Crisp Criticism - "Only Lovers Left Alive", "Dom Hemingway", "Brick Mansions"

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Julien Faddoul

Only Lovers Left Alive **

A 1000-year-old married couple, who live on drinking blood, struggle to tolerate a dim-witted 21^st century.

All the director's insignias are on display here, most of which are his interest in strict codes of behaviour among minorities and his distaste for a philistine-laden world. As usual, all of his desperate elements never cohere as a whole and one is left to wallow in the gorgeous images, sounds and jokes.

wd – Jim Jarmusch

ph – Yorick Le Saux

pd – Marco Bittner Rosser

m – Jozef van Wissem

ed – Affonso Goncalves

cos – Bina Baigeler

p – Reinhard Brundig, Jeremy Thomas

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Daziph

Crisp Criticism - "Transcendence", "The Amazing Spider-Man 2", "The Other Woman"

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Julien Faddoul

Transcendence

A radical anti-technology organization fights to prevent two scientists from creating a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain.

Glum, self-serious homily on the dangers of high technology with its first-time director offering nothing of interest outside the visual effects.

d – Wally Pfister

w – Jack Paglen

ph – Jess Hall

pd – Chris Seagers

m – Mychael Danna

ed – David Rosenbloom

cos – George L. Little

p – Kate Cohen, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Annie Marter, Marisa Polvino, Aaron Ryder, David Valdes

Cast: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara, Cole Hauser, Morgan Freeman, Clifton Collins Jr, Cory Hardrict

Crisp Criticism - "Divergent", "The Lego Movie", "Muppets Most Wanted", "13 Sins"

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Julien Faddoul

Divergent

In a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues, one girl possess the virtues of more than one.

Facile, humorless copycat cinema based on yet another piece of Young Adult fiction that is more like a 140-minute fitness commercial. Hardly any of the world building is clear and even less of it is interesting.

d – Neil Burger

w – Evan Daugherty, Vanessa Taylor   (Based on the Novel by Veronica Roth)

ph – Alwin H. Kuchler

pd – Andy Nicholson

m – Junkie XL

ed – Richard Francis-Bruce, Nancy Richardson

cos – Carlo Poggioli

p – Lucy Fisher, Pouya Shabazian, Douglas Wick

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Maggie Q, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, Mekhi Phifer

Crisp Criticism - "Noah", "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", "Bad Words", "Cheap Thrills"

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Julien Faddoul

Noah

The tale of the flood from the Book of Genesis.

An utter though curious failure: bombastic, pretentious and dull from the first frame on, with performances that nauseate. In an attempt to do an origin story on the world's first superhero, Aronofsky has created something that's more like Ridley Scott meshed with warmed-over Tom Hooper. But it certainly is singular.

d – Darren Aronofsky

w – Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel

ph – Matthew Libatique

pd – Mark Friedberg

m – Clint Mansell

ed – Andrew Weisblum

cos – Michael Wilkinson

p – Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin, Arnon Milchan, Mary Parent

Cast: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth

Crisp Criticism - "Mr Peabody & Sherman", "Need for Speed", "The Single Moms Club", "Veronica Mars"

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Julien Faddoul

Mr Peabody & Sherman   **

A genius talking dog and his adoptive human son go back in time to fix history when their time machine is stolen.

Smart, droll children’s film based on the 60s cartoon interstitials. It has a plot peppered with sentimentality that bogs it down, but otherwise it is a joy all the way.

d – Rob Minkoff

w – Craig Wright   (Based on the Characters Created by Ted Key)

pd – David James

m – Danny Elfman

ed – Michael Andrews

p – Alex Schwartz, Denise Nolan Cascino

Cast: Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton, Allison Janney, Stephen Tobolowsky, Dennis Haysbert

Nymphomaniac (2014/Denmark/Belgium/France/Germany/UK)

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Julien Faddoul

** (2 stars)

wd – Lars von Trier

ph – Manuel Alberto Claro

pd – Simone Grau

ed – Morten Højbjerg (Vol. I), Molly Marlene Stensgaard (Vol. II)

cos – Manon Rasmussen

p – Louise Vesth, Marie Cecilie Gade, Peter Aalbæk Jensen 

Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Uma Thurman, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Connie Nielsen, James Northcote, Hugo Speer, Jamie Bell, Willem Dafoe, Mia Goth, Michaël Pas, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier

There is a moment in Nymphomaniac (Vol. II to be precise) where director Lars von Trier has his titular heroine Joe, in an outstanding illustration of neglect, leave her sitter-less son alone at home at 1:00am so she can go satisfy her sexual hunger. Her son navigates his way out of his cot and climbs atop the edge of Joe’s apartment balcony, all the while Lascia ch'io pianga by Handel plays on the soundtrack. This moment directly insinuates the opening of Lars von Trier’s previous film Antichrist (2009). This moment also certifies two things: A) That Lars von Trier is, unless all my acumen fails me, hilarious and B) that he, more than any other filmmaker, will do everything in his ability and aptitude to confront, disaffect and stroke his audience, including being, for all intents and purposes, hilarious.

Crisp Criticism - "300: Rise of an Empire", "The Monuments Men", "Non-Stop", "3 Days to Kill", "Tracks"

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Julien Faddoul

300: Rise of an Empire

Greek general Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

A sequel no one wanted that is even dumber that its predecessor, with stylized violence that is so kitsch it induces lethargy.

d – Noam Murro

w – Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad   (Based on the Graphic Novel by Frank Miller)

ph – Simon Duggan

pd – Patrick Tatopoulos

m – Junkie XL

ed – David Brenner, Wyatt Smith

cos – Alexandra Byrne

p – Marc Canton, Bernie Goldmann, Gianni Nunnari, Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Thomas Tull

Cast: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham, Rodrigo Santoro, Jack O’Connell

The 2013 Cinema Touch Awards - FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

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Julien Faddoul

5. Faust

Alexander Sokurov’s demented cinematic epigram.

 

4. Like Someone in Love

Kiarostami is always concerned more with was doesn’t occur.

3. I’m So Excited

Either you find it funny or you don’t, what can I say.

2. Drug War

Hands-down the best police procedural of the new decade.

1. No

Chile! La alegria ya vieeene!

Runner Up: Beyond the Hills

The 2013 Cinema Touch Awards - ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

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Julien Faddoul

5. Beyond the Hills – Cristian Mungiu

For an austere but deeply composed allegorical investigation.

4. August: Osage County – Tracy Letts

For the savagery we loved. Unlike most critics, I believed his screen piece retained the ardent nobility of his stage piece.

3. 12 Years a Slave – John Ridley

For his (along with his director's) interest in not only the horror but also the mechanics. The physical violence is imperative, but it was the pettiness of a nation that allowed the sin to occur.

2. No – Pedro Peirano

For taking a rather wishy-washy David vs. Goliath proposition and creating a most dynamic thriller with some of the most astute confabulations of the year.

1. The Wind Rises – Hayao Miyazaki

For having precise control over the aesthetic shifts into both melodrama and dream logic. It's maybe the greatest biopic since Raging Bull.

Runner Up: From Up on Poppy Hills – Hayao Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa