Halifax, Nova Scotia | THE COAST: DVD Reviews

Middle of Nowhere

editor@thecoast.ca (Carsten Knox) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by John Stockwell (VVs) by Carsten Knox �Virtue is its own punishment,� says Anton Yelchin�s Dorian. He�s an enterprising pot dealer who reels in his waterpark co-worker Grace (Eva Amurri) into being his driver, promising big bucks.…

Cemetery Junction

editor@thecoast.ca (Sue Carter Flinn) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais (Columbia/Tristar) by Sue Carter Flinn Perhaps the biggest problem with Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais� lukewarm 1970s coming-of-age tale is the anticipation of satirical bite. After all, this is the team reponsible for The Office and Extras.…

The City of Your Final Destination

editor@thecoast.ca (Carsten Knox) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by James Ivory (Hyde Park International) by Carsten Knox Remember when the release of a Merchant Ivory picture was an event? Sadly, producer Ismail Merchant is gone now, but James Ivory, who has been directing since the 1950s, is still helming stately dramas with a light touch.…

The White Ribbon

editor@thecoast.ca (Matt Semansky) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Michael Haneke (X-Filme Creative Pool) by Matt Semansky Director Haneke (Funny Games) once again examines humanity�s capacity for cruelty with this story of a small village in pre-World War I Germany beset by unexplained accidents and violence. To his credit, and to the film�s immeasurable benefit, Haneke eschews his usual shock tactics for a more meditative approach, patiently showing how resentment, anger and viciousness are passed down from one generation---here represented by the families of a baron, a doctor, a pastor and a farmer---to the next, a gaggle of suspiciously sweet-faced urchins that call to mind a high-art Children of the Corn.…

Greenberg

editor@thecoast.ca (Matt Semansky) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Noah Baumbach (Scott Rudin Productions) by Matt Semansky Noah Baumbach specializes in narcissistic jerks, but none of his previous creations, from Jeff Daniels� arrogant academic in The Squid and the Whale to Nicole Kidman�s ice queen in Margot at the Wedding, can match Ben Stiller�s Roger Greenberg for sheer assholery. Greenberg is a seething, socially inept 40-something who spends his time writing complaint letters and alienating old friends and new acquaintances alike with his bitter whining.…

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

editor@thecoast.ca (Sean Flinn) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Written and directed by John Krasinski (IFC Films) by Sean Flinn Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson), an anthropology PhD student, gets dumped by her boyfriend (Krasinski). The event clarifies the purpose and structure of her doctoral work and her interviews with different guys: to understand who men are, how they help and harm themselves and others, even when they don�t intend to do one or the other.…

Collapse

editor@thecoast.ca (Shannon Fay) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Chris Smith (Bluemark Productions) by Shannon Fay Michael Ruppert lives in a world where the end is always just around the corner. Over the course of the documentary (and what seems like 300 cigarettes) Ruppert explains that oil production has peaked and the world as we know it will soon cease to exist.…

Happy Tears

editor@thecoast.ca (Sean Flinn) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein (Mongrel Media) by Sean Flinn Jayne (Parker Posey) and Laura (Demi Moore) deal with the onset of their father�s dementia. Rip Torn, whose own demented door-knocking made so-called celebrity news, raucously plays Dad.…

High Life

editor@thecoast.ca (Carsten Knox) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Gary Yates (Triptych Media) by Carsten Knox Back in the �90s a lot of movies got made in the wake of Quentin Tarantino�s success: light, wordy and violent crime films, few of which managed to match his gift with dialogue or structural grace. Here director Gary Yates revives the post-Tarantino genre like the past decade never happened, aiming for more giddy laughs in a Winnipeg-shot story of an ATM heist by drug addicts, but the film never engages.…

Oceans of Hope

editor@thecoast.ca (Sean Flinn) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon (Pier 21 Society) by Sean Flinn This is an artifact, really, of the Pier 21 museum's first decade in operation. The 25-minute film screened in-house from the start in 1999.…

The Messenger

editor@thecoast.ca (Sean Flinn) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Oren Moverman (Oscilloscope) by Sean Flinn The daily life and work of Casualty Notification officers back in America is original and interesting. But Woody Harrelson�s role as captain Tony Stone, the veteran of this home-based unit, makes the movie.…

Beeswax

editor@thecoast.ca (Sue Carter Flinn) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Andrew Bujalski (The Cinema Guild) by Sue Carter Flinn Andrew Bujalski is king of the poorly named and slightly derogative mumblecore genre: this is his third low-budget movie, a microcosmically sized story produced without the burden of traditional Hollywood plot structures or trained actors. Bujalski creates a tight world about 20-somethings caught between college dreams and adult decisions.…

Paris

editor@thecoast.ca (Sean Flinn) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by C�dric Klapisch (IFC Films) by Sean Flinn Director C�dric Klapisch and actor Romain Duris reunite for this film centering on Duris�s character, Pierre, a former dancer. Pierre�s heart is failing and he�s waiting on the transplant list.…

Fish Tank

editor@thecoast.ca (Matt Semansky) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:00:00 -0300

Directed by Andrea Arnold (BBC Films) by Matt Semansky Fifteen-year-old Brit b-girl Mia is a volatile cocktail of emotional vulnerability, emerging sexuality and simmering aggression, a restless, impulsive creature as likely to gently caress a horse as administer a vicious head-butt. As played by Katie Jarvis, she�s also one of the most mesmerizing cinematic characters you�ll ever meet.…