Film Dictionary

March 3, 2007

Skateboard Kink Freak (2007) ***

The Sopranos: Season 6.2 (2007) ***

Californication: Season 1 (2007) ***

February 2, 2007

This film is so expertly directed, so wonderfully acted, so well shot and so well designed, that it is very easy to overlook its mediocre narrative, and mistake it for a masterpiece. However, the story, loosely (but not loosely enough) adapted from a ridiculous and horribly dated novel by Upton Sinclair "Oil", is so simplistic and far-fetched, it drags this otherwise brilliantly realized movie down the drain. All characters are completely devoid of any complexity - they are like refugees from a Soviet socialist realist drama from the Stalinist era. They lack any psychological credibility whatsoever. Paul Thomas Anderson is a wonderfully gifted filmmaker; his mistake was in trying to adapt a very crappy piece of stupid socialist propaganda about evil Yankee exploiters.

Margot At The Wedding (2007) **

The Simpsons Movie (2007) **

Uneven, preachy film.

The Gray Man (2007) **

Tense film about a serial killer.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) **

We Own The Night (2007) **

Smiley Face (2007) **

Uneven, but often hilarious comedy about one very, very bad day in the life of girl stoned out of her mind. Directed by Gregg Araki.

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) **

Uneven, but often funny comedy about a deranged and dysfunctional loner (Ryan Gosling) who falls in love with a sex doll named Bianca. Emily Mortimer plays his sweet sister-in-law, Patricia Clarkson is his non-judgemental psychiatrist, but it's Kelli Garner ("Bully", ''The Aviator", "Havoc 2: Normal Adolescent Behavior") who steals the movie as Bianca's determined rival.

The Kite Runner (2007) **

Deeply disturbing, powerful tale about two Afghan boys. Memorable, but uneven. The first half is great, the second half is too conventional.

Norbit (2007) **

Tasteless, but often hilarious comedy starring Eddie Murphy in a triple role of a milquetoast husband, his obese shrew of a wife (both photos) and a kind Chinese man who runs an orphanage. A mind-boggling mix of the genuinely obscene, the daringly politically-incorrect and the surprisingly tender and sweet.

Gone Baby Gone (2007) **

Gritty police drama about the kidnapping of a little girl. An adaptation of a novel by Dennis Lehane ("Mystic River"). Ben Affleck's feature film debut, starring his younger brother Casey.

Sharkwater (2007) **

Excellent documentary about sharks.

Bee Movie (2007) **

Animated film about a bee.

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007) **

Overlong, interesting, but ultimately disappointing western about the murder of Jesse James.

Copying Beethoven (2007) **

Diane Kruger plays a female composer who befriends a deaf Beethoven (Ed Harris). Directed by Agnieszka Holland.

Sweeney Todd (2007) **

Tim Burton's adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical about an insane barber in Victorian London. The art direction, the cinematography, the costume, the songs and the performances are all first rate. But the simplistic story - an insane mix of "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "Oliver Twist" - drags it all down. Jolting, but forgettable.

Michael Clayton (2007) **

A failed attempt to imitate a John Grisham legal thriller formula, with a bit of "Network" thrown in for good measure. George Clooney stars as a go-to man working for a large legal firm with some unsavory clients. Boring, preachy and lame. The first half of this corporate thriller is needlessly complicated and confusing. The second half is disappointingly simple and straightforward.

January 1, 2007

Shooter (2007) *

A bit too close to "The Fugitive" for its own good.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) *

Boring pirate flick.

August Rush (2007) *

Boring drama about an orphan boy trying to find his parents.

Cassandra's Dream (2007) ***

Surf's Up (2007) *

The "fake documentary" concept is quite original for an animated film, but after a promising beginning, this "surfing penguins" picture quickly becomes boring and repetitive.

Transformers (2007) *

Pointless Hollywood trash.

Rush Hour 3 (2007) *

Mindless action comedy set in Paris.

The Savages (2007) *

Depressing drama about a brother and a sister taking care of their dying father. It's one of those films whose trailer misleadingly promised a quirky black comedy by only including every single comic scene from the movie.

The Golden Compass (2007) *

A very disappointing adaptation of the first novel in Philip Pullman's magnificent trilogy, "His Dark Materials". But then again, not much was to be expected from Chris Weitz, best known previously as the uncredited co-director of "American Pie". He turned a deliciously subversive and powerful anti-Christian parabole into a bland (and vaguely anti-clerical) Hollywood blockbuster.

Lions For Lambs (2007) *

Ridiculous and pointless film that includes every possible cliché about the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan without offering a single original idea. All characters - from Tom Cruise's neo-con senator to Meryl Streep's naive liberal journalist to Robert Redford's idealistic university professor - are crude stereotypes unconnected to any reality whatsoever. Basically a stupid MSM's op-ed piece masquarading as a movie.

I'M Not There (2007) *

A pretentious mess of a movie, all about the life of Bob Dylan, with six different actors embodying a different aspect of the musician's life and work. Good music, nice visuals, but no real story.