Categories
Cinema DVD

Ratatouille

{mosimage}The last dream from Disney, coming from the privileged minds of Pixar guys, is about good food and a little rat. 

R

atatouille is about mixing the possible and the impossible: a rat, an animal that has provoked for centuries repulsion, being the king of the high cuisine in Paris, the city with reputation of hosting the best chefs in the world.

 There, our little friend Remy, who has a great developed sense of smell, and a predilection for creating new and amazing plates that can challenge  him, will help young and unskilled Linguini to cook not only some of the best food in the city, but also the receipt of love with job mate Colette.

There, our little friend Remy, who has a great developed sense of smell, and a predilection for creating new and amazing plates that can challenge  him, will help young and unskilled Linguini to cook not only some of the best food in the city, but also the receipt of love with job mate Colette.

The genial people of Pixar makes once more an innovative and outstanding animation movie where we are given advice to follow our dreams until the last consequences, no matters how difficult they can seem. Technically, the film is outstanding: the rat moves like a rat, but also has a very human side. The design of Paris is magnificent, in contrast with the darkness of the under face where the pack of rats habit, and the work in the kitchen is meticulously copied and reflected. As the final note to put a perfect end to the action, the voice of Peter O´Toole lent to the character of Ego, a critic that will be finally touched by a food made with love and care.

Excellent work by director Brad Bird, who is also behind of other excellent Pixar products such as The Incredibles. Animation movies are in excellent shape, overwhelming many times in terms of quality the normal movies. Let´s see what is the next exciting thing that the guys from Pixar can bring us after this excellent gift!

Rate 4/5

Categories
Cinema DVD

Ganes

{mosimage}The story of legendary Finnish rocker Remu Aaltonen and his band: The Hurriganes, that remains one of the most important music phenomena in Finnish history.

Ganes is interesting to watch for both Finnish and foreign audience. For the first ones, it is an approach to one of the biggest rock and roll bands of the country with many winks to Finnish culture. For the later, it is an excellent way of knowing how Finland was, especially Helsinki area (and the neighborhood of Pohjois-Haaga, where I lived myself during half a year), almost four decades ago.

The picture of the film is excellent and you can really feel embedded in the atmosphere of the 70s. Legendary venues like Vanha or Tavastia that are still the temples of music in Finland, are portrayed here, following the first steps and struggles of The Hurriganes in their way to success. However, this film focuses mainly in the character of Remu Aaltonen, a young and disturbed guy, with never ending problems against authority and police that will find his vocation in rock scene.

Eero Milonoff completes an excellent performance (taking into account that the guy did not know anything about music before facing this role) as Remu, but I miss some more interaction with secondary characters. The other members of the band or of his own family (Tommi Korpela as the drunkard father is excellent in the few minutes that he is allowed to appear on scene) are poorly portrayed. And the music takes for too long a secondary role along most of the movie against the relation between Remu and justice.

In any case, the film is solid, the script is good enough to have some excellent and exciting moments, like the final arrival of the ferry to Helsinki and the police checking, and all in all, the best is that it provides an excellent choice to rediscover the music of The Hurriganes.

Rating 3/5.

Categories
Cinema DVD

Factory Girl

{mosimage}The film narrates the twisted relationship between Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick, who became an icon of glamour during the 60s.

Finding out before watching the DVD that Guy Pearce was in the movie as Andy Warhol, I must honestly admit that I had great expectations, since I am a great fan of his work since I watched Memento, one of my all times favorites movies. And I still had fresh in the memory the sensuality of Sienna Miller who had appeared recently in Stardust. So after all that, I could not feel less than disappointed after the end of the movie with the poor depiction of the characters. The actors make a decent work of interpretation, but the script is poor and does not catch the essence of the characters. Andy Warhol does not look like a genius, but just like a clown, and Edie´s sensuality and glamour is erased during half of the movie with a too much overwhelming focus on her drug addiction. Funnily, at the end the best of the movie turned to see Hayden Christensen playing brilliantly the musician that has an affair with Edie (Bob Dylan…!?).  This was the first role of the young actor after the new Star Wars trilogy, and apart from his deserved fame as the new Hollywood heartbreaker, he shows that he can really deliver a good acting performance.

The narrative of the film uses cliché after cliché: the typical images of New York, the typical walks around Central Park, etc., but in the end the characters are not substantially developed, and we do not feel identified with any of them; it's a waste, in spite of the promising cast.
Unless you are a Warhol´s super fan, you do not miss much with this film. The Factory, in this occasion, has failed in creating a new piece of art.

Rating 2/5.
 

Categories
Cinema DVD

Musta jää

{mosimage}Critically praised and highly award Petri Kotwica’s drama is released on DVD.

At the time of its theatrical release last autumn, Black Ice (Musta Jää) was acclaimed by critics. Since then, the film has received several international awards and most recently the film was honored with six Jussi awards (the Finnish Oscars), including Best Director, Best Film and Best Script and Best Actress. With such a hype, I was very intrigued and really eager to watch this film. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Many might say that Black Ice is a typically (depressing) Finnish movie. Indeed, a not so funny plot takes places in a freezing and snowy Helsinki and it is a calm and restrained storytelling. But the core and the theme of the story are quite universal: in short, Black Ice tells the story of a woman and her relation with her husband and her husband’s lover. This effect is increased by the way the city is portrayed. We see Helsinki on the screen but we don’t really recognize its streets. It could be any other city.

The film is magnificiently directed by Petri Kotwica, who portrait the dark and corrupted relationship between the three characters with a beautiful photography of blue and cold tones.

The script is addictive and in spite of the tragedy or the extreme turns of the plot, the film is convincing and solid. It avoids the easy drama. Outi Mäenpää’s acting is outstanding and it really helps making the story real.

Black Ice, now easily available for the non Finnish speakers thanks to the English subtitles included on the DVD, is one of those stories that offer strong characters and a solid dilema that will remain in our minds days after we finish watching the movie. How far can we go because of jealousy?

Rating 5/5

Categories
Cinema Features

And the Jussi goes to…

 
{sidebar id=46}Musta jää (Black Ice) has won the Jussi for Best Film of 2007. The film directed and written by Petri Kotwica
managed to collect six of the 15 ‘Finnish Oscars’. The prestigious
awards were presented
in Helsinki
during the traditional annual Jussi gala on Sunday night.



B
esides Best Film, Musta jää won the awards for Best Direction (Petri Kotwica), Best Script (Kotwica), Best Leading Actress, Best Score (music) and Best Edit. The leading role was played by Outi Mäenpää. Eicca Toppinen, best known as one of the members of cello rock band Apocalyptica, composed the soundtrack.

{mosimage} 

Other favourites Miehen työ (Man’s Job) and Ganes did considerably less well. Miehen työ, the widely praised and also internationally critically acclaimed film directed by Aleksi Salmenperä, had to make do with only two awards.  The Jussi for Best Leading Actor went to Tommi Korpela for his role of family father Juha, who ends up working as a male prostitute after being fired from his factory job. Jani Volanen won Best Supporting Actor.

Also biopic Ganes won two Jussis, in the categories Best Staging and Best Costume Design.

The Jussi Awards, first awarded in 1944, are considered the Finnish equivalent of the Oscars.

 

Musta jää – review 

Winning films:

Musta jää (Black Ice)

Miehen työ (Man's Job) – trailer

Ganes

Sooloilua (Playing Solo)

Joulutarina (Christmas Story) – trailer

Raja 1918

Yhden tähden hotelli (Lone Star Hotel)

Jussi Awards:

Official site (in Finnish)
Wikipedia

 
Categories
Cinema DVD

Pervert!

{mosimage}“Sex, death and freedom” is the motto of this crazy film that pays homage to Russ Meyer’s style.

If not long time ago we reviewed the last book of Juho JuntunenPaholaisen Morsian, in the same line we could place this Pervert! from American  director Jonathan Yudis, or what is the same: sex, tits, blood and a lot of fun!

Filmed with a very low budget, the film is quite entertaining, overall during the first third, when the presence of porn star Mary Carey makes the story totally amusing and crazy (not mentioning the presence of her voluptuous curves). Later, with the appearance of the so called: “the pervert” and the animated scenes, the film loses a bit of punch, but it still has some good moments like in every intervention of the director himself, Jonathan Yudis, as an exhilarating crazy Nazi gay mechanic.

In any case, the best part of the acting goes to Darrell Sandeen, who is able to complete a great role as the sexually and "artistically" active old father of the main character. Another good feature is the length of the film, just 1 hour and 20 minutes, because it could have certainly turned a bit boring if it had lasted longer. Nevertheless the plot follows a similar dynamic all the time: new girl that goes with the father, with too high carnal instincts, the son getting seduced…and blood spilled.

A good effort and guaranteed laughs for this Pervert! It is good and healthy to have this kind of B movies from time to time bringing a touch of fresh air against  the big productions.

Director: Jonathan Yudis
Cast: Mary Carey, Sean Andrews, Darrell Sanden, Juliette Clarke, Jonathan Yudis

Rating 3/5

Categories
Cinema DVD

No Reservations

{mosimage}Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart are a sensual couple of chefs sharing the same kitchen… and a couple of tips about the flavours of good food and good love.

Love in the kitchen is trendy in Hollywood. You can check it out in an animated film like Ratatouille or here, in No Reservations (in Finnish the title is Rakkauden resepti) by director Scott Hicks, featuring the always sensual welsh Catherine Zeta-Jones as a dedicated chef totally concentrated and even obsessed on his work in the kitchen, with no other private life. But some happenings are going to transform radically her life. The sudden death of her sister in a car accident that makes her being in custody of her nephew Zoe (Abigail Breslin, the girl in Little Miss Sunshine) and the entrance in the kitchen of a new chef with a particular style and charm “made in Italy”: Aaron Eckhart. Chemistry works pretty well between the couple, but nevertheless the plot is too obvious and there is hardly any time for surprises: Fights, falling in love, reconciliations… all is too predictable. The best parts maybe come when little Abigail Breslin is into scene and both characters try to gain her sympathy. The relation with the little girl has even more punch that the love relation between the main characters, and brings a bit of rhythm to the film.

A good story for the lovers of good cuisine and romantic stories cooked inside the kitchen, but do not expect any big surprise here.

Rating 3/5

Categories
Cinema DVD

Hostel 2

{mosimage}Hostel was one of the nicest surprises in the horror and gore movies genre during last year. Now director Eli Roth tries to repeat the formula again.

It seems that Tarantino appears lately in every film project bathed with blood. This time is not about crazy drivers terrorizing young ladies on the wheel, but with an active collaboration in the script of the second part of Hostel, a film that revitalized the horror movies genre, applauded by millions of cinema fans and not so beloved in Slovakia whose reputation does not exactly “shine” when you end up watching these films (remember other close examples like Borat and Kazakhstan…).

But the surprise element is missed this time, and the movie turns to be boring and predictable. One of the most significant changes is that this time the main characters are girls instead of the boys of the first movie. The cast is decent, with the three American girls perfectly counter partnered by the two male sadistic businessmen, but the trick of swinging the personalities of the bad guys when the blood is spilled is nothing new and not surprising at all anymore. A couple of visually shocking moments save the action, like the unforgettable scene with the naked woman receiving her bath of blood, or the cannibal Italian police officer tasting carefully one human leg while his poor owner screams in horrible pain, but apart from that, do not expect anything extraordinary. Even the sensuality (and sexuality) of the first part has decreased here, except for the always splendid view of the sensual Vera Jordanova.

The only issue that can keep on ringing inside your mind is “Can a place like this really exists in real life?” We hope not, but in any case, watch out if you meet a guy with an Elite Hunting tattoo in a train towards Central Europe…

Director: Eli Roth

Cast: Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips, Vera Jordanova, Roger Bart, Richard Burgi

Rating 2/5 

Categories
Cinema Features

Finnwoodland

{mosimage}

One hundred years back saw the light the very first Finnish produced
movie: Salaviinanpolttajat (Bootleggers) by Louis Sparre and Teuvo
Puro
. Little is known about this film because not even still pictures
are preserved and its plot is only known on the basis of newspapers
advertisements. It dealt with themes that remain dear to the country:
alcohol, the sense of guilt surrounding it and the pain of human
alienation.


T
he oldest Finnish movie completely preserved, Ollin oppivuodet (Olli's
Apprenticeship), also directed by Teuvo Puro, is from 1920. At that
time Finland saw the rise of its first movie stars. Some of them
migrated to Hollywood, like Taina Elg or Maila Nurmi, who was the star
of Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space and became popular as the tv
character of Vampira in the 1950s. Locally, the legendary Suomi-Filmi
replicated the studio system of Hollywood.

But the international breakthrough of Finnish cinema didn’t come until
the 1980s, when a generation of filmmakers led by Aki and Mika, the
Kaurismäki brothers, achieved international success. Famous Renny
Harlin
also belongs to this generation. He took a different path and
became a Hollywood director with outstanding films like The Adventures
of Ford Farlaine
or participating in the sequels of Die Hard, An Elm
Street Nightmare
.

But new directors, producers and writers have blossomed since. In the
2000s, Finnish films present new themes to new audiences. Finnish
cinema enjoys a noticeable popularity locally, but the industry still
suffers from a limited target group and wants a better subsidy system.

During the first weekend of October, three Finnish films had over 49%
of the Top Ten films’ audience. The chart’s number one was JP Siili’s
film Ganes. This is the story of rise of the Hurriganes, the popular
rock’n’roll band in the 70’s and the first Finnish group to achieve
international recognition. Produced by Aleksi Bardy’s Helsinki-Filmi,
Ganes is a true Finnish blockbuster, supported by a big scale marketing
campaign; within two weeks of its premiere the film counted more than
75,000 admissions – not a bad number for a small country like Finland.
In 2006, the most watched movie was a Finnish production – Matti, the
life story of the living sport legend Matti Nykänen – movie saw by over
460,000 spectators. The second and third places were the American
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (458,833 spectators) and
Casino Royale (368,621 spectators).

In the recent years, the market share of Finnish movies has increased
from a 17% in 2004 to a 24% last year, when three domestic films
appeared in the Top Ten. Ironically, the most internationally reputed
Finnish director, Aki Kaurismäki, although a Cannes Festival winner,
performs very poorly at the local box office. To his latest film,
Laitakaupungin valot (Lights in the Dusk) only 38,000 spectators in
Finland considered worthy to go, just few more than the extreme stunts
film The Dudesons Movie.

A new generation of directors and writers are bringing in new themes to
the domestic productions. Joona Tena achieved great success with the
romantic comedy FC Venus (2005), Aleksi Salmenperä brought to the
screen the taboo of male prostitution in Miehen työ (A Man’s Job,
2006). Since his controversial and popular debut film Levottomat
(Restless, 2000), Aku Louhimies offered a new look at the actual
Finnish society, especially through his acclaimed movie Paha Maa
(Frozen Land). A modern look that reflects a contemporary society that
goes beyond the traditional values, but still drags long standing
problems like booze and solitude.

{mosimage}Sure values and the producer’s nose

A sure value at the box office are movies dealing with the Finnish
national identity or Finnish heroes – among the latest local hits are
the biographies of Jean Sibelius (Sibelius, 2003), ski jumper and
celebrity Matti Nykänen (Matti, 2006) and the story of one of the best
known gangs, the Dalton brothers of Finland, in Aleksi Mäkelä’s Pahat
pojat
(Bad Boys, 2003). The next Finnish heroes to reach the silver
screen will be Lordi. Dark Floors – The Lordi Motion Picture is to come
out in February 2008. The movie is not the story of the band, but an
American-style thriller based on the idea of the Lordi singer, and
where the band play the music and appear in the movie.

The man behind the last four years hits is the producer Markus Selin:
the Levottomat trilogy, Matti, Valkoinen kaupunki (Frozen City, 2006)
or this year’s V2 – Jäätynyt enkeli (V2 – Dead Angel). He also produced
one of the first films of Renny Harlin, Jäätävä polte (Born America,
1985), which was at the time the most expensive Finnish film ever done
with a budget of 16,7 million Finnish mark (around 2,8 million euro).

So what does it take to make a Finnish hit? To know your audience,
answers Markus Selin: “You have to keep the public in mind when you
choose the topic, especially in the script development phase”, he says.
“There are, of course, no short cuts to make a blockbuster, but I
believe that audiences always smell good movies, the ones made with the
right mix of talent and best possible ingredients”.

But Helsinki is not Hollywood and apart of the few blockbusters, there
are a number of productions struggling to attract an audience. The
situation is not easy in a country where only 12 movies are produced a
year and compete with more than 100 new releases from United States.
Budgets are not very high and the market is small due to the language.
“That is our biggest difficulty”, tells Selin. “The language limits the
financing possibilities from other countries. The Finnish Film
Foundation lacks decent funds, as the movie industry is not respected
enough. If it would be treated right by politicians, our industry could
be a big export”. With around 3,000 people employed, Finnish cinema
industry depends greatly on state support.

The Finnish Film Fundation, Suomen Elokuvasäätiö (SEA), is responsible
of the support and development of Finnish film production, distribution
and exhibition. It is an independent foundation which is supervised by
the Department for Cultural Policy in the Ministry of Education. The
SEA funds 10 to 12 movies per year. The resources for these grants
usually come from the lottery funds. According to the SEA, the average
budget of a Finnish film is 1,4 million euro, which includes around
500.000 euro from the SEA.

{mosimage}Producers go on strike

But for producers this support is not enough. In September, Finnish
producers decided to go on strike and not to start any new projects
after the Minister of Culture Stefan Wallin broke his promise to
increase funding by 1,2 million euro for the next year. In the 2008
budget, instead of the promised 8%, the increase is plain zero.
Producers argue that this is a stupid position because “the money used
to make one film returns to the state, in the form of taxes from sold
tickets and salaries, sometimes even as much as double of the invested
amount.”

They are also angry because while film subvention got a 0% increase,
the support for the National Opera raised with 1 million euro. The
Opera receives from the state budget 50 million, while the film
industry receives 13,5 million euro. Film producers declared themselves
“annoyed by the fact that the state supports 20 times more an opera
ticket than a cinema ticket”. Comparing tickets sales and state
support, for every opera ticket sold there is a support granted of 160e.

Producer and writer Aleksi Bardy sums up the present disappointment:
“In spite of the fact that the Finnish Film industry has been blooming
for the past eight years with better movies, new audiences and larger
exportations, politicians haven’t kept their promises. We producers
consider that it has become impossible to make films in Finland.” Of
course, he and the rest of the producers are aware that this attitude
can breed a bad image of the Finnish cinema among the public. “It is a
matter of survival. We risk to damage our image, but the other option
is that the Finnish film industry dies without enough resources”, Bardy
concludes.

The statement released by Finnish producers has been well received by
the rest of the industry. The SEA does not have an official opinion,
but recognizes “the need to increase public funding for film to the
level existent in other Nordic countries.” For the Ministry of
Education and Culture it is “a strong statement and it is evaluated as
such”. From the Ministry it is also claimed that “since 2000 the
increase has been 63%”, although it also admits that “the subsidies for
film production in Finland are smaller than for example in other Nordic
countries”.

The Finnish Chamber of Films, which represents The Finnish Film
Distributors’ Association and The Finnish Cinema Exhibitors’
Association, has also showed its support to the producers. Tero
Koistinen, executive director of The Finnish Cinema Exhibitors’
Association complains that “In Finland, there are about 200 cinemas,
most of which located in small towns and rural centres. Their survival
is largely dependent on Finnish movies. Due to the weak funding of the
Finnish film industry, some 50 small towns and communities are
constantly on the verge of losing their cinemas”.

Since the beginning of this conflict, Minister Stefan Wallin has
expressed his willingness to find an increase in subsidies for the film
industry. From the Ministry of Education and Culture, senior advisor
Leena Laaksonen explains that “an indication of the strong will is the
present (2007-2011) Government Programme that explicitly mentions the
will for increasing the subsidies for film production during the four
years of this Government. The Minister for Culture has clearly told
that his intention is to carry out what is said in the Government
Programme. The bill for 2008 budget is for the moment being dealt with
by the Parliament. It will be ready for Christmas”.

The strike has been effective. Already in early November, a solution
seems near. Producers have ended the strike based on the confidence
that a better allocation of the lottery funds will occur in 2008. This
means that that film production and distribution should get an increase
of 4,149,000 euro in 2008, and that the government should commit itself
to a plan to increase the overall film support to 27 million euro by
2011, as stated in the government programme. The managing director of
the SEA, Irina Krohn, has already promised that the maximum funding to
a film will increase from 700,000 euro to 840,000.

Markus Selin draws also other positives consequences from this
conflict: “The producers strike is good for the Finnish film industry
because it has raised a lot of questions regarding the bad shape of
film financing. It has also put all the major producers on the same
line and has brought the industry closer”.

For many foreigners living in Finland, Finnish cinema is greatly
unknown. However, although the cinemas don’t show the films with
subtitles in English or other language, nowadays DVD and festivals do.
A good starting point is a little museum in Helsinki, almost hidden in
Sörnäinen area, that preserves the history of Finnish cinema (Elävän
kuvan museo), full of posters, photos, old projectors, cameras and
films… A joy for movie lovers. Unfortunately, it is under
reconstruction until next September. Meanwhile… lights, camera, action!

Categories
Cinema DVD

Planet Terror

{mosimage}Rodriguez and Tarantino join forces once more in Planet Terror, the second of the movies composing Grindhouse, together with Death Proof; an odyssey full of blood, sexy chicks and enraged zombies.

{sidebar id=45} Filmed paying homage to the grindhouse films of the 70s and 80s, there are a lot of deliberated mistakes (starting for the poor quality of the image) all around the movie  that try to reproduce with fidelity the atmosphere at that time.

In Planet Terror you will be faced with tensed action all along the footage and a plot where you don’t need to have deep thoughts or take too seriously what is going on the screen, but just to enjoy the good acting skills of the superb cast. Bruce Willis (who does not appear in the film credits) plays perfectly his part as the tough soldier of fortune coming from Afghanistan infected by the bio-weapon;  Josh Brolin, who is finding a new peak in his career starring also in American Gangster (do you remember him as the oldest brother in The Goonies?), is superb as the evil cheated doctor. Rose McGowan shows a perfect balance between being strong and sexy, and undoubtedly her right leg spitting fire will be one of the best moments remembered by the fans in the future. Freddy Rodriguez shines powerfully as a new promising star while Marley Shelton repeats again with Rodriguez after the successful collaboration in Sin City. Sharp dialogues, thousands of bullets flying and the search for the best barbecue sauce in Texas will definitely not make feel bored during the 1 hour and 41 minutes of action. Added to all this, you will  find that even more dangerous than the zombies themselves are the own human beings wandering around Texas, leading the ranking Tarantino himself who has a short but explosive and exhilarating  role as a crazy rapist soldier.

Well, obviously, if your taste is oriented more towards philosophical films where the action goes slowly, Planet Terror is not the product for you. But if you enjoyed previous Rodriguez’s movies like Desperado or From Dusk till Dawn, you won’t get disappointed with this DVD.

Categories
Cinema Features

Tempting dark power

{mosimage}Stan Lee (who makes a cameo again in this third part) and Steve Ditko created in 1962 a new superhero that after the past of decades has been even able to steal the love of many fans from other untouchable legendary characters like Batman or Superman. The name was Spider-man, and Sam Raimi took the responsibility to take his adventures into big screen.

{sidebar id=40}They usually say that third parts were never good, but Spider-Man 3 is a clear exception to the rule. Not only the best film of the trilogy, but in my opinion, the best comic adaptation from the last years. Raimi has caught all the spirit of the comic, the charming of a Peter Parker that can be very strong after his fragile appearance. But obviously one of the features that make Spider-Man 3 stand out is the new and visually shocking enemies: the raw power of Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and overall the most awaited and probably beloved evil guy of the whole Marvel comics sagas: Venom. Tobey Maguire shows once more that he is perfect for the role; when Peter Parker behaves good, people like him, but when he is bad you just have to love him. Kirsten Dunst as the red-haired Mary Jane exhales sensuality every time she talks or sings, and the new incorporation of Topher Grace adds a new fresh value to a film full of dualities, from Spider-Man himself and all the characters surrounding him, where not everything is just black and white and there is not absolutely evil or innocent behaviour; a great example to take with us for the real everyday life.

If you have the chance, pursue the Special Edition with a very interesting 2-disc format, a great design on the cover and some good extras, being specially interesting the one that explains the creation proccess of the character of Venom. If you like comics, cinema and action that will make you be literally stitched to your seat for a bit more than 2 hours, do not miss Spider-Man 3. 

Participate in our competition and get the official Spider-Man 3 trolley bag. Click here

Categories
Cinema Features

The punk that died as a hippie

{mosimage}Five years ago, Joe Strummer, the leader of The Clash, died unexpectedly aged 50, victim of an undiagnosed congenital heart disease. He descended to the hell of punk after the break-up of The Clash, but a few years before his death, Strummer had revamped his musical career embracing global sounds with his backing band The Mescaleros. The recently released documentary Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten accounts this fascinating journey.

In a bit less than two hours, the documentary narrates Strummer’s traveling childhood (after his father, a British foreign-service, was located in places such as Cairo, Mexico City and Bonn), his teenage years (marked by the suicide of his brother), his stardom with The Clash, the turbulent post-Clash years and his comeback to music with The Mescaleros. Starting with impressive footage of the singer laying the vocals of the classic White Riot, director (and old friend) Julien Temple portraits the life of Joe Strummer through archival footage and personal interviews. Temple planned those interviews around a campfire (one of Strummer’s favorites activities). Former Clash members (like Mick Jones and Topper Headon), close friends and celebrities such as Johnny Depp, John Cusack, Steve Buscemi and Bono share memories and celebrate the life of Joe Strummer.

The editing is innovative and makes the storytelling quick. All the material comes together thanks to the voice of Joe Strummer himself that appears to underline the facts or just to set the mood of the journey spinning some records and introducing songs on the BBC World Service’s radio show London Calling.
Obviously much is told about The Clash. The story of the band becomes the centerpiece of the film: the origins, the success, the fame, the break up. Those were years of youth for Strummer. Wild and outspoken, but at the same time avoiding confrontation while his band mates were fired in the latter days of the group.

{sidebar id=39}In 1986, after the failure of the album Cut the Crap, the singer disbanded The Clash. There Strummer started long rambling years of different projects of mild success, soundtracks, a tour with The Pogues, legal disputes with Sony Records and even appearances in several films, including Aki Kaurismäki’s I Hired a Contract Killer (1990) and Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train (1989).

Those were difficult years for Strummer, but they are also the time when one would have wanted Temple to spend more footage of his documentary. It’s the “lost decade”. The images of Joe, alone in the studio, trying to find the right vocals and trying to find himself are some of the most valuable in the two-hour film.

But like happy end of a movie, Joe Strummer found content and peace of mind. He did it in an expected manner, in campfires around hippies. The punk made peace with his enemies. New sounds, a world folk, seemed to revitalize the singer, who put together a new band of young and talented multi-instrumentalist. The Mescaleros recorded three albums in three years and took successfully Strummer back to the road.

Even a reunion of The Clash seemed possible when Mick Jones joined Strummer on stage and the Mescaleros played a benefit concert for striking fire fighters. It was the first time both played together since 1983.

However that was also the last time. Just one month later, three days before Christmas Joe Strummer passed away. The world lost its hippiest punk.

The Future is Unwritten is a moving testimony of genuine rocker that remained true to himself, true to the idea that music has the power to change the world. It’s just too bad the film is only two hours long.

Categories
Cinema DVD

28 Days Later

{mosimage}The continuation to 28 Days Later features an empty Great Britain trying to be repopulated under the control of US army. But the problems are not over…

{sidebar id=44}Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is on charge of continuing the story of 28 Days Later in his new 28 Weeks Later, featuring a new wave of raged zombies wandering the empty streets of London. Basically, that would be one of the few strongest points of the film: the excellent and unusual opportunity of watching the streets of the English capital empty. Because taking into account all the rest, the film turns to be pretty bad. The usually excellent acting skills of Catherine McCormack and Robert Carlyle are totally missed this time, and their characters look ridiculous.

The beginning looks promising, with a group of refugees trying to survive in a big mansion, but the tension soon disappears and it is replaced by the boredom of situations that have been seen one hundred times before in other films. The story does not add anything interesting to the gender neither explores a new exciting approach to the first part; just again scared human beings trying to escape from zombies, with the help (that turns into risk) of the American army. A couple of good visual moments, like the scene when the helicopter is tearing into pieces some zombies in the middle of a field, or the snipers shooting to everything that is on the move in the streets of London, but that is certainly all.

Let’s see if the incoming and awaited I am Legend with Will Smith can spice up the gender again, because Fresnadillo totally failed in his purpose. Do not waste your time watching it unless you are a real fan of the zombie gender.

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Cinema DVD

Meet the Robinsons

{mosimage}Meet the Robinsons is the last product that arrives in DVD from the Disney factory. Follow the adventures of the young Lewis in the future!

{sidebar id=43}Keep Moving Forward is the motto of the Robinsons family, but it could represent very well the spirit that invades Disney factory in their last experiment with animation. The old Mickey Mouse that appears at the beginning of the credits also keeps moving forward to find a world of fantasy were Lewis, the main character, is dragged in his search for identity and love. An orphan and a future genius who still has to learn how to forget the past and focus on the present. For that, he is going to count with the help of a very peculiar family, The Robinsons, but all in all, a family like any other, that shows unity and love when problems arise.

Although the beginning of the film is a bit slow, since Wilbur interferes in the destiny of Lewis everything gets better and better. Hilarious moments and splendid dialogues with that special sense of humour that the guys of Disney know how to show so well.

Director Stephen J. Anderson has really won the pools with the creation of the evil character of Bowler Hat Guy. His naïve behaviour provokes some of the best moments I have seen in animation movies during the last years, like the crazy dialogue while mentally controlling the “mafia frog”. A lot of winks to film history (Jurassic Park, Matrix, Goodfellas, Back to the Future…); proof that the creators are really cinema history lovers and some moments that look almost taken out from dreams, like if the hand of Walt Disney would be painting back some magical feelings from works like Fantasia.

The film is available in Finnish and English, with subtitles, so if you are thinking about a good present for the incoming Christmas, Meet the Robinsons is an excellent choice to enjoy all the family together.

Categories
Cinema DVD

Mother’s love

{mosimage}Directed by Martial Fougeron, this French drama  was awarded with the Golden Shell (Concha de Oro) at the San Sebastian Film Festival in 2006 ex aequo with Iranian Bahman Ghobadi’s Half Moon. However, in spite of its inner violence and its tough tale, the film is empty and results pointless.

{sidebar id=42} In less than 80 minutes, Fougeron tells the growing violence of a mother towards his son through excessive protectionism, selfishness and extreme authoritativeness. It is the portrait of an unbearable mother’s love. One can easily connect this idea to François Truffaut’s masterpiece The 400 Blows. But while Truffaut’s is a complex psychological portrait of troubled youth, My Son is simple and it does not ask as many question as it tries to.

Although such a punishment from a mother is touching and the boy’s psychological suffering (rather than physical) is shocking, the film becomes implausible. It is hard to believe the passivity of the father and the transformation of the mother out of the blue.

Nevertheless, there is something really outstanding in this film. Nathalie Baye in the role of the mother is superb and she keeps the son together and clearly justifies the prize she also won in San Sebastian. It is pity that there’s nothing else in the film that tops her acting. Fortunately Fougeron’s narrative styles is marked by sobriety and My Son avoids falling into a TV drama.