It has been a long time since I have seen this play, but this retelling refreshed my memory of the great tragedy written by William Shakespeare.  Kenneth Branagh (Valkyrie) reimagines the play with a modern touch and an older age group of actors than I have ever seen.  Some of this works for the better, but a lot of the changes fall flat and detract from the emotions of the original story.  I liked the noir atmosphere that often surrounded the stage with smooth jazz.  This ambience felt fresh and original, making it easier for the audience to connect with the old play.

My biggest issue for this retelling of Romeo and Juliet was the age of a lot of the actors.  Romeo and Juliet are usually young and innocent lovers, but Branagh's troupe chose to cast Lily James (Cinderella) as Juliet and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) as Romeo.  Lily James is 27 years old and Richard Madden is 30 years old, so let's keep those ages in mind.  Those are both 10 years over the ages of Shakespeare's characters.  To be fair, James tries to make her character younger by portraying the nervousness of a young lover.  Yet, her character comes across as frantic and becomes annoying after the first hour or so.  James and Madden both give decent performances, it's just hard to put them in the shoes of Romeo and Juliet.  Mercutio is played by Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, The King's Speech), which is another older choice for the character.  Jacobi brings great comedy and gravitas to his performance, but he is another odd choice to fill this Shakespeare role.

At first, I was not sure if I was going to write about the play because it was filmed during a live performance.  During a live performance, the audience gets to look where they want to at all times.  However, when an event like this is filmed the editors choose what the audience can see at certain times.  One of the more interesting choices for the filming is the black and white coloring.  I am not sure why they chose black and white for the film, maybe it was to give a noir tone to the viewer.  Personally, I would have enjoyed seeing the real coloring of the stage and costuming, but this was the director's choice for the filming so I respect that.  

The Bottom Line:  Overall the play is modernized with its staging and filming, but younger viewers might struggle to relate to it because of its older cast and black-and-white color palette. 

Score: 6.5/10 

Once again, Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Doubt) reminds us of the importance of fine arts.  As Florence Foster Jenkins, Streep takes on the role of a poor singer who pays her way to the top.  However rather than being a self-centered rich woman, Jenkins had a true love for the art of opera.  Streep gives us this portrayal through her emotional journey as Jenkins.  No one other than Jenkins's husband and accompanist understood this, but now the movie-goer gets this look at their perspective.  Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) once again targets an older audience, but anyone who enjoys a well-made film can find something to entertain themselves with this one.

The film is often times hilarious, but also heartwarming as a story of true love, loyalty, and devotion.  Hugh Grant (Music and Lyrics) plays Jenkins's loving husband, providing for her but also living a double life.  As St Clair Bayfield, Grant is dramatic around his costar but playful around the other characters.  The two roles suit him well and I cannot remember a performance by Grant that I liked as much as this one.  The other stand-out star in this film is Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) as Cosme McMoon.  McMoon was Jenkins's piano accompanist, which was clearly an odd setup for McMoon.  Helberg brings the awkward relationship that the two "musicians" had throughout their time together.  Towards the beginning of the film, Helberg steals the show through his comic delivery and facial expressions.  He fits perfectly into the shoes of his character, overacting to get the audience roaring for more of his screentime.

In a film about such a famous singer, it is important to realize the soundtrack accompanying the imagery.  Streep brings out a new voice in her portrayal of Jenkins.  Listening to recordings of Jenkins, Streep sounds almost exactly like her.  This is one of Streep's best performances in any role I have seen.  It is also an extremely painful performance to watch, but somehow I could listen to Streep sing like this for over an hour and still find it hilarious.  The original music written for the film is a complete contradiction to Florence's voice.  Alexandre Desplat (The King's Speech, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Argo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) once again creates a score that fits the setting of a bustling New York in the early 1900s.  Desplat's score is dramatic and retrospective, bringing out the gravitas of the film.

The Bottom Line:  This film is painfully hilarious and fantastically flat.

Score: 7.5/10

Considering this is Sian Heder's first feature film, I would keep her name in mind for future reference.  Tallulah is a brilliant study of four different characters who continue to bring us down a road of conflict.  When misfit Tallulah is forced into a childcare situation, she struggles with the child's upbringing and decides that she is more fit to take care of the child than the biological mother is.  Through deception, Tallulah "kidnaps" the child and the story starts to unravel from there.  Continual conflicts arise along the way ranging from rich vs. poor to individual values vs. family values.  

All of the characters keep us wondering what will happen next throughout the movie.  They are each stuck in their own world, but also show flexibility.  Ellen Page (Inception, Juno, X-Men: Days of Future Past) takes an outstanding role as a "homeless" young adult who just cannot find her path in life.  Page has shown excellence throughout her acting career and this might just be her best performance to date.  The rest of the cast bring their own unique acting styles to the mix.  Allison Janney (Finding Nemo, Juno) plays a woeful and lonely mother who has a lot of money but clearly cannot buy her own happiness with it.  Tammy Blanchard (Into the Woods, Blue Jasmine) also acts as a mother who is too rich to figure out how to take care of her child.  I've never seen such an immature and yet middle-aged woman who is so bad at taking care of her child.

With all of these characters, there are many twists and turns that Heder throws us down.  I found myself trying to predict what was going to happen next, but I was constantly at a loss.  With all of the twists and turns the film is still subtle, keeping a realistic vibe to the film.  Earlier today I wrote a short piece about Little Men, Ira Sachs's newest film.  Tallulah and Little Men match each other tonally, making the films great for a double feature.  Both films also take a lot of time in helping us get to know the characters.  By the end of the Tallulah, I felt as though I knew every character inside and out.  Often we do not get this connection with big name actors, but this script was well fleshed out producing the connection.

The Bottom Line:  In a medium dominated by action and special effects, Heder brings us a film that focuses solely on characters and their deep development.

Score: 9.6/10

​Image credit: https://teaser-trailer.com/wp-content/uploads/tallulah-movie-1.jpg

eThis film struck me because of its unique style, one that I cannot say I have seen before in a film.  From the very beginning of the film, we are thrown straight into a story that started a long time ago.  When Glen Hansard's (The Commitments) character is heartbroken by his girlfriend, he flees to Dublin where he busks and works at his father's vacuum repair shop for a living.  During this time, Marketa Irglova's character stumbles upon him while she is walking along the streets.  From there, the story unravels in a quick manner through a small amount of dialogue and a large amount of music.

The score of the film is heartfelt and emotional, tugging at the empathy of the viewers.  Overall, the film is a long form music video that is glorified beyond MTV.  Over the course of one hour and twenty-five minutes, there are over five original compositions to enjoy.  Most of the pieces are slow but continue to progress the storyline until the very last minute.  By the last minute, I was ready to grab a bowl of ice cream and listen to the soundtrack all over again.  After all, Hansard's composition, "Falling Slowly," rightfully won an Oscar for the film.  Irglova's voice must also be commended in the song with her playful harmonization of Hansard's voice.  I am disappointed that the score was not nominated for Best Original Score, but I guess the film flew a bit under the Academy's radar because of its independent method.  After seeing Begin Again, Sing Street and Once, John Carney has proven to be a talented music-based film director who will likely shine on with future additions to his filmography.

Begin Again and Sing Street act as really well made music indie films, but Once stands out from the other two because of the way it is shot.  Rather than using typical film conventions, Carney refers to a reality television filming style.  The film angles are often placed in a candid situation and everything we see looks real.  At first I thought that I had turned on the wrong film because of the raw material on the screen.  At one point, there was a shot through a window that included the glare of the window.  Carney seems to have intentionally scrapped a lot of the post-film editing so that we could join the characters in their daily living situation.  There are multiple long takes as we follow them through a shaky handheld camera.  So many other diverse filming conventions are used throughout the film.  These conventions may sound like a negative for a film, but this love story cuts deep into our souls because of this realism.  It has been a long time since I have watched something so unique and soulful as Once is.

The Bottom Line:  Raw footage and diverse filming conventions harmonize together to create a realistic, serene film which put Carney on the map as a brilliant indie music film director.

Score: 9.7/10     

Image credit: http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Once-movie-stills-once-832293_600_280.jpg

I have about nine movies that I still need to review from SIFF, but I saw this film last night and have to review it before I forget anything about it.  The Lobster is a sort of, kind of, maybe love tale that focuses on a man who must find a partner in a certain amount of time or else he will be turned into the animal of his choosing.  Of course, the animal of his choosing ends up being a lobster.  So thats a very brief synopsis of a film that is so odd, I cannot fully explain the whole synopsis because there are so many moving parts to this film.

Colin Farrell (In Bruges) stars as David, a man who is looking for a partner at a weird hotel resort.  His character reminds me of a 13-year-old looking for his first date for a school dance.  David just does not seem to understand the world and comes off as a model of immaturity.  One of the genres that the film delves into is comedy and David's immaturity or misunderstanding of the world around him adds a lot of the comedic relief.  Comedy legend John C. Reilly (Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, Wreck-It Ralph) also has a vital part in this film as a lisping man.  He seems to be utilizing his past experiences in Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule to really perfect this character.  Other stars of this film include Rachel Weisz (The Mummy), Jessica Barden (Hanna), and Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Spectre, Cloud Atlas).  Each cast member adds some sort of comedy to the tone of this film.

Let's talk a bit more about the tone of this film now since its really what creates the uniqueness.  The Lobster is a dark drama comedy romance film that stands in its own genre.  Director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth) uses slow motion, dark musical themes, and a comedy script to create such an interesting view on what love could become in the future.  Slow motion give us a close look at prolonged grotesque scenes that are so brutal I cringed and even turned away at times.  To compliment the scenes there are classical melodies of a Beethoven caliber to add darkness and grandiose tones to the mix.  But, the film uses all of these aspects to create comedy.  Ask me how and I might have to answer that I honestly have no idea.  Is it the script?  Is it the sort of comedic brutality similar to Tarantino films?  Or is it the overall message of the film?  I'm not sure but I do know that it is unique and unlike anything I've seen ever.  This is creativity brought to the next level!

The Bottom Line:  This one is so grotesque you might be forced to look away at times, even as you laugh at this odd image of a dystopian future.

Score: 9.7/10 (I know this is the third film in a row I've given higher than a 9.5, but I swear they are all just so good!) 

Image Credit: ​http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3464902/

I always love seeing a film in a new venue.  I watched The Meddler in Tacoma at The Grand Cinema a little while back and had some lower expectations for it.  To be honest the cast is old and overall I thought this film was an easy target for an older audience.  At the same time though, the cast is full of all-stars including Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne, J.K. Simmons, and a few others.  This cast creates an interesting mix of older and some newer actors as well, which can be used to bring in a younger crowd.  Personally, I really enjoyed seeing Sarandon play a highly organized and meddling mother.  She stands out as a perfect fit for this role and the other actors fit their's as well.

This film was a nice break from SIFF and yet still fit in with the mix.  Focusing on the acting, the film feels lower budget and conceptually deep.  At times, Sarandon and Byrne break-down and display their human emotions.  This is not something we get to see in blockbusters that the stars are usually in.  Every so often, it is nice to be able to connect with the characters on the big screen and The Meddler helps to create this dynamic.

I am actually unfamiliar with Lorene Scafaria's previous film, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.  However, after this one I am tempted to go back and watch that film.  This director seems capable of bringing out some amazing acting performances.  My only issue whatsoever with this film is the fact that the story seems a bit cluttered.  If Scafaria focused on just a few issues, the film could have truly been a masterpiece.  But, instead there are a few side-stories that create a bit of confusion in the film's message.  Nonetheless, this is a good film full of heart and soul.

The Bottom Line:  It may seem a bit sappy, but at the same time there is a type of realism that is usually hard to create in modern cinema.

Score: 9/10

Image Credit: http://dl9fvu4r30qs1.cloudfront.net/48/5d/d923643f4cbc85bff3ded9e8b2d7/the-meddler-poster.jpg

This film is such a fantastic character study with amazing acting and directing.  Hearing all the hype about the film coming into Oscars season, I had to go out and watch it.  From the trailer I expected a slow story with some good acting but overall I thought to myself, "This is a movie that will put me right to sleep."  However, I found myself glued to the screen by the superb skills of this seemingly classic cinematic piece.

With Hollywood's overuse of blockbuster plots and large-scale special effects, it was quite refreshing to see this film.  Focusing on two subtle characters, the acting is far from boring.  In a review of the film, Room, I said that Brie Larson must win the best actress Oscar.  Now I am having second thoughts.  While I believe that Larson's performance was physically challenging, it seems that Charlotte Rampling's performance in 45 Years was just superb acting.  This one truly is a toss-up and now I wouldn't mind if Brie won or lost as long as Charlotte or Brie win.  

Finally, the direction in this film is quite unique.  For a film that is built through dialogue, keeping the audience's attention can be hard at times.  Andrew Haigh helps us as we follow the relationship of the two senior citizens.  One of my favorite shots was peering out of the window at the couple talking.  With such a dynamic script, I never felt myself nodding off or losing focus.  Finally, you must see this movie for the final scene.  One of the most intense build-ups in modern cinema shows why this film is so critically acclaimed.  No, those reviews are not over-exaggerated, this film truly is near-perfect.

The Bottom Line:  Go see this film even if the subject matter seems boring!

Score: 9.5/10

Guess whose back-back-back back again-gain-gain?  Nope, not Shady.  Its just me!

Boy do I have a review for you guys.  Saw this movie a little over a week ago and took the time to really think about it.  Well, the time did not help and I still have no idea what I watched.  It definitely hurt my brain more than any other Charlie Kaufman movie and that is saying a lot.  Most reviewers at this point would speculate on how the movie had to do with not fitting into society or being an anomaly or some other crap like that.  I'm not even gonna try that because I don't want to pretend that I knew what the hell was going on the whole time.  One thing I will say was that the film was super slow and seemingly bogged down by its story-telling.  I would also add that this is not exactly a family-friendly film so don't take your kids with you to see this one!

The Bottom Line: I kind of liked it, then again I kind of didn't.  I think?

​Score: 6/10

This film holds grasp of your emotions, just like most other romance movies.  While at times the story is a bit sappy, the film still holds a sort of uniqueness.  Also, who doesn't love the scenery of Ireland along with a not-so-crowded New York.  The parallel views of American culture and Irish culture bring out a view of the world that most people don't get to have.  Many people are afraid of travel for the exact same reasons that Saoirse Ronan's character is.  Fear of the unknown often creates homesickness and discomfort in us.  Ronan (Eilis) conveys this perfectly as she moves from Ireland to Brooklyn to start a new life.

Before the film truly hits the romantic genre, the script relies on wit and humor.  In the boarding house that Eilis stays in, each character has their own personality.  The personalities often play off of each other and eventually Eilis herself adds her own, newly created personality.  The script really engages the audience to chuckle during each scene.  Even once the romantic genre appears, the script continues to poke around with its added humor.

At about the mid-point of the film, there is a tonal shift towards a more dramatic and romantic film.  Pulling at the heartstrings, Eilis is constantly changing and enduring new challenges.  To me the film starts to dissolve a bit here, dissolving into a more typical romance.  I wish that the wit was still involved at this point, but the dramatic aspects are pulled off well nonetheless.  Furthermore, the story remains linear and continues to progress onwards until the end.

The Bottom Line: This romance is a well-paced spectacle that relies on a strong script and an up-and-coming actress.

Score: 9/10