All Good Things

If you need prove that real life is more exciting than fiction, here it is.

This is also the story of Robert Durst. Andrew Jarecki, the documentarian that interviewed Durst for The Jinx, also made this film. Actually, this film is what set everything in motion. Durst was arrogant enough to contact Jarecki and offered to tell his side of the story. As we all know now, this got him in all sorts of trouble. Again.

The film tells a fictionalized account of, mainly but not only, the disappearance of Durst's wife. Here the couple is called David and Katherine Marks and all the other names have been changed, as well. But if you watch The Jinx you can clearly see that this was pretty much all that has been changed.

The film is solid and entertaining, but whereas the incoherent story telling of the latter telling of the events works well enough, here it just feels like it is jerking you in and out of the story. The Galveston events have been thrown in in little chunks, at seemingly random intervals.

Now, I have watched the two versions of events in reversed order and went into viewing All Good Things knowing what happened when and where things headed. This may have helped me with wrapping my head around the narrative. Especially since the murder and subsequent trial in Galveston, TX, were only skimmed over. I feel that this should have gotten more attention, seeing that the trial was what the film was actually anchored in.

The acting, from everyone involved, was very good. I am not usually a fan of Kirsten Dunst, but in here I liked her a lot. Ryan Gosling holds his own in a film that does not rely on his good looks, which is also nice to see (though not as nice as Ryan Gosling at this sexiest *sigh*).

Decent.

6/10

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

You can't make this stuff up.

The life story of Robert Durst is so weird, it can only be true. This is the account of the man himself, made after the film All Good Things by the same film maker, Andrew Jarecki, which was based on the same events then discussed in The Jinx interviews. Giving those interviews and letting a camera follow him around may well be the worst decision Robert Durst ever made.

The details of the series have been chewed over often enough recently and all the connections to the Serial podcast have already been drawn, so I will not go there. Here are simply my own thoughts on the whole mess.

The Jinx is quite brilliant and very engrossing. Andrew Jarecki also made the exceptional documentary Capturing the Friedmans (if you haven't seen is, please consider this a recommendation to do so). Documentaries have been getting larger audiences in recent years, which is a good things. Life, after all, does tell the best stories.

The final punch of the show, of course, has a weird after taste. The timing of Durst's recent arrest coinciding with the airing of the last episode is curious, and accusations of holding back evidence for the sake of the sucker punch of that scene have flown, but I tend to give the film makers the benefit of a doubt. The inclusion of the team's discussions of the evidence they had in hand (the inciminating letter) even before Robert Durst muttered his confession to himself while wearing a live microphone and their sharing the evidence can be taken as an indicator, that they were acting in good faith.

In conclusion: watch more documentaries. Some of them are well worth your time and long gone are the times when reality banned on film are presented in a way that will bore you to tears.

9/10

Bernie

If there ever was a role written for Jack Black, Bernie is it.

This is based on the true story of a well-liked small town mortician and his unusual friendship with a mean old woman.

Nobody likes old Mrs. Nugent. Everybody loves Bernie, who was involved in most local activities and took it upon himself to visit newly widowed little old ladies a few days after officiating over their deceased husband's funerals. One of those widows was Mrs. Nugent, loathed by everyone. She took a shine to Bernie, who appeared to be the only one to be nice to her and give her the time of day.

The friendship that sprung from his initial visit took him around the world with her money and gave him a taste of the good life. All the townsfolk maintained that he was simply being the nicest guy in the world and were impressed by how he could even stand her.

Then, one day, after Mrs. Nugent became more and more possessive of Bernie's time and jealous of his activities, he shot her and dumped her in the freezer. And there she stayed for 9 months while Bernie spun a tale of a series of strokes and a prolonged stay at a hospital and/or old people's home.

Of course, he did eventually get caught and despite confessing to the crime, the people in the small town wanted nothing more than see him go free. So much so that the DA had the trial moved to another county to get his conviction of a life sentence.

Peppered with interview sequences with the townsfolk to give it more of a real feeling and as realistic as can be with the way the everyday Texan people are made to look.

You see the real Bernie talking with Jack Black during the end credits.

Nice.

5/10

47 Ronin

This is the seventh time, the (apparently) famous Japanese story of the 47 Ronin has been made into film. The tale must have quite the impact on the Japanese, as the graves of the 47 (or, there should be 46, if the retelling in this version is to be believed, shouldn't there?) are still honored and visited every year to celebrate their bravery. The films came out in 1947, 1958, 1962, 1978, 1994 and 2010 before Hollywood got its fingers on it and threw big money towards a lavish production.

The men seek revenge for their master, who has been tricked to lose his honor. But the shogun, benevolently, allowed him to day an honorable death anyway. His former samurai are forbidden to take revenge on the villain, who - for good measure - throws the number 2 guy, Ōishi, in a dungeon for a year, also the period of time he allows the master's daughter to mourn her father before having to marry the villain.

When the year comes to an end, Ōishi is freed and looks for the 'half breed' Kai, who may or may not be a demon (yes, of course he is...sort of), and who is also in love with the aforementioned daughter. Ōishi finds Kai in some Pirates of the Caribbean looking harbor (I could swear I saw Captain Jack Sparrow), where is enslaved and has to fight creatures that have been reused from the production of The Lord of the Rings, no doubt.

Together they find the other ronin, some of whom are none to happy to have Kai back. But there is a lady to save from an unhappy marriage, so they put their differences aside for the time being and go off to find weapons worthy of their cause. Luckily, a much younger Kai once fled from a magic forest, where swords grow. He leads them back their and arms the men.

The rest of the story is scheming the forbidden revenge. They suffer setbacks, mostly courtesy of the witch that the villain employs (at her worst she turns into a whirling mess of cloth and disguises herself as the evil cousin of Falkor the Luck Dragon). But they are let into the fortress of the villain on his wedding day by hiding with a theater group (Trojan horse, if ever there was one) and kick some ass, save the girl and behead the evil villain.

The shogun, ever the gentlemen, berates them for disobeying his order of non-revenge and allows them to day honorably, as well, save for Ōishi son, who is spared so that the brave man's bloodline can continue.

All this is spectacular to look at, no doubt. Who cares if the acting is wooden (it is, after all, Keanu Reeves we are looking at)? I had fun, although I cannot confirm the exact number of the ronin involved, as it seemed to fluctuate quite a bit. They officially announced themselves to be 47 at around the 1 h 23 min mark, after they had already suffered some casualties. Oh well, whatever.

A revelation this is not. The historic accuracy is highly doubtful. The acting is average at best (except for Ōishi, Ōishi is awesome). But it is beautifully shot and you can tell where the budget went.

6/10

Nokas

The film retells the NOKAS robbery, the biggest ever heist in Norway, in which a group of 11 heavily armed robbers stole a total of 57 million kroner, of which 51 have never been recovered.

The story is almost too weird to have happened in the way depicted. The plan was for the robbers to break down a window into the ground floor of the bank at a time the safe would have already been opened. Failing that, there should be enough hostages inside to force someone to open it. If everything would have gone according to plan they would have been out with the money in under 10 minutes. This alone does not a good heist movie make.

They figured that, as the building had been built in the 1960's, it would not have bullet proof glass and the windows should shatter immediately. This is where they were wrong and it considerably slowed them down. It took a sledgehammer, a battering ram and 113 shots to finally break into the building - giving the employees enough time to get out.

The plan also included a scheme to slow down the local police force from responding. They were already low on numbers as it were, with several officers on Easter holiday. The robbers blocked the police garage with a truck they then set on fire, virtually locking in most of the police working that day. This would have been a brilliant move were it not for the fact that the material they used as fodder for the fire is what got them convicted as it contained DNA from most of the robbers.

The only readily available law enforcement officers were a duo that were already out on an unrelated call. They ended up facing off with the robbers stationed outside the bank. With next to no personnel available, there was nobody there to rope off the area and people strolled by between the bank, the armed robbers and the police - people walking dogs, joggers, women with strollers. Even after shorts were fired (many, many shots), there was still a lot of foot traffic.

Also, the city buses came by right on schedule. There is a scene when all drivers of the buses are alerted of the robbery and gunfire at Church Square. One driver calls in to say that this is his route's starting point and asked what he should do. Dispatch told him to just go there and ask the policemen on site. WTF?

The film ends after the robbers drive off with the loot. What happened after is detailed in insert cards.

This was really quite brilliant.

8/10

Muder in the Heartland

The story of Charles Starkweather, who went on a two-months killing spree with his under age girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate in December 1957 and January 1958 has been told in several versions, sometimes depicting the actual story and other times merely using the story as inspiration.

This 1993 TV mini series probably stays the closest to the real story. The first part covers the 11 murders committed by Starkweather, who later claimed that Fugate was a willing participant, changing his initial story that she had nothing to do with the murders. Fugate always maintained her innocence, claiming she had been held hostage by Starkweather, who threatened to kill her family (her mother, stepfather and half-sister were among the first victim, Fugate denied knowing they were already dead).

Part two deals with the aftermath - the police investigation, the extradition of Starkweather to be tried in Nebraska rather than Wyoming (both states had the death penalty but he said to prefer the Nebraskan electric chair to Wyoming's gas chamber), the extent of Fugate's involvement in the crimes.

Tim Roth plays Charles Starkweather in his usual brilliant manner and Fairuza Balk is actually surprisingly good in this, as well (she usually plays weirdos rather than the precocious young girl).

Pretty decent TV adaption.

7/10

12 Years a Slave

This is the film that won Best Film (Drama) at last night's Golden Globe Awards. This was the only award it received. Strangely enough, neither of the two nominated actors - Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o - took home a statue, which is a shame, really. Granted, I have not seen all the films that travel the award circuit this season and cannot attest to either Matthew McConaughey's or Jennifer Lawrence's (the two the afore mentioned lost to) performances in their respective films yet but the one has lost a lot of weight for his film and the other has been Hollywood's darling for the last couple of years (and kudos to them) and this clearly needs to be lauded over actual acting performances.

To the film at hand. Yes, it is about a slavery but fortunately it is not of the sappy kind. The tale unfolds slowly and is told quietly, with only occasional burst of extreme violence.

It is the true story of Solomon Northup, a free man in New York state, who gets lured to Washington D.C. under false pretenses and kidnapped and sold to a slave trader. He first ends up at the plantation of one Mr. Ford, who is not an evil man and probably thinks of himself as someone caught in the system he has no way of opposing. After a fight with the vicious foreman, Solomon is sold on to Edwin Epps. On the Epps property, his name is changed to Platt and his new labor is picking cotton. Epps - unlike Ford - is indeed an evil man and drunkard, proudly calling the slaves his property. He is sexually obsessed with the slave girl Patsey, much to his wife's chagrin. Mistress Epps tries repeatedly to have him sell Patsey and - as he refuses - throws a bottle at her and later scratches her barely healed face. All this, to get back at her husband.

Solomon, meanwhile, tries to survive and does not admit to being able to read and write as to not draw any attention to himself. He does once reach out to a white man picking cotton with him. He asks him to send a letter for him, but the guy immediately tells on him. Solomon can appease Epps by telling him that the man is lying and only trying to get Epps to make him foreman.

After more than a decade in slavery, he finally meets someone he can trust with his story and giving word to his friends and family. Bass, a Canadian who is on the property to build a gazebo does make his opposition to slavery clear and helps Solomon by writing to his folks on his behalf. Solomon is picked up by an old friend and returns to his family for a tearful reunion.

The cast in this is absolutely fantastic (see top of the page).

8/10

Captain Phillips

Whoa, that was intense.

This is Tom Hanks at his best. He is simply excellent as the Captain of the MV Maersk Alabama, which in 2009 was taken by a small group of Somali pirates.

When the hijack turned sour for the Somalis on board, thanks to the resourcefulness of Captain Phillips and his crew, they took Phillips hostage and left on the life raft, heading for Somali. The idea was to get 10 million $ in ransom money.

With all the action going on - crew hiding in the engine room, outsmarting the pirates by turning off emergency lights and leaving glass shards by the door for the one barefoot pirate to step in, Navy Seals parachuting onto the scene, military ships and helicopters coming for the rescue - the focus is always on Captain Phillips and his four hijackers. The group is in this small boat, exhausted, thirsty and overcome by cabin fever and none of it ever gets boring.

I don't know if things really went down as they did, but if only half of it did, this Captain Phillips is quite the hero.

Edge-of-your-seat excitement!

8/10

The Conjuring

I have seen a lot of horror films. A lot. This is the best horror film I have seen in a long time, if not ever.

The film details the allegedly true story about a haunting in the house of the Perron family and is based on the findings of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Whether or not you buy into the paranormal depicted or, indeed, believe that such phenomena exist, the film will have you jump more than once.

It is old school horror rather than buckets of blood poured onto everyone and everything (something I am absolutely cool with in films, but find it less effective than haunting story telling). The build-up is slow paced but when the weird things start happening, they happen in spades. And it is scary. For me, it's the small things that do it, like in Paranormal Activity (the first one aka the only one that matters) the door that moved in the middle of the night, here it was hands reaching out from between clothes and clapping.

If you want to have side-to-side comparisons of the fictional vs. real people, there is an article with photos and all about it on the History vs. Hollywood website. There is also a pretty official webpage for the film.

Very, very scary and very, very good. James Wan knows what he is doing.

9/10

Doomsday Gun

The film is based on the true story of the so-called Project Babylon, which had Dr. Gerald Bull build a "supergun" for the Iraqi government.

It also details the involvement of both, the British and US Government, who aided (directly or indirectly) the building of the gun and another, smaller one, referred to as Baby Babylon.

The give it more validity, the voices of (among others) George Bush, Margaret Thatcher and Al Gore are played over the last few moments. Ultimately, the project was more or less financed by the US tax payers while the Brits looked on, profiting from the export of the components of what they officially referred to as "oil pipes".

The telling is very factual and somewhat sterile, not making any of the characters too sympathetic, which keeps them at an emotional distance. The cast is brilliant and the story itself is stirring, though.

Dr. Bull was assassinated in 1990, practically ending the supergun project. However, his technology was later used by the Iraq in SCUD missiles.

5/10

Dog Day Afternoon

This is brilliant!

Sonny and two cohorts try to rob a bank. Everything that can possibly go wrong does. First, one of the accomplices chickens out. Money has just been picked up the day before so the vaults are empty. To top it all off, the police swarm the place.

Whenever Sonny comes out, waving a white flag, to negotiate an escape for him and his friend Sal, he gets cheered by the crowd. And he loves it. He yells out paroles, throws money into the crowd and screams "Attica! Attica!" referring to a riot at Attica prison facility some time earlier.

He is more concerned about keeping his hostages safe (bathroom breaks and pizza) and leaving money in his will to both his wife. The second wife is actually a man named Leon and is sort of the reason Sonny got himself into this mess, he was going to steal the money to pay for Leon's sex change.

The film is based on true events (according to the actual culprit, only loosely so) and is one of Al Pacino's finest performances.

9/10

Mephisto

This film is based on the book of the same name by Klaus Mann, the story of the actor Gustaf Gründgens. The book was originally published in 1956 but after Gründgens' death (1963) his adoptive son fought to have the book banned, because it portrayed Gründgens in a less than sympathetic light. Consequently, it was taken off the market in 1966. In 1981, ignoring the ban, the book was finally republished in Germany. The film came out the same year.

The main character is called Hendrik Höfgen (brilliantly portrayed by Klaus Maria Brandauer), an actor that in the 1930s initially supports the Bolsheviks but it may not even be a political statement. He simply does not concern himself too much with the political changes in his country. So ignorant is he that he is not even aware of a vote that puts Hitler in charge in 1934.

His wife, whom he married not for love but because her father had considerable influence before the Nazis took charge, leaves for France and they lose contact. Also, some of his colleagues chose to leave the country. When one actress tells him she is learning English and about to leave for America, because there is no future for literary art and theater in this new Germany she also suggests Höfgen leave, as well. His reaction, "Ich brauche die deutsche Sprache! Ich brauche meine Heimat!" ("I need the German language! I need my home!").

Höfgen stays and bends enough under the new regime to coax his way to the top and into a circle of friends of an influential Nazi. All the while, he hides a friend in his apartment and has an affair with a black dancer, until his Nazi friend suggests she get out of the country and he no longer associate with her.

He spends the best part of his career playing the role of Mephisto in Goethe's Faust. Eventually, he is handed the reigns of an important theater in Berlin. Höfgens is every inch the opportunist, convincing himself that he only lives for the theater and politics barely come into it.

from Roger Ebert's review: This is a human story, and as the actor in this movie makes his way to the top of the Nazi propaganda structure and the bottom of his own soul, the movie is both merciless and understanding. This is a weak and shameful man, the film seems to say, but then it cautions us against throwing the first stone.

The film was nominated in the Best Foreign Language category (for Hungary) at the Oscars.

8/10

Intouchables (The Intouchables)

This is the true story of (very) rich Philippe, who broke two cervical vertebrae when paragliding and spends his days in a wheelchair and being cared for by a collection of employees. When the need for a new medical assistant arises, rather than pick someone with any experience in the medical film, Philippe hires Driss, who is fresh out of jail and only came for a signature to not lose his unemployment benefits.

What Driss has over all the other applicants is a devil-may-care attitude and a lust for life that Philippe desperately needs. The young man is from the suburbs and used to having to share quarters with numerous family member. Now he finds himself in an expensive town vila with - best of all - his own bathtub.

After the initial fascination with Philippe's condition (once Driss pours hot water over Philippe's legs because he can't quite believe that it doesn't hurt him at all), the two men develop a friendship that lasts until this day. The real life duo is shown right before the end credits.

Funny and heart warming.

8/10

10 Rillington Place

This is the true story of serial killer John Christie (portrayed by Richard Attenborough) and a case of miscarriage of justice involving Timothy Evans (played by John Hurt).

Between 1943 and 1953, Mr. Christie strangled 8 (known) victims, including baby Geraldine Evans. The film details the time of Geraldine's parents short stay in a rental apartment at the title giving address.

After Christie murdered Beryl Evans he tells her husband Timothy, who by modern standards would be considered mentally challenged, that she accidentally died while he helped her terminate an unwanted pregnancy. He urged Evans to leave town until the investigation about his wife's death had died down. The unfortunate Geraldine gets left in the 'care' of Christie.

Evans was apprehended and as a result of a false confession was then tried for the murder of his daughter and sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed in 1950. This enabled Christie to murder a few more women, including his wife Ethel. He was later detected and finally hanged in 1953.

The argument that Evans was in fact innocent of the crime he was accused of was brought forward in a book by Ludovic Kennedy, which lead to a revision of the case. Evans was officially pardoned in 1966.

Very well acted by both leads.

6/10

Mrs Henderson Presents

This is based on real events.

Mrs. Henderson, after having lost her son in the first World War, is bored after burying her husband as well. Her well-meaning friend's suggestion of taking up a hobby leads her to purchase a run-down theater in central London. With the help of Mr Van Damm, she puts on a revue that initially is very successful, but only until all the other theaters in town do likewise.

To get back on top, Mrs Henderson decides to put nude women into their sing-and-dance productions. This causes quite the stir and - of course - quite the success. The theater continues to run its shows throughout WWII. Although it is underground and therefore relatively safe from the German bombs, it does suffer its tragedies.

Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins are wonderful in a sort of love-hate relationship. This also features Will Young (singing, of course) and Christopher Guest, who adds a few laughs to the film.

6/10

Kon-Tiki

Another film watched at the Gartenbaukino Oscar event. I might have never watched Kon-Tiki if it weren't for winning tickets for the entire event.

This is the story of Thor Heyerdahl and his trusted crew giving themselves to the wind and currents to prove that Polynesia was actually populated first by South Americans (Peruvians, to be precise) rather than the then held popular belief that the original settlers came from Asia.

I understand that this is the most expensive Norwegian film ever made and it really is a feast for the eyes. Beside the obvious beauty of shots of the grand ocean in all kinds of weather we get eye candy.

Lots and lots of eye candy. The adventurers are mostly well-built Scandinavians running around with their shirts off.

Aside from that, the film is actually really good and I'm glad I saw it. It was nominated for best foreign language film. Of course, it never stood a chance, as it was up against Amour, which won every award imaginable this year.

6/10

Tángshān Dàdìzhèn (Aftershock)

The film Tángshān Dàdìzhèn tells the story of one family torn apart by what was the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century.

It starts with the Great Tangshan Earthquake of July 28, 1976. The twins Fang Deng (a girl) and Fang Da (a boy) are trapped underneath a large concrete slab, that is settled in such an unfortunate way that lifting one side to save one of the children will almost certainly kill the other. The mother, Yuan Ni, who has already lost her husband in the disaster, is pressured by the rescue team to make a decision on which child to save. When she refuses and the rescue team is about to move on to help someone else, she asks them to save the boy. She takes her injured son to a military base to get medical help, thinking her daughter dead. Fang Deng wakes up beside her father's body and in the chaos of the aftermath, gets placed in a childrens' home, from which she gets adopted by her foster parents.

The biggest part of the film follows the parallel story of mother and daughter. One refusing to leave the town and repeatedly telling her deceased husband and thought-dead daughter the directions to her new house in Tanshan, the other pretending not to remember anything about the earthquake and her family, when in reality she cannot forget (or forgive) hearing her mother chose her twin brother's life over hers.

What follows are the ups and downs of everyday life lived in different towns and different cicumstances. Over the course of the next 32 years, both twins have children - giving them the same name, Dian Dian. Fang Deng eventually marries a 'foreigner' and moves to Vancouver. She only returns in 2008 when another devastating earthquake hits China and she works on what is called the Tangshan Rescue Team, where she meets her long lost brother again. Mother and daughter get reunited and the film ends with the family visiting the (empty) graves of father and daughter.

A very sad film, dedicated to the survivers of the Great Earthquake. For all the devastation depicted, it carries itself with dignity and never gorges on the blood and bodies of the victims.

The only irritating thing is that the actor playing the Canadian husband is very bad and stands out among a cast delivering stellar performances.

8/10

The Hot Potato

When a facility owned by GB's Ministry of Defence is destroyed, Danny and Kenny come into possession of a lump of Uranium discovered in the debris.

As soon as they realize what they have, they try to sell it. This involves meeting with an array of shady characters across Europe (in Bruges, Ostend, Luxembourg, Rome etc.) all the while being 'helped' by a German named - wait for it - Fritz. And everyone knows you can't trust a German (the filmmakers' words, not mine).

The film is based on true events (or so they claim) and is a throwback to 1960s crime caper films featuring a wonderful cast. My favorite(s): 'the twins' and, obviously, Ray Winstone.

6/10

Argo

Think what you will of Ben Affleck's quality as an actor, but the man is a brilliant director. I will fight you tooth and nail on that. He has to date made three feature films and I enjoyed all of them immensely. Actually, I believe he got better with every film.

Anyway, my point is Argo is a great, great film.
It tells the true story of a covert mission to free six American citizens hiding in the residence of the Canadian ambassador to Iran. The six individuals fled the US embassy in 1979, while it was being stormed by angered Iranians that demanded that the US return the former Shah so that he could be properly tried in Iran. In the ensuing chaos the fact that six personnel of the embassy are missing goes unnoticed for quite some time.

Meanwhile, back in Washington the government together with the CIA is trying to devise a plan to free them. The plan they eventually go with is so ridiculous yet still makes more sense than some of the other options they entertain. The plan is to pretend to make a sci-fi film called Argo and pass the six off as part of a film production group scouting locations in Iran. To make this airtight a production company is formed, offices and all, a producer is found and actors are cast to perform a table reading for press.

They really did this in 1980 and the operation remained classified until the late 1990s. Up until then people were led to believe that the coup was thought up and put into action by Canada.

The climax will have you worried, even though you know that they will eventually all get to safety.

9/10

Bottle Shock

A light hearted comedy about the early days of Californian wine making, based on true events.

It evolves around an event that is now referred to as "Judgement of Paris". Apparently, the story of Steve Spurrier's travels to Napa Valley to bring American wines to France for a tasting (competing against French wines, of course) is only a very loose interpretation of what actually happened. This according to Mr. Spurrier himself.

Whatever the case, the film itself - true or not - is charming and has a pretty interesting cast. Spurrier is played by the always wonderful Alan Rickman. Besides him it features Bill Pullman, Chris Pine, Freddy Rodriguez and a very brief appearance by Bradley Whitford (brownie points!).

Chris Pine looks pretty awful as a young surfer dude (but, unsurprisingly, gets the girl). Other than that, the stellar cast makes this worth a watch - possibly more so than the story itself, which is more or less reduced to classic US patriotism.

We showed them French people!

4/10