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Frozen (2013)

Posted by amateurcinefile on February 26, 2014 in 2013 Film Reviews

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Review by-Jarrett Leahy

Remember when Disney was the king of the animated film? Remember when every new Disney release was a highly anticipated event? Unfortunately for most of this new century, it appeared that this legendary studio had lost its way.  The list of films Walt Disney Animation Studios released during the 2000’s decade included Dinosaur, The Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home On The Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and Bolt.  None of these films would ever be considered close to their best effort.  John Lasseter, who was named the chief creative officer of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios when Disney purchased Pixar back in 2006, obviously knew the importance getting Disney back to what made them great.  It took a few years to do so, but great strides were finally made in 2010 with the release of Tangled, a fairytale adaptation of the Rapunzel story that most critics agreed was very solid effort.  2012 offered an even more impressive achievement in Wreck-It Ralph, an animated film based on a video game character.

That brings us to Frozen, Disney’s latest animated effort which is based on The Snow Queen, a short story by Hans Christian Anderson.  Frozen tells the story of two Princesses, Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel), whose close relationship is jeopardized by Elsa’s secret power to create ice and snow.  The King and Queen decide to close up the castle, isolating their daughters from the outside world in the hopes of helping Elsa learn to control her powerful gift.  Unfortunately, as the two girls get older this isolation continues to create a rift in their relationship.  On the day of Elsa’s coronation, nervous emotions bubble over, unleashing an uncontrolled burst of her magic power, putting the kingdom into an eternal state of winter.  Fearful of hurting the ones she loves, Elsa runs away, disappearing high into the surrounding mountains.  Adorably naive and forever the optimist, Anna sets out on a dangerous trek in the hopes to bring back her beloved sister and free the kingdom from its deep freeze.

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Even the most moving of stories can be deflated if the animation that accompanies it is not up to snuff.  It was reported that the animators in charge of Frozen were sent on a research trip to Norway to help inspire the designs and visual artistry of the wintry, mountainous settings.  That inspiration is quite evident as the animators were able to skillfully capture and create an enchanting snow-covered world that is both sweeping and majestic.  No scene in the film wowed me more than when Elsa, free of all her fears, begins to create her own ice castle high among the mountain tops.  Walls, chandeliers and staircases of solid ice were magically conjured up on screen leaving me in awe by the extraordinary visuals the artists where able to create.  I can’t even fathom how seven or eight year old must have felt seeing that type of magic come to life.  Watching the film in regular 2D, I could tell where certain animated effects were put in to aid the 3D version of the film, however I never felt the visuals were diminished in any way by seeing the 2D version.

Frozen’s superb music is one the film’s true shining components thanks in large part to the impressive singing talents of the two lead stars, Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel.  Each has a unique sound that helps set their individual performances apart from one another while still allowing their harmonies to blend flawlessly during duets.  Both Bell and Menzel had previously auditioned for the part of Rapunzel in Disney’s 2010 film, Tangled.  Though the part was eventually awarded to Mandy Moore, those audition tapes aided in convincing the Disney execs these two young ladies were the right choices for Frozen.  Menzel’s Let It Go is among the four nominees for Best Original Song at this year’s Academy awards, but there are easily another handful of equally impressive numbers that could have also been chosen. The Frozen soundtrack is currently so popular that it just spent its 5th straight week at the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 charts.  According to http://www.AVclub.com, the last movie soundtrack to accomplish that feat was Titanic, which spent 16 weeks at #1 back in 1998.

Animated films are ultimately made to entertain the little ones with the hopes of selling a bevy of cute little toys and merchandise. But what the truly great and successful ones know is it also helps to create a story that wows and entertains the adults who are accompanying them.  I’m happy to say that Frozen, with its heartwarming tale filled with wonderful music and stunning animation, is truly the first Disney film in almost two decades that can lay claim to being on par with the All-Time great animated films the studio is so known for.  Frozen will definitely entertain both the youngsters and the forever young at heart.-JL

Grade: B+


Edited by-Michelle Zenor
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Classic Film Review-Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Posted by amateurcinefile on February 23, 2014 in Films From The Past

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Review by-Jarrett Leahy

In a decade chock-full of sugar coated popcorn sellers, Hannah and her Sisters is a breath of fresh air, proving that truly great films were still made during the 1980’s. Like many of Woody Allen’s movies, Hannah and her Sisters is filmed in New York City and revolves around an extended family’s saga set over a two year period.

The matriarchal rock of the family is Hannah, played by Mia Farrow. Farrow’s performance is so understated at times that you may miss the subtle greatness she brings. It’s Hannah’s job to solve the problems of her family, loaning money and doling out advice to her forever lost sister Holly (Dianne Wiest), squelching drunken squabbles between her now elderly parents, and juggling the life of a mother of four and wife to a husband (Michael Caine) who now has a wandering infatuation with her other sister, Lee (Barbara Hershey).

Woody Allen’s contribution to the film is Mickey, who is Hannah’s ex-husband. A hypochondriac and wracked with insecurities, Mickey is a neurotic TV producer and a character type we’ve met before from Allen, but somehow he feels fresh here. Ever fearful of death, Mickey’s constant search for God and the meaning of life become a wonderful interjection of comic relief to help balance out some of the more dramatic scenes.

Michael Caine gives a top notch performance as Hannah’s cheating husband Elliot and rightfully received the Academy award for Best Supporting Actor. However it’s Dianne Wiest’s Oscar winning portrayal of Holly that is the most memorable of the film. A struggling actress with a checkered past and a compulsive desire to jump from career to career, Holly is in constant struggle to find her way in life. Sponging off Hannah to help fund these drastic career changes, the character of Holly runs the risk of being despised by the viewer. But it is Wiest who brings a genuine charm to the role, completely committing to the neurotic self-centeredness required to sell a character like this, and it is this sweet and honest commitment that makes us root for her.

The true gift of this film comes from its amazing script, which was written by Allen, who received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Dialogue driven and set up in a vignette style, it allows the wonderful ensemble of A-list actors to deliciously play off one another. Allen also shows an adept skill with his use of the camera. During family gatherings, characters move in and out of the shot so naturally, as if we the viewer are just the proverbial fly on the wall observing the interactions among the various family members.

Over the years Woody Allen has become a polarizing filmmaker, probably due more to his personal life then his actual film-making. Many critics love to point toward his earlier works, Annie Hall and Manhattan, as his best efforts. There is no disputing the greatness of those films, and many others he has created. But it is Hannah and her Sisters, a timeless dramatic comedy about growth, love, and redemption that is Woody Allen’s best, and a true gem to come from the 1980’s decade.

Grade: A+

(originally written for http://movie-blogger.com/review-and-win contest, it finished 3rd)

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Top 6 Lists: LGBT Characters-Last 25 Years

Posted by amateurcinefile on February 23, 2014 in Top 6 lists

List by-Jarrett Leahy

The overwhelming critical success of Dallas Buyers Club and Blue is the Warmest Color (the 2013 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner) is proof yet again that film is one of the leading modern art forms at the front line of helping people become more understanding and tolerant to alternative lifestyles.  Of the many LGBT films and performances that have come out over the last 25 years, these are the six that really moved me…

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6. Transamerica (2005) Transamerica tells the story of Bree, a pre-surgery transgender man whose discovery that he had fathered a child during his past life sends him on a journey of discovery to find the now teenage son just weeks before his final reconstructive surgery to permanently become a woman.  Poignant, lonely, tender hearted, Transamerica shows the difficulties faced by a transgender individual who desperately wants to be accepted for who they are.  Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives fame gives an almost unrecognizable and career defining performance as Bree, earning her a much deserved Best Actress Oscar nomination.

5. The Kids Are All Right (2010) Julianne Moore and Annette Bening are lifelong partners with two children, each conceived by the same anonymous sperm donor.  Comedic drama ensues when the kids, curious to meet their biological father, reach out and attempt to make contact with him.  Rarely do you see the topic of sperm donor parents depicted in cinema, and I have to admit it made me question what I would do if I were put in a similar situation of being informed of two unknown biological children wanting to meet me.  Moore and Bening make a wonderful and very believable lesbian couple, each playing off the other to capture the slew of emotions that arise as the drama of the film unfolds.  It is a shame that only Bening’s performance received an Oscar nomination, Moore also deserved to be recognized.

4. Milk (2008) Milk is the true story of the untimely death of famed 1970’s gay activist Harvey Milk, California’s first openly gay elected official.  After watching the 1984 documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk (available on Criterion Collection), I can honestly say director Gus Van Sant and writer Dustin Lance Black stayed very true to the real life story of Harvey.  Sean Penn, who gave a spot on portrayal of Milk, was a revelation on screen.  Some who are more used to Penn’s tough guy persona will not even recognize him.  Despite being ignored by a larger audience during its initial theatrical release, Penn was awarded his second Academy award for his striking and impactful performance.

3. Philadelphia (1993) Andrew Beckett, a talented and up and coming lawyer is suddenly fired after an important legal document goes missing, threatening the outcome of a major litigation case.  Andy fears the missing document was just a sabotage tactic to cover up the true reason for his firing, his AIDS virus.  Philadelphia is the film that began a run of critical success for actor Tom Hanks that has rarely been equaled.  Hanks’ performance is absolutely heartbreaking, as the effects of the AIDS virus takes a tole on his fragile body.  With the help of Denzel Washington and Antonio Banderas who both give powerful and tender supporting performances, the emotional impact of Philadelphia has not diminished more than 20 years later.

2. A Single Man (2009) Set during the 1960’s Cuban missile crisis, Colin Firth plays George, an English professor struggling with the sudden loss of his beloved life partner.  Tom Ford, who is more known for being a fashion design icon, adeptly steps into the director’s chair to create a film that exudes such a rich and romantic cinematic atmosphere.  No actor could more effectively capture the emotional distraught of George than Colin Firth, whose performance was nominated for Best Actor of 2009.  Unfortunately Firth would lose to an equally impressive performance by Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, but that doesn’t diminish the impact of his heart-rending portrayal.

1. Brokeback Mountain (2005) While sheep herding in the remote Wyoming mountains, two cowboys discover a powerful romantic connection that cannot be shaken despite every effort to live the way society has deemed “normal”.  Despite the fact that everything leading up to the Academy Awards of 2006 said that Ang Lee’s beautifully sweeping, forbidden love story was going to be rightfully honored as the best film of 2o05, a large number of movie-goers refused to see this touching film on general principle.  Unfortunately, the Academy voters copped out and selected an inferior film, Crash, as 2005’s Best Motion Picture of the Year.  The controversy surrounding this forbidden love story is well documented, but time has proven the lasting impact of the film and the unflinching performances from its two leading men, Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger.  Brokeback Mountain is true cinematic work of art that will continue to move future cinema fans willing give the film a chance and judge it on its artistic merits.-JL

Edited by-Michelle Zenor
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Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Posted by amateurcinefile on February 22, 2014 in 2013 Film Reviews

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Review by-Jarrett Leahy

Set in the Mid 80’s during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Dallas Buyers Club tells the story of Ron Woodroof, a boozing, homophobic electrician/bull rider who is informed that his womanizing lifestyle has led to his contracting the HIV virus and is given thirty days to live.  Ostracized by bigoted friends and resolute in his desire to prove the doctors wrong, Woodroof wanders across the border to Mexico, determined to find drugs that can help him survive.  Here he is introduced to a bevy of helpful medicines unavailable in the US because they have not yet been approved by the FDA.  Always looking to make a buck, Woodroof begins smuggling these unapproved drugs across the border with hopes of selling to desperate AIDS patients.

Dallas Buyers Club offers two of the best performances of 2013.  The commitment Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto brought to their roles has been well documented, losing a combined 77 pounds to more accurately portray patients suffering from the AIDS virus.  McConaughey, known more for his surfer guy persona and over abundance of romantic comedy roles during the early part of his career, has had an unprecedented resurgence these last few years.  That resurgence has culminated with this raw, brutally honest and gifted portrayal of Ron Woodroof, a performance earning him his first Academy award nomination.  But, as impressive as McConaughey is, it is Jared Leto who steals the show.  Leto’s portrayal of Rayon, a transsexual suffering from AIDS, is the best acting performance of 2013, leading or supporting, male or female.  That was my initial opinion when I saw Dallas Buyers Club back in December, and revisiting the film two months later has only strengthened my belief.  Historically, our society’s treatment of transgender individuals has been less than stellar.  What Leto was able to bring to the character of Rayon is a humanizing quality.  We accept him for who he is and feel the pain and fear he faces as he struggles with both his addiction and the awful effects of the AIDS virus.  Leto has rightfully swept all the major Supporting Actor awards leading up to the Oscars, and barring a major upset should be awarded the gold statuette come the night of March 2nd.

I can’t stress enough the importance of supporting smaller films like this one.   Hollywood studios have become so concerned about the almighty dollar that fewer and fewer are taking chances with smaller independent films that they deem too risky.  The script for Dallas Buyers Club was passed over for almost 20 years because no studio wanted to take a chance on it.  And if it wasn’t for Matthew McConaughey making it a personal passion project, this gripping and important story may still be sitting on the shelf. Instead, with only a 25-day shooting schedule and a $5.5 million budget (with money scrounged from all over, including Truth Chemical, a Houston-based fertilizer company), a group of determined and very talented artists were able to create a film now nominated for six Academy awards including Best Motion Picture of the Year.

Grade: B+


Edited by-Michelle Zenor
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Short Term 12 (2013)

Posted by amateurcinefile on February 17, 2014 in 2013 Film Reviews

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Review by-Jarrett Leahy

While some film lovers are lucky enough to have available to them boutique movie houses that specializes in smaller indie films, for many movie fans, the only films they get to see in any given year are the slew of big budget blockbusters that get delivered to their local cineplex. So unless initiative is taken to seek out these lesser known movies, a whole sub genre of amazing films are excluded from the majority of movie-goers.

One of the truly gifted and most accomplished films of last year that very few have seen or even heard of is Short Term 12. Written and directed by an extremely talented young filmmaker Destin Cretton, Short Term 12 is a heartfelt and emotionally moving drama with a breakout performance from its lead actress, Brie Larson. Larson plays Grace, a strong willed and whip-smart 20-something that is tirelessly striving to assist a group of teenagers at the foster care facility she works at, all while trying to come to grips with her own past traumas. The acting requirements to truly capture the character of Grace would tax even the most veteran of actresses. So it is a testament to skill and artistry of Larson’s talents that she so ably portrayed such an emotionally complex character.

A film of this nature runs the risk of being overly melodramatic. But under the adept direction and writing of Cretton, never does Short Term 12 become preachy or overwhelming. Instead, the viewer is brought into this intimate little world and introduced to a wonderful and funny group of young people, each of whom are desperately searching for love, understanding, and acceptance. Like most tight knit families, frustrations can boil over, and we the viewer see how the staff has learned to deal with these in house disagreements. By the end of the film, I had emotionally invested so much in the physical and emotional well-being these delightfully unique characters that I found myself rooting for their successes and saddened by their failures.

From the opening scene, this touching and cathartic film about a foster care facility worked its emotional magic on me. I am now a self proclaimed Brie Larson convert, as she was a true revelation on-screen. It is a shame that great independent films like Short Term 12 don’t receive a nationwide release. However, now that it has been put out on DVD, I hope more people will now get the chance to enjoy one of the best films 0f 2013.-JL

Grade: A

Edited by-Michelle Zenor
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