I was rather surprised and impressed with Schreiber's performance. Ruffalo is as usual a treat to watch, with his righteous anger, edgy movements and pulsating enthusiasm. And another factor which makes the film effective, is the fact that no one is portrayed as the hero, and they basically drag you into their investigation just by being great journalists doing their job.

Rating: B+

#Spotlight #SpotlightFilm #TomMcCarthy#MarkRuffalo #LievSchreiber #MichaelKeaton#RachelMcAdams #BriandArcyJames #FilmReview#MovieReview #Journalism #ChurchScandal#Drama

2016 SAG AWARDS WINNERS

#SUNDANCE
2016 Sundance Entry: CAPTAIN FANTASTIC - Directed by Matt Ross, the film features Viggo Mortensen playing a Pacific Northwestern, home-schooling isolationist with six kids who is forced to move from their forest home, allowing the children to be exposed to the outside world for the first time.

#Sundance #2016sundancefilmfestival#CaptainFantastic #ViggoMortensen #MattRoss#FrankLangella #GeorgeMacKay #KathrynHahn#SteveZahn #AnnDowd #Films #FilmFestival

#SUNDANCE
2016 Sundance Entry: LOVE & FRIENDSHIP - Based on Jane Austen's 1871 novel Lady Susan, a romantic comedy film written and directed by Whit Stillman, starring Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel and Stephen Fry

#Sundance #2016sundancefilmfestival#LoveAndFriendship #ChloëSevigny 
#KateBeckinsale #WhitStillman #JaneAusten#XavierSamuel #StephenFry #Films #FilmFestival

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•• Foreign Film Edition ••
ICH SEH, ICH SEH (GOODNIGHT MOMMY)
[2014, Austria - German]

Goodnight Mommy was featured in my fiLmsToLoOkOutFoR last Sept and I finally got hold of its long-awaited DVD. Chosen as Austria's foreign-language submission for this year's Oscar, it's the first narrative feature from Austrian writer-directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. It's not going to be easy fitting this film into any typical genre, some argued against it being labelled as horror, and there are clear elements as well pointing it towards psychological thriller and arthouse. Regardless which, this remarkable yet disturbing film has been garnering critical acclaim ever since it made a splash in last year's Venice Film Festival.

Goodnight Mommy starts off by introducing adolescent twin brothers Elias and Lukas (Elias and Lukas Schwarz), idyllic shots of them playing in the cornfields, swimming in the lakes and exploring caves, all within the vicinity of their cosy home standing alone far into the rural Austria. Then a woman (Susanne Wuest) arrives, face swathed in bandages, telling them that she's their mother, returning home from some unspecified operation. Cautious but happy to see her, it doesn't take long before they notice their mother's strange behaviour, imposing her set of suspicious rules like keeping the blinds down at all times, refusing any visitors and even seemingly attempting to pit one brother against the other. Soon mistrust takes a toll on them, tensions escalate painfully threatening the mother-son relationship and audience is left entirely unsure of which side we should be rooting for.

The magic word about Goodnight Mommy for me is ambiguity. There will be many aspects in the film that will raise questions, some even unanswered as the credits roll. And ambiguity can only work if it's intentional and executed in good taste. Directors Franz and Fiala have obviously devoted extensively in creating the intended environment for the story. They want the audience to learn about the characters and plot through seemingly austere but cryptic scenes provided throughout the story. Take for instance the simple guessing game of Who Am I, that scene serves to heighten our suspicion on the mother's identity, and at the same time allowing us to know a little bit more about how she used to be. Audience will also be impressed with the handsome looking house, and if paid close enough attention, you will learn that the house is an extension of the mother's character. The closed blinds, the out of focus images on the walls, all play a role in adding to the mystery of a woman whom you can't quite get a hold on.

The ambitious duo puts a lot of emphasis on making a cinematic experience that is real and absorbing. All of the violence served is not done with chainsaws and ripping of body parts, but mere tools which are more 'reachable' within a child's world, like magnifying glass and superglue, yet enough to give us a few skin-crawling moments. It was decided as well that they'd film everything on 35mm instead of going digital, where they would decide everything on the set instead of making the end product totally something else post-shoot with some technicians in a lab. Even the pair of twins are not spared, as they are only given bits of the plots as they go along each day in their shooting, allowing them to experience their characters' fear and emotions as much as possible. 

The result, I liked it. I've always revelled in how a film can have such a lasting effect on you, making you think again about each scene which carries significant meaning or implications. And particularly, a film that is tastefully "ambiguous" to trigger audience's varying interpretations and conclusions. Some may complain about the two parts of the film which seem inconsistent in theme, but that was again, intentional. Franz and Fiala wanted to tell the first part of the story from the perspective of the children, hence the dreamy and fairy-tale like sequences, hence the countless question marks, going almost silent at great lengths and relying heavily on visuals; whilst the second part is where reality sips in, inching us closer and uncomfortably towards how it would climax when children's boundaries are pushed. It's not even an issue that the twist is embarrassingly obvious at an early stage, you'd find yourself still eagerly wanting to know what comes next until the end. I find Goodnight Mommy cleverly done (with the exception of one particular scene with the Red Cross which I feel the film could absolutely do without), coupled with an eye-candy cinematography by Martin Gschlacht, it's not what you'd call an upbeat horror, but its gradual yet stylishly constructed downward slide into a familial mayhem will leave quite a devastating impact on you. And that's the directors' intent as well.

Rating: A-

#GoodnightMommy #IchSehIchSeh#VeronikaFranz #SeverinFiala #ForeignFilm#Horror #Thriller #Arthouse #FilmReview#SusanneWuest #MartinGschlacht

“The thing about this story is, the whole city was complicit. It wasn’t just the police and church: it was police, church, legislative branch, the Globe. Everybody at some point looked the other way.”

- Mark Ruffalo, on his latest film SPOTLIGHT, covering the true story of a team of reporters who expose the widespread child abuse and systemic cover-ups in the Catholic Church in Boston. Ruffalo receives an Oscar nomination in the supporting role for his performance as reporter Mike Rezendes 

#MarkRuffalo #Spotlight #SpotlightMovie#MikeRezendes #CelebQuotes #Movies #Oscars#Oscars2016 #BestSupportingActor #BostonGlobe#Hollywood #HollywoodActors

SPOTLIGHT & THE BIG SHORT WIN BIG AS WELL AT CRITICS' CHOICE AWARDS
Apart from Mad Max: Fury Road appearing as the biggest winner, Tom McCarthy's Spotlight nabs the major categories at the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture. The biographical drama about a group of journalists who broke the story of the Catholic Church molestation scandals also wins Best Acting Ensemble and Best Original Screenplay. 

The star-studded comedy-drama The Big Short takes home three major awards as well, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Comedy and Best Actor In A Comedy for Christian Bale, who shares multiple lip-locking with director Adam McKay when receiving the awards. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brie Larson win Best Actor and Actress (The Revenant, Room), while Alicia Vikander and Sylvester Stallone bag the supporting categories (The Danish Girl, Creed). Young Jacob Tremblay steals everyone's hearts with his speech when he wins Best Young Actor (Room). Amy Schumer's Trainwreck wins her Best Actress In A Comedy. British sci-fi Ex Machina wins Best Sci-Fi/Horror, crowd favourite Inside Out takes Best Animated Feature and Son of Saul continues its sweep in the foreign category by winning Best Foreign Language Film

#MadMaxFuryRoad #MadMax #GeorgeMiller#LeonardoDiCaPrio #BrieLarson#CriticsChoiceAwards #SpotlightMovie#TheBigShort #TheBigShortFilm #MovieAwards#FilmAwards #Movies #BestComedy#AmySchumer #JacobTremblay #ExMachina#SonOfSaul #RoomMovie #AliciaVikander#TheDanishGirl #sylvesterStallone #ChristianBale#AdamMckay #TomMcCarthy #RachelMcadams

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD SWEEPS CRITICS' CHOICE AWARDS

Australian film-maker George Miller has much to celebrate. Not only did his fourth instalment of the Mad Max franchise score an impressive ten Oscar nominations lately, it continues to blaze it way through the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards, winning nine of the thirteen nominations including Best Director for Miller, beating heavyweights like Alenjandro Iñárritu, Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott. Apart from sweeping awards for production design, editing, costume design, hair & makeup and visual effects, Mad Max: Fury Road also bags Best Action Movie, and Best Actor & Actress In An Action Movie for Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. 

Miller was not present at the awards, but he had previously shared his own surprise at the unexpected hit his action flick has been in the awards race, citing "Seriously, the film was like last year, May, and I did not imagine I'd be back here talking about it, which is fine, you know, which is good. When you're in these award seasons, and people have responded to the film in a positive way, then you say, 'OK, I'll enjoy the party as long as it last.' "

#MadMaxFuryRoad #MadMax #GeorgeMiller#TomHardy #CharlizeTheron #CriticsChoiceAwards#AlenjandroIñárritu #StevenSpielberg #RidleyScott#MovieAwards #FilmAwards #Movies #BestDirector#BestActor #BestActress