Milwaukee International Film Festival - She Said

This may come as a surprise to you (it did to us), that Milwaukee has a pretty terrific film festival. After attending two other festivals - which shall remain nameless - I swore off all festivals unless they had the words Toronto, Sundance, Tribeca or Cannes in front of them. This is Milwaukee's fifth film festival, our second, and we have not been disappointed.

Oh sure, I wasn't happy about the opening night movie "Grace is Gone" with John Cusack being replaced with "Son of Rambow", a film that did not live up to the hype. But the other films we have seen, have been treasures. Another film fan friend from out of town (say that three times fast!) and I took in "Five Days in September" about the rebirth of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. You don't have to be a classical music fan to enjoy this film, the cinematography alone is worth the ticket price. The camera work behind the scenes, looking at how an orchestra prepares for each performance, especially when a guest makes an appearance, makes you feel truly present. Who knew Yo-Yo Ma was such a clown or that Renee Fleming does very little the day of a performance so she can concentrate on nothing but the upcoming performance?

At a time we are usually preparing for bed we headed over to the Downer Theater for a comedy, "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With". Jeff Garlin wrote, directed and starred in this film (he's a talented fellow) about a fat, depressed actor. We were glad we managed to stay awake for this little gem. While not a great film, it was certainly worth seeing.

Most of the films have made the circuit of other festivals and won't be seen outside of festivals. Movies are bought and sold for distribution rights and are treated like any other commodity. Meaning, you won't see them at the theaters in the burbs and you'll be lucky if they make it to the art house theaters. Sure, there are exceptions. Last year, "The Queen" starring Helen Mirren opened the festival and went on to win an Oscar for Mirren.

The biggest reason to attend these festivals is to keep the art of film alive. Not just movies, but real films. Films that aren't worried about making a bazillion dollars and having the movie on the same marquee with the latest blow 'em up box office hit. I don't want to see films that are only produced by a few major studios take over the box office. I want to discover new actors, new stories, new music - 90% of the music I buy is because I "discovered" a new musician whose music is part of the soundtrack. I'm not against the big movies, but I think we all need to support the little guy too. And the Milwaukee International Film Festival is one heck of a way to do just that!

She Said - Brave One

"He" was gone over the weekend to the land of Oz, also known as Los Angeles, so I decided to take myself to a movie at the cineplex. We see a LOT of movies, mostly at the two Landmark Theaters within walking distance of our home. These theaters show independent and foreign films so we don't see commercial films very often in the theater. This means a trip to the burbs, another thing we don't do very often.

Surprisingly, I had several choices of films but being a Jodie Foster fan decided to see just how brave she is for taking on the role of a vigilante public radio show host. You probably have seen the trailer or know the premise behind the film - Erica Bane (Foster) and her fiancé are out walking their dog when a group of thugs decides to have some fun by beating the couple to a pulp and killing Bane's fiancé. I did have a problem with the fact that Bane is left to live, real thugs would have made sure she was just as dead as the fiancé. Real thugs don't want witnesses. But like so many movies, if you don't suspend disbelief, you'll have a ten minute movie.

When Bane has sufficiently recovered from her physical scars, she tries to get back to a "normal" life with great difficulty. She is on the cusp of what appears to be a breakdown and decides that buying a gun will keep her sane. Buying a licensed, registered gun requires a waiting period (thank God) and she needs the gun, NOW. Lucky for her hanging around the gun shop is a guy who can sell her a gun TODAY, because she won't make it one more day without one. And her luck holds out when soon after getting the gun she is in a convenience store; a store where the owner's husband comes in to kill his wife. Of course, Bane is hiding behind a shelf of canned goods when her cell phone starts ringing, letting the killer know that he is not alone. Just as the killer is about to open fire on Bane, Bane lets him have it first.

And now, she is off and running - literally from the crime scene and figuratively towards her new persona as a gun-toting good girl who just happens to find herself now daily meeting bad guys who deserve to be blown away. These crimes make you question how she managed to stay safe in the city (New York) all those years without running into these characters that now seem to be at her every turn. Maybe she now has danger pheromones pouring out of her . . . like an allergy, once you get one it seems to keep reoccurring.

Of course all of these vigilante murders are stumping the cops, especially Detective Mercer (Terrance Howard of Crash fame). A hard working guy who apparently sacrificed his marriage for his job (why we needed the scene with the ex-wife did little to move the story along), Mercer just wants to catch the "guy" who is doing his job by killing all the city's bad guys. Needless to say, Bane and Mercer's paths cross several times until they finally sit down to discuss the vigilante killings.

Bane knows Mercer is suspicious of her but she has business to take care of, she needs to kill Mercer's nemesis and she needs to get revenge on the thugs that killed her fiancé. She takes care of Mercer's problem relatively easy (and not a shot was fired!) and now has to deal with her own issue. Mercer is a bright guy who puts the pieces together pretty quickly and realizes that his killer is Bane. Before you know it all the bad guys are dead; but for Bane how to get out of this without spending life in prison doesn't seem possible. Mercer shows up at the crime scene where the thugs are all dead - he figured out where Bane was headed - and offers Bane a solution.

The solution, I think, is to make them both human. Bane can now go back to being her old self and Mercer is no longer the perfect cop, but a human who needs more than his job to survive.

Don't get me wrong, the movie did entertain me. I think Foster and Howard are terrific actors and both are convincing in these roles. I just think the script could have been tighter - it lagged at times (too much time in the hospital) and then the end seemed rushed. If like me, you want to spend a Sunday afternoon with a bucket of popcorn (and Junior Mints!) and not have to think too much, this movie isn't a bad choice. If you only take in a few films a year in the theater, save this one for Blockbuster or Netflix.

Conversations with Other Women, He Said

If you'd judge this film by the first few scenes, you'd have to conclude you were watching a thirty-something drama about two married people trying to decide if they wanted to go to bed with each other, and how dull is that? But your dealing with the beguiling Helena Bonham Carter and the always charming Aaron Eckhat. Somehow they suck you into their flirtatious conversation. Maybe it's because the dialogue is so sharp and witty or possibly because it suggests something beyond the bland pick up lines of the meat market bars and gyms.

She is the distracted bridesmaid that doesn't seem to fit into the wedding, much less the wedding party. He is a guest. What we soon learn is that, he, they have no character names in the film, thinks he remembers her from and earlier encounter. He challenges her to remember that he approached her at a picnic with friends. She was siting under a tree reading a book. He describes her quite completely, but she dismisses it because he can't remember the title of the book she was reading. Flash backs, with two different and younger actors playing the roles, suggest that this encounter may have happened or at least he believes or wished it had happened. We are given two possibilities here. this previous encounter happened or he is constructing a role playing game that, if she slips into the role, they might use to enhance their sexual game

She is a last minute replacement in a wedding party. She is so uninvolved that she can't remember the grooms name. He, we are surprised to learn, is the brides brother. She had left New York for London after a divorce from an attorney. She has remarried to a heart surgeon. He is an attorney and has had a tragic divorce. He is currently dating a dancer that is many years his junior. They smoke, they drink, they dance and finally they end up in her room. It is here that more than their bodies are revealed.

If you stay through the long take off, this drama is truly an amazing flight. It is a bull fight with two matadors, and a stunning and marvelous thing to watch. Strangely, when you catch your breath after the not to be guessed ending, you'll understand that this was a big plane and it needed all of that runway to get into flight.

She Said . . .

Not alot until now! Jeff and I had been talking about doing this blog thing for some time and obviously, he finally did something about it. While we both enjoy movies; watching them, discussing them, picking them apart technically, promoting the truly exceptional ones that don't get much hype - I have fallen (way) short of getting my views onto the blog.

That ends today! For a couple of good reasons: 1) I enjoy reading what "critics" have to say about films I have seen or am considering seeing and 2) the Milwaukee International Film Festival (MIFF) starts later this month. On the first point, critics are just people who get paid for their opinions and sometimes I have to wonder why they get paid - like all those critics who raved about "Eyes Wide Shut" (I always refer to it as Eyes Wide Shit - because that's what it was). And of course, when I agree with a critic's review, I find that person to be brilliant (and they deserve to be paid). And Jeff and I don't always agree on films . . . he tends to gravitate to technical issues faster than I do (though I am the one who catches stupid editing mistakes) and I have to bring him back to the main point which is "but did it entertain you?" just to see if he actually liked the film.

Let me state that a film must first entertain me. That doesn't mean I have to be giddy with laughter (which is pretty tough since we rarely do comedies), it means the film had to grab my attention and leave me wanting more. I need to leave the theater wondering what happens to the characters after the movie story ends. I want to know more about the characters, I want to see other movies by the actors in the film because they had terrific performances, I need to get a book on the subject because it leaves me with a new facination for the subject matter. If a movie hits these points, then I know it has entertained me. The ultimate goal.

As for the second point, MIFF is in its 5th year of presenting films to a hungry Milwaukee market. This will be our second year of attending the festival and next year we plan on taking vacation so we can take in even more films. We spent a couple of hours this morning scheduling the films we want to see on our calendars - no small feat since we are having to work around work schedules, decide which movies we want to see together - and apart, and trying to figure out which films our out of town guests will want to see.

So pay attention, from here on out you'll get my opinions about the movies we see. I'll be curious to hear from you and invite comments about my "reviews". Oh, by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed "Death at a Funeral" and give it 4 1/2 movie stubs.

Death at a Funeral, He Said

The kind of comedy that Frank Oz brings us always seems like organized chaos. Whether it's puppets or actors, his characters always seem to be in a constant state of panic. In the case of our characters in Death at a Funeral, they all have good but different reasons for their distress

A distinguished head of their family has died. As in real life, this brings the scattered members of the family back together. The separation of the family can often be for good reasons, such as the brother who has become a famous novelist and lives in New York. Or it might be for other reasons, such as the niece who is escorted by a man who is not welcome by her stuffy father. All in all each arrives with their emotional baggage and we get to inspect it in detail.

All of the performers in this wacky tale do an outstanding job, but I have to say the one that captivated me was Alan Tudyk. Alan plays Simon the man that his future father in law can't seem to accept. Alan is not a overly confident man, even though he seems to be doing quite well as a solicitor. His fear of confrontation with his fiances father leads her to give him a pill which she believes in Valium. It is not. Instead it is a highly charged combination of hallucinogenics that send the guy in to another world that only he can see.

His actions really start the hijinks's when he believes he sees the coffin moving during the memorial service which ends up with the casket being tipped and the body rolling out onto the floor. This role would be raw meat for any actor, but Tudyk plays it with energy and originality while holding onto the essence of his character.

Each of the actors has a simple but believable back story which involves a tie to the family. This funeral exposes their foibles and strengths in a humorous and entertaining way. Oz, brings out the best in his cast and gives us a great night in the dark with neighbors and friends

10 Items or Less, He Said

It is true that every story is a journey and in this journey we find two unlikely people discovering each other and themselves simultaneously as they move along.

Morgan Freeman ( Morgan Freeman) playing an actor down on his luck and lost, (If he were a writer we'd say he was blocked.), is researching a role as a grocery store manager in a small independent film. Dropped off in a Hispanic ghetto neighborhood by an unreliable set gopher, Freeman ends up stranded and under the spell of the clerk who checks at the ten items or less counter.

Her name is Scarlet ( Paz Vega). She is a young women who has been relegated to this life by life and who is trying to break out. She alternates between fits of anger and determination and resentment and frustration. Her anger immobilizes her, her determination keeps her going. What she lacks is confidence and some basic skills. Freeman provides the coaching and the resources

What your realize very quickly is that as down and out as Freeman is, he could hook this gal up with even a shitty small little job in show business and she would be off and running. she's smart efficient and good looking. But that would be to easy. Instead he takes her through the paces. He makes her think about how she dresses. He coaches her on presentation. He prepares her for the road blocks and most of all, he shows her that no matter how much he believes in her it's worthless unless she believes in herself. And that of course is the crux of his problem.

Freeman appears as the epitome of self confidence and cool, but he's also an actor, and while his demeanor is practiced and nuanced, it's all all show. Scarlet, once she gets her head out in the open where she can use it to think, begins to realize that he is almost as lost as she is.

With witty dialogue and real feeling these two desperate people reach out to each other providing the proverbial helping hand. Their relationship is sweet and compelling. You get the feeling that there could be something more for the couple if they stayed together, but it wouldn't be real and it wouldn't be long before they realized it wouldn't work. So if your looking for the ride into the sunset hand in hand, you'll get it, but it just won't be at the end of the film