Happy Monday everyone! Hope y’all had a nice weekend. Still can’t believe two months have come and gone in 2013. Well, because of the press screenings that usually take place on weekends, I don’t go to the cinema on weekends. Here are my mini reviews of the two movies I saw:
Holy Motors (2012)
I have to admit I have not heard of this French film at all until a few months ago when I read some really rave reviews of this. It sounds so batty and bizarre, and though I don’t really have a huge taste for surreal cinema but I was intrigued enough to check this out.
From dusk ’til dawn, we follow a man by the name of Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) traveling by a white limousine around Paris to a series of nine “appointments.” His chauffeur Celine makes sure he gets to each of those appointments in time, and at each stop, Mr. Oscar transform into new character, one more bizarre than others, but we’re never told just why he does this. From a gypsy beggar, to a motion capture artist like Andy Serkis, he does his own make up and disguise in his well-equiped limo.
The two most bizarre ones to me is when he’s dressed like a leprechaun-looking thing and kidnaps a fashion model (Eva Mendez, channeling Cindy Crawford here) during a photo shoot at a Parisian cemetery and takes her into a cave. It gets even more bizarre after that, trust me. And the other one is the motion capture stuff where he’s doing all kinds of Ninja moves, and then a woman dressed in the mo-cap suit with all the dot markers and the two start to perform a sex act inside a digital production facility and being projected as some reptilian beings on the monitor screen.
The film’s narrative is quite challenging to follow, not to mention the fact that we have no clue just who Mr. Oscar is and why he does what he does. I was willing to go along for the ride and oh, what a trip this is. Director Leos Carax mixes all kinds of genres, as iTunes described it, it’s a monster movie, film noir, romantic drama, musical, crime thriller, futuristic sex fantasia rolled into one, yet it also defies each and everyone of that genre at the same time. It reminds me of Paris, je t’aime a bit but with just one actor in its multiple ‘storyline.’ It’s tough for me to even explain just what’s going on throughout the 2-hour running time, I think if you’re curious about it, just go see it.
My favorite segment is of Mr. Oscar and Jean (Kylie Minogue) where she sang the movie’s theme song Who Were We. I’m still humming that lovely song, it has kind of a haunting quality about it. The music is actually quite memorable here, there’s also an accordion interlude called ‘Let my Baby Ride’ that’s quite awesome. My late mother played the accordion so that instrument holds a special place in my heart.
I’m not surprised this film won so many film festival awards, and was nominated at Cannes and César. I’d even think it’s worthy to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Oscar. The cinematography is beautiful and unique, it shows various parts of Paris that’s not always all romantic. Lavant’s performance was noteworthy to be sure, that’s got to be a challenging role for any actor. Holy Motors is perhaps more of a cinematic experiment than a conventional film. I don’t think this fantasy film is for everyone though, but I do think if you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone, you might actually enjoy it. I know I did, and parts of me are weird-ed out by it, even terrified at times, but also mesmerized at the same time. Yet it’s also strangely moving, it somehow appeals to my heart even when my brain fails to comprehend just what is happening. In a sea of movies that lack imagination and originality, I certainly appreciate it when something offbeat like this comes along.
…
 4 out of 5 reels |
…
Her Majesty Mrs. Brown (1997)
It’s been ages since I saw this film and I have to admit that my initial interest in this film was because my former crush Gerry Butler had a supporting role here. This is in fact his feature film debut.
This film stayed with me for years and has become one of my favorite films about the British monarchs. This would make a great double feature with The Young Victoria, as that one depict the royal romance between her and Prince Albert. In this one, the Queen is in a depressed state following the death of her husband and the whole Balmoral estate is pretty much in a state of mourning as a result.
John Brown is brought in especially as he was one of Albert’s favorite servants. His rather irreverent, frank behavior doesn’t exactly bode well for the royal staff, but soon he found favor with the Queen and their unlikely friendship proved to be good for her mental health. No doubt their relationship created a stir, as you could imagine how scandalous it is for a queen to be hanging out with the queen. There’s of course jealousy arising amongst the queen’s advisers who saw their own influence diminishing as the Queen favored Brown’s advice. The staff, as well as the Queen’s own son the Prince of Wales (Bertie), think Brown’s influence is bad for the Queen’s reputation.
What I love most about this film is the unlikely friendship between two people from two very different worlds. It’s such a pity that someone in the Queen’s position could not confide in anyone even at a time she needed to most, everyone in her circle seemed only concerned about their own status in connection to her. Brown on the other hand, did not care about status nor power. He might be stubborn and hard to deal with at times, but he genuinely cared for the Queen and protective of her well-being. He even shushed a bunch of ‘paparazzi’ who followed the royal party hunting.
Dame Judi Dench is superb, her Oscar-nomination here is well-deserved. It’s a brilliantly astute portrayal that displayed her incredible range. Whether it’s conveying inconsolable grief or a subtle hint of glee following a robust dance with Mr. Brown, she’s always so believable. Billy Connolly is perfectly cast here in a dramatic role. I’ve always found his comedic style rather impudent, and there’s a bit of that here, but he’s so natural as John Brown and he has an effortless chemistry with Dench. Butler’s pretty effective in his small role as Brown’s younger brother Archie. Boy his Scottish accent was still sooo thick here, it’s funny that he’s been cast as Americans nowadays as he still can’t lose that brogue completely. Oh, there’s also an amusing scene of the two of them running into a cold lake fully nude 
I adore this film and the cinematography of the lush Scottish Highlands are absolutely stunning. I guess John Madden and Dame Judi have a great rapport together. She also won an Oscar under his direction in Shakespeare in Love for only being on screen for a mere eight minutes!!
…
4 out of 5 reels |
…
I also saw BBC’s 2007 version of Persuasion, mainly to see Rupert Penry-Jones as Capt. Wentworth. I like parts of this movie, but overall it leaves me wanting. This is such a wonderful story of lost love and second chances that deserves a worthy adaptation. Ah well, I’ll leave that for a future post 
Well, that’s my weekend recap. What about you? Seen anything good?
Can’t believe 2012 has come and gone. I don’t know about you but this past year felt especially fast for me, it just flew by before I had a chance to reflect on a bunch of things. I know a lot of bloggers have been putting their stamp on whether this has been a good or bad year for movies. Now, I personally don’t know how to really judge that, I think if someone were to ask me, I’d say it’s been a pretty good year as I’ve enjoyed quite a lot of movies, both the blockbusters and the smaller indie flicks.
I’ve written 
It’s Sir Michael to us, folks. The tall, bespectacled English gent is more than just a screen legend, he’s practically an pop culture icon. His distinctive manner of speaking is a popular subject used by impressionists and mimics, but he’s such a good sport about the whole thing which makes me like him more. He’s got over one hundred movies and TV works under his belt, with no signs of slowing down (he’s got four upcoming movies in the next couple of years, five if you’re counting voice work for Cars 2).
It would be unthinkable for me to have this kind of list and not include Dalton. Whoever wrote his 
The grand Dame has sheer screen presence despite her 5’1″ frame that she often plays strong female characters. I first saw her as M in Goldeneye, the first female portraying the 007 character. I love her tough-as-nails performance… who told Bond straight on that he’s a ‘sexist, misogynist dinosaur.’ Oh and this quote from Tomorrow Never Dies has got to be my favorite from M in all of the Bond movies:
There’s no stopping Mr. Eastwood, who despite hitting the big 8-0, there’s no sign of slowing down! He’s got one of the most varied and rich career of any actor that seem to transcend generations. Having been famous for his bad ass roles like Dirty Harry, he’s become more successful as a director, winning 2 Oscars for directing Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, two completely different genres no less. I actually haven’t seen either one of them as they’re not my cup of tea, but I’ve seen enough of his other great work to consider him on this list. Oh, as if he weren’t a triple threat already, the pianist and composer is also a darn good singer, as displayed in Paint Your Wagon and in the credits of Gran Torino.
Ok so Cowboys & Aliens failed to ignite at the box office this past weekend, but I doubt it’ll make a dent in his amazing Hollywood career. Ford is a cinematic icon, having played so many classic roles, including my all time favorite, Indiana Jones (have you voted in 
The first time I saw Mr. Freeman was in Street Smart with Christopher Reeve, this was at the time I was crushing on Superman so I watched everything he’s in. I didn’t like the movie but Freeman gave an Oscar-worthy performance in his first nomination (he went on to garner four more nods in his career). I absolutely adore his role as Lucius in Nolan’s Batman films, a man of gravitas who also provides comic relief effortlessly. His scenes with Bruce Wayne in both Nolan’s Batman movies are always the major highlights as they have such a great rapport. Freeman is perhaps best known for his dramatic performance in Shawshank Redemption and Million Dollar Baby, but the Memphis-born actor also shows he’s got comic skills in 
I don’t know what it is about Ed Harris but I always enjoy seeing him on screen, even when he’s playing an unsympathetic character. Perhaps it’s his soulful eyes or his seemingly unruffled demeanor. Ted just posted the 
Hopkins first scared the pants out of me when I saw Silence of the Lambs in the theater (what was I thinking?) But the beauty of the Welsh actor is that in the movies that follow, he easily disappeared into his roles that I wasn’t ‘haunted’ by Hannibal Lecter every time he appeared on screen. Apparently Sir Laurence Olivier himself discovered him, who invited him to join The National Theatre in 1965 (per 
I’ve mentioned her a lot on this blog so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I adore this classy lady. Mirren is one of those rare beauty who doesn’t let age get in the way of her inherent sensuality. My friend Vince recommended Excalibur to me where Mirren played a seductive temptress and seeing her most recently in State of Play, it’s clear she hasn’t lost that twinkle in her eye. She can also play buttoned-up obviously, having won all kinds of awards for playing the title role in The Queen. I haven’t seen Calendar Girls yet but I’ll be sure to get to that soon.
Last but definitely not least. Again, no surprise as I’ve mentioned him a lot… just yesterday I was raving about his performance as Snape in the Harry Potter movies. That accent with that inimitable delivery… like Dalton, one of the best thing about this Londoner is his silky voice. He’s got quite a female following and I’m not at all surprised. His role as Col. Brandon alone earns him a place on this list, but he’s also fantastic in almost everything he’s in. I also think he should do more comedy as he was such a hoot in Galaxy Quest. It’s funny that I actually first saw Rickman in Truly Madly Deeply when my ESL teacher invited her foreign students to her home, and at the time I wasn’t at all interested. Only later on that I realized it was Rickman as the romantic ghost Jamie.
