Grizzly Man

Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)

A devastating and heartrending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzlies in Alaska.

Brick

Brick (Rian Johnson, 2005)

This indie film about a teenager who lost the girl he loves to her tragic death reminds us of the best film noirs of the 1940's. Everything sounds like the film noir genre: the use of low camera angles, the twisted plot, the stereotyped characters and the broken and beaten down hero "à la" Humphrey Bogart.

But what struck you the most is Joseph-Gordon Levitt's presence as the protagonist: Brendan. His nuanced performance holds the whole movie together. Jo-Go has this weird "nerdy" look of an improvised private receiving multiple beatings and investing on the death of his former lover: Emily or should I say the femme fatale of the film... She is the kind of woman/girl a man can't lost all his marks.

Brendan will try to understand and elucidate what happened to Emily and what led her to death. He'll have to frequent dark characters like Tug and The Pin. Did I mentioned this? All this film noir settings is situated in the lives of High School teens.

It's without a doubt an interesting approach to the High School world and to the film noir genre. But somehow, it lacks of reality in its coherence. It's probably over serious in its use of the noir genre. It makes the references look like if the genre is a farce. However, Rian Johnson the writer/director of Brick wasn't afraid to insert some really funny humoristic moments. His direction is interesting and it keeps the true spirit of the Film Noir codes (see The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep). I don't know exactly why but this treatment reminded me of a David Lynch film of the 1980's and 1990's.

I'd like to see Johnson's other success Brothers Bloom which I heard some praises about lately. But now I'd like to know what you all think of Brick?

Rome Season I (2005)

I don't usually review television shows but when it comes to history and quality I let go the fact that it was aired on television. I did my major in History at the University and I visited Italy from North to Pompei, so I had grand interest in that show.

Starting with the end of the War of Gaulle and ending at the Kalends of February in Roman history, the first season of the show reveals how historically accurate the show is. Well, the two main characters Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus have dramatized or if you prefer "Romanized" lives. The plot of the show stands on the grounds of the historical facts. That's what makes Rome the best television show ever to reconstitute the past. Being on HBO, it helped the creators to reflect the violence and orgies of that period. But beware, it's not Caligula; this extravaganza of violence and pornography has its qualities but it's never as good as Rome.

Continuing with HBO, the network that brought TV series so well written and produced that it practically killed the Theaters. Rome is the kind of series that surpasses its media: Television, and with its qualities is able to ascends to Cinematic ambitions.

Rome is much more than just about a historic reconstitution. Its two main characters are used like Forrest Gump; they lived their lives through History and they could have been anybody, you or your neighbor. It helps the viewer to identify himself in this labyrinth of historic characters in that different (not that much) world order than ours.

A Television Series Review by Michaël Parent

Les meilleurs films de la dernière décennie - 2005

Pour vous faire languir encore plus avant le dévoilement de mon Top 100 des meilleurs films de la décennie qui se terminera en ce 31 décembre 2009 je vais vous présenter le Top 10 de chacune de ses années!

Voici mon Top 10 personnel des 10 meilleurs films de l'année 2005:


1. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg)

2. The Squid and The Whale (Noah Baumbach)

3. The New World (Terrence Malick)

4. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)

5. Last Days (Gus Van Sant)

6. Corpsebride (Tim Burton)

7. Match Point (Woody Allen)

8. Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch)

9. Caché (Michael Haneke)

10. Good Night And Good Luck (George Clooney)