Interview: Elan Mastai, co-writer of “The Samaritan”
by Parker Mott on May.20, 2012, under Interviews
Samuel L. Jackson plays no Nick Fury in "The Samaritan". He is damaged and vulnerable as Foley in David Weaver's new film.
There’s something very inviting about a film that captures Toronto like it’s the underbelly of a Jim Thompson novel. There’s also something compelling – and quite original – about a vulnerable and damaged Samuel L. Jackson character. In David Weaver’s “The Samaritan”, Jackson’s tall and dominating screen presence is effaced under the restraint of his new screen role as Foley, an ex-con so worn down by his mistakes and regrets that, after all these years, he returns to his old bar like it’s his lucky penny. (continue reading…)
What to Expect When You’re Expecting – A sweet comedy with a script in its first trimester
by Parker Mott on May.19, 2012, under Comedy, Movie Reviews
2.5 Stars out of 4
(110 minutes)
Jules (Diaz) and Evan (Morrison) are expecting in "What to Expect When You're Expecting".
This is certainly what I expected. A familiar Hollywood rom-com with good-looking leads, abiding by a script that plays for laughs not for thought. With its plot destined to be pat and predictable, I’m amazed the studios kept the title (it is based on a popular pregnancy guide book by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel). In this case, the filmmakers seem to be promising this will be an eye-opening experience for mothers-to-be. (continue reading…)
Battleship – No hit, all miss
by Parker Mott on May.18, 2012, under Action, Movie Reviews
1 Star out of 4
(131 minutes)
An alien vessel in "Battleship". They get the pegs right.
I feel all my senses have just been assaulted. That is, except my sense of touch…hence this review. Luckily, this gives me the chance to encourage you to avoid Battleship, the new action film by Peter Berg (Hancock, The Kingdom), a filmmaker apparently making up for Michael Bay’s hiatus this summer. His recent project is an exercise in mindlessness, a 130-minute clothesline display of CGI, explosions, screaming, and more explosions. Afterwards, I was thankful for the peace and quiet. (continue reading…)
The Secret World of Arrietty – There’s a small world after all
by Parker Mott on May.15, 2012, under Animation, Movie Reviews
3 Stars out of 4
(94 minutes)
"The Secret World of Arrietty".
I imagine a world like the one in The Secret World of Arrietty. It looks normal to our eyes, but it is built to the needs of borrowers. They use nails to climb walls, tissues for duvets, string for climbing rope, and mantel shelves to scale houses. Their kitchen is something I might use for Playmobile. The rats in the house are predators, so a borrower must use a pin for defense. Yes, they borrow, not “steal”. They take trivial items from house owners and make do. There’s something fantastical about this small world. (continue reading…)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – A somewhat sincere comedy with the R’nR
by Parker Mott on May.14, 2012, under Comedy, Movie Reviews
2.5 Stars out of 4
(124 minutes)
Judi Dench roams the streets of India in John Madden's "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel".
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – like the place itself – is an invitation for rest and relaxation. With summer movies on the rise, it’s only a matter of time until audiences pile into the cinema to attend hyper-kinetic action films and vulgar, fast-moving (hopefully…) comedies. But The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel takes it back a notch, bathing in a warmer tone of reflection and bliss, and about as peaceful as a day at the beach. (continue reading…)
Dark Shadows – We built this shadow on rock ‘n roll, not a script
by Parker Mott on May.13, 2012, under Dark Comedy, Movie Reviews
2 Stars out of 4
(112 minutes)
Barnabus Collins and family in "Dark Shadows".
Dark Shadows is a goofy little movie in search of a story. Directed by the uber-eccentric and visionary Tim Burton, Dark Shadows has the sets, visual effects, and costumes down to a tee but these elements can only take the film so far. Eventually, we need a screenplay. We need the characters to engage. We need the plot to develop. We need to laugh more. By golly, we need to care. (continue reading…)
God Bless America – There’s no hell like home
by Parker Mott on May.11, 2012, under Dark Comedy, Movie Reviews
2.5 Stars out of 4
(104 minutes)
Tara Lynne Barr as Roxy in "God Bless America".
Here’s a movie that’s really upset. Its title, to say the least, is an irony. Caustic and unforgiving, God Bless America is an ordeal of a movie that reaches out to American popular culture only to grab it by the neck. I imagine this film premiering back in the New Hollywood period of the late 1960s, where taboos were – sometimes literally – blown to hell. With God Bless America, Bonnie and Clyde‘s cynicism has been reinvigorated and its explosive ending completely preserved. (continue reading…)
Bullying: The Gray Zone
by Parker Mott on May.10, 2012, under Essays and Other Works
Bullying in its simplest form.
Recently, I wrote my review of the new documentary Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch. If you have read it, you will know I enjoyed the movie – for what it was. What is it? It’s a work of catharsis; it takes a timely social issue, i.e. bullying, and, through an observational style, documents bullying like it is a thing of causality. As the maxim goes: everything that has a beginning has an ending. Hirsch leaves us on a note of hope, which he suggests, according to an interview on website TC Jewfolk, is meant to inspire advocacy, engagement, and empowerment in victims and bystanders. (continue reading…)
Notorious (1946)
by Parker Mott on May.08, 2012, under Alfred Hitchcock, Great Directors, The Masterpiece Collection
THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION
Notorious, 1946 (dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
(101 minutes)
Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman battle their love and the one for their country in "Notorious".
Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious is known as a seminal piece of the spy genre, the melodrama of all melodramas that cued the arrival of the first James Bond movie in 1962 – Terence Young’s Dr. No. For my money, espionage is not the preemptive element of Notorious, for Hitchcock never waded through just one genre. Those who deem him a horror filmmaker are grossly misinformed, because here lies a romance between two people whose amour is compromised by their duties for their country and, more importantly, their misunderstandings of each other. (continue reading…)
Bully – Finding hope to defy the cruelty of its title
by Parker Mott on May.05, 2012, under Documentaries, Movie Reviews
3 Stars out of 4
(98 minutes)
Alex experiences a moment of isolation in Lee Hirsch's moving new documentary "Bully".
Bully is a documentary that raises awareness about an increasingly urgent issue in schools, work, and society by and large. A documentary, versus mere public discourse, is a more direct and effective mode of communication. It represents the issue unwaveringly on the screen, for the audience to absorb and consider. Bully is a template for change, and it works on that level. (continue reading…)
