Posts Tagged ‘2009’
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Review:
Jim Carrey starts out life as a good family man, but then he decides to openly declare his homosexuality and live the life he wanted. This is a good idea, but it turns out that being gay is very expensive (at least if you lead Jim Carrey’s lifestyle). So he becomes a con man, constantly increasing the games to make more money. When he is finally caught and sent to prison, he meets fellow inmate Phillip Morris, more commonly known as Ewan McGregor, and, you can have guessed it, falls hopelessly in love with him. The film, based on a true story (in Texas, of all places!), is a good mix of comedy and drama, but often slips on that fine line. Jim Carrey is a far cry from his best dramatic work and the depressing ending casts a pallor over the light entertainment the film often is. But hey, it’s still extremely funny and certainly pushing the boundaries for main-stream Hollywood cinema, which is always a good thing.
Random Observations:
I Love You Phillip Morris at the IMDb
This unscheduled post was brought to you by the fact that this film is currently in theatres in many countries and it would be a real shame to deprive people from reading my expert opinion on it before they see it, so I wasn’t going to push it to September 17th…
Speaking of pushing the boundaries for main-stream Hollywood cinema: the US release was postponed several times and it now looks like the film will at best get a limited release. It would be certainly interesting, what the regular Jim Carrey fans would think of this film - and one scene in particular. If you’ve seen the film, you know which one I’m talking about.
Ewan McGregor in blond and with a disappearing Texas accent is very odd. Good, but a far cry from his best work, which is truly great.
Best bit: when the hardened prison inmates pass along love notes between the two men.
In real life, con men are horrible. In films, they are amazing fun!
Tags: 2009, American Film, Antoni Corone, based on true story, book adaptation, Brennan Brown, Comedy, Drama, english, Ewan McGregor, Glenn Ficarra, I Love You Phillip Morris, Jim Carrey, John Requa, Leslie Mann, Michael Mandell, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, Rodrigo Santoro, Steve McVicker
Posted in Minute Movie Reviews, Movie Reviews, Movies | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Review:
Mr. Fox has gone straight since the birth of his son, but he still wants nothing more than one last big heist, taking on the hen houses and cider cellars of his three human neighbours. They, in turn, decide to retaliate, and so the war is on. Based on Roald Dahl’s beloved book, this stop-motion animation by director Wes Anderson is a fun extension of the story, a funny film that is fun to watch. Anderson’s signature style, a combination of a bright palette, a lot of whimsy and something to far removed from words, lends itself perfectly to the animated format. The film doesn’t have the depth that his best works - Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums - have, but it’s simple good family entertainment.
Random Observations:
Fantastic Mr. Fox at the IMDb
Saying “cuss” instead of “fuck” or “shit” might have done wonders for the rating, but is damn annoying. (This post has been rated “R” by the MPAA.)
Some great talent is voicing the characters, including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman.
Who does Eric Anderson, who voices Kristofferson, sound like? He reminded me of another actor, but for the life of me I can’t figure out who.
The film has only 12 frames per second (compared to the usual) 24 to ensure that everybody recognizes the stop motion technique.
Tags: 2009, Adrien Brody, adventure movie, American Film, animation, Bill Murray, book adaptation, Brian Cox, British Film, Comedy, english, Eric Anderson, family film, Fantastic Mr. Fox, George Clooney, Helen McCrory, Hugo Guinness, Jarvis Cocker, Jason Schwartzman, Juman Malouf, Karen Duffy, Mario Batali, Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, Noah Baumbach, Owen Wilson, Roald Dahl, Robin Hurlstone, Roman Coppola, Rushmore, stop motion animation, The Royal Tenenbaums, Wallace Wolodarsky, Wes Anderson, Willem Dafoe
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Review:
Ajami, at the southern end of Jaffa/Tel Aviv in Israel, is a district made up of poor Arabian families, both Christian and Muslim. The film follows several characters as they make their way there, in a world where crime often seems like the only option and everything can change at any minute. Central is the story of a family whose eldest son fears to be killed for what his uncle did after his neighbour is mistakenly assassinated. The story spreads from there and is sadly told in such a confusing fashion that the ultimately satisfying pay-off, when the different threads come together, is too late to save the film. Nevertheless, it is a ruthlessly realistic look at a world that is governed by principles, both religious and political, that are hard to comprehend to an outsider and have lost all reason for those living in it.
Random Observations:
Ajami at the IMDb
The film was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film, but lost to the Argentinian entry El secreto de sus ojos. This was the third year in a row that an Israeli film was one of the five nominees.
Directed by two young directors, one a Jewish Israeli, the other an Arabic Christian. The film is largely in Arabic, although some passages also deal with Jews and thus are in Hebrew.
Tags: 2009, Abu George Shibli, Ajami, crime movie, Drama, El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Elias Saba, english, Eran Naim, Fouad Habash, Hilal Kabob, Ibrahim Frege, Israeli Film, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, Nisrine Rihan, Oscar, Ranin Karim, Scandar Copti, Shahir Kabaha, Yaron Shani, Youssef Sahwani
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Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Award Season is Crazy Season. If you follow these things at all, you have been bombarded by information about the superiority of one film above another for months now. If you blissfully ignore all that stuff, you might even not have heard that a producer on The Hurt Locker is in trouble for trying to convince Academy voters to vote for his film instead of Avatar. His crime: sending an e-mail to his friends. Yes, things are crazy. So it is a good thing that with the Oscar telecast on Sunday, Award Season will be over. Until May or so, when the first discussions for next year’s favourites and winners will begin once more.
But before the Oscars, the most important of all the meaningless awards, are handed out on Sunday, it is time for my annual Oscar predictions. Last year, I picked 19 of the 24 winners. This year, let’s try to improve on that. But unlike last year, this year I actually feel like I am entitled to my own opinion, having seen 20 of the 58 animated films, 18 of the 38 feature films, and actually having seen all nominated films in three categories. So not only will I now predict the Oscar winners as promised, I will also tell you who should win. (Yes, my opinion constitutes objective truth in these matters.) The following list is ordered rather randomly and incomplete, an alphabetical and complete breakdown of all categories and predictions follows at the end.
(more…)
Tags: 2009, 2010, A Matter of Loaf and Death, A Serious Man, A Single Man, Aardman Animations, Ajami, Alessandro Camon, An Education, Anastasia Masaro, Anna Kendrick, Armando Iannucci, Avatar, award season, Bob Peterson, Carey Mulligan, Caroline Smith, Christoph Waltz, Christopher Plummer, Coen Brothers, Colin Firth, Coraline, Crazy Heart, Das Weisse Band, Dave Warren, Disney, District 9, El Secreto de Sus Ojos, english, Ethan Coen, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Faubourg 36, Gabourey Sidibe, Geoffrey Fletcher, George Clooney, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Helen Mirren, Henry Selick, In the Loop, Inglourious Basterds, Instead of Abracadabra, Invictus, James Cameron, Jason Reitman, Jeff Bridges, Jeremy Renner, Jesse Armstrong, Joel Coen, Kathry Bigelow, La teta asustade, Lee Daniels, Logorama, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marion Cotillard, Mark Boal, Matt Damon, Mauro Fiore, Meryl Streep, Mo'Nique, Morgan Freeman, Movies, Neill Blomkamp, Nick Hornby, Nine, Oren Moverman, Oscar, Paris 36, Penélope Cruz, Pete Doctor, Pixar, Precious, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, Quentin Tarantino, Randy Newman, Sandra Bullock, Sheldon Turner, Sherlock Holmes, Simon Blackwell, Stanley Tucci, Star Trek, T-Bone Burnett, Terri Tatchell, The Blind Side, The Door, The Hurt Locker, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Messenger, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells, The White Ribbon, Tom McCarthy, Tony Roche, Un Prophète, Up, Up in the Air, Vera Farmiga, Wallace & Gromit, Wes Anderson, Woody Harrelson
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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Review:
An alcoholic former Country star, now reduced to living in squalor and playing in bowling alleys, reconsiders his life when he meets a young journalist and falls for her. The story of the film is fairly trite and unoriginal, and the direction by débutante Scott Cooper is lacking in many ways, but the film is nevertheless made bearable by decent actors who take their caricatured characters to a better place than they belong, and some truly great Country music.
Random Observations:
Crazy Heart at the IMDb
The film is nominated for three Oscars. Best Actor for Jeff Bridges (okay, par for the course for him), Best Supporting Actress for Maggie Gyllenhaal (not okay, she is far below her usual standards here) and Best Original Song, The Weary Kind, which is all kinds of awesome.
This concludes my pre-Oscar Oscar-nominated film-watching. I have now seen 20 of 58 nominated films or 18 of 38 if you don’t count the shorts and documentaries, which nobody does any way. Tomorrow: my big Oscar piece with winner predictions, including the ever popular “Who should win” aspect, and Sunday the Awards show.
I actually really like Colin Farrell’s performance as the young pretty-boy country music superstar.
In sharp contrast to the cast of Nine, the actors in this film can actually sing.
Tags: 2009, American Film, Beth Grant, book adaptation, Colin Farrell, Crazy Heart, Drama, english, Jack Nation, Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, music film, Nine, Paul Herman, Rick Dial, Robert Duvall, romance, Ryan Bingham, Scott Cooper, T-Bone Burnett, Thomas Cobb, Tom Bower
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Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Review:
In 1960s Italy, a master director tries to recover from two flops, but while everyone is set for his new film, he hasn’t yet written a single word for the script. He examines his decay while being influenced by the seven women who have shaped his life. The best that can be said about the film, based on the Broadway musical, which in turn is based on an Italian musical, which in turn is based on Federico Fellini’s Film 8½, is that it is not as terrible as most reviews make it out to be. It’s a decent enough musical that suffers from an absence of plot and an array of characters that remain bland, which is especially surprising when one considers the acting talent involved.
Random Observations:
Nine at the IMDb
Nominated for three Oscars, for Costumes, Art Direction and Penelope Cruz as Best Supporting Actress, which is surprising, considering that the only actress with even a half-way decent performance is Marion Cotillard.
I really, really hate it when people playing foreigners in a film fake their accents. It’s one thing for the Italian to have Italian accents when they speak English, but since all of the dialogue in the film is really in Italian and just translated to English so the viewers can understand it, there is no reason for the fake accents. But that’s not even the worst here. Most accents disappear and reappear throughout the film, most notably Daniel Day-Lewis’, where it is so distracting that his performance apart from this is barely noticeable.
Also annoying: inserting random Italian words into the English dialogue to “add flavour”. Grazie and Prego do not make the film more Italian than Thank You or Please.
Fittingly, the musical number with the title “Nine” that could have actually shed some light on why the film is called that, was cut from the movie version.
Tags: 2009, 8½, American Film, Anthony Minghella, Arthur Kopit, based on previously published material, based on stage musical, Daniel Day-Lewis, Drama, english, Federico Fellini, Fergie, Giuseppe Spitaleri, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, Maury Yeston, Michael Tolkin, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, musical, Nicole Kidman, Nine, Oscar, Penélope Cruz, Ricky Tognazzi, Rob Marshall, Sophia Loren, Stacy Ferguson
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Review:
A bad story poorly told - and yet not a completely worthless film. Based on the novel by Alice Sebold (which people assure me has a much better story than the film), the film unsuccessfully tries to tell both the story of the murdered girl Suzie Salmon in between heaven and earth and how her family tries to cope with her death. Now, the art direction and the cinematography of the film are great and the actors really try, but the film never finds its footing and has no emotional resonance whatsoever. It’s (rightfully) in love with the perfect visuals, but since those add nothing to the story, they are pointless and ultimately just a distraction. There might have been a good film in there somewhere, but it’s almost impossible to find.
Random Observations:
The Lovely Bones at the IMDb
Stanley Tucci is nominated for an Oscar for his performance as the creepy murderer.
Saoirse Ronan plays the lead role, but never reaches the greatness of her Atonement performance. Mostly, she is simply not given enough to work with.
The plot is riddled with holes and the intent of the story - to show how a family deals with the loss of a child - is completely lost.
The film features extensive voice-over narration that rivals Harrison Ford’s original Blade Runner narration for worst ever. Only not because of the delivery, but because of the content.
If I understand it correctly, most of the scenes with Rachel Weisz as the mother were cut from the finished film, which certainly would explain the disjointed nature of her storyline.
The comedic intermission with grandmother Susan Sarandon doing housework was the most horribly awkward and painfully misplaced scene I have seen in a long time.
Tags: 2009, Alice Sebold, Amanda Michalka, American Film, Atonement, Blade Runner, book adaptation, Carolyn Dando, Drama, english, fantasy movie, Fran Walsh, Harrison Ford, Jake Abel, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Imperioli, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, New Zealand Film, Nikki SooHoo, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Rachel Weisz, Reece Ritchie, Rose McIver, Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, The Lovely Bones, Thriller
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Review:
In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Nelson Mandela is elected president. He struggles with the reconciliation between black and white people that he knows is necessary for his country to have a future, so he decides to task the national rugby team - a sport just for the white people - to win the world cup and bring the nation together. The story, based on true events, is predictable enough, but it is well staged and powerful enough to be moving on its own. The political messages mixed in with the average sports underdog drama make the film a bit unusual, which works to its advantage. It’s not a great film by a long shot, but it’s good enough.
Random Observations:
Invictus at the IMDb
Morgan Freeman in the lead role is very good and very convincing. He certainly deserves the Oscar nomination he got.
Matt Damon as the captain of the rugby team, on the other hand, is rather bland. My guess is he got nominated for the Dutch accent he sports.
The nicest staged interactions between the (formerly) warring factions are those between the black and white bodyguards of the President.
I don’t know much about rugby, but it’s certainly a more interesting (and intense) sport than its American cousin, which they call football despite having the ball in their hands all the time.
I’m always fascinated by the power of mass sports events to bring people together and bridge their differences. Smart move by Mandela to use that for his political goals.
Tags: 2009, Adjoa Andoh, American Film, Anthony Peckham, Bonnie Henna, book adaptation, Clint Eastwood, Dan Robbertse, Danny Keogh, David Dukas, Drama, english, history movie, Invictus, John Carlin, Julian Lewis Jones, Leleti Khumalo, Louis Minnaar, Marguerite Wheatley, Matt Damon, Matt Stern, minute movie review, Morgan Freeman, movie review, Movies, Oscar, Patrick Lyster, Patrick Mofokeng, Penny Downie, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation, Robin Smith, Shakes Myeko, Sibongile Nojila, South African Film, sports movie, Tony Kgoroge, true story
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Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Review:
After the success of Paris, je t’aime, it was only a matter of time before another film consisting of several love stories all set in one city would be made. Now that film has arrived, set in the wondrous city of New York. But while the first film assembled a host of talented filmmakers, this second instalment of what is to become a franchise suffers from a slew of inexperienced, overtaxed or, quite simply, bad directors. Add to that stories that are largely unoriginal and the few good parts of the film are all but forgotten. But worst of all is the overall inconsistency. Where Paris, je t’aime was ordered, this film is utter chaos, with the episodes blending into one another, making it hard to follow them when you never get closure on any storyline. The film might have been a nice idea, but the execution ruined it.
Random Observations:
New York, I Love You at the IMDb
Two more segments have been filmed and were included in the first showings at film festivals, but were cut for the theatrical release.
Very few of the stories actually deal with love. Many more just deal with sex.
There were a few fun segments, namely the first (by Jiang Wen) and the last (by Joshua Marston), but for the most part the film didn’t even manage to entertain.
The best segment might have been Fatih Akin’s, although it ultimately had very little pay-off.
The best actor in the film was Ethan Hawke, trying to pick up a woman while standing outside smoking.
Having Bradley Cooper repeatedly get in the cabs of people from different segments was a nice touch, but ultimately meaningless because it was not employed throughout and the joke never had a punchline.
Tags: 2009, Alexandra Cassavetes, Allen Hughes, American Film, Andy Garcia, Anthony Minghella, Anton Yelchin, Blake Lively, Bradley Cooper, Brett Ratner, Burt Young, Chris Cooper, Christina Ricci, Cloris Leachman, Drama, Drea de Matteo, Eli Wallach, Emilie Ohana, Emmanuel Benbihy, english, Ethan Hawke, Eva Amurri, Fatih Akin, franchise film, Hall Powell, Hayden Christensen, Hu Hong, Irrfan Khan, Israel Horovitz, Jacinda Barrett, James C. Strouse, James Caan, je t'aime, Jeff Nathanson, John Hurt, Joshua Marston, Julie Christie, Justin Bartha, Maggie Q, minute movie review, Mira Nair, movie review, Movies, Natalie Portman, New York I Love You, Olivia Thirlby, Olivier Lécot, Orlando Bloom, Paris, Qi Shu, Rachel Bilson, Randall Balsmeyer, Robin Wright Penn, romance, Shekhar Kapur, Shia LaBeouf, short film, Shunji Iwai, Stephen Winter, Suketu Mehta, Taylor Geare, Tristan Carné, Ugur Yücel, Wen Jiang, Yao Meng, Yvan Attal
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Review:
Famous Russian novelist Tolstoy has grown old and his followers, having formed a sort of cult around his teachings, quarrel with his wife, a countess, over his will. Caught in the middle of this is his young new secretary, who adores Tolstoy, but also understand how his wife feels. Around this premise the film develops, but it focuses much more on the characters and their relationships than on the plot. Central to this is the relationship between Tolstoy and his wife, which delves between love and despair. The film is expertly made, yet still often feels somewhat clumsy. The secretary as the anchoring point for the story often seems to be pushed to the side, instead focusing on yet another hysterical outburst from the countess or the sinisterly communist plans of the novelists followers.
Random Observations:
The Last Station at the IMDb
The biggest disappointment of the film is Paul Giamatti. Helen Mirren is good, as usual. Christopher Plummer is decent enough. James McAvoy is simply superb, also as usual. But Paul Giamatti, in what may be his most retrained role, is boring and mostly miscast.
Both Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer are Oscar nominated, but the best actor (and only truly likeable character in the film) is McAvoy, who would have deserved the nomination.
Tags: 2009, Anne-Marie Duff, biography, book adaptation, Christopher Plummer, David Masterson, Drama, english, German Film, Helen Mirren, history movie, James McAvoy, Jay Parini, John Sessions, Kerry Condon, Michael Hoffman, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, Nenad Lucic, Oscar, Patrick Kennedy, Paul Giamatti, Russian Film, The Last Station, Tomas Spencer
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