Review of Moon (Spoiler Free)

Moon is a difficult movie to talk about without giving away too much. No, it's not one of those movies with a twist, but half of the fun is the discovery and watching how the plot unfolds. The premise is simple: in the near future, a company has discovered a way to "mine" limitless power on the dark side of the moon. A man named Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) works at a mining station on the moon; he is near the end of his three-year contract on the station, where he has lived in near isolation. The satellite communications are down, so the only outside contact he has are occasional videos sent from the company and his family. His only companion is a cumbersome robot name Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey). While checking on a malfunctioning harvester, Sam gets into an accident. And while he is away from the station, his replacement arrives.

What makes the film so compelling is Sam, both the character and the actor. For most of the film, Sam Rockwell is alone on screen and his haggard appearance is mesmerizing. In the same moment, he can be hilarious and heartbreaking. He makes you feel Sam Bell's loneliness and desperation to go home. We get to meet and really learn about a character, something that is rare in films. The film is so beautifully well-written that even Gerty the robot is a complex character. Gerty is supposed to be a helper on the station, but ends up being more of nanny, reminding Sam to eat or suggesting he take a nap when he is agitated. On a small screen is Gerty's face, a simple yellow smiley face, which changes appropriately to frowns or other "emoticons" as needed. It would be easy to create a robot character that was simply comic relief or worse, another evil robot like HAL from 2001, but Gerty is neither. He actually makes choices within the frame of his programming, showing that he can follow the spirit of the program if not its literal intention.

The other beauty of this film is in its cinematography and design. The station is grubby, well-lived-in and full of little details: photographs, magazine cuttings, scrawled writings on sticky notes everywhere (including on Gerty), a whole garden planted in food packaging. Outside, the moonscape is silver and black, stark and alien. The earth is always in the sky, tantalizingly close but so far away.

Something I've noticed is that in the last 5-10 years, most of the best science fiction films have been low-budget, independent ones like Moon. Sometimes we can confuse scifi with special effects and explosions, but like great scifi novels, the best scifi films are really about us and our relationship with science. Moon is one of those unusual films that can make you think and feel without being heavy-handed or self-important and be fantastic and visually interesting without being overblown.

Thoughts on Let the Right One In

I'm waiting in line to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno, so I have some time to blog about the last movie I saw. I enjoyed this Swedish film about the friendship between a lonely 12 year old boy and a vampire girl more than my 2 companions did, mosly because of a disagreement about what makes a film "horror" or not. I felt this was a horror film in the classic sense, like the original Dracula or Nosferatu. There is a little gore for sure and some disturbing, creepy scenes, but no jump-out-of-your-skin scares. The stars of the film, the young actors who play Oskar and Eli, are sincere and utterly believable; in particular, I loved the weary inhumanness of Eli. With just a little make-up and oddly effective sound effects, the film makers transform her into a real monster. Even their takes on old vampire lore, like what happens when a vampire isn't invited inside, feel fresh and interesting. The real pleasure of the film is the deep friendship that develops between 2 very lonely and lost kids. It's simply a beautifully made film.

The Pleasure of Being Robbed...

...is my first film viewing of the festival and I'm not sure how I feel about it. The film has an indie aesthetic, filmed on the cheap with minimal editing. The main character is a young, scruffy woman who with absolute fearlessness steals from nearly everyone she meets. Yes, she is poor, but she doesn't seem at all interested in the money or possessions. She examine the contents of purses, bags, even cars, with intense curiosity, then abandons them when the novelty or usefulness wears off. Rather than present a narrative, we watch the girl watch and pry into the belongings of others without any real consequence. Even being arrested only seems to slow her down, not stop her. The film feels very raw; without a story (in the mainstream sense, a least) the scenes feel random and I felt both curious about where the film was going and a sense of alarm at her brazen thefts. Although it was very funny and sweetly quirky in spots, I'm not sure how I feel about this film. It meandered a little too much for my taste, but it definitely kept me interested.

My Chicago Film Festival Schedule

I love October. It includes my two favorite holidays: Halloween and the Chicago Film Festival. I have put together a tentative schedule of films I want to see. If you want to join me or have suggestions for alternate films, please tweet me @eris404, email me or post a comment.

[EDIT]Jeff has helpfully pointed out that I missed SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK. Also, due to low funds, I was able to buy only a 10 film pass, which limits my options somewhat. Updated schedule below.

[EDIT TO THE EDIT] Ack! The Wrestler and Synedoche are sold out! Edits below.

Friday, 17 October

Friday is a big night, with 3 films in a row all at the same location (AMC River East).

THE PLEASURE OF BEING ROBBED
Why I want to see it: Sounds interesting and it was well received at Cannes, for what that's worth.
Time: 6 PM



LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Why I want to see it: There's been some buzz on the Intarwebs about this vampire/horror flick.
Time: 10 PM

Tueday 21 October

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO
Why I want to see it: Kevin Smith - sorry, I can't help myself.
Time: 8:15 PM
Place:  AMC River East

Wednesday 22 October

SLEEP DEALER
Why I want to see it: This looks like an awesome SciFi film.
Time: 7:00 PM
Place:  AMC River East

Friday 24 October

THE WRESTLER
Why I want to see it: Four words: Directed by Darren Aronofsky ( who directed Pi and Requiem for a Dream). OK, that's actually 12 words.
Time: 8 PM

Sunday 26 October

This day is sort of all over the place. I'm less sure about these films, especially since they are playing at different theatres all over the city.

TERRIBLY HAPPY
Time: 12:00 PM
Place:  AMC River East

TOKYO!
Time: 2:30 PM
Place:  600 N. Michigan



Monday 27 October

FEAR(S) OF THE DARK / PEUR(S) DU NOIR
Why I want to see it: The animation looks cool and spooky.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place:  AMC River East


Tuesday, 28 October

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
Why I want to see it: Do I really have to explain why?
Time: 7:00 PM
Place:  Music Box

Summer 2008 will be amazing

This summer is going to be crazy-busy and fun.

For one thing, there are so many movies coming out that I think I will be back to seeing at least one movie a week, something I haven't done since my film school days. Off the top of my head, I can list at ten movies I am dying to see and there are probably ten more that I am forgetting or am not as excited about but will probably see anyway.

On the top of my list (and probably everyone else's) is The Dark Knight. I saw I Am Legend at the IMax just so that I could see the "trailer." I put the word trailer in quotes because it was about 5 minutes of actual, completed footage from the movie. You can find some pretty awful video of it on YouTube (think hand-held camera smuggled into a theater) if you want to see it, but trust me, it was well worth the inflated IMax ticket price alone.

At the very least, I have to see my city stand in for Gotham. I can't tell you how proud I am that Chicago is Gotham; I truly love this city and it's nice that someone else appreciates it enough to use it as the Batman's city.

True story: my friend Keidra attended a meeting recently and realized that it was being held in Bruce Wayne's "bedroom." How cool is that?

Aside from movies, Lollapalooza happens in August and I have to see Nine Inch Nails play in Grant Park. Also in June is Wizard World Chicago, our answer to ComiCon - that deserves a post of its own for several reasons. And summer wraps up with Nick Cave and Bad Seeds playing down the street from me at the Riv in September.

This is going to be spectacular.

Iron Man

Here's the short, spoiler-free review: it's really good. Go see it.

I was very surprised by how much I liked this movie. Sure, I love comic books and I love movies and I like Jon Favreau. I even used to watch his Dinner for Five television show, even if it did get pretentious at times (as an aside, watch any episodes with Peter Berg - the man tells great stories). But, I did go in knowing next to nothing about the Iron Man character, and I had read some advanced reviews that were mixed, saying the pacing was off or some such. And in the end, the movie is about superheroes, a subject matter for Hollywood that tends to be hit or miss. Superheroes are often dismissed as fluff or worse, escapist fantasies for overgrown boys; the much-maligned, garish and vapid Batman movies produced by Joel Schumacher come to mind as falling into both categories.

I think what surprised me about this movie was how much soul it possesses. There is a sincerity to the actors, who seem to be both having fun and taking the material seriously. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man is especially good. He is at his witty and charming best as the womanizing, boozing Stark, but he also gives the character depth. Stark, a brilliant weapons inventor, is kidnapped by warlords/terrorist group while on a promotional tour in Afghanistan, and his fear (and later outrage) is nearly palpable. He has excellent chemistry with Gwenyth Paltrow, who plays Pepper Potts, Stark's capable and quick-witted assistant. Romance in action movies often feels ham-fisted and tacked on, an afterthought, but here the budding relationship is actually touching. "I don't have anyone else," Stark admits to her, and though he states this as a simple fact, we can also detect the loneliness lying beneath his admission.

The dialog is where this movie really exceeds. It reveals the development of the characters with grace. There are two "monologues' that really stand out. The first is a speech from Raza, the leader of the terrorists, to Stark while in captivity. Unlike his men, Raza presents himself as a confident, polished and cultured man. He talks of history, particularly of Genghis Khan and the conquering of Asia. In a lesser movie, this would have been the rantings of a power-hungry mad man, but Raza is a practical man, shrewd and ambitious.

The second monologue comes from an exhausted Tony Stark, having returned to the U.S. after a harrowing escape. Surrounded by reporters, Stark is not his flippant, party-boy self. He is introspective and begins by saying "I never got a chance to say good-bye to my father." Stark's late father, a genius who worked on the Manhattan Project, haunts his son throughout the movie. Stark is always reminded of his father's brilliance and his father's belief in the weapons their company produces. But after his three-month ordeal, Stark wonders aloud to the press how his father truly felt about being one of the inventor's of the atomic bomb and the suffering it caused. Having seen his own weapons being used against U.S. soldiers (ones he had only moments before had been joking with) and Afghani civilians alike, he realizes he wants to make up for the pain and destruction his inventions have caused.

This scene underscores what I feel is the message of the movie. In one sense, Stark is the United States - selfish, wealthy, shallow and profiting from war. But underneath that indolent exterior, is a good heart, ingenuity and sincere desire to atone for past mistakes. Stark wants to turn his genius towards solving problems, like finding new energy sources. Ultimately, he takes on the role of Iron Man to destroy the weapons he created, protect those whose lives are threatened by them and thereby be redeemed. In this movie, I found a message of hope for my country, that we can turn away from war and use our superpowers for good instead of evil. It's not too late for us to be redeemed.

If I find any fault with the movie, it lies with the characterization of Obediah Stane, Stark's erstwhile mentor, business partner and friend, but also the real villain of this story. Jeff Bridges does an excellent job with what he's given, but the character descends into the mindlessly-greedy, jealous, insane, corporate villain used many times before. I think had Stane been portrayed more like Raza he would have made a much more interesting, and in the end effective, antagonist for Stark. We don't really get to see Stark deal with Stane's betrayal in meaningful way and I think that was a missed opportunity to elevate Stane to the true villainy he deserves.

My rating: 9 out of 10

More Cinema on the Web

Is it an art film or simply special effects shots strung together?

http://www.wehavedecidednottodie.com/preview.html

No matter what you decide, you have to admit that the film entitled We Have Decided Not to Die is an extraordinary piece of film making. Only a snippet is available online, but there are some disquieting images to be found. I'm not sure how I feel about it: some of it seems like a great deal of simply showing off, especially since there doesn't seem to be any context (read:story) for the images. I'm not saying that a film has to have a narrative in order to be good or entertaining or art (or anything for that matter), but just showing me some fantastic CGI, editing or other film tricks doesn't make it automatically good or entertaining or art either.

Do me a favor though. Just watch the preview and don't read the interview. Once a film teacher told our class that if the film maker has to explain his work, then he has failed as a film maker. He can't go to every screening and answer the questions of the audience members. Either the film speaks for itself or it doesn't. If you feel like you must read the interview, wait until after you've seen the preview, so that you can decide for yourself what the film is about and whether or not you think the film maker has done his job.

Cinema on the Web Part Three

A short post about short films:

http://www.filminute.com/vote/index.php

I came across this site just today and was excited to find so many short films in one place. All of the films are about 1 minute in length or less and fall into different categories; I was really please to see one-minute documentaries, for example. AND, the viewers get to vote for their favorite until 30 September, 2006.

Watch the films (it should take less than a half hour) and vote!

Cinema on the Web Part Two

I have a few more sites to show you today.

This isn't film so much as a very clever and entertaining interactive Flash animation:

http://www.changar.com/archives/go.html

This is a new take on the animation following your mouse pointer - a crazy rabbit thinks it's a carrot and hijinx follow. I could play with this for hours.

Take the videogame, The Sims, and set it in a 1920s Hollywood movie studio. Hire actors, buy props and costumes, build sets. Then, give your users the ability to write and animate their own films with your software. Welcome to the wonderful, weird world of The Movies:

http://movies.lionhead.com/

Using the Sandbox utility, game addicts can create their own movies to trade with others. The official site of the game (the URL above) has several interesting, funny or just plain weird little videos, but you can often find them by Googling "machinima" (the term used for movies made using videogame engines). Another good example is a fairly good horror film called Dracula's Guest on this site:

http://www.candlelightstories.com/movies.asp

Cinema on the Web Part One

I was a terrible film student.

No, I should rephrase that. I was a terrible student film maker. I am an excellent student of film when it comes to writing, studying and thinking about film. If I could, I would go to the movies every night of the week (and I used to when I was in school). I love analyzing film and I love looking for the little details, the symbolism, use of color, the framing of scenes. But mostly, I just enjoy being told a story, which is probably why I did better as a screenwriter than as a cinematographer or director.

One of the millions of reasons I love the Internet so much now is the ability for indie and hobby film makers to find an audience for their films. I'm not talking about the boobs on YouTube lipsyncing to disco songs, but film makers crafting short films and animations. But I'm also not talking about Art here necessarily either, though I have found some very beautiful and thoughtful films, but something in between Amateur Crap and High Art Pretentiousness.

Whenever I find a great movie site on the Web, I bookmark it for future viewings. Sometimes I email it to friends but usually the URL just gets tucked away into a folder and forgotten. And that's a real shame, because these sites really deserve some attention.

First, let's look at one of my new favorites, Elevator Moods:

http://www.elevatormoods.com/

The site itself is clever, designed to look like an elevator control panel. It uses just enough Flash to make it interesting and interactive, but not so much to make it annoyingly slow. Each of the movies are very short, only about the average length of an elevator ride, and use either an actual surveillance camera or an inexpensive camera rigged in the same manner, an ingenious way to get around the limitations of cheap equipment and poor video quality. The stories aren't necessarily unique or particularly well-written, but have an endearing roughness.

Next, a very impressive animation:

http://blissful.leftchannel.com/

This very short, abstract movie is difficult to describe. Done in entirely in black and white, often in what appears as ink blots, cilia and/or silhouettes, it has a disturbing beauty. The animation technique by itself is amazing and smooth.

A Very Enlightening Web Site

Like so many other great sites, I found this one by accident, while searching for something completely different. It is a site for a company called FluidEffect, which specializes in photographic retouching, site design, etc.:

http://www.fluideffect.com/

Go to this URL. Click on the Portfolio link. Agree to their site terms and choose "Before and After." Choose any of the thumbnails, which will show the "after" part. If you want to see the "before" image, click and hold the "before" link (it's in tiny type above the thumbnails).

The results are startling. I always knew that magazine photos, especially those of celebrities, were touched up, but until I saw the before and after, I really didn't know just how much.

Scary Monsters

Halloween is probably my favorite time of year. I love costumes, I love candy, I love monsters, but most of all, I love scary movies.

Or at least I used to. The current crop of horror flicks from Hollywood are pretty damn banal. Either they are remakes of classic horror films or bland American remakes of new and interesting films from Japan, China and Korea. I'll admit that Hollywood is an easy target, but these movies are being made for a reason: people will go to see them. This is sort of a chicken and the egg situation, though. Is Hollywood making bad movies because that's what the audience wants to see, or is the audience going to see bad movies because that's all Hollywood makes? My gut tells me that with the success of smart, interesting and fresh films (especially indie films) that it's simply the later. People want to be entertained so they'll pretty much go see any movie that looks remotely interesting, then bitch about it afterwards.

But, I digress. What I really wanted to talk about was good scary movies, the ones that scared me as a kid and still scare me now. In honor of Halloween, here's a list of some of my favorites and why you should watch them. These are sorted by category.

Now I'm feeling Zombified

Night of the Living Dead: the original film seemed all the scarier to me because it was shot in black-and-white. I think it must be the way shadows are rendered (see anything made by the Germans in the 20s if you don't believe me). This film plays on a primal fear of death and the dead (not to mention cannibalism!) and the tone and acting was quite serious; Romero never talked down to his audience nor did anything at their expense.

Shaun of the Dead: not a horror film in the traditional sense, this comedy starts dark and gets darker. It plays upon the zombie genre as a metaphor for growing up and can be funny, scary and heart-breaking all at the same time.

Dead Alive: This was the first movie I saw from Peter Jackson and much later, when I heard he was making The Lord of the Rings movies, I had a difficult time reconciling the two. Sure, he had also directed Heavenly Creatures, but then again, he had directed Meet the Feebles. Anyway, this is another zombie horror comedy with plenty of over-the-top gross-out effects, great action and quotable lines ("I kick ass for the Lord!" still makes me laugh my ass off).

28 Days Later: This was surprisingly effective movie that plays upon fears of contagion and fears about our fellow humans, imagining what would happen if we were compelled to act upon our basest impulses.

Evil Dead 2: worth it just to hear Bruce Campbell say "Groovy."

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

Seven: The sheer ugliness of the movie makes it both fascinating and repulsive. Every scene is filled with darkness and dread and when the horrible truth comes to light, the filmmakers do not cop out or allow you to look away. Probably one of the best films I have ever seen.

The Sixth Sense: Speaking of dread, it is nearly overwhelming in this film. This is a perfectly made story and although much is made about the surprise ending, there is enough detail, metaphor and lovely moments to make repeat viewings a treat.

Jacob's Ladder: What scared me about this film was its panicky freakiness; even at the end you were never quite sure what just happened and what was really going on. Like most good horror films the main character's fear, confusion and pain is palpable.

The Shining: This is, of course, Jack Nicholson's movie and it's a great deal of fun to watch him come unhinged. The weird touches, like the twin girls and the strange figures in costume make this a very creepy and unnerving film.

The Exorcist: Linda Blair is the Exorcist what Jack Nicholson is to The Shining - it's a perfect peformance.

Monsters!

Halloween: I watched this movie recently and was surprised at both how well it held up and how slow it builds - even though you may know what happens, the tension is still there. I still can't watch this alone and in the dark. Bonus points for an extra creepy soundtrack.

Alien: This movie at times has an almost dreamlike quality to it. It's beautifully shot as well as horrifying (the alien coming out of John Hurt's stomach is still one of the best moments in horror film history). And the alien is beautiful and disturbing.

Nosferatu: This film is still a beautiful example of German Expressionism, the movement that probably did the more for cinematography than any other school, director or technology. The vampire is ugly and creepy, much different from the charismatic vampires that would follow in movies and TV.

Ginger Snaps: This wicked little gem uses lycanthropy as a metaphor for growing up or more specifically, for puberty. Like I Was a Teenaged Werewolf before it, it puts teens in the roles of werewolves, but this time with a smart, witty and scary script.