Director: Léa Pool
Screenplay: Léa Pool, Patricia Kearns, Nancy Guerin
Producer: Ravida Din
MPAA Rating: G
Running time: 97 min.

As the closing credits rolled on Léa Pool’s excellent documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc., I was boiling with anger. I wasn’t angry with the corporations which use an ugly, deadly illness to grow their bottom line. I wasn’t even angry at the organizations that make it their directive to dispense millions of dollars for cancer research that has yet to yield any major breakthroughs. I was angry at myself that this “pinkwashing” (using cancer to sell goods and services) has been happening right in front of me, that I’ve seen it and even contributed to it and never considered the bigger questions. I blindly bought into the capitalist marketing machine that stands behind cancer research and never thought to make a stink about it because I, in some capacity, thought it great that companies were stepping up to the plate and helping the community at large by investing money and effort to try and save lives.

What a joke.

Based on Samantha King’s book which various sources note as being very academic in its approach to breast cancer philanthropy, Pool’s film takes a much more human and easily accessible approach to the subject. Questions on everything from where the money comes from to where it goes are addressed and Pool doesn’t shy away from the difficult questions. In some cases, we just don’t know the answers and it’s infuriating. How a disease that has been in the public eye since the 1940s with the Women’s Field Army for Cancer Control and for which various organizations have raised billions of dollars, still doesn’t have a cure… it’s staggering. There’s a good reason for this of course: money. It all comes down to money.

While major organizations like the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation are out there organizing walks and raising money for breast cancer research and the eventual eradication of the disease, most of the funding doesn’t go to research on prevention but rather to treatment. Not to say that finding better treatments isn’t important but doesn’t it make more sense to look for prevention methods so that women don’t become sick to begin with? The problem is that much of the funding raised by Komen and other foundations like it, comes from big business and sometimes those same businesses are responsible for women getting sick to begin with.

Alongside the non-profits raising funds for a cure are the billion dollar pharmaceutical companies and their studies into treatments and medications to help suffering women. Co-founders of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month AstraZeneca, one of the big pharmaceutical firms, seems keen on keeping women happy and healthy but by the same token, they manufacture pesticides that have been directly linked to cancer. They’re not alone: food chains, car manufacturers, cosmetics companies – they make millions of dollars a year by pinkwashing when often, the items they sell are direct contributors to illness or contain harmful ingredients.

What’s most apparent, and disheartening, about Pink Ribbons, Inc. is not simply what is says about the search for a breast cancer cure but what it means for anyone, man or woman, suffering from any illness. Medical research has, in many cases, turned into a capitalist game where money is of utmost importance. Sure, there are individuals within big companies that truly believe in raising money for a cure to (fill in the blank) but their bosses, presidents and board members are only interested in fattening their wallets and a cure for breast cancer, or any other illness for that matter, simply isn’t profitable. They’re not in it to find a cure but, as Ellen Leopold so bluntly puts it, to medicate it.

Pink Ribbons, Inc. isn’t all encompassing but it touches on many of the important issues surrounding breast cancer research and the ongoing gong-show that is the search for a cure. This battle has been raging for over sixty years and at this rate, it will be another sixty before we have any clear answers. Someone needs to step up to the plate and put an end to the current state of affairs because throwing money at the problem isn’t producing any answers. In the meantime, see this documentary, share it with the people you love and the next time you encounter a pink product, consider the bigger picture before shelling our your hard earned money. You’re likely better off writing a cheque to the charity of your choice.

Tracking everything from the CIA’s involvement with the Italian elections to the slow fall of Communism power, Cold War provides insights into some of the most memorable moments of the cold war and the wins and losses on both sides. Everything from Russia’s lead in the space race to Nixon’s visit to Russia and the two leader’s fight over washing machines, these are the bits of history that we can now look upon with amused smirks but which marked some of the largest wins and losses of a war of ideologies fought with words and pictures.

Cold War covers a wide variety of material over four episodes but with less than an hour per episode and nearly 50 years of material to choose from, there’s also quite a bit of history that’s not even touched on. This is most definitely an introduction and George Stroumboulopoulos, CBC’s man of the hour and the go to guy for programming that appeals to a younger demographic, is the perfect choice of host for this particular series which acts as a crash course on the Cold War and a great introduction to a confrontation that lingered with the public for decades.

Using images and footage from the period with expert commentary and talking heads, the doc moves ahead from story to story with Stroumboulopoulos guiding the way. Occasionally peppered into the mix are effective but somewhat confusing voice-overs telling stories of individuals who were affected by whatever issue is being discussed at the time. What I couldn’t figure out is whether these accounts are fictionalized or taken from memoirs and the accents which seem put on don’t help matters any. It would have been nice to get some clarification on these as they appear frequently throughout the series and are never explained.

By fart he most interesting part of this release is the disc of supplements which features an amazing collection of material from the CBC archive along with other sources. Everything from original coverage of the Apollo 11 landing to the footage of the McCallum Family emerging from a fall out shelter after living there for a week. To cap it all off and my favourite part of the collection is the US Civil Defence’s “Duck and Cover” film from 1951.

Love Hate & Propaganda: The Cold War isn’t the be all end all of Cold War documentaries and compared to the original series feels a bit underdeveloped but as an introduction to a long running standoff rich with stories and history, it certainly provides an informative introduction. As a nice bonus to the DVD release, the CBC also has an extensive website for the series with additional material which enriches the viewer experience.

Love Hate & Propaganda: The Cold War is available on DVD on Tuesday, January 31st.

MPAA Rating: G
Running time: 516 min.

Director: Michael Brandt
Screenplay: Michael Brandt & Derek Haas
Producers: Patrick Aiello, Ashok Amritraj, Andrew Deane, Derek Haas
Starring: Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Stephen Moyer, Martin Sheen
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 92 min.

It doesn’t happen often but sometimes you can just tell that something’s been in the works for a while. That’s the case with The Double. The directorial debut of writer Michael Brandt who often works with Derek Haas, the film is based on a script that the duo had originally sold to MGM and which they re-acquired when the studio went under. The script had sat on some MGM shelf for 10 years before the duo rescued the rights and set off to make their film.

Set in the world of espionage and double agents, Richard Gere stars as Paul Shepherdson, a retired CIA operative brought back into the fold when Cassius, a Soviet assassin he chased around the world, re-appears after years of being inactive. As per usual with this sort of fare, Gere is partnered up with a book smart FBI agent who literally wrote the book on Cassius. Ben Geary (Topher Grace) is smart and determined and when he gets a little too close to revealing the truth, that Shepherdson is actually Cassius, he’s pushed off course and even threatened.

“OMG! You just revealed a key plot point!” It may look like this is the key element to the story but it’s revealed early on in the film not to mention the little fact that it’s in the trailer. This leads to The Double’s major problem. Once they give you that tidbit of information, what’s left to reveal? The information comes so early that it’s obvious that there is some other key point that they’re holding back and when it too is revealed, too late in the story to be of any importance, it’s dropped as passing nugget that doesn’t play into anything that’s come before; it’s a failed “Gotcha!” moment and a missed opportunity because the implications of what’s revealed would have made a much better premise for a movie.

Gere seems to be trying really hard and failing at finding his footing now that he’s getting too old (in Hollywood terms) for romantic lead material and though this is a valiant effort on his part, the script is weak and his skills a bit limited. For his part, Grace has yet to shine in a dramatic role and he doesn’t succeed here either.

Brandt makes a good effort of building suspense in The Double and keeping the action moving at a good pace but the story is halted early on by a mediocre script and it never manages to pick-up after the initial reveal. The energy drains from the screen with each new scene and the chase sequences feel like they’re shown in slow motion.

The one moment in the entire film that works is Shepherdson having dinner with Geary and his family. Sure, it’s a less effective rip-off of the dinner scene in Seven, but there’s a bit of heart and actual acting in that one scene, something is lacking through most of the film, and which is even more effective once the second secret is revealed.

Thought it tries hard to be an effective thriller, The Double doesn’t manage to deliver either in thrills or effective drama not to mention the Russian connection feels like it’s 20 years too late but I can’t help to feel particularly disappointed by the fact that Brandt and Haas didn’t see the missed opportunity with Geary’s character. Maybe in another ten year’s time Brandt will direct a sequel of sorts and we’ll get to see that story. I’d definitely give it a chance.

The Double is available on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, January 31st.

Blu-Ray Extras: A behind the scenes featurette and a rather interesting feature commentary by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas.

Director: Asger Leth (Ghosts of Cité Soleil)
Screenplay: Pablo F. Fenjves
Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Edward Burns, Ed Harris, Genesis Rodriguez, Anthony Mackie, Kyra Sedgwick, William Sadler
Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian
Running Time: 102 min
MPAA Rating: PG-13

It’s amazing what you miss even when you don’t realize you’re missing it.

It’s been a number of years since the release of Spike Lee’s Inside Man and since then, there have been few notable entries into the heist drama. Enter Pablo F. Fenjves, a TV writer with a story pitch that pits a desperate man, an escaped convict no less, on the ledge of a Manhattan building. The unfortunately titled Man on a Ledge stars Sam Worthington as Nick Cassidy, a man desperate for attention but more than that, he’s desperate for someone to believe in him. As his suicide note explains “I will go out of this world as I entered it. Innocent.” He requests Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) as his negotiator, an ostracized cop who seems a strange choice for the job but Nick has a plan and he hopes Lydia will help him unearth the truth behind the crime that led to his incarceration.

There’s more to this tale than a wrongly convicted man clearing his name; it’s also the story of sweet revenge. While Nick talks circles around Lydia, slowly revealing his identity and the history that has led to his perilous situation, he’s also buying time for his brother to break into a safe in a nearby building. The grand plan is simple: prove Nick’s innocence and steal a huge diamond but getting there is a little more complicated than either of them bargained for especially when you’re dealing with dirty cops, David Englander – a ruthless real estate mogul (Ed Harris) who is willing to kill to get his way and a vault room directly lifted from either James Bond or Mission Impossible.

There are problems with Man on a Ledge’s script, especially when one considers the story with any degree of scrutiny, but that’s only an afterthought because somewhere between the time Nick climbs out on the ledge and the moment he jumps off the roof to tackle Englander on the street corner, I was so wrapped up in the unfolding events, as unlikely as they might be, that I never considered how the final thirty minutes would fall apart if the diamond had been in the vault.

Part of the charm are the characters, all of which are wonderfully realized by the actors. Ed Harris has a handful of scenes yet the moment you see him you know he’s a villainous man you don’t want to cross. Anthony Mackie, so good in last year’s The Adjustment Bureau (review), is excellently cast as Nick’s friend and Worthington himself is great in his back and forth with Banks, even if his accent leaves a lot to be desired but by far the most entertaining are Jamie Bell and soap star Genesis Rodriguez. The duo responsible for the nitty-gritty of the heist have some of the best lines but beyond that, they have a great natural chemistry that make the mediocre banter and cheesy one-liners work.

I’m not convinced Man on a Ledge will play as well the second time around since much of the film’s success comes from the careful reveal of information but director Asger Leth delivers an occasionally suspenseful, assured and hugely entertaining heist/revenge drama. Further proof that January can no longer be written off as the month of trash.

Man on a Ledge opens Friday, January 27th.

Running Time: 300 min
MPAA Rating: NR

I’m a romantic at heart, obvious by my passion for happy endings where the girl and the boy of her dreams end up together, and I’m certain it all started with an early introduction to King Arthur and his queen Lady Guinevere. Over the years I’ve come to realise that my idea of Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table are more myth than reality, stories and ideals popularized by early writers which then permeated through society and helped shape ideas of chivalry and courtly romance, but it’s a myth that still fascinates me and thousands of others who spend their time uncovering the history behind the myth.

For decades historians have been studying Arthur, looking for clues of the myth in our history and the results have yielded some fascinating bits of information. When it was announced that the History Channel would be releasing King Arthur and Medieval Britain, I knew I had to see what they had to offer and it’s a mixed bag.

Rather than a five part miniseries exploring Arthur, the set is a collection of five episodes, ranging from sixty to ninety minutes, taken from History Channel archives. There is no new material here but rather a collection of episodes on a similar subject packaged together and the result, though somewhat disappointing at first, does eventually surface as an interesting collection of historical material. The first three episodes “Quest for King Arthur,” “King Arthur: His Life and Legends” and “Ancient Mysteries: Camelot” are all excellent on their own but seen back to back, it’s clear that they all cover very similar material and in some instances, even using the same sources and though the episodes have aired years apart, together they seems a bit redundant.

By far the most interesting, perhaps because the material is relatively fresh the first time around, of the first three episodes is “Quest for King Arthur.” Narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart, the episode makes use of re-enactments, locations, images from historical texts and interviews with a number of important Arthurian historians, including a representative of The Wallace Collection, in an effort to track the origin of Arthur from the so called “scrap baskets of history.” The following two episodes are essentially re-hashes of much of the history presented in the first with a few tidbits of additional information thrown into the mix. It could make for an interesting watch over a long period of time but back-to-back, the three episodes feel too similar.

The second disc offers a little more variety with “Knights and Armor” and “Quest for the Holy Grail.” These two are not as focused on the legend of Arthur instead, they each focus on a specific subject in which the myth of Arthur makes a passing appearance. Though it appears to be the oldest episode on both discs, “Knights and Armor” is also one of the more interesting, covering the rise of armor from early 5th century right through to the 18th century with even a mention of modern armor. The episode does a fantastic job of interweaving history of daily life, weaponry, fashion and even courtly love into the fray while venturing into heraldry past and present.

Though King Arthur and Medieval Britain isn’t what I expected, the overall collection, however repetitive in parts, is an entertaining and rich source of information, particularly for those interested in a “crash course” on Arthur and medieval Britain. With so much material on the subject, King Arthur and Medieval Britain is a great starting point for anyone interested in further reading, providing information on classic works (the poems of Chrétien de Troyes and Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “The History of the Kings of Britain” among others) collections of historical artefacts as well as modern societies and individuals specializing in Arthurian studies.

On a personal note, I have found King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table a great index of information on the subject.

King Arthur and Medieval Britain is now available on DVD.

I’ve never been adverse to a little fluff and after a night with The Tempest, I felt the need for something fun and light hearted. Enter the romantic comedy Chalet Girl starring “Gossip Girl” star Ed Westwick and Felicity Jones (who also happens to appear in the aforementioned The Tempest) about a ex-pro skateboarder who two years after leaving the sport, ends up in Switzerland as a chalet girl who gets involved with said chalet owner’s son, falls in love and wins a major snowboarding competition; your typical winter in Switzerland deal.

The movie is fun and upbeat but most notably, it plays this video alongside the closing credits which features Bill Nighy, a great actor who isn’t afraid of the fluff either, dancing it up complete with baby blue sun glasses. If that’s not enough, You Tube also offered up a little promo video with Nighy “shredding it up” which had me in stitches. It’s fun stuff.

Though the trailer for Lea Pool’s Pink Ribbons, Inc. has been kicking around for a while, as has the documentary which has screened at a number of festivals, it’s a rather important message that really needs to get out. Much like The Business of Being Born (review), it sheds light on a topic which we’re all familiar with but have rarely questioned: fundraising.

When, a few years ago, companies started selling “limited edition” products in bright pink as a way to raise money for cancer research, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of the money from each of those products actually went to research. It was a fleeting thought but it was the first that came into my mind when I read the synopsis for Pool’s documentary which looks at corporate fundraising and what it means for cancer research.

I’m curious to see how far Pool explores the subject and whether this is a hard hitting documentary or one that only goes halfway, leaving the big questions unanswered.

The National Film Board is releasing Pink Ribbons, Inc. in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg February 3rd and Ottawa on February 17th. More information on the film and screening details at the NFB.

David Fincher’s take on Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo didn’t exactly impress Kurt or, for that matter, very many people but regardless of what anyone thought of Fincher’s take on the material everyone agrees that the film did have one superb thing going for it: its opening title sequence.

Much has been said about it but for those of us who have yet to see the film, we now have a chance to take in the awesomeness and it is fantastic indeed. Set to a new take of “Immigrant Song,” this sequence is stellar stuff. Too bad that the movie doesn’t live up to the expectation put forth by its opening.

[With Canada's Top 10 screening in a few major cities in Canada in the coming weeks, the time is ripe to re-visit some of the titles we've seen throughout the last year. Though Starbuck plays exceptionally well on DVD, it's most certainly worth a viewing with a crowd. The group laughs are much more satisfying.]

It’s always a welcome surprise when a movie you’ve never heard of impresses. That was the case when I saw Ken Scott’s Starbuck at VIFF.

Co-written by Scott and Martin Petit, this plot is one that will have you shaking your head. Bon Cop, Bad Cop’s Patrick Huard stars as David Wozniak, a 42 year old man who still lives like an irresponsible teen: he’s seriously in debt, has a grow-op in his living room to help pay the bills and works at the family butcher shop delivering meat. He’s well loved by everyone but he’s also not trusted with anything of importance because he tends to muck things up. But he has a good heart and when it comes right down to it, he’ll do what he can to help those he loves.

One such instance of caring in the late 80s led to a spree of sperm donations when he was in his 20s. Using the alias of Starbuck, David spent numerous hours in a little room doing his business into a little cup. Yes, it’s a bit strange but it got the job done and after collecting the funds he needed David went on with his carefree life until 20 years later, he gets a visit from a lawyer. The doctor who led the clinic David had frequented made the mistake of giving his sperm to all of the couples that came in for the period of one year and as a result, David is the father of 533 children, 142 of whom have filed a class action suit to open the record books and make public the name of the man who is a “father” to them all.

The lawyer leaves behind an envelope with bios on the kids which David is determined not to open it but depressed with his current situation (his lack of money and news that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant and wants nothing to do with him), he randomly selects a bio that leads to another and a third until his life becomes a quest to be a guardian angel to all of his children. It’s laughable and on paper reads like a saccharin disaster waiting to unfold but the dramedy that reveals itself onscreen is infectious.

Part of it is Scott and Petit’s script which manages to grow the cheesy premise through some truly tender moments (I’m particularly fond of the first time David brings his girlfriend home to meet the family) but the majority of the credit goes to Huard who with the rest of the cast, primarily his best friend and lawyer Antoine Bertrand (his monologues on why David shouldn’t want to be a father are hilarious and poignant) and Julie LeBreton as David’s girlfriend Valerie, bring an unexpected humanity to the story.

I found myself taken with Starbuck on first viewing and was thrilled to find that the film plays just as well on the second and even third time around. There’s a charm that encompasses this story and rather than playing like a forgettable Hollywood blockbuster, Starbuck retains a humaninty and delivers a story about family and what it really means to be a father.

A hugely entertaining dramedy, Starbuck is a widely accessible bit of Canadiana.

[With Canada's Top 10 screening in a few major cities in Canada in the coming weeks, the time is ripe to re-visit some of the titles we've seen throughout the last year. This review originally appeared at Quiet Earth.]

I‘m a total sucker for historical tales of real people I’m not familiar with so the appeal of Edwin Boyd, a WWII veteran and family man (and Canadian no less!) who is so disillusioned with his life that he turns to bank robbery, was immediate.

Scott Speedman stars as Boyd, a WWII veteran who has returned from the war and is eking out a living for his young family. Times are tough, money’s tight and Boyd is at the end of his rope. On a particularly bad day he walks off his bus driver job and tries to crack the entertainment industry. That doesn’t work out as expected and when his father steps in to help out the family, something in Boyd breaks and he takes matters into his own hands. The solution: bank robbery.

Things go well for Boyd whose good humour and showmanship come through in his robberies and when he gets caught, it’s almost disappointing. While in jail, he meets up with another bank robber, the one footed Lenny Jackson (played by the severely underrated Kevin Durand) and along with Jackson’s cronies, the group sets up another gang, this one hitting up bigger banks with bigger paydays. As Boyd’s irregular day job brings in higher payouts and larger headlines, his relationship with his wife disintegrates and when Boyd is finally caught, after yet another escape, it’s clear that his relationship with his family, the reason for the robberies to begin with, is finished.

There are some interesting things at play in Nathan Morlando’s feature film debut, a passion project 10 years in the making, but it doesn’t all work. Speedman, Durand and the rest of the cast, including Kelly Reilly as Boyle’s wife Doreen, manage quite well with the script but there isn’t a whole lot for them to work with. Much of writing is flat and uninteresting and there’s very little emotion to the story. The film feels vacant and though I wanted to cheer for Boyd whose good looks, personality and skewed sense of morality make him a likable persona, but there isn’t enough depth to the character to really cheer for.

There’s also the film’s distinct lack of tension. The heists themselves are played a bit tongue-in-cheek and there’s no sense or urgency to any of the story. Even when the gang is dying of cold and hunger while hiding out after their second escape… it’s almost as if they’re just waiting to get caught and though we know that the police is after them and at one point even see them coming, I still didn’t feel anything for any of the characters. There’s no tension in any of the film – a real problem when the most of it centers on a group of criminals on the run from police – in one of the largest manhunts in Canadian history no less!

What’s worse is that after a bit of additional reading, the film feels even more inadequate. It’s not uncommon for biopics to change, sometimes drastically, parts of the story, but Morlando left out portions that could have served to develop Boyle and his relationship with his wife and father, something which the story returns to on various occasions but never fully explores.

I didn’t care much for Edwin Boyd which feels overly long for the story it tells, not to mention that it lacks any punch, but it is a feature debut worth noting not to mention it features good performances from both Speedman and Durand. These two need to work together again. Soon.

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Show Notes:

Opening Music: The Chemical Brothers’ “Hanna’s Theme“ (iTunes)

Colleen’s Top 5

5. Paul
4. Hanna
3. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai
2. Hobo with a Shotgun
1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Dale’s Top 5

5. Drive Angry
4. Paul
3. Thor
2. Incendies
1. The Help

Marina’s Top 5

5. Limitless
4. Nuit #1
3. Take Shelter
2. We Need to Talk About Kevin
1. Tree of Life

Closing Music: Eels’ “Souljacker, Pt. 1“ (iTunes)

And yes, I’m two timing. Check out my writing at Quietearth.us

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Show Notes:

Click on movie title for the trailer.

Opening Music: Pink’s “Trouble“ (iTunes)

Opening January 6th

The Devil Inside
Roadie
Beneath the Darkness
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

Opening January 13th

Contraband
Joyful Noise
The Iron Lady
Beauty and the Beast (3D)
Albatross
The Divide
- Kurt’s Review
Loosies
Underworld Awakening
Haywire
Coriolanus
- Jandy’s Review
Red Tails
Miss Bala
- Marina’s Review
Crazy Horse
- Kurt’s Review

Opening January 27th

The Grey
One for the Money
we Need to Talk About Kevin
- Kurt’s Review
Rampart
Albert Nobbs
In Darkness
Man on a Ledge
Declaration of War

Closing Music: Saint Saviour’s “This Aint No Hymn“ (iTunes)

And yes, I’m two timing. Check out my writing at Quietearth.us

The festival actually kicks off today with an opening night screening of Jason Reitman’s Young Adult but we, yes, I said we, are way too cool for Diablo Cody. Colleen (Mary Ostler Wood Butchery & Other Stuff) and I have been talking this festival up so much over the last year that we’ve even convinced Dale (Digital Doodles), among a few others, to join us for the fun. The line-up is spectacular (Dangerous Method, Manborg among others), the stars many (Michael Shannon and Jay Baruchel are both being honoured) and the booze will flow. Oh yes, there will be parties and I may actually make it out to one of them this year. Listen in for our rambling take on this year’s festival and stay tuned for a post fest wrap in a few days time! Full festival details by clicking on the banner below. It’s not too late to join the fun!

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Director: Jesse Peretz
Screenplay: David Schisgall, Evgenia Peretz
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub
Starring: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Emily Mortimer, Rashida Jones, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy
MPAA Rating: R (14A in Canada)
Running time: 90 min.

Every family has one. A guy or gal who doesn’t fit in and that, if you didn’t know any better, you would swear didn’t belong to the family. In the case of the tight knit family at the centre of Our Idiot Brother, that person is Ned. Though the film’s title, Our Idiot Brother, bluntly states that suggests Ned an idiot, he’s really not. He’s just a bit of a hippie, a guy who doesn’t put much stock on money and whose joys in life are small: his dog, his girlfriend and his family. He’s also a bit too trustworthy and this trait gets him into a bit of hot water.

While selling his wares at the local farmer’s market, Ned is approached by the local cop who gives Ned a sap story about a bad week that he needs unwinding from. He’s looking for a bit of pot and after some haggling, Ned gives in and offers the guy a bag-o-weed. The cop forces $20 on Ned before arresting him for the sale of narcotics. Oops. Ned heads off to jail where he spends eight glorious months working and making new friends. Upon his release he returns to the farm he shared with his girlfriend, a cookie cutter modern hippy who calls everyone “Dude,” to find that he’s been replaced by a guy even more clueless than he is. With his meagre belongings in tow, he heads to the city to bunk with his mother and to find some way to raise the $1,000 he needs to rent the chicken barn at the back of the farm all so he can be closer to his dog Willy Nelson who his girlfriend has, essentially, taken hostage.

What stars off as a sap story of a well meaning but clueless guy trying to get his life in order quickly turns into a lame brained comedy of a dude who bunks with his sisters and in the process both destroys and enriches their lives. His time with Liz, the oldest of the siblings, leads to her discovering her husband’s infidelity, the stay with Miranda leads to her losing a big opportunity at work while Natalie’s hipster commune life is turned upside down when Ned accidentally reveals to Natalie’s girlfriend Cindy that Natalie is pregnant.

It’s all supposed to be a comedy of errors and a heart-warming tale of a slightly stupid brother that inadvertently makes everyone’s life better but for the most part, Our Idiot Brother is only occasionally funny and this tale of a guy who is a tad too clueless to be believed left me mostly cold. Paul Rudd’s take on Ned is certainly likable enough but I didn’t feel any emotional connection to the character, or more accurately caricature, and the sisters are all unlikable, self centered snobs who seem unworthy of the goodness that comes their way.

Though I didn’t care for Our Idiot Brother or the poorly written script it tries to sell, I did enjoy a few fleeting moments, most notably Steve Coogan getting caught in the act of cheating and Hugh Dancy as the artist who gets Natalie pregnant; I’m certain I’ve ever seen Dancy looking quite this sexy. It’s a sad state of affairs when the highlight of a film is a character who appears for all of five minutes and a dog who is too cute for words. Definitely not one I’ll be popping in when I’m in need of a few laughs.

Our Idiot Brother is will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, November 29th.

DVD Extras: Commentary with director Jesse Peretz, a collection of deleted and extended scenes all of which deserved to end up on the cutting room floor and a making of featurette.

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Show Notes:

Click on movie title for the trailer.

Opening Music: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ “Immigrant Song” (from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Trailer)

Opening December 2nd

Shame
- Kurt’s Review
Outrage
- Jandy’s Review
Kinyarwanda
Sleeping Beauty

Opening December 9th

Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy
New Year’s Eve
Young Adult
The Sitter
W.E.
I Melt With You
we Need to Talk About Kevin
- Kurt’s Review

Opening December 16th

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Carnage
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked

Opening December 23rd

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Darkest Hour
We Bought A Zoo
In the Land of Blood and Honey
Pina
- Jandy’s Review

Opening December 30th

War Horse
A Separation
Pariah

Closing Music: David Bowie’s “Queen Bitch“ (iTunes)

And yes, I’m two timing. Check out my writing at Quietearth.us

Director: Ken Scott (Life After Love, The Rocket)
Screenplay: Ken Scott, Martin Petit
Producer: André Rouleau
Starring: Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton, Antoine Bertrand, Dominic Philie, Marc Bélanger
MPAA Rating: 14A
Running time: 109 min.

It’s always a welcome surprise when a movie you’ve never heard of impresses. That was the case when I saw Ken Scott’s Starbuck at VIFF.

Co-written by Scott and Martin Petit, this plot is one that will have you shaking your head. Bon Cop, Bad Cop’s Patrick Huard stars as David Wozniak, a 42 year old man who still lives like an irresponsible teen: he’s seriously in debt, has a grow-op in his living room to help pay the bills and works at the family butcher shop delivering meat. He’s well loved by everyone but he’s also not trusted with anything of importance because he tends to muck things up. But he has a good heart and when it comes right down to it, he’ll do what he can to help those he loves.

One such instance of caring in the late 80s led to a spree of sperm donations when he was in his 20s. Using the alias of Starbuck, David spent numerous hours in a little room doing his business into a little cup. Yes, it’s a bit strange but it got the job done and after collecting the funds he needed David went on with his carefree life until 20 years later, he gets a visit from a lawyer. The doctor who led the clinic David had frequented made the mistake of giving his sperm to all of the couples that came in for the period of one year and as a result, David is the father of 533 children, 142 of whom have filed a class action suit to open the record books and make public the name of the man who is a “father” to them all.

The lawyer leaves behind an envelope with bios on the kids which David is determined not to open it but depressed with his current situation (his lack of money and news that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant and wants nothing to do with him), he randomly selects a bio that leads to another and a third until his life becomes a quest to be a guardian angel to all of his children. It’s laughable and on paper reads like a saccharin disaster waiting to unfold but the dramedy that reveals itself onscreen is infectious.

Part of it is Scott and Petit’s script which manages to grow the cheesy premise through some truly tender moments (I’m particularly fond of the first time David brings his girlfriend home to meet the family) but the majority of the credit goes to Huard who with the rest of the cast, primarily his best friend and lawyer Antoine Bertrand (his monologues on why David shouldn’t want to be a father are hilarious and poignant) and Julie LeBreton as David’s girlfriend Valerie, bring an unexpected humanity to the story.

I found myself taken with Starbuck on first viewing and was thrilled to find that the film plays just as well on the second and even third time around. There’s a charm that encompasses this story and rather than playing like a forgettable Hollywood blockbuster, Starbuck retains a humaninty and delivers a story about family and what it really means to be a father.

A hugely entertaining dramedy, Starbuck is a widely accessible bit of Canadiana.

Starbuck is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Entertainment One.

Director: Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Kinsey, Gods and Monsters)
Screenplay: Melissa Rosenberg, Stephenie Meyer (novel)
Producers: Wyck Godfrey, Stephenie Meyer, Karen Rosenfelt
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Tinsel Korey, Billy Burke, Gil Birmingham
MPAA Rating: PG13
Running time: 117 min.

My initial feeling as Bella opened her eyes in the (near) final scene of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 was relief. Relief that this wasn’t New Moon (review), a movie I enjoyed but had major problems with. As that feeling of relief started to dissipate, I had another feeling: that this is my favourite film in the series since Hardwicke’s Twilight (review); this in spite of the fact that I don’t care for the book. At all.

The story picks up just before the big day. Bella and Edward are finally tying the knot. Edward makes a remark that he’s been waiting for this day for his entire existence. So have the fans though some were more excited to see what happens after the wedding. The honey moon to Isle Esme was going to be a thing of romance to titillate the senses of pre-teens and grown women and for the most part, it’s successful – until Bella discovers she’s pregnant (not as uncommon as you may think) and the duo jet sett back to Forks where Dr. Carlisle can keep an eye on Bella and the baby that is killing her from the inside out.

Bella’s stubborn. She always has good intentions that tend to lead her into sticky situations and the same is true here except this time, Edward and Jacob can’t come to the rescue. This is her decision and she sticks to it even when everyone else, with the exception of her new BFF Rosalie, want her to end the pregnancy. This is her decision and with it, there’s a sense that Bella has finally realized that she does have some power over her life. Many of the events of the last three films have been set into motion by decisions made by others in her life but Bella is taking control of the situation. Continuing on from the final moments of Eclipse (review) where she tells Edward that she wants to become a vampire not because of him but because it feels right for her, she chooses to carry the child with the knowledge, the belief, that she will live (relatively speaking) through it. It’s empowering to see her make that choice even when her family is urging her to reconsider.

Melissa Rosenberg has really outdone herself this time around, managing to keep the pacing of the story even and well balanced. There are no dull moments here unlike the novel which is loaded with internal monologues and sidebars to Jacob which I could care less for. There is also more of the sense of humour that the franchise is known for but there’s so much more of it here that it feels as though it was muted in the previous two films: Charlie’s zingers, Jessica’s awkward crush on “The Hair” and Emmett’s sense of humour.

Bill Condon has taken on the task of helming one of the most scrutinized franchises in production and delivered a hugely enjoyable gothic romance, a feat which I didn’t think was possible. That’s not to say the movie isn’t without its faults. The werewolf design seems to be regressing rather than progressing and the choice to have the pack communicate while in wolf form is a laughable misstep. The music is a little overwhelming, particularly in the opening scenes, there’s some questionable green screen work, and a fight sequence that’s thrown into the mix near the end of the film that is completely unnecessary. But these are minor gripes among so much goodness. Stewart, is breathtaking for most of the film and her transformation during the pregnancy is dramatic, the acting is the best it’s ever been and everyone is generally good, the make-up and costume design is, for the first time, excellent all around, the romance is sweet and there are even moments of horror peppered in for good measure (the birth scene is particularly well edited).

This particular brand of romance isn’t one that appeals to everyone and there’s quite a bit of hate out there for the franchise but the fans, and there are many of us, will most certainly love what The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 offers up. Now that I’ve seen what Condon and his crew delivered for part one, I’m more curious than ever to see how he will wrap up the franchise which has stumbled so much along the way. My expectations have been raised and more than that, I actualy care to see the finale. That, in and of itself, is a small miracle.

Director: Scott D. Rosenbaum
Screenplay: Scott D. Rosenbaum
Producer: Ian Whitehead
Starring: Kevin Zegers, Jason Ritter, Taryn Manning, Lukas Haas, Peter Fonda, Kelly Lynch
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 92 min.

There’s a great moment in the middle of Scott D. Rosenbaum’s The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll when Spyder leans forward out of the dark and shows his face to the reporter who he’s agreed to speak to, his first interview in twenty years. He’s ragged and tired and the look on his face is one of a man who has been fighting his demons for two decades and has given up. Not found peace but simply given into the fact that his life will never be the same but that he’s ready to move on.

Flashback to 1991. Lost Soulz is the biggest band in the world. Their debut album has sold more copies than any other debut but their second album has flopped. The record company has given the band a year to deliver a record’s worth of songs or the band is done. Desperate and nearly at the end of the contract deadline, Spyder goes home to re-unite with Eric Genson, his best friend and early collaborator and we soon find that Spyder took off years before with Eric’s songs under his belt. Eric is pissed but rather than being angry that Spyder stole his work, he’s angry that his best friend never thought to ask him if he wanted to go with him to LA.

Eric agrees to go with Spyder and provide the band with new tunes but he has a condition: they have to do things his way and that includes fulfilling their high-school dream trip of a van, a band and a trip down historic Route 66. It starts off rocky but with Augy, an old school roadie, at the wheel and Rose, the band’s manager on board, the band quickly finds its groove. Playing dive bars and old blue’s haunts, brings magic to the music and they soon arrive in LA with songs, energy and a new sound.

Rosenbaum’s trip into the inner workings of a band is not particularly glamorous or happy. There are moments of joy but there are also glimpses at the reality of the rock and roll lifestyle: sex, drugs, alcohol and death. The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll is very much a roadtrip film but it’s also the story of friendship, love and letting go.

Kevin Zegers continues to impress as Spyder, the troubled youth turned star turned hermit who has carried the death of his friend for the last two decades while Jason Ritter takes on the roll of sensitive musician who finds the life-style a little too difficult. Along for the ride are Peter Fonda as Augy, Taryn Manning as the manager/love interest and Kelly Lynch as Augy’s wise flame.

Though The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Rollwields more than a handful of music and road trip movie cliché’s, it still delivers an entertaining and memorable drama about friendship and grief. I really enjoyed Rosenbaum’s drama even if some of the characters, Rose and Augy in particular, are largely under developed. In large part, the film’s success can be attributed to Zegers and Ritter’s performances and their camaraderie.

By no means is The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll a new or even the best musical road trip movie out there but it’s certainly one worth checking out.

The Perfect Age of Rock and Roll is out on DVD on Tuesday, November 8th.

DVD Extras: Loads of extras on this release including a behind the scenes featurette, a music video for the Lost Soulz “Turn me on” single (a catchy little tune too), outtake performances and a collection of deleted scenes.

Director: Noël Mitrani (On the Trail of Igor Rizzi)
Screenplay: Noël Mitrani
Producer: Ian Whitehead
Starring: Alexis Bledel, Laurent Lucas, Noémie Godin-Vigneau
MPAA Rating: 14A
Running time: 82 min.

Noël Mitrani’s The Kate Logan Affair starts off on a promising foot. A rookie cop wrongfully arrests a man who fits the description of a serial rapist on the lose in the area. She gets as far as handcuffing the man until she checks his identification and realizes his name is Benoit Gando, a French national in town for a conference. She apologises profusely and lets the man go on his way. Later that night, as Officer Kate Logan is headed home, she spots Benoit rummaging around in his car in the parking lot of the motel he’s staying at. She approaches, apologises again and offers to take the distinguished older man out for a drink, an official apology for her earlier mistake. He agrees and the two head off for a drink.

With few details on either Benoit or Logan, the opening few scenes of Mitrani’s film plays with viewer expectation and as we wait for Benoit, the potential rapist, to strike, it soon becomes apparent that he’s not the one with troubled tendencies. On their third evening together, Kate shows Benoit her gun. At first he refuses but pushed by Kate and curious, he follows her lead, points and squeezes the trigger. The firing takes the two by surprise but immediately Kate starts to freak out, explaining that she’s going to lose her job if it’s discovered that the bullet was fired from her gun, a gun she’s not supposed to be carrying while off-duty.

After trying and failing to dig out the bullet, the two escape out the back window on foot before eventually hotwiring a car and heading down the road. Benoit is beside himself in terror. He’s realized that running off from such a minor issue is likely to get him into more trouble than just admitting the truth but Kate holds their affair over his head, threatening to end his marriage if he runs off. She wants time to figure out how to get out of the situation with her job intact and with each passing moment, the hole she’s dug gets deeper and more difficult to climb out of but when Benoit arrives with the local newspaper which states that Kate has been kidnapped, she sees her way out and it doesn’t include Benoit.

Though it starts off well, Metrani’s film quickly loses any of the tension present in the opening scenes. The major problem is the script which features some lazy writing, particularly of the police officers in search of their missing comrade; they’re portrayed as nothing more than eye-rolling poorly drawn caricatures. Matters aren’t helped any by the fact that Alexis Bledel seems to be line reading through this role. Not only is she not convincing as a police officer, she’s also not convincing as a troubled woman. Mostly she just walks around with a bewildered look on her face while Laurent Lucas (Benoit) acts circles around her. There is one scene near the end of the film, as Kate explains her side of the story to her colleagues, where the troubled woman act is believable but it’s too little too late.

The concept behind The Kate Logan Affair is promising but the film fails to deliver on nearly all counts. Not only does it lack any of the thrills suggested by the plot, there’s little to like about the lead performance. With a few re-writes and a more capable lead, this could be a fantastic thriller but as it stands, The Kate Logan Affair is a forgettable wanna-be.

The Kate Logan Affair is available on DVD on Tuesday, November 8th.

DVD Extras: None.

One of the questions that often comes up when talking about movies, when you’re in Canada at least, is “are there areny good Canadian movies?” I argue that there are and judging by the reviews from other Row Three contributors I think it’s safe to say that the number of good Canadian entertainment is on the rise. Still, much of it isn’t seen outside the festival circuit. Last year, less than 5% of Canada’s total box office went towards Canadian film and this is likely not going to get any better any time soon. Add in the dying video store (not sure they were ever much of a help when it came specifically to Canadian film) and the rise of on line, on demand film viewing and I’m thinking this new initiative may be a great step in the right direction.

The First Weekend Club, a national organization which, for eight years, has been supporting Canadian film by encouraging people, often by hosting events, to see Canadian films on their opening weekend, is trying to expand into the streaming market by providing a gateway where individuals can find and watch Canadian film from the comfort of their home. It’s like iTunes or YouTube movie rental but specifically for Canuck movies.

The group has set up an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds to get a beta site up and running and with the help of some very familiar faces in Canadian cinema, they’re definitely headed in the right direction. Their promotional video is tucked under the seats but I encourage you to head over and drop them a few bucks to get this project up and running.

Director: John Irvin
Screenplay: Arthur Hopcraft
Producer: Jonathan Powell
Starring: Alec Guinness, Ian Richardson, Michael Aldridge, Joss Ackland, Ian Bannen, Bernard Hepton, Terence Rigby, Michael Jayston, Hywel Bennett, Anthony Bate
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 324 min.

I’m of the mind that the great spy thriller is a thing of the past, of a time before Wikileaks, internet and worldwide connectivity; a time when we couldn’t look up the history of an event on a cell phone and when the world’s great powers played on a carefully laid out chessboard where one wrong move could mean war. That’s not say that this isn’t the case today but it seems like much of the intrigue and mystery of the spy has disappeared thanks to movies and tell-all books.

One of the masters of the spy genre is John le Carré. Having left a job at MI6 after the success of “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” in 1974 le Carré released “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.” The first of a trilogy, the novel was quickly adapted for television and by 1979, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was a hugely successful drama starring Alec Guinness as George Smiley.

The basic story has Smiley, an intelligence agent who has been forced into retirement, called back to uncover the identity of a Russian mole, codenamed “Gerald,” who is believed to have infiltrated the “Circus,” what I quickly came to realize refers to the highest echelon of MI6. And that’s really all I can write without falling into the trap of trying to describe the action that unfolds between the opening minutes of the first and the closing minutes of the final episode. There are countless players, intricacies of plot, affairs and events that unfold among individuals we haven’t been introduced to yet play important roles in the story. This is the kind of dense material that doesn’t often cruise the TV or movie screen and which is often watered down but in this original adaptation, much of the story appears to stay intact and it makes for a fascinating watch.

Not only is the story dense with facts and players, it’s beautifully and carefully parsed out in such a way that it never loses the audience but that doesn’t mean you can look away for even a minute. I made the mistake of trying to check my email 10 minutes into the first episode and had to go back and start from the beginning because I was completely lost. I found that to be the case for the first three episodes; things get a little clearer once you get a sense for how the story is being told but there’s no handholding here; director John Irvin and Arthur Hopcraft who was tasked with adapting le Carré’s novel, drop you into the action and expect you’ll fend for yourself and for much of the series first half, I found myself taking in tidbits of information without knowing where it fit in until later. It’s a series that requires a second viewing because on one; I feel like I only grasped the surface of the story.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy features excellent performances, fantastic sequences and a tightly woven tale of mystery and suspense that kept me interested from beginning to end. I was taken by Irvin’s touches that both create mood and elevate this beyond forgettable TV (the visit to the Fado haunt at the opening of episode two is particularly memorable) and how quickly the story moves along. I couldn’t stop watching and ended laid up on the couch for hours taking in everything the series had to offer.

Though it doesn’t start as an easy watch, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy quickly sucked me into it’s story and I found I couldn’t wait to get back to the world created by le Carré. This series ends with Smiley taking the job as head of the Circus to clean-up the fall-out of the events that have transpired but a follow-up titled Smiley’s People continues on with the story delving into the events that transpire once Smiley is re-instated at Circus.

This particular DVD release is timed to coincide with Tomas Alfredson’s take on the material which is due out in December with Gary Oldman in the role of George Smiley. I have a hard time imagining how a two hour film is going to cover all of this ground and assume some of the side stories have been overlooked but those interested in a very complete take on le Carré story, or just love a good spy yarn, should definitely check this out.

Both Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and the sequel Smiley’s People are available on DVD on Tuesday, October 25th.

DVD Extras: Extras include a 30 minute interview with le Carré, a very handy glossary of terms and main characters along with notes on the production. Other extras include a biography and booklist of le Carré’s work along with cast filmographies.

Director: Julien Magnat
Screenplay: Julien Magnat
Producers: Kevin DeWalt, Clément Miserez
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Julian McMahon, Michael Shanks, David Atrakchi
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 102 min.

I’ll be the first to admit it: Faces in the Crowd had me at Milla Jovovich. I didn’t look too closely at who else starred in it, directed it or even what it was about. I needed a Jovovich fill and this looked like it was the perfect way to satiate my thirst. I’m happy to report that it met my lowered expectations though in hindsight I wish it had lived up to the excellent set-up.

Julien Magnat’s feature film debut stars Milla Jovovich as Anna Merchant, a happily in love elementary school teacher and the only one of her friends involved in a long term relationship. The trio of girlfriends are out late one night and Anna decides to walk home after a night of partying but on her way, she walks in on a man and woman having sex in public. When the man slices the woman’s throat, Anna’s cell phone happens to ring and now Anna is the object of attention for a murderer. She manages to get away but not under the best of circumstances: she falls off the side of the bridge, hits her head on the way down and wakes up a week alter in the hospital.

We soon discover that the killer is responsible for a number of other deaths and the police have no clues as to who he might be. They think they have a breakthrough since Anna saw him and got away but what they don’t immediately realize is that Anna is suffering from prosopagnosia, a rare disorder caused by the bump to her head that leaves her unable to recognize faces. She may have seen the killer but she can’t remember what he looked like; he could be standing right in front of her and she’d never know it.

It’s a fantastic concept and one that writer/director Magnat uses to great effect in the film’s first half but as the story develops and Anna and her boyfriend Bryce call it quits and a relationship develops between Anna and the police investigator Kerrest, played by Julian McMahon, the story starts to get boring and predictable. It’s clear that the killer is someone Anna knows and though Magnat throws in a couple of effective red herrings, by the time the second “could it be this guy?” came along, I didn’t care.

I love the concept behind Faces in the Crowd and though the execution here is adequate, Magnat doesn’t have the skill to turn an interesting idea into a great thriller. There are a few moments of suspense, mostly early on, but the story could have used a few edits in the third act when the plot starts to drag and the film loses what little momentum it managed to gain in the second act when Anna is trying to get back to normal while still suffering from prosopagnosia. Jovovich and McMahon try hard to keep things moving but McMahon’s role is small and though Jovovich gives her all to the role of the emotionally distraught woman (she certainly has the shaking down to an art), I found her performance, like much of the movie, bland.

There are some excellent scenes here, particularly those that feature Anna waking to find her boyfriend’s face different or looking in the mirror and not recognizing her own face (which in most instances has been brilliantly digitally recreated to use some of Jovovich’s features) but in general, Faces in the Crowd is a mediocre, forgettable drama of a woman caught in the middle of a search for a serial killer. It’s a fantastic concept and one which, in the hands of a better writer and director, could make for a truly terrifying thriller but that’s not the film that Magnat delivers; perfect matinee movie of the week material.

Faces in the Crowd is available on available on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, October 25th.

DVD Extras: Making of featurette.

Thirty one years and 15 albums later, R.E.M. have called it quits.

The decision comes as a bit of a shock. Though the releases over the last few years have failed to live up to the band’s previous success, the (now) trio from Athens, Georgia have continued to forge ahead, growing and re-shaping their sound, delivering variations of R.E.M, each slightly different than the last. The changing sound hasn’t been easy but fans have continued to listen to the band that was part of the 1st wave of alternative sound.

My introduction to R.E.M. came via radio and, appropriately enough, the single “Radio Free Europe.” I loved the song so much I went out to the now collapsed Sam the Record Man and came home with tapes of a few early albums. I was in love and the romance lasted for a decade.

When “Monster” came out, I stopped being the hardcore fan. I wasn’t really digging the new sound and by that point in my teen years, I’d moved onto NIN and the industrial scene but over the few years, I have continued to came back to the band that kept going without me. That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about R.E.M.: when I come back, there’s always new material. They’re the reliable band that’s always there with something new for me to discover except that now, there will be no new discoveries.

That doesn’t mean it’s over. Over the last three decades, R.E.M. has released a number of perfect albums. CDs (or digital albums as the case is now) that I can put in and listen to on re-peat for hours at a time. For me, R.E.M. was at its peak with the back-to-back releases of “Green,” “Out of Time,” and “Automatic for the People” but every time I listen to a new album (or an old one) I re-discover a song. This much greatness makes it difficult to dwindle down a list of songs but after a week of revisiting their extensive discography, I have picked my list of 10 favourite songs. They’re not all popular singes and as much as I love “Losing My Religion” or “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine),” I’ve left these off my list in exchange for some less popular singles.

There will be one final release: a compilation album titled “Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011” is scheduled for release in November. The album will be the first to collect songs from R.E.M.’s I.R.S. and Warner Bros. tenures, as well as three songs from the group’s final studio recordings post “Collapse into Now.”

My favourites are below; be sure to share yours.

10. Bittersweet Me

9. Radio Free Europe

8. Nightswimming

7. Radio Song

6. Pop Song 89

5. Bang and Blame

4. Orange Crush

3. Low

2. Drive

1. Near Wildheaven

Director: Matthew Chapman (Heart of Midnight, Strangers Kiss)
Screenplay: Matthew Chapman
Producers: Mark Damon, Moshe Diamant, Michael Mailer
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Patrick Wilson, Liv Tyler, Terrence Howard
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 101 min.

The idea of a jilted husband taking revenge on the man who coveted his wife isn’t exactly new material but in writer/director Matthew Chapman’s The Ledge, the revenge tale is dipped and then left to seep in a morality tea that is a little too strong. The result is infuriating, turning a perfectly good relationship drama into a largely uninteresting discussion on philosophy, religion and the importance of a belief system (or lack thereof). I know it sounds great but trust me, it isn’t.

Gavin (“Sons of Anarchy”’s Charlie Hunnam) steps out onto the ledge of a building. As a crowd masses below, Hollis (Terrence Howard), a police expert in negotiations, is called in to talk the man down but Hollis isn’t performing at his peak. He’s just found out that his kids are not really his and as he’s sorting through the idea that his wife cheated on him, he’s also supposed to be saving Gavin’s life – it’s just too bad Gavin doesn’t want to be saved. In an effort to figure out why the young man has to stand on the ledge until noon before jumping, Hollister coaxes, not very hard, Gavin into spilling the details that led to his current situation. Turns out he got a little too friendly with the pretty wife (Liv Tyler) of his religiously fanatical neighbour Joe (Patrick Wilson). Joe found out and threatened to kill his wife if Gavin didn’t jump off the ledge at noon.

It’s pretty simple but Chapman wants it to be profound. He devises a number of occasions for Joe and Gavin, both of whom have differing belief systems, to come together and discuss their philosophies and though the discussions get heated, they are only mildly interesting. Chapman builds his story on these moral and philosophical debates but the ideas are shallow and the discussions feel vacant and preachy and the more the two argue, the less I cared for either one. Chapman tries hard to make the characters more human by adding a bit of salvation (Joe saved his wife from drug addiction and prostitution) and tragedy (Gavin lost his young daughter in a car accident) but when those bits of history are revealed, I found myself groaning at the ham fisted way in which they are forced into the script.

The problems with the film’s central story, enhanced by the unnecessary tale of Hollis dealing with his own tragedy), are too large to be ignored but there are some bits of goodness in The Ledge. The development of the relationship between Gavin and Shana is well handled and I loved their lunch time chats which felt authentic. I even liked the idea of capturing the couple’s first stolen night together by capturing the emotions on Shana’s face unfortunately, the gorgeous Tyler falls a bit short of showing anything beyond surprise and in the end, the scene falls flat. Tyler and the rest of the cast usually fare better than this but the mediocre material doesn’t do them any favours. Tyler and Hunnam barely register and though they both travel into melodrama, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard manage to elicit a little bit of emotion.

I was disappointed by The Ledge and its lack of force. Nothing about the film stands out and the moral tale which is so clearly laid out as a topic for debate is mute. Sadly, Chapman’s film doesn’t merit much of a discussion.

The Ledge is available on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, September 27th.

DVD Extras: A series of cast and crew interviews.

[Part of The Maddin-est Blogathon in the World! Contest Head over to that link for more Maddin-ness.]

I remember the day I discovered Guy Maddin. I was filling a gap in my film festival schedule and The Saddest Music in the World happened to fit. What I didn’t bargain for was Maddin’s style. Here was a director, Canadian no less!, making a movie unlike anything I’d seen before. It looked old, it sounded old, it was melodramatic and every moment was enjoyable. In a sea of film that all looked alike, this was something new and refreshing. That was my first run in with Maddin but not the last.

Over the years I’ve seen a dozen or so films from Maddin’s long filmogaphy and though I’m sometimes happy to simply let them wash over me in a haze of grainy film and crackling music, there are a few that I have come to love. Enter my list of favourite Guy Maddin films.

5. Careful (1992)

In an alpine village were emotions are kept under wraps lest a sudden loud sound trigger an avalanche (awesome premise) that will kill everyone, a young man lusts after his mother while in a parallel story, a young woman is attracted to her father. Taboo relationships, love potions and super creepy music are only the beginning.

4. The Saddest Music in the World (2003)

The great Isabella Rossellini (along with Portuguese starlet Maria de Medeiros) stars as a beer baroness (only in Canada!) who during the Great Depression, organizes a contest to find which nation has the saddest music in the world with a first prize of $25,000. Only Maddin would think to pair something as depressing as the Great Depression with sad music but the film is anything but depressing. And honestly, with a tagline that reads “If you’re sad, and like beer, I’m your lady” how could anyone possibly resist?

3. Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002)

For this project, Maddin was tasked with filming the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s “Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary,” itself an interpretation of Stoker’s classic tale, for the CBC and the result is one of the darkest dance films I’ve ever seen. Captured in black and white with the occasional burst of colour and Maddin’s trademark tinting, Maddin’s style is a perfect pairing with this dark ballet featuring the haunting music of Gustav Mahler. Perhaps this one shouldn’t really count as it isn’t really a film but Maddin’s approach provides an entirely new layer of menace to the already haunting ballet.

2. Brand Upon the Brain (2006)

At his mother’s dying wish, our protagonist Guy Maddin returns to his childhood home on a now abandoned island. He’s there’s to paint the lighthouse which also served as an orphanage that his parents used to run but memories begin to surface and we discover that Maddin’s parents were experimenting on the children. A twisted tale of abuse, is also an unlikely mix of teen detective story and horror film bundled together in Maddin’s surrealistic style.

1. My Winnipeg (2007)

Maddin’s most personal film is also his most successful. A humorous history of Winnipeg told by the director through memories of his childhood, it’s a mix of personal tales, some feel like the half remembered dreams from a child’s perspective, and history that bring the city alive. A beautifully companion piece to Terence Davies very similar approach (though much different delivery) Of Time and the City (review).