FNC 2020: Siberia (2020)

Siberia (2020)

Director (and co-writer): Abel Ferrara

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Christina Ferrara, Simon McBurney, Dounia Sichov

Abel Ferrara (King of New York, Bad Lieutenant) is back in a big way, setting his latest, a psychoanalytic nightmare — think Tarkovsky and Lynch in a boat crossing the Styx — in a Siberian dreamscape where Willem Dafoe offers refuge to visitors. – FNC 2020

Being unfamiliar with a lot of Abel Ferrara’s work other than Body Snatchers (review, which I watched in the early days of the blog and early days of writing movie reviews so its not really insightful) and a little more familiar with Willem Dafoe’s work (who I do think is fairly underrated as an actor), Siberia was an abstract visual feast that dived into some pretty bizarre segments.

Visually, Siberia is a treat both in its setting in the middle of isolated Siberian winterscape starting off at an inn run by Willem Dafoe’s character who gives refuge to people passing where he doesn’t understand what they say most of the time and quickly moving through this wintery land via dog sled on a journey to an unknown destination and landing in some caves and other interesting places leading to deserts and such. I already said it before, its really out there and because of that, its easy to get lost but somehow, I feel like its meant to reflect on this character of Willem Dafoe as he moves through these scenes reflecting on this own life and whatever feelings that he’s getting as it blends into the different places that he is. The imagery, the atmosphere and the cinematography is fantastic even if I might not have quite understood everything that was going on. In fact, all those elements together crafts what it describes as a nightmare which I do agree with as a lot of it is very unsettling even sometimes in how its scripted and the dialogue.

Willem Dafoe does grab this character, Clint in a rather mesmerizing way. He fits into this role in a fairly convincing fashion molding, facing each blend of reality and hallucination into this interesting character going through different dilemmas (I’m not sure if that’s the right word to use here). In some scenes, it feels like his character is having this confrontation with himself and there’s something very intense here that needs to be understood under all the abstract elements. There is a limited amount of dialogue going on and yet in a very subtle and subconscious way, we do know a lot more about Clint’s character by the end.

While Siberia might not be exactly my cup of tea, it sure seemed like in all the oddities and bizarre nightmares, there is something ripe for discussion about human relationships and Clint’s character and the depth of each of the scenarios of what is reality and hallucination because it does jump from different climates and it does feel disjointed without fully understanding this whole movie. Siberia is a tough movie to talk about because of how unusual everything is but after having a few chats with others who are more familiar with Abel Ferrara’s work, it does seem to be right on track with his style (which is something I’m going to explore further and hopefully come back to follow-up with a better understanding). If Ferrara’s work is something that you enjoy, this might be one to check out especially since I did appreciate the cinematography and Dafoe’s performance. On a final note though, I might not be the best person to vouch for this movie at this point but Siberia is unique, that point I am absolutely certain of.

*Siberia is currently available on Festival du Nouveau Cinema that runs until October 31st, 2020*

Double Feature: John Wick (2014) & Kumiko the Treasure Hunter (2014)

And we’re ramping up on some of these double features. I’m trying to boost up some of the movie reviews especially since I’m trying to catch up on a lot of movies available on Shudder before I take a little break from subscribing to their streaming service. I do love their selection and they constantly are coming up with movies from Fantasia in the past few years that I had to miss due to scheduling conflict. Regardless, I’m going to try my absolute best to get through as many as possible.

I promise you that I never plan these things out so well but hey, apparently, I landed on a 2014 double feature. Why not, right? So, first one is catching up on John Wick, which everyone has been telling me to especially since its been a bumpy road for my Keanu Reeves love that has definitely faded quite a bit in the recent years, especially with the horrible Knock Knock that I wanted to roll under my car a few times if I had an actual physical copy of it. I heard John Wick is fantastic and it feels like its more in the Keanu Reeves element so I’m looking forward to it. Then its time to start the Shudder trek and go for a treasure hunt adventure in Kumiko The Treasure Hunter. It seems from what I’ve seen, its not exactly horror so I’m not sure why its in Shudder but hey, its been on my to-watch list for quite some time so I’m expecting some incredibly slow-paced indie film style. To be honest, I have no idea what to expect but it has this odd yet intriguing thing about it.

Without further ado, lets just jump right in!

John Wick (2014)

Director: Chad Stahelski

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe, Dean Winters, Adrianne Palicki, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick

An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that killed his dog and took everything from him. – IMDB

John Wick is one of those movies that I sit down and right away its obvious that its going to be a fun little ride to the end. Keanu Reeves has had a few down moments but this is definitely one of those great moments that I loved him for. Him as John Wick is truly in his own element. Its a simple story about revenge and it was about John Wick’s loss and while it felt like it wasn’t a big deal to others, he lost everything that was worthwhile.

Its one of those films that build on its character gradually. When the movie started, it was just about this tired man who lost his wife and then gets broken into and steals his car and killed his dog. But as we pan into these other characters, we learn more and more about John Wick. First that he is a person to be feared and then how he got that title and finally, it gradually through the many scenes showed up his true focus and competency. Its builds and paces itself well. It didn’t need a lot of dialogue and fit the story perfectly because sometimes being about to see what is unsaid is a truly great performance in itself.

The characters whether it was the longer staying ones or the cameos all were memorable characters. Michael Nyqvist was great as the bad guy here taking his role to a fantastic new level that made him very fun to watch as well. Unfortunately, I did miss that he had passed away last year but learned about while researching the film a little further. He had done some great roles and this one included. John Leguizamo had a cameo role and I like that guy a lot ever since I saw him in Moulin Rouge. He has such a stand-out presence.

Overall, John Wick was a fun and thrilling ride from start to finish full of action and one liners and great performances through and through. The story was never too complicated and that fitted in exactly the focused character that John Wick was portrayed as while showing off how incredibly fantastic he was as a hitman. The soundtrack also was so awesome, accentuating every action scene.

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)

Director (and co-writer): David Zellner

Cast: Rinko Kikuchi, David Zellner, Shirley Venard

A jaded Japanese woman discovers a hidden copy of Fargo (1996) on VHS, believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money. – IMDB

Right off the bat, lets just say that Kumiko the Treasure Hunter is definitely an indie film experience. Its fairly slow paced and honestly not a whole lot happens. We follow around this oddly introvert Japanese woman who believes in the based on a true story Fargo’s hidden treasure to fill her life goal to find it. Is it a journey to find meaning in her life? Theres something deeper in this story that pulls me in but yet, it feels like theres not a whole lot going for it because it feels empty and then maybe that is what Kumiko feels as her emotions are more connected to her pet bunny Bunzo than even her own mother. However, the story itself is quite unique and surprisingly, the more I think about it, I feel like there may be more to discover. Writing it up now, the intriguing elements of this story is in Rinko Kikuchi’s performance no matter how little she says, her actions and her expressions define her character and keeps us wondering what she will do next as he focuses on getting to her treasure.

I can’t say I am a huge fan of the movie or that I get whats going on completely and maybe it merits a second viewing. While I acknowledge the great performance of Rinko Kikuchi and the uniqueness of centering a story on someone actually believing the based on true story movies that general movie viewers (myself included) may have become skeptical to, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter has some good moments and some well shot scenes but its definitely not for everyone. It requires a lot of patience to get through, but if you enjoyed A Ghost Story, this one might be right up your alley in terms of pacing at least. A bit of mixed feelings towards this one for myself.

Thats it for this 2014 double feature. A contrast in so many ways.
The first is action packed and the second is slow paced execution.
Have you seen these two yet?

Netflix A-Z: The Fault in our Stars (2014)

We’re at F selection today.  I’m going to be honest here and say that I was not very enthusiastic about The Fault in Our Stars novel.  That book was pretty much an American version of a typical Korean TV drama.  It had all the factors needed. I kind of saw where it was going.  It is a very bittersweet story and tragic for all the reasons and pretty raw because it emphasizes the being young and sick and it just aims to punch you in the gut with all the worse feelings.  Still, it is incredibly quotable and I can get why its popular.  I just didn’t feel it as much while I was reading it. For that reason, I was a little hesitant to give this one a shot but here we are!

Let’s check it out! 🙂

The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

Director: Josh Boone

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Engort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe, Lotte Verbeek

Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) is a teenage girl who is surviving with an experimental drug that controls her cancer that has weakened her lungs.  Her parents and physician suspect that she has depression and sends her to a support group.  Reluctant to go at first, she ends up meeting Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), an eighteen year old boy who has been clear of cancer with the loss of a part of his leg. Augustus and Hazel start to see each other and become increasingly attracted to each other.  However, Hazel tries her best to keep her distance because she knows that her life and how long she is alive is completely out of her control.  Augustus fully understands this because he has gone through this situation as well however, their determination for finding the answers to a book and seeking out the author (Willem Dafoe) makes pulls them together as they find a way to vacation to Amsterdam.

The Fault in our Stars is far better as a movie than it is as a novel.  I’m telling you this because as I thought about The Fault in Our Stars again before watching the movie and even a few weeks before that, I had dropped my Goodreads rating by one star. Its not that I hate the book but there was a lot of room for improvement.  The movie has something different going for it.  Its a tragic teen love story lead by a really good cast, one that other than Sam Trammell I’ve seen recently, none of them have been in any movies I’ve seen of late.  As a matter of fact, this is the first movie I’ve seen of Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, the young leads here. As for Laura Dern, who plays Hazel’s mom, I haven’t seen her since Jurassic Park 3 probably. Still, a story like this one is only good with a cast that can represent it well and they did. It even had Willem Dafoe as a supporting character who is the author they track down that was pretty significant to the story.

Maybe its a little weird but I liked how they portrayed the texts instead of just a voice over or a pause on a cell phone screen, it uses these cute little message boxes that pop in and out as they talk. The typography they use makes it feel young and fun. I mean, its those little moments, right? These two teenagers are plagued with sickness and suffer at a young age never really knowing how long they will live.  They make a point that Hazel is actually quite the opposite of Augustus because she appreciates what she has now while he strives to be remembered by everyone. And its their personality that  Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort bring to Hazel and Augustus that makes this movie more colorful.  The pain feels more deep and the sweet young love resounds strongly allowing us the chance to fall in love with their characters in all their bittersweet, sarcastic, overly philosophical way.  To justify that a little, when the movie started, I kind of didn’t really like that whole smug look that Augustus had but it seemed to be effective and fit his character as we learned more about him.  That, my friends, is what I call character development and why I appreciate this movie more than the book primarily. And its also why when things wrapped up in the finale, I got a little teary.  Nothing like bawling or anything, just a few tears.

I’ve pretty much shown that I enjoyed this movie for what it is.  But then, I’ve always liked stories like this so it was surprising to me when I didn’t enjoy its source material so much. However, there is one part that I found like should have been in.  More like a quote.  Maybe the director wanted to keep it as something for the audience to understand but its the exact quote in the book that shows why this story is called The Fault in our Stars. I think its a pretty important factor.  Maybe its lame when we need to put it so in our faces but that quote was one of my faves in the book.  I added it to my book review but here it is again, just to make it feel more complete…

Overall, The Fault in Our Stars touched me much more as a movie than its original source.  It is a rare occurrence and maybe some of you might disagree.  But what makes this a good movie is that I knew exactly what was going to happen and the story wasn’t anything special but these two young actors, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort in their roles as Hazel and Augustus convinced me that this story was great.  Their characters and their development and just how they were able to show all those emotions of teens burdened with cancer, uncertain with life, falling in love and all the ups and downs reached out to me and tugged on my heartstrings just a little (and some parts a little more).

Have you seen and/or read The Fault in Our Stars? What are your thoughts?

Any guesses on what G movie will be? Hint: Inspirational/Music

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

You gotta love Netflix when it has at least ONE Best Picture nomination available.  Not being sarcastic if thats what you are reading.  I’m pretty happy that there’s even one.  Seeing as I’ve been talking about seeing American Sniper and never actually made it to the theatres, maybe this week?

The Grand Budapest Hotel looks a little peculiar and that totally has to do with the fact that this is the first Wes Anderson film I’ll be seeing. Shocked? Don’t be…I still have a lot of movies to watch 😉

Let’s check this Oscar contender out!

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014)

Director: Wes Anderson

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tom Revolori, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham, Jeff Goldblum

The adventures of Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa (Tom Revolori), the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.-IMDB

Oh, the adventures Monsieur Gustave has! The Grand Budapest Hotel is a little peculiar to say the least, exactly the impression I got.  The deal with a peculiar movie is that it can either be to your taste or not, or should I say mine.  Although, I have to say that it takes a little time to adapt to and there was always this feeling gnawing at me a little that something was off, it was hard to not be charmed by this movie.  For one, look at the colors and the visuals, just wow.  The whole set was such a joy to watch.  I’m not just talking about The Grand Budapest Hotel itself, but also when him and Zero was on the train, the scenery of the mountains and the whole action plus the costumes.  Every component was thought through with so much detail that it was really hard to ignore.  However, I have to stay true that while it may be a favorite for many, I’m a little half-half on this.  While some 30% of the movie felt a little random and dragged out, the other 70% (mostly the second half) was really fun to watch, adding in bit of humor and just drowning in its own unique style. The atmosphere it sets for itself is definitely one thats artistic and quirkly but somehow still really entertaining.

The cast portraying each of the characters happened to be some of my favorites, let me elaborate a little.  For one, we start off with our narrators and how the recount of Monsieur Gustave H. was introduced during a dinner between an older Zero (who looks nothing like the younger version) and an author played by Jude Law.  This is where I first swoon a little.  Jude Law himself made me intrigued when this movie started.  He’s really just the backdrop of this event and the listener to the story that the elder Zero shares.  Right off the bat, the encounter already shows that this movie is going to be in the whole definition of awkward.

Let me clarify before we move forward that awkward doesn’t bother me, I watch a ton of movies like that and I like them.  What I’m saying is that if not for these characters who made the awkwardness convincingly fun, I would have just closed this 30 minutes in.

Another showstopper is our own Monsieur Gustave. Ralph Fiennes is a fine actor and we see it over and over again.  Sure, he’s not much of a comedian, which begs why he was chosen for this role but in his seriousness, we can laugh at exactly that because the movie itself really isn’t all that serious.  Which also makes this one of Ralph Fiennes best comedic roles surprisingly proving that he can do it.  Ralph is awesome (I’m sure most of us agree) and him as Monsieur Gustave is so much fun but that has to do with the interactions he has and the music they match with the scenes as well. Here’s where I need to talk about young Zero played by Tom Revolori.  I don’t know this guy at all but he made this hilarious expressions.  The relationship and interaction between Monsieur Gustave and Zero was another great aspect.

I personally think that Willem Dafoe is so underrated as an actor.  Has he won anything in his career? He is in a lot of really great roles, at least he has to talent to even make a role in a bad movie work out most of the time (at least what I remember).  As the assassin here, he has this dangerous feeling to him and yet, he plays well with the whole black humor portion.  His boss, being Dmitri, a rich boy played by Adrien Brody just charms my pants off.  I love Adrien Brody so much.  This guy needs to be in more movies (or I just need to search out more of his work).  Whatever it is, as horrible as those two characters are, gosh, they are some awesome bad dudes in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

There’s a huge talented cast here and I can’t possibly go through everyone (which I almost have).  Edward Norton is also in this as the military officer Henckels but his role is relatively small and Jeff Goldblum is the executor of the will (also a smaller role), but my focus right now was seeing Saoirse Ronan *double checks the spelling*.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Saoirse Ronan.  I’ve seen a lot of the movie’s she’s been in and she is just so talented.  Her role may not have been big as Agatha but she sheds this light on the movie that the other darker characters don’t have.  At the same time, it introduces the intricate details of Mendl’s desserts that I kind of wanted to pull out of the screen and taste.  Just to show the attention to detail to this quirky movie.

Overall, I’m not as big of a fan of The Grand Budapest Hotel as others may be, but there is no doubt that the visuals and style steals the show here.  The talented cast also lifts this movie into an incredible territory.  While the story and pacing of the story held me only a part of the time, there is no doubt that I understand why this is a contender for Best Picture.  Its extremely unique and there is a whole wow factor going on here.  Just the second half made me forget about even the little bit of problems I felt in the beginning. Is it a movie I’d revisit? Maybe not often but there is something here that deserves recognition.  I haven’t seen enough of the other choices to make my predictions, maybe as I get a few more movies in this week, I’ll have a clearer idea 🙂

Have you seen The Grand Budapest Hotel? What are your thoughts? Were you impressed with the cast in this? Did you love the whole set and atmosphere?