An impeccable noir and an insightful portrait: ‘Love Crime’

September 2, 2011 by

Love Crime/2010/UGC/106 min.

“Love Crime,” a splendidly suspenseful ride, just might be the late Alain Corneau’s best film. A great script, excellent actors, perfect pacing and a terrific final twist make this a must-see movie.

Sleek and savvy Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas), a powerful exec at a multinational company, seems to have a charmed existence – success, style, a glitzy social life and a gorgeous lover, Philippe (Patrick Mille). Reporting to Christine is ambitious, hard-working and eager-to-please Isabelle (Ludivine Sagnier).

Their relationship is subtle and complex – a mix of admiration and affection, rivalry and rude awakenings. Isabelle’s first jolt is when Christine takes credit for Isabelle’s work. (In corporate life, really?) Acting as a pawn in their mind games and manipulation is Philippe, one of their many male colleagues. It’s not long before barbed convo at the water cooler shifts to a malevolent life-and-death battle. (In corporate life, really?) We see that Isabelle’s methodical, meticulous approach applies to every project she tackles, at the workplace and beyond.

Corneau, who died last August at age 67, referred to the film as one of his little Fritz Lang labyrinths. “It can be summed up very simply,” he said. “After you have committed the perfect crime, of which you will definitely be suspected, how can you prove you are innocent by making yourself look guilty?”

“Love Crime” is an impeccable noir with a stark look and restrained palette from director of photography Yves Angelo. It’s also an original, insightful portrait of two characters’ identities. Corneau, aided by co-writer Natalie Carter, explored fresh terrain by focusing on female characters. “I’ve recently discovered how exciting it is to have women in leading roles,” said Corneau. “I thought, without knowing why, that it would be more spectacular if the labyrinthine plot were feminine.”

Spectacular it definitely is; and of course sad that his first foray into the inner lives of women was also his last.

And one more thing. There’s particular attention paid to Isabelle’s blonde hair. She starts out with a mane of slightly messy curls; as she climbs the corporate ladder, she taps her inner Veronica Lake for a peek-a-boo effect that’s smoothly sexy and seductive. Looking good is always key, especially when you’re up to no good.

“Love Crime” opens Sept. 2 in Los Angeles and New York.

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‘Brighton Rock’ is eye candy with an entertaining cast

August 26, 2011 by

Brighton Rock/2010/IFC Films/111 min.

“Brighton Rock” opens with a shot of oil-black ocean waves. Like the moonlit water, the film is beautiful but turgid and at times untamed in the hands of first-time feature film director Rowan Joffe.

Based on a Graham Greene novel, it’s a classic crime story first made into a movie in 1947 with a script by Greene and Terence Rattigan. This time around, Joffe, a scribe whose credits include “The American” and “28 Weeks Later” wrote the screenplay, changing the setting from the 1930s to 1964.

Helen Mirren and John Hurt

Young, ruthless and 100 percent pure psychopath, Pinkie Brown (Sam Riley) has risen to the top ranks of a gang in Brighton, a seaside resort town (the title is a reference to the souvenir sticks of hard candy sold there). Avenging a betrayal to his gang, Pinkie sets out to kill a man named Fred Hale (Sean Harris), who happens to be friendly with a working-class grande dame, Ida Arnold (Helen Mirren).

Knowing his life is in danger, Hale parries along the pier, looking for a way to escape, and gloms onto a stranger – a shy, frumpy teenage waitress named Rose (Andrea Riseborough). But this just delays the inevitable and soon Hale is dead at Pinkie’s hands. The last person to be seen with Hale, however, is Frank Spicer (Philip Davis), a booze-weary senior member of Pinkie’s gang. And, by chance, Hale, Spicer and Rose are captured by a touristy photographer; Rose gets the claim ticket for the photo.

Though Pinkie’s overarching objective is to join forces with a rival gang led by Colleoni (Andy Serkis), his immediate priority is to nab that claim ticket and seduce Rose in order to keep her quiet. While it’s easy to keep Rose under his thumb, keeping the feisty Ida from investigating Hale’s death proves to be a spot of bother. As the moral driver of the story, Ida stands in contrast with the young couple who ironically cling to their identities as Roman Catholics.

Joffe’s film is gorgeous to look at – stunning cinematography by John Mathieson matched with superb art direction by Paul Ghiradani and Kellie Waugh, especially the slightly surreal scenes at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. And for the first two acts, Joffe creates a darkly moody atmosphere and balances the storylines deftly.

But as the plot progresses, Pinkie’s dealings with Colleoni essentially dissolve as the focus shifts entirely to Pinkie, Rose and Ida. The strange couple seems an awkward transplant to the ’60s – how does the time change serve the storytelling? [Read more…]

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‘Scarface,’ now almost 30, gears up for Blu-ray release

August 24, 2011 by

Al Pacino does his best to rock a Keith Richards vibe at the event.

Stars Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, F. Murray Abraham and producer Martin Bregman celebrated on Tuesday the upcoming Blu-ray release of “Scarface” at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles with a cast reunion, Q&A and party. The 1983 film, directed Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone, releases on Blu-ray on Sept. 6.

The evening also included a special performance by Ludacris, cuisine by Border Grill chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, as well as a special “Scarface”-themed Ciroc lounge.

The limited edition Blu-ray comes with a digital copy of the film and a DVD of the original 1932 “Scarface,” directed by Howard Hawks and starring Paul Muni. There are also many special features including a documentary, deleted scenes and background/making-of info.

You can see footage of Tuesday’s event here. The Q&A is available on Livestream for the next week here. And for details on the fan artwork contest using classic Tony Montana images, visit the Facebook page.

Al Pacino image from GettyImages for Universal Studios Home Entertainment

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Official trailer for ‘Texas Killing Fields’ now on YouTube

August 22, 2011 by

Inspired by true events, Texas Killing Fields” follows Detective Souder (Sam Worthington), a homicide detective in a small Texas town, and his partner, transplanted New York City cop Detective Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they track a sadistic serial killer dumping his victims’ mutilated bodies in a nearby marsh locals call “The Killing Fields.”

Before long, the killer changes the game and begins hunting the detectives, teasing them with possible clues at the crime scenes. When a local girl Anne (Chloë Grace Moretz) goes missing, the detectives find themselves racing against time to catch the killer and save the girl’s life.

Directed by Ami Canaan Mann, produced by Michael Mann and Michael Jaffe, “Texas Killing Fields” also stars Jessica Chastain (“Tree of Life,” “The Help”), Jason Clarke (“Public Enemies”) and Stephen Graham (“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”).

The movie opens Oct. 14.

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Noir images dominate Los Angeles photo show

August 18, 2011 by

“I Love L.A.,” featuring 50 works from 42 photographers, opened Saturday at the Duncan Miller Gallery, 10959 Venice Blvd., in Los Angeles. Not surprisingly, there were many captivating noir images. The show runs through Sept. 17. To see more photos online, visit the “I Love L.A.” Photography Exhibition Facebook page.

Santa Monica Pier Parking Lot, 2004, Patricia Williams

 

Polyamorous Love, 2008, by Michael Grecco

 

Gallery owner Daniel Miller (far right) mingles on Saturday night.

 

Guests voted for their top three photos.

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Fabulously funny, edgily dark, ‘Big Lebowski’ is out on Blu-ray

August 16, 2011 by

The Big Lebowski/1998/Universal/117 min.

Post a comment on any story this month and you’ll be entered into a draw to win this Blu-ray release from Universal.

By Michael Wilmington

Jeff Bridges is matchless as The Dude.

“The Big Lebowski,” that class-by-itself, goofball masterpiece by Joel and Ethan Coen is a fabulously funny and edgily dark comic movie tribute to the time-wasters, layabouts and oddballs of the world. Especially the ones in Los Angeles, a city that the Coens catch here with devilish bite and angelic wit.

It’s as sharp and dead-on a picture of LA as you’ll see ever: of its rotten upper-crust and its laidback subculture, and especially of its well-lit bowling lanes.

Funny as hell, it’s a goddamn ode to all those guys who are too off-the edge to work out some halfway normal existence – embodied here in star Jeff Bridges, that man among men and dude among dudes Jeff Lebowski – who indeed prefers the name “The Dude.”

The Dude is … well, what can we say? He’s the Dude! He’s Santa Monica Boulevard on a sunny day; he’s the Farmer’s Market at sunrise; he’s Hollywood Boulevard at 10 p.m.

“The Big Lebowski” tells the story of this ’70s guy in a ’90s world. It’s also a great neo noir, a sort of thriller that plunges the Dude into a Raymond Chandler-style detective story, with the Dude as an impromptu detective who can’t really detect much, but gives it a try anyway.

Accompanying the Dude are his two bowling buddies, wired-tight Vietnam vet and Jewish convert Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) and quiet ex-surfin’ Donny Karabatsos (Steve Buscemi). In the tangled plot, The Dude is mistaken for another, much richer Jeff Lebowski (David Huddleston), a phony philanthropist. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the other Lebowski’s shit-eating grin of a secretary. Julianne Moore is his artsy daughter and a sort of femme fatale, Maude Lebowski.

Julianne Moore

What a show. The writing is razor sharp and so is the filmmaking. Roger Deakins shot it immaculately, and the sound track, supervised by T-Bone Burnett, is fantastic – ranging from Mozart and Korngold to Debbie Reynolds singing “Tammy” to Dean Martin singing “Standing on the Corner” and Nina Simone singing “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good,” to Booker T. and the M. G.s to Townes Van Zandt covering that great underperformed Rolling Stones classic “Dead Flowers.”

As for Jeff Bridges … well, Jeff Bridges was born to play the Dude. The other actors are super, sometimes great, especially Goodman. But Bridges is beyond great, beyond wonderful, beyond Mombasa. He‘s the Dude. His Dudeness. Take it easy, man. But take it.

Extras: Documentaries; Featurettes; Jeff Bridges photos.

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Crime comedy ‘30 Minutes or Less’ fails to deliver

August 12, 2011 by

30 Minutes or Less/2011/Columbia Pictures/83 min.

Asking for a refund at a movie theater is an old joke. But it’s funnier than most of the material in “30 Minutes or Less,” by director Ruben Fleischer.

The premise has potential – a feckless pizza delivery guy (Jesse Eisenberg) is coerced into robbing a bank by two yahoos (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) who need to raise cash to pay a hitman (Michael Peña). Pizza guy ropes his straight-arrow best friend (Aziz Ansari) into helping him.

There’s a smart, pretty girl involved (Dilshad Vadsaria). There’s a deadline and a ticking bomb. Worlds could collide, tension could build, funny lines could pop out of the mouths of authentically drawn characters.

Early on, it’s clear that none of the above is going to happen. Though the cast makes an effort (especially Ansari and Peña), the weak script by Michael Diliberti makes no sense, the flat direction induces yawns and cringes in equal measure, and the increasingly desperate hodgepodge of gags in the hopes that something will stick is downright tedious.

Having been a fan of Fleischer’s “Zombieland” from 2009 (written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick), I was looking forward to “30 Minutes or Less.” I like Eisenberg and respect his talent. I’m from Michigan (the film is set in Grand Rapids). I wanted to like this movie!

As it turned out, though, I couldn’t shake the feeling that “30 Minutes” was a project by a group of high school kids. Even then, you might get some good laughs appealing to your juvenile side. But my inner child quickly curled up for a nap and the three boys in the next row might as well have been taking an exam, so thick was their silence throughout the flick.

“30 Minutes or Less” was 83 minutes I wish I’d spent some other way.

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Film noir’s feline stars: The cat in ‘The Long Goodbye’

August 9, 2011 by

More on the most famous kitties in film noir …

The Cat in “The Long Goodbye” 1973

Name: Chauncey Scratchet

Character Name: Hungry Cat

Bio: Chauncey Scratchet, a.k.a. the Hungry Cat in 1973’s “The Long Goodbye,” is pivotal to the story. He is ravenous and if you ignore a such a cat, well, There. Will. Be. Trouble. As in scratched faces and bloody limbs. Or utter abandonment.

Scratchet opens the movie, mewing for food from his sleeping master, private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould). Director Robert Altman lets his camera linger on the ginger-haired tabby prowling around Marlowe’s messy apartment.

Robert Altman wisely gave Chauncey Scratchet complete freedom to interpret his role.

It’s 3:00 a.m. and Marlowe has neglected to provide for his companion. So, the groggy gumshoe yawns, scratches his head and lights a cigarette, then heads to the supermarket to get the goods. Next door, Marlowe’s sexy, partygirl neighbors catch him before he leaves and ask him to bring back some brownie mix so next morning they can wake and bake. It’s 1973, after all.

At the store, Marlowe nabs the mix but fails to procure a can of Hungry Cat’s coveted Coury brand (they’re out of it). Marlowe tries to pass off some other, inferior, food, but his pet isn’t desperate enough to eat it. Instead, the cat takes off, in a departure both dramatic and understated, and we never see him again. For the rest of the flick, Marlowe pines away for his furry friend, whining about it to anyone he can.

Ironically, Chauncey Scratchet had such a good experience filming “The Long Goodbye” that he never made another movie. It was his first major role and director Altman let him have complete freedom in interpreting his character. Scratchet discovered that this approach was the exception, not the rule.

Rather than compromise on creative matters, Scratchet gave up film acting and turned to photography, quickly rising to the top of his profession and, through his Hollywood connections, shooting prominent actors, artists and musicians of the decade.

Though no longer involved in movies, he did make guest appearances on “Kojak” and “Columbo” as a special favor to pals Telly Savalas and Peter Falk. He was also friends with Keith Richards and was said to have inspired the song “Before They Make Me Run,” from the 1978 album “Some Girls.”

Currently enjoying his seventh life, Scratchet holds one-cat shows in New York, Paris, London and Rome.

Image from http://catsinsinks.com

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Love it or hate it, ‘Bellflower’ is a major achievement

August 6, 2011 by

Michael Wilmington

By Michael Wilmington

Bellflower/2011/Coatwolf Productions/106 min.

“Bellflower” – a Sundance sensation reportedly shot for only $17,000 by first-time writer/director/co-star/co-editor Evan Glodell – introduces us to a couple of Valley dudes, Woodrow (Glodell) and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) who are obsessed with “Mad Max,” the coming apocalypse, muscle cars, WMDs and two women, Milly and Courtney (Jessie Wiseman and Rebekah Brandes). They all meet up at a barroom cricket-eating contest, where Milly wins. They dally awhile. Then “Bellflower” pulls us down into ink-black, psycho-macho, neo-noir pathology.

At first it looks as if it’s going to be a drama about twentysomethings on the fringe, with a lot of bar scenes, four-letter talk and onscreen sex. Then it descends into the same road warrior-ish violent fantasies as those self-absorbed, fantasizing dudes.

I didn’t like it all that much, or as much as a lot of other critics. I thought it was entertaining but a little light on real depth or truth or imagination. But I’ve got to admit, “Bellflower” is an incredible achievement for a Z-budget indie.

Glodell and his cinematographer, Joel Hodge, get a really strong visual style; they shoot their Valley scenes with a custom-built digital camera that makes everything look smeary and hot and dirty. The actors simultaneously play their scenes sort of Cassavetes-real and B-Movie-overblown, and there’s a scary, edgy feel to it all, that makes you genuinely uneasy and uncomfortable.

In the first part of “Bellflower” (the name of a street where the guys live), the main story is a love triangle/quadrangle and a hookup. Woodrow loves Milly, who cheats on him with Mike (co-editor Vincent Grashaw), and so the distraught Woodrow takes up with Courtney, who’s the crush of Aiden. [Read more…]

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Free stuff: Win ‘The Big Lebowski’ Blu-ray limited edition

August 6, 2011 by

The winner of the July reader giveaway has been selected. For August, I am giving away a copy of Universal’s new Blu-ray release of “The Big Lebowski,” the much-loved 1998 neo noir by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring Jeff Bridges as the Dude. I’ll run a review on Aug. 16, the official release date. For info on upcoming fan events, visit Lebowski Fest.

To enter the August giveaway, just leave a comment on any FNB post from Aug. 1-31. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month and announced in early September. Include your email address in your comment so that I can notify you if you win. Your email will not be shared. Good luck!

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