Blog Directory CineVerse: June 2018

A doggone entertaining flick

Thursday, June 28, 2018

It's hard to find fault with a film featuring fantastic animal actors, as is amply evidenced in "Eight Below," in which the canine thespians steal the show and the humans tread on some thin ice in their performances. It also helps when the animals' survival story--"inspired" by true events--is as gripping and engaging as the one depicted in this Disney effort. Here's our CineVerse breakdown of this picture:

WHAT DID YOU FIND INTERESTING, UNEXPECTED OR SURPRISINGLY DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS MOVIE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT IT’S A DISNEY FILM?

  • The animals are beautiful, smart and cuddly, and have unique personalities, almost like human actors; yet, this isn’t a G-rated film that’s completely suitable for younger children. Some of the dogs die, and we see animals (like the leopard seal) suffer and humans in anguish about it. 
  • The dogs are the true stars of the film. The dogs are arguably better actors than their human counterparts; they command more attention and give more captivating performances. 
  • It lacks a central villain as a force of conflict; refreshingly, we don’t get a stereotypical “science-over-humanity” type of authority figure working against the dogs. 
    • “The film lacks a human villain because the decision not to return for the dogs is wise and prudent, and not made by a mean man who hates dogs,” per Roger Ebert
  • Thankfully, the filmmakers didn’t try to overly-humanize these canines or dumb-down the story; they could have, for example, used human voices to have the dogs speak aloud to each other, or included voiceover narration—like we hear in a film such as March of the Penguins. Likewise, the filmmakers smartly refrain from giving these dogs implausible skills or superhero-like abilities, although some of their escapes and exploits are a bit incredible. 
    • Ebert continued: “Movies about animals always live with the temptation to give the animals human characteristics. Lassie, for example, could do everything but dial the telephone and drive the car. Eight Below is restrained, for the most part, in how it presents its dogs. When there are close-ups of a dog's face, absorbed in thought, anxiety or yearning, we aren't asked to believe anything we don't already believe about dogs...the dogs are not turned into cute cartoon pets but are respected for their basic animal natures.” 
  • Interestingly, the quest to rescue the dogs—arguably the most important part of the plot—occurs in the third/last act; the filmmakers could have made this more of the centerpiece of the film and focused acts 2 and 3 (the majority of the story) on this quest, but chose not to. 
  • This is, debatably, a rare example of a non-animated non-superhero live action drama by Disney that is well made and memorable. Disney doesn’t always have a great track record in this vein. 
THEMES EXPLORED IN EIGHT BELOW
  • The struggle for survival in the harshest of conditions 
  • The dogged persistence and perseverance of the human will 
  • The value of animals: as beloved and loyal companions, as intrinsically intelligent creatures worthy of our love and respect, as irreplaceable members of a family or team. 
  • The impartial cruelty of nature: survival of the fittest. 
FILMS AND WORKS OF LITERATURE THAT EIGHT BELOW BRINGS TO MIND
  • Alive 
  • Antarctica, for which this film is a remake 
  • Snow Dogs 
  • Spirit of the Wind 
  • Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog 
  • The Incredible Journey 
  • Never Cry Wolf 
  • Family adventure pictures like Swiss Family Robinson 
  • Jack London’s Call of the Wild and White Fang 
  • War Horse 
OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY FRANK MARSHALL
  • Alive 
  • Arachnophobia

Read more...

The outside temp may be hot, but at CineVerse it's "Eight Below"

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Join CineVerse on June 27 for an instant cool-off via “Eight Below” (2006; 120 minutes), directed by Frank Marshall, chosen by Jeff Kueltzo.

Read more...

Find out what's on tap at CineVerse over the next 2 months

Thursday, June 21, 2018

July and August promise to be exciting months at CineVerse, when a diverse array of films will be presented and discussed. Take a look for yourself by checkout out our next two-month schedule, available at tinyurl.com/cverse78

Read more...

In tune with life

The life of an artist in true pursuit of his or her craft is a hard road to travel. Just ask Greta, her friend Steve, or her new manager Dan. They've all suffered the slings and arrows of misfortune in their musical careers. But hope springs eternal, as do new songs that can inspire and entertain if they're performed from the heart. Such are the lessons to be learned from Begin Again, a well-cast film that rises above standard romcom fare by focusing on the joy of writing, recording and performing music. Here are the major takeaways from our CineVerse chat last night about this movie:

WHAT DID YOU FIND CURIOUS, PLEASANTLY OFFBEAT AND/OR DISTINCTIVELY MEMORABLE ABOUT BEGIN AGAIN?

  • It tells the first act of its story non-linearly; the opening scene where Greta performs in the bar is repeated 20 minutes later and 20 minutes after that, showing different perspectives of the characters. 
  • The conclusion is refreshing in that the girl doesn’t end up with up to three different suitors she can choose from, including Dan, whom we can tell she is growing fond of as the picture progresses. Instead, we see Dan reunite with his wife and Greta embark on a new phase of her life flying solo. 
  • It isn’t truly a movie musical, where the characters break out into song, but it does rely heavily on the strength of the original songs, written for the film by former New Radicals musician Gregg Alexander. 
    • Slant magazine reviewer David Lee Dallas wrote: “Greta’s songs are imminently appealing and listenable, but hardly spectacular, which works in the film’s favor: it’s characters are talented though far from geniuses, finding joy in the making of music rather than in the final product itself, but the album is still absolutely believable as a career-making hit.” 
  • The plot itself is also often driven by the music and lyrics instead of dialogue and action. 
  • The film gives us an insider’s view into the magic of making music – the process of writing, rehearsing, producing and performing songs and the carpe diem, of-the-moment, spontaneous nature of being a street musician with hopeful dreams. 
  • The movie often contrasts the glitz of the music business against the unglamorous reality of being a starving artist. 
    • Per Bluray.com reviewer, Martin Liebman: “That juxtaposition of the grit of reality versus the polish of the process is reflective in every theme and story line that runs through the movie, notably in the way protagonists Greta and Dan carry themselves in a more raw, unrehearsed, soulful manner that frequently clashes with the more prepared world in and through which the system says they must work. The city -- representing life itself -- proves a powerful elixir for both, releasing them, in essence, to be themselves, to operate on their own terms and be shaped by what life really is and has to offer, not what it appears to be in the blindingly white, bright, sterile world of clean lines and elegant stylings found inside the record office.” 
WHAT IS THIS MOVIE TRYING TO TELL US? WHAT ARE THE MAIN MESSAGES THE FILMMAKERS ARE ESPOUSING?
  • Finding meaning and purpose in life through a love of music 
  • Staying true to yourself and your vision without “selling out” 
  • “The process of self-discovery, the importance of self-confidence, and the ebbs and flows of life,” according to the blog Reel Simple
  • The importance of remaining active and passionate about what you do. 
  • In an interview, director John Carney said: “My worldview is that we need to keep moving, to keep singing and writing and imagining new possibilities and things. For one character, you might have to move forward, and for another character it’s like Dorothy’s line in the Wizard of Oz: if you can’t find what you’re looking for in your own backyard, maybe you never lost in the first place. Maybe for some people, to begin again is to go back to what they knew and begin again. And for other people, it’s to move on and find a new future.” 
MOVIES THAT BEGIN AGAIN REMINDS US OF:
  • The Thing Called Love 
  • Music and Lyrics 
  • Crazy Heart 
  • Inside Llewyn Davis 
  • Like Sunday, Like Rain 
  • That Thing You Do
OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY JOHN CARNEY
  • On the Edge 
  • Once 
  • Sing Street

Read more...

Summertime style romcom

Sunday, June 17, 2018

CineVerse invites you to “Begin Again” (2013; 104 minutes) on June 20, directed by John Carney, chosen by Don McGoldrick. Plus: we'll watch a trailer reel preview of the July/August CineVerse schedule.

Read more...

Rising from the ashes

Thursday, June 14, 2018

As an action/adventure picture, you could debate that "Flight of the Phoenix" (the 1965 original) leaves something to be desired, considering that it lacks many of the conventions of that subgenre, including fight scenes, chase sequences, explosions, nail-biting escapes (excluding the plane crash that kicks off the movie), and damsel-in-distress rescues. But as a disaster flick, it's got all the important bases covered--from the personality conflicts and strained group dynamics to the improbable scheme for salvation that will require teamwork. After taking apart its engine, here's what our CineVerse group learned:

IMPORTANT THEMES EXAMINED IN FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX

  • A clash of wills and classic power struggle: the fight for dominance and moral, psychological and physical superiority between men competing for resources and struggling to survive and thrive in a desperate situation. 
  • Old vs. young, and traditional vs. modern: as embodied by Towns and Dorfmann, respectively, this film pits the wits and experience of an guilt-ridden, emotional old world man against the technical skill and cunning of an megalomaniacal, non-emotional new world man. In essence, the film serves as a parable about the challenge of compromising and transitioning between the past and the future—a future of push-button technology that will render people like Towns obsolete. 
    • Reviewer Neil Young wrote that the movie shows “two types of man emerging as the crucial forces: Stewart's old-school, emotional, flying-by-the-seat-of-the-pants pilot and Kruger's cool, analytical technocrat. It's a very mid-sixties collision of temperaments, and while it's clear that Dorfmann represents what The Aviator's Howard Hughes calls "the way of the future", it's also evident that the past is much too valuable to be jettisoned entirely. What The Flight of the Phoenix optimistically presents is an uneasy but ultimately amiable state of cooperation between the two.” 
  • Moral quandaries in extreme scenarios: is a man who works harder than his comrades and is more crucial to their survival than anyone else worth more, both in respect and deserved resources? To what extent can commanding officers wield authority in a likely hopeless quandary, and to what degree are his subordinates bound to honor that authority? 
  • Complex political and sociological moralities: it would be easy to label Dorfmann as the “bad guy” Teutonic type, an offspring of the cold and ruthless Nazi regime that was defeated 20 years earlier. Instead, Dorfmann remains enigmatic, unconventionally admirable, and worth rooting for as a possible source of salvation for the men. 
  • The resilience of man and human nature. We see men often at their best when they’re facing their worst; their willingness to persevere and not despair is a testament to the human spirit. 
    • Reviewer Kenneth George Godwin, alternatively, disagrees: “The film’s commercial failure may have had something to do with its refusal to subscribe to an inherently heroic view of human nature. These men don’t rise to the challenge of survival so much as fight against their own best interests every step of the way, and at the forefront is a decidedly unsympathetic performance from James Stewart, whose self-pity poses a dangerous risk to all of them. Survival ultimately rests on the absurd self-assurance of Dorfmann who, as the plan progresses, becomes more unpleasantly dictatorial – and yet is ultimately proved right.” 
  • Rebirth, rejuvenation, a return from the dead, as symbolized in the “Phoenix” bird that becomes the new plane’s moniker. 
WHAT DID YOU FIND INTERESTING, DIFFERENT, DISTINCTIVE OR UNEXPECTED ABOUT THIS FILM?
  • You would perhaps expect more action and a chunkier plot from an ensemble male cast like this and in an adventure/suspense tale. Instead, the action comes from the conflict between the personalities and the dialogue, as the film stays in one setting with no outside events or characters interfering. 
  • Interestingly, the titles don’t come in until well after the movie starts, and they overlap with the plane crash; the filmmakers choose to introduce each character via freeze frame, too. 
  • The movie is imbued with realism and attention to detail, retaining a “quasi-documentary appearance,” according to reviewer Svet Atanasov
  • There are obviously no female characters, but the film manages to shoehorn one in in the form of a sexy mirage, which, to some, may feel tacked on. 
FILMS THAT FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX MAKES YOU THINK OF:
  • Hitchcock’s Lifeboat
  • Other movies depicting desperate survivors of a shipwreck, plane crash or other disaster, including Sands of the Kalahari, Ice Cold in Alex, Alive, Lord of the Flies, The Edge, and All is Lost 
  • Disaster film subgenre pictures like Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, and Earthquake 
OTHER MOVIES DIRECTED BY ROBERT ALDRICH
  • Vera Cruz 
  • Kiss Me Deadly 
  • Whatever Happened to Baby Jane 
  • Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte 
  • The Dirty Dozen 
  • The Longest Yard

Read more...

Shipwrecked on a sea of sand

Sunday, June 10, 2018

James Stewart could still pack a punch (literally and figuratively) in his later years, as evidenced by his memorable acting in “Flight of the Phoenix” (1965; 142 minutes), to be featured at Cineverse on June 13, directed by Robert Aldrich, chosen by Jim Krabec. Note that, due to this film's long runtime, we will start promptly at 7 p.m. and only a brief break following the screening.

Read more...

"We live only a small part of the life that is within us..."

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Part detective story, part historical romance, part political thriller, "Night Train to Lisbon" pulls you in with the intrigue of its narrative and the earnestness of its investigative protagonist. CineVerse dissembled this locomotive's engine to see how it all fit together and came away with the following notions.

WHAT DID YOU FIND MEMORABLE, INTERESTING, DIFFERENT OR DISTINCTIVE ABOUT THIS PICTURE?

  • Raimund serves as a good surrogate for the viewer; we learn, discover and experience as he does, and we are not given any information that he doesn’t uncover. 
  • The film features an impressive cast, including Jeremy Irons in an unflattering role, as well as Christopher Lee, Charlotte Rampling, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz, and Jack Huston. 
  • The movie has dual narratives and purposes: 
    • It builds intrigue by delving into two mysteries, the second of which branches off quickly from the first: where is the girl he saved, and where is the author of the book she left behind? 
    • It relates two main stories: “Raimund’s social renaissance and Amadeu’s role in the 1970s civil rebellion against a brutal regime…Everything may eventually circle back to the young woman on the bridge, but until then it provides a series of flashbacked stories told to Raimund by the few people Amadeu loved,” wrote reviewer Jared Mobarak
  • The filmmakers and actors form a curious cultural melting pot. According to reviewer David Stratton, “In this case we have a German-Swiss co-production, made by a Danish director, mostly set in Portugal, with a cast that includes actors from Britain, France, Germany, Portugal and Sweden, all speaking English in a bewildering variety of accents.” It’s also interesting that, despite all these varying nationalities, the only language spoken in the film is English. 
  • It is curious—if not convenient or contrived—that Raimund happens to be fluent in Portuguese—a lesser spoken language in Europe—and that he is willing to impulsively interrupt his life suddenly on a passionate whim. 
    • “The fact that he is completely detached and merely piecing together the story as an interested observer is the major flaw of the film. It drastically lacks stakes. There’s no particular reason for Raimund to be caught up in the escapades of these charismatic Portuguese freedom fighters, except as a distraction to his middle-aged ennui,” wrote reviewer Frances Morton
THEMES AT WORK IN THIS FILM
  • Taking a journey of self-discovery: the teacher decides to, on a whim, go on a quest, first for a missing girl, then for a missing author; but while searching for both and not finding either, he ends up finding himself. 
  • The unpredictability of life, which can be filled with sudden twists, left turns, fateful or happenstance encounters, coincidences and flukes, and unexpected disappointments and joys. 
  • Romanticizing and waxing nostalgia about the past. 
  • “If it is so that we live only a small part of the life that is within us, what happens to the rest?” as quoted from Amadeu’s book. 
  • Seeing the world through different eyes, as symbolized by Raimund's new glasses.
  • The love triangle.
NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON CAN REMIND US OF OTHER FILMS, INCLUDING:
  • Midnight in Paris 
  • The Debt (2010) 
  • Rashomon—in that we see different testimonies of the same events from different witnesses 
  • Philomena—in how the lead characters of both films went on a search for a missing figure only to find they were dead
  • Vertigo, another film featuring a detective who saves and then pursues a suicidal woman
  • Citizen Kane, similarly constructed around a reporter trying to learn about the life of an enigmatic dead man
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel, whose story is also set in motion by a young woman carrying a treasured memoir detailing the adventures of a heroic figure ensnared in a politically dangerous time 
OTHER MOVIES DIRECTED BY BILLIE AUGUST
  • Pelle the Conqueror 
  • The House of the Spirits 
  • Les Miserables (1998) 
  • Smilla’s Sense of Snow

Read more...

All aboard for intrigue and suspense

Sunday, June 3, 2018

If you enjoy a gripping drama, you won't want to miss CineVerse on June 6,when we'll screen and discuss “Night Train to Lisbon” (2013; 111 minutes), directed by Bille August, chosen by Tess Stanisha.

Read more...

  © Blogger template Cumulus by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP