Telluride – The Hits and Misses
Labor Day has passed, and with it so has another Telluride Film Festival.  While it may not have had a huge splash like Juno or Slumdog Millionaire, and the stars that attended were minimal, it was still a good time.  In the seven years I have attended, I have never had this perfect of weather while in the city.  Typically, winter decides to make its first appearance during the festival with a rainstorm that turns to snow.  Instead, sunny and clear, and I think a lot of festivalgoers took to the trails and enjoyed the sun as well as many said they took it easy this year.
Read MoreBlack Swan – Saving the best for last in Telluride
“I just want to be perfect,” is a line said by Natalie Portman early on in Black Swan. ¬†Her strive for perfection will lead to madness in what ends up being my favorite movie out of Telluride, and possibly my new favorite of the year.
Darren Aronofsky has had an interesting career. ¬†At a courthouse conversation, he talked about how he’ll probably never have a big studio picture because the bigwigs and him never really can agree on something. ¬†Despite his recent success with The Wrestler, he had a harder time getting funding for Black Swan because of the struggling economy, and what studio is going to fund a movie about a ballerina?
In my opinion, Aronofsky hasn’t used his true talent in The Fountain and The Wrestler. It’s tough to criticize The Fountain because of the troubles he went through to even get the movie made. ¬†And while I’m a big fan of The Wrestler, it doesn’t compare to the creativity and energy that Aronofsky displayed in his masterful Requiem For A Dream. I’m ecstatic to say that Aronofsky returns to using that talent in Black Swan, and in Telluride, it seems to be polarizing audiences. ¬†People either love it or hate it. ¬†I think that’s a good sign.
Read MoreThe Illusionist & Sunday In Telluride
This morning I attended Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist. It was an unproduced script by famous filmmaker Jacques Tati, and I’d like to think Tati would be happy with Chomet’s work. ¬†Chomet essentially makes an animated Tati film, complete with comedic setpieces, little to no dialog (most of it is inaudible mumbles), and great use of the entire screen.
The best moments in the movie are those that seem to clearly be Tati. ¬†Consider the scenes where the “Illusionist” is mistaken as a car mechanic, and takes watch of a rich man’s car. ¬†Or the scene where “The Illusionist” catches the young girl holding hands with a boyfriend, and hides in a movie theater, only for Mon Oncle to be playing on screen at the same time. ¬†Both scenes tell separate stories, and give you the same sense of enjoyment that you had while watching his other movies. ¬†That’s not to say that the movie has flaws.
Read MoreDanny Boyle’s 127 Hours – The Director is the Star
It’s always interesting to see what directors will do as their next project after they win Oscars. ¬†They are given freedom that they sometimes didn’t have before as production companies have more faith in them. ¬†In some cases, directors get to do dream projects.
Then take Danny Boyle. ¬†Like his movies or not, you can’t deny that he may be one of the more eclectic directors around. ¬†He’s done horror, science fiction, romantic comedy, won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, and now uses all his tricks in 127 Hours. ¬†While James Franco may occupy the screen for the entirety of the film, its all about Danny Boyle.
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Eric Bialas in Telluride reviews Never Let Me Go
[NOTE: Never Let Me Go is built around a premise that reveals itself gradually with unsettling banality. The circumstances are made clear early on, but if you'd rather discover the situation unprepared then you'll want to skip reading about the details that any review will have trouble avoiding. This one included.]
Never Let Me Go is a dystopian film in England that is based on the famous book with the same name. A school of students are being groomed to healthy lives for their respective “real” selves in the outside world. However, this is not a science-fiction movie at all. Although part of it is based on coming to terms with reality, the movie’s strength and core is coming to terms with relationships and love. Unfortunately, the movie distances itself from the viewer too much to ever really shock viewers when its main emotional scenes arrive.
I have not read the book, but there are some tough themes to deal with, and I think it’s something that works better on paper then onscreen. Carey Mulligan effectively leads the way with Keira Knightley trying her best to keep up. Both are far superior to the new Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, who forces sadness throughout the movie, and is given a predicted scene that doesn’t work when seen visually. Although can one really say that it was Garfield’s fault for that scene? Carey Mulligan’s second tremendous lead performance shows that she’s one of the best young actresses around. She shows longing without forcing a tear or a scream, usually its just in a stare that includes confusion and jealousy while she watches the loveless couple go at it in the cottages.
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