5 films om naar uit te kijken in 2018

Nu dat ik mijn gebruikelijke oudejaarslijstjes voor 2016 heb gepost, krijg ik van alle kanten de vraag opgedrongen naar welke releases ik het meest uitkijk in 2017. Daar kan ik natuurlijk een antwoord op geven, wat ik ook een paar keer gedaan heb. Of ik kan de vraag vanaf nu lekker negeren en niet aan de verwachtingen voldoen, door een lijstje te maken van films in 2018 waar ik reikhalzend naar uitkijk. Hierbij doe ik het laatste. Wat ook een beetje dom is natuurlijk, want de vraag voor 2017 blijft zo bestaan. Ach, een beetje vooruit werken kan geen kwaad...

Han Solo Star Wars spin-off

Met Rogue One als mijn onbetwiste nummer één van 2016 ligt de Han Solo-solofilm (wat bekt dat toch lekker!) voor de hand. Tuurlijk heb ik hier zin in. Han Solo is de ultieme schavuit van het witte doek. Hoe vaak zagen we charme en moed enerzijds en hebzucht en hartenleed anderzijds zo treffend verenigd in één personage? En je krijgt er altijd gratis een wandelend vloerkleed getooid met een ammunitiegordel bij. What's not to like? Nou, nieuwe acteurs die die iconische rollen spelen bijvoorbeeld. Harrison Ford doe je niet zo maar dunnetjes over. Dat is ook het bezwaar dat ik heb tegen prequels/re-imaginings/spin-offs gecentreerd rond personen in plaats van gebeurtenissen. Je bent afhankelijk van personages die je al kent maar die zowel herbevestigd als heruitgevonden moeten worden, en dat is een gevaarlijke zaak. Willen we überhaupt wel meer van hun achtergrond weten, neemt dat niet weg van hun mystiek? Bad Han Begins? Han Solo's ontstaansrelaas boeit me eerlijk gezegd minder dan de geschiedenis rond de eerste missie van de Rebel Alliance, een stukje historie waarvan we de afloop al kennen, maar waarvan we verder amper iets afwisten. Bleek Rogue One toch goed voor een hoop intrigerende nieuwe personages, alsmede voor optredens van oude in kleine rollen die onze harten deden smelten van nostalgisch wederzien. Het valt te bezien of de nog titelloze avonturen van Young Han Solo even aangrijpend blijken.

 
Avengers: Infinity War

Die andere grote actie-franchise onder Disney's paraplu, het Marvel Cinematic Universe, kijkt juist vooruit, naar de toekomst. Ook hier tig oude personages (en legio nieuwe), maar in nieuwe situaties. 'Tig' behelst in dit geval volgens Marvelbons Kevin Feige maar liefst 67 personages. Ik vond de hoeveelheid figuren in Captain America: Civil War al wat veel van het goede... Desondanks, in het bronmateriaal, de Marvel Comics die ik al ruim twintig jaar verslind, werkt dit soort mega-crossovers vaak als een tierelier, dus ik gun ze het voordeel van de twijfel. Infinity War is bovendien de apotheose van het MCU, sinds in The Avengers de eerste tease naar super-superschurk Thanos plaatshad en er vervolgens in elke tweede Marvelfilm wel zo'n Infinity Stone de revue passeerde. Tijd om na tien jaar alle plotlijnen bijeen te brengen en het kookpunt dat steeds verder bereikt lijkt in het MCU eindelijk eens tot bedaren te brengen. Waarop Marvel vervolgens vast een nieuw tienjarenplan in de kast heeft liggen. Marvel Zombies of zo.

Isle of Dogs

Voor wie minder opheeft met al dat Hollywoodspektakel, ligt er in 2018 eindelijk weer een nieuwe Wes Anderson in het verschiet. Wes wie? Je weet wel, die briljante Amerikaanse indie-regisseur met zijn unieke visuele stijl, die narratief altijd zo geslaagd het midden houdt tussen tragedie en komedie en wiens films zo quintessentieel 'quirky' zijn (een treffende Nederlandse vertaling is nog niet voorhanden). Misschien wel mijn favoriete regisseur. In 2018 is het alweer vier jaar sinds zijn laatste, het briljante The Grand Budapest Hotel, dus het wordt wel weer eens tijd. (Tenzij je kunt leven met zuiver commercials van zijn hand in de tussentijd, die mij juist alleen maar naar meer doen smaken...) Stop motion bovendien, slechts zijn tweede film in dat format, na het briljante Fantastic Mr. Fox. Waar gaat het over? Iets met honden en Japan en meer weten we nog niet, maar de naam Wes Anderson is voor mij al ruim voldoende. Dat geldt ook voor de acteurs, want het lijkt tegenwoordig wel alsof er een wachtlijst is voor rollen in Wes Anderson films, zo graag wil iedereen met die man in zee gaan. Vaste partners Bill Murray, Edward Norton en Jeff Goldblum zijn opnieuw van de partij, terwijl dit keer ook Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson en Tilda Swinton acte de présence geven. Als stemmetjes van stop motion honden, dat wel. Onder Anderson kan dat alleen maar tot briljante taferelen leiden.

Early Man

Over stop motion gesproken, 2018 zal een goed jaar worden voor die techniek, aangezien er ook een nieuwe Aardman op ons ligt te wachten. Je weet wel, die heerlijk Engelse animatiestudio van Wallace & Gromit en Shaun the Sheep. Dit keer geen vervolg op een prijzenwinnende short, maar een origineel concept. Over holbewoners die samenleven met dino's. Okee, zo origineel is dat concept niet - laat staan wetenschappelijk verantwoord! - maar het potentieel als de koddige versie van One Million Years B.C. is groot. De Britsheid blijft behouden met stemmenwerk van in ieder geval de heren Redmayne en Hiddleston. Hier kan simpelweg niets misgaan.

Jurassic World 2

En dan is er deze titel nog. Uiteraard de film waar ik, als Jurassic fanaat, het meest likkebaardend op zit te wachten. Nieuwe regisseur (want als je de kans geboden wordt om een Star Wars film te regisseren zeg je geen nee, zoals Colin Trevorrow) is de Spaanse J.A. Bayona, van wie ik nog niets aanschouwd heb (ligt aan mij, want hij heeft wel degelijk eerder films gemaakt). Dit keer geen park op een eiland, geen getrainde Raptors en geen mixklonen (of toch...?). In JW2 ligt de techniek voor het klonen van prehistorisch gespuis te grabbel, dus 'anything goes'. Chris Pratt (met gun) en Bryce Dallas Howard (met hoge hakken) mogen eens te meer aan de bak om het aantal verspilde mensenlevens te beperken. Aangezien iedereen het leuk vindt om te zien hoe dinosauriërs mensen opvreten, zullen ze daar niet geheel succesvol in zijn. Verder helaas nog weinig details. Rex & Raptors gegarandeerd. Hopelijk voor de afwisseling eens mét veren, zoals het hoort. Wordt uitgebracht een week vóór mijn verjaardag. Heel strategisch, Universal...

The Best of 2014

As is expected of everyone with more than just a keen love of film - read: obsessive film nerds and the like - the last few days of December are marked by the obligatory lists of best films, worst films, etc. Why would this blog of mine be any exception to that rule? So here's my personal Top-5 of Best Pictures of the year.

5: Gone Girl

David Fincher's exploration of the darkness behind the facade that is the American Dream packs a mean punch. It's a very cynical film, filled with black humour, that shatters the hopes for wedlock of the uninitiated and might be painfully recognizable for those who have been married for a while. Nevertheless, it enlarges such fears and reservations of wedded couples to absurd extremes. No side is chosen in this battle of the sexes, which introduces a seemingly perfect married couple that is tearing itself apart as diabolical schemes to gain the upper hand between both protagonists, the pair of them positively horrible people, explode to national outrage as the relentlessly hungry media, also not spared the necessary critique, are drawn into this very personal little conflict. As usual, Fincher makes sure the ingenious narrative is always one step ahead of its audience, as he surprises us with more than just a few unexpected plot twists here and there and leaves the opening of the film intentionally ambiguous. You might decide against tying the knot after having seen this picture.

4: The Wolf of Wall Street

Though technically a 2013 movie in its country of origin, Martin Scorsese's latest masterpiece sure left its mark on Dutch theaters in the year that followed. Another magnum opus in an oeuvre that largely consists of those, Scorsese's j'accuse against the world of Big Money proves both a harrowing descent into utter debauchery and stupendous opulence, as well as an infectiously hilarious comedy, since it's all just too unreal to be believed. The veteran director once more gets the most out of his muse, Leonardo DiCaprio, in a rollercoaster ride of the life time that is Jordan Belfort's. Once simply an ambitious but caring man intent on looking out for his wife, he turns into a ravenous money monster once his position on Wall Street is secured due to his talents of outrageous scheming and charismatic persuasion. What follows is a near orgy of sexual escapades, trophy wives, excessively expensive vehicles and all the drugs large quantities of money can buy, including the Holy Grail of Quaaludes. You cannot help but both admire and abhor this man, but when you see him rolling out his Porsche half paralyzed from an overdose of opiates, drooling something fierce, while afterwards abusing his wife and kid, you know that all the money and power does not make this man someone to be envied. And you wonder how many thoroughly decadent people are still ruling the upper echelons of Wall Street thanks to Belfort's example...

3: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The Star Spangled Avenger's second solo feature (sort of, since he's fortunately not without his allies) exceeds the level of its predecessor on every level, while doing a great job shaking up the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its core. Both a successful homage to political spy thrillers of the Seventies and a fabulous spy thriller in its own right, this movie marks Marvel's most intriguing plot to date. Poor Fourties' icon Cap (Chris Evans) still needs to adjust to the brave new world that is the 21st Century, but finds himself at odds with a much changed Home of the Free that in many ways is not his own anymore. To make matters worse, his worldwide peacekeeping employer S.H.I.E.L.D. turns out to be infiltrated by a villainous secret organization hellbent on world domination and marks both him and his friends as traitors to the American cause. To top all his misery, a painful ghost from his past returns to thwart the super soldier's attempts to save his country from shadow tyranny. A fantastic combination of explosive action, intelligent story telling and carefully crafted intertwining with the rest of the Marvel Universe makes the second Captain America movie the most wonderfully balanced Marvel movie to date.

2: Guardians of the Galaxy

And now for something completely different, Marvel must have thought. So rather than doing another superhero movie, as is all the rage in Hollywood, they decided to turn to one of their lesser known assets and delivered this delightful space opera. Infectiously setting up the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe, James Gunn's talents for quirky, off-beat humour are paired with an almost Whedonesque sense of writing dialogue for ensembles, as we are introduced to an unlikely bunch of interstellar outlaws who find themselves forced to rely upon one another to save a planet from destruction at the hands of a rampagingly zealous madman. Brilliant visual effects, enticing new characters and locations and an irresistable sense of the excitement to experience in the farthest reaches of space echo the enjoyment of the old Star Wars trilogy, but with a character distinctly its own. Though the plot may not be as strong as that of Cap 2, the genuine sense of fun Guardians of the Galaxy instills in its audience simply exceeds even that film. 2014 proved a great year for Marvel, so hopefully the company can keep up this momentum a while longer.

1: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson's latest turns out to be his finest as well. All his usual ingredients - quirky humour and characters, auteurist visuals, dysfunctional family issues and a top cast having an absolute ball - are thrown into the sweetest mix imaginable. The film looks like a wonderfully prepared cake and digests as such even more so. At the same time, Anderson turns total filmophile and utilizes every old trick in the book to acknowledge the equally rich history of the medium. Editing, sound, special effects and photography are all applied to their limits, making for a picture so thoughtfully stylized it might as well be a classical painting. If there is one director that is not to be missed by anyone who claims to love the cinema, it's Anderson. And if there's one movie on his resumé that is not to be missed by anyone, it's The Grand Budapest Hotel. The only downside seems to be it's gonna be next to impossible to top this film...

Today's Column: behind the scenes of arthouse programming

Wrote another column for MovieScene:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/154147/column_-_hoe_programmeer_ik_een_filmhuis

Inspiration was tough this time because I was quite busy with both my regular job and my new hobby supporting the programming department of the new Filmhuis Alkmaar arthouse theater. I eventually decided to just write a piece about that, as it seemed appropriate to do this follow-up to my emotionally charged column about Provadja's demise a few months back. Nevertheless, because of my lack of available time I consider this latest column to be a bit on the superficial side, even though I daresay you get the gist of it. So far it's fun work, though because of the poor quality of internal communications between the various departments that comprise the staff (voluntary that is) of the theater it can at times prove stressful. Also something to take into account, and not mentioned here, is the fact distributors love to mess around with their movies' release dates, making a keen eye for spotting such moves and accordingly flexible programming to accomodate these happenstances rather imperative. The most striking example was the German film Das Wochenende, which was originally slated for release in January, then moved to March and is now currently expected to hit theaters in October... Am I glad we didn't plan that one for our opening weekend, that would have been awkward to say the least! As for Wes Anderson not being popular in Alkmaar, as far as I'm concerned we'll make him popular. The decision to order his upcoming magnum opus The Grand Budapest Hotel for only a single week has seemingly been reversed in favour of a two week appearance, something I opted for from the beginning. There weren't that many other attendance magnets available, so Anderson got out on top. Suits me fine.

Here's to a bright future for Filmhuis Alkmaar!

Wes Anderson's kids are allright

Moonrise Kingdom: ****/*****, or 8/10

And so Wes Anderson, that overly creative director of delightful family comedy drama, returns to live action filming after having taken a short break from it in favour of proving his style is equally charming when applied to stop motion animation, which resulted in The Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the classic children's novel by Roald Dahl. Anderson apparently picked up a thing or two in a narrative sense from the great author, considering the newest addition to his own oeuvre as a distinguished film auteur (his style always instantly recognizable in every scene) like many of Dahl's stories deals with intelligent kids breaking free from the often abusive world of angry adults that simply refuses to understand them, instead restricting their growth processes by incapsulating them in a repressive regime of habits. Whether inspired by Dahl or simply containing thematic similarities by pure coincidence, Moonrise Kingdom is a wonderful hommage to smart children and their first steps towards true self-reliance despite the obstacle that adults usually prove to be.

The stage for Moonrise Kingdom is provided by New Penzance, a fictional New England island like only Wes Andersonland can provide, complete with Native American cultural leftovers, red-and-white coloured lighthouse, ferry and mail plane, plus the addition of existing Rhode Island (where the movie was shot) natural beauty of stunning quality, the bare facts of all this being relayed to the audience by an odd looking old man in a red coat and a silly hat who simply acts as narrator, not as a relevant character otherwise. The year being 1965, it's the perfect spot for a boy scout camp, which is run by part time math teacher Scout Master Randy Ward (Edward Norton, Fight Club) in a tight and strictly organized manner, which makes it all the harder for the man to accept one of his scouts, the pipe smoking orphan boy Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) has gone AWOL. At the same time, the dysfunctional Bishop family is dismayed to discover their little girl Suzy (Kara Hayward) has also made a run for it without their knowledge or permission, upsetting her attorney parents Walt and Laura (Bill Murray, Anderson's go-to-guy – this film marking their sixth collaboration – and newcomer-to-his-work Frances McDormand, of Burn After Reading fame). A search for the pair of runaways is swiftly underway, spearheaded by local police officer Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis, also an Anderson first-timer), a likeable but lonely man who happens to have an affair with Laura. While the search progresses, it becomes blatantly clear the two kids have planned their escape much more effectively than the generally dimwitted adults are seen to conduct their pursuit of them, making for many an hilarious gag in the process as we have come to expect and enjoy from Wes Anderson.

In a flashback we learn Sam and Suzy, both only twelve years of age, met the year before at a local church play, which led to mutual intrigue at first, followed by a pen pal connection and an eventual love relationship, which led them to elope together in order to both escape their incompetent guardians and get married and live in the wilderness. It's a deliciously naive but romantic ploy only the mind of a child could conceive, despite the minds of both kids appearing to be in a better overall condition than those of their grown-up trackers. In fact, it's Scout Master Ward's relentless (and prone to violence) team of boy scouts who locate the runaways first, leading to a surprisingly suggestive moment of aggression and a dead scout mascotte, proving Sam and Suzy are ready to fight for their freedom and their now hard earned right to live alone on a beautiful private beach.

Unfortunately the timing for their escape could have been better, as a devastating hurricane and the resulting flood threatens their island paradise, adding a sense of urgency to the plot. Fortunately for them – or not – the adults find them in time, but by now both Captain Sharp and the boy scouts have come to respect the sensible pair's honest wishes and fully understand their desire to get away from their messed up guardians. Despite the bloody incident earlier between them, in a surprising turn of events the scouts spring both Sam and Suzy from their confinement and relocate them to a church during the now raging storm. Again cornered by the ones they tried to get away from, as well as confronted by a lady from Social Services (Tilda Swinton) – a nameless character simply referred to by everyone, including herself, as 'Social Services', a joke the Dutch subtitling sadly does not pick up – Sam and Suzy again make a now desperate run for it, risking their lives to prove the world their love is real, as is their desire to fight for their independence.

Overall, it's not a complicated plot and a brief synopsis might only make it sound childish, but it's Wes Anderson's approach to things that makes it work as well as it does. As is his usual style, the film is as quirky and colourful as his previous works, making every scene vibrantly appealing and cramped with little details, most of them only visible a brief moment, thus in itself making the film worthy of a second viewing if only to take in all the hidden jokes. Fortunately there's an abundance of not so hard to miss gags as well, both visual and in dialogue, all the actors chipping in to make the jokes as well timed and performed ad they need be. To add to the movie's charm, the film is shot using a 16 mm camera (a first for Anderson), thus enhancing the general 'old movie' feel, making it subconsciously feel more realistically like 1965, which only shows Anderson still isn't afraid to experiment a little bit here and there to discover what works best to convey a style all his own as compellingly as possible. As for experimenting, extra credit is due to him for the fact he dares to explore the blossoming sexual feelings of his two underage main characters, resulting in a 'French kissing' scene in underwear that will undoubtedly make conservative America cringe and whine, but in the context of the scene feels perfectly justified and innocent, as are all the activities he allows this pair, considering the rigid and awkward people they attempt to escape from.

Visual style and experimentation aside, as always it's the actors that make a Wes Anderson movie feel the most like a Wes Anderson movie, utilizing a typical acting style that carefully balances between introvert and emotionally disconnected on the one side and completely over the top on the other. In Moonrise Kingdom's case the greatest accomplishment in this regard comes courtesy of Hayward and Gilman, both completely inexperienced as actors with no previously established acting skills to back them up, yet both delivering a surprisingly successful and engaging performance, making it feel like they've been playing around in Anderson's movies for years. Of course, Bill Murray, who has been doing just that, also succeeds in adding yet another zany character to his repertoire, as does Jason Schwartzmann, whose bit part as an amoral and corrupt Scout leader unfortunately proves all too short. Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton fit right in, too, quickly adopting the less emotional and more dysfunctional manner of acting we've grown accustomed too in Anderson's work, despite never having appeared in one of his films before. The weakest link in this star-studded ensemble proves to be Bruce Willis, oddly enough considering his long range of expertise, who, despite portraying Captain Sharp convincingly as a sympathetic but not all too bright character, simply feels both out of place and out of touch in this film, as if not having been able to fully master the acting style required for a Wes Anderson movie. Fortunately this never gets too frustratingly apparent, nor does it ruin any of the scenes he appears in. But no matter how well any of the established actors do in Moonrise Kingdom, its genuine tour-de-force of acting is supplied by the two young main characters who carry the majority of the movie and steal our hearts in the process, making us only hope we'll be hearing more of them in the future.

Moonrise Kingdom could be called a return to form on Wes Anderson's part, a redemption after the wholesomely disappointing The Darjeeling Limited in 2007, were it not that the off-beat Fantastic Mr. Fox, despite being an animated movie, was too blatantly 'Andersonesque' to be deservedly called a deviation from his specific form. As a live action film, his latest release proves a very nice reminder just wat he's capable of, ranking among his best right alongside Rushmore (1998) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), for being both genuinely funny and admittedly adorable to watch, while also containing enough heart and soul to be raised above average comedy. Be they live action or be they animation, Moonrise Kingdom strongly reaffirms the fact Wes Anderson films are always something to truly look forward to.

And watch the trailer here:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/moonrisekingdom/

Darjeeling Limited, The

Rating: ***/*****, or 7/10

So far, Wes Anderson's worst film. However, a more apt description would be this is his least good film, since it's by no means a bad movie, once again utilizing his signature colourful style to great visual effect. It's the overly sentimental plot that gets stuck in family drama (another Wes Anderson staple) a little too often that's the main problem. Three brothers (Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody), all very different from one another, trek across India by train in hopes of a bonding experience after having drifted apart due to the death of their father. They also set out in search of their mother (Anjelica Huston) who resides in those parts. Each has their personal demons to overcome in the process, be they drug related, depression, or a troubled relationship with a woman. While exploring the beauty of India via the railroad, each deals with his problems in his own way, which leads to various hilarious moments in the first half of the film, among other things involving a beautiful female train attendant, her overprotective lover and a venomous snake. Anderson's usually offbeat and oddball comedy sadly is traded in for overly melodramatic family squabbling and reconciliation in the picture's second half. Overall, this movie is a mixed bag, but far from a failure and otherwise as 'Wesandersonesque' as they come. Featuring bit parts of Natalie Portman and Wes Anderson's personal muse Bill Murray.

As a compendium piece to flesh out the Jason Schwartzman character, Anderson directed the short film Hotel Chevalier, which was shown as a short feature in front of The Darjeeling Limited in many theaters. It worked as a footnote released together with the main film, but by itself it seemed like an excuse to have Natalie Portman take off her clothes, which is also not a bad thing per se.

Starring: Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody

Directed by Wes Anderson

USA: Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007