The Year in Movies: Complete With Amnesia

The year is standing on its last legs, and for the life of me I can't remember half of the movies I saw this year. The entire first half of the year is completely gone to me; the earliest film I recall seeing in a theater is PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST which can't be right, 'cause didn't that come out in the summer? I forgot six months? Damn!

One of the problems was that many of my most-anticipated films simply haven't come out in wide-release yet. So no decisions or thoughts on PAN'S LABYRINTH, PERFUME: STORY OF A MURDERER, THE HOST, TIDELAND, CHILDREN OF MEN, or CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER.

Add to that the films that, for whatever reason, I just did not get a chance to see, including THE DEPARTED, FEARLESS, VOLVER, BABEL, BORAT, THE PROPOSITION, INSIDE MAN, HARD CANDY, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, or TENACIOUS D AND THE PICK OF DESTINY. I'm trying as fast as I can to catch up with those that have come out on DVD, but with 12.5 hours left in the year (as of this moment), I don't see much progress being made.

So, instead of a Top 10 list or anything, I'll present a few films that really caught my eye this year (not including films I already reviewed on this blog), and maybe post a few links to other people who watched way more movies than I did this year.

In no particular order:

CASINO ROYALE - Damn! What a way to re-invent the Bond franchise! I make no bones about it, this was simply the best Bond movie in 20, 25 years. It takes a while to become that, but when you watch the final moments of the film, you'll see what I mean. A lot of early pot shots were taken when it was announced that blond Daniel Craig was taking over the helm as opposed to early front-runner Clive Owen, and that the franchise was being updated to coincide more with a 21st century style of action film. Who would've thought that meant "place character development over action, and ground the film in a gritty reality while still providing eye-candy galore?" Great action, sexy women and laugh out-loud moments play against deep emotion and tension to provide a great movie.

BRICK - Someone forgot to tell writer/director Rian Johnson that movies about high-school kids solving a murder are suppose to either suck or run weekly on television. BRICK is film noir for the new century: rapid-fire dialogue that doesn't apologize for its rhythms, characters that rise out of shadow and smoke to play archetypes rather than roles, and a protagonist that embodies all the markings of some of the genre's best: Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, and Lawrence Tierney. Joesph Gordon-Levitt shines in yet another role, and finds in BRICK a small movie that should have a large impact on the way films featuring kids are made in the future. This was definitely one of my favorite films of the year.

CLERKS 2 - Did you forget that Kevin Smith, besides making jokes about pop culture and blow jobs, can actually write with heart and compassion? Because if you did, chances are you missed CLERKS 2, which brings Smith back to the his most popular film and provides a chance to show the warmth and heart he brought to both that first film and CHASING AMY. CLERKS 2 doesn't shine because of the humor, or the outrageous comedy, or the always scene-stealing antics of Jay and Silent Bob. It shines because of the small, tender moments that play in between the laughs, the woes and worries of people coming into their 30's and realizing they have no idea where they are or what they're doing, and for having a scene between two friends that plays more real, more heartfelt, and more genuine than anything I've seen in a buddy movie in years. Like CLERKS, this came out at the perfect time for me, right in my early 30's and wondering where I am and what I'm doing. A great Book-end to Smith's Askewinverse.

LADY VENGEANCE - Speaking of book-ends, wow! Off the heels of two powerhouses like SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and OLDBOY, LADY VENGEANCE provides the first hint of relief and closure to Chan-Wook Park's Revenge trilogy of films. Whereas the first film deals with the question of who is more deserving of revenge, and the second one tackles the moral question of casting stones (is our revenge justified in light of our past actions), the third film looks at the results of vengeance. Visually stunning and full of the tricks and moments that make watching any Chan-Wook Park film worthwhile, LADY VENGEANCE serves as a fitting end to an amazing chapter of a director's life.

JUST MY LUCK - I know you're looking at and wondering if I've lost it completely. Don't worry. This is included for a very justifiable reason: this, to my memory, was the WORST film I saw all year. I admit to watching it on an airplane during a trip where the satellite television went on the blink and I finished my book. It would be hard to think of a worse performance this year (did Paris Hilton appear in any movies this year?) - those people who praise Lindsey Lohan for her small role in A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION are wrong. She was merely adequate, and her role could have been played by dozens of more deserving actresses. Please do yourself a favor and bypass this film even if it causes you physical pain to do so. You'll thank me later.

And that's it! There are some more movies I didn't get a chance to write about that were also worth mentioning (and not in a JUST MY LUCK kinda way) - be sure to check out RUINNING SCARED, THE DESCENT, THE PROPOSITION, and, of course, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. Just not for the Lindsey Lohan performance.

Be seeing you!

The Year in Movies: Complete With Amnesia

The year is standing on its last legs, and for the life of me I can't remember half of the movies I saw this year. The entire first half of the year is completely gone to me; the earliest film I recall seeing in a theater is PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST which can't be right, 'cause didn't that come out in the summer? I forgot six months? Damn!

One of the problems was that many of my most-anticipated films simply haven't come out in wide-release yet. So no decisions or thoughts on PAN'S LABYRINTH, PERFUME: STORY OF A MURDERER, THE HOST, TIDELAND, CHILDREN OF MEN, or CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER.

Add to that the films that, for whatever reason, I just did not get a chance to see, including THE DEPARTED, FEARLESS, VOLVER, BABEL, BORAT, THE PROPOSITION, INSIDE MAN, HARD CANDY, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, or TENACIOUS D AND THE PICK OF DESTINY. I'm trying as fast as I can to catch up with those that have come out on DVD, but with 12.5 hours left in the year (as of this moment), I don't see much progress being made.

So, instead of a Top 10 list or anything, I'll present a few films that really caught my eye this year (not including films I already reviewed on this blog), and maybe post a few links to other people who watched way more movies than I did this year.

In no particular order:

CASINO ROYALE - Damn! What a way to re-invent the Bond franchise! I make no bones about it, this was simply the best Bond movie in 20, 25 years. It takes a while to become that, but when you watch the final moments of the film, you'll see what I mean. A lot of early pot shots were taken when it was announced that blond Daniel Craig was taking over the helm as opposed to early front-runner Clive Owen, and that the franchise was being updated to coincide more with a 21st century style of action film. Who would've thought that meant "place character development over action, and ground the film in a gritty reality while still providing eye-candy galore?" Great action, sexy women and laugh out-loud moments play against deep emotion and tension to provide a great movie.

BRICK - Someone forgot to tell writer/director Rian Johnson that movies about high-school kids solving a murder are suppose to either suck or run weekly on television. BRICK is film noir for the new century: rapid-fire dialogue that doesn't apologize for its rhythms, characters that rise out of shadow and smoke to play archetypes rather than roles, and a protagonist that embodies all the markings of some of the genre's best: Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, and Lawrence Tierney. Joesph Gordon-Levitt shines in yet another role, and finds in BRICK a small movie that should have a large impact on the way films featuring kids are made in the future. This was definitely one of my favorite films of the year.

CLERKS 2 - Did you forget that Kevin Smith, besides making jokes about pop culture and blow jobs, can actually write with heart and compassion? Because if you did, chances are you missed CLERKS 2, which brings Smith back to the his most popular film and provides a chance to show the warmth and heart he brought to both that first film and CHASING AMY. CLERKS 2 doesn't shine because of the humor, or the outrageous comedy, or the always scene-stealing antics of Jay and Silent Bob. It shines because of the small, tender moments that play in between the laughs, the woes and worries of people coming into their 30's and realizing they have no idea where they are or what they're doing, and for having a scene between two friends that plays more real, more heartfelt, and more genuine than anything I've seen in a buddy movie in years. Like CLERKS, this came out at the perfect time for me, right in my early 30's and wondering where I am and what I'm doing. A great Book-end to Smith's Askewinverse.

LADY VENGEANCE - Speaking of book-ends, wow! Off the heels of two powerhouses like SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and OLDBOY, LADY VENGEANCE provides the first hint of relief and closure to Chan-Wook Park's Revenge trilogy of films. Whereas the first film deals with the question of who is more deserving of revenge, and the second one tackles the moral question of casting stones (is our revenge justified in light of our past actions), the third film looks at the results of vengeance. Visually stunning and full of the tricks and moments that make watching any Chan-Wook Park film worthwhile, LADY VENGEANCE serves as a fitting end to an amazing chapter of a director's life.

JUST MY LUCK - I know you're looking at and wondering if I've lost it completely. Don't worry. This is included for a very justifiable reason: this, to my memory, was the WORST film I saw all year. I admit to watching it on an airplane during a trip where the satellite television went on the blink and I finished my book. It would be hard to think of a worse performance this year (did Paris Hilton appear in any movies this year?) - those people who praise Lindsey Lohan for her small role in A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION are wrong. She was merely adequate, and her role could have been played by dozens of more deserving actresses. Please do yourself a favor and bypass this film even if it causes you physical pain to do so. You'll thank me later.

And that's it! There are some more movies I didn't get a chance to write about that were also worth mentioning (and not in a JUST MY LUCK kinda way) - be sure to check out RUINNING SCARED, THE DESCENT, THE PROPOSITION, and, of course, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. Just not for the Lindsey Lohan performance.

Be seeing you!

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

The set-up is unique, but the questions posed in STRANGER THAN FICTION are those many have had to face: "What do you do when you know you're going to die? "

If that was the only question driving the actions of Harold Crik, a shy, sweet, lonely tax auditor for the IRS who suddenly begins to hear his life narrated, the movie might have been amusing, perhaps even decent. Instead, it transcends the confines of a simple comedy by analyzing the mechanics of Harold's own life to further ask: "Is the life you've been leading worth continuing, knowing the reasons behind your death?"

I won't go too much into describing the plot: for reasons known later Harold Crik's (played by Will Ferrel) ordinary clockwork life is turned upside-down when his watch begins to act funny. At the same time, he begins to hear a disembodied voice narrating his life as if he were the main character in a book. The voice is more an annoyance than anything else until one morning the voice says, "Little did he know that events had been set in motion that would lead to his imminent death."

Across town, Emma Thompson plays Karen Eiffel, a reclusive novelist attempting to overcome Writer's Block and finish her first novel in ten years, Death and Taxes, about a lonely IRS agent named Harold Crik. The problem? All of her main characters die at the end of her books, and she has just figured out a way to kill Harold Crik.

As Harold begins to overcome his timid life to embrace the things he's neglected, Will Ferrel turns in an exceptional performance, relying on the humanity of his character and the pathos of his situation to filter through the more comedic elements of the film. He's done drama before (notably WINTER PASSING), but here he makes the kind of turn Jim Carey did in THE TRUMAN SHOW and, to a lesser extent, Tom Hanks did in NOTHING IN COMMON.

Thompson and Dustin Hoffman also do well with their supporting roles. Hoffman in particular plays the quirky comedy well - as he gets older his features and mannerisms lend themselves more to comedy than drama. I didn't think it was possible that Maggie Gyllenhaal could be even more adorable, but here she proves me wrong as the love interest for Ferrel, which should not work on paper, but works wonderfully in the film.

Marc Foster, who has now defied genre labels with his last three films (MONSTER'S BALL, FINDING NEVERLAND and STAY) manages a fine balancing act, never letting the comedy fall too broadly, and letting every moment serve the story as a whole. His visual representation of Harold's thought processes throughout the film are a highlight of one of the best mainstream movies this year.

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

The set-up is unique, but the questions posed in STRANGER THAN FICTION are those many have had to face: "What do you do when you know you're going to die? "

If that was the only question driving the actions of Harold Crik, a shy, sweet, lonely tax auditor for the IRS who suddenly begins to hear his life narrated, the movie might have been amusing, perhaps even decent. Instead, it transcends the confines of a simple comedy by analyzing the mechanics of Harold's own life to further ask: "Is the life you've been leading worth continuing, knowing the reasons behind your death?"

I won't go too much into describing the plot: for reasons known later Harold Crik's (played by Will Ferrel) ordinary clockwork life is turned upside-down when his watch begins to act funny. At the same time, he begins to hear a disembodied voice narrating his life as if he were the main character in a book. The voice is more an annoyance than anything else until one morning the voice says, "Little did he know that events had been set in motion that would lead to his imminent death."

Across town, Emma Thompson plays Karen Eiffel, a reclusive novelist attempting to overcome Writer's Block and finish her first novel in ten years, Death and Taxes, about a lonely IRS agent named Harold Crik. The problem? All of her main characters die at the end of her books, and she has just figured out a way to kill Harold Crik.

As Harold begins to overcome his timid life to embrace the things he's neglected, Will Ferrel turns in an exceptional performance, relying on the humanity of his character and the pathos of his situation to filter through the more comedic elements of the film. He's done drama before (notably WINTER PASSING), but here he makes the kind of turn Jim Carey did in THE TRUMAN SHOW and, to a lesser extent, Tom Hanks did in NOTHING IN COMMON.

Thompson and Dustin Hoffman also do well with their supporting roles. Hoffman in particular plays the quirky comedy well - as he gets older his features and mannerisms lend themselves more to comedy than drama. I didn't think it was possible that Maggie Gyllenhaal could be even more adorable, but here she proves me wrong as the love interest for Ferrel, which should not work on paper, but works wonderfully in the film.

Marc Foster, who has now defied genre labels with his last three films (MONSTER'S BALL, FINDING NEVERLAND and STAY) manages a fine balancing act, never letting the comedy fall too broadly, and letting every moment serve the story as a whole. His visual representation of Harold's thought processes throughout the film are a highlight of one of the best mainstream movies this year.

The Fountain (2006)

There are two things that need saying up front before commencing with the review:

1. This is a hard film for me to recommend to a general audience.
2. This is one of the most beautiful, moving films I've seen this year.

Explanations may be in order.

Darren Aronofsky's new film THE FOUNTAIN explores the search to stave off death, to prolong life, and to reconcile with a world where loneliness is an inevitable aftermath of the connection of true love. It's also a film about time, how lifetimes can be encapsulated in a book, and how the time we have is never time enough. It's a poem of sound and image, a romance and a tragedy, and a shout to a world whose concepts of love and loss have been spoon-fed to them by prime-time soap operas on the CW and films starring Lindsey Lohan.

Aronofsky shows how much he's learned from his experience adapting Hubert Selby's REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and presents a story that unfurls through dream logic and multiple narratives that are at heart the same story: Tom (Hugh Jackman in his best role) and Izzi (Rachel Weisz - also brilliant) are in love and know that there isn't enough time: Izzi is dying of cancer and Tom, a brilliant scientist, is trying more and more exotic experiments in his lab to halt the growth of the tumor, to gain more time, more life, even as he neglects Izzi when she needs him most. He finds strange results from a rare plant found somewhere in South America, but will it save Izzi?

Izzi is also trying to complete her work with the little time she has left - a novel that takes place 500 years earlier about a young Spanish conquistador named Tomas (also played by Jackman) in search of a legendary Tree of Life that promises eternal life for his Queen, Isabel (also played by Weisz).

How these two tales intertwine with the third, in which a man (Jackman in his most vulnerable part) 1500 years in the future flies through space in a bubble containing the Tree of Life turn THE FOUNTAIN into something more than a loose narrative, something to be experienced rather than analyzed during its initial viewing. Where Tom is going, how he got there, and what he's searching for all lead to the same end, the same struggle that people who have ever known love seek to answer: how to hold on a little longer, and what can you do when your grasp begins to slip...

The road to bring THE FOUNTAIN to the screen has a long and storied history itself - the roles were originally to be played by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette. How that fell apart, how the movie stalled for years only to ultimately be re-written for a budget half the size and with new leads Jackman and Weisz all seemed to have focused Aronofsky to make the best film of career - one that does not hold easy answers or allows itself to be pigeon-holed into a specific genre.

And that's why even though I loved it, I find it hard to openly recommend. I wish I could get more people to see it, but the truth of the matter is this so different than what you would typically find in mainstream movie theaters that the spoon-fed crowd is going to hate this. And that's too bad, because I think it you're willing to dig a little, to be challenged by a film that seeks to circumscribe conventional narrative, you'll find in THE FOUNTAIN one of the most beautiful, expressive movies playing this year.

The Fountain (2006)

There are two things that need saying up front before commencing with the review:

1. This is a hard film for me to recommend to a general audience.
2. This is one of the most beautiful, moving films I've seen this year.

Explanations may be in order.

Darren Aronofsky's new film THE FOUNTAIN explores the search to stave off death, to prolong life, and to reconcile with a world where loneliness is an inevitable aftermath of the connection of true love. It's also a film about time, how lifetimes can be encapsulated in a book, and how the time we have is never time enough. It's a poem of sound and image, a romance and a tragedy, and a shout to a world whose concepts of love and loss have been spoon-fed to them by prime-time soap operas on the CW and films starring Lindsey Lohan.

Aronofsky shows how much he's learned from his experience adapting Hubert Selby's REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and presents a story that unfurls through dream logic and multiple narratives that are at heart the same story: Tom (Hugh Jackman in his best role) and Izzi (Rachel Weisz - also brilliant) are in love and know that there isn't enough time: Izzi is dying of cancer and Tom, a brilliant scientist, is trying more and more exotic experiments in his lab to halt the growth of the tumor, to gain more time, more life, even as he neglects Izzi when she needs him most. He finds strange results from a rare plant found somewhere in South America, but will it save Izzi?

Izzi is also trying to complete her work with the little time she has left - a novel that takes place 500 years earlier about a young Spanish conquistador named Tomas (also played by Jackman) in search of a legendary Tree of Life that promises eternal life for his Queen, Isabel (also played by Weisz).

How these two tales intertwine with the third, in which a man (Jackman in his most vulnerable part) 1500 years in the future flies through space in a bubble containing the Tree of Life turn THE FOUNTAIN into something more than a loose narrative, something to be experienced rather than analyzed during its initial viewing. Where Tom is going, how he got there, and what he's searching for all lead to the same end, the same struggle that people who have ever known love seek to answer: how to hold on a little longer, and what can you do when your grasp begins to slip...

The road to bring THE FOUNTAIN to the screen has a long and storied history itself - the roles were originally to be played by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette. How that fell apart, how the movie stalled for years only to ultimately be re-written for a budget half the size and with new leads Jackman and Weisz all seemed to have focused Aronofsky to make the best film of career - one that does not hold easy answers or allows itself to be pigeon-holed into a specific genre.

And that's why even though I loved it, I find it hard to openly recommend. I wish I could get more people to see it, but the truth of the matter is this so different than what you would typically find in mainstream movie theaters that the spoon-fed crowd is going to hate this. And that's too bad, because I think it you're willing to dig a little, to be challenged by a film that seeks to circumscribe conventional narrative, you'll find in THE FOUNTAIN one of the most beautiful, expressive movies playing this year.