2004 Film List - Page 9

Updated with Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. Not the best doc ever, but as a fan of the band I found it really interesting. (****/*****)

M. Night Shyamalan's The Village


At Bat: De-Lovely

~Edwin

Updated with The Bourne Supremecy (****/*****). Good, but not as good as the first.

Just added: Harold & Kumar go to White Castle.
Very funny movie.

Harold and Kumar
6 of 10
Basically Dude, Where's My Car part 2 with improved depth to the 2 main characters. Sometimes pretty funny but mostly stitched together with a languid pace that is emphasized by the fact that many of the jokes are really pretty tame retreads from previous films.

The asshole jocks are not as good as they were in Dude, the animal in the car (or outside) is not as good as in Dude...in fact if it wasn't for some of the silly resolution in Dude that film would have been funnier than this one now that I think about it.

I will say that there is a genius bit about peeing in the woods.

Yes, I understand you get maced when you do.

Added 3

Greendale - Neil Young's video essay of his latest album. You definitely have to be a fan of the music to really get much out of this and I can't say that I am. Also from the trailer I thought it would be a lot more political but is really about the social conditions of a (relatively) small town family with a simple "Save the Earth!" message. B-

Napoleon Dynamite - At times a very funny and enjoyable movie and the Dynamite character is a strong comic creation. But too often the film concentrates on one-joke side characters and then rides that joke into the ground, contributing to a wildly uneven movie. The film wants us to feel for Napoleon but also wants us to laugh at what a "nerd" he is. It just never quite achieves the level of compassionate sweetness that a Revenge of the Nerds or The Jerk does. B

Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster - Interesting look inside how a major band really functions as a corporate enterprise. It explores the group interactions and dynamics as they experience various crises in recording their latest album. Sometimes riveting, sometimes funny, but overlong with certain scenes feeling contrived (why did they wait until cameras were rolling to have a heart-to-heart with Dave Mustaine?) and others completely unnecessary (why am I watching Lars' art collection being auctioned?). For fans worth seeing, for non-fans, worth seeing with the fast forward button handy. B

Updated with Collateral (****/*****). Another great entry from Mann. Sometimes a little too predictable, but the interaction between Cruise and Foxx was fantastic. This is definitely an actor's showcase film.

Irwin Winkler's De-Lovely


At Bat: Before Sunset

~Edwin

My foray into the romantic comedy genre this month led me to Gary Winick's 13 Going On 30.


At Bat: Before Sunset

~Edwin

Added Before Sunset (one of my best films of 2004 - tied with KBV2 & ESoftSM) and The Village (in my Top 5 Worst films that I've seen this year so far). Both seen 10 days ago.

Richard Linklater's Before Sunset - this summer's must-see "sequel".

~Edwin

Goodbye, Lenin! has a sweet heart and some charming performances and scenes but spends too much on situations and attempts at comedy rather than just letting us spend time with the characters. It is at its most effective when giving us quiet moments between the characters rather than a plot that sounded more interesting than it turned out to be. Worth seeing but just never quite comes together. B-

The Village - And the same could be said for The Village, another film whose parts are greater than the whole. The highlight of the film for me was Bryce Dallas Howard. After seeing this I have even greater anticipation for Lars Von Trier's next film, Manderlay in which she will star. Her romance with Joaquin Phoenix and her interactions with Adrian Brody's character were, for me, the best parts of this film. John Hurt's performance made for compelling viewing as well. I also enjoyed the world that Shyamalan created. He immediately sets us down in a world that feels both familiar and strange with a language all it's own.

But this is the first Shyamalan plot that doesn't work for me. It just never really amounts to much and too often he pulls us out of genuine moments with the characters in order to advance his "suspense" story. He presents an underlying theme that could have created a powerful film but he fails to spend any real time developing it. I think he is too beholden to a certain style and trying to please his audience by delivering scares and thrills and wasn't confident enough to let his film evolve into something greater. B-

Collateral
8.5 of 10

Mann continues to impress as one of the best visual directors working today by lifting what is an iffy action script into serious dramatic art, at least most of the time. The visual style is classic Mann, beautiful to behold. He brings us LA from a cab in a manner similar to Scorsese's treatment of NYC in Taxi Driver. His visuals and Howard's terrific score set a mood and maintain it throughout the film.

Foxx shines for a 2nd time in a Mann film (Ali) and Cruise is in solid form. Ruffalo and JP Smith are both decent but with roles that are a bit cliched.

The film could have been a real homerun were it not for the script. At times the dialog is pretty banal, and generally the plot requires leaps of faith beyond the Die Hard action film level. Without Mann at the helm this film easily could have fallen into forgettable action vehicle status.

With him it teases us with what might have been a truly amazing flick if only a script doctor had reworked a lot of the forced connections and "lucky" breaks and had instead focused a bit more on the character points (though they are still good at times).


(Oscar shots for score, cinematography, maybe direction and Foxx as well)

double

Guy Maddin's The Saddest Music In The World


At Bat: Collateral

~Edwin

Updated with the suck-tastic AvP (**½/*****). Two and a half stars for the Predator's alone Everything else from screenplay to acting was like listening fingernails on a chalkboard.

Michael Mann's Collateral. Between this and David Mamet's Spartan, I found the latter to be the better written of the two.


At Bat: Maria Full Of Grace

~Edwin

Nir Bergman's Broken Wings (Israel) (out of four)


On Deck: Maria Full Of Grace

~Edwin

Jafar Panahi's Crimson Gold (Iran) in another affecting story by Abbas Kiarostami.


As to Collateral, the more this sits in, the more bullet holes I come up with in its plot. It is now hanging by a thread to its 3-star rating.

~Edwin

The Manchurian Candidate
9 of 10
This is an amazing remake. Amazing because it does what few remakes do and actually captures much of the point of the original. Demme gives the entire film a sense of dread, tension, and paranoia and leaves you feeling this sympathetic bond between Washington and Schrieber that fuels the real tragedy that their lives have been stolen from them.

I should add that Demme also often creates a sense of confusion both visually and aurally that adds to our understanding of Washington's state of confusion. While some have found fault in the soundtrack, I thought the work was very strong.

While it backs off the power of the original ending and thus missed an even better rating, the film also loses the "hepcat" tough guy act that Sinatra put on in the first film and instead makes Washington much deeper and more realistic in his struggles, a man at odds with his own mind who doesn't think you can just tough talk a guy out of hypnosis.

This remake is exactly why remakes should be made. It is different actors and artists doing their own version of the story, not unlike a Broadway revival or yet another version of Hamlet. I have no problems with great stories being reinterpreted over and over if the effort is going to be this strong and serious.

I, Robot
6.5 of 10
At times the film hits some good beats and overall it is true enough to action formula to entertain the average audience.

But most of the time the film is tossing out the very worst sort of Will Smithisms and action cliches you could imagine. I forgot that Akiva had worked on the script until the credits, but by then I was already groaning about the endless amounts of bad dialog and corny setups. As you watch you can see the script template laying out before you as you recall scene after scene from other films that are being imitated/rehashed.

I also forgot that Proyas directed the film. I was disappointed to be reminded of that fact because the film also has some severe direction issues as well. Often it goes for overly flashy gimmick shots when they aren't needed. Sometimes he dials it in but for the most part the direction is pure action-glitz crap (think Bay).

It didn't have to be pure SF, but it should have been. Even the base story as-is tempts you with great SF dilemmas only to piss them away for another action scene, that while interesting don't need to be the center of attention for this story.

I'd love to find out who added what to the script because there were a couple of gem moments that impressed me with the idea or had me laugh out loud with their originality, like a couple of lines about cats that were brilliant.

Matinee or rental material.

The Manchurian Candidate - A better film than one imagines upon hearing, "They're remaking The Manchurian Candidate" even if the updated plot creates more problems than it solves. Denzel's pretty much on autopilot being Denzel but there's not much wrong with the film directorially. It simply fails the remake acid test. Because, since the original film still exists and is readily available, there is simply no reason to ever watch this movie again. It's competent, but inferior in every way. - C+

Todd Phillips' Starsky & Hutch - a few chuckles here and there but very uneven and uninspired.

Also, downgraded the heavily flawed Collateral to ½ (out of four).

~Edwin

Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers

~Edwin

Updated with the terrific Garden State (*****/*****). I absolutely can't wait to see what's next from Zach Braff. Great writing, great direction, and great performances from Braff, Sarsgaard, and Natalie Portman. I'm sure this will be sticking around on my top ten for the year.

Updated with the interesting Open Water (**½/*****). Not really what I expected, which isn't to say it was bad...but I feel really split on this one. I'll have to watch it another time.

Chris Kentis' Open Water

~Edwin

Most of August:

#78: The Village - ¼ - Good thriller with a star-making performance by Bryce Howard
#79: Shaolin Soccer - ½ - Fun CGI slapstick, even after Miramax was done with it.
#80: Collateral - ½ - A strong crime outing from Michael Mann
#81: Gozu - ¼ - Tons of fun if you go for the whole Takashi Miike thing.
#82: Zatoichi - - Fun, except for the fake fake blood.
#83: Before Sunset - ¾ - A near-perfect follow-up to one of the most romantic movies ever made.
#84: Intimate Strangers - ½ - Sort of loses its way once it moves beyond its high concept

... plus the older stuff in the blog.