Here's the exception then. With the advent of Facebook and Flixster, I've been pretty diligent about keeping a passing journal on most of the movies I've been watching - not every movie and sometimes no more than a sentence or two, but a "snap-review" nonetheless. And as the year-end approaches and I begin to reflect on the year that was (which was fantastic!!), I've been looking back at these capsules and looking for a home where I could keep them going forward. The Monday Project seems the solution.
This then is the first (or by blog-chronology, the last?) of seven postings (in reverse order) that will catch me up for about 80% of my movie-going in the last 6 months. Not everything - I didn't keep track of the various kids movies that I watched with my daughter during our Friday Night Movie Nights or the terribly crappy work-related stuff or even repeaters - but most of what I've watched is here as are the snap judgments that were usually scribbled down within a few hours of watching the movies. If nothing else, it should update this blog with a fair degree of verbal whiplash...
Starting with movies in the last 31 days...
DECEMBER:
Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
Aaron Sorkin scripts are a dream for actors who love to spit clever dialogue and both Hanks and Hoffman have an awfully good time with this. Hoffman in particular chews scenery with such reckless insanity that I'd be the first one in line for a Charlie Wilson sequel that focused entirely on his character. I'd love to see him get the recognition that he deserves for this movie in what is already a fantastic Philip Seymour Hoffman year. As for the rest of the film, it's an interesting but sometimes uneasy balance of screwball comedy and real-world politics. In some stretches, with Sorkin's sharp dialogue, it plays like a Howard Hawks comedy from the 40's with one-liners running at 100 mph (and it's delicious when it's doing so); however on the flip side, there is an undercurrent to the whole affair (most noticeably during a well-timed airplane sound effect) that makes easy enjoyment of the film difficult. After all, amid all of the "hijinks", the root of the story is about funnelling a billion dollars into a covert war. But did I mention Hoffman steals the picture...?
Waitress (2007)
Enthusiastically underwhelming. Waitress feels every inch like an indie movie that wows small festival audiences and bores the mainstream. And not in a good way. I'm thankful for Nathan Fillion who turns everything he does into something fun, however Waitress as a whole felt very small and derivative. In fact, it sort of reminded me of any number of Friday night network dramedies that I skip past on a regular basis. Familiar faces putting on a stiff scripted show...
Tekkonkinkreet (2007)
Visually, this is pretty much as good as it gets. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was dazzled with imagery quite like this: the textured and Rube-Goldbergian designs of Treasure Town are a marvel onto themselves, but add the stylish character designs and meticulously crafted action sequences and frankly, you're left with a nosebleed. The plot itself is a little thick (as expected) but anchored by an unusually rich relationship between the two central characters. I would have been satisfied enough if this film was a beautiful, hollow affair, but because I genuinely cared for the main characters, it developed into something far, far better. Dreamlike at times, but never anything less than spectacular.
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
The world didn't need another Die Hard movie but thankfully, it's OK. Forget that Willis' character has blossomed from "everyman" to ridiculous "action-hero" in the last two decades, what matters is that the movie has fun. Len Wiseman shoots action well (particular the car chases which are tremendously energetic) and the supporting cast is entertaining (especially Justin Long.) I had a reasonably good time. Is all of this faint praise? Feels a little bit like faint praise...?
Hot Rod (2007)
Yikes. The best thing that I can say about Hot Rod is that it's mercifully short. Headlining the latest bad SNL skit inexplicably stretched to feature-length, Samberg is funny but not quite funny enough to turn Hot Rod's thin premise into something more than an extended trailer. Like any post midnight SNL skit, the movie has pretty much spent all of its energy and good ideas by the halfway point, stranding its otherwise talented cast to pad the run-time with "bits" that generally don't work. In this case, it actually feels like most of the "deleted" scenes have found their way back into the movie. Like a sucker, I'll confess that I did laugh at most of the 80's songs (and in particular, the Footloose spoof). I'm an easy mark for that stuff...
King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
If it wasn't real, it would be tough to believe that it could be, but King of Kong is one of the most entertaining docs I've seen this year. Proof that documentaries aren't always "work", KOK is more hilarious than most Hollywood comedies and heartbreaking to boot. The story is a treasure for a doc filmmaker: overflowing with wildly colourful characters, garnished with a ton of "twists" and a plot loaded with arcade intrigue. Billy Mitchell is a marvelous villain and like many of the characters in the film (most especially Mr. Awesome), should give up his hot sauce career for one in the wrestling ring. So enjoyable that I watched in twice in 3 days...
La Vie en Rose (2007)
At this point, biopics of this sort are so cliché that it's hard to find anything new to enjoy in them. Marion Colliard's performance is excellent and she deserves virtually all the praise she's receiving, but then isn't that just part of the biopic "formula"? To be honest, there's nothing in this film that hasn't been done a dozen times before and nothing strong enough to recommend watching it. I was all kinds of bored throughout.
Halloween (2007)
There's a special place in movie hell for Rob Zombie. Putting aside for a moment that Halloween 2007 is one of the ugliest, clumsiest films that I can remember, the big mystery for me is how Zombie could take Carpenter's lean classic and not find in it an interesting, engaging or even scary remake. Not one bit. Every reveal, every classic moment, every piece of business that should resonate with Carpenter fans has been fumbled including the shameless cribbing of Carpenter's original POV shots and music. In his effort to "improve" the original, Zombie has layered in so much extra (and unnecessary) baggage that the movie is like a slobbering drunk with terrible undercooked dialogue, weak performances and head-scratching diversions: chief among them, why does it take 45 minutes for the Halloween story to finally start rolling? Why do we need to spend so much time with the punky kid actor playing the young "tormented" Meyers? Does Zombie think this adds depth to the Michael Myers monster? Because really, it just demonstrates how little Zombie understands about what made the original film work - kind of like making a Jaws remake that focuses entirely on how the shark spends its days off. I'm not a slavish fan of the original and would have absolutely welcomed any well-built remake, if only because Michael Myers is a fun horror icon and it's (usually) fun to watch these classics re-invented. However this is a movie so bad that it virtually tarnishes everyone who appears in it. Every time a new familiar face showed up I found myself asking the same questions, "Malcolm McDowell? Really? E.T.'s mom? How could you? Clint Howard? What would your brother say?" I'm trying to avoid extreme hyperbole here, but I truthfully think this is one of the most unenjoyable films I've ever seen. Top 5 at least. My biggest regret is that I watched it alone when I should have watched it with a group of friends so we could share the pain and unintentional hilarity together.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
Who doesn't love a bleak, street-level abortion flick...? I absolutely couldn't wait for this movie to end and in this rare instance, that's actually a compliment. The movie starts slowly but builds into something quite unbearable in its second half as a terrible sense of dread eclipses everything. In fact, there were at least two extended sequences in the second half that turned my stomach in knots. By the time the credits rolled, I could barely stand but was grateful for the mercy of the theatre lobby. This might not sound like a lot of fun to most people, and I can't say that I need to see this again anytime soon, but it's nevertheless one of the best films I've seen this year.
I'm Not There (2007)
I'm not a big Dylan fan though I desperately wish I was. As a result, I'm Not There could only be 80% of the movie for me that I'm sure it is for hard-core fans. As a non-fan, Haynes' film is simply overflowing with cinematic goodies, fresh with bold performances, mind-blowing direction and genuinely startling images. As a movie lover, it's a gift and I had a blast even as much of the "code" and Dylan obscurities drifted over my head. Still, the music - which is ultimately at the center of the movie - was never less than excellent. My only complaint might be that the film was about 30 minutes too long.
Atonement (2007)
Two things impressed me a great deal: Joe Wright and James McAvoy. Wright's direction is nothing short of stunning, from the compulsive clicking and clacking throughout the soundtrack to the breathtaking photography. The "beach sequence" really is something special, but it was the quieter moments that surprised me more: Wright clearly has an eye for English countryside. Similarly, McAvoy delivers the performance of his early career and promises to be someone to watch. As for the other elements of Atonement, I was a little underwhelmed. After the frankly engaging first act, the movie seemed to lose focus and to be totally honest, the "fall-out" of events and ultimate finale left me a little cold (sort of a lower-case atonement as far as I'm concerned.) This is bound to get a lot of attention in the coming weeks as Oscars ramp up, but for me it simply falls in the very-good-not-great category in part because the last half of the story failed to live up to the promise of the first hour.
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
Surely this is as good as a Mr. Bean feature can actually be? It's not a total failure because at 86 minutes, it's pretty much the right length. And that's probably the best compliment that I can pay to it. I have to be honest that I actually smiled (not quite laughed) maybe twice...? [sidenote: what's up with Willem Dafoe? Did he have a fight with his agent or something??]
First Snow (2007)
A minor work by some very talented people: Guy Pearce, J.K. Simmons, Mark Fergus, William Fichtner. All are great in this, and Guy Pearce in particular gives an intelligent and complete performance as the doomed lead who finds himself trapped in a modern noir thriller. Ending was a little disappointing but the ride was very good.
Reservation Road (2007)
It's the quality of the performances by Joaquim Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly that elevate Reservation Road from being just another Sunday-night TV movie...but not by much. Strangely every element of this film which seems built for awards-attention (performances, direction, etc.) hits as many false notes as true ones. There are some high-points for virtually everyone involved (in particular, Phoenix and Connelly) but the cast seems stranded without much room to grow beyond the opening set-up of the film. In other words, Ruffalo remains guilt-ridden and paranoid throughout, Phoenix is forever obsessive and heart-broken, and every variation on these feelings is played out over and over through the film. As a result, the movie starts as an affecting (and in moments, devastating) character drama but spins its wheels until the soft and almost cowardly conclusion.
Paprika (2007)
It was at exactly 55 minutes that I tuned out on Paprika which is the point when the balance between sumptuous imagery and thick techno-babble edged too far to the side of babble. The concept of adventuring through people's dreams is great (worked so well in Dreamscape!) and ideal candy for animating, but it's tough to tackle dream logic and maintain a clean, decipherable storyline. In this case, the plot hangs on techno-gadgetry that might as well be from a Dr. Seuss book and when the time comes to start doing some heavy lifting to keep up with the story, it simply isn't easy to catch up. Too bad. The animation is mostly spectacular, but for my money, I'll stick with the superior Tekkonkinkreet.
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
10 years too late and completely aware of the fact, the biggest surprise of The Simpsons Movie was that it works very, very well. There's no question that the opening 30-40 minutes are when the film cooks the most, following gag after gag with the same loose and irreverent spirit of the early TV seasons. In the second half, the laughs slow down a bit as the "big-screen plot" takes over, but it's a pretty good "big-screen plot" and the movie never stales. A friend has a general theory that for a movie-adaption of a popular TV show to be made, one of the following must happen: 1) a regular character must die (check!) 2) a character must appear nude (check!) 3) there must be swearing (er, almost...Homer gives the finger at one point) or 4) the TV status quo must be significantly upset by the destruction of a major location, etc. (check! check!!) In that respect, The Simpsons Movie has earned every point necessary for a worthwhile big-screen jump, and it's also happens to be very sharp. Really, what more did you want?
I Am Legend (2007)
Not having read the book or seen the other films based on Matheson's story, I Am Legend was everything I wanted it to be and frankly, a little more than I was expecting. The level of detail in the post-apocalyptic New York was sensational and went a long way to selling the whole experience, but what impressed me more was how unusual this was for a blockbuster: largely dialogue-free, extra-grim subject matter, Will Smith playing with all screwball mannerisms dialed way down. The result was uncommonly intense and refreshing - everything a good genre picture should be. The only real complaint (and one I've seen echoed virtually everywhere) was the unusual decision to rely entirely on CG creatures, particularly given how easy it would have been to accomplish the creature designs with basic make-up and lighting. Strange in a movie where every effort is made to create a convincing "reality" that the realism was ultimately undermined by one of the easiest effects to create. Still, CG monsters aside, I Am Legend was excellent and one of the most entertaining comic-book experiences of the year. I'll be watching it again.
Death at a Funeral (2007)
Poor Frank Oz, virtually relegated to the direct-to-video category, and not un-deservedly. Death at a Funeral starts out with a generous amount of wit and some fun performances but by the time the "title" comes into play, it begins to feel derivative and like nothing special. Nevertheless, points awarded for Alan Tudyk who I enjoy in virtually everything.
The Namesake (2007)
Here's the first movie I can remember that doesn't visit the Taj Mahal from the same postcard angle as every other movie. Instead, the family tour goes behind the walls and into the courtyards and temples which is perhaps the best analogy for The Namesake. Refreshing to find a movie about Indian immigrants that skirts stereotypes and offers a rich (and I have to believe authentic?) portrait of Indian culture amid an American suburb. The movie seems stuffed with personal and private moments that surely must come from someone's real background (if not Mira Nair, then the author of the book upon which the film is based). In fact, the only real sour note for me was the casting of Kal Penn who I hoped would surprise me with a great dramatic performance, but didn't. He felt like an odd fit for a film that was otherwise sincere and lived-in.
Stardust (2007)
On paper, it's clear why so many people have compared Stardust to The Princess Bride: a clever, fast-moving, frothy fairytale with modern sensibilities, outlandish character performances and tongue-planted-deeply-in-cheek. But in execution, Stardust actually seems quite different; I've struggled to try and put my finger on the reason why and failed to find it. Hmmm? Similarities aside, Stardust is great fun, an epic adventure with broad action sequences, colourful characters (De Niro's character barely...barely...avoids the slide into cheese) and a geniunely romantic heart. Watching Claire Danes light up (literally) when she kisses her hero is one of those touching images that will either make you adore the movie or throw up in your shoes. I wasn't one of the ones to throw up in my shoes.
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