Hey everybody. Here it is, just as promised. This has to be the largest update filmbrats has seen in one day. I bring you eight new reviews. Count them for yourself if you don't believe me. With this, my Chicago International Film Festival coverage comes to a close. But don't worry, I still have plenty to review. Coming soon, you'll find me posting my thoughts on Alive and Lubricated, Bums, Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Neverending Story and The Kid. So, as you can see, this site will continue to be busy. And now without further ado...


Good Night, and Good Luck.
Review by Jon Waterman

**1/2

Edward R. Murrow, on of the most respected broadcast journalists on the airwaves is seeing a great injustice play out right in front of his eyes. Senator Joseph McCarthy has taken it upon himself to search and destroy all communists living in the United States. However, he’s bullying people, forcing them to live in fear and charging too many innocent people. The American public is afraid to speak their mind the way the Constitution says they should be able to. Something must be done to stop this travesty. Murrow is going to take on McCarthy, even if it means sacrificing his own career.

Here we have actor George Clooney’s sophomore effort as director and his first foray into writing a feature length film (along with fellow actor Grant Heslov). This is a step-up from “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” but the jury is still out on his abilities. He knows how to accomplish the visual side of the equation, but when it comes to integrating that with the storytelling aspect of it all, he needs work.
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++++++++++


Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Review by Jon Waterman

***1/2

Everyone in town is gearing up for the annual vegetable growing competition where the locals bring out their biggest, brightest and best home garden veggies. In order to protect these potential prize winners, they hire Wallace & Gromit who run a business called Anti-Pesto. Through Wallace’s sophisticated alarm and quick response system, they’re able to neutralize the rodents before any destruction occurs. That is until a giant, mutant creature invades the town and wreaks all kinds of havoc on the vegetation. If the highly anticipated competition is going to take place, Wallace & Gromit must stop this menace, but they have to figure out how to find it first.

What an amazing movie. Not in the sense of an overwhelmingly great script, funny dialogue or amazing acting, but amazing in the animation. Nick Park’s Aardman Animations (the people who brought us the brilliant W&G shorts as well as “Chicken Run”) outdoes themselves once again. I know computers had to be used for some of the shots (I can’t imagine it would be possible to animate hundreds of bunnies floating around inside a giant vacuum), but computer graphics doesn’t even come close to this level of awe-inspiring technique.
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+++++++++++


Innocence
Review by Jon Waterman

**1/2

Iris is the newest addition to a distant boarding school for young girls. She arrived just like all the others do, by coffin. She doesn’t know where she is, how she got there, or why she’s not allowed to leave or speak to her family. So, she must make the most of it and learn from the adult teachers. This ain’t your typical summer camp. Maybe if she studies hard and bides her time well, she’ll be able to escape. That is, if she still wants to.

The film starts off slightly reminiscent of “Le Jetée” by showing us a series of beautiful “stills” leading from the water through a tunnel and up to the room with the tiny coffin in the center. From there we move into full motion, but the shots maintain this strangely artistic quality with unique spots of visual interest in each frame. That’s about all the movie has going for it, unfortunately.
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+++++++++++


Pale Eyes
Review by Jon Waterman

*1/2

Here we have the story of Fanny, a woman forced to live with her brother and sister-in-law due to her mental illness. Fanny doesn’t get along with her sister-in-law to begin with, and things get worse when she catches her cheating on her brother. The resulting confrontation at home makes Fanny so furious she picks up and leaves, taking her brother’s car. She finds herself looking for her father’s grave, someplace she’s never been allowed to visit before. Along the way she comes across a backwoods cabin where she just may be appreciated.

This movie has a lot of problems with disclosure that really hurt the audience’s ability to understand why everything is happening. For instance, we know Fanny is mentally ill, but only because they tell us so. They never say what she’s suffering from besides a brief mention of hearing voices (which doesn’t seem to be enough). Just from watching her on the screen, she simply seems like a fully capable adult who just also happens to be an overly dramatic person who has been sheltered. There’s a lot of missing back story that would help us out a lot.
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++++++++++


I Am A Sex Addict
Review by Jon Waterman

**

Filmmaker Caveh Zahedi takes his camera and the audience on a journey of self-discovery and analysis as he attempts to come to terms with his sex addiction. He retraces his steps and brings us along from the fetish’s inception through two failed marriages and other destructive relationships up to the present day: his wedding day. This is his way of getting everything right out into the open before taking the plunge for what he hopes to be the final time.

Let me get this out the way right off the bat. I hated that Caveh talks directly to the camera. It’s not just that he does this, but rather the fact that he actually does it right before he walks through the doors to get married. Its this type of egotistical, self-indulgent pretentious attitude that really turns me off towards accepting him as a serious artist. Not every aspect of your life has to be captured on film and turned into an artistic endeavor. It is possible to just live in a moment and let it be that moment rather than the climax to your petty pet project.
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+++++++++++


Black Brush
Review by Jon Waterman

*

Four friends take a job as chimney sweeps so that they can spend their days up on the roof where nobody will bother them, they can lay around drinking and smoking whenever they want, while at the same time making some money to spend on the cock fights. Well, it turns out they spend a little too much money gambling and lose some of their boss’ cash as well. Now they have to do whatever it takes to make that money back and get their work finished before he returns at the end of the day.

This is the first film by writer/director Roland Vranik (Gergely Pohárnok co-wrote), and I think he needs more practice. However, this is a movie, like “The Squid and the Whale” where I just didn’t see the humor. The audience I was with started laughing when they guys sat down to watch TV. Pretty hilarious stuff, I know. The jokes that I did recognize as attempts at humor didn’t work. The film drags too much to cultivate such random spurts of wackiness like watching the goat’s hallucination.
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++++++++++


Free Zone
Review by Jon Waterman

*

Rebecca is an American who’s all set to marry an Israeli man. They travel together to Jerusalem where thereafter they break up. Desperate to escape, yet not waste the traveling and cultural experience, she accompanies cab driver Hanna to the Free Zone in Jordan. Hanna’s attempting to claim payment for work her husband did. Instead of cash, she finds Leila who states that the money and the man who owes it are nowhere to be found. All three, an Israeli, a Palestinian, and an American head out together in hopes of resolution. Good luck.

I was bored from the first shot. For about nine minutes or so we are treated to a profile shot of a crying Natalie Portman (Rebecca) inside a car while we listen to the Israeli version of the farmer and the dell which repeatedly asks the question how much longer will the killing and aggression last. The shot lasts so long it appears as if Portman runs out of ideas for reaction shots and expressions.
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+++++++++


The Consequences of Love
Review by Jon Waterman

***1/2

Titta lives quietly in a large, upscale hotel. He spends most of his days alone, in the same old seat, silently observing and memorizing all he can about his fellow regulars. Occasionally someone will come up to him and try to figure out his story. He claims that “Truth is boring,” however in his case, it’s anything but. His secret is that he has been roped in by the Mob to run suitcases and launder money. To reveal such information could mean his death, but…well, the title speaks for itself.

From the long opening shot of a young man carrying a briefcase on an uninhabited airport moving walkway, you get the sense that you’re watching a sophisticated film. The cinematography by Luca Bigazzi takes a 180 degree turn from his previous work in “I Like to Work (Mobbing)” while remaining equally effective. The visuals maintain the classy nature of Titta and the environment in which he has been placed.
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Hey everybody. I suddenly felt the urge to come on here and give you all a status report. I am currently away for the weekend. While I'm gone from my home computer, I am still writing. So, you can expect a big update either Sunday or Monday night when I return and am able to post them all. It'll probably be the largest single post filmbrats has ever seen. Think of it as an early present from me to you. And it'll be the gift that keeps on giving as I continue to feverishly write all throughout the next couple months. I hope to bring you coverage of all the end of the year awards hopefuls as well as some of those classic pieces of cinematic history. I know I always say it, but it's true: You won't want to miss it. Keep on coming back.

Here it is, short and sweet. Two more new reviews. More are on the way, of course.



The Squid and the Whale
Review by Jon Waterman

**1/2

What happens when a couple married with children stop being polite and start being real? You get “The Squid and the Whale,” a look at divorce from four familial angles all wrapped up into one hour and a half movie. Who maintains the most composure? Whose destructive streak wreaks the most havoc? Can they possibly pull some semblance of dignity and compromise out of their hat in order to make this thing work? Or is the bitterness and angst too much to overcome? Will it be funny as planned?

When it was first mentioned in the film that the two quarrelling parents were writers, I was hoping “The Squid and the Whale” referred to some metaphorical battle between two giant literary monsters: Moby Dick and the giant squid from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Sounds pretty good, right? Yeah, but that would require some subtlety on the part of writer/director Noah Baumbach, and I think he’d rather shove everything right in your face and make you eat it. Call me disappointed. Or Jon. Whichever.
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+++++++++++


Stories of Disenchantment
Review by Jon Waterman

1/2 star

Two friends, Diego and Ximena want to make a movie. While they’re searching for locations, they come across this seemingly abandoned locale that’s stuffed to the brim with intriguing art pieces and fun house-esque objects. When the owner comes home, the two are trapped inside and are forced to face the consequences (after watching her strip naked, of course). Lucky for them, Ainda is very nice about the whole thing and even invites them to a party. The two agree, but are unsure of her motives. After all, Ainda had wings growing out of her back…didn’t she?

Yeah. That’s just a hint of the absurdity that goes on in this movie. The storyline is all over the place and contains many random, surreal, and fantastical dream-like sequences. All of that sounds all well and good; after all, that’s why I loved “Journey Into Bliss.” However, “Stories” lacks the good-hearted, insanely fun atmosphere and instead adopts this unfounded melancholy, melodramatic pretentious demeanor. And it’s saying something that I ended up not liking this movie, because the opening sequence had me hooked.
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Here I am with the second post of festival coverage. I'll keep this intro brief so I can get back to writing. I'll be back with more. You don't want to miss it.



Havoc
Review by Jon Waterman

**

Have you ever wondered what would happen when rich, upscale suburbanite teenagers who act like gang-bangers actually meet up with the people they’re trying to emulate? If the answer is yes, then boy do I sorta have the movie for you! Allison is the girlfriend of her preppy high school’s gang leader. All of her friends are in the gang, too. They spend their days constantly looking for a new and bigger rush. On one outing, they drive out to East LA to score some drugs, when the situation turns ugly. They make it out alive, but it throws them all into a massive downward spiral.

The film starts out with some kid in their high school making a documentary about these kids from the Palisades and the gang they formed there. He seems to pop in and out of the movie whenever the filmmakers feel we need a little more insight into Allison’s character. It accomplishes that goal, but it’s a strange way to get to the bottom of what the person is all about. And because these scenes are turned on and off like a switch, you just sort of end up forgetting about the movie kid until he shows up again.
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++++++++++


It’s Not You, It’s Me
Review by Jon Waterman

*1/2

Javier and Maria are newlyweds going through an interesting transition. They’re looking to move to Miami to start life over. Maria reluctantly goes first, so that Javier can tie up the loose ends there in Argentina and give his hospital time to find a replacement. After renting the apartment and quitting his job, he’s finally ready to head out to Florida where plans seem to be in place for them both. On the way to the airport, Maria calls and breaks up with Javier, because she cheated on him and needs time. Now Javier still has to start a new life, just not exactly how he had imagined it.

Doesn’t it sound like an uproarious comedy? Well, you’d be right in assuming it’s not. If it were marketed as a drama, people would walk out afterwards wanting to shoot themselves, but since the audience goes into it expecting to laugh, they only walk out disappointed. Javier doesn’t do anything funny throughout the whole movie. He mostly mopes and scares away everyone he knows. When he gets back into the dating scene, the opportunities for comedy are wasted on predictable jokes we’ve all seen fall flat several times before.
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A month later, but I'm back. I'll be bringing you the recap of everything I saw and stayed awake for during the Chicago International Film Festival. I took copious notes, so expect good detailed criticisms. There are two movies I attended, but due to the day's grind I slept through. But along with the first two below, I will be reviewing It's Not You, It's Me, Havoc, Stories of Disenchantment, The Squid and the Whale, The Consequences of Love, Free Zone, Black Brush, I Am A Sex Addict, Pale Eyes and Innocence. I've also seen a couple non-festival films since, so later down the line, expect me to write on Wallace and Gromit In the Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Good Night and Good Luck. There'll be even more to come, so keep on coming back. It's just getting good.



Kissing on the Mouth
Review by Jon Waterman

***1/2

To describe this movie with a simple summary would be destructive, but I’m going to do it anyway because that’s what I almost always do. Ellen had sex with her ex-boyfriend. This potentially small event quickly becomes escalated as she tells her blabbermouth friend Laura who proceeds to tell Patrick. Ellen meanwhile tries to get a handle on the whole situation from all angles and futilely attempts to sever the “relationship” with ex, Chris.

So, that’s that. What the movie really captures is how a great number of post-collegiate twenty-somethings live. They’re at the brink or currently within the quarter-life crisis stage that’s increasingly becoming more common in today’s youth. The struggle for identity, acceptance, meaning and truth all are incredibly important. The last part of that equation, “truth,” is a very touchy subject in the movie and is dealt with in a surprisingly realistic way. Those that seek it are the ones unwilling to speak it. This creates a lot of unnecessary tension within the scenes. I don’t mean unnecessary in that they shouldn’t be in the film (because the confrontational moments are some of the most compelling), but rather in that the characters are so frustratingly stubborn in their convictions and so caught in their little games and social masks to get to the point. The conversations are extremely believable, honest portrayals of everyday interactions.
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+++++++++++


P
Review by Jon Waterman

*1/2

Dau was the nerdy girl that all the kids at school picked on. So, she mostly kept to herself and helped her grandmother at home. In turn, grandma taught her all she’s learned out of life, including black magic. But when granny gets sick, Dau of course must pack up and move to the city to become an exotic dancer. It is there that she comes out of her shell in more ways than one. Can she control her emotions and more importantly the black magic in order to save her precious grandmother?

To be honest, I don’t know myself. Because after she leaves her extremely short backstory world, it’s never even mentioned again. Did gran-gran die? Didn’t see her the rest of the picture. Although you do hear her as she recites the broken “Gremlins”-esque rules for using black magic: Don’t pass under clotheslines, no raw meat, and don’t accept payment for teaching magic. But yeah, all of the set-up scenes showing how Dau (which is her stripper name. Her real name is Aaw.) was teased and bullied ends up being completely unnecessary save for showcasing the horrendous child actors.
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