2005 Film List (1 Viewer)

[Brook K]

I haven't been doing much either lately. Busy year, haven't felt like writing as much, haven't been seeing as many movies, etc. I haven't been to the art house since the end of July, which seems incredible.

Bewitched - This was better than I thought it would be. The story is a trifle but Will Ferrell carries it with his typical "I can make anything funny" comic skill and he and Nicole Kidman have good chemistry. Kidman's enthusiasm for the part also comes through. The first hour is pleasantly entertaining, and while not something I'd actively seek out again, I could see being a good channel-flipping time waster when it eventually makes it on TV. Unfortunately, the film really runs out of gas after the first hour and limps home pretty badly. Also doesn't help that I can't stand Jason Schwartzman. Even in a small part he annoys the heck out of me. The first hour I'd give a "B", but overall just a C+

 

[Adam_S]

Walk the Line - :star::star::star:1/2

Poland and various reviews had me whipped into a peak of excitement for this film, probably moreso than was fair.

It is an excellent film. I think Cameron Crowe should have edited this, because some songs that should have played long or in completion were hacked short (ring of fire! grrr) while other minor songs that provided only a nice grace note got two or three times the play time.

I think there are two separate movie/stories here and that overall their dueling presence causes some problems. The first story makes up 98% of the film and that's the story of how and why Johnny Cash came to Folsolm Prison, "that's a song that will truly save someone," the second is the story of why June Carter, after the Folsolm Prison Live comeback decided to love and commit and marry Johnny Cash.

What we get that includes June Carter is the magic wonderful glue that holds the music together. You could start a movie in media res with Folsom Prison, run that sequence twice as long and then devote a whole movie to the on stage proposal and romance and whatnot of John and June, their chemistry is that good.

It is an utter outrage and a hugely missed oppurtunity to NOT have Johnny and June finish Jackson! talk about letting your audience down big time after teasing us with June's best stage performance of the movie, teasing us with an electric Johnny Cash stage performance and for the first time in the movie showing them performing in the same shot and we actually SEE the amazing chemistry, but we get only twenty seconds to process all that amazing work before boom, movie over! grrr...

I did NOT like that virtually every performance with Johnny and June together was cut together from closeup to closeup and we never see them together in a shot of any reasonable length to get a sense of that 'stage chemistry' that was played up six ways from sunday in every review.

The opening build in to Folsom prison was brilliant, the decision to cut straight back in time before Johnny takes stage I'm not so hot on. We don't really need the airforce material in Germany, as good and charming as it is. I'd like more of Vivian, she was good. I'd like to know more about the father and Johnny's early life.

I'd like for this film to take it's time more and to also stop feeling so slooow.

I loved the two young boys and how all of that was handled. cliche, perhaps, but it's his life, and it's less noticeable than Ray's flashbacks.

But the filmmakers of Ray also revered his panache and ability to go for the big emotion, which this film keeps pulling back from, but Ray achieved.

The Spielberg reconciliation with the father coda was damned annoying.

Where was Phedon Papamichael and why didn't we get the sort of photography that's used over the closing titles in the actual movie itself!? FOR SHAME!

The scene when Johnny attacks Sam Philips with Folsom Prison Blues is my favorite scene from any film all year. just perfection. Likewise June singing her part in Jackson at the very end is utterly amazing.

June June June June. the movie is amazing because of June, I will be beyond upset if Witherspoon doesn't take home Oscar.

Joaquin Phoenix gives an incredible performance, simply astounding, his first singing of Folsom Prison, the writing of Folsom Prison, performing Cocaine Blues at Folsom Prison, the first scene with June, staring down his father with 'where were You?!" excellent throughout the film.

Drugs! gasp shock horror, drugs fear fly fear fly horror horror! drugs! They take up so much runtime that it gets long and old very quickly it's necessary and important to the story being told, but June doesn't get old, the drugs get old and Johnny "i'm an idiot drug user" gets old. They're so poorly handled too, it's just "and then Johnny did a lot of drugs for a long time and he did a lot more when June Carter wouldn't commit to him personally and he had a breakdown that lasted a long time before JC detoxed him.... drugs are bad."

In a way, June's wavering over Johnny also feels slow and off, and at one point the sexual tension drops away.



An outstanding movie and one of the tops of the yera, I'll probably see it again and I hope I like it better the second time.

Adam

 

[Seth Paxton]

Walk the Line
9.5 of 10
Not quite Best Pix, but pretty strong. Could be one of the 5 nominations. Phoenix and Reese should be noms and possible winners for their effort. Solid script which I liked a bit more than Ray. Tough call comparing the musical sequences of those 2 films as both have their strengths.

The Interpreter
7.5 of 10
Not bad, but a little corny/formula at points which hindered its otherwise interesting concept and solid acting. It has some really great moments in it, but it just wasn't quite tight enough for me to put on par with Red Eye as a natural comparison.

The Longest Yard
2.5 of 10
It gets those points because there were some moments where I really laughed out loud. But so much of the film lingers into corny slapstick when it would be much more compelling (and therefore funny) if it would keep it grittier and tense like the original. I much preferred the Mean Machine remake to this.

 

[Arman]

After so many movieless days, I'm back watching movies with Walk the Line (Cash!) and Pride & Prejudice (Keira!). I love 'em both - will definitely buy multiple DVD copies of both films (should be great gifts for next year's holiday season).

 

[Adam_S]

Memoirs of a Geisha - :star::star::star:1/2

I did not want to like this movie. I didn't like that the cast Japanese characters with Chinese actresses, I didn't like that it would be in Engrish.

Well I was wrong, cause it works, it works very very well. But it is melodrama, for about 85% of the film that melodrama is strictly controlled (by Japanese necessities and aesthetics) but it does go over the top for a fire and at the end).

The opening four or five minutes are the most intensely seductive work of filmmaking I've seen all year. The photography is unbelievable, it's all in unsubbed Japanese (mostly background dialogue, the principles are pawns/observers), English dialogue begins when they are taken to Miyako.

The cinematography and production design are so masterful that they first force you to want to like the movie and keep you hooked so you can't stop watching.

The cinematography makes me ache to love the movie unconditionally despite the flaws, I want to gloss over any flaws and talk only about the strengths.

Compare this to the uninteresting cinematography in Walk the Line that does nothing to enhance or underscore or complement or synergize with the story--it only presents it 'see spot run' style--where I came out of the movie only wanting to niggle at the issues I had with it and struggled to praise the strengths of an incredible movie.

The 'other' languages of the film arts are terribly important and I think the contrast between two remarkable films like Memoirs and Walk the Line illustrates that as dramatically as any example I can think of.

Even a film like Capote uses cinematography to match, enhance and enrich it's relatively talking heads subject matter, it's some of the best work of the year in fact, though it's never showy.

So unless Spielberg/Kaminski deliver the best looking film of their careers, it is impossible for Dion Beebe to lose the best cinematography oscar. It is that gorgeous.

It will also be difficult for any film to take away the production design or art direction oscars from Memoirs, simply because they built the whole damn town in california and the equisite detail worked in by John Myhre and his teams.

Now let's get on to the writing. Overall, a very nice job with an orientalized and dramatized look at Geisha life 1920s-1940s, this is made for an American audience. Some of the dialogue feels like a subtitle translation rather than how someone would talk, there's certain ways of phrasing and enunciating in Japanese that don't translate all the texture to words, so when just the typical 'translated' turn of phrase is used as dialogue it's a little disconcerting at first. However if you've seen some of Mizoguchi's films on this topic, and are aware of his intimate painful familial connection to it (his sister was forced into this life much as the titular character), you'll have a hard time believing the gloss (they are all, of course, the greatest geisha house in all of Miyako and it's all about the coldblooded competition between geishas and meikos) and bright-hot flares of melodramatic direct actions. However a very strong ending is written in that immediately makes you want to forgive some of the melodramatic machinations of the previous fifteen minutes.

Onto the acting and directing. Rob Marshall had a prodigious task in handling so many actors who didn't speak english, and he delivered an overall stunning film that is a visual powerhouse and carries you through the film even the occasional painful and awkward moment.

The young girl who plays the lead child was clearly cast for her stunning anime eyes, unfortunately she has a slightly malformed lower mandable causing the lower third of her face to slope slightly in and she can't close her mouth properly, it's a commone enough occurence, but dental surgery had certainly progressed quite far in the 1920s to turn her into Zhang Ziyi (note the faceitious tone). The girl is a very good actress but has the most trouble with English pronunciation rhythm and diction, but she emotes very well.

Gong Li, with the second largest role, chews the scenary and gives a really restrained Chinese performance (or a just slightly over-the-top western performance). She is beautiful, magnetic, a skilled actress and relishes being one of filmdom's ultimate nasty bitches. In other words she's magnificent and it is clear why she is one of the world's biggest stars.

Michelle Yeoh gives a wonderful performance that is perfectly enhanced by the contrast in characters with Gong Li's role. Her performance seems better because of how she plays her role compared to Gong Li's (excellent bit of work by Marshall), the small bits of kindness and the serene calm and equisite perfection of grace that Yeoh exudes makes us immediately love her, and again makes her performance seem richer and more textured than perhaps it truly is. Yeoh is completely believable as Japanese.

Ken Watanabe, his first scene makes you smile and he has such a powerful screen presence that you're actually a bit miffed when he leaves, he is excellent in an almost silent role.

The supporting performance by the actor who plays Nobu is probably my favorite in the entire film, the subtle play of emotions, and the deep well they reside in, he slowly reveals to us is a great strength. I like his character the most, so in that sense I'm a bit outraged at some of the melodramatic machinations at the end.

Zhang Ziyi is excellent, but her role is somewhat bland compared to Yeoh and Li. On the other hand she's utterly believable and drop-a-man-dead stunning whether in Geisha costume or out of it. One scene with the Baron is almost too intense to watch, her persona as a meiko or a geisha is mesmorizing, she's almost a completely different girl but slight hesitations and her eyes let you know that she's not completely within the geisha/meiko personality, she's still learning or holding back.

The plot is a bit shaky, but that doesn't matter because when the performances or story fail to carry you the cinematography and production design pick up the slack. On the other hand there was a lot of coughing in the theatre. the editing, while very appropriate, left the pace quite slow at some points.

I can't believe I liked this movie this much, it may float up to four stars if I forget some of my problems with it. The cinematography is even better than Deaken's Jarhead work!

Adam

oh and John Williams score is subtle and subdued but the solos by Perman and Ma are superb matches to the film.

 

[Brook K]

The Squid and the Whale - Jeff Daniels gives one of the best performances of the year as a completely self-absorbed father/husband/writer in this indie about a family going through the throes of a divorce. Laura Linney supplies ample support as the fed up-and-angry mother/wife and their are several good performances from the teenage actors who end up onscreen more than the adults. Bitingly funny, sad, painful, often all in the same seen, writer/director Noah Baumbach's autobiographical film is skillfully executed with each scene providing subtle commentary on human relationships and the selfishness inherent in one's own point of view. If the film suffers a bit from being too pointed in its usage of the title symbol, Daniels performance ground the film. Cynically witty, name-dropping, bitter he pittifully begs our sympathy while displaying an almost Hulot-like obliviousness and a decided indifference to the pain and suffering he causes. - B+

Capote - Phillip Seymour Hoffman's lauded and spot-on imitation of Truman Capote is the chief attraction in this film detailing the writing of Capote's novel In Cold Blood. While the filmmakers play loose with the facts (see Jonathan Rosenbaum's excellent review for the Chicago Reader), the emotions are right on. Hoffman's Capote bends any moral or ethical qualms he might have had to the subservience of what he is certain will be his masterpiece. In the end, the cost to his soul is incalcuable, if one surmises, perhaps less than what the filmmakers attemt to portray; Truman Capote already being filled to the brim with personal demons. Also of note is Catherine Keener giving a very fine turn as Harper Lee. - B+

9 Songs Brit director Michael Winterbottom's latest mixes alt-rock performances (Dandy Warhols, Von Bondies, Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand, etc) with scenes from a couple's relationship including lots of hardcore sex. Far more boring than it sounds with only the later scenes approaching eroticism and generating some interest in the couple once we finally get to know them. The bands are filmed in a flat, ordinary manner making the music seem the same way. Throw in the usage of Antarctic (the man is some kind of polar scientist) metaphors for the relationship, and even at 75 minutes the film is a chore. C

Mysterious Skin Joseph Gordon-Levitt starts as a gay hustler in this drama about the effects of child abuse. This film has received much praise both here and critically, but to me it just screamed "Sundance indie". While the fact that Levitt's character is mostly a blank serves the film's theme, it makes for less than compelling viewing. The exectution is obvious and anticlimatic, and the whole film just feels like a tired reitiration of other films. I enjoyed a few of the supporting characters, Michelle Trachtenberg's alt-girl and Jeff Licon as the gay friend brought to mind 'My So-Called Life', but overall the film left me unmoved. - C+

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Solid teen coming-of-age film with young women finding love, new friends, emerging from shells and coming to terms with painful pasts. Sure some of it is cliche and one of the conflicts terribly manufactured, but the film gets the emotions right and 3 of the 4 performances are very solid, particularly America Ferrera who was also quite good in Real Women Have Curves. An entertaining film that celebrates the value of friendship. - B

March of the Penguins Solid documentary that is well edited to weave the compelling story of the breeding cycle of penguins. At the same time this is a nature doc about penguins, nothing really earth-shattering (or worth an Oscar nom over the superb Grizzly Man ) - B

5x2 - Francois Ozon's film presents 5 stages of a couple, told in reverse from divorce to their chance meeting. Works as an interesting intellectual excercise theorizing about the nature of love and relationships. It displays the precise technique of his earlier films. Yet it never becomes an emotional experience due to the unsympathetic nature of virtually every character in the film. - B

Happy Endings - Another complicated multi-character, multi-story film from writer-director Don Roos. Among this film's ensemble is a woman (Lisa Kudrow) haunted by giving up her son for adoption as a teen mother, a young man trying to blackmail Kudrow with info about her son's whereabouts so she'll let him film their reunion, a male homosexual couple (Steve Coogan is one) who becomes convinced their lesbian friends (Laura Dern is one) lied to them about using one of the men's sperm to father a child, and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a singer/hustler who beds the guilt-ridden homosexual son and his wealthy father (an out-of-his-comfort zone Tom Arnold).

While displaying some of the sharp writing and wit of his earlier films (Bounce, The Opposite of Sex), it offers none of those films' energy with each character's near hopeless mess of problems overwhelming the small displays of humanity the film allows for. Roos does his film no favors by interrupting the flow with a stream of title cards commenting on the action, aptly described by one critic as the equivalent of having someone in the seat next to you talking in your ear the whole film. C+

 

[Adam_S]

Syriana - :star::star::star:

Corruption, is why we Win!

A very problematic but well made, well acted film. In some ways the film doesn't realize just how nationalist it is in the way it deemphasizes the belief of the suicide bombers, thus undercutting Islam and weakening their story thread--Hollywood, apparently can't comprehend anyone actually believing in their religion/faith. This also creates an inappropriate ironic tone when we see the video-will of the suicide bomber, because Hollywood has determined these characters don't care anything for the faith or traditions of their indiginous culture, it creates a mocking tone when the bomber is asking for certain death rites. They go for a cyclic allusion but give the culture a backhand slap across the face. This makes it as damn near racist/imperialist as one can get when they play more of the suicide bomber's narration over George Clooney, suggesting that he really is a noble and worthy sacrifice whose death had meaning and resonance.

I'd also like to have seen Matt Damon die, he should have been shot by the Emir's soldiers when he ran away or he should of died in the bomb, surviving had no point since they're killing off every other decent character. His survival was just frustrating. I'd have also preferred it if the Emir had accidently lived, had gone back to the rear car Matt Damon went to. That would have suggested though that people actually think the Middle East should have an autonomous infrastructure that supports their culture and people rather than a road-kill economy that first world vulture feast upon--and we can't possibly suggest hope, or an upbeat possibility for the Middle East, the status quo MUST be reasserted by this movie, because although it questions and whines a great deal it asserts very little.

 

[Adam_S]

Mrs. Henderson Presents - :star::star::star::star:

Wonderful, sublime film that is perfect in every way. My top film of the year, surpassing In Her Shoes and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

It's really a PG film, the way the nudity is handled as 'tableau's with the girls mostly covered or seen in profile. It's actually quite discreet and artistic, not exploitative or lecherous at all.

Judy Dench is wonderful but Bob Hoskins steals the show with some great work.

The cinematography is gorgeous, the script is among the very very best of the year.

Sparkling, funny, brilliant, endearing, and utterly charming.

This one reminds one of Wilder or Sturges and holds up with the best of their work.

And the music is just so damn wonderful, incredibly entertaining.

In a relatively empty theatre, everyone was very into the movie and enjoying it immensely.

I want to see it again, with a date, with my family, heck, my grandma would like this film, and I want to buy the soundtrack right now. and I'm damned annoyed the soundtrack isn't out yet.

 

[Adam_S]

The Chronicles of Narnia - :star::star::star::star:

Wooohooo. Man this was just fanfreaking awesome tastic. Better than the book at giving the characters depth and realism. And I love the book. the boy who plays Edmund is wonderful, incredible eyes, and hhe's a skilled actor at employing them, loved his work. Georgie Henly's awe as Lucy was darling and perfect. Really loved the way they did Susan. Peter was probably more realistic than I was expecting, but I like the way his character was portrayed, he's not Robb Stark afterall. Professor was just a hair too goofy, but otherwise I've no criticisms. Now, as a reader of the book, the action isn't all that suspenseful and the sacrifice isn't as impactful as they'd be if I didn't know the story inside and out, still an utterly marvelous adaptation, beautifully done, I can't wait to see it again.

I'm still glowing from this movie.

Adam

 

[Adam_S]

King Kong - :star::star::star:1/2

What about Fay? She can't do it, she's shooting a picture for R.K.O. right now!

A very good movie from Peter Jackson, but a bit overlong and somewhat haphazard up until the Tyrannosaurus fight.

The Tyrannosaurus fight is truly astonishing and utterly incredible, one of the all time great action sequences, ever.

But it's somewhat hard, on a first viewing, to appreciate the film on its own merits when I'm watching it as an adaptation.

I was completely enraptured by Kong's eyes. the acting on display is nothing short of mind boggling.

How
on
Earth
did
they
do
that?!

The movie really shines when Kong and Ann are quiet together and connect. some of the other bits are just not as effective.

And it's a bit long too, self indulgent at times (the Jaime bell character, heart of darkness silliness (hit us over the head why don'tcha), the spider pit, Brontosaurus pileup (great set piece but really excessive).

But when the movie connects, damn is it effective. As the life goes out of Kong's body, wow, what a truly awesome moment.

oh and what was with all the wierd blurry slo-mo in the opening part of the film.

1930s NYC looked awesome.

oh and those natives had really bad teeth, ridiculous fake teeth, it was distracting.

Adam

 

[Adam_S]

Mad Hot Ballroom - :star::star::star::star:

Wonderful perfect energetic charming marvelous little film. Absolutely loved every minute of it (except maybe the NY B roll that interluded from time to time), can't wait to show this to my family since I have so many teachers in mine.

 

[Adam_S]

March of the Penguins - :star::star::star:

Good charming little nature doc. Very cute penguins, unbelievable what these birds go through.

 

[Brook K]

Kingdom of Heaven - Ok action oriented period piece from Ridley Scott. Offers patches of interesting drama, but fails to develop any other character outside of Orlando Bloom's problematic lead figure, in a satisfying manner. Bearing little semblance to the actual history, one could watch LOTR or Troy and see the same big battles and pure fantasy in a better film. - C+

Murderball - Well done documentary on quadraplegic rugby players that centers more on the human participants than the sport. Illustrative of the resilience of humans in living perfectly fulfilling lives despite what others might view as crippling handicaps. Also does a good job in providing the quadraplegic's POV on how "normal" people think about them. At the same time the film works on the "sports movie" level as well. Providing high-level competition and drama including a disgrunteled teammate who goes to coach the Canadian team after losing his spot on the US squad. Could have done without the slow-motion scenes though. That's one filmed sports cliche that didn't work so well. The sport is far more compelling when seen in real-time. - B+

Fantastic Four - While not in the league with the best recent comic book films (X2, Spidey 2, BB), I found this to be fair, light entertainment and not nearly as bad as I heard it was. It seems to be more directed/written in an older 70's comic book style before every book tried to be darkly realistic. Of course, I never read FF much so I'm not attached to the characters. While Reed doesn't make much of an impression and Jessica Alba is iffy at best as Sue, the other actors are credible and the film does a decent job of balancing action, more weighty material, and comic relief. Not something I'd want to watch again anytime soon, but I preferred it to The Hulk, Punisher, or the abomination that was Daredevil. - B-

 

[Adam_S]

a couple weeks ago when I reviewed Geisha, I said this :
I'd actually downgrade the film to two and half stars, because I simply cannot stop stewing on the orientalism of the film. So much of the film is so very western and very wrong to everything I'm aware of Japanese culture. take the scene with the Baron and Ziyi alone, this scene is horrifying and devastating, but it sits in the craw as wrong. that scene in particular feels as though it was written by a white/western writer rather than the more neutral observational that we get for the majority of the film. Other similar scenes would be the fire and all the melodramatic machinations. The status given to the 'selling of the hymen' subplot is so orientalist just thinking about how it's essentially included as a bit of exotic 'repulsion/attraction' kinda makes me ill. The way that extreme competition between Yeoh and Gong Li (who are of course the two most beautiful and successful geisha of all time until Ziyi shows up, jesus was this written by someone who reads too many box office statistics? that or too many serial romances!) flares up just does not sit accurate at all with what I know of geisha culture. The use of sex in the ending also holds annoying traces of orientalism, as well as a lot of truly repulsive melodrama.

The film still has many technical strengths, especially the seductive cinematography, but damn if it isn't regressive.

 

[Adam_S]

The Family Stone - :star::star::star::star:

Another top five of the year film for me.

I consider this a new holiday classic.

my only quibble with the film is the use of the term cherry popping, and how this will limit family enjoyment until my youngest sister is older

I wish I had enough adjectives to praise every performance in this film, to praise the more than perfect script, to praise the director for the astonishing, truthful, funny, poigant, real, mature, and perfect family he put on screen.

The film is predictable, but certain holiday movies or romantic comedies, or even dramas (of which this is all three) HAVE to be predictable if they're going to work. I would have liked the film to be a little more predictable with one particular shot, but the decision to use a coda instead was much better. The writer really deserves praise for knowing precisely when, and how much, to use the predictability aspect, because if he'd shied away from it, he'd just have ruined the whole damn film, but if he'd gone too far it would also have ruined it. This is really a masterful writing job.

Now, I expect I will read at least one particular critic that will adore the film but take it to task for putting the family through 'affirmative action' in the form of the multi-racial, gay couple (with one other thing to make that brother unique), so I'm going to defend it, because I don't think it's Hollywood trying to impose their 'values' on middle America. First off many families today have to address what do about family members who are out, some embrace them without question, some reject them without question, some are hesitant, this film has decided that the family they are portraying is so incredibly strong and powerful that there was never any question about them--they embrace and continue to love without question, and it's a beautiful thing. And this issue is worth addressing here because the film addresses this in the film's most painful scene with Sarah Jessica Parker. Although the direction she takes is horrific, her argument is still comprehensible, and one shared by many people, and the film does a great deal with the scene to tell us so much about these characters and their relationships, their ways of deflecting certain subjects of avoiding some issues and how so many of us are often painfully silent when we shouldn't be. The twists and turns this scene takes along conversation and characterization make it the single best scene of the year in my opinion. truly incredible writing.

So know this is not a 'diverse' family for the sake of having a diverse family to make Hollywood look good (which would be diverse, only so long as diversity excludes people like Sarah Jessica Parker who are conservative and therefore must be repressed)--THAT IS NOT THIS MOVIE. The film instead uses the convolutions of the plot to further show us the strength of the family as a unit. They dislike Meredith not for herself. They dislike her in relation to Everett because they know immediately just how WRONG Meredith and Everett are for each other. That's how well they know Everett, and they're defending him.Look instead at how the family choses to embrace Meredith when she is with Ben. Now it wouldn't naturally follow that Meredith and Ben would work together. However Meredith and Everett were always completely separate entities, they never reached for each other or filled in holes in each other, they never asked any compromises out of the other except for 'put up with the family' or vice versa. Now the first thing that Ben does when he takes Meredith out for a drink is ask her to compromise a little. to step out towards him. he wasn't forcing her but he was trying to reach her, and asking her to reach him, and in doing so they became something more when they finally met. Ben coaxes Meredith out of her isolation and shell and protective bad tact and ill humor and poor opinions and then he's there to support her as she's standing for the first time, shaking from exiting her egg. That's why they belong together and why the family accepts Meredith with Ben and not with Everett, because Meredith and Ben together find and show something more than either of them individually. Everett and Meredith were a much more shallow couple, they were getting married for the sake of getting married, as something to do, not as something organic and natural and desirable as breathing.

And damn if that final coda didn't have me in tears for the second time in the film

This is a film that did everything right, it's an excellent blend of drama and comedy, much more drama than comedy but a truly wonderful film.

Adam

 

[Seth Paxton]

Wow, here comes a big update. I wrote in the Family Stone and Syriana threads, and I think I put something about Bewitched someplace already.


AT THE THEATER

Syriana
9 of 10
More confusing oil version of Traffic. Great film but short of best of the year.

Harry Potter 4 (the thing of the thing or whatever )
9 of 10
I love this series and especially the last 2 which have had more emotional impact than the efforts from Chris Colombus. It delivers in its effort to dazzle me with new magic while providing a few house of scary/fun adventure action. Truly a great popcorn flick.

Serenity
8.5 of 10
It has a TV look and editing style that keeps it from feeling like great film art, but the writing, characters and direction are all top notch in the area of fun storytelling. It's a great ride with some of the most fun characters of the year. Another great popcorn flick.

The Family Stone
8 of 10
I wasn't sure if it would be this good till I read the reviews. It was a lot more serious than the trailers for it are and that was a rewarding aspect. The laughs are earned, so are the tears. It's not innovative but it is formula done extremely well. Most impressive was that it was able to package a deeper meaning underneath the basic premise for the plot.

ON DVD

Bewitched
7 of 10
I thought this would be awful but the convoluted plot idea actually makes it work much better than a straight remake would have. The film is going along fine until the last 10-15 minutes when it starts to cut things short and rushes itself to an ending. Before then it was funny, cute and rather romantic. Not a bad rental.

Kingdom of Heaven
6 of 10
I thought more of Gladiator, but even that film felt like Scott's inability to handle the scope of a story that essential was Ben-Hur with a bunch of deeper story trimmed out. It's the same thing here as he seems to have an endless string of unfinished scenes, moments that hang loosely on one another but don't really have impact.

I would blame the editing but actually I don't think there is more story here than running time, its just Scott's methods I think. I'm starting to think that he is better at making personal stories feel epic than he is at getting his hands around epic stories efficiently. Of course I'm someone who thought Gladiator was merely a good popcorn flick, not a strong drama.

Havoc
3 of 10
Gaghan's other script went straight to DVD as it should have. This film was already done much better as Kids or Crazy/Beautiful or Thirteen. Maybe the script was fine and it was just the direction and acting, because those are both pretty poor or at best cribbed from other sources.

 

[Brook K]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - In general, an outstanding adventure story with a positive message. I hadn't read the books in years, but Lewis' novel came flooding back as Lucy went through the wardrobe into Narnia, and experienced thrills of wonder and discovery at several points during the film. I particularly liked that the film was about ideas, and characters, and relationships, instead of action set pieces. It never lets the effects become the story. It takes its time and isn't edited as if the creators wanted every scene over with as quickly as possible so they could get on to the next one. I'm pleasantly surprised that the director of Shrek could make a film this good; the only Hollywood film I've seen this year where, once it was over, I'd have liked to immediately see it again. - A-

Mad Hot Ballroom - Documentary about a dance program in New York City schools culminating in a dance competition. We get to watch kids awkwardly holding hands with one another and giggling evolve into accomplished dancers, gaining confidence in themselves and their partners. The film also shows the children away from school as they talk about their dreams and their thoughts about their friends and boy-girl relationships. Offering bundles of laughter and positive emotion, this is an interesting and enteraining film whose 2 hour running time flies by. - B+

War of the Worlds - For 70m this is a fine, tautly edited, suspense story about a man (Tom Cruise) trying to protect his children from a hellish situation. Complicating matter is that he has been a good deal less than adequate as a father to this point. Steven Spielberg's assured direction and the performance of the main cast helps us buy into another alien's attack Earth scenario as a visceral experience. Inexplicably, at almost exactly 1hr10m in, the film completely derails in a manner rarely seen. As soon as the "survivalist kook" character played by Tim Robbins shows up, the film slams to a halt and never recovers. Suspense is replaced with horribly pointed dialogue, repetitious stalking and alien movie cliches, and the sort of generic feel-goodiness that Spielberg is often accused of. - C

 

[Adam_S]

Kicking and Screaming - (0)Zero

Terrible movie, not because it's predictable but because it's badly and dispassionately made. It's the standard kid movie formula but with WIll Ferrell and Robert Duvall it should have at least had a moment or two that were worthwhile. It doesn't.

The writing is utterly without charm or merit. The performances don't even bother to mug for the camera, they're just bad. the coffee subplot infuriating. The film feels like it's twice as long as it actually is. Terrible terrible film, bad at every level. Only enjoyable as a drinking game, and no matter what you set the rules to be you'd be drunk inside five minutes, at best.

Pathetic.

 

[Adam_S]

Kung Fu Hustle - :star::star::star:1/2

Fun, goofy whacked up piece of silly cartoon filmmaking from Steven Chow. For whatever reason this film is a lot more effective than Kung Fu Soccer was. At least for me. It has an effusive charm I just can't help but love.

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Crash - :star::star::star:

I'm not sure what to think or what to write about this film. On the one hand the final shot reveals the whole movie to be a big silly fantasy (you raise up from broadway in the middle of downtown to see the LA downtown skyline in the distant background (it should be right on top of them, they look like they're at least two or three miles away) and it's snowing? wtf is that supposed to mean? Nothing I'm sure since only people from LA would be bothered by it.

I feel a bit manipulated, every one is so smarmy smart and self-aware about race in this film--they have all the answers and are spouting bullshit, great, that makes it all the more difficult to address the film. Terrence Howard definitely has a really interesting role to play and a bunch of juicy scenes with lots of range, but he was much much better in Hustle and Flow--which is a much better movie about all these issues because it doesn't try to directly tackle it on 'important' issues lines. I'll take the smuggling of that film versus the 'think about all these issues RIGHT NOW' that Crash comes across as--whether or not that was the intention.

btw, the big windows on MTA buses are so anyone, no matter what seat they're in, can see what the hell street/area they're at, so they know when to get off (or when they've missed their stop that the driver has baralled past) because 98% of the drivers aren't going to call out the stops. that said, most north/south buses carry 90-100 percent minorities (which aren't minorities in LA for the most part) while more east/west buses (running through downtown) actually have a white person or two riding them, because those buses are more likely to wind up in Westwood or Santa Monica, travel through Beverly Hills or Culver City (etc.).

Very interesting film, I'll need to stew on it and read about it somemore. I've not really read anything on the film, since I avoided finding anything about it once I heard it labeled as 'important film about race.'

Adam

 

[Seth Paxton]

Brook, that's pretty much everyone's read on WotWorlds, though it didn't bother me as much as you. I was so impressed with the first section that it far outweighed any negative feelings from the latter section.


Adam, Crash is one of my faves of the year, but I did hold back from giving it a 10 because of that sense of manipulation in the film. However it is so nice to look at and has such a dynamic quality that I just didn't care really.