Category Archives: Film

Alles zur Welt des Films

Zürich Film Festival – Spotlight Has it All

spotlightSPOTLIGHT stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schrieber, and Stanley Tucci. It tells the riveting true story of the Boston Globe‘s Spotlight investigation team who uncovered a scandal that would rock the city and shock the world. For years, whispers of the Boston Archdiocese’s cover up of sexual abuse within the Catholic church were largely ignored by the media, the police and the legal system. Against all odds, the spotlight team fought to expose the truth. SPOTLIGHT is directed by Academy Award (R) Nominee Tom McCarthy.

Zurich Film Festival – Wolfpack

images-2This is a very cool movie. Wolfpack – a documentary that couldn’t be made up. Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed the Wolfpack, the brothers spend their childhood re-enacting their favorite films using elaborate homemade props and costumes. With no friends and living on welfare, they feed their curiosity, creativity, and imagination with film, which allows them to escape from their feelings of isolation and loneliness. Everything changes when one of the brothers escapes, and the power dynamics in the house are transformed. The Wolfpack must learn how to integrate into society without disbanding the brotherhood. Brilliant cinema.

Spotlight – A Favorite For Toronto

imagesSpotlight has already received some positive notices but this isn’t just drafting behind them. I have been a fan of Tom McCarthy’s films such as The Visitor and The Station Agent because he’s a director who can elicit the best performances from his previously underutilized actors including Richard Jenkins, Peter Dinklage and Bobby Cannavale.  This is one of the brightest prospects of the Toronto Film Festival.

Show Me a Hero – The Wire Revisited

show-me-a-hero-oscar-isaac-2Two words: Oscar Isaac. If that isn’t enough: The guys that brought you The Wire… Show me a Hero is an amazing new series produced by good old HBO.
The plot:Mayor Nick Wasicsko took office in 1987 during Yonkers’ worst crisis. When federal courts ordered public housing be built in the white, middle class side of town, it divided the city in a bitter battle fueled by fear, racism, murder and politics.
The trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyD4U8nd4ho

The Diary of a Teenage Girl – Feminism Revisited

imagesIt’s hard to find a film that accurately and truthfully portrays the sexual experiences of a teenage girl – strange considering it’s a subject that concerns half of the world’s population. As such, Californian writer/director Marielle Heller’s astonishing debut film, The Diary Of A Teenage Girl, feels revolutionary in refusing to trivialise its characters’ natural feelings, while also deftly traversing such an emotional and ethical minefield.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (1)What makes The Diary Of A Teenage Girl so special is the fact that it presents the young woman at the centre of its story without judgment. It doesn’t gloss over Minnie’s true feelings about sex (“I really like getting fucked,” she declares at one point) and it doesn’t demonise anyone involved, least of all Minnie. Instead, it’s a rare depiction of the truth of growing up – one that should be an accepted norm rather than an oddity. The trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSnjJrbu1tY

Mississippi Grind – A Real American Movie

This is good. Mississippi Grind. Not since Sideways we have seen a buddy movie like this. Down on his luck and facing financial hardship, Gerry teams up with younger charismatic poker player, Curtis, in an attempt to change his luck. The two set off on a road trip through the South with visions of winning back what’s been lost.

Slow Learners – A Real Comedy

slow_learnersThe plot is simple:Jeff and Anne, two close friends and co-workers, are embarrassingly unlucky at love. They hatch a plan to transform themselves over the course of a sex-and-alcohol-fueled summer. Adam Pally and Sarah Burns make this little gem something really special. Watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMC_Asnb8qQ

Mr. Robot – A Very Pleasant Surprise

F-the-system-AD-640x480With a Metacritic score of 79% this looked promising. What TrendengEl didn’t expect is that Mr. Robot is the coolest and most interesting TV drama of the season and the best ever on the USA network.There’s an addictive energy to “Mr. Robot” over its first two episodes as it zips from boardroom to underground computer lab to Elliot’s apartment and so on and so on. The filmmaking here is so vibrant but Malek’s emotional honesty never allows style to overwhelm substance. What’s most remarkable is that “Mr. Robot” is so much more complex than it could have been in less-talented hands. It takes a relatively predictable concept like taking down evil corporations with modern technology and captures the moral and human complexity that would still be contained within such a world. People don’t always want Elliot to save them. Humans are more complex than a technological Robin Hood, or a company of them, can understand. And it’s that complexity that elevates “Mr. Robot” into must-watch TV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug4fRXGyIak