film review: Greta

Directed by Neil Jordan
Written by Ray Wright and Neil Jordan
  
ChinoKino score: C

Review by Allan Tong

Greta is entertaining for the wrong reasons. The new Neil Jordan film is supposed to be a thriller-horror about a stalker (along the lines of Misery), but winds up being an uninentional parody. Pity, because it stars world-class talent Isabelle Huppert and the fine, young actress Chloe Grace Moretz.

The story boils down to older Greta (Huppert in an English-speaking role), ensnaring young Frances (Moretz). Lonely widow Greta turns Frances into her surrogate daughter while Frances recently lost her mother. Both women are disconnected from their families, so they befriend each other spending evenings where Greta teaches Frances the piano among other things. Frances prefers to hang out with this older French-Hungarian woman than younger women her age.

Italian Contemporary Film Festival roundup

by Allan Tong

The Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) is enjoying one of its stronger years. From drama to documentary, the films in 2015 are consistently rewarding. Though I haven't seen a terrible movie yet,  I also haven't found a superb one either. To speak in baseball terms, the ICFF films are hitting singles and doubles, but no homers yet. Here are a few to consider this weekend at screenings in Toronto, Vaughan, Montreal and Quebec City. (Check here for screening times in your city.)

Midnight Sun is an entertaining family film about a boy who befriends a lost cub in frigid northern Canada. Think boy-and-his-dog adventure, except the dog is a polar bear and the terrain is covered in snow and ice flows. It stars Toronto's own Dakota Goyo.

Sin, redemption, family. These are well-worn themes that drive the thriller Perez. It's about an incorruptible lawyer from Naples who defends underdogs until his daughter hooks up with a mobster. Not a smart move. Without spoiling the film, let's say that daddy lawyer Perez has to compromise his ethics by striking a deal with the mobster's boss to help him recover some precious diamonds. Perez is slick and stylish, and lead Luca Zingaretti is a strong, stoic presence as Perez. However, as mentioned above the movie doesn't tread new ground.