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. ***