Film Fest 2007, Part 4

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

Awesome, two train rides home in a few weeks and I was able to finish off my reviews!

On deck, we have French cyberpunk noir martial arts action, a cute British film from the makers of Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Chrysalis
North American Premiere
3.5 out of 5

This visually sharp, cyber punk-ish cop movie strives for much and mostly achieves it, thanks to an interesting story, good looking cast and some tight fight choreography. I did say "mostly" though.

Story-wise, the plot about a cop with a dark past, his new partner, and the investigation into the dead bodies that keep showing up on the streets of a far future Paris is pretty cool. The themes are rich, covering the nature of identity (mentally and physically) and memory, the things people do to cope with great loss and, like any good action movie, revenge and salvation.

However, the are a number of sequences where I was holding my hands up at the screen going "What?" There were a couple of moments were it seemed like reason and reality had taken a vacation, where one moment the characters are trying to kill each other, and the next they're trying to be "taken alive".

(Actually, that's been a pet peeve of mine for awhile, where the characters are kicking each others butts, attacking with potentially fatal tactics, but in the end they never kill each other 'cuz they're more valuable alive or whatever. :P If you want to take the guy alive, then why are you shooting at his head??!)

Additionally, there's a few dramatic moments that felt like they had been neutered in the editing room, the emotional action just not flowing very well from shot to shot.

Ah, but the fights, those must have been good right? And yea, for the most part, they are, certainly better than most stuff out of Hollywood. (Except for the recent Bourne Supremacy; Damon be hot, yo) Lots of long takes and some creative grapples, parries and what not, added with the sharp camera work and fast film speed make things look pretty cool. However, with long takes, the abilities of the fighters can be more readily assessed, and while I'm sure any of those guys could kick my butt, they're no Jackie Chans. Better than Segal or VanDamme, but there were a few sequences that just...seemed...to...drag a little...too...much, and look choreographed. "I'll punch here, and then you block here."

I admire the attempt at shooting with long takes. Matt Damon probably wouldn't have looked much better if he didn't have the editor helping him out. So yea, the fights are pretty good for a European film.

In the end, Chrysalis is a pretty servicable sci-fi flick with some neat ideas and a slick look. It's not without it's problems, but it's a fun ride while it lasts, so long as you don't look too close.

Chance of a wide-release: Good, but being a french film, that counts against it as far as the main stream is concerned.

Son of Rambow
North American Premiere
4 out of 5

From Director Garth Jennings, he who made the hilarious and surprisingly touching Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, comes a hilarious and not-so-surprisingly touching story about being a kid who loves movies in 1980's England. The whole movie is like a love letter to being kid, to violent but heroic boy fantasies and to the action films that visualize and actualize those tales of bloody adventure. It's definitely a romanticized view of childhood, so if you enjoyed the slightly exaggerated reality of A Christmas Story or Millions, you'll enjoy Son of Rambow.

All of the acting performances, at least the main ones, are really well done. Granted, they are kids just doing what they do best, being kids, but even still, there are some pretty cool performances from the first-time child actors. Apparently it took 5 months of casting to come across the two leads, Bill Milner and Will Poulter.

What else can I say to recommend this film? It's just bloody charming and funny and just straight up good, and deserves to be seen by lots of people. If you can, find it and watch it, and while you're at it, look for Millions too. Not nearly enough people saw that one and it's a darn shame.

(Oh, and the spelling of Rambow? It was basically to avoid a lot of legal hassles)

Chance of a wide-release: Pretty good.

Ping Pong Playa
Canadian Premiere
3.5 out of 5

I think this was my only American film, and it definitely showed in it's style of humour and story arc. However, it was an indie American comedy about an ethnic minority, in an even more minor sport, which brings it's own special blend to the table.

When it comes to comedy, I don't usually use the same rules as I use to judge other films. Basically all I really care about is whether or not the film actually made me laugh. If it made me laugh, then it was a good comedy. Superbad made me laugh. It was a terrible movie from a morale stand point, but I laughed despite myself. Ping Pong Playa made me laugh. If that's all you need to know, you can stop reading right here.

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Still with me? Cool...

PPP is kind of....it's sort've like School of Rock but for ping pong instead of rock 'n roll. Sorta. You've got your group of kids being mentored by a bit of nicompoop loser, you've got your really good looking girl who the loser is sweet on but has to win over, and of course you've got the bad guys. It's a classic underdog/loser finally grows up story arc. Nothing really new there.

On top of this, like I said, it's a minority comedy, so you'll get lots of easy jokes about stereotypes. It's low hanging fruit, so you might as well grab it. And the main character does get tiresome after a while.

But don't let that dissuade you. It seems like the filmmakers knew exactly how much the audience could take of the main character, and got him to grow up and move on just in time. There are also some genuinely funny moments to be had in the film, some jokes and set ups that really had me splitting my sides.

You may think I've ruined the movie by giving away the "ending", but trust me, I've told you very little. While the story maintains your interest, it's mother nature that provides the show, and you'll see some of the strangest examples of how life adapts and behaves.

The film was also a little deeper than I expected. There's a neat story arc involving Christopher “C-dub” Wang (Jimmy Tsai) and his best friend, JP Money (Khary Payton). For one, C-dub has adopted black american culture, from the b-ball to the hip hop to the "yo dawg" and everything else. For some reason I never ever thought of that as incongruous until I saw this movie. What woke me up to this was how JP Money starts to adopt the chinese culture. He wants to be a successful business man, so he starts to learn chinese and mandarin to help him break into the asian market. However, just like C-dub, he faces his own road blocks in the form of people's perceptions of just what he should be as a black man.

In the end, there's a really neat, heart warming resolution to the arc that makes the film more complex then it has any right to be.

I'm really hoping this film got picked up by a distributor. Like Son of Rambow, it's a funny small film with a big heart and small stars that really deserves a good look.

Chance of a wide-release: Very good.

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