xavierpop's posterous http://xavierpop.posterous.com Most recent posts at xavierpop's posterous posterous.com Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:26:30 -0700 Mel's Review of the Debt http://xavierpop.posterous.com/mels-review-of-the-debt http://xavierpop.posterous.com/mels-review-of-the-debt

I had to give myself a day before writing the review for The Debt. I couldn’t think straight right afterwards. I had a hard time assimilating what I had just experienced.

The Debt wasn’t just a movie, it was an experience. I spent the entire movie tense and breathless. John Madden should be given major props for creating a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire two hours. It’s definitely not a movie where everything is wrapped up in a little bow by the end.

Although Madden has mainly directed television programs, he has a strong track record with the movies he has directed (Shakespeare in Love, Proof). He is definitely a master at story telling and creating characters that you care about.

I’m quite impressed and surprised that there were three screenplay writers (Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Peter Straughan), as I would normally think that the end product would be all over the place. The dialogue had such beautiful flow. I haven’t seen the original version of The Debt (Ha-Hov) from 2007, but I think it’s safe to assume that they did the original justice.

The story, taking place mainly in 1966, focuses around three Mossad agents who have been given the task of finding and capturing a Nazi war criminal in order to have him tried for horrible atrocities committed during World War II. The story jumps around a bit timing-wise, which at the very beginning was a little confusing â€" they jumped from 1997 back to 1966 and back again â€" however, things become clear as soon as they go back to 1966 where the main story takes place.

The three main characters, played by Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, and Marton Csokas, did a stellar job portraying the young Mossad agents. I particularly enjoyed Chastain’s performance of young Rachel Singer. Her “It” girl hype she is garnering is totally deserved. She stole every scene in The Help, and definitely held her own against Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life.

Sam Worthington is also a huge star on the rise at the moment. He brings such depth to his characters, more so than most actors out there right now. The Debt is my personal favourite of all of Sam’s films (Avatar, Terminator: Salvation, Clash of the Titans), and his portrayal of young David Peretz was riveting. I believe that we’ll be seeing him in many more excellent roles in the future..

The last of the three agents is young Stephan Gold, played by Marton Csokas. Csokas did an excellent job playing the older more experienced agent. I must admit though, I had to look him up, because I know I’ve seen him before, but couldn’t recall where. He’s been in “bit part” land - standing out just enough to get noticed, but not enough for people to remember where. I’m thrilled to see him step into a lead role, as it really showcased his acting chops.

Out of the three older versions of the three agents, Helen Mirren (The Queen, Red) is really the only one worth mentioning. She really was the focal point of the 1997 storyline. To me, Mirren is a close second to Meryl Streep. She gave the older Rachel such nuance and depth, and she was only a supporting actor.

The other two agents, played by Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins, The Full Monty) and Ciarán Hinds (Road to Perdition, There Will be Blood), were in the film so little that I barely noticed them. I like both actors, but didn’t get much from them in this one. All I got out of them was what my main complaint about this movie was - the accents. They were terrible.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the good doctor, or should I say, herr Doktor Bernhardt. The doctor was very aptly played by Jesper Christensen (2006 Casino Royale, The Interpreter), who showed both sides to this evil man. The doctor was to be tried for the torture of countless people, yet he was also a fertility doctor, showing great compassion for his patients and helping to bring new life into this world. This role must have been so difficult to play. The character definitely had a dual personality.

I’m going to give this movie a very big compliment, if The Help hadn’t already come out, this would be my favourite movie of this year. You can’t get a better cast, or a more intense storyline. I definitely give the film 4 stars out of 5.

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Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:09:17 -0700 Melanie's Review of The Help http://xavierpop.posterous.com/melanies-review-of-the-help http://xavierpop.posterous.com/melanies-review-of-the-help

The Help has literally left me spent. After watching this film, I was a red-eyed, snotty mess.

Yet I couldn’t be happier.

I can’t remember the last time I watched a movie where I feel like it changed me, and The Help has changed me.

The film, based on the 2009 novel by Kathryn Socket, delves into the lives of women on both sides of the racial fence in early 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi.

The Help has done an amazing job translating a microcosm of pre-Civil Rights America into a heartfelt yet hopeful film.

Given that this film is adapted and directed by relative rookie filmmaker Tate Taylor, this film is even more extraordinary.

Taylor has done a smart thing by simply hiring the best actors and letting them do their job. The Help feels very natural and organic as a film and will likely be nominated for and win a truckload of Oscars come next February. It is also going to be quite the star vehicle for Emma Stone (Easy A, Zombieland).

Stone is absolutely brilliant as “Skeeter” Phelan, the oddball in a group of highbrow hoity-toity Southern Belles. Her character is the only woman in her social circle with a college education who’s also recently employed and not married. Her character is deeply misunderstood by her friends and family, with not even her own mother understanding how Skeeter is okay with the path she’s chosen.

Stone has taken what could have been a one-dimensional, and potentially clichéd, character and breathed beautiful life into her. The young actress clearly has a very long career in front of her.

The film’s other standout is the sly and conniving character of Hilly Holbrook, played by Bryce Dallas Howard (Spider-Man 3, The Village). She’s been a personal favourite of mine since watching her in M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water.

Howard, whom gives off an other-worldliness to her characters, wasn’t easy to get used to at first in a villainous role. It’s a testament to Howard’s acting abilities that she sinks right into this character.

The “help” in The Help are played by Viola Davis (Doubt, Law Abiding Citizen) and Octavia Spencer (Seven Pounds, Drag Me To Hell) â€" the two actors that form the heart of this film.

Aibileen Clark, played by Davis, is a broken woman whose only joy is derived from taking care of the daughter of the family she works for. Davis nails the constant downcast gaze, the fear, and the body language of someone who’s carrying around the weight of the world.

Her best friend and lifeline, Minny Jackson (played by Spencer), is a spunky and sassy woman who doesn’t take “nothin from nobody.” Spencer, like Stone, takes a character that could have been the stock Noble Black Person and made her into a real woman who seems very strong on the outside, but also has her own burdens in life.

I can’t speak of the women in this movie without mentioning the small roles held by Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, the upcoming film The Debt), Allison Janney and Sissy Spacek. Chastain â€" the film’s scene stealer â€" is stellar in this film, as well as Spacek, who displays remarkable comedic timing.

The Help is definitely my favourite movie of the year so far. It’s not a “summer blockbuster”, but it still took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions. It’s a must-see that explores the resilience of the human spirit and our capacity, even in the face of struggles, for unconditional love.

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