I suppose we should probably go chronologically:
500 DA
YS OF SUMMERI told friend today that I have a crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt and she balked at me. Yes, that's right...balked. It always struck me that this was one of those things described in novels but never actually done in person; well now I've seen it. But I'm getting off topic.
When you see the trailer for this film you think "okay, quirky love story" and you go into the theatre thinking the same thing (even though the film explicitly says many times over that it "is not a love story"). There are certainly elements of the indie, boy-meets-girl-and-changes-his-outlook quirky comedy (i.e. the entire opening sequence) but the film does a good job of tweaking this genre just enough to keep you guessing. The characters are interesting and three-dimensional (read: believable, though I do think Gordon-Levitt's Tom may be a touch too neurotic). The situation is familiar and yet somehow it seems fresh and interesting and although clichés abound, they are never overdone.
However, the most striking thing about the film for me were the visuals. When I think of independently made summer love stories, I have images of close-up, brightly lit, soft focus shots of the lead characters ogling each other. Now don't get me wrong, there's plenty of that in this film, but the interesting thing about the way the visuals have been constructed is that the shots are SO close that you can see the age in the faces of the respective players. I'm not sure if this was a conscious choice or an unfortunate by-product of the digital film medium, but it works to cut down on the saccharine sweetness of the framing. This of course mirrors the film itself which, as it claims again and again, is NOT a love story.
You know what? I liked it that way.
DISTRICT 9Saw this last night on a whim with a friend and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is in fact an intelligent and thought provoking film. You know, with aliens and lots of exploding heads.
For those of you who haven't seen the trailer the film is based on the premise that in 1982 alien refugees arrived on earth and have been, for nearly the last 30 years, housed in a restricted area called District 9 (refreshingly not located in the United States, rather in Johannesburg, South Africa). The film picks up as the country decides that due to rising tensions the refugees must be moved farther from the human population to a specially built camp approx 200 miles outside the city. Confrontations aside, the film is constructed like a documentary which tells the story of one man's struggle to stand up for what he believes in, even as those beliefs are being held up to the microscope for the whole world to see.
Intelligent, with enough gore and action to satisfy most hard-core action buffs District 9 successfully manages to toe the line between action and academia. Bravo.
PAPER HEARTIn a turn that gives away my lack of air conditioning at home I went to another movie this afternoon mostly for the sake of the fresh and cold air. Paper Heart is a mock-umentary about comedian/musician Charlyne Yi's quest to discover what love is after claiming she doesn't believe in it, and ends up chronicling her budding relationship with Brampton's own Michael Cera.
As films go it was cute and there were a few moments that made me chuckle but by in large it was what I thought 500 Days of Summer was going to be (and didn't want it to be). I enjoyed the film, mostly because Yi is either really strange or just fantastic at playing strange, as she manages to helm some horrendously awkward moments. All in all it's cute and if you like Michael Cera you will likely enjoy it but I think my ticket price was mostly worth it for the air conditioning.
I could have waited to see this one.
