The Official Review Thread of 2007

[Sabin]

I took a day off and saw Dan in Real Life by Peter Hedges, a novelist and playwright whose wrote and adapted What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? and was one of the adapters of About a Boy. Wonderful films. Then he wrote and directed Pieces of April, which while not without merit is not a very good movie. So I was not prepared for the almost overwhelming-loveliness that is Dan in Real Life. As a whole, it’s not great. On paper, it’s beyond generic. On the screen? It is – as I’ve said – overwhelmingly lovely.

Several scenes (such as one at a dinner table, one with the usually spot-on Emily Blunt) are overwrought. Juliette Binoche’s character is far too extraordinary for Steve Carrel. And it lacks a key scene of ingenuity and emotional pull to really make it a singular work. And yet the film is a delight. I’ve been quite dubious of Steve Carrel’s instant superstardom, and yet the man has surprised me again and again in his ability to transcend and even anchor material. His work on The Office and The 40-Year Old Virgin isn’t just iconic, it’s damn impressive, subtle and hilarious in equal measures; and his ability to delight in supporting roles was unparalleled for a little while (I hate Bruce Almighty but his uncontrollable blabbermouth is one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life). And yet perhaps it is because I remain so bewilderingly unimpressed by Little Miss Sunshine, I felt unprepared for the reservoir of emotion and gravitas that Steve Carrel brought to Dan in Real Life, an organic decency and good humor.

I’m inclined to say that he makes the movie, but clearly there are other contributing factors. I will say though that Steve Carrel is so vibrant and he has such unexpected chemistry with Juliette Binoche, that they deserved a more laid-back conversational film. Perhaps – dare I say? – Frencher? Even Dane Cook is remarkably likeable in the hands of Peter Hedges, who crafts a movie with the feel of improvisation and vacation, good humor and good song. It’s a crowd-pleasing bliss-out of a film well worth one’s patronage if only for its attention to behavior and character detail. I knew from the first moments that Dan in Real Life was doing something right, and if I may be overly exalting its virtues, in my defense what Dan in Real Life does so right is what very few movies even attempt anymore. One of the most unexpected pleasures of 2007.

[The Original BJ]

Yay! I'm so glad you liked Persepolis, Damien. It is a lovely film, isn't it? (I was going to recommend it to you, saying "THIS one you'll like," but then I wondered how many times you've been led down that path before...)

Naysayers be damned, I like Ratatouille a lot. But Persepolis is the crown jewel of the year's animation.

[Steph2]

With your recommendation then Damien, I will give this one a try.

[Damien]

PERSOPELIS

Inventive and highly original, funny and devastatingly moving. It’s both a tremendous recreation of one country’s recent history and societal changes over a decade-and-a-half, and a hugely affecting personal tale, filled with wonderfully realized details and multi-textured characters.

There is great creativity on view here – the transformation of the rendition of one character’s gorgeous physical attributes after he’s revealed to be a cad is hilarious as is Marjane’s going through puberty in about 10 seconds, and a scene in anatomy art class where in lieu of the expected nude is a Muslim woman revealing only her eyes.

The overall graphics are amazing, the stark but hugely evocative black-and-white art work conveying a sense of dread, while also containing many very humorous and witty touches. The art work for the characters is very simple but also highly evocative – the berka-enclosed teacher in the Revolutionary school and the female enforcers on the street are as foreboding as the witch in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. Marjane is a great feisty heroine, and her grandmother (as voiced by Danielle Darrieux) is also a wonderful pesence.

Examining deep veins of complex moral, political and social issues, this is one of the best coming-of-age stories ever, and is proof that an animated film doesn’t have to be a Goddamned Cartoon, it can be a real movie.

[anonymous1980]

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Edward Sanders, Jamie Campbell Bower, Laura Michelle Kelly, Jane Wisener.
Dir: Tim Burton

I actually tried to lower my expectations for this film, expecting the worst. But no, Tim Burton actually made a fantastic film. The look, the performances, the songs, almost all are pitch-perfect. Yes, Depp and Bonham Carter do not sing like George Hearn/Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury but they more than make up for it by their outstanding acting. To risk angering the Sondheim purists, I actually think the ending of this film is an improvement on the stage musical. I found it far emotionally affecting. It was everything I loved about the original musical and more.

Oscar Prospects: This should at least be nominated for as many categories as possible.

Grade: A

[Sabin]

I agree with those two picks. Lump Steve Buscemi on for his beautiful performance in 'Ghost World', and either Scarlett Johansson for the same film, Gwyneth Paltrow for 'The Royal Tenenbaums', Kelly MacDonald for 'Gosford Park', Frances O'Connor for 'A.I.', and Brittany Murphy (yes) for 'Sidewalks of New York', and you've got a fantastic slew of performances (and movies) that you'd never for a moment know from looking at the nominees that year.

[Akash]

I'll call it right now: Pinsent's non-nomination will be seen as the biggest oversight years from now (maybe even sooner). I can't believe he hasn't gotten the kind of acclaim his co-star has.

And yeah, Wilkinson was better than all his competition in 2001. BY FAR. My picks for that year would have been Tom Wilkinson and Naomi Watts -- two of the finest performances so far this decade -- but since the latter wasn't even nominated (morons in the acting branch, just morons!), I'd have been happy with Wilkinson and Spacek.

[Sabin]

Some of the visual metaphors were a bit too much for me: the final 360, the lights in the house turning off, excessive 2-shots, etc. However, the way the camera lingers on Christie's face especially in her elaborate 2nd to last tracking shot is so breathtaking. If there is an actor today who looks better in a C.U., I couldn't tell you.

I think Tom Wilkinson gave maybe one of the five or six best performances of the decade. Spacek is fantastic and sorely deserved her Oscar, but while people were going back and forth on whether or not to give it to Crowe or Washington, I threw my hands up in frustration: "What about Tom Wilkinson?" His subsequent work has been the stuff of glazed ham, but his torment in 'In the Bedroom' validates the third act choices. He is the heir to von Sydow and Josephson, the Best-Bergman-Muse-Who-Was-Never-In-an-Ingmar-Bergman-Movie. Pinsent is another, and while there has not been a movie this year that existed so much between the performances of two actors, his emotional trepidation is the stuff of magic.

That being said: still all about 'The Assassination of Jesse James' and Casey Affleck.

[Steph2]

Sabin I just saw Away From Her as well and I agree with everything you said (though I had no problem with Polley's wonderful visual conceits). This film is so note perfect, so subtle, so knowing about relationships and the way memory is constructed (much moreso than say, the film version of Atonement) that it has pushed past No Country For Old Men on my list as my favorite film of the year.

And I can't imagine there will be a male performer all year better than Pinsent. Why he's not a lock for an acting nomination beside Christie is beyond me. This reminds me of 2001 when Sissy Spacek was considered the front runner for her lovely performance in In the Bedroom (before that last minute boob flashing by Halle Berry) and there wasn't similar attention given to Tom Wilkinson's even stronger, more devastating performance. Though at least he was nominated.

[anonymous1980]

I AM LEGEND
Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok, Emma Thompson, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith.
Dir: Francis Lawrence

This film works primarily because of Will Smith. Except for two short scenes, he's in virtually every frame of this film, more than half all by himself and pulls it off splendidly. It would've been just another cheesy sci-fi/end of the world film since the less than stellar FX aren't doing it any favors.

Oscar Prospects: No for Visual Effects but Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and maybe Art Direction.

Grade: B

[Sabin]

I just saw 'Away from Her'. I will say that some of Sarah Polley's visual conceits (especially the wrong-headed 360 at the end) struck me as a far too on the nose, she's certainly found the right teacher in Atom Egoyan. This film is devastating and I can't remember the last time two performances reduced me to tears like this, I honestly can't. Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie work with each other beautifully, and Sarah Polley's screenplay finds the right notes of ebb and flow and mystery throughout. Together with Christie's performance (which is so subtle and beautiful and seamless, I fully expect her to lose), the film finds notes of playfulness in anguish, always leaving us looking closer and closer; and in Pinsent's, a small world of regret, selfishness, dignity, and loss so heart-wrenching to this man that he can barely allow it to come out at all. A rather beautiful film.



Edited By Sabin on 1199987570

[The Original BJ]

I totally agree with you on The Orphanage, OscarGuy. Most horror films these days are so silly I don't even bother with them, but the good reviews lured me to this one and I was shocked at how much I enjoyed myself. I'd practically forgotten what it was like to be truly scared by a film.

Aside from the fact that it has plenty of chills (and truly, I thought this was one of the more terrifying films I've seen in a long time), what's most impressive is the way the film works on a dramatic level. The nightmare that Laura lives through as she searches for her missing child gives the film moments of great emotional power. And the screenplay is so cleverly structured -- throw-away moments and sequences near the beginning of the film set up bone-chilling set pieces in act three. I had no idea where this story was headed and found myself very surprised by the finale.

I don't want to oversell the thing: I don't think it's one of the must catch titles of the season. But it's a very fun watch, and absolutely accomplishes what it sets out to do with style. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone in need of a change of pace from all the Oscar movies (though I hope this lands a Foreign Film nod), which had definitely been tiring me out.

[OscarGuy]

I was surprised at how unconventional yet conventional The Orphanage was. What an amazing little film. No wonder Del Toro attached his name to it. It mixed fantasy, horror and drama elements with the dexterity of the greats. I could certainly see a bit of Hitchock in this film. It's surprisingly touching, startling and frightening. Another supreme example why some of our great genre pieces are coming from Spanish-language directors (even if not filmed in that language). Look at recent pics Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, The Others and now The Orphanage. It's an amazing time for these guys.

[Sabin]

In 'The Band's Visit', Sasson Gabai and Ronit Elkabetz transform a fairly typical story of 'Lost in Translation'-almost love into a lived in, weary portrait of survivors that feels truer than it really is. When revelations come out at apropos times during the course of a tender almost love story, I tend to cringe a little bit. It occurs to me in life that there is more beauty in what is left unsaid than said, and when we see a movie about two people who's attraction and love is left unsaid, backstory is fairly arbitrary. But they're just wonderful. I've only seen Ronit Elkabetz in two films but based on her skill with English that she exhibits in 'The Band's Visit', I can only imagine it's a short amount of time before somebody casts her in something. I sadly expect Sasson Gabai to wind up as a Jack Ryan ancillary character that gets shot fairly early on.

'The Band's Visit' is a lovely movie about the Egyptian Police Ceremonial Orchestra stopping off in Bet Hatikva instead of Petra Tikva (something like that) and stay the night in a boring Israeli town, make small talk, come together, fall apart. One of those movies, more circumstantial and quietly situational than plot driven. Because I realize one of my favorite aspects of film narrative is when a movie takes place over a very specific period of time, I tend to allow concessions when the incidents may not be incredibly inspired. For example on the page, 'Before Sunrise' must read as more than a little pedestrian. On the screen, it's absolutely magical to sit through. 'The Band's Visit' is fairly conventional but feels honest in how organically it portrays English as a common language, small talk, and tiny behavioral moments. As a film about cultural tensions, I can't attest to how honest it is but I adored the little ventures the characters made towards learning from each other, for example deflating tension by bringing up Omar Sharif. It's a lovely little movie. Fairly slight but enjoyable.



Edited By Sabin on 1199628973

[HarryGoldfarb]

Oh God! I need to reply you Penelope, but I don't know how to change the color of my text! But in a short form, once you buy her erratic behaviour through the whole movie, that doesn't look so awkward, in fact is something you can expect from a person like her... if people like that actually exist!