Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Films of 2007 - The Above Average
I watched 21 films released in 2007 that I would consider to be pretty good films. All of these are definitely worth seeing in either the theater or at home on DVD.
American Gangster - A well made film that perfectly captures New York in the pre-cleaned up 1970s. Russell Crowe and Josh Brolin give very strong performance but I wasn’t thrilled by Denzel’s performance and I felt I had seen this before.
Avenue Montaigne - A light, comedy of manners that you rarely see today. Cècile de France is charming as a socially awkward waitress from the country. She is the link between three stories involving a concert pianist, aging art dealer, and demanding actress. It could easily become annoying if Danièle Thompson stayed on one character too long and she uses the beautiful sights of Paris to keeps things light.
Away from Her - A very ambitious subject for the young Sarah Polly to tackle with her first feature. She hits all the right notes to bring what could have been a very depressing film to the screen. It helps when you have Julie Christie giving her best performance in years. But while she’s getting all the press, Canadian icon Gordon Pinsent does an even better job playing her husband who has to live with his wife not recognizing him.
Bug - A horrible title caused me to avoid this in the theater thinking it was a horror film. Instead it’s an interesting psychological thriller of two people that when put together allow their craziness to become destructive. Adapted from a play with the claustrophobia of basically one set and four speaking roles works to this films advantage.
Deep Water - A very interesting and disturbing account of the true story of a man, who obsessed with making a name for himself back in 1968, enters a solo, non-stop, around-the-world yacht competition. This race is difficult for world class yachtsmen but this weekend sailor either due to honor or loss of income refuses to admit defeat to disastrous results.
Hairspray - This turned out far more enjoyable than I thought it would be. This is mainly due to the performances of the younger actors. Nikki Blonsky is perfect for the lead, Amanda Bynes is too cute as the best friend, and Elijah Kelly is a real find. I wish the film had handled the adult side as well. Travolta and Latifah never seemed right for the roles. While Pfeiffer and Walken were good their one scene together went on far too long. And Janney who might have been the most enjoyable needed more screen time.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - One of the better entries in this series. The film flowed rather well and it seems like each successive film is less constrained by the source material. Some of the problems in the book worked out better on film. One example is Harry being both a hero and petulant teenager. For once I wished one of the Harry Potter films would have been longer.
The Hoax - Thoroughly enjoyable comedy, satire on a little known story from the 1970s. Helping things out is Alfred Molena as the nervous best friend. He gives a great Oscar caliber performance that sadly was completely forgotten by the end of the year.
The Host - Korea’s take on the Godzilla theme. This time it’s a giant mutant fish. While they make the mistake of showing the monster too early and too often it has a very refreshing un-Hollywood feel.
Into the Wild - Beautifully photographed, nice soundtrack, and extremely well acted by every single major actor. But like the book, Sean Penn has a bit too much reverence for Christopher McCandless and at 140 minutes it is far too long. That is one reason Hal Holbrook really earned his Oscar nomination. As the last major person to see McCandless alive, he doesn’t appear until the final quarter of the film. However he injects much needed life in a film that at that point sorely needed it.
La Vie en Rose - As biopics go this film has its problems. If you are not familiar with Edith Piaf’s life, you might be rather lost through much of this film. I count myself in that group so I just went with it and found a not by-the-numbers bio refreshing. But the real treat is Marion Cotillard. She gives the performance of the year in fully embracing a role that at times is very unglamorous. I can’t believe she is the same actress in Love Me If You Dare.
Live Free or Die Hard - I'll admit that if you dissect the plot it completely falls apart due to the number of implausible scenes. But the basic story of misdirection is fairly interesting; John McClane is easily the best action, hero character of all-time; and favorite Timothy Olyphant makes a pretty good villain.
Lust, Caution - Visually amazing, emotional telling of espionage and the mixed loyalties that can occur in occupied Shanghai. It’s a little underwhelming on a first viewing. I’m not really sure why a 54-page short story needed to be stretched into a 150-minute film.
A Mighty Heart - First off, I was not distracted by the casting of Angelika Jolie. She puts in an one of the best performances of the year. But, while a solid film, favorite Michael Winterbottom directs a film that seems too slick and has less emotion than some of his earlier, better, and smaller, films.
Paprika - My main complaint of anime is that the story rarely lives up to the animation. This is no exception. The visuals are some of the best ever. I got lost in them taking in all the detail. It’s a good thing since the story blurs the line between dreams and reality, making this extremely hard to follow by the end.
Severance - I love the concept of a corporate outing mixed with Battle Royale. British humor is mixed with the right amount of gore to create a highly entertaining film. Helped along by Tim McInnerny playing an upper-management twit as only he can.
Smiley Face - The always interesting but hit-or-miss Gregg Araki tackles the stoner comedy. A surprisingly funny film moves along rather nicely populated by a very interesting cast. However, I would not recommend this to anyone that finds Anna Faris any bit annoying.
Superbad - An extremely hyped comedy that actually delivered the laughs. This film was made by the chemistry between Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Nice editing between sequences keeps this film from dragging and McLovin is a great supporting character.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - As with many Tim Burton films, the premise is better than the execution. Johnny Depp is excellent and the early part of the film is wonderful. But the downside is Helena Bonham Carter’s performance and a last half that dragged a bit too much.
28 Weeks Later - While it doesn’t have the freshness of the first film and the political allegory seems heavy-handed, it is still a pretty good zombie film.
The Valet - For some reason the French can do something that Hollywood can’t: the lighthearted comedy. I think this is due the to no matter how absurd the plot is the French play it fairly straight while a American film would go straight for the slapstick. Daniel Auteuil, as the rich jerk, once again displays his comic timing that was seen in The Closet while relative newcomer Gad Elmaleh is very good in the title role.
American Gangster - A well made film that perfectly captures New York in the pre-cleaned up 1970s. Russell Crowe and Josh Brolin give very strong performance but I wasn’t thrilled by Denzel’s performance and I felt I had seen this before.
Avenue Montaigne - A light, comedy of manners that you rarely see today. Cècile de France is charming as a socially awkward waitress from the country. She is the link between three stories involving a concert pianist, aging art dealer, and demanding actress. It could easily become annoying if Danièle Thompson stayed on one character too long and she uses the beautiful sights of Paris to keeps things light.
Away from Her - A very ambitious subject for the young Sarah Polly to tackle with her first feature. She hits all the right notes to bring what could have been a very depressing film to the screen. It helps when you have Julie Christie giving her best performance in years. But while she’s getting all the press, Canadian icon Gordon Pinsent does an even better job playing her husband who has to live with his wife not recognizing him.
Bug - A horrible title caused me to avoid this in the theater thinking it was a horror film. Instead it’s an interesting psychological thriller of two people that when put together allow their craziness to become destructive. Adapted from a play with the claustrophobia of basically one set and four speaking roles works to this films advantage.
Deep Water - A very interesting and disturbing account of the true story of a man, who obsessed with making a name for himself back in 1968, enters a solo, non-stop, around-the-world yacht competition. This race is difficult for world class yachtsmen but this weekend sailor either due to honor or loss of income refuses to admit defeat to disastrous results.
Hairspray - This turned out far more enjoyable than I thought it would be. This is mainly due to the performances of the younger actors. Nikki Blonsky is perfect for the lead, Amanda Bynes is too cute as the best friend, and Elijah Kelly is a real find. I wish the film had handled the adult side as well. Travolta and Latifah never seemed right for the roles. While Pfeiffer and Walken were good their one scene together went on far too long. And Janney who might have been the most enjoyable needed more screen time.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - One of the better entries in this series. The film flowed rather well and it seems like each successive film is less constrained by the source material. Some of the problems in the book worked out better on film. One example is Harry being both a hero and petulant teenager. For once I wished one of the Harry Potter films would have been longer.
The Hoax - Thoroughly enjoyable comedy, satire on a little known story from the 1970s. Helping things out is Alfred Molena as the nervous best friend. He gives a great Oscar caliber performance that sadly was completely forgotten by the end of the year.
The Host - Korea’s take on the Godzilla theme. This time it’s a giant mutant fish. While they make the mistake of showing the monster too early and too often it has a very refreshing un-Hollywood feel.
Into the Wild - Beautifully photographed, nice soundtrack, and extremely well acted by every single major actor. But like the book, Sean Penn has a bit too much reverence for Christopher McCandless and at 140 minutes it is far too long. That is one reason Hal Holbrook really earned his Oscar nomination. As the last major person to see McCandless alive, he doesn’t appear until the final quarter of the film. However he injects much needed life in a film that at that point sorely needed it.
La Vie en Rose - As biopics go this film has its problems. If you are not familiar with Edith Piaf’s life, you might be rather lost through much of this film. I count myself in that group so I just went with it and found a not by-the-numbers bio refreshing. But the real treat is Marion Cotillard. She gives the performance of the year in fully embracing a role that at times is very unglamorous. I can’t believe she is the same actress in Love Me If You Dare.
Live Free or Die Hard - I'll admit that if you dissect the plot it completely falls apart due to the number of implausible scenes. But the basic story of misdirection is fairly interesting; John McClane is easily the best action, hero character of all-time; and favorite Timothy Olyphant makes a pretty good villain.
Lust, Caution - Visually amazing, emotional telling of espionage and the mixed loyalties that can occur in occupied Shanghai. It’s a little underwhelming on a first viewing. I’m not really sure why a 54-page short story needed to be stretched into a 150-minute film.
A Mighty Heart - First off, I was not distracted by the casting of Angelika Jolie. She puts in an one of the best performances of the year. But, while a solid film, favorite Michael Winterbottom directs a film that seems too slick and has less emotion than some of his earlier, better, and smaller, films.
Paprika - My main complaint of anime is that the story rarely lives up to the animation. This is no exception. The visuals are some of the best ever. I got lost in them taking in all the detail. It’s a good thing since the story blurs the line between dreams and reality, making this extremely hard to follow by the end.
Severance - I love the concept of a corporate outing mixed with Battle Royale. British humor is mixed with the right amount of gore to create a highly entertaining film. Helped along by Tim McInnerny playing an upper-management twit as only he can.
Smiley Face - The always interesting but hit-or-miss Gregg Araki tackles the stoner comedy. A surprisingly funny film moves along rather nicely populated by a very interesting cast. However, I would not recommend this to anyone that finds Anna Faris any bit annoying.
Superbad - An extremely hyped comedy that actually delivered the laughs. This film was made by the chemistry between Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Nice editing between sequences keeps this film from dragging and McLovin is a great supporting character.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - As with many Tim Burton films, the premise is better than the execution. Johnny Depp is excellent and the early part of the film is wonderful. But the downside is Helena Bonham Carter’s performance and a last half that dragged a bit too much.
28 Weeks Later - While it doesn’t have the freshness of the first film and the political allegory seems heavy-handed, it is still a pretty good zombie film.
The Valet - For some reason the French can do something that Hollywood can’t: the lighthearted comedy. I think this is due the to no matter how absurd the plot is the French play it fairly straight while a American film would go straight for the slapstick. Daniel Auteuil, as the rich jerk, once again displays his comic timing that was seen in The Closet while relative newcomer Gad Elmaleh is very good in the title role.
Labels: FilmReview
# posted by ChrisR @ 11:00 PM 
