Movie Reviews 2007
I’ve been patiently waiting for the film version of this 1927 Upton Sinclair novel (Oil), ever since I read it in….about 1971. It was well worth the wait. Daniel Day-Lewis will be the overwhelming favorite for the Best Actor award come Oscar time. His performance as a ruthless oil man was over-the-top outstanding.
A top contender for the Best Picture award, too, this film is about the development of oil in the south San Joaquin Valley during the turn of the century (19th/20th) and the struggle between the men who control the oil and the families eking out a living off this non-irrigated patch of land. The early, crude (pun intended) methods of oil exploration and the impact on the land and the men who worked the oil fields are well-documented in this epic masterpiece.
The music dominates the movie; at times, frankly, overwhelming the scenes. Expect this to be a top contender for a cinematography award, too (In fact, it received eight Oscar nominations), which makes it a must to be seen in a theatre.
9 stars
DIRTY, PRETTY THINGS (2002):
Stephen Frears (The Grifters, High Fidelity, The Queen) directs this outstanding British film about two immigrants – a man from Nigeria (Chiwetel Ejiofor) with a cloudy past and a woman from Turkey (Audrey Tautou) with dreams of New York City – who stumble upon an underground enterprise preying on undocumented immigrants (don’t want to give too much away), which takes them through the underbelly of London in search of answers.
Fine acting, with a crisp, dramatic plot. Put it on your Netflix queue.
8½ stars
HARD CANDY (2005):
Ellen Page’s second film is the highly acclaimed (and recently reviewed) Juno, which led us to her first film in which she plays another smart-alecky teenager (this time 14) who gets involved where you don’t think she should.
Page plays a precocious teenager out for adventure, who communicates on line with a 32-year old photographer. That, of course, can lead to nothing but trouble. But for whom? A very well done, methodical thriller (which leaves us guys cringing as we try to watch certain painful parts!).
Seeing both Juno and Hard Candy, you get a taste for the future stardom of Ms. Page. She’s not a one-hit wonder by any means, although it will be interesting to watch this young woman (who plays a terrific tomboy) grow into different roles a la Scarlett Johansson. Worth a place on your Netflix queue.
8 stars
A better-than-expected fantasy film about adventure, betrayal and young love.
Charlie Cox plays a young man vying for the affections of a beautiful damsel (Sienna Miller, who is way out of his league). Cox travels far beyond his village walls into forbidden territory in search of a fallen star to bring back as a gift. But the same star is also the subject of search by the dying king’s (Peter O’Toole) sons and three aging witches (led by the ever lovely Michele Pfeiffer). The star, which transforms into Claire Danes, becomes Cox’s traveling companion as they try to escape the clutches of those with less-than-outstanding motives for finding the star.
The movie is marred by a dreadful performance by Robert De Niro, an effeminate and beloved captain of a flying pirate ship, but this all-star cast makes up for it with fun entertainment. However, it is excessively long (2:07), made longer by De Niro’s late arrival in the plot. Wonderfully narrated by Ian McKellen.
7½ stars
THE GOOD SHEPARD (2006):
Matt Damon continues to prove he can play a terrific spy (see the Bourne movies) in this film about the early workings of the CIA (think beginning of the Cold War through to the Bay of Pigs). Disjointed at times, it’s worthy of a rental if spy thrillers are your thing.
7 stars
A GOOD YEAR (2006):
A clumsy film (directed by Ridley Scott) about a workaholic London investment broker (Russell Crowe) who inherits a crumbling French chateau and vineyard where he spent part of his childhood under the care of his wine-making uncle (Albert Finney).
Forced to spend some time at the mansion because of a suspension for his unsavory financial style, Crowe renews his love for the French countryside and the chateau – and, of course, a pretty young café owner (Marion Cotillard, who’s up for Best Actress this year for La Mome). Complicating his life is the appearance of another pretty young lady, Abbie Cornish, who claims to be his uncle’s illegitimate daughter.
Good in places, but the sudden transformation of Mr. Crowe’s personality is a bit much.
5½ stars
JUNO:
Last year, there was an article in the New York Times that explained why “liberal Hollywood” was reticent about making movies that featured a leading lady having an abortion. Films had to be feel-good when an unexpectant pregnancy occurred – see Waitress and Knocked Up – and abortions, frankly, preclude audiences from feeling good about a film. While nearly two-thirds of unwanted pregnancies end in abortion, Hollywood has decided that it is far wiser to sidestep this reality to avoid alienating a wide swath of movie-goers.
The writers of this film are the latest to follow this script. The young star, Ellen Page – who was 19 when she made this movie but looks about 12 – decides against an abortion when a young protestor puts the thought in her head that her 10-week old fetus already has fingernails. No wonder Hollywood scooped this indie film up after it appeared at the Toronto Film Festival last year (it’s based in Minnesota but filmed in the Vancouver area).
Having said that, Juno is excellent. Page is over-the-top outstanding (could an Oscar nomination be far behind?) in the role of Juno, an offbeat, wise-cracking high school junior who has sex one time with her nerdy best friend, and then looks in the PennySaver ads with her girl friend to find a suitable couple to adopt her mistake. Of course, this being Hollywood, they find one right away in Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, she the neurotic, wannabe-mother wife who’s gone through disappointment before with an expectant young mother and he the not-yet-grown-up good husband who composes advertising ditties while working at home, hoping that a baby will bring love back into their lifeless marriage.
Great acting all around. Character actor J.K. Simmons (you’d recognize him) plays Juno’s dad and Allison Janney (The West Wing) is her step-mom. Both pretty understanding, if not a bit disappointed (‘I was hoping she’d gotten expelled or at least was into hard drugs,’ pans Janney). Garner & Bateman are good, even if they leave you wondering why they were together in the first place. Even the baby’s dad, Michael Cera, is good in a naive but lovable sort of way.
This is worth a visit to the theatre, even if it’s after the nominations are made. A good script, great acting (this is only Page’s second film) and, as Hollywood wants, a feel-good film. You might even bring a tissue.
9 stars
A delightfully funny and poignant film (directed by Rob Reiner) packed with effortless and fun acting from two masters, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The former is a cantankerous and unloved owner of hospitals (“two to a room, no exceptions”) who finds himself sharing a cancer ward room with the less-well-off but well-loved Freeman, a worldly garage mechanic. They make an unlikely pair as they put together their bucket list – things you want to do before you kick the bucket – as they segue back and forth between chemotherapy and their quest to finish their list before they die.
Sean Hayes (from TV’s Will & Grace) adds life as Nicholson’s assistant. If you don’t tear up when Nicholson scratches off “kiss the most beautiful girl in the world,” you’re made of stone.
This could have been sappy, but it wasn’t. Good writing and great acting overcome a (mostly) predictable plot. Go see it when it’s released.
9 stars
A slow moving but gripping film about young love, childish jealousy and bad decision-making. Set in the 1930s and 1940s in England and war-torn France, the musical score and cinematography are outstanding.
The ever-lovely and talented Keira Knightly stars as James McAvoy’s young love interest – even though the former is the rich daughter and the latter the gardener’s son and helper. But Keira’s 13-year old sister (played in the movie by three different actresses during different stages of her life, the last by Vanessa Redgrave) is jealous of their affection and identifies McAvoy as the perpetrator of a serious crime. That lie – and the resulting years – is the “atonement” and story line.
Likely to be a multiple nominee come Academy Awards time.
8 stars
Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts & Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this true story of an obscure and fun-loving Texas congressman, Charlie Wilson, and his efforts to help the Afghani resistance movement against the onslaught of the Soviet invasion in the 1980s.
The acting is sensational, and Hanks is incredibly believable as a smart, yet back-bench member of Congress – with all of the personal foibles imaginable – as he directs his energies toward an issue that he wants to (and figures he can) affect. Watching Hanks segue back and forth between an initial discussion with the sarcastic and dry-witted CIA rogue agent Hoffman and a possible scandal involving Wilson and the use of drugs is watching a legislator at his best: able to move from one crisis to another without missing a beat.
They get in digs at Giuliani (who’s prosecuting the drug allegations) and references to the pork-barreling Congressman John Murtha, which help ground this film with reality. Roberts seems over the top as the floozy (but extremely wealthy) and conservative Houston socialite who keeps egging Wilson on to do more for the resistance. But, all in all, a great ensemble cast, and an entertaining, fast-paced movie to watch. Great political satire – and a quick look at how American policy toward Afghanistan (as Charlie is quoted as saying) “f*ed up the end game.”
9 stars
This is a violent-strewn, modern day western that opened to rave reviews – and is likely to be among the contenders come Oscar time.
Tommy Lee Jones (damn, he’s good!) plays a small town Texas sheriff trying to prevent more violence as he figures out who – Josh Brolin, it turns out – unwittingly stumbled upon a border drug deal gone bad. Brolin makes a life-altering decision when he hauls off with the left-behind booty.
Brolin is pursued by bad guy Javier Bardem – and, frankly, it doesn’t get much badder than Bardem, a cold-blooded bounty hunter (with a bad hair cut). You shiver every time he comes on screen. Jones, the old man of the film, is on the trail of both.
The Coen brothers do great justice to Cormac McCarthy’s book (who also wrote All the Pretty Horses), with beautiful cinematography, spot-on casting, wonderful acting and white-knuckle drama. Not for the faint of heart. Rated VB (violently bloody).
9 stars
Steve Carell (40 Year Old Virgin) is making a career out of playing sensitive, shy, dorky, middle-aged men – and he nails it in this movie where he plays the widowed father of three girls (15, 13 & 9) who strikes up a wonderful book-store conversation with Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, 2000) only to discover (an hour later) that she is the new girl friend of his nice but flighty younger brother, Dane Cook (note: he of the obnoxious Fox baseball ads).
Carell drags his girls off to the annual family reunion on the picturesque coast of Rhode Island – the older one wants to drive, the middle one wants to stay home and romance her new boy friend and the younger one; well, she just wants to be cute and please her daddy – where he is bombarded by a tight-knit family that sincerely worries about his four-year funk and depression resulting from the sudden death of his wife.
But the long weekend gets less and less pleasant for Carell as he tries to cope with the budding Cook-Binoche relationship, especially as everyone fawns over Binoche (she’s clearly worth fawning over). His parents, played by Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney (Frazier), only add to the family pile-on, treating Carell as if he were just home from college, rather than as a grown-up. The irony, of course, is that Carell writes a very-well received advice column that is on the verge of being nationally syndicated.
The one oddity in the fine supporting cast is Wiest seems a bit young playing Carell’s mom (she’s 59; he’s 45), and Binoche a bit old playing playboy Cook’s new squeeze (she’s 43; he’s 35). And Carell’s girls, in real life, are 22, 17 & 9. Oh, well.
It’s funny, poignant, cute – embarrassing in places, of course – but worth a look.
8½ stars
This true life, coming-of-age/adventure (and critically acclaimed) movie is brought to the big screen by Sean Penn, which he adapted from the book written by adventurer Jon Krakauer (who also wrote Into Thin Air).
Emile Hirsh plays Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp), a recent Emory College graduate who decides that now that he has his degree, rather than go off to law school (which he teases his parents with), it’s time to go “find himself.” And find himself he does – while losing his past. He gives away the money left in his generous college fund and heads west. Along the way, he meets up with a variety of interesting people who help mold his wanderlust: aging hippie Catherine Keener (Harper Lee in Capote) and old fart Hal Holbrook being two of the best. While there are many instances that show Supertramp is not up to the challenge (and his immaturity almost gets the best of him), he finds his way to the wilds of Alaska, where he inextricably finds an abandoned transit bus in which to live.
The film jumps back and forth between his odyssey to Alaska and his survivalist efforts in the backcountry, with flashbacks to his younger life where we learn about his poor relationship with his parents. It’s well scripted.
It’s not a perfect film (even though exactly half of the imbd.com viewers award it a 10!) – and clearly lame in places – but it’s worth seeing, especially on the big screen to take advantage of the glorious western scenery. You wonder if Supertramp, who’s portrayed as a highly intelligent moralist, really made such reckless mistakes. Would the character portrayed on the screen totally abandon his entire family? Then, again, we were all 22 once, weren’t we?
8½ stars
When you add very good acting and fine cinematography to a 1988 showdown between New York’s finest and the Russian drug mafia, but add a cheesy plot, you get goop. Sloppy, gooey goop. How disappointing.
Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix are brothers opposite in the extreme; the former’s following in their dad Robert Duvall's footsteps, a decorated and dedicated cop, and the latter excels at his job running a popular Brighton Beach night spot that’s frequented by the Russian mafia and other lowlifes. The cops decide to come down on the drug lords, and Phoenix is caught in the middle and soon must choose between his professional goals - owning his own downtown New York nightclub - and loyalty to his family.
As the action gets tense, the plot line turns cheesy, sappy and quite unrealistic. You can’t wait for it to end.
Don’t waste your money. (Note: $7.25 now for a matinee?? Geez!)
4 stars
George Clooney plays a law firm “fixer” in this morality play thriller. While dealing with his own personal problems, he’s on call to fix problems for clients for his high-powered New York law firm. Or, in this excellent film, more precisely trying to cover for a fellow attorney (Tom Wilkinson) who’s off his meds and is screwing up a multi-billion dollar toxics poisoning case for their corporate client.
At times a bit confusing, Clooney bounces from personal issues to family concerns to fix-it cases - but the Wilkinson issue looms largest. Why did he crack? Who’s listening in on his conversations? And what motivates Clooney to keep pushing the moral envelope?
Excellent supporting cast – e.g., Sydney Pollack as head of the law firm, Tilda Swinton as the company’s in-house attorney – complement Clooney & Wilkinson and a huge cast of lawyers.
You gotta pay attention, but this is worth a visit to the big screen. Clooney is as gorgeous as ever – and has tremendous camera appeal and believability.
8½ stars
This British comedy/farce may be the best comedy we’ve ever seen. An outstanding cast (including a favorite of mine, little man Peter Dinklage) plays this comedy from the sublime to the outrageous.
You often see the humor coming, but it doesn’t matter. From sibling rivalry to a crotchety uncle to a drug mix-up to blackmail and an unusual gay relationship – all at what was supposed to be a prim and proper British family funeral.
You might have to find this at an indie theatre near you, but go see it!
10 stars
The third time’s the charm. After the first two Bournes received 7.5 and 4.0 ratings, this one grabbed the brass ring. Matt Damon is fun to watch play the super-agent Jason Bourne. A terrific spy thriller.
Julia Stiles is hot – but not so hot as a co-conspirator (but she gets to do the always-fun “own haircut with scissors” that probably cost the set a couple hundred dollars); David Straithairn is wonderfully evil as the CIA deputy director; Albert Finney is outstanding playing the evil genius; and Joan Allen does well as Bourne’s inside contact.
Some complained of the jerky camera technique; granted, it could be distracting, but not enough to affect the film. Catch it at the theatre – or put it at the top of your Netflix queue.
9 stars
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END:
I think if I had watched this at home, it might have taken me three or four sittings to finish this very repetitive marathon. Here’s one where you wish Johnny Depp had done just one, with no sequels. That would have left us begging for more, and we would have remembered a fun romp. But this one is tedious, simply tedious.
5 stars
Bruce Willis continues his “Die Hard” role as police detective John McClane, and he is in his element. This is a thrill-a-second battle of good vs. evil as McClane battles a diabolical nerd who’s out to wreak havoc on America’s utility infrastructure.
It’s a bit scary to think something like this could happen, but hopefully there are Bruce Willises out there to protect us all. Certainly the action gets silly at times (e.g., McClane finds his way around the East Coast a la Keifer Sutherland in 24, without regard to the massive traffic jams that should be everywhere), especially in the scenes with the airplane. And all of us would be in the hospital after Bruce’s first fall, but what the hey.
A total escapist film, and Willis keeps it fun.
7½ stars
Far superior to #12, it’s still a cacophony of lights, sounds and hard-to-believe techno-wizardry that seems somewhat suspect. But, hey, it’s meant to entertain – while offering choice eye candy to the ladies – and it does not disappoint.
The George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Elliot Gould, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mack, Carl Reiner, et. al. cabal are up against the sneaky, underhanded, smart and powerful (and talented!) Al Pacino, and, even though you know who’s going to win, it’s fun watching the fireworks. And how does the formerly evil Andy Garcia fit into the mix?
Julia Roberts is a no show for #13, but Ellen Barkin plays a ditzy blonde aide to Pacino – and the directors could have done better. The Barkin-Damon “thing” was a low point. But Clooney & Pacino are terrific as the mano-a-mano comedy unfolds, and Reiner & Gould lead a fun support group.
On par with Ocean’s Eleven (can you believe it came out in 2001?). Worth a visit to the theatre to escape the heat.
8 stars
Don't expect comedic brilliance, but this movie keeps you laughing -- in spite of sophomoric moments, bad jokes, clichéd characters and a surprise touch of homophobia. John Travolta, William H. Macy, Tim Allen & Martin Lawrence are the Wild Hogs, a made-up gang of four middle-aged biker wannabes who each have something going wrong in their lives (besides boredom). They decide to hit the road for a week-long trip to the Pacific Ocean, and, as one come-on puts it, "the road hits back." In spades.
Their adventures take them in a circuitous route from Cincinnati to New Mexico (I could have sworn they hit Colorado before Missouri) where they come across a real gang of biker badboys, the Del Fuegos, whose leader, wonderfully played by Ray Liotta (Shoeless Joe in Field of Dreams), just doesn't like weekend, middle class bikers like the Hogs. So he tries to make their lives miserable -- and succeeds. The Hogs find themselves having to defend a town tired of the biker badboys -- where they meet the ever-lovely Marisa Tomei -- and comedic chaos ensues. There's even a great cameo near the end that is very fitting. Also, make sure to stick around during the very funny credits.
We didn't see many of the trailers (which is good), so we were surprised by how much we laughed -- in spite of its shortcomings. Again, don't expect a classic, but expect to laugh. And laugh hard.
(imdb.com note: 31% gave it a 10, but 15% gave it a 1! Women liked it far more than men.)
7½ stars
Set in China in the mid-1920s, this beautifully filmed and magnificently acted movie is a must see.
Edward Norton (one of our favorites) plays Dr. Walter Fane, a microbiologist working in Shanghai who volunteers to go into the cholera-ravaged interior of the country to take control of an over-burdened hospital. He is reluctantly joined by his cheating wife, Naomi Watts, whose affair with a local diplomat (Liev Schreiber) is discovered by Dr. Fane -- who gives her an ultimatum. Life in rural China is difficult enough, but with the couple barely speaking to each other, something has to give.
This is an incredibly believable movie that draws you into the characters in ways you don't expect. The boring and dour yet brilliant Dr. Fane does have a personality it turns out, and he's capable of emotions that his beautiful, fun-loving and upper-class wife discovers - but is it too late?
Outstanding cinematography, a beautiful score, fine supporting actors (e.g., Diana Rigg as Mother Superior!). Produced by Norton & Watts, this film should be well-represented come award time.
9½ stars
My Best of 2007:
Death at a Funeral
The Painted Veil
*Juno
*There Will be Blood
Charlie Wilson's War
**No Country for Old Men [Academy winner]
The Bucket List
The Bourne Ultimatum
*Michael Clayton
Into the Wild
*Atonement
Dan In Real Life
Ocean's Thirteen
(*Academy Award nominees for Best Picture)
My Best of non-2007 films:
Dirty, Pretty Things (2002) - 8½
