SUMMER OF 85 (2020)

 

Written & Directed By: Francois Ozon Based on the book “Dance On My Grave” By Aidan Chambers  Cinematography: Hichame Alouie Editor: Laurie Gardette 

Cast: Felix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, Philippine Velge, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melvil Poupaud, Isabelle Nanty 

When 16-year-old Alexis is caught up in the deceitful Normandy sea, David heroically saves him from drowning. And, this is how Alexis meets the person of his life. But, how long will this tumultuous, dreamy relationship last? Will the dream last for more than one summer, the summer of 85?

THIS IS THE NIGHT (2021)

 

Written & Directed By: James DeMonaco Cinematography: Anastas N. Michos Editor: Keith Fraase 

Cast: Naomi Watts, Frank Grillo, Lucius Hoyos, Madelyn Cline, Chase Vacnin, Bobby Cannavale, River Alexander, Max Casella, Steve Lipman, Method Man, Lenny Venito, Jonah Hauer-King

A teenager living in Staten Island during the summer of 1982 embarks on a quest that draws in his family members.

THE HAND OF GOD (2021)

 

Written & Directed By: Pablo Sorrentino  Cinematography: Daria D’Antonio  Editor: Cristiano Travaglioli 

Cast: Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponagelo, Luisa Ranieli, Marlon Joubert, Renato Carpentier, Massimiliano Gallo, Betty Pedrazzi 

Fabietto Schisa is a boy in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s. The Hand of God is a story full of unexpected joys, such as the arrival of football legend Diego Maradona, and an equally unexpected tragedy. Fate plays its part, joy and tragedy intertwine, and Fabietto's future is set in motion.

MERMAIDS (1990)

 Directed By: Richard Benjamin  Written By: June Roberts Based on the book by: Patty Dann Cinematography: Howard Atherton  Editor: Jacqueline Cambas 

Cast: Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci, Michael Schoeffling, Caroline McWilliams, Jan Miner 

An unconventional single mother relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds.

THE ULTIMATE PLAYLIST OF NOISE (2021)

 

Directed by: Bennett Lasseter Written By: Mitchell Winkie Cinematography: Vincent Patin  Editor: Robin Gonsalves 

Cast: Keean Johnson, Madeline Brewer, Bonnie Hunt, Ian Gomez, Rya Kihlstedt, Oliver Cooper, Carol Mansell, Emily Skeggs, Ariela Barer, Jake Weary 

Marcus, an audio-obsessed high school senior, learns he must undergo brain surgery that will render him deaf, and decides to seize control of his fate by recording the Ultimate Playlist of Noise.

PRINCE (2015)

Written & Directed By: Sam De Jong Cinematography: Paul Ozgur  Editor: Mieneke Kremer 

Cast: Ayoub Elasri, Jorik Scholien, Oussama Addi, Achraf Meziani, Elise de Braun, Sigrid Tennepal, Olivia Lonsdale, Chaib Massaoudi 

A troubled teenager attempts to conquer the love of his life by becoming the baddest boy on the block.

UNPREGNANT (2020)

Directed by: Rachel Lee Goldenberg  Written by: Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Jenni Hendricks, Ted Caplan, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson & Bill Parker Based On The Book By: Jenni Hendricks & Ted Caplan  Cinematography: Doug Emmett Editor: Julia Wong

Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Barbie Ferreira, Giancarlo Esposito, Breckin Meyer, Alex Macnicoll, Sugar Lyn Beard, Denny Love, Betty Who, Mary McCormack, Jeryl Prescott 

A 17-year old Missouri teen named Veronica discovers she has gotten pregnant, a development that threatens to end her dreams of matriculating at an Ivy League college, and the career that will follow.

SUBMARINE (2010)

Directed By: Richard Ayoade Written By: Richard Ayoade & Joe Dunthorne Based on a Novel By: Joe Dunthorne Cinematography: Erik Alexander Wilson  Editor: Chris Dickens & Nick Fenton

Cast: Craig Roberts, Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Yasmin Page, Gemma Chan 

Precocious Oliver struggles with being popular in school but when a dark-haired beauty takes interest in him, he's determined to become the best boyfriend in the world. Meanwhile, his parents' already rocky relationship is threatened when his mother's ex-boyfriend moves in next door. Oliver makes some unorthodox plans to ensure that his parents stay together and that Jordana still likes him.

Now, this film is another one where I read the book first and greatly enjoyed the book and wished that they could incorporate most of the book into the film. It is smart and fun.

It takes what it can from the book to make a coherent story. It doesn’t fail to entertain to stand back and marvel at. It’s a film that will be criticized for copying or emulating the style of Wes Anderson.

Let’s face it any movie that has visual camera tricks. A Minuit style, colorful sets and contains a certain innocence in a cynical world, will be accused of copying the style. Wes Anderson didn’t create it. He liked and revels in it as an artistic choice. As it was there before so if another chooses to use a similar style as ling as it is its own story. Which is what director Richard Ayoade does here. One doesn’t see the problem to do the book justice. You would need that style.

The visuals inThe film can be distracting but they are so abstract and creative. They never fail to amaze though after a while you tend to get used to them, but you are glad they are to really get to the heart of the scene.

I can admit story-wise there isn’t much at stake. There will be no great tragedy. No one will not be able to recover from, but just as it always will be when you are a teenager. Your emotions are so on edge. Everything even the small moments and decisions feels magnified and the wrong one feels like the beginning of the apocalypse.

It’s a quality film. The only weak spots I felt was the believability if our main Characters' parents played by Noah Taylor and Sally Hawkins. Who are both good and heartbreaking but they feel in the movie more like characters instead of human beings.

Sally Hawkins seems too unemotional. While Noah Taylor is over the top emotional and you wonder how their characters even Fell in love, but that relationship of what could have been lies in perfect contrast to the main characters Oliver’s relationship with Jordan’s. What is but supposed to be and where is this going as when he is romantic she doesn’t want to be close. When she wants to be close be is scared Away.

The film is directed and co-written by Richard Ayoade. Who is a British comedy writer, performer, and sitcom star. I gained an admiration for him. As he presents himself to be a thoughtful, witty, inventive, and talented filmmaker.

The film is magical it reminds you of the many off-kilter films about young outsiders. Over the years and I must admit, I am a sucker for stories about them. Which is what attracted me to the book in the first place.

The film Most reminds me of HAROLD AND MAUDE. Down to Craig Roberts resembling a young Bud Cort.

I believe this film to be a small gem worth seeking out. Definitely an addition to the film library. I only wish it was a criterion collection. Dvd. So one could know all about the production and the director’s choices. I’d even settle for an audio commentary

GRADE: B+

HURRICANE STREETS (1997)

Written & Directed By: Morgan J. Freeman  Cinematography: Enrique Chediak Editor: Sabine Hoffman 

Cast: Brendan Sexton III, Mtume Gant, Carlo Alban, Edie Falco, Lynn Cohen, Shawn Elliott, Adrian Grenier, L.M. Kit Carson, Isidra Vega, Jose Zuniga, Heather Matarazzo, David Moscow 

A teenage petty criminal dreams of escaping his increasingly unlawful lifestyle when he meets a sweet girl who hopes to one day travel to Alaska.

JEFF OF THE CINEFILES & UNFINISHED BUSINESS: HALL OF FAME: FILE #0059: OUT OF THE BLUE (1980)

Directed By: Dennis Hopper 
Written By: Leonard Yakir & Brenda Nielson 
Cinematography: Marc Champion 
Editor: Doris Dyck 

Cast: Linda Manz, Dennis Hopper, Sharon Farrell, Don Gordon, Raymond Burr, David Crawley, Jim Byrnes 

A young girl whose father is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene.

MID90S (2018)

Written & Directed By: Jonah Hill 
Cinematography: Christopher Blauvelt 
Editor: Nick Houy 
Music By: Atticus Ross & Trent Reznor 


Cast: Sunny Suljic, Na-kel Smith, Olan Prenett, Gio Calicia, Ryder Maclaughlin, Lucas Hedges Katherine Waterston, Alexa Demie, Alma Elsesser 


Follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 1990s-era Los Angeles who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.

DEEP END (1970)

Directed By: Jerzy Skolimowski 
Written By: Jerzy Skolimowski & J. Gruza & B. Sulik 
Cinematography By: Charly Steinberger 
Editor: Barrie Vince 


Cast: Jane Asher, John Moulder-Brown, Karl Michael Vogler, Christopher Sanford, Diana Dors, Louise Martini 


15-year-old Mike takes a job at the local swimming baths, where he becomes obsessed with an attractive young woman, Susan, who works there as an attendant. Although Susan has a fiancé, Mike does his best to sabotage the relationship, to the extent of stalking both her and her fiancé. Mike becomes increasingly desperate to have Susan for himself, with tragic results.

SUMMER OF 84 (2018)

Directed By: Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell (RKSS) 
Written By: Matt Leslie & Stephen J. Smith 
Cinematography By: Jean Philipe Bernier 
Editor: Austin Andrews 
Music By: Le Matos 


Cast: Rich Sommer, Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Cory Gruter-Andrew, Caleb Emery, Tiera Skovbye, William McDonald, Susie Castillo, Jason Gray-Stanford, Shauna Johannesen 

 After suspecting that their police officer neighbor is a serial killer, a group of teenage friends spend their summer spying on him and gathering evidence, but as they get closer to discovering the truth, things get dangerous.

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS (2018)

Written & Directed By: Elijah Bynum 
Cinematography: Javier Julia 
Editor: Dan Zimmerman, Tom Costantino & Jeff Castelluccio 


Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Maika Monroe, Alex Roe, Maia Mitchell, Emory Cohen, Thomas Jane, William Fichtner 


A boy comes of age during a summer he spends in Cape Cod.

BRIGSBY BEAR (2017)

Directed By: Dave McCary 
Written By: Kevin Costello & Kyle Mooney 
Cinematography By: Christian Sprenger 
Editor: Jacob Craycroft 


Cast: Kyle Mooney, Greg Kinnear, Michaela Watkins, Matt Walsh, Ryan Simpkins, Mark Hamill, Jane Adams, Beck Bennett, Alexa Demie, Claire Danes, Andy Samberg, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Kete Lyn Sheil 

Brigsby Bear Adventures is a children's TV show produced for an audience of one: James. When the show abruptly ends, James's life changes forever, and he sets out to finish the story himself.

LADY BIRD (2017)

Written & Directed By: Greta Gerwig 
Cinematography By: Sam Levy 
Editor: Nick Houy 
Music: Jon Brion 

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Tracy Letts, Laurie Metcalf, Lucas Hedges, Beanie Feldstein , Tinmothee Chalamet, Lois Smith, Jordan Rodrigues, Odeya Rush, Stephen Mckinley Henderson, Bob Stephenson, Daniel Zovatto, Danielle Macdonald 

The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year. Who seeks to get out and attend college on the east coast. 

BOYS IN THE TREES (2017)

Written, Directed &Edited By: Nicholas Verso 
Cinematography By: Marden Dean 


Cast: Toby Wallace, Gulliver McGrath, Mitzi Ruhlmann, Justin Holborrow, Victoria Hill 

It's Halloween 1997 - the last night of high school for Corey, Jango and their skater gang, The Gromits. Childhood is over and adult life beckons. But for Corey, his past has some unfinished business. When he encounters Jonah, a former childhood friend but now victimized by Jango's cruel streak, Corey takes pity on him and agrees to walk him home for old time's sake. What starts off as a normal walk through empty suburban streets descends into something darker and magical as they tell each other ghost stories, drawing upon their fears of the world around them. As they walk through their memories and ghosts of the past, Corey is surprised to discover how much he still has in common with his abandoned friend. But on the night of the grave's delight, even the most buried truths will find a way of coming to life.

CLINGER (2015)

Directed By: Michael Steves 
Written By: Michael Steves, Bubba Fish & Gabi Chennisi 
Cinematography By: Gabi Chennisi 
Editor: Bubba Fish 

Cast: Vincent Martella, Jennifer Laporte, Julia Aks, Alicia Monet Caldwell, Debbie Rochon, Lisa Wilcox, Taylor Clift 


Fern Petersen, a driven high school senior, has her life turned upside down when her overly affectionate boyfriend, Robert Klingher, dies in an embarrassing accident. When Robert returns from the dead as a love-sick ghost, he tries to reunite with Fern - only to have his heart broken. As Robert plots to kill Fern so they can be together forever, Fern will have to fight to stay in the world of the living. Clinger is a blood-soaked coming of age story about the horrors of first love.

JEFF OF THE CINEFILES &UNFINISHED BUSINESS: HALL OF FAME: FILE #0049: THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (2000)

Written & Directed By: Sofia Coopola 
Based on the book by: Jeffrey Eugenides 
Cinematography By: Edward Lachman 
Editor: Melissa Kent & James Lyons 


Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Scott Glenn, A.J. Cook, Chelse Swain , Hanna Hall, Melody Johnson, Jonathan Tucker, Hayden Christensen, Michael Pare, Robert Schwartzman 


A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid-1970s.

GIRL ASLEEP (2016)

Directed By: Rosemary Myers 
Written By: Matthew Whittet (Based on his Stage Play) 
Cinematography By: Andrew Commis 
Editor: Karryn de Cinque 


Cast: Bethany Whitmore, Harrison Feldman, Amber McMahon, Matthew Whittet, Eamon Farren, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Danielle Catanzariti, Pia Moutakis, Clara Moutakis 


The world is closing in on Greta Driscoll. On the cusp of turning fifteen she can't bear to leave her childhood, it contains all the things that give her comfort in this incomprehensible new world. She floats in a bubble of loser with her only friend Elliott, until her parents throw her a surprise 15th birthday party and she's flung into a parallel place; a world that's weirdly erotic, a little bit violent and thoroughly ludicrous - only there can she find herself. Based on the critically acclaimed production by Windmill Theatre, The film is a journey into the absurd, scary and beautiful heart of the teenage mind.