Film Features | www.jaredmobarak.com

TIFF13 REVIEW: Bad Words [2014]

2013/09/142014/02/27 Jared Mobarak

“I threw a tantrum just to get attention” Perhaps Jason Bateman is tired of playing the likeable voice of reason amongst more idiotic counterparts that his iconic turn as Michael Bluth on “Arrested Development” has typecast him into performing ever since the show’s debut launched his comeback into public consciousness. I’m not sure anyone can deny the fact that he’s played some variation on this character whether it’s Horrible Bosses, The Change-Up, or Identity Thief. The consummate straight man with unparalleled comedic timing, Bateman has finally found a role that…

TIFF13 REVIEW: Labor Day [2013]

2013/09/142014/05/19 Jared Mobarak

“I understood who my real family was: her.” If anyone questioned whether or not Jason Reitman was truly a great director or merely someone with excellent luck at choosing projects—I remember thinking his Best Director nod for Juno was premature myself—Labor Day should set the record straight. And that’s despite his introduction before its third screening at the Toronto International Film Festival thanking his crew for making it seem he knew what he was doing. It’s very much a different beast than his previous works, pushing comedy to the side…

TIFF13 REVIEW: Joe [2014]

2013/09/142014/02/13 Jared Mobarak

“Tell me something. You like funny faces?” Welcome back David Gordon Green. While it’s easy for me to say such a statement because I know his pedigree on paper, truth be told I’ve only ever seen one film of his before he dove into Hollywood comedies. It was his last before that period of his oeuvre began—Snow Angels—and it was a glorious drama with top-notch performances and weighty drama. I won’t lie and say I didn’t love Pineapple Express because it is a great flick. Your Highness and The Sitter…

TIFF13 REVIEW: Dom Hemingway [2013]

2013/09/142013/09/17 Jared Mobarak

“A peasant at heart—with good hair and a strong liver” After finding a ton of work on television recently, it’s good to see writer/director Richard Shepard back in theaters with Dom Hemingway. I’m a big fan of both The Matador and The Hunting Party for their infectious humor despite somewhat mainstream stories. So, learning his latest work centered around an extremely short-tempered, alcoholic safecracker just out of prison whose vain ego was no worse for wear got me excited at the prospect of him possibly going for broke. To a…

TIFF13 REVIEW: R100 [2013]

2013/09/112013/09/16 Jared Mobarak

“Is that an earthquake?” What do you get when you cross one of Japan’s most influential comedians, a premise similar to The Game but with a zany wild streak of subversive humor, and a whole lot of S&M? The answer is Hitoshi Matsumoto‘s R100, a film following the mild-mannered Takafumi (Nao Ohmori) as he descends into a world of painful pleasure the likes of which he wasn’t prepared of course. Similar in tone to his previous film Scabbard Samurai, I fortunately didn’t have to worry about bridging the cultural divide…

TIFF13 REVIEW: Visitors [2014]

2013/09/082013/09/16 Jared Mobarak

I entered the Elgin Theatre excited at the prospect of this once in a lifetime opportunity. I was about to sit down and watch the world premiere of renowned experimental film director Godfrey Reggio’s newest introspective tome, Visitors. This would be completely new to me never having seen his Qatsi Trilogy or either of Koyaanisqatsi’s cinematographer/editor Ron Fricke’s features. I’ve witnessed my fair share of Avant Garde work before in a gallery setting, though, and knew to expect a meditative piece from its beautiful 4K black and white with Philip…

TIFF13 REVIEW: Begin Again [Can a Song Save Your Life?] [2014]

2013/09/082014/05/15 Jared Mobarak

“Yeah. I just phased out my cassettes.” To answer the title’s question—Can a Song Save Your Life?—writer/director John Carney says, “Yes.” A song can save someone from jumping off a subway platform and someone else from the searing emotional pain of being scorned in love. Music in general is an art form that can move us to tears with one simple chord or touchingly real lyric. It alters us in a way that can’t be explained; the same song telling a person there is purpose while the guy standing a…

TIFF13 REVIEW: The Double [2014]

2013/09/082014/05/01 Jared Mobarak

“It’s terrible to be alone too much” Comically dry like director Richard Ayoade‘s debut Submarine, his sophomore effort takes more than a few steps towards an even more arid realm of complete existentialist surrealism. Adapted by he and Avi Korine, The Double brings Fyodor Dostoyevsky‘s novella to the big screen with a surefire confidence in its visual form and an eccentric comedy that should go a long way towards securing “The IT Crowd” starrer as a permanent, unique voice in contemporary cinema. There is a definite stylistic kinship to his…

TIFF13 REVIEW: The F Word [2014]

2013/09/082013/11/04 Jared Mobarak

“Love is stupid monkeys dancing in a slapstick hurricane” I’m officially a sucker for romantic comedies where guy meets girl by engaging in sarcastically cynical conversation consisting more of glib quips than substantive information. It’s more than likely because that’s exactly what my girlfriend and I do even to this day and most definitely because I’m a hopeless romantic just like the male leads generally are. There is something absolutely relatable to the awkwardly genuine smiles of two introverts connecting with an acquired humor made funnier by the fact everyone…

TIFF13 REVIEW: Jimi: All Is by My Side [All Is by My Side] [2014]

2013/09/072014/09/21 Jared Mobarak

“The rest is just painted with a little science fiction” On paper a biopic of Jimi Hendrix without the rights to his music seems like a complete waste of time. Even with John Ridley‘s All Is by My Side detailing the guitarist’s two years prior to the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, the thought of not using an iconic track for the credits is a daunting one to overcome. Thankfully, with a bit of ingenious sound design and multiple sensory collages of images and music, we’re able to experience the…

TIFF13 REVIEW: Bad Turn Worse [We Gotta Get Out of This Place] [2014]

2013/09/072014/10/14 Jared Mobarak

“And that’s how you play What’s Your Price” Life for Sue (Mackenzie Davis) and Bobby (Jeremy Allen White) in their sleepy blue collar Texas town is at an end. They’ve been accepted to college and can’t wait for the transition in hopes it’s the first step towards never returning. But while neither is sad about leaving families behind, there is one person they can’t help feel conflicted about deserting. BJ (Logan Huffman) is her boyfriend, his best friend, and the kind of guy whose heart is always in the right…