Chattahoochee

A veteran from the Korean war who managed to distinguish himself has trouble fitting in back home (Gary Oldman as Emmett Foley), and after having grown tired of picket fence pastimes, tries to get the police to shoot him for the insurance money.

He winds up in a psychiatric institution and finds he's in for the long haul, a distressing situation to say the least since he really isn't that insane.

His coherent reflexes help him observe the unfortunate general corruption, the cruel and unnecessary punishment routinely handed out by the sadistic administration.

He keeps track of the abuse in writing and eventually even studies introductory law, learning enough to air legitimate grievances which are generally ignored by unsympathetic staff.

Meanwhile, as the years pass by, his child ages and his wife (Frances McDormand as Mae Foley) seeks divorce, his sister (Pamela Reed as Earlene) never giving up on him, but somewhat perplexed by the daunting legal fees.

Consistent protest within the facility leads to frequent confrontation, irate guards and frustrated staff with no inclinations to change the management.

It's an old school animate take on social justice and institutional reform, the assertion of rights by those left behind by a system thoroughly unconcerned with how to take care of them.

You get to see Oldman and McDormand in their youth delivering exceptional performances, even if Chattahoochee has issues, you can see why these actors made a go of it (didn't they win best actor and actress in the same year? [2018]).

The thought of being generally sane and finding yourself locked down by bureaucratic codes, is aggravated by the reality that so many others who lack rationality can do exceptionally little to freely defend themselves.

Fortunately, Foley's work prevails and over a hundred reforms are introduced, and he's eventually released a free person to passionately deal with middle-aged life.

I imagine things have remarkably improved since Foucault wrote Madness & Civilization, in some jurisdictions anyways, which hopefully aren't suffering from stringent cutbacks.

It seems that caring for the sick goes without saying and there should be principled professionals who proceed accordingly.

Too bad stories like Chattahoochee still emerge.

Laws should prevent sadistic reckoning.

*There's no secret meaning here, no underlying code. This film was released in 1989 and I'd never heard of it. That's why I chose to watch it.

RBG

It's strange when you realize the law is much more complicated than simply feeling hot or cold throughout the day, and that advanced texts don't have clearly defined meanings which snuggly fit every case with cozy semantic lucidity.

The same logic applies to simpler texts as knowledge is obtained and interpretive methods are codified, reified, modified, exemplified, as others have noted, but that moment when you're sitting there reading dense material and you realize it can be read and applied from multiple different perspectives dependent upon the task at hand is simultaneously thrilling and chilling, inasmuch as it obscures the genuine while concurrently romanticizing its pursuit.

Example.

Take an equal wage paid for equal work done. If two equally qualified people are doing the same job and they started at the same time and they both perform their tasks competently they should be paid the same wage regardless of creed, race, ethnicity, appearance, or gender.

If opportunities for advancement exist they should be given to the person who is performing their tasks consistently well with the most precision as long as they aren't loathsome to deal with or incapable of managing staff diplomatically enough to prevent them from quitting or causing internal discord.

It makes perfect sense to me that men and women working the same job should therefore be paid the same wage and be given equal opportunities within their respective working environments if their employers are genuine.

It's clear that laws should support such a conclusion, yet it's chilling to read article after article, decade after decade, about how men and women are paid unequal wages for doing equal work, which makes the pursuit of creating a legal framework wherein which men and women are actually paid the same wage for equal work romantic, insofar as you need to simplify complicated codes of conduct which have diversified labour forces without applying fair work practices.

Actually doing this, actively changing the law so that one gender can't reflexively delegitimize the work of another in order to silently uphold gender based biases institutionally must be thrilling, and I imagine, in my limited way, that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has found her lifework to be quite thrilling, many of its compelling achievements nimbly presented in Betsy West and Julie Cohen's documentary RBG.

Not to say she isn't highly logical.

I suppose she eruditely comprehends the thrills of logical construction.

She's made many game changing arguments throughout her career while working as a lawyer and has delivered many landmark judgments as part of the American Supreme Court, while also raising a strong family with the aid of her remarkable husband (now passed).

A real world Marvel superhero.

A powerful living breathing example of an individual who worked within the system to peacefully change things while earning the respect of her peers, a dedicated activist who changed many laws to legalize social justice, I hope thousands of young and not so young people see this film and discover what can be realistically gained by working hard within a system that isn't necessarily broken.

RBG and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are the best real world examples which can be used to challenge the cynicism culturally propagated by the right that I've come across in years.

As they've inspirationally proven, the fight isn't hopeless and gender equality is a possibility.

You just have to find the fight thrilling.

And make sure you're a genuine romantic.

Delivery Man

If you loved Ken Scott's Starbuck, you may not appreciate his Delivery Man as much (the contents of the films are too similar), although Vince Vaughn (David) reimagines the character well enough, in classic screwing-up while excelling Vince Vaughn fashion, putting in another great performance, confident personality generally unconcerned with consequences, überfatherhood thrust upon him, a life changing salacious shock, a languid lecherous illustrious lighthouse.

(Still prefer Patrick Huard's performance).

Not going to read what I wrote about Starbuck until finishing this review, for curiosity's sake (I did duplicate the tags however since the film's are so similar).

The narrative is a treasure for those adhering to discourses of hereditary multiplicities, even if it's fictional, since David's offspring possess sundry talents and seemingly limitless flexibilities, when considered as a whole.

I'm assuming there's a group who adheres to discourses of hereditary multiplicities.

I mean, what would happen if you had 534 children with 534 different women and then set them loose on the streets of New York or Montréal?

They aren't all going to end up in the same profession.

They aren't all going to look the same.

They will likely react to various stimuli differently.

Some of them, may even listen to, Tigermilk followed If You're Feeling Sinister followed by The Boy with the Arab Strap then Aladdin Sane after their favourite CFL team loses the Grey Cup.

534.

It could happen.

It's tough for me to write that critically about Delivery Man because, as I mentioned earlier, the film's too similar to Starbuck, which is why I didn't want to see it in theatres but I woke up too late that day to see Heli at EXCƎNTRIS.

It was a late night.

Great translation.

Just too familiar with the story so my reactions were always mitigated by encumbering memories which prevented me from being surprised by the sequences.

Surprise is important.

Good surprises.

Screw-off sadists.

Marshmallows.

Circumstance

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, falling in love is a beautiful thing. Suddenly there's someone there with whom you get along and/or enjoy fighting with regularly who saves you from the interminable tedium of your own personal thoughts.

And loves it when you suggest going at it.

Through the exchange of ideas you learn and grow constructively and destructively as you challenge one another while suffering/flourishing as your dependency increases.

Having the opportunity to do this is something a lot of people take for granted.

Maryam Keshavarz's Circumstance suffocatingly accentuates the torment of trying to embrace your mutual feelings in a homophobic socially conservative stasis, as Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri) and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy) fall in love.

Atafeh is the privileged daughter of wealthy parents whose lifestyle is encouraged by the current Iranian regime. Shireen's parents were free thinking writers who didn't fare so well after the Revolution in 1979.

As they explore their affections in the Iranian underground, Keshavarz showcases their blossoming vitality before the morality police step in and rigidly crush it.

One of the policepersons is Atafeh's former drug abusing religiously reformed brother Mehran (Reza Sixo Safai).

If you're wondering how the affects of your socially conservative values and their associated misguided ethical conceptions can distort potentially productive members of your community and turn them into passionate iconoclasts, try and imagine a world where all you want to do is have a heterosexual relationship but everyone keeps telling you it's an unnatural crime for which you will be eternally punished.

And ask yourself, "why do I keep bullying gay people?"

Do you seriously think a loving God would encourage such behaviour?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

A murderer has avoided detection for decades. A journalist's reputation has been publicly ridiculed. A brilliant young researcher's incredible talent flourishes. A family's dark secrets seek revelation.

Patterns lie hidden within eclectic sources. Technological expertise facilitates their synthesization. The resultant thesis can be investigated with meticulous precision. Alternatives and subterfuges staggeringly structure the aggregate.

David Fincher's version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a sombre subterranean endeavour. Deeply digging into clandestine contrivances frenetically attempting to function without restraint, it descends into the feverish dementia affluently prospering beyond the restrictions of amicability.

And exorcises demons.

Ostracized individuals use their resourcefulness to disentangle an established privileged network from within and bring its mastermind to justice.

Having recreated a foothold within their culture's social fabric, divisions remain which prevent them from socializing on their gains.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

An adventure accidentally presents itself as commodities are exchanged. A secret lies deep within unconscious depths hidden beneath years of unchecked alcohol consumption. A helpful dog continuously discovers solutions to associated problems. And innocent Tintin proceeds unrelentingly.

Three clues have been placed within the masts of three model ships which represent a sunken vessel known as the Unicorn. A resourceful scoundrel seeks to decipher these clues in order to harvest a bountiful treasure. Tintin (Jamie Bell) is kidnapped and forced to take part in his quest. After cleverly escaping his captor's clutches, he meets a saucy Sea Captain (Andy Serkis) with whom he was born to encapsulate.

Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin youthfully and energetically galvanizes this filmic variation of the Tintin franchise. Fast paced deliberate inquisitive action meets dedicated trustworthy crafty redemption as comic interjections intermittently lighten the tension and purpose unites difference in the bonds of collaborative friendship. Travel is a necessity. Responses must be made according to specific temporal restrictions. The competition is ruthless and eager to displease. And historical antagonisms have been built into the dynamic so that contemporary animosities take on a legendary character.

It's very athletic.

Amiable and fun and full of life and nimble energy, The Adventures of Tintin is an enlivening family friendly film which pleasantly cushions the holiday season.

Hugo

Time requires maintenance. Each ticking tock must be delicately managed in order to ensure punctual consistency and historical longevity. This is no easy task, and cataclysmic events can disrupt its narrative flow, as can the resurrection of the unforeseen, the one terrorizing established norms and constructs in the maniacal hopes of strengthening their resolve (the masters of war), the other invigorating traditional forms with revitalized content which in turn can redesign them if the insertion of difference is compelling enough to transmit a reconstituted concrete variability (inception) while (eventually) finding a receptive influential audience (innovative exoteric visionaries). Time will continue to pass regardless but its acknowledgement and associated terms of reference (habitual action X producing results D reinforced by the creation of pattern H) will need a cultural catalyst, from which things can begin anew.

We see both sides of this matrix at work in Martin Scorsese's exceptional new film Hugo, which examines the relationship between an orphan and an elderly toymaker. The orphan Hugo (Asa Butterfield) lives in the walls of a Parisian train station where he diligently keeps its various clocks running on time. From these walls, he eyes George Méliès's (Ben Kingsley) toyshop in the hopes of obtaining parts which will help him fix an automaton which was acquired by his father (Jude Law) before his untimely death. Inspector Gustav (Sacha Baron Cohen) monitors the station's passageways with a strong desire to uphold law and order (and send orphans to the orphanage). Monsieur Labisse (Christopher Lee) operates a dusty bookshop from which he encourages a love of lifelong learning.

Time was disrupted within Hugo's narrative by the introduction of film making to the Parisian artistic scene. Infatuated with the medium, a magician builds his own camera in order to share the dreamscapes of his imaginings. Having cultivated an audience, he continues to create profusely thereby compartmentalizing various tenants of his vision. But World War I annihilates many markets successfully established in France and beyond, and in its aftermath his audience fails to rematerialize and his films must be sold and melted down.

Time passes and due to the serendipitous reverberations of two curious youths an historical echo increases its volume. Hugo and his friend Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) discover a mystery whose clues lead them to volumes housed in a local library. From these volumes, clues transform into probabilities and an unconscious cultural qualifier approaches remanifestation. An automaton whose ability to produce felicitous active images is brought back to life through the ingenuity of friendship, and returned to its creator.

And an innovative exoteric visionary's legacy is recognized and celebrated, having been resurrected from the ashes of the masters of war. One of time's great disruptions is rediscovered and catalogued in order to ensure its historical longevity.

The Rum Diary

An outlet exists for the transmitting of information in Puerto Rico, a newspaper, thoroughly saturated with colonialist prejudices, at which a journalist interested in reaching out to the people finds employment. When not engaging in the act of writing, the adventurous observer explores his surroundings making friends, experiencing difficulties, encountering the well-to-do, and cultivating his desire. The love interest in question's disposition is strong and free, committed and versatile and capable of viscerally understanding the repressed needs of an impoverished body politic, to which she responds charismatically. The well-to-do see land on which hotels can be built regardless of the fact that people already live there. Difficulties arise based on socio-political differences which necessitate miscalculations in regards to the motivations of representatives of the dominant group on the part of the oppressed. Friends possess grassroots contacts, cultural leverage, and corresponding instinctual insights. From these particularities a story takes shape into which an historical approach coalesces with the habitualizations of the new to generate a point of divergence. But in order for this point to be transmitted ruptures within the traditional order of things must be accepted by the powers that be whose interests are lined up to the contrary. With nothing but conviction and a creative solution Kemp (Johnny Depp) attempts to take control of the means of production in order to nurture the needs of the many (and expose the will of the few).

The Rum Diary is an effective examination of the ways in which a talented writer lives in the moment in order to utilize its strengths in the expression of his art, blurring the line between reality and fiction. Accentuating the difficulties associated with establishing an enduring point of reference while using both rigid oppositions and malleable characterizations to motivate the action, it functions as both a playful poetic capriciously altruistic romance and a harsh stubborn warning as it investigates the relationship between young and old professionals. A remarkably sober structure for a film wherein the major characters regularly abuse substances, its pacing successfully introduces episodic crescendos, comic staccatos, and tragic climactic allegros. Nice to see more of a focus on Hunter S. Thompson the writer within, as his stand-in intuitively stumbles from one scoop to the next.

Justice for Sergei

Justice for Sergei is a powerful documentary which succinctly discusses incredibly distressing subject matter.

Sergei Magnitsky worked as a tax lawyer for Heritage Capital Management, a privately owned investment management firm formerly operating in Russia. From what I gathered, HCM was operating 3 Russian investment companies. These businesses had made profits of around 973 million and paid something like 230 million in taxes. One day, the police raided HCM's Russian offices and commandeered all of the documents proving they owned these organizations.

No reason was provided to explain the raid and employees who protested were beaten.

Around the same time, court proceedings were being held of which HCM had no knowledge during which ownership of the three companies was transferred to someone else who had previously been convicted for murder. The proceedings fined the companies 973 million thereby nullifying their most recent profits. As a consequence, the new owner of the companies was able to apply for a tax refund for which they applied and received 230 million.

When HCM protested stating that they owned the companies in question they were told to prove ownership by producing the documents then held by the police and therefore inaccessible.

Sergei uncovered this information (the largest tax fraud in Russian history) and consequently tried to have those responsible exposed. He was then arrested. He continued to try and illuminate the corruption in court and was ignored. He became sick while in a detention centre and was then sent to another with poorer facilities.

It is thought that the collusive individuals who put this plan into action, many of them government officials, tried to convince the incarcerated Sergei to change his testimony in order to draw attention away from their misdeeds.

Sergei refused, maintaining both his integrity and respect for the law.

He died shortly thereafter and no one was permitted to examine the body.

Many of the government officials involved in this fiasco and their cronies have since been promoted.

An investigation into the matter was called by President Dmitry Medvedev and after its first year no one had yet to be held accountable.

Sergei is described as a dedicated workaholic who devoted his life to his family and uprightly upholding the law.

His tragic death represents what happens when ethics confronts a thoroughly corrupt oligarchic body politic bent on using its judicial influence to obtain economic leverage from which it can nefariously continue to conduct its private business under the cloak of governmental justice.

Thoroughly revolting and reminiscent of Caligula, local, national, and international pressure can still bring about justice for Sergei if a committed campaign is sustained over time.

You can watch the film here.

Conviction

A brother falsely incarcerated. A sister dedicated to setting him free. Unwavering belief synthesized with focused raw acute determination. An inspiring film modestly elevating the power of hope while proving that it's not just for the naïve or the foolhardy.

Tony Goldwyn's Conviction could have been much more sensational, attempting to sentimentally cater to our manufactured desires for explosions and vindictive polarized constructs. It could have melodramatically situated its plot within a broader context, focusing on life in prison, media dramatizations, or the challenges presented by trying to raise a family, work, and finish law school with hardly any financial or social resources. But it doesn't examine these dimensions, preferring to zero in on an unbreakable bond forged between brother and sister, investigating their relationship primarily in order to provide extended insights into the constructive potential of an enduring commitment.

Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) isn't about boasting or vilifying or emoting, she prefers to achieve her goals objectively and doesn't let anything or anyone stand in her way, most of the time, even though the odds stacked against her seem insurmountable.

Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell) isn't quite so level headed seeing how he's serving a life sentence for murder, but his sister's prudent, logical, affable recurring presence helps temper his suicidal tendencies.

Swank and Rockwell play their parts well and one of the only things missing from their interactions is an extended scene, one which probes the depths of their characters more thoroughly, without resorting to heartbreaking platitudes.

But such a scene perhaps would have been misplaced in Conviction, since it effectively works within the mainstream to instructively use a generic form to reach a wide audience for whom its message is much more positive than one latently conditioned by cynicism.

The structures preventing Kenny from being exonerated are formidable and entrenched. But they can still be challenged and remodelled.

One day at a time.

Starbuck

Donating sperm for cold hard cash.

The thought's likely crossed every man's mind but for Starbuck's David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) it reappeared again and again until he had earned more than $20,000. Never thinking that his donations were particularly fertile and would eventually be used to father over 500 children, he continued to live his carefree life, working for his father's boucherie while racking up $80,000 in debt with a group of thugs.

But his sperm was used to father 533 children and over 100 of them become curious in regards to the identity of their fecund dad and come searching after discovering the fertility clinic's lack of diversity.

David is somewhat taken aback to discover he has over 500 children but can't help but wonder what his legion of offspring are like. He refuses to admit his identity and they decide to try and discover it through recourse to the law, but as the legal proceedings progress, he begins to anonymously search them out one by one thanks to an envelope of corresponding portfolios with which he is provided before the beginning of the trial.

The children are surprised by the pseudo-guardian angel who keeps appearing in times of need yet take a shine to his adolescent enthusiasm.

The group of thugs to which David owes $80,000 are less beaming and decide to make things more difficult for him and his family as time passes.

His strong and determined yet sweet and loving partner Valerie (Julie Le Breton) also does not find his youthful ethos to be picturesquely scintillating after discovering she's pregnant, and proceeds to intensify his real world pressures all the more.

As a matter of consequence.

The film's hilarious and surprisingly light-hearted considering its subject matter. Emphasizing the importance of working for family if things such as following a schedule or pursuing best practices don't come easily to you, Starbuck also accentuates the benefits of family when it comes to discovering innovative solutions for complicated unanticipated problems, while subtly investigating different generational attitudes towards religion, championing a social framework wherein nurturing is directly proportional to responsibility, highlighting the enormous benefits/debilitating pitfalls of constantly embracing spontaneity, and thoroughly cultivating the value of friendship.

Ken Scott's background portrait of Montréal captures the city's intense dynamic cultural mosaic, presenting scene after scene of enlivening multidimensional detail, while riding a bike or taking a stroll through town.

Cinematography by Pierre Gill.

Hot Fuzz

Wow. Ever been worried that the warm and friendly atmosphere blossoming in your small town is being sinisterly manufactured in order to preserve an antiquated way of life? Ever considered that beneath the pristine picturesque pastimes coordinating your daily pastoral activities lies a determined sect dedicated to ensuring that those activities will remain unchanged, forever?

Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg sure have and the result is a chilling satirization of life in the country, complete with down home cute and cuddly clementines and the infrequent honk of a rebellious swan.

Or Hot Fuzz for short.

Police officer Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) excels at his job. But he performs beyond exceptionally thereby alienating most of the force.

This results in his transfer from London to Sandford.

His dedicated uncompromising bullet proof rectitude also frustrates many in Sandford, but not before he acknowledges that he may have a problem and also befriends partner Danny Butterman (Nick Frost).

The two form an unlikely duo determined to prove that a series of recent deaths are in fact the product of murder, Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton) being their principal suspect.

Should Angel proceed with the traditional traction that has failed to serve him well professionally, or should he relax his pursuit of justice in order to make a more homely fit in his new town?

The answer enriches the ultimate battle of good versus evil, sublimely crafted and ridiculously executed, truly one for the ages.

If you like watching well-written films wherein characters are given seriously comedic room to maneuver, films which seem like they're unconcerned with their narrative's meticulously researched playfully cohesive structure, films which set up over the top stereotypes in opposition and then provide them with plenty of ammo, films where representatives of law and order break down and descend into total chaos, while still upholding the law, you'll likely enjoy Hot Fuzz's bizarre relationship with tradition and redemption, give or take a theoretical posture regarding communal individuality.

Obsessed unyielding conviction. Authority and a pledge of trust. Guns.

Hot Fuzz.

Red (Fantasia Fest 2008)

For years, Brian Cox has been performing exceptionally well as a supporting actor, putting in strong appearances in films such as Zodiak, Troy, Rushmore, and Kiss the Girls. In Red, directed by Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee, Cox is given the chance to see whether or not he has leading person potential, as he takes on the role of down-on-his-luck widower Avery Ludlow. Red follows the tradition of many other films who provide actors who are generally typecast with the chance to play someone different, films such as Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love (Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, and Luis Guzmán), Paul Haggis's Crash (Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Tony Danza), Larry Charles's Masked and Anonymous (Fred Ward, Chris Penn, Christian Slater, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Dern), and, of course, multiple Robert Altman films, notably Short Cuts and the 'anti-Altman' Altman film, Secret Honor (Phillip Baker Hall). Red provides Tom Sizemore (Michael McCormack), Amanda Plummer (Mrs. Doust), and Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund (Willie Doust) with somewhat different roles, and it's nice to see their familiar faces with either a more prominent responsibility (Sizemore playing the secondary villain), or a different assignment (Englund and Plummer playing an impoverished alcoholic couple). I'm still not sure if Red was made for television, since its production values and opening credits appropriately embody such an aesthetic (appropriate since the film, while definitely situating itself within the revenge genre, is full of down-home bucolic charm). And if it was, Cox is bound to win an Emmy for his powerful portrayal of a strong poor man fighting back against oligarchic hypocrisy, seeking just retribution for reprehensible crimes.

What happens is this: Ludlow goes fishing, three teenaged hunters run into him and he provides one of them (Danny McCormack played by Noel Fisher) with avuncular advice regarding his technique. Danny takes none to kindly to this and shoots his dog, Red, killing him. Ludlow, whose family was torn apart by his reckless irresponsible son, luckily discovers the youth's identity, and proceeds to ask his father (Tom Sizemore) to reprimand him. When Danny denies the accusation, his father defends him, forcing Ludlow to seek legal and televisual assistance. When none of these outlets bear retributive fruit, he tricks volatile Danny into assaulting him in front of several witnesses, after which his store is burned to the ground, after which, things become rather ugly.

Ludlow is a modest, hard-working war veteran whose only remaining joy is his dog. When this is taken away from him, and no punishment is administered to the culprit, he takes matters into his own hands. The ending is a little far-fetched, and the situation is somewhat larger than life (sort of like a Van Damme film starring a talented actor, written and produced by the Murder She Wrote team), but Red provides a powerful character study of an honest poor man doing what it takes to outwit his nefarious adversaries, thereby symbolically functioning as a representation of democracy.

Additional Note: directors Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee pay tribute to Robert Shaw's famous soliloquy within Jaws, giving Cox an extended speech wherein he pours his heart out to genial reporter Molly Flick (Lauren Birkell). And Cox hammers it home, displaying the wide variety of emotion he is rarely given the chance to unleash, pulling us into his character, making us see the world through his battered eyes.