“Whitewash” is a riveting film noir

Reviewed by Nancy Snipper

In the harsh wintery woods of rural Quebec, Bruce (Thomas Haden Church) unintentionally kills a man named Paul (Marc Labrèche) during a blizzard on the country road with his snow plough. He has been drinking and he panics, so he drives his machine deep into the woods, and this is when the trouble deepens. His situation of hiding in the machine becomes more and more dangerous, and as the cold descends, so too does his sanity. He ingeniously finds ways to keep warm.

 Flashbacks reveal how these two men got together in the first place. Paul, the killed man, was actually in the midst of committing suicide by means of a hose filtering into his car with carbon monoxide. Bruce basically stops him and takes him back into his house. But Paul is bad news and is the worst kind of impoverished parasite one finds in gambling men deep in debt. Such is Paul’s state.

The film is realistic and raw; the music perfect for the foreboding weather and mood of both men. Directed with great restraint by Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais, this unusual story is a Quebec standout, but it’s not a film the tourist board of the province would want to show to any tourist who romanticizes the unrelenting wildness of the Laurentians.

This film was viewed, compliments of Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

 Ce film a été visionné, avec les compliments de Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

“47 Ronin” is a first-class production

   

Reviewed by Nancy Snipper

In the Kurosawa tradition of brilliant production values and content hooked into samurai honour, the story of this film, directed by Carl Rinsch creates a hero out of Kai, a half breed (Keanu Reeves) who was raised by a mysterious  people living in a  bewitching forest world called Tango.  All living there have supernatural powers and they preach the value of incurring on normal men. Kai ran away from Tango, as he did not believe in their values on killing, but he learned to fight like Hercules. Honour killing and risking all for honour and the love of a woman is what this story is about – even if it means seeking a balance even if it entails making war. Redemption for the son of the ruler who was once evil and jealous of Kai has a change of heart. He leads to the massive fight along with Kai who has now been accepted into the outcast Ronin as a samurai. This kingdom conflict all started when a warring leader comes and takes over the honourable kingdom and commits witchcraft in order to find an excuse to kill the ageing lord of this kingdom. The son of this ageing Samurai seeks revenge, but it comes with the price of a massive Samurai Hari-kari. They are all ordered to undergo the ritual at the end of the movie as they used the men of the usurped kingdom to do so. This is not allowed. The story is inspired by real life, and last December the Japanese honoured the 47 Ronin who reclaimed their lost land and died doing it.

 

This film was viewed, compliments of Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

 Ce film a été visionné, avec les compliments de Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

“Enemies Closer” ought to step back

Reviewed by Nancy Snipper

Ok, Jean-Claude Van Damme is always cool to watch with his campy gestures and expressions; even his lines are funny in this suspense film. But this movie ought to have stayed in the woods where the story takes root and grows rather unattractively. As the plot goes, Henry, a forest ranger ends up having to retrieve a load of cocaine under water for a really bad guy named Zander (Van Damme) in order to save a girl he had just met on the island where he works, but it turns out the girl is as bad as Zander for whom she actually works for.

To make it all complex, Clay, a former Navy Seal has appeared earlier at Henry’s log cabin. Clay is violent and aims to kill Henry. Clay is seeking retribution for his dead brother whom he believes was abandoned in an Afghan skirmish that Henry led years back. He blames Henry for his death. His arrival happens before Zander enters the picture. He continues to leave  a trail of rangers’ bodies in his wake. Zander needs Henry to dive for him; his other diver got shot and Zander regrettably had to finish his pal off with a neck-killing manoeuvre.

As survival mode progresses on the island, both Henry and Clay join forces in order to save themselves and beat the bad guys. They both end up helping one another and all is forgiven.

Obviously, a low- budget film, director Peter Hyams maybe made the film because he loves fight scenes, log cabins and nature. Otherwise, I see neither rhyme nor reason for making the film.

This film was viewed, compliments of Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

 Ce film a été visionné, avec les compliments de Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

 

Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Pompeii” potently depicts the blazing tragedy of the world’s most vile volcano in ancient times

Reviewed by Nancy Snipper

        

This great film has all the makings of a classic. It involves slaves, gladiator fights, treachery, loyalty, and a major love story between a royal and a slave. The story moves along well into the film before the impending doom of nature’s wrath – a world where the once stunning Pompeii will be engulfed in plume; the volcano’s eruption burns, drowns and suffocates all people living in the fair city. The event is a true tragedy – it was a fateful day when the volcano blew its top in 79 AD.  History has never forgotten this moment and the days following and the film really does a highly realistic job of recreating it all. The editing, superb  realistic images and suspense were timed to build throughout the 105 minutes of the film creating a collision course between the eruption and story of the ill-fated lovers. 

Read Sylvain’s encapsulation of the plot to get more details.

This film was viewed, compliments of Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

 Ce film a été visionné, avec les compliments de Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

“3 Days to Kill” is a whacky killer of a film

Reviewed by Nancy Snipper

Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) longs to quit his day job as an assassin for the CIA and be with his darling daughter Zoey and his wife Christine, but when a mysterious sexy woman (Amber Heard) who is a covert CIA operative gives him the offer of a lifetime – his life –  to be specific , he can’t refuse the final assignment. He is to find the “Wolf”, the accountant of an evil albino and kill him. The “Wolf” wants to sell a bomb to an international consortium.  He is dying from brain cancer and she has the magic injections to prolong his life. In the film, he kills, saves his daughter from a possible rape and wins back his wife. The big twist comes when he discovers Zoey’s boyfriend’s dad works with the Wolf. The film has whacky humor and Costner plays his role as an absentee dad who wants to mend his ways with deadpan coolness. Director, McG made a thriller that can’t decide if his film should be about a father/daughter relationship or about getting the bad guy.

This film was viewed, compliments of Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.

 Ce film a été visionné, avec les compliments de Le SuperClub Vidéotron, 5000, rue Wellington Verdun, QC.