Wednesday, August 29, 2012

4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011)

Another last day

This film generated some buzz last year at some festivals and on some websites. I have been jonesing to see it for months now.  It got a very limited cinema release and never came anywhere near me.  I finally got it from Netflix the other day and very much wish I could go back in time and take it off my queue.  This film was bad.  Really bad.  Like terribly bad.  The filmmakers jumped on the bandwagon of 'earth disaster' films, but they forgot to bring a good story or decent acting.  The acting was bad.  The writing was bad.  Everything was bad.  Its like a B-movie gone wrong.  It felt very contrived as if it were trying too hard to be important.  Instead of watching this train wreck, try Melancholia, Another Earth, or Tres Dias. 

4:44 Last Day on Earth gets 1 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Abel Ferrara
Writer: Abel Ferrara
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Shanyn Leigh and Natasha Lyonne
Rotten Tomatoes: 48%
Metacritic: 54 out of 100

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Catfish (2010)

That girl can paint! (or can she?)

Nev receives paintings from a young girl named Abby.  Slowly he gets to know Abby's entire family.  As time goes on her realizes things are a little fishy and mpt entirely what they seem.  When Nev and his friends decide to make a surprise visit to Abby's house in Michigan, things get a little weird.  Very well done and convincingly well told.

Catfish grabs 4 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Writer: N/A
Starring: Yaniv Schulman, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 65 out of 100

Sunday, August 19, 2012

1981 (2009)

The misadventures of Ricardo Trogi

Written and directed by the adult Trogi, 1981 recounts young Ricardo's move to a new neighbourhood.  I love, I repeat, absolutely love movies about childhood.  The Goonies and Stand By Me are the standards followed closely by The Sandlot.  1981 holds its own against those classics.  This film is really funny and very poignant.  It is also a French Canadian film and is heavy on the dialect.  Ricardo's mom has such a thick accent that I could hardly catch a word she said.  To me that makes her even funnier.

1981 is one of those rare, near perfect films and earns its 5 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Ricardo Trogi
Writer: Ricardo Trogi
Starring: Jean-Carl Boucher, Claudio Colangelo and Sandrine Bisson
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Metacritic: Not Reviewed