LOVE AND MONSTERS (2020)

I was really looking forward to seeing this back in the covid days of 2020. As with most things in 2020 I missed it, and then efforts to catch up with it went sideways. With the film going away from Netflix I made time to sit down and watch the film.

Or rather watch it from the start since as the film moved into the final third I realized I had actually caught the last chunk of the film on cable

The film has the world going apocalyptic when an asteroid reigns debris on the earth. The fragments turn animals into monsters. Seven years on a young man named Joel realizes he has to leave his bunker and go across the broken world in order to save his girl friend  Aimee, who he has not seen (but spoken to on the radio) since the world changed.

Wonderful action adventure science fiction comedy romance should have been huge. This off beat mix of genre's gets everything right. It's funny and scary and full of edge of your seat moments. Sure we know it will be alright for Joel, but as for everyone else, nothing is certain.

I had a blast watching this from start to finish. I sat down and fell into it in the best possible way. And while I had seen the last part of the film earlier, I was still surprised to see how it all fit together.

What an absolute delight.

Highly recommended

Patrick Meaney's wonderful THE BRINK OF (2022) has hit VOD - A review of the film and interview with the director and star.

"He's probably better for you than me"

"But I'm not better for him"

 Lena and James are the band The Brink Of...  As they were ending a six month tour and right after an influencer's tweets put them on the radar of the world at large, they disappear. As the film begins the duo is back and are on a radio show explaining what happened.

If you know director Patrick Meaney you will think either of his comic work both as a documenary filmmaker (he's profiled Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison and Chris Claremont) or as a writer, or you may know him as the director of the horror film HOUSE OF DEMONS. He would not be someone you instantly think of as a director of a sweet musical romance, but with THE BRINK OF.... he makes  romance films his own.

Beautifully acted and possessing a kick ass group of songs THE BRINK OF... soars. Director Meaney has fashioned a heartfelt and moving film. Its a film that had me misty at the end, not because it manipulated me but because it has given us a couple of people we can really root for. We like them  from frame one and are willing to go anywhere with them.

What I love is that in fashioning a love story Meaney has taken the romantic formula and used its tropes against us. I'm going to be honest and say there was a time when I just liked the film. The film was doing everything it was supposed to and hitting all the points exactly right but it didn't seem to be going the extra mile. It was technically great but it didn't seem to have all the emotion wired up to the power box... but at a perfectly placed moment there is scene where the script clicks and you realize that while we were distracted with the songs and other things Meaney was laying in the heavy gauge wire so when the big moment comes so do the the tears (and big yelp of joy which scared the neighbors). Everything that seemed to be throwaways came crashing it with a weight we never suspected. Simply put THE BRINK OF... does what few films do these days and gets the emotion and love of the audience by earning it and not manipulating us. 

Nicolette Norgaard and Tim Hoffman kick it out of the park. They make us believe that they coud be a  couple everyone knows are destined for each other but who refuse to see it. Indeed they manage to make that notion a perfectly played running gag. The pair also wrote their own songs and the emotion in them make the film even more special. Frankly while Patrick Meaney may have created the framework for the story, Norgaard and Hoffman's music, and their performances give the film life.

This film blew me away. Not just because I was sent the film totally blind and had no idea what it was at all, but because the film is just so damn good.

You must see this film because it will make you feel good.

Look for more on the film and an interview with director Patrick Meaney  and Nicolette Norgaard below

Brief thoughts on CAT CALL (2023) Fantaspoa 2024

Fani can't fall in love. Imagining the death of every man she meets she won't get involved with anyone. However, when she meets her new neighbor, she begins a relationship with his cat since she can hear him talk.

This is an amusing little romcom. Echoing the off kiltered flights of fantasy in things like AMELIE or WONDERFALLS this is a film that walks its own path. Additionally, like those works this is a film that is not going to click with everyone. That's perfectly fine since those who connect with the film are going to find a new favorite film. 

I had a good time.

Definitely worth a look for anyone who likes their romcoms quirky.

GOLDEN YEARS (2023)

Alice and Peter are a couple retire and their kids give them  a cruise to celebrate.  After Alice's fiend dies they take her widow along. This causes friction and the couple begin to move apart. When Alice doesn’t return to the cruise after a shore leave their lives are forever altered as what she finds redefines their  relationship.

I am intentionally being obtuse in explaining the plot largely because I went into the film blind as as such I was delighted with each new and unexpected turn. Looking at the  material I was sent on the film  before I saw it, and which I didn’t read, I realized that the synopsis gave too much away. I didn’t need to be told  as much as they offered.

This is a sweet little comedy. It’s a moving tale powered by a great cast who keep things moving. As you would expect from an film not from Hollywood the twists and turns contained in it are truly delightful. I felt I was watching real adults and not some writers idea of older people.

I smiled from start to finish, and considering the heavy films I was watching around it that is more than enough to recommend it for anyone looking for a charming film that isn’t by the numbers.

Young Hearts (2024) Berlin 2024

YOUNG HEARTS is going to become a classic. It is a sweet and loving film about two 14 year old boys who fall in love and the complications brings. It’s a film that had me screaming “WILL YOU JUST KISS HIM” at the end.

I don’t know what to say, except I was bowled over by this film. Because the film is playing at the Berlin Film Festival I expected a heavy film with serious overtones instead of a straight forward film about confusion about a boy’s first love that just happens to be with another boy.  I wasn’t expecting a film that matter of factly dealt with the confusion that someone has, not only with someone of your own gender, but also with love in general. It’s a film that I could relate to even though I’m a straight guy.

And that is what makes this film so special, it’s not slanted entirely toward being a gay story. This is a film about being a person and having friends and family and how a first love resets your table. It’s not a film about orientation but falling for someone you really like. It’s one of the very few times where a film like this where the film isn’t slanted to be gay, but rather simply focused on the character  as a person. What I love is that the film never feels like it’s trying to make a point or be anything other than be a romance where we could lose ourselves in it – hence my yelling at the scream to kiss him and applauding when it happened.

Beautifully done both behind the camera and in front of it, this is a film that is just glorious. It is one of the best romances that I’ve seen in the last decade.

I absolutely loved this film a great deal.

Highly recommended.

Taste of Things (2023) Opens Friday

Food as life or as an expression of love.

For Eugenie and her boss Dodin their existence revolves around food. He is recognized as the supreme gourmet, she is his cook. While they have been together for over 20 years their romance has remained, at her insistence, only in the kitchen.

This is one of the great food films of all time. It is also one the greatest food porn films ever made. There is food pretty much in every scene and large chunks of this  film is people cooking. Almost everything happens around what happens in the kitchen or the dinner table (for example most of the first half hour of this film is simply people cooking).

If you love food this film is for you. This is a film that should only play in theaters where full meals are served because this film is going to make you hungry. I am notoriously picky eater and I wanted everything that was on screen. Your mouth won't water but  go into over drive.

Food aside, this is just a great drama/romance. Juliette Binoche shines as Eugenie and Benoit Magimel is magnificent as Dodin. The pair have a wonderful chemistry, no doubt enhanced by their once being an off screen couple. I was moved by their performances and I could physically feel their connection. There is a magic in the looks and gestures that adds volumes to the script. Frankly if the film works at all,it's because of the performances.

I loved this film. And while I know some may argue it is slight, there is a depth of feeling that make it one of the great treasures of 2023.

Highly recommended.

Fallen Leaves (2023)

Aki Kaurismäki comedy romance is a delight.

It's the story of two people who collide together and kind of fall in love despite things getting in the way.

This was one of the films I missed at the New York Film Festival that was high on my must see list, I was hoping that the film wasn't going to disappoint me as several other had. When I finally sat down to watch it I got nervous since Kaurismaki's dry style hadn't really clicked, but then suddenly the wicked retorts started and I began to choke on my drink from laughing. 

Yes, this film is very mannered. If you have never seen one of Kaurismäki's films you have to get used to his rhythms and style, but once you do, this film will make you laugh and warm your heart.

I can not wait to see it again.

Recommended

American Symphony (2023)

Portrait of Jon Batiste as he attempts to finish a symphony as his wife, writer Suleika Jaouad, undergoes cancer treatment.

Matthew Heineman's film started as project to chart Batiste's symphony, but it changed almost from the start as Batiste's Grammy nominations happened and Suleika got sick. The focus changed and 1500 hours of film was shot over nine months. The film then changed in the editing all the way until right before it's premiere at Telluride. The result is a film that is deeply moving.

I really liked this film. I liked that it didn't go where anyone expected. I also love the film's expression of the love of two people,. I want to find someone who looks at me the way Jon and Suleika look at each other.

Actually I love the film so much that I want to see more  of what happened. I would love to see what else was going on. I would also love a physical media release with a commentary track because after seeing Batiste and Heinman at a post screening Q&A I know there are many stories to tell about making the film.

This is a wonderful film.  Take the time and see this.

A Taste Of Things (2023) begins its qualifying run today

Food as life or as an expression of love.

For Eugenie and her boss Dodin their existence revolves around food. He is recognized as the supreme gourmet, she is his cook. While they have been together for over 20 years their romance has remained, at her insistence, only in the kitchen.

This is one of the great food films of all time. It is also one the greatest food porn films ever made. There is food pretty much in every scene and large chunks of this  film is people cooking. Almost everything happens around what happens in the kitchen or the dinner table (for example most of the first half hour of this film is simply people cooking).

If you love food this film is for you. This is a film that should only play in theaters where full meals are served because this film is going to make you hungry. I am notoriously picky eater and I wanted everything that was on screen. Your mouth won't water but  go into over drive.

Food aside, this is just a great drama/romance. Juliette Binoche shines as Eugenie and Benoit Magimel is magnificent as Dodin. The pair have a wonderful chemistry, no doubt enhanced by their once being an off screen couple. I was moved by their performances and I could physically feel their connection. There is a magic in the looks and gestures that adds volumes to the script. Frankly if the film works at all,it's because of the performances.

I loved this film. And while I know some may argue it is slight, there is a depth of feeling that make it one of the great treasures of 2023.

Highly recommended.

SHERYL (2023) Dances With Films 2023

Sheryl is dating and the partner of a serial killer. When she is dumped, she goes on a spree to make herself more lovely. In the process she begins dating the cop investigating the killings.

Good black comedy horror romance is surprisingly entertaining. Normally when you try to combine too many genres beyond comedy and horror then you normally get into trouble, here writer director Justin Best largely manages to walk the fine line without tripping over it. 

I dont know what to say beyond that. After spending a couple of weeks covering DOC NYC during which I saw over 80 real life films, SHERYL was a delight. It's not high art, it's just entertaining.

Worth a look

MY SAILOR, MY LOVE (2022)

Director Klaus Härö's MY SAILOR MY LOVE is an emotional powerhouse. This is a film where the most perfect cast you can imagine takes a good script and turns it into a film that will leave you spent and weeping at the end. 

The film concerns Grace. A nurse with a strained relationship with her father, she is unhappy with the way he is letting things go. Figuring he could use a woman's touch to clean things up, Grace hires a widow named Annie to come in to cook and clean. Despite initial friction Annie and her charge hit it off. They hit it off probably much to well for Grace's liking, with Annie and Grace's dad falling in love.

I am not going to lie and say that this is perfect film. It's not. Honestly the plotting is very soapy at times. I mean the twists and turns are often predictable.  On the other hand the road maybe familiar however the film lifts itself up by having a cast that makes every scene seem real and emotionally charged.

All hail James Cosmo, Bríd Brennan, and Catherine Walker. Giving three of the best performances you'll see all year they make you wish that Oscar gave awards for Best Ensemble. I love this trio with all my heart. The manage to take every scene, every word, every gesture and give them weight the vast majority of films never can muster. Words hurt. Gestures reveal pain. Truths are exposed.  While I have had some of the discussions here and could relate, so much more I had no experience with, but as each scene played out I found myself delighting in the feeling that the leads were revealing some great hidden secret.

My mind was blown...and by the end my heart was broken and I was fighting to keep the tears from overwhelming me.

You really need to see this, if for no other reason that you will witness three performances for the ages.

Recommended.

Fck’n Nuts (2023) L'Etrange 2023

A young woman has to break it off with the love her life before he can meet her parents.

Wickedly cool comedy with horror over tones is sure to delight any one who likes of beat fun.  While I can not really explain what happens, I can say that the ride to the conclusion is an absolute delight and worth a look.

The film will be playing the following fests

L'Etrange (Sept. 5 – Sept. 17) *World Premiere, Paris 

Motel/X (Sept. 12 - Sept 18) 

Fantastic Fest    (Sept. 21 - Sept 28) 

(An October fest to be named later)

New Orleans Film Festival (Oscar Qualifying) (Nov. 3 - Nov. 8)

As Long As We Both Shall Live (2023) Fantasia 2023

One of the truly most unexpected delights of the year is  AS LONG AS WITH BOTH SHALL LIVE. Based on the first book in a series of novels, it’s a film that had me hoping for a sequel twenty minutes in. I had no idea if the film was going to tank, but I didn’t care I wanted to know where this was going for the long haul.

Set in an alternate Japan where magically powered families control the country, Miyo, a young noble woman with no powers is betrothed to the young son of another family. She has been pushed aside by her step mother and younger sister and in her view anything, even death, is better than where she was. Her fiancé, Kiyoka, is rumored to be a monster. All the other women set for an arranged marriage fled in terror from him. As she melts his heart she gives her strength to live.

While a good chunk of the film concerns the the romance, the rest of the film is a political thriller. The families are playing power games with each other in the hope of gaining control, meanwhile a dark force is threatening the capitol. It would seem the only ones capable of stopping it is Kiyoka and Miyo.

I love this film. I love it on a technical level  and I love it on an emotional level. I love that the film not only gives us great characters but also gives us a fully realized world and a series of problems that hold our attention and pull us along. The fact that the film gets the balance exactly right is what makes this film so great. Too many times  adaptions or films that cross genres do fail to get the balance of tones or genres correctly. They either lean too much into the romance or into the politics and something is lost. In bad films we get to the end intellectually knowing how we got there but not emotionally. Here the balance is spot on perfect and as a result we are properly moved emotionally and truly feel the characters earned our love. Additionally what happens politically feels organic and not like the moves of the screenwriter.

This is wondrous stuff. It’s films like this that made me fall in love with the art form.

An absolute must see.

With Love and a Major Organ (2023) Fantasia 2023

In a world where everything is controlled by apps, and where you can control your emotions by simply removing your heart, a young woman removes her heart after a romantic mishap.  This turns her into a kind of emotionless drone, whose life becomes complicated when her heart is stolen.

Off beat romantic comedy is set in a world not so far removed from our own. Sure the idea of everything, including your heart, being controlled by an app on your phone may sound completely crazy, except that more and more everything is being controlled by apps on our phone.  What I love about the film is that it’s just different enough that I would love to spend an afternoon or two wandering abound inside it so that I could really see what it’s like. I say this because the world is beautifully constructed that we buy it without thinking. That may not sound like much but how often do you see a movie set and never forget it's a movie. Here we forget that this isn’t remotely reality, it’s just another story of life.

And that the film keeps it real is what makes the film so charming. Sure it’s about a literal stolen heart, the emotions and interactions are very human. This is a romantic comedy of a different sort and the fact that the film is purely focused on the character is what makes this work so well. We are seeing things, both the tropes of the genre and our genuine emotions through a different lens and as a result we are enlightened and engaged.

I was delighted.

This is a gem of a film destined for a long life.

Recommended

PLASTIC (2023) Japan Cuts 2023

Charming romance centered around two young people who find a common bond in a shared love of a band that broke up years ago.

I really don’t know what to say about this film other than this is just good time with great people. It’s less like a film and just hanging out with some really good friends. You like everyone and while there are dramatic ups and downs the film wonderfully lets the various turns play out as if was real life and not bothering to amp everything up for effect or to keep us interested. We watch, and in my case rewatch, the film because we are invested in the characters.

That may not be the most exciting review in the world, but I assure you if you take the time t see the film at the Japan Society’s Japan Cuts you will end up thinking it is. It’s the sort of film that will make you feel good and want to see what happens next.

Recommended

EGOIST (2022) NYAFF 2023

Magazine editor begins and affair with his his personal trainer, a guy who works multiple jobs to take care of his mother. However as things begin to heat up and the relationship begins to deepen, complications arise.

Despite being based on an autobiographical novel, EGOIST can be rather soapy at times. Not that I minded since what makes this film work is is the performances. Ryohei Suzuki and Hio Miyazawa, not to mention everyone around them, make this work by giving us real people we really can't help but like. There was a point early on where I simply stopped caring about the plot as a construct and cared about the people on screen. I was invested because the performances were so good. 

While the film may not end up on your best of the best list for the year, I'm guessing that it may end up a film you revisit.

Perfect Find (2023) Tribeca 2023

After going through a bad break up that wrecked her career Gabrielle Union is forced to take a job working for a very meticulous boss. When Union’s friends take her for a girls night out she meets a younger man  and is smitten. The flirting goes nowhere. However things become complicated when she discovers the young man is the son of her boss.

Lovely cinematic themed romance is just a delight from start to finish. A story about people and not movie characters, I was delighted to be watching a bunch of adults on the screen instead of stereotypical movie characters. Sure there  are some nods to cinematic romance, how could it not this is after all a film about movie lovers, but it all works.  I was smiling from ear to ear from start to finish.

PERFECT FIND premiered at Tribeca a couple weeks back and once the screenings started everyone started talking the film up as a great find. More than one writer was puzzled as to why the film wasn’t getting more of a push from Netflix because it was so good. I don’t have answer other than small films like this are not getting theatrical pushes when they should.

On the other hand it is on Netflix where everyone can see it and fall under its spell

My Eyes Are Up Here (2023) Tribeca 2023

One of the best films of the year of any length, the film charts the course of what happens when a fashion model has a one nice stand with a nice guy during London Fashion Week.

I have no idea what to say beyond this film is glorious. A wonderful celebration of two people finding each other despite seemingly not being each other’s type. He is a good looking assistant and she is a gorgeous fashion model in a wheelchair. He genuinely likes her and she has no idea how to react to someone who is treating her like an actual person and not a model or a person with disabilities.

I so absolutely want to see this expanded into a feature, just so I can have more time with the characters that that I would hate to see it ruin the absolute perfection of this film. This film is so good it should be used in film schools an example of what filmmakers should do in crafting their tales.

I can not recommend this film enough. As I said at the top this is one of the best films of 2023, period full stop.

Our Son (2023) Tribeca 2023

Long entrenched couple (Billy Porter and Luke Evans) find their relationship cracking over the strain of life and how best to care for their son. As the relationship breaks will they be able to do what is best for their son.

Very good family drama is entertaining despite being somewhat by the numbers. We've been here before any number of times and thanks to a killer cast this film always makes it compelling viewing. Luke Evans and Billie Porter knock it out of the park as the couple at the center of the drama. They are clearly enjoying each other's company so much that it's hard to imagine that they would ever break up. Even during the arguments you see the love in their eyes for each other and you find it hard to see how they would leave each other (Watch the final scene and the way they look at each other).

As much as I enjoyed this film it isn't all that remarkable except that it marks the moment where Hollywood has given us a story of a break up where the fact that the couple at the center is gay and no one anywhere in it blinks. Years ago this sort of film would be Oscar bait and involve lots of hand wringing because it had a gay couple. Here it just is and we are better for it. (And honestly it's such a non issue that I didn't want to mention it, but some of the promotional material mentioned it)

And  please forgive my kvetching, but the film is being inflated for Tribeca. Frankly I just wish I had be able to see it with out the hype and take it for what it is, a lovely tale of family break up

Worth a look

 

Egghead & Twinkie (2023) SFF 2023

EGGHEAD & TWINKIE | Feature Film | Festival Teaser from Sarah Kambe Holland on Vimeo.

Twinkie is a young woman who is getting ready for big changes. Egghead, her best friend is going off the Stanford, she is working to get her art work out into the world and she is starting to tell the world the world she likes girls.

This is a sweet and lovely little film. To be certain the film doesn't break any new ground but it is so full of charming characters that you can't help but smile. I was grinning ear to ear  the whole time the film was on.

The film works as well as it does thanks to a killer cast and a playful visual style that just turns the whole film into a cinematic equivalent of Twinkie's comics.

There isn't much to say beyond that because you don't need to know anything more than its a blast and you need to see it.

The film is a big ball of joy and highly recommended.