ANOTHER YEAR (2010)

Watched: 2/6/2011

This is my first Mike Leigh film and I definitely want to see more. ANOTHER YEAR is the about the year in the life of a very happy couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) who have some very unhappy friends. The film simply chronicles their encounters with these people and how little (and how much) changes over a year. The standout here is Sheen’s co-worker/friend/mess of a woman played by Leslie Manville. Absolutely stunning work. This film has a soul-crushing final shot.

• 2011 New: 44
• 2011 Re-see: 19
• 2010 TOTAL: 63

ANIMAL KINGDOM (2010)

Watched: 8/29/2010

Write-ups will be rushed (and probably full of typos!) as I’m desperately trying to catch up! Sorry!!

There was a lot of hype surrounding this film and I’ve been enjoying Australian exports… well, my whole life. However, this particular film, simply about a young man being thrust into the arms of the criminal side of his family, ended up feeling like it was lacking something. The way I described this film after seeing it was as a long, drawn out version of the 2nd act of a better film. There was little in the way of character buildup and it jumps right into things so that there’s little in which emotions can be invested. I didn’t care who in this family lived or died. Maybe that was the point, but it made for a less than engaging theater going experience. The finale, too, was a bit anti-climatic as it relied purely on emotion, emotion I didn’t have built up. While there are flashes of great stuff here and superb acting throughout (especially by Jacki Weaver as the family matriarch who becomes a fully fleshed character a little too late, would love to see a movie all about her beginnings!), the whole is definitely far less than the sum of its parts. Maybe A PROPHET spoiled me on great crime dramas, but for my money ANIMAL KINGDOM is simply ‘okay’.

• 2010 New: 256
• 2010 Re-see: 115
• 2010 TOTAL: 371

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE (2009)

Watched: 7/31/2010

Write-ups will be rushed (and probably full of typos!) as I’m desperately trying to catch up! Sorry!!

Basic setup: Blomkvist gets wrapped up in another mystery when things go bad during the investigation of a sex-trafficking ring. Lisbeth Salander gets dragged in when she’s accused of a murder related to Blomkvist’s research. It’s a pretty straightforward mystery that is overcomplicated through the course of the film. Lisbeth is relegated to being a tool to move the story forward and little time, outside of that spent wrapping up the mysterious flashbacks from THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO, is spent on her character and Blomkvist loses much of the depth he had at the beginning of the first movie. So, abandoning most of the fun character work in the first one and a mystery that’s less engaging leaves one with a sequel that’s more tepid than not. It’s a movie that will keep you amused while it’s playing but once you start reflecting upon it starts to fall apart. Here’s hoping the final installment kicks it up a notch.

• 2010 New: 226
• 2010 Re-see: 95
• 2010 TOTAL: 321

WINTER’S BONE (2010)

Watched: 6/26/2010

Write-ups will be rushed (and probably full of typos!) as I’m desperately trying to catch up! Sorry!!

Missed this at Fantastic Fest and jumped at the opportunity to see it when it opened for a regular run. Turns out this is a great Southern drama. Jennifer Lawrence is brilliantly understated as Ree Dolly, a young girl charged with taking care of her even younger brother and sister while her mother remains mute and near-comatose and her criminal father (whose put the house up for bond) has gone missing. The movie is probably the best film revolving around the unspoken community politics of the deep South. When watching WINTER’S BONE one gets a sense of generations of history and a set of rules passed down and understood by all. If there’s a fault it’s that there’s perhaps one too many scenes of Ree following a lead and going to a new character and asking the same questions. It’s minor but it does start to nag just a bit before the 3rd act kicks in with a change of pace. A great slice of uniquely American cinema!

• 2010 New: 192
• 2010 Re-see: 74
• 2010 TOTAL: 266

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (2009)

Watched: 6/19/2010

Write-ups will be rushed (and probably full of typos!) as I’m desperately trying to catch up! Sorry!!

Apparently this won the Oscar for best foreign language film. It’s not hard to see why. The very human story is about a retired federal justice agent who is writing a book using a real case as his inspiration. However, the way the case was closed and the far reaching effects of the case on himself and those around him prevent him from having any sort of closure himself. In fact, he still believes there is more to be discovered regarding the brutal rape and murder of a woman and so he sets out to reconnect with the case and the woman he loved but never got.

This is a great thriller, unfolding in layers. And it’s not just the facts of the case that make this movie interesting, it’s the characters. As played by Ricard Darin and Soledad Villamil, federal justice Benjamin Esposito and his boss/love interest Irene Menendez Hastings are two of the strongest characters the screen has seen in some time. Every moment they are together there is volumes of unspoken dialogue (thus the extremely appropriate title- it seems everyone has a secret in this movie). So much so it comes close to negating the need for a thriller narrative. Thankfully, though, the thriller here is quite excellent; it’s a slow moving, methodical telling of a tragic story that perfectly compliments the human drama that surrounds it.

The photography and direction are stellar, way more impressive than one would imagine for a story of this kind. In fact, there are 2 shots that left me positively breathless. Some truly outstanding work by director Juan Jose Campanella. Combined with the aforementioned lead roles, a sprinkling of strong supporting characters and a script both minimalistic yet brimming with undertone and you have one of the finest film going experiences around. THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES deserves every bit of praise it has received and more.

• 2010 New: 186
• 2010 Re-see: 69
• 2010 TOTAL: 255

HARRY BROWN (2010)

Watched: 5/30/2010

Harry Brown leads a lonely life after becoming a widower and losing his one and only friend, Leonard. After reaching his breaking point, Leonard had decided to take the problems of the drug-fueled, violent youth gangs into his own hands. Now, alone, harassed and convinced more than ever of the uselessness of the police, Harry has no choice but to use the military training he had long since repressed to satisfy his burning need for vengeance. The problem is, his body is no longer as sharp as his mind.

I love a good vigilante story and HARRY BROWN is one of them. There’s something about the tone of the film that makes it extremely compelling, it’s a quite contemplative film, the camera takes a step back from the characters at most times except in cases of short bursts of extreme violence. The violence isn’t glorified, it is more the question mark at the end of a series of questionable choices Harry must make on his journey. And I’m not sure we’re always mean to be rooting for him. This playful back-and-forth across the lines of ethics is best demonstrated when he visits a drug den to buy a gun. This is an extremely creepy and effective scene that builds up to a powerful demonstration of Harry’s conviction.

The one element that doesn’t work here is the police subplot. Having already established their incompetence (or inability/unwillingness to recognize the gang problem) there’s no real need for them to be around other than for Emily Mortimer’s character to serve as a plot device in the third act. Outside of that, though, this is a solid retelling of a familiar story that remains respectful of its characters while challenging us to wonder if we’d be able to do the same horrible things in their shoes.

• 2010 New: 163
• 2010 Re-see: 66
• 2010 TOTAL: 229

CHLOE (2009)

Watched: 4/10/2010

Julianne Moore suspects her husband, Liam Neeson, is fooling around with other girls. She does the most sensible things and she hires a high-class hooker, Amanda Seyfried, to seduce him. She just wants to see if he’ll flirt with her. Of course, things go too far and soon a bizarre love quadrangle has formed between mom, dad, son and family hooker.

CHLOE is not a good movie but it’s delicious fun to watch (once). You can’t deny the hotness of erotic scenes involving Seyfried (though she still LOOKS dumb a brick) and Moore but these can’t sustain an entire movie. In between such scenes we have extended conversations filled with dialogue so obnoxiously awkward one can imagine some insane hermit having written this in some other language and then having his buddy who has had three English lessons translate it. Also, entire characters (i.e. the son) have no use throughout the movie until the final moments of the last act when the movie decides it wants to become some sort of thriller.

I should have been more prepared for this movie going in by remembering that this is a Atom Egoyan film. I think the last movie of his I watched was THE SWEET HEREAFTER and that was one of the most obnoxious movie watching experiences of my life. You have a movie about a bus full of kids going through the ice and it’s STILL boring? Ugh.

Anyways, this is new Liam Neeson movie #2 of April (teaser: there will be a third and it’s the best of his films this month), he’s not really hitting them out of the ballpark between this and CLASH OF THE TITANS.

Last thing – This apparently a remake of a French film called NATHALIE…(2003). I’m definitely going to track that down and do some comparisons.

• 2010 New: 118
• 2010 Re-see: 42
• 2010 TOTAL: 160
  
• Age 29 New: 124
• Age 29 Re-see: 45
• Age 29 TOTAL: 169

UN PROPHÈTE (A PROPHET) (2009)

Watched: 3/25/2010

With Shakespearean levels of understanding regarding the dynamics of a Greek tragedy, director Jacques Audiard delivers one of the most fascinating character pieces I’ve seen in quite some time. We meet Malik El Djebena, a Muslim, as he enters prison for a 6 year stay for, apparently, attacking a cop. Quick to discover a dividing line inside the prison, Malik is eager to step clearly in the middle but this plan is foiled by Cèsar Luciani a high ranking boss amongst the Corsican Mafiosi both inside and out of the prison. Luciani uses Malik to get close to a Muslim rat and, by virtue of explaining the intent to off this man, Luciana has ensnared Malik in his world. Through the course of the next 6 years, Malik will play every game possible to work his way up, through, around and over the highest levels of both the Corsican and the Muslim crime syndicates.

What is probably most striking about UN PROPHÈTE is how organically everything flows. It is a long story with many elements that must click for Malik to be as successful as he is in his conniving ascent  but never does it feel as if something happens out of convenience. There are moments of unexpected and stunning violence and other moments of uber-tension built around the reputations and histories of the men interacting on screen. What is also quite exciting about the film is that, as you could probably tell from the title, there is a level of subtext that is present but you would lose out on none of the experience if you were to choose to ignore it. Never is it shoved in the faces of the audience, but there are a few key moments (pay attention what happens on Christmas and pay good attention to the 40 days, 40 nights section of the film) that will allow those wishing to dig a bit deeper to piece together some pretty great religious allegory. Again, it’s not necessary to enjoy the film at all, it is really just an added bonus!

There so much in the details of this film (notice the scars on Malik’s body when he first enters prison? I have some ideas about what those mean) and it is filled to the brim with such commanding performances that I could see myself going back from time to time and find more and more things to love. As it stands, it was certainly one of the most enjoyable evenings at the theater in quite some time and I was easily transfixed by UN PROPHÈTE and the matter-of-fact presentation of a rise of a man and the fall of another. A perfect character piece and a masterful tragedy.

• 2010 New: 105
• 2010 Re-see: 36
• 2010 TOTAL: 141
  
• Age 29 New: 111
• Age 29 Re-see: 39
• Age 29 TOTAL: 150