January 1, 2008

Frozen River (2008) *

Ordinary drama about smugglers.
Posted by at
Labels:

The Tale of Despereaux (2008) *

Very lame animated film about a brave mouse.
Posted by at
Labels:

Smart People (2008) *

A misantropic comedy about a self-absorbed university professor (Dennis Quaid), his emotionally-handicapped daughter (Ellen Page), his pathetic brother (Thomas Haden Church), and his new girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker), who looks positively insane for wanting to join such a thoroughly fucked-up family. Set in a small college town in Pennsylvania, the film tries hard to be a smart, sardonic comedy, but falls flat on its face. The only ironic thing in the film is the title - those aren't smart people at all, merely erudite fools.
Posted by at
Labels:

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008) *

The weakest of all four Indiana Jones flicks (yes, even worse than "The Temple of Doom"), a lousy adventure film about alien creatures from a mysterious city lost in the Amazonian jungle. Cate Blanchett steals the movie as a hilarious Soviet spy (possibly inspired by Natasha from "Rocky and Bullwinkle").
Posted by at
Labels: ,

Your Name Here (2008) *

Unbelievably lame and boring movie starring Bill Pullman as a famous writer. A disaster from start to finish.
Posted by at
Labels:

Marley & Me (2008) *

Boring comedy starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Aniston as a young couple who get a pooch.
Posted by at
Labels:

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008) *

Atrocious movie, unexplicably hailed as a masterpiece by numerous critics. Too long, very boring and completely pointless. It has a few good set pieces (like the naval battle between a Yankee tugboat and a Nazi U-boat), but otherwise it just baffles the mind. Why would anybody, and especially David Fincher (who made such great films as "Seven", "Fight Club" and "Zodiak"), think that a story of a man who ages in reverse (he is born an old man and dies as an infant) would be interesting in itself ? Well, it isn't, and the film offers little else (aside from that naval battle) to compensate for the utter triviality of its main premise. John Podhoretz rightly demolishes the film in this Weekly Standard review. Choice bits: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a failure for two reasons: It's preachy, and it's stupid (...) There are no conversations in this movie, just one character depositing dubious pearls of wisdom into the ear canal of another; and since they're neither wise nor especially pearl-like, they grow extraordinarily tiresome."
Posted by at
Labels:

The Yes Man (2008) *

Lame comedy starring Jim Carrey.
Posted by at
Labels:

Wendy & Lucy (2008) *

A homeless woman (who lives in her car until it breaks down) loses her dog.
Posted by at
Labels:

W. (2008) *

Lousy film from Oliver Stone. He can't decide whether he's making a serious film about the War on Terror, or a satiric comedy about a well-meaning bumpkin who finds himself in the White House and does a mess of things. The actors aren't sure how to play their roles neither. The only exception is Richard Dreyfuss, whose incredible tour-de-force performance as Dick Cheney definitely deserved a best supporting actor nod. His "Drain the swamp", "Nobody will fuck with us again" and "There is no exit strategy, we stay" speeches are the highlights of the movie and can be applauded as rare instances of coherence and straight talk in an otherwise politically-confused farce. Thandie Newton creates a memorable (though crude and vicious) caricature of Condi Rice, but other SNL-ish imitations are completely off the mark (particularly Scott Glenn's inept attempt to re-create Donald Rumsfeld and Jeffrey Wright's pathetic stab at Colin Powell). Toby Jones does only a so-so job as Karl Rove, Ellen Burstyn is a very imperfect Barbara Bush and Josh Brolin's W is very disappointing (as is Elizabeth Banks' Laura Bush). Compared to them, James Cromwell's Herbert Walker Bush is actually quite good, but like Dreyfuss, he apparently didn't get the same stage directions as others, and looks like a serious thespian playing Hamlet or King Lear with a troupe of commedia dell'arte clowns. The film also suffers from omitting many important events of Bush's life (like the Florida recount, 9/11, the invasion of Afghanistan and Bush's victory over Kerry). 
Posted by at
Labels:

December 12, 2007

Top 10 Films of 2007

1. "Eastern Promises" (David Cronenberg, UK)

2. "Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame" (Hana Makhmalbaf, Iran)

3. "Charlie Wilson's War" (Mike Nichols, USA)

4. "I Served The King Of England" (Jiri Menzel, Czech Republic)

5. "4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days" (Cristian Mungiu, Romania)

6. "Ratatouille" (Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, USA)

7. "No Country For Old Men" (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, UK)

8. "Le Scaphandre et le papillon" (Julian Schnabel, France)

9. "Grindhouse" (Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, USA)

10. "Into The Wild" (Sean Penn, USA)


Other great films:

12 (Russia)
A l'interieur (France)
Away From Her (Canada)
Bakushi (Japan)
Ben X (Belgium)
Il Caimano (Italy)
Caotica Ana (Spain)
Du levande (Sweden)
Ex Drummer (Belgium)
Fados (Portugal)
Gruz 200 (Russia)
Lust, Caution (Taiwan)
Mad Detective (Hong Kong)
Meet The Robinsons
Mongol (Kazachstan)
Monsieur Max (France)
Nitro (Canada)
Odette Toulemonde (Belgium)
Once (Ireland)
Opium (Hungary)
The Orphanage (Spain)
Persepolis (France)
Pusinky (Czech Republic)
Sans titre (France)
Un Secret (France)
Stellet Licht (Mexico)
Szklane usta (Poland)
Les Témoins (France)
Toi (Canada)
XXY (Argentina)
Zodiac
La Zona (Mexico)


Top 10 Guilty Pleasures of 2007:

1. "Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon" (Eric Rohmer, France)

2. "Cashback" (Sean Ellis, UK)

3. "Black Snake Moan" (Craig Brewer, Paramount)

4. "Klimt" (Raúl Ruiz, Austria)

5. "Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer" (Tom Tykwer, Germany)

6. "Notte prima degli esami - Oggi" (Fausto Brizzi, Italy)

7. "Come tu mi vuoi" (Volfango De Biasi, Italy)

8. "Daisy Diamond" (Simon Staho, Denmark)

9. "Chantal" (Tony Marsiglia, USA)

10. "Caregiver" (Dennis Devine, USA)


Short Top 3:

1. "Le Mozart des Pickpockets" (Philippe Pollet-Villard, France)

2. "Barber Gull Rub" (Matthew Rankin, Canada)

3. "Dust Bowl Ha! Ha!" (Sebastien Pilote, Canada)


Other great shorts:

The Colony (Canada)
Cosette (Australia)
Le Gout du temps (Canada)
Les Grands (Canada)
Moi (Canada)
Perle (Canada)
The Same House (Canada)
The Tonto Woman

Top 3 Music Videos:

1. "Paper Planes" (Bernard Gourley, M.I.A.)

2. "1234" (Patrick Daughters, Feist)

3. "Upgrade U" (Melina Matsoukas, Beyonce)



Other great music videos:

DANCE
Irreplaceable
White Robe (Russia)

Top Commercial:

"Beauty Is Nothing Without Brains" (Harold Zwardt, Mercedes)


Other great commercials:


TV Top 5:

1. "Mad Men: Season 1" (AMC)

2. "Dexter: Season 2" (Showtime)

3. "Weeds: Season 3" (Showtime)


5. "Rome: Season 2" (HBO)


Other great TV shows:


Cartoon Top 3:

1. "My Love" (Alexandr Petrov, Russia)

2. "Meme les pigeons vont au paradis" (Samuel Tourneux, France)

3. "Madame Tutli-Putli" (Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski, NFB, Canada)


Other great cartoons:

How To Hook Up Your Home Theatre
I Met The Walrus (Canada)
Peter And The Wolf (UK)

Weak films of 2007:

20,13 (Portugal)
La Brunante (Canada)
La Capture (Canada)
My Dream (China)
The New Man (Sweden)
Noodle (Israel)
Who Loves The Sun (Canada)

Weak shorts:

L'Appel du vide (Canada)
At Night
Birthday Girl (Canada)
Can You Wave Bye-Bye? (Canada)
Code 13 (Canada)
Eau Boy (Canada)
L'Education nautique (Canada)
Enfin février (Canada)
Les Fiches safari (France)
Posted by at
Labels:

Top Musical of 2007

"Once" (John Carney, Ireland)
 
Posted by at
Labels:

November 11, 2007

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (2007) *****




A little girl in Afghanistan tries to get to school. One of the greatest Iranian films of all times, directed by 18-years-old Hana Makhmalbaf (Mohsen's daughter and Samira's younger sister). A profound portrait of humanity at its most complex.
Posted by at
Labels:

Ratatouille (2007) *****

Terrific animated film about a fin gourmet rat.
Posted by at
Labels: ,

Eastern Promises (2007) *****

While also being a terrific and exciting gangster film in its own right, David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" is above all a profound human drama about integrity and courage. Naomi Watts plays a second-generation Russian immigrant in London who is confronted by a difficult moral dilemma. And so does the viewer, because unlike most films dealing with sensationalistic subjects such as forced prostitution, human trafficking and sexual exploitation, "Eastern Promises" doesn't manicheistically divide the world between "good" victims and "bad" villains. Instead, the victims are mostly passive (like in real life), while the real struggle occurs between our revulsion at oppression and injustice, and our fascination with the human evil. Rarely have we seen a more complex and fascinating gallery of ruthless gangsters who remain humane and attractive despite their unforgivable behaviour. They are members of the London chapter of the fearsome Russian mafia organization known as "Vory v zakone" ("Thieves in law") and they include such memorable figures as Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his son Kirill (Vincent Cassel) and his driver Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen). Sharply written, brilliantly directed and perfectly acted, "Eastern Promises" is David Cronenberg's best film.
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

October 10, 2007

Charlie Wilson's War (2007) ****

This is an amazing film. Amazing for many reasons. It's an amazing film because it's fiercely anti-Communist, denouncing Soviet crimes against humanity in Afghanistan in the 1980's like no other Hollywood movie in recent memory. It's an amazing film because it celebrates Texas Congressman Charles Wilson (Tom Hanks) as a great American hero, without sweeping his personal life under the carpet. In fact, the film praises the hedonistic lifestyle of "Good Time Charlie" and goes as far as to denounce a young hot-shot district attorney from New York named Rudy Giuliani for trying to investigate him. It's an amazing film because it celebrates Texas socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) as an arch-conservative, right-wing Christian fundamentalist who hates Commies like a plague - it is absolutely unprecedented to see such a figure presented as a 100% positive and admirable character in a Hollywood movie. Especially in a Hollywood movie written by liberal Aaron Sorkin ("West Wing", "The American President") and directed by liberal Mike Nichols ("Primary Colors"). But "Charlie Wilson's War" had to be an amazing movie, because Charlie Wilson was a such an amazing character himself. He was a liberal, pro-choice, women-chasing Democrat from Texas who was more anti-Communist than Ronald Reagan himself. Like Oscar Schindler (another hedonistic bon vivant turned humanitarian crusader), he had an epiphany while visiting a refugee camp in Pakistan and seeing Afghan children mutilated by bombs hidden in toys. Brilliantly directed, "Charlie Wilson's War" is a crisp, biting satire that confidently mixes sex and politics, and moves at a breakneck pace without wasting a single moment. Soundbites are sharp and memorable. Moreover, the film offers an amazing emotional roller-coaster, going from satiric farce to Schindler-caliber pathos in a matter of seconds, and featuring naked Playboy bunnies in hot tubs, as well as disfigured Afghan mothers, not to mention a bevy of drop-dead gorgeous congressional assistants working for Charlie (Amy Adams among them). While the film is a hilarious political satire, it has no broad political caricatures. Every major character - left or right - is a complex, multi-dimensional individual full of contradictions and nuances. The film is anti-red, but it paints everything in amazing shades of grey.
Posted by at
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)