Sweeney Todd

SWEENEY TODD (2007) - Dec. 19, 2007
Though featuring expectedly handsome visuals (there is no mistaking this for anything but a Tim Burton film) and some better-than-average performances, the film is undone by its meandering staginess, and its ridiculous overabundance of not-particularly-memorable songs, many of which do absolutely nothing to advance the plot and feel more like filler than anything else. Wow, that was a long sentence, but I think it covered everything. Disappointing. **

I Am Legend

I AM LEGEND (2007) - Dec. 18, 2007
Anchored by an impressive performance from Will Smith, for the first hour or so this is a very good film. About the lone survivor of a disease that either kills or turns people into bloodthirsty vampires, the film is very compelling just on a visual level -- the film's deserted New York looks great. And for a while, when the film is just about Will Smith's character and his day-to-day life in this deserted wasteland, it really works. But then the action kicks in, and the director takes the disastrous route of making the vampires entirely CGI, and they just do not look convincing at all. There's never really any moment where they seem like a real threat, because they're just so fake looking. And the last act is pretty much nothing but action with the vampires, so... yeah. It's a bit of a disaster. It's too bad, because the first half is very good. ***

Killer of Sheep

KILLER OF SHEEP (1977) - Dec. 14, 2007
Man. I haven't seen a film this slow-paced in quite a while. It has a sort of Italian neorealist vibe, only... even slower. There are no real characters, the direction isn't that great, and there are very long scenes in which almost nothing happens. It's engaging for a while as a interesting slice-of-life in a poor black neighbourhood, but by the end it has seriously overstayed its welcome. **

Atonement

ATONEMENT (2007) - Dec. 12, 2007
A very well directed and well acted film about the fallout after a young girl lies about a rape. This was a really visually impressive film (and includes one of the more impressive Steadicam shots I've seen in a while), and the performances were definitely worthy of the Oscar nominations they will no doubt receive (James McAvoy in particular proves that there's a reason that he's getting so much work). Though at two hours and ten minutes the film is overlong (the whole film feels like it could use some trimming, but it's the bloated first act that really overstays its welcome). ***

Walk Hard

WALK HARD (2007) - Dec. 10, 2007
An enjoyable spoof of musical biopics, about Dewey Cox, a Johnny Cash-like singer, and his rise to fame (and the requisite fall). Though it wasn't always laugh-out-loud funny, it was always entertaining, and there were some very funny moments (such as Cox's habit of angrily ripping out sinks, and his frequent barging in on a bandmate as he does drugs -- "you don't want this!"). ***

Gong Tau

GONG TAU (2007) - Dec. 7, 2007
An unpleasant and mostly boring horror film revolving around a man who finds himself embroiled in the world of black magic after his baby is killed (and quite graphically, I might add), and his wife is cursed, seemingly by a black magician. The problem with the film is that none of the characters are particularly well developed, and the whole thing just gets more and more ridiculous as it goes along (at one point the characters get cursed with something called "flying head" black magic -- "flying head", in this case, being quite literal). *

Enchanted

ENCHANTED (2007) - Dec. 5, 2007
A delightful romantic comedy about a classic Disney heroine who finds herself in modern-day New York -- wackiness ensues. Though not quite as good as the similarly themed fish-out-of-water romantic comedy Kate & Leopold, it was still very enjoyable. Amy Adams was pretty much perfect as a Disney character brought into the real world, and Patrick Dempsey was suitably charming in the main role. ***

Rififi

RIFIFI (1955) - Nov. 30, 2007 (Second Viewing)
A classic heist film -- features a twenty minute heist scene which is almost silent (there's no dialogue or score), and which is probably the best twenty minutes in any movie ever. It's riveting and absolutely fascinating to watch. The rest of the film is also quite excellent, featuring some stellar direction by Jules Dassin, and a really phenomenal lead performance from Jean Servais. ****

Barton Fink

BARTON FINK (1991) - Nov. 27, 2007
This was easily the Coen brothers' most flat-out strange film -- about a writer who moves to Hollywood as a screenwriter and promptly gets writer's block, this gets more and more bizarre as it progresses. It's very well made, and features a really impressive performance from John Turturro. This seems like the type of movie David Lynch wishes he could make; it's got a similarly odd vibe, but it never feels like weirdness for weirdness' sake. I've been thinking about it a lot since I watched it, so I think a repeat viewing is definitely necessary. ***1/2

The Mist

THE MIST (2007) - Nov. 24, 2007
About a sinister mist that rolls into a small town, trapping a bunch of people in a supermarket and bringing with it an assortment of strange monsters, this was a sporadically very well made horror film. It begins and ends very strongly, and there are some fairly tense scenes peppered throughout. The main problem is that the film is very talky, and the dialogue is sometimes somewhat iffy. There's also a whole subplot involving an ultra-religious nutjob (effectively played by Marcia Gay Harden) which is ridiculously over-the-top, and -- unless you have a very pessimistic view of humanity -- almost completely implausible. Frank Darabont's direction was quite good, though, and Thomas Jane proves yet again that he has what it takes to be a leading man in Hollywood. **1/2

The TV Set

THE TV SET (2006) - Nov. 17, 2007
A really enjoyable and oddly depressing film about a writer who tries to make a TV show for a major network, and the many compromises he has to make along the way. It was well written and well directed, David Duchovny was expectedly good as the writer, Ioan Gruffudd was surprisingly not terrible, and Sigourney Weaver was quite effective as a horrifyingly clueless executive (it's a bit scary to think that people like her actually exist out there). ***1/2

Invisible Target

INVISIBLE TARGET (2007) - Nov. 16, 2007
Though I certainly wouldn't put it in the same league with the scary-awesome Flash Point, this was a sporadically effective action film about a group of cops trying to take down some jewel thieves. Or something like that, I dunno -- one of the film's problems is that the plot, involving double crosses and way more plot threads than it needs, is almost ludicrously convoluted. All I really want is to see people getting kicked in the head, I don't need all this back-story and setup. Aside from that, the action is generally pretty good, though it's a bit more over-the-top and wirey than I'd like. But there are some good fights here, and I was never completely bored. **1/2

Futurama: Bender's Big Score!

FUTURAMA: BENDER'S BIG SCORE! (2007) - Nov. 15, 2007
Futurama is back, and it's just as glorious as I would have hoped. No... more glorious. This film manages to take everything that was great about Futurama -- the characters, the humour, the interesting sci-fi plots -- and crams it into a very entertaining hour and a half film. Good stuff. ***1/2

Beowulf

BEOWULF (2007) - Nov. 14, 2007
About a warrior who comes to a town to fight the monster that has been plaguing them, this was sporadically very engaging, but a failure for the most part. A couple of the action scenes, at the beginning and then the end of the movie, were very well done and quite exciting. But for the most part the film falls flat. It isn't really about anything, and aside from Beowulf himself (and a memorable character played by John Malkovich) none of the characters were very well developed or interesting. The movie just sort of goes from one random scene to the next. Then there's the animation. It works quite well whenever there's action on the screen, but once the characters actually start talking it completely falls apart. The technology has seemingly not improved at all since the Polar Express, as all the characters still have that off-putting, creepily zombie-like pallor. They look all wrong, and worse, they can't even properly convey a full range of emotions -- there are times where the voice work is very good, but it's clear that the limitations of this technology simply can't keep up with them. They're stiff. It's like the voice of Marlon Brando being superimposed onto Josh Hartnett's face (though in defense of Hartnett, even he is able to convey more emotion than these plasticy people-impostors). Blech. **

P2

P2 (2007) - Nov. 10, 2007
A simple and surprisingly effective thriller about a young woman who gets trapped in an empty parking garage and finds herself being terrorized by a psychotic security guard. The film wastes no time setting everything up, and does a good job keeping a fairly consistent level of tension throughout. It's well directed, and the cinematography gives the parking lot a nicely ominous look. There's nothing particularly fresh here, but the movie takes a familiar story and executes it quite admirably. I don't think Wes Bentley is ever really fully convincing as the villain, but that's a minor complaint. ***1/2

Blade Runner

BLADE RUNNER (1982) - Nov. 9, 2007 (Fourth or Fifth viewing)
Wow. This is pretty much a masterpiece, and getting to see it, restored and looking pristine on the big screen, was amazing. For one thing, this has to be one of the best looking movies ever made -- Ridley Scott's direction is pitch-perfect (the whole future noir look is a stroke of genius), and the look of the futuristic city is absolutely stunning. The special effects are also really impressive; this film looks a lot more convincing than most contemporary movies, despite being 25 years old. The plot, involving a private investigator who has to take down errant androids, is almost secondary to the visuals and the atmosphere, but it still manages to make an impact. We never learn all that much about the central character, but we get snippets here and there, and he certainly becomes a compelling character. There are also some really great moments, such as the final cat-and-mouse chase between Harrison Ford's character and Rutger Hauer's, culminating in what has to be one of the greatest scenes in the history of cinema. There's no doubt about it, this is an absolute classic. ****

Lions for Lambs

LIONS FOR LAMBS (2007) - Nov. 5, 2007
Less a movie and more a ham-fisted screed, this had to be one of the preachiest movies I've seen in a long time. I'm talking Michael Moore levels of preachiness. There wasn't a single character here who felt authentic, or who wasn't there to put across some point of view. Matthew Michael Carnahan, who wrote this year's equally mediocre The Kingdom, is quickly shaping up to be a really terrible writer, and has absolutely no idea how to create characters who are interesting or seem real in the slightest. The film is reasonably well directed and very well acted, but it's all pretty much moot, as there is only the vaguest pretense here that this is anything but a blatant political statement. **

American Gangster

AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007) - Oct. 31, 2007
Denzel Washington is awesome as usual in this otherwise underwhelming and way overlong crime drama about a drug kingpin and the gritty cop trying to take him down. One of the film's main problems is that Washington's character is far more interesting than Russell Crowe's, and they probably get an equal amount of screentime -- and this being a two hour and forty minute movie, that's a lot of time. Though Washington is clearly the standout, all the performances are quite good. Another problem with the film is that the direction is surprisingly bland; it's hard to believe that it's directed by the same man who made Blade Runner, which is probably one of the most visually stunning movies ever made. The scene in which Crowe and Washington finally confront each other was pretty much electrifying, and I was always entertained, but this was still pretty disappointing. **1/2

The Darjeeling Limited

THE DARJEELING LIMITED (2007) - Oct. 31, 2007 (Second Viewing)
Yep, this was pretty awesome. Compelling characters, eye-popping direction, humour, warmth -- what more can you ask for. If I had to rank Wes Anderson's films I would do so as follows:

1. The Life Aquatic
2. Rushmore
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. The Darjeeling Limited
5. Bottle Rocket

Darjeeling may be towards the end of that list, but that's only because Wes Anderson is awesome. These are all four star movies (except maybe Bottle Rocket -- I've only seen it once and I need to see it again). ****

Saw IV

SAW IV (2007) - Oct. 26, 2007
Though the Saw films have been getting progressively worse, this is the first one that's outright bad. It probably doesn't help that aside from Tobin Bell's Jigsaw, there isn't a single decent character in the bunch -- they're all underdeveloped and uninteresting, and a couple of them look pretty similar, making things even more confusing than they have to be. Then there's the film's plot, which gets more and more convoluted as it goes along, and by the end... so, that guy on the chair was in on it all along? Is he the new Jigsaw? Why? I don't get it. Did the projectionist miss a reel, or what? Plus, Darren Lynn Bousman's direction is as mediocre as ever, and the whole film has a really flat, unpleasant look to it. Even the sequences with Jigsaw's traps weren't that great; they were starting to get old two movies ago, and now they've definitely lost whatever impact they might have once had. Boo-urns. *1/2

Gone Baby Gone

GONE BABY GONE (2007) - Oct. 24, 2007
I guess Ben Affleck has been on the wrong side of the camera all along. This was a surprisingly good movie about a private investigator who's called in when a little girl is kidnapped. Affleck's direction is actually quite good, and the film is entertaining throughout. The film is also filled with some really good actors and they're all at the top of their game. Casey Affleck, in particular, gives a really impressive performance; he was excellent in the Assassination of Jesse James, and he may just be even better here. ***1/2

A Clockwork Orange

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) - Oct. 23, 2007 (Fourth or Fifth Viewing)
This is it. From the indescribably awesome opening shot to the equally awesome closing shot, this is as good as it gets. Stanley Kubrick is at his best here, and every shot is pretty much perfect. The use of music is perfect, as is, well... pretty much everything else. This is easily one of the best films of all time. ****

30 Days of Night

30 DAYS OF NIGHT (2007) - Oct. 20, 2007
A violently effective horror film about a group of vampires who descend on a small Alaskan town (which happens to have no sunlight for a full thirty days). It was entertaining and well directed, though it can't quite top David Slade's previous film, Hard Candy, which -- even on a much smaller scale -- managed to have an almost consistent level of tension which this film wasn't quite able to maintain. ***

The Last King of Scotland

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (2006) - Oct. 19, 2007
An entertaining film about a young Scottish doctor who goes to Uganda and winds up becoming Idi Amin's personal physician. Forest Whitaker was deserving of all the accolades he received for his performance, and James McAvoy held his own and actually managed to give a performance that was just as good as the doctor. ***

Things we Lost in the Fire

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE (2007) - Oct. 17, 2007
A well acted (particularly Bencio Del Toro, who is probably one of the best and most intense actors working in Hollywood today) and well made film about how a man's death affects his wife and his best friend, a recovering heroin addict. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but the egregiously slow pace keep me at a consistent arm's length. **1/2

The Darjeeling Limited

THE DARJEELING LIMITED (2007) - Oct. 17, 2007
Awesomeness. Pure awesomeness. If there were any doubt remaining that Wes Anderson is one of the greatest living filmmakers, this movie completely squashes it. I don't think anyone else has his knack for consistently, eye-poppingly good visuals and well-drawn, compelling characters. Wow. ****

Michael Clayton

MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) - Oct. 12, 2007
Featuring a really strong performance from George Clooney (as well as equally good performances from people like Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton) this was a well made drama about a fixer who gets embroiled in shenanigans involving a crazy lawyer and a massive lawsuit. First time director Tony Gilroy does a really good job keeping the film compelling, even during the more baffling stretches (the film takes its time giving out all the pertinent information, which actually works really well). ***1/2

We Own the Night

WE OWN THE NIGHT (2007) - Oct. 10, 2007
Wow! I guess I need to watch the Yards again. Though I remember that movie as being interminably slow, if this film is any indication then James Gray is a much better director than I gave him credit for. Gray, who obviously has more than a passing affection for crime movies of the '70s, takes his time telling this story, but it's absolutely never boring, and riveting in parts (including one of the most thrilling car chases of recent memory, and a really fantastic scene in which a drug deal goes horribly wrong). This is definitely a character-driven film, so it helps that the performances are uniformly excellent. Joaquin Phoenix, in particular, gives a really stunning performance that's probably his best ever. Maybe it helps that I went into this film with very low expectations, but I liked it quite a lot. ***1/2

Flash Point

FLASH POINT (2007) - Oct. 6, 2007 (Second Viewing)
There's probably less action in this film than I remembered. The first hour or so, though punctuated with a few brief scenes of action, is basically just setting everything up. This stuff is all pretty mediocre -- it passes the time, but there's certainly nothing all that good about it. But then when the action does kick in (no pun intended)... Wow. Donnie Yen proves that he can stage and perform action with the best of them, and Wilson Yip's direction does exactly what it should do (it makes the action exciting without calling attention to itself). I cannot possibly say enough good things about the final action scene, which pretty much defines the word "awesome". ***1/2

The Kingdom

THE KINGDOM (2007) - Oct. 5, 2007
About a group of FBI agents who go to Saudi Arabia to investigate the bombing of an American compound, this was a mediocre film. The main problem here is Peter Berg's awful direction; he takes a page from Paul Greengrass' book and shoots the film with an annoyingly jittery camera, going into overdrive during the action scenes and making them almost completely incoherent and unwatchable. Aside from that, the majority of the film isn't particularly compelling, with the stock characters investigating the explosion (sort of -- they spend days there and yet all they seem to find out is that the bad guys used ball bearings in their explosives, and that the evil mastermind may or may not have missing fingers). The whole thing would be passably mediocre -- but then there's Berg's annoying direction, which always keeps you at arm's length, reminding you at all times that you're watching a movie and making it pretty much impossible to get wrapped up in the story. **

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007) - Oct. 3, 2007
To say that this film takes its time would be a huge understatement; it's two hours and forty minutes and it feels it, with a lot of long scenes in which not all that much happens. And yet there's something about it which keeps it from crossing the line from slow into boring. Roger Deakins' impressive cinematography probably helps -- this is certainly a very handsomely made movie. The performances are also a stand-out -- Casey Affleck is eye-opening as the somewhat odd Robert Ford, and Brad Pitt was just as good as Jesse James. ***

Bug

BUG (2006) - SEPT. 25, 2007
Oh, the humanity. This started out decently enough -- though its origins as a play couldn't be more obvious (both in the confined setting and the artificial theatricality of the dialogue), for the first half or so this was a basically enjoyable look at the blossoming relationship between two damaged characters. But then the movie just starts getting more and more silly and over-the-top, and by the end anything even remotely resembling authenticity goes out the window. The same can be said of the performances, particularly Ashley Judd; by the end of the film her whole performance essentially consists of screaming and babbling incoherently. The film also stops being even remotely entertaining at around the half-way point, so it becomes harder and harder to sit through. Blech. *1/2

Eastern Promises

EASTERN PROMISES (2007) - Sept. 22, 2007
David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen are on a roll. After the above-average A History of Violence, this is another very good film from the pair. Mortensen, sporting an absolutely convincing Russian accent, gives one of his better performances as a mysterious driver for the Russian mob. The other performances are equally good, and the film is quite well directed. Good stuff. ***1/2

Shoot 'Em Up

SHOOT 'EM UP (2007) - Sept. 21, 2007
A way over-the-top action film about a British tough-guy who takes it upon himself to protect a baby from a legion of assassins, lead by a sinister Paul Giamatti. The film is cartoonish and overblown, and features almost no down-time between action sequences. It's never all that great, though for a while it's engaging enough -- but then it starts to wear out its welcome. It doesn't help that while the action is competently done, there's nothing really special about it (it's actually kind of bland once you get past how ridiculously over-the-top it is). Clive Owen was good (though I still don't know if I buy his American accent), though Paul Giamatti was definitely the highlight. **

Sukiyaki Western Django

SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO (2007) - Sept. 15, 2007
Another almost indescribably bizarre film from Takashi Miike. A western about two competing gangs who converge on a small town due to its proximity to some kind of gold mine. There were a few good moments here, but they were completely lost amongst all the weirdness and the superfluous interludes. *1/2

L'Ora di Punta

L'ORA DI PUNTA (2007) - Sept. 15, 2007
It's been about a couple of weeks since I saw this film, and I've already pretty much forgotten the whole thing. That tells you how good it is. The main problem with it (from what I remember) is that the main character is a sleazeball and a jerk; the film seems to be trying to give him a Michael Corleone-esque downfall, but since he starts out as a jerk, the fact that he's a slightly bigger jerk by the time the end credits roll doesn't quite make the impact that I'm sure the director would like it to. Aside from that it was reasonably well made and well acted, but it was slow and not particularly interesting. **

The Visitor

THE VISITOR (2007) - Sept. 15, 2007
This started out really really well, and ended really really badly. About a college professor whose life is changed when he goes to New York and finds a young couple living in his apartment. For the first forty-five minutes or so I was loving this film. Richard Jenkins gives a perfect performance in the main role, and the characters become people we really care about. It's really well directed and well written, and the whole thing just works. But then, in an embarrassingly cheesy scene that seems to come from another movie (the first of many), the main character's friend gets arrested after a misunderstanding in a subway station. It's all downhill from there. The film goes from a wonderfully understated character study to a ham-fisted Message Movie. It's clear that the director has some very strong opinions on the way immigrants are treated in post-9/11 America, and he pretty much spends the rest of the film cramming them down the viewers' throats in the absolute least subtle way possible. It's never boring I suppose, but it's a definite shame because it could have been a great movie. **1/2

Nocturna

NOCTURNA (2007) - Sept. 15, 2007
An enjoyable if somewhat slight cartoon about a young boy who, over the course of a long night, tries to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of a disappearing star. It's very fantastic and Miyazaki-esque, though even at 80 minutes it drags in parts. It's really well animated, though, and is almost always compelling just on a visual level. ***

Romulus, My Father

ROMULUS, MY FATHER (2007) - Sept. 14, 2007
Umm... Well, I was tired, what can I say? Within minutes of starting this film, the tiredness hit me like a punch to the face, and as much as I tried to fight it I was asleep within the first twenty minutes. I was pretty much asleep on and off for the rest of the film, which seemed well acted but really slow. I would like to see it again at some point, hopefully when I'm a little less tired. NO RATING

Flash Point

FLASH POINT (2007) - Sept. 14, 2007
Wow! After the terrible SPL, the most I was expecting out of this film was one or two good action scenes. But man! Everything about this movie was about a trillion times better than SPL. The plot, involving a gritty cop and his undercover partner trying to take down a group of thugs, was pretty cheesy, but it was like Serpico compared to SPL. It at least -- and this is all you really need in a movie like this -- kept things moving between the action scenes. And unlike SPL, the movie managed to have a fairly decent action scene every fifteen minutes or so. And pretty much all of the action was really exciting, and really well done. And then -- oh man -- there was the last action scene. Sweet Jesus. It was, quite literally, one of the best things I've ever seen in my entire life. It was amazingly exciting, and brutal, and gritty, and it just keeps going, and every time you think that both characters have certainly had enough, it goes on even longer. It was awesome. It was better than awesome. It was certainly one of the best action scenes I've ever seen. I just... wow. That's all I can really say about that scene. ***1/2

Boy A

BOY A (2007) - Sept. 14, 2007 (Second Viewing)
Yep, this is definitely my favourite movie of the festival so far, and I really doubt that anything I see tomorrow will be able to top it. It's just so well made, and well directed, and well written, and well acted. Peter Mullan is really good, but it's Andrew Garfield who really knocks it out of the park in the main role. It's a really impressive performance, and I think we'll certainly be seeing more of him in the future. There's just so many things I really like about this movie, from the strong performances to the way it unfolds to the powerful ending. ****

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (2007) - Sept. 13, 2007
About a magazine editor who had some kind of stroke and subsequently suffered a rare form of paralysis which left him unable to do anything but blink with his left eye, this was a reasonably well made film, but I can't say that I found it particularly entertaining. There were some things I liked about the film -- the opening series of POV shots did a good job establishing the grim claustrophobia of the character's new post-stroke world, and there were a few effective scenes (the scene towards the end, where the main character has his stroke while in the car with his son, was powerful and a definite standout), but for the most part I found this film oddly unengaging. It doesn't help that the movie is visually unappealing, thanks (I can only assume) to Janusz Kaminski. Here he takes all the stylistic quirks that have given Spielburg's films over the last decade or so their distinctive look, and multiplies them tenfold -- the film has a muggy, washed out look and an unappealing colour palette. It's pretty ugly looking, for the most part. And while the protagonist's plight is interesting for the first little while, it soon becomes clear that he just isn't a very interesting character. Maybe it would have been more effective if it were shorter, but after the hundredth time listening to the man's assistant recite the alphabet in order of use, I was tired of it. **

Blood Brothers

BLOOD BROTHERS (2007) - Sept. 13, 2007
There's pretty much nothing fresh about this film, which features the exploits of three best friends from a small town who find themselves moving up the ranks for a local mob boss after moving to Shanghai. It all unfolds pretty much exactly as you'd expect it would, and it's a bit more melodramatic than it should be, but it's stylishly directed and mostly entertaining throughout. If nothing else, it's worth it if only for the spectacularly violent finale, which almost reminded me of the ending of Commando. **1/2

Paranoid Park

PARANOID PARK (2007) - Sept. 13, 2007
After the moribund Last Days, which looked great but moved at a snail's pace, Paranoid Park proves to be a very pleasant surprise. Shot in the same style as Gus Van Sant's last three films but easily the most plot-heavy (well, it has a plot, which automatically makes it more plot-heavy than the last three), this was about a young teen involved in the accidental murder of a security guard. I don't think anyone is going to be calling this film fast-paced, but like Gerry and Elephant (it's better than the former but not quite as good as the latter) it has an odd, hypnotic appeal which keeps it absolutely entertaining throughout. The film is told in a somewhat non-linear fashion, which keeps things mysterious and definitely works, and features the same flowing camera movements and dream-like tone that have characterized Van Sant's last few films. Good stuff. ***1/2

Redacted

REDACTED (2007) - Sept. 12, 2007
If Brian De Palma wasn't personally present at the screening I attended, I would have seriously questioned whether he even directed this film at all. This movie goes wrong on so many different levels I'm not even sure I can list them all. For one thing, it is directed with absolutely none of De Palma's usual style. The whole thing is meant to have a documentary-like feel, with most of the footage supposed to be shot by one of the characters. But De Palma is clearly the wrong man for this type of style, as the whole thing looks unappealing and artificial. The dialogue ranges from clunky to laughable (a lot of it was supposedly improvised, which isn't surprising), and the characters are all broadly-drawn and two-dimensional. Perhaps if the actors had been good they could have elevated the material, but they were all quite terrible. Then there are the little things, like the supposed clips from a French documentary which seem very out of place, and the fact that most scenes are bridged by intentionally amateurish looking transitions (such as a page wipe and similar effects). There is a very (very very) heavy-handed anti-war message here, and I suspect that if people embrace this film it will be more for the message than the actual content (I can only assume that the best director prize at Venice had something to do with this, because this is inarguably a bad-looking film). I thought that the Black Dahlia was the nadir of De Palma's career, but boy was I wrong. Stick to the riffs on Hitchcock, De Palma. *1/2

The Passage

THE PASSAGE (2007) - Sept. 12, 2007
This started out quite badly, and I was pretty much ready to write it off as a complete waste of time, but somewhere around the midpoint the thrillerish elements started kicking in, and it actually did improve quite a bit. It was never all that great, but by the end it was downright watchable, which is much more than I can say for the first half. The film is about an American, traveling through Morocco with his British friend (or his "mate" as he keeps awkwardly calling him, which just sounds wrong when it's coming from Stephen Dorff), who meets an intriguing Moroccan girl who invites him to see the sights with her. Eventually they end up in a dark, labyrinthine series of tunnels, in which he only has a few candles with which to see, and then only the flash from his camera. This whole sequence was actually quite well done, and pretty suspenseful. The problem is everything that precedes it, which is really slow and pretty much not interesting at all. Much of this can be attributed to Stephen Dorff's remarkably wooden performance. He's the focus of the movie, but he doesn't have even a fraction of the charisma required to pull a role like this off. He's like some kind of charisma black hole. He has zero chemistry with the Moroccan woman, which makes all their scenes together a complete wash (which is pretty much the entire first half of the film). Plus, I thought the twist at the end of Shadows was obvious, but if there's anyone who is actually surprised by the twist at the end of this movie, I'd have to seriously question their intelligence. **1/2

Bill

BILL (2007) - Sept. 12, 2007
This generally isn't the type of film you expect to see at a film festival, but it was enjoyable and a welcome change of pace. About a working-class schlub, under the thumb of his rich father-in-law and brother-in-law, who dreams of more for his life -- specifically, to own a franchise of a Krispy Kreme-esque donut store. Aaron Eckhart was quite good in the main role, and the movie had some memorable supporting roles (Timothy Olyphant was a standout as a smug news anchor). There wasn't anything particularly memorable about this film, but it was entertaining (though it does wear out its welcome a tad near the end) and had some genuinely funny moments (particularly one part, which I have been chuckling about for pretty much the entire day). ***

Shadows

SHADOWS (2007) - Sept. 11, 2007
Hmm. That was odd. I was expecting a drama, but this turned out to be a horror movie, or at least a horror/drama. About a young man who gets into a serious car crash, and then one year later starts seeing some pretty odd things (such as a weird old lady crying in his kitchen). This doesn't really work as a horror film, because it isn't scary or suspenseful (I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be), nor does it work as a drama, because the main character isn't very interesting and we never really learn much about him. Another problem is that the big "twist" at the end couldn't be more obvious, and pretty much right from the start, too. It's also overlong by at least half an hour. Overall, a pretty big disappointment, especially coming from Milcho Manchevski, who directed the excellent Before the Rain (or at least I remember it being excellent; it's been a while). **

The Girl in the Park

THE GIRL IN THE PARK (2007) - Sept. 11, 2007
Sigourney Weaver gives a really good performance in this film about a mother who loses her three-year-old daughter in a park. Flash forward to 16 years later, and she's still completely messed up. The bulk of the film is about a possibly unhealthy friendship she strikes up with a young woman. The film is well made and entertaining throughout, though I'm not sure I buy that the loss of a daughter could mess a person up so thoroughly, even 16 years later (she's pretty much insane). Other than that, it was pretty good. ***

Love Comes Lately

LOVE COMES LATELY (2007) - Sept. 11, 2007
A slow-paced film about a writer who goes on a trip to give a lecture. This seems to be a framing device for some short films; I say "seems to be" because I'm not sure, because I fell asleep for pretty much the entire second half. The film didn't seem that great from what I saw, but obviously I can't be too sure since I missed more than half of it. NO RATING

Juno

JUNO (2007) - Sept. 10, 2007
An enjoyable comedy about a sixteen year old girl who finds out that she's pregnant, and decides to give the baby to a couple she finds in a newspaper. The film is actually quite funny, and features an engaging lead performance from Ellen Page, who couldn't be more different than she was in Hard Candy. Michael Cera is a scene stealer as her would-be boyfriend, and Jason Reitman's direction is pretty good for the most part (though the choice of music in many parts seems like it's chosen more for what will make a "cool" soundtrack, rather than how it complements the visuals). ***

Chrysalis

CHRYSALIS (2007) - Sept. 10, 2007 (S)
It was mentioned in the introduction for this film that Julien Leclercq, the film's director, is friends with Xavier Gens, the director of the terrible Frontiere(s). They must have a lot to talk about. Namely, how they both stink at directing. Though this film wasn't quite as bad as that one, it was still quite mediocre. The film's convoluted plot had something to do with a cliched gritty cop (he even gives in his gun and badge at one point, and he has an odd habit of submerging himself in the bathtub and timing it to see how long he can hold his breath. I wonder if that skill will come in handy later on...) who's investigating a mysterious murder case while trying to deal with the death of his partner. I don't know. It's pretty muddled. Leclercq's idea of making the film look futuristic mostly involves giving everything a silvery-metallic sheen, and the whole film otherwise basically looks like a poor-man's Minority Report. The movie does feature a couple of pretty decent fight scenes, and it's never all-out boring, but aside from that it's not too great. **

No Country for Old Men

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) - Sept. 10, 2007
An expectedly well made film which, though probably not quite up there with the Coen Brothers' absolute classics, is still really good. Although this is Joel and Ethan Coen's first adaptation of someone else's material, it still definitely feels like a Coen Brothers film (a highlight, and a clear bit of Coen goodness, is the scene where Javier Bardem terrorizes a hapless store clerk, forcing him to gamble his life in a coin toss. It's a perfect example of the Coens' brilliance in dark comedy and suspense, and is probably one of the best scenes I've seen in a long time). The performances are all really good, particularly Bardem as the gleefully sinister yet oddly principled killer. Visually, it looks great (no surprise there), and features quite a few fairly riveting scenes. It starts out a tad slow, but that's a pretty minor complaint. ***1/2

Frontiere(s)

FRONTIERE(S) (2007) - Sept. 9, 2007
Blech. Another disappointment. You'd think, given the premise (a group of French criminals are terrorized by a family of Neo-Nazis), that you wouldn't be able to go wrong. Nope. The film is exceptionally derivative, and everything it steals has been done better elsewhere. But the film's lack of originality is actually the least of its concerns. Its main problem is Xavier Gens' mediocre direction, who has no idea how to properly direct action (whenever there's any action, the old shaky-cam/quick-cut trope rears its ugly head), and gives the rest of the film the same ugly greenish-gray visual look featured in too many recent mediocre horror films (such as the Texas Chainsaw remake). The main characters are all either underdeveloped or downright unlikable, making it pretty hard to care when they start getting killed off (and they make some pretty stupid choices, even for idiotic horror movie characters -- such as heading into a dark cave when they should be trying to run away). As for the bad guys, they're all generic and bland. There were a few good scenes here (a scene involving a table-saw is probably one of the best horror movie kills I've ever seen), and the film improves somewhat near the end (right around the aforementioned table-saw scene), but the film is otherwise unpleasant and barely entertaining (though again, I had a chance to think about how good Boy A was). *1/2

Starting out in the Evening

STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING (2007) - Sept. 9, 2007
A disappointment. Frank Langella is literally the best thing about this movie, as he gives a really good performance and proves that he should certainly be getting more work than he does. His performance is far better than the movie actually deserves, as it is otherwise unspectacular and egregiously overlong (it particularly drags towards the end). The whole thing just seems trite and somewhat cheesy, particularly the whole subplot with Lili Taylor as Langella's daughter. Oh well. At least, during the slower stretches, I had a chance to think about how good Boy A was. **

Boy A

BOY A (2007) - Sept. 9, 2007
An exceptionally well made character study about a young man, recently released from prison after committing a notorious crime as a child, who tries to make a new life for himself. The film is really well directed and written, and is anchored by a stunning lead performance from Andrew Garfield, who -- if there were any justice -- would certainly have an Oscar in his future (or at least a nomination). The film alternates between showing us Jack (his new name) in the present, and snippets of the past, leading up to the crime. This structure works perfectly, building up a fair amount of tension as we wonder what it is exactly that Jack did. It's only at the end that we finally find out; by then Jack has become a very sympathetic character, despite his previous misdeeds. Yet near the middle of the film we see Jack lash out violently at man who attacks one of his friends, hinting that there is still something somewhat sinister beneath Jack's shy exterior. Basically, Jack is a really interesting character, and this is a really interesting film. I loved it. ****

Under the Same Moon

UNDER THE SAME MOON (2007) - Sept. 8, 2007
A heartwarming film about a young boy from Mexico who decides to travel to America to be with his mother. The film was melodramatic and unabashedly sentimental, and quite predictable too, but I still really enjoyed it. Maybe it was the fact that I had just been subjected to one of the most pretentiously boring films I've ever seen (or at least part of it), but I found this movie to be quite delightful. It helps that the performances were all superb, and the characters become people that we really care about (it's pretty much impossible not to root for the kid in his quest to reunite with his mom, particularly when everything starts to go wrong). It's not a very subtle film, but it was an enjoyable one; I wouldn't be surprised if this became a minor hit at the box office (it's a definite crowd-pleaser). ***1/2

The Man from London

THE MAN FROM LONDON (2007) - Sept. 8, 2007
Sweet Jesus. What was that?? More of a cinematic endurance test than an actual movie, though I suppose that I can't really judge it since I walked out after only an hour. I would have stayed (though this was an awful, awful movie, I'm sure I've seen worse -- though I can't think of too many titles off the top of my head), but I made a scheduling snafu and would have almost certainly missed the next movie if I had. It was fairly clear that the movie wasn't going to improve, so I did what had to be done. But man. What was the deal with this movie? Even after sitting there for an hour there was only the vaguest whiff of a plot, and not a single character (though there were a couple of people who I guess were there most of the time, they weren't developed in the slightest). The movie consisted of ridiculously long shots in which almost nothing happens, with maybe a little bit of slow camera movement. It makes Antonioni look like Paul Greengrass. The camera would focus for minutes on end on things like a guy eating some stew, or the back of someone's head, or a building, or (and this was the first shot, and an ominous warning of things to come) a close up of a boat. Not the whole boat, just the front part of it. For about five minutes. Oh man. NO RATING

Persepolis

PERSEPOLIS (2007) - Sept. 8, 2007
About a young girl's experiences growing up in revolutionary Iran, this was a really well made, enjoyable film. Beautifully animated in a simple, stark black-and-white style that suits the material perfectly, the film manages to have a fairly epic feel without seeming overlong. It also does a really good job of developing the main character and making her someone we really care about. Marjane Satrapi, the co-director of the film and the writer of the comic memoir on which it is based, deftly mixes comedy and drama -- the movie is quite funny at times but it never feels forced or undercuts the drama. I think Ratatouille is going to have some serious competition for best animated film at next year's Oscars. ****

The Pope's Toilet

THE POPE'S TOILET (2007) - Sept. 7, 2007
A disappointingly dull film about a man from a small, ramshackle village who cooks up a scheme to build a public washroom and then charge people to use it (the village is expecting thousands of people to come to see the visiting Pope). The movie may sound wacky or even lively, but it is not. It's a slow-moving character study in the vein of Italian neorealist films from the '40s and '50s, but even compared to those, it is slow. The film does a pretty decent job of developing the central characters, particularly the main schemer, but the film's pace is too big of a hurdle to get over. *1/2

The Mother of Tears

THE MOTHER OF TEARS (2007) - Sept. 7, 2007
A very silly, cheesy and sort of mediocre horror film punctuated by moments of extreme gore (very extreme -- this is quite possibly the goriest film that I've ever seen). But it's all so silly that it's hard to ever really get into. It also doesn't help that the performances are bad all around. It definitely delivered in terms of gore, but aside from that it was a bit of a dud. **

Glory to the Filmmaker!

GLORY TO THE FILMMAKER! (2007) - Sept. 7, 2007
A really bizarre film by Takeshi Kitano -- or more accurately, a series of bizarre short films. About a director (also named Kitano) who looks back at the various films he has made. This whole framing device is really only there to get to the shorts, as it maybe has five minutes of screen-time total. The movie starts out engagingly enough, with several short parodies of various genres, including the gangster films Takeshi is known for, samurai films, horror films, and even the films of Yasujiro Ozu. But then there's a film which I guess is supposed to be a parody of coming-of-age dramas, and it goes on way too long. And then, the final film, which is probably about half the length of the entire thing (but feels WAY longer), is just way too bizarre. It's about, I think, a couple of weird ladies (I think they may be mother and daughter, though it's never made clear) and their various oddball adventures. It's weird beyond description, and it just gets weirder as it goes on. And not weird in a good way, weird in a "I'm getting really sick of this" way. *1/2

Halloween

HALLOWEEN (2007) - Sept. 5, 2007
The latest in a long line of unnecessary/inferior horror remakes, this definitely wasn't as bad as something like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but it certainly wasn't good, either. One of the film's main problems is the whole first chunk of the movie, with Michael Myers as a child. All that stuff works fairly well on its own (though it does feel a bit overlong once Myers gets to the mental hospital), but as part of a Halloween movie it is unnecessary, and worse, makes Myers a far less compelling villain (part of what made him so creepy in the original was that he had no motivation to do what he did, he was just evil -- pure evil). Then there's the rest of the film, with Myers as an adult. The problem here is that there aren't really any compelling characters, and the film essentially goes from one scene of Myers killing teens to the next (Myers kills a ridiculous amount of people -- this seems like an odd complaint for a slasher film, but the movie doesn't really create much suspense or make us care about any of these people, because it's too busy killing them off every five minutes). I didn't hate this movie; I was never all-out bored, and I thought Rob Zombie's direction was pretty good (aside from his tendancy to get a bit too jittery during action scenes). It could have been worse, basically. But it could have been a lot better. **

Hard to Kill

HARD TO KILL (1990) - Sept. 4, 2007
A cheesy and surprisingly slow-paced film about a cop whose family is killed and who, after coming out of a coma seven years later, vows revenge. Aside from a pretty good scene in which Seagal takes down a bunch of thugs in a convenience store (which has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the film, but which is still probably the highlight), pretty much nothing happens for the whole first hour. The film is blandly directed and badly dated (particularly the score). Steven Seagal's performance essentially consists of him squinting and whispering all his lines, which makes it kind of hard to really care about his character. There's some decent action towards the end, but it can't quite redeem the film. **

Death Sentence

DEATH SENTENCE (2007) - Sept. 1, 2007
That was a bit of a let-down. There was some really good stuff here (the scene in the parking garage is clearly the highlight), but the film is undone by its cheesy script and its ill-advised attempts at depth -- I don't want to see Kevin Bacon wrestle with the moral ambiguities of revenge in a silly movie like this. It doesn't work. The film is at its best when it's not taking itself too seriously, which is unfortunate, because this had the potential to be really really good. **1/2

The Invasion

THE INVASION (2007) - Aug. 24, 2007
A sort of mediocre fourth adaptation of Jack Finney's novel, this one finds Nicole Kidman as a psychiatrist who slowly realizes that something is amiss. The film is mostly entertaining, and there are some good moments, but for the most part it doesn't really work. A big problem is that much of the film is unintentionally (I assume) silly (such as the part in which Kidman's patient tearfully describes how her husband killed their dog, which would be fine except the dog's name is something wacky like Bobo, and she keeps saying it, so the whole scene becomes somewhat comical). The film looks good though, and it's well acted, it's just a bit uneven. **1/2

Vacancy

VACANCY (2007) - Aug. 14, 2007 (Second Viewing)
An absolutely riveting and crackerjack thriller, I think this film is pretty much perfect; it's very well made and well acted, and it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do with gusto. I also love the way this movie looks. Nimrod Antal and his cinematographer do a really fantastic job giving the film (which takes place almost entirely at night) a unique, sinister look. Antal's direction is spot-on, and if there is any justice in the world he has a big career ahead of him. ****

Cross-Country Romance

CROSS-COUNTRY ROMANCE (1940) - Aug. 13, 2007
An entertaining if somewhat unremarkable film about a young heiress who runs away on the day of her wedding and stows away with a doctor; wackiness (and love) ensues. This plays out pretty much exactly like you'd think it would, but it was well acted and enjoyable throughout. ***

They Met in Bombay

THEY MET IN BOMBAY (1941) - Aug. 12, 2007
Clark Gable is pretty much perfect as a charming jewel thief who, along with a competing female thief, wants to steal a rare necklace. The film takes a bizarre turn in the second half, with Gable winding up fighting the Japanese alongside the British army in China. The first half is generally a lot better than the second half, but it's still enjoyable throughout, if only for Gable's charismatic performance. ***

Love Crazy

LOVE CRAZY (1941) - Aug. 11, 2007
About a man who, in order to prevent his wife from divorcing him after a misunderstanding, pretends to be insane. It's mostly entertaining, and there are a few genuinely funny moments, but it's generally not quite as good as the wacky premise would lead you to believe. It feels more like a series of funny scenes than anything else, and the protracted finale (in which William Powell dresses as a woman to evade capture) goes on a bit longer than it needs to. **1/2

Rush Hour 3

RUSH HOUR 3 (2007) - Aug. 10, 2007
Hmm... Well, that wasn't too good. I don't remember the first two Rush Hour movies too well, but I know that they were better than this. The film relies mostly on silly and lame humour (I don't think I laughed or even cracked a smile once), and features some really bland action (what happened to you, Jackie Chan??). The film moves along at a fast pace (or at least a lot of stuff happens), but I can't say I was particularly entertained. **

The More the Merrier

THE MORE THE MERRIER (1943) - Aug. 5, 2007
A delightful romantic comedy about a woman who, during the housing shortage during WWII, takes in two lodgers -- a older man and a younger man; the older man subsequently decides to play Cupid for the woman and the younger man. Though it was probably more enjoyable during the wackier first half (a sequence in which the older man tries to prevent the other two from seeing each other was a highlight), that's a minor complaint, as it was quite entertaining throughout. Joel McCrea and Jean Arthur were both very good and had definite chemistry as the couple, and Charles Coburn was just as good as the older matchmaker. I think contemporary directors need to take a closer look at films from the '30s and '40s, because they really knew how to do romantic comedies back then. ***1/2

Free Zone

FREE ZONE (2005) - Aug. 4, 2007
Wow. I went in with low expectations, but I don't think it's possible to lower your expectations enough to enjoy this film. Pretentious to the extreme, plotless, and featuring a couple of main characters who we never really get to know, and whose actions and motivations remain mysterious throughout, I'm really not sure what the point of this movie is supposed to be. Maybe it's supposed to be some kind of allegory, I don't know -- that bizarre ending has to be a political metaphor or something, though I have no idea what it's supposed to mean (nor do I care). Pretentiously directed by Amos Gitai, and featuring murky cinematography that looks like it was shot with a camcorder from Wal-Mart, this featured a reasonably good performance from Natalie Portman and little else. This film is actually kind of inspiring, because if a movie this bad can not only get made, but get a star as big as Portman, maybe I have a chance after all. 1/2*

Hot Rod

HOT ROD (2007) - Aug. 3, 2007
A surprisingly funny film about an aspiring stuntman who decides to try to pull off one big stunt to raise enough money to save his adoptive father's life. Since Adam Sandler has apparently lost the ability to be funny, Andy Samberg seems to be a fairly decent replacement. It actually reminded me a lot of Happy Gilmore, right down to the fact that the main character needs to raise money for a loved one. The movie is exceptionally silly, and the jokes are somewhat hit and miss, but there are more hits than misses -- and some of the hits are big ones (I laughed so hard that it brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion). I would imagine that with the film's bizarre, oddball sense of humour, it'll be a love it or hate it type of thing. The film also eschews things like plot and character development in favour of lots of gags, but it worked. I thought it was probably one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while. ***

Logan's Run

LOGAN'S RUN (1976) - Aug. 2, 2007
A cheesy and almost ridiculously dated sci-fi film about a future society in which everyone lives inside a domed-in compound and must submit to execution at the age of 30. The film never really explains what happened to the outside world, or why this society insists on killing people when they reach 30. The design of the whole city, the special effects and the score all date the film quite badly, and make it nearly impossible to forget you're watching a movie (even Metropolis -- from 1927 -- presents a more believable vision of the future). The film itself is essentially entertaining throughout, though there are parts (such as when Logan and his female companion run into the rambling old man) which feel a bit on the long side. **1/2

The Bourne Ultimatum

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007) - Aug. 1, 2007
A pleasant surprise. Although Paul Greengrass' quick-cut/shaky-cam direction gets a bit annoying, particularly during the car chases, there actually are some fairly effective action scenes in here (an early scene involving Bourne trying to help a reporter evade the authorities is a highlight). The action scenes, at their best, are gritty and real in a way that's sorely lacking from most contemporary action films (but at their worst -- such as the car chases -- they are almost incoherent). As for the film itself, it feels sort of episodic, with Bourne traveling to a new country every twenty minutes or so and getting involved in some action-heavy hijinks. It's mostly entertaining throughout, if only for some of the better action scenes. ***

Night Nurse

NIGHT NURSE (1931) - July 31, 2007
About a new nurse who begins to realize that something is amiss with her young patient, this was an entertaining pre-code film. Barbara Stanwyck was good in the main role, and Clark Gable (sans-mustache!) has a brief but memorable role as a sinister chauffuer (he punches Stanwyck in the face shortly after meeting her) who's behind the scam to kill Stanwyck's patient. **1/2

The Lookout

THE LOOKOUT (2007) - July 30, 2007
A well made film about a guy, struggling with brain damage after a serious car crash, who gets caught up in a plan to rob a bank. The film was more about the characters than the robbery, and featured some really good performances. After his phenomenal performance in Brick, Joseph Gordon-Levitt proves here that he'll never have to worry about being known as "that kid from Third Rock from the Sun." Jeff Daniels is also quite good as Levitt's blind friend (no surprise there). I wish I hadn't seen the trailer though. It pretty much gives away the entire movie. ***

Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round

DEAD HEAT ON A MERRY-GO-ROUND (1966) - July 29, 2007
James Coburn was quite good as a charismatic thief/con-man who gets out of jail and immediately begins working on his next heist. And that's pretty much the only good thing about this otherwise dreadful film. The main problem here is that the film feels exceptionally disjointed; it's sort of episodic, with the Coburn character pulling off various cons to prepare for the heist. The only problem is that we never really find out what he's planning on doing, or how, or when. The film never really explains anything. One scene he'll be dating a woman so he can steal her keys to rob her (why -- I have no idea), then suddenly he'll be pretending to be an exterminator with absolutely no explanation as to what he's trying to do. Then finally they start to do the actual heist (the film doesn't bother developing the other three members of his little group at all -- at least I think there were three of them), but there's absolutely no excitement or tension because you have no idea what they're trying to do. Is it going well? Are they pulling off their plan? I don't know! Easily the worst heist movie I've ever seen. There goes my theory that you can't go wrong with a movie about a heist. *1/2

Sunshine

SUNSHINE (2007) - July 28, 2007
About a group of astronauts on a mission to reignite the sun after it starts to die, this was an interesting sci-fi film. It's sort of slow, and I couldn't help but compare it to 2001 (and obviously it isn't nearly as good as that film, but that's not really a fair comparison). But the performances were quite good, and in fact the parts where the characters were just talking were probably the best in the film. ***

The Simpsons Movie

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (2007) - July 27, 2007
This basically plays out like a long, better-than-average episode of the show. About the Simpsons, and their quest to save Springfield after it's covered by a giant dome. It was probably funnier than the show has been in a few years (though still not quite up there with episodes from the show's prime). And though I'm normally annoyed by the show's abundance of celebrity cameos, there's an appearance here by Tom Hanks and it's probably the funniest moment of the film. The film drags a bit in the middle, but for the most part it was quite good. ***

SherryBaby

SHERRYBABY (2006) - July 26, 2007
The anti-No Reservations; it has a main character who is actually interesting, with a compelling lead performance from Maggie Gyllenhall, and features direction which doesn't seem effortless and perfunctory. Also: there is a child in this movie and she acts like a real child, not like an overly precocious caricature who could exist only in a screenwriter's imagination (unlike certain movies...). About a woman, just released from jail, who tries to make a life for herself and reconnect with her daughter. The film is essentially plotless but remains compelling throughout, mostly because of Gyllenhall's really impressive performance (I can't believe she wasn't nominated for an Oscar). ***

No Reservations

NO RESERVATIONS (2007) - July 25, 2007
A rote, bland romantic comedy about a no-nonsense chef who is forced to become a surrogate mom for her young niece, and who learns that there's more to life than just working in her restaurant. Yes, it's just as cheesy as it sounds. No... cheesier. It started out inoffensively enough, and I was pretty much enjoying it for the first half or so. But then it seriously started wearing out its welcome. The main problem was that neither of the two main characters were particularly interesting, and pretty much everything that happened to them was completely predictable. And given that the movie wasn't exactly plot-heavy, and entirely revolved around Catherine Zeta-Jones' character, the fact that the character sucked was sort of a deal-killer. It also didn't help that it was blandly directed by Scott Hicks -- bland is just a really good word to describe the whole film, as it felt like everyone involved was just going through the motions. **

I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY (2007) - July 24, 2007
What happened to Adam Sandler? Did his sense of humour change? Did mine? That can't be; I still think Happy Gilmore is a hilarious movie, but I didn't laugh one during this film. Not even a chuckle. I can't even say I was fully entertained during its long, almost two hour running time. Blech. *1/2

The Hills Have Eyes II

THE HILLS HAVE EYES II (2007) - July 23, 2007
Considering the frosty reception this got from the critics, I was bracing myself for something a lot worse. That's not to say that this was good, but it wasn't quite as bad as some people made it out to be. About a group of military trainees who find themselves being hunted down by the same group of mutants from the original film, the main problem here is Wes and Jonathan Craven's script. The characters are all generic and woefully underdeveloped, and say things like "I killed a man once, it was easy. That's why it's so scary." The performances are all fine, but bland, which doesn't really help matters -- it's pretty much impossible to care about these people as they get killed off. The direction, as long as you don't compare it to Alexandre Aja's, was actually fairly decent, and there were some pretty good bits of gore. Basically, this wasn't so great, but it could have been far worse. **

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (2004) - July 22, 2007 (Third Viewing)
Pure awesomeness. This seems to have been acknowledged as a lesser Wes Anderson film, though I can't say I understand why. It is almost inexplicably good, and I think it is pretty close to being a perfect movie. I know that sounds hyperbolic, but it's true. I can't think of a single fault. Wes Anderson's stylized direction has never been better; it's remarkable how consistently good this film looks. Anderson's style suits the material perfectly. It's also exceptionally well written -- it's funny when it needs to be, and dramatic when it needs to be, and always manages to strike a perfect balance between the two. A common complaint about this film seems to be that it's all style, and I find that to be complete hogwash. It's stylish, yes, but it also contains a surfiet of well-realized and memorable characters. Every role is perfectly cast, and even those without much screentime, such as Jeff Goldblum or Michael Gambon, manage to leave a lasting impression. Basically: I love this movie. I think it's Anderson's best, and I don't see how he could possibly top it, though he's certainly up to the task. ****

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY-SOXER (1947) - July 21, 2007
About a young girl who sets her sights on an older man, and the wackiness that ensues. This was essentially entertaining throughout, and of course Cary Grant was as good as ever. Shirley Temple, on the other hand, gave a performance that is best described as grating; her character was presumably supposed to be endearing, but she came off as more annoying than anything else. **1/2

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) - July 20, 2007
An entertaining film about the assorted adventures of two outlaws in the old west. It was well made and Paul Newman and Robert Redford obviously had good chemistry. It also featured some really nice looking cinematography from Conrad Hall. Thumbs up. ***

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines

THE LIBRARIAN: RETURN TO KING SOLOMON'S MINES (2006) - July 19, 2007
About Noah Wyle, and his attempt to find the location of King Solomon's mines, this was a cheesy and pretty low-rent, but basically enjoyable adventure movie (not unlike the original). Wyle is actually quite good as the Indiana Jones-esque adventurer. The main problem here is the writing, which is pretty bad, and which essentially makes it impossible to forget that the film is a TV movie rather than a theatrical one (aside from the shoddy special effects and the fact that the movie has clearly not been shot on film). **1/2

An American in Paris

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951) - July 18, 2007
A really enjoyable musical about an American artist in Paris who falls in love. The film was well made and quite entertaining throughout, though an extended musical number at the end perhaps went on a tad longer than it should have. Gene Kelly was really good in the main role, and the musical numbers were fun to watch. ***

Elizabeth

ELIZABETH (1998) - July 18, 2007
Not so good. About the first few years of Queen Elizabeth's reign, this was a very well acted but otherwise unspectacular film. One of the film's main problems is that it just isn't very well directed. Shekhar Kapur's ceaselessly moving camera reminded me of Michael Bay. And the murky, drab cinematography insured that the film was pretty much always dull to look at. One of the film's better moments, in which there is a montage of Elizabeth's various enemies being dispatched, was lifted shamelessly from the Godfather. The film itself was never altogether boring, though I can't say I was ever really entertained, either. **

Jeopardy

JEOPARDY (1953) - July 17, 2007
About a woman who finds herself at the mercy of an escaped convict when she attempts to get help for her trapped husband (who is trapped at the beach and only has a few hours before the tide comes up and he drowns), this was a well made little thriller. The performances were all good, particularly Ralph Meeker as the sinister convict, and John Sturges' direction was quite effective. ***

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1974) - July 16, 2007
Ellen Burstyn gives a really good performance in this film about a woman whose husband dies, and who takes her son and tries to make it on her own. Harvey Keitel and Kris Kristofferson are also quite good in supporting roles. This could have been a run-of-the-mill character study, but Burstyn's above average performance and Scorsese's stylish direction elevate it to something more. ***1/2

The Hitch-Hiker

THE HITCH-HIKER (1953) - July 15, 2007
A decent thriller about a sinister hitchhiker who terrorizes two friends on a road trip. It was reasonably well made and the performances were fine, though William Talman, as the hitchhiker, came off as more angry than sinister. There were some good parts though -- such as the part where the hitchhiker forces one of the two men to shoot a can out of his friend's hand, and the fact that the hitchhiker has some sort of lazy eye that allows him to sleep with one eye constantly open -- and the film was pretty much entertaining throughout (the 71 minute running-time probably helped), but it wasn't quite as good as the premise might lead you to believe (though it was about a million times better than this year's the Hitcher, which featured a similar story). **1/2

Dark Passage

DARK PASSAGE (1947) - July 14, 2007
About a man who breaks out of jail, and then slowly sets out to prove his innocence, this was a surprisingly good film. I say surprisingly because the first half or so consists mostly of shots from the main character's POV; I'm not generally the biggest fan of POV shots, and while it comes off as kind of gimmicky here, it actually does work reasonably well. Aside from that, the direction was quite good, and it goes without saying that Humphrey Bogart was excellent in the main role, as was Lauren Bacall. ***1/2

Die Hard: With a Vengeance

DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE (1995) - July 13, 2007
Ah, now THIS is a Die Hard movie. Though it's obviously nowhere nearly as excellent as the first one, it's looking pretty freakin' good after the outrageous fiasco that was Live Free or Die Hard. Featuring action and special effects that are about a zillion times better than the hyper-stylized trash from the most recent Die Hard film, this was a consistently entertaining film. It's violent and fun to watch, which is more than I can say for... well, you know. ***1/2

Superbad

SUPERBAD (2007) - July 12, 2007
A really funny comedy about a couple of friends, about to graduate high school, who attempt to get booze for a party in an attempt to woo a couple of girls. Much of the film's success owes to the two lead performances; Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are both really funny and have really good chemestry, and the scenes where they're just talking are among the best and funniest of the film. The movie also features a bunch of really good supporting performances. Also: it is yet another winner in the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" genre, as if I needed more proof that it's almost impossible to go wrong with this type of film. ***

Love and Death

LOVE AND DEATH (1975) - July 11, 2007
About the wacky exploits of a man in 19th century Russia, this was a funny and enjoyable film by Woody Allen. This was the last of his early, sillier films (his next movie was Annie Hall), and it was good, but obviously it can't really compare to his later films. ***

The Most Dangerous Game

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932) - July 10, 2007
An entertaining and well made film about a man who hunts the people who shipwreck on his island. The film cuts right to the chase, and is super-short (about one hour), and is quite enjoyable throughout. Joel McCrea was good as the hunter who finds himself hunted, and Leslie Banks was nicely sinister as the hunter of men. ***

Transformers

TRANSFORMERS (2007) - July 6, 2007
Man am I glad I was never really a fan of the Transformers, because if I was, I'd be pretty peeved right now. Actually, I am peeved for having to sit through that thing, but I'd be more peeved. I didn't think it was possible for a film to feature even worse writing than License to Wed, but my God... this film had some of the worst writing I've ever seen in a theatrical movie. The dialogue was just so stilted and hackneyed, and the "humour" was about as juvenile as you could possibly imagine. If you told me the whole thing was written by a twelve year old, I honestly wouldn't be surprised. As for Michael Bay's direction, he is almost becoming a parody of himself with all the slow motion and sweeping camera moves. I actually thought the action in this film wasn't quite as bad as some of Bay's recent movies (I think with giant robots he's finally found material that suits his way over-the-top style of action), but there was just so much of it, especially towards the end. It was mind numbing. And can someone please explain to me why this film needed to be almost two and a half hours?? Oh man. So boring. *

License to Wed

LICENSE TO WED (2007) - July 4, 2007
This movie offended me. I'm offended that anyone could make a movie so moronic, with characters who act in such an incredibly illogical way -- and then what? Who's supposed to like this movie? About a couple who want to get married, but must first pass an insane marriage course by the reverend who is to marry them, this was just bad. It was decently made and the performances were fine but it was just such a relentlessly dumb film. It wasn't funny. I really don't know what else to say about this stupid movie. Too horrible... 1/2*

Bobby

BOBBY (2006) - July 3, 2007
A reasonably well made film about the day leading up to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in the Ambassador Hotel, from the point of view of a cornucopia of characters. I think that's the main problem with this film; there's just far too many characters, none of whom become people we know well enough to really care about. The performances were pretty much all quite good, and some of the characters made more of an impact than others, but the way the film kept bouncing from character to character to character, I couldn't help but feel somewhat detached. The ending was well done, though. **1/2

The Big Clock

THE BIG CLOCK (1948) - July 2, 2007
A well directed and well acted film noir about a man who is given the task of finding the key suspect in a murder, who unbeknownst to his employers, is himself (he is innocent, of course). It's an interesting premise, and is executed quite well (I particularly liked the whole ending sequence, in which the man must avoid several witnesses after the building he works in is locked down). Ray Milland was really good in the main role, and John Farrow's direction -- featuring a lot of long takes and nicely flowing camerawork -- is impressive. ***1/2

Jeepers Creepers

JEEPERS CREEPERS (2001) - July 1, 2007
A suspenseful and well made film about a brother and sister on a road trip, who find themselves terrorized by a strange creature. Though the first half (in which they first encounter the Creeper and his weird house, and which featured some nicely suspenseful moments) was definitely better than the second (which gets a bit silly, with the Creeper ultimately sprouting wings and flying away), this was still a fairly effective thriller/horror film. ***

Sicko

SICKO (2007) - June 30, 2007
Wow! I don't think I've been that bored during a movie in a long, long time. About how awful the medical system is in America compared to other countries, this movie has one point to make and it makes it, and makes it, and makes it, and makes it, and makes it, until you're sure it must be done, but then it continues making it for what feels like another few hours. I don't think there's enough here to sustain a 15 minute short, let alone a feature film running at almost two hours long (very long). The film features profile after profile of people who either live in America and have had a terrible medical experience, or live in another country and had a great one. It just hammers home the same point over and over again until it's just like ENOUGH ALREADY. Okay. The health system in America stinks. I get it. Everyone in the theatre gets it. We all got it like an hour ago. Can we go home yet? Michael Moore is obviously a controversial figure because of his blatantly one-sided politics. But what should really be controversial is how such a mediocre filmmaker has managed to become so popular. *

Live Free or Die Hard

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (2007) - June 29, 2007
Well, I tried lowering my expectations, but you can only lower your expectations so much. And I was actually kind of enjoying it for the first little while, though not as a Die Hard movie, of course; as a Die Hard film this is an abject failure from start to finish. But just as a contemporary action film it was actually kind of okay for about the first half or so. Nothing special, but watchable and mostly entertaining. But then the action scenes just got progressively sillier and more over-the-top, until by the end it may as well have been Bugs Bunny or Woody Woodpecker facing off against the harrier jet. It almost reminded me of the intentionally overblown conclusion of Hot Fuzz, only I'm pretty sure this wasn't supposed to be parody. It didn't help that the film was PG-13, and thus neutered of almost all its violence and swearing. Even the usually reliable Timothy Olyphant made for an awful villain, though it wasn't really his fault; the character just never seemed like any type of a threat to John McClane. I could continue down this laundry list of complaints, but really, what's the point? This just didn't feel like a Die Hard movie. And even taken on its own, it still kind of sucked. **

1408

1408 (2007) - June 27, 2007
Though the premise was perhaps a bit thin for a full-length movie, this was a well made and effective horror film about a writer on the paranormal who checks into an "evil" hotel room, where some very strange stuff starts to go down. The film does a good job setting everything up, and a lot of the stuff in the hotel room is pretty suspenseful, though it does feel more like a string of random scary stuff than a cohesive whole. I enjoyed it, though. ***

A Mighty Heart

A MIGHTY HEART (2007) - June 26, 2007
Angelina Jolie gives a really powerful performance in this film about the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl. Michael Winterbottom's documentary-like direction suits the material well -- it's nothing to write home about, but it's non-intrusive and worked well enough for the most part. There were times where the film felt a bit too much like Law & Order: Pakistan, and the movie was at its weakest during those parts, but for the most part it was worth it if only for Jolie's performance. ***

Mr. Lucky

MR. LUCKY (1943) - June 25, 2007
Do I even need to mention that Cary Grant was really good in this movie? Or does that basically go without saying? Well he was, playing a slick conman/gambler who intends to bilk a wartime charity out of a large sum of money. It's a bit of a departure for Grant, and of course he is excellent. The film itself is pretty good too, not exactly a classic but certainly not deserving of its current DVD-less status. ***

Ninotchka

Ninotchka (1939) - June 24, 2007
An enjoyable film about a no-nonsense Russian envoy who travels to Paris and falls in love. It was well made and quite well acted. I don't have much else to say about this film, but it was good. ***

The Good German

THE GOOD GERMAN (2006) - June 23, 2007
Well, I can't say he was entirely successful, though I do applaud Soderbergh for trying something different. A murder-mystery shot in the style of a film from the '40s, this was about... well, that's one its main problems. It's constantly throwing information at the viewer, and becomes harder and harder to follow as it goes along. I always had the basic gist of what was happening, but with all the names and information it was a bit hard to keep up. The film was well acted, and Soderbergh did a fairly good job of mimicking the style of the era, though the cinematography seemed confusingly over-exposed for much of the film. **1/2

Christine

CHRISTINE (1983) - June 22, 2007
Though I wouldn't put this up there with John Carpenter's classics, this was still a good film. About a demonic car that seems to have a mind of its own, this was somewhat slow-paced, but entertaining throughout. It was quite well directed; John Carpenter definitely knows how to make a widescreen movie look good. ***

Ratatouille

RATATOUILLE (2007) - June 21, 2007
I think this movie just confirms that Brad Bird and Pixar is the best combination since peanut butter and chocolate. This was a really well made and enjoyable film about a Parisian rat who loves good food and dreams of being a chef. Visually, this may be the best looking CG cartoon yet, as the design of all the characters and the film itself is pretty much perfect, and it's extremely well animated. While it's probably not as good as the Incredibles, that film would have been pretty much impossible to top. This is a really enjoyable film, really well written and directed by Brad Bird, who is quickly proving to be a truly great director. I saw this film with a horrendously bad audience and I still managed to like it as much as I did; a repeat viewing is definitely in order. The fact that this film will almost certainly be outperformed by Shrek 3 is a sad, sad state of affairs. ***1/2

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007) - June 16, 2007
Man. When they make Fantastic Four 3, they need to fire Tim Story -- he kind of sucks. But more importantly, they need to fire Don Payne and Mark Frost. Tim Story's direction is bland and somewhat incompetent, but Payne and Frost's script is outright bad, featuring some laughable dialogue and embarrassingly juvenile humour. And while they're firing people, they can fire Ioan Gruffudd (who was even worse here than he was in the first one) and Jessica Alba -- you rarely see such bad performances in a mainstream movie. I guess this movie wasn't completely terrible, just exceptionally mediocre. And it takes a special kind of ineptitude to turn a character as cool as Galactus into a lame-o cloud of black smoke. **

Paprika

PAPRIKA (2006) - June 15, 2007
A stunning film by Satoshi Kon, and further proof that the Japanese are leaps and bounds ahead of us when it comes to animation. Though the plot, involving a device that allows the wearer to enter another person's dreams, wasn't always completely clear, this was still a really unique and enjoyable film. I can easily say that I haven't seen anything quite like this before (which is a comment which probably hasn't applied to mainstream American animation since the 1940s). It was really well animated and almost worth it for the visuals alone. I'd like to see this again, as it definitely seems like it would improve on repeat viewings. ***1/2

Blonde Venus

BLONDE VENUS (1932) - June 13, 2007
Marlene Dietrich was quite good in this film about a nightclub singer whose life gets progressively worse after her husband leaves the country to get treatment for a terminal illness. Cary Grant was also good (of course) in a small part. The film was slow and felt a bit too meandering at times, but was well made and never boring. **1/2

Bubble

BUBBLE (2005) - June 10, 2007
A really low-key drama-murder/mystery set in a small town. The film consisted mostly of the three main characters either working or making small-talk, and was shot almost entirely with a static camera, and yet there was something oddly compelling about it. It probably helps that it was exceptionally short (73 minutes). It was also pretty well acted, which is impressive considering the cast consists entirely of non-actors. ***

Hostel: Part II

HOSTEL: PART II (2007) - June 9, 2007
A worthy follow-up. Though there was nothing that had me on the edge of my seat quite like the whole sequence from the original where Jay Hernandez attempts his escape, there were still parts of this film what were really gripping, particularly in the latter half. Roth does spend a good amount of time setting everything up and establishing the characters, but that's a good thing; if he put the characters in peril too quickly, it wouldn't have been nearly as effective, because the audience wouldn't have much invested in their survival. It was also interesting to find out a bit more about how the hostel is run and the types of people who use its services (I also liked the little twist where the two torturers each turn out to be the opposite of what the audience expects). Roth's direction was quite good, and it was really well acted. And I saw it with a really bad audience, so who knows, maybe I'd like it even more without a bunch of no-good hooligans talking the whole time. ***1/2

Ocean's Thirteen

OCEAN'S THIRTEEN (2007) - June 8, 2007
Though enjoyable and expectedly well directed, this was probably the weakest of the three films. Al Pacino was a good addition to the cast. I don't have much else to say about this movie, so... Yeah. I liked it. ***

Surf's Up

SURF'S UP (2007) - June 8, 2007
A surprisingly enjoyable cartoon, done in faux-documentary style, about a young penguin who dreams of making it big as a surfer. Considering how bad this looked, this was a very pleasant surprise. The voice-work was quite good, it was nicely animated, and though it's clearly a kid's movie, it didn't feel juvenile (like, say, Shrek 3). The whole fake documentary thing also worked very well. This wasn't exactly a Pixar-level classic (the gold standard for CGI cartoons) but it was entertaining and fun. ***

Duck Soup

DUCK SOUP (1933) - June 7, 2007
Though less a movie than a series of gags strung together loosely by a plot, this was basically enjoyable, though some of the jokes were funnier than others. It would probably work better with an enthusiastic crowd, as it generally feels more like a filmed comedy routine than an actual movie. **1/2

The File of the Golden Goose

THE FILE OF THE GOLDEN GOOSE (1969) - June 6, 2007
Yul Brynner is the highlight in this dated and otherwise unspectacular film about a secret service agent who goes undercover to infiltrate a counterfeiting ring. It actually starts out pretty well, but is dragged down by a really dull midsection in which Brynner follows up various leads in an attempt to ingratiate himself with the gang. It picks up again at the end, but it's really too late by then. But there's one scene which almost makes it all worthwhile: at the beginning of the film, Brynner's boss is trying to get him to replace an undercover agent who was murdered in the field. Brynner is undecided at this point, and asks his boss, "Was he able to take any of those bastards with him?" His boss replies, "No." Brynner thinks about this for a moment, and then says, "Hopefully I can do better," at which point he stubs out his cigarette. If that's not badass, I don't know what is. **

Ocean's Twelve

OCEAN'S TWELVE (2004) - June 5, 2007 (Second Viewing)
Well, this was probably slightly better than I remembered it being, but still an inferior sequel. It's superbly directed and looks very good, and it's enjoyable throughout. But unlike the first one, which was tightly plotted and focused entirely on one spectacular heist, this was a bit more meandering and episodic, and some of the sections worked better than others. It's still quite entertaining, though, and worthwhile if only for the look of it; it's pretty amazing that Soderbergh was able to make what is essentially a big Hollywood movie with such a unique sense of style. ***

Ocean's Eleven

OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001) - June 4, 2007 (Second Viewing)
Wow! I remember liking this movie a lot, but it's even better than I remembered. For one thing, Steven Soderbergh's direction is absolutely perfect; Soderbergh is a great director and I think this is his best film. It's just such a good looking movie -- Soderbergh's command of the camera is pretty much unrivaled, and his use of music to accompany the visuals is always dead-on. The movie is really fun and fast-paced, and features nary a wasted minute. Plus there's just something inherently fascinating about watching a bunch of guys plan and pull off such an elaborate heist. Good stuff! ****

The Closet

THE CLOSET (2001) - June 3, 2007
Daniel Auteuil was quite good in this film about a man who decides to pretend he's gay so that he won't get fired. Though it wasn't quite as wacky as the premise would lead you to believe, it was well made and entertaining throughout. ***

The Untouchable

THE UNTOUCHABLE (2006) - June 2, 2007
Sweet Jesus. A meandering ordeal about a young actress who wanders around France, then travels to India in search of her father and wanders around there. That's it. Most of the movie consists of the main character walking around while the handheld camera follows her from behind. Jeez Louise. *

Mr. Brooks

MR. BROOKS (2007) - June 1, 2007
Kevin Costner was quite good in this film. And that's just about the only positive thing I have to say about Mr. Brooks. This was not a good film; badly made (by a guy whose last writing credit was Jungle 2 Jungle, and whose last directing credit was Kuffs), this was a stupid movie. About a wealthy serial killer who has William Hurt as his imaginary friend (and I suppose you could do worse than William Hurt as far as imaginary friends go) and who is blackmailed into killing again. The main problem with this film is that there are just too many things going on, and it feels slipshod. There's Mr. Brooks and his imaginary friend, there's his daughter (who, it turns out, is starting her own career as a serial killer), there's Demi Moore as a gritty cop who's trying to take down Mr. Brooks, deal with an escaped killer and her sleazy ex-husband, there's Dane Cook as a wannabe killer... It's just too much. Plus the whole thing as a really uneven vibe, like the director couldn't decide if he wanted to do a serious drama or something more tongue-in-cheek. There's also a pervading feeling of incompetence; the direction isn't outright bad, but it isn't good either. But hey... Kevin Costner was good. *1/2

Hustle & Flow

HUSTLE AND FLOW (2005) - May 27, 2007
Featuring a really impressive performance by Terrence Howard, this was a well made film about a pimp who aspires to be a rapper. Though Howard is clearly the standout, this is a really well acted film (even Anthony Anderson and DJ Qualls are quite good). The film also features some good writing and direction by Craig Brewer (and is certainly a step up from his last film as a writer, the decent but forgettable Water's Edge). ***

L'Enfant

L'ENFANT (2005) - May 26, 2007
A well made film about a young couple and their new baby, focusing mostly on the guy, a petty criminal who tends to make questionable decisions. Well directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who shot the film in a handheld style that nicely complements the story (it was good, French New Wave style handheld, not ugly, shaky Paul Greengrass style handheld). Jérémie Renier was really good in the main role, as were all the other performances. That's two really good films in a row. Sweet. ***1/2

Volver

VOLVER (2006) - May 25, 2007
A delightful film about two sisters and their mother, who has apparently come back from the dead. This was really entertaining from start to finish, and featured some really good performances, particularly Penelope Cruz (!) who I guess is actually a pretty decent actress when she's not busy struggling with the English language. It was also a really nice looking film; the direction and cinematography were quite good. Almodóvar and his cinematographer do a really good job using the widescreen frame -- I also liked the use of stark colours. But really, the biggest surprise here is how good Penelope Cruz is. What's up with that? ***1/2

Esma's Secret

ESMA'S SECRET (2006) - May 24, 2007
Anchored by a really excellent performance from Mirjana Karanovic, this was a low-key but engaging film about a mother and her daughter in post-war Sarajevo. It was well directed and was quite entertaining throughout despite being almost entirely plotless. ***

Meet the Robinsons

MEET THE ROBINSONS (2007) - May 24, 2007
About a plucky orphan who winds up traveling into the future, this was a silly but mostly entertaining film. What really stands out in this movie are the visuals; it looks nicely cartoony, and wisely avoids the creepy realism of stuff like the Polar Express and the Shrek movies. And then there's the 3D, which is easily the best use of 3D I've ever seen. The illusion of depth is completely convincing, and it never feels gimmicky or over-done. I'm generally not too crazy about 3D, so I was surprised to find that it actually did enhance the experience. ***

Waitress

WAITRESS (2007) - May 23, 2007
A cute romantic comedy about a small-town waitress stuck in a loveless marriage (whose husband seems like a jerk even compared to the usual jerk husband/fiancee seen in these types of romantic comedies) who finds out she's pregnant and begins to fall in love with her doctor. Keri Russell is very good in the lead role, but it's Nathan Fillion who really steals the movie (in a role that's way too small) as the doctor she falls in love with. How is he not a big movie star yet? I don't get it. He's the second coming of Tom Hanks, as far as I'm concerned. The movie was also well directed and quite entertaining, though I do have some qualms with the ending. ***

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (2007) - May 23, 2007
That was long. Very, very long. It started out pretty well, with the main characters trying to recruit a band of Singaporean pirates to assist them in rescuing Jack Sparrow. But then not a whole lot happens, and the movie spends the next hour or two setting up the many plot threads leading up to the action-packed finale. There are double crosses, and triple crosses, and probably quadruple crosses -- I was basically able to follow it but it certainly seemed unnecessarily convoluted. Much of what I liked so much about the first one (the fact that it was just a relatively simple, fun swashbuckling adventure) is completely absent from this film, replaced in favour of a much more epic feel. And then there's the whole ending sequence, which is LONG and seems to be compensating for the relative lack of action in the mid-section. Couldn't some of this action have been spread out a bit? The film is well made and looks very good, but I just had a hard time maintaining my level of interest for the entire three hours. **

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (2006) - May 21, 2007 (Second Viewing)
Well, I think I liked this better the second time around. It probably helped that I knew how long it was and where it was going. It also helped that my expectations were somewhat lower. Anyway, I enjoyed it. I still think it's too long and not nearly as good as the original, but it's well made and fun. ***

Summer '04

SUMMER '04 (2006) - May 20, 2007
A slow-paced and typically European "art-house" type of film, about... not much of anything, really. There's a couple, and their kid, and his girlfriend (and it took me at least ten minutes to even figure out those relationships) and another random guy, and some stuff happens. The direction was quite good, and it was well acted, but man was it slow. **1/2

Shrek the Third

SHREK THE THIRD (2007) - May 19, 2007
Well, that could have been better. After the first one, which was quite enjoyable, and the second one, which wasn't quite as good but still okay, the series has finally worn out its welcome. I can't quite put my finger on what went wrong with this one, other than to say that the whole thing is a bit stale at this point. **

Total Recall

TOTAL RECALL (1990) - May 14, 2007 (Umpteenth Viewing)
Ah, now THIS is an action movie. They don't make them even remotely like this anymore. Arnold Schwarzenegger is at his wisecracking best in this film about a man who discovers that he's been living a double life, and that he's really a secret agent on Mars. Gleefully violent, the film earns its R rating in a way contemporary action movies don't even dream to do. There are few people who can direct action as well as Paul Verhoeven (and it certainly isn't by shaking the camera and cutting a million times a second). Good stuff. ****

28 Weeks Later

28 WEEKS LATER (2007) - May 12, 2007
If I had telekinetic powers, I think Jaun Carlos Fresnadillo's head would have exploded by now, because I've been sending him some pretty bad vibes. He is a horrendously bad director. By all accounts, this should have been a pretty good movie -- the performances were good, the screenplay was okay and it had a solid enough premise, but man... the direction. It feels like, at film school, his teacher said "Here are the different types of shots: there are extreme close-ups, close-ups..." at which point he immediately stood up, "Alright! I've heard enough! Time to go make me a movie!" I swear, I think 90 percent of this film consisted of close-ups. As for the action, it was probably more like 100 percent. Sweet Jesus, don't even get me started on the action scenes, all of which were unrelentingly terrible. I don't think I've ever seen such badly directed action scenes; they were a complete and utter mess, a chaotic mishmash of images and sounds without even a hint of coherency. Each shot can't be more than a few frames, and it's just an unpleasant, confusing visual assault. And so shaky... Jesus. And I don't mean "we shot this handheld" shaky, I mean "let's shake this damn camera as hard as we can without breaking it" shaky. Even Paul Greengrass looks restrained in comparison. I can imagine someone might defend the film by saying something like "it's a chaotic situation, and the direction/editing-style puts you in the heads of the characters." Well, unless the character is an ADD-afflicted, crack-addled seven-year-old in the midst of a seizure, that simply isn't the case. And even if that were the case, why would I WANT to be in the head of that character? What's pleasant about that? What's enjoyable about watching a barrage of sounds and images and having to struggle to figure out what's even going on? I need to go find Fresnadillo so I can spit on him. *

Reeker

REEKER (2005) - May 10, 2007 (S)
Hmmm... That wasn't so good. It started out well enough -- it had a pretty generic setup (a bunch of teens get stuck in the middle of nowhere when their car breaks down) but did a reasonably good job of building tension. The tension builds, but then... nothing happens for a while. And then when stuff does start to happen, the director makes the odd choice of not showing the villain at all, and making it look like people are getting killed my a menacing cloud of gas. Finally, more than an hour in, we get to actually see the bad guy, but it's sort of too late by then. And then there's the twist ending, which sort of made sense but seemed more like a twist for the sake of having a twist. The film was essentially well made, but was undone by the absence of a compelling villain, and a lengthy mid-section in which not much happens. **

Away from Her

AWAY FROM HER (2006) - May 9, 2007
About a woman who gets Alzheimer's, goes to live in a retirement home, and winds up falling in love after basically forgetting about her husband, this was a well made film. It was very slow-paced and exceptionally depressing, but it was a good film (Sarah Polley does well in her debut as a writer/director, though it does occasionally seem like she's trying a bit too hard to be profound with her dialogue). If nothing else, the movie would be worthwhile if only for the performances, which are uniformly excellent; Gordon Pinsent, in particular, gives a really phenomenal performance as the husband who has to watch as his wife falls in love with another man. ***

Weekend at Bernie's

WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S (1989) - May 7, 2007 (Umpteenth Viewing)
Ah, Weekend at Bernie's... From a decade that brought us some pretty wacky comedies, this is certainly one of the wackiest. About a couple of guys who decide to pretend that their dead boss is still alive, I still really enjoyed this movie despite having seen it about a million times. It helps that Jonathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy have very good chemistry together. Where's Weekend at Bernie's 3? ***

The Desperate Hours

THE DESPERATE HOURS (1955) - May 6, 2007
Humphrey Bogart (in one of his last roles) is very good, as usual, in this film about a group of three escaped convicts who terrorize a suburban family. Though perhaps not quite the crackerjack thriller I was hoping it would be (it actually moves at a fairly deliberate pace) this was still a well-made and enjoyable film. **1/2