OK, so I lied. There was a bit of order imposed on this list. Turns out, most of the movies I DIDN'T care for ended up on the previous list. This one's got the better choices.
P.S. I Love You
Not that we're necessarily starting auspiciously. Let's face it, weepy romantic comedy ranks slightly lower then standard-issue romantic comedy on my "must see" list. But Dani really wanted to see this one, and that pretty much trumps. I didn't hate this one… Hilary Swank is almost always interesting to watch, and there were a lot of other good performances. And yes, despite the weepy nature of the movie, there were some genuinely funny moments. Overall, not terrible for a movie I wouldn't be caught dead going to on my own.
I Am Legend
Now this is more like it. I had my doubts going in to this one. I mean, I enjoyed The Omega Man years ago, but let's face it… it doesn't age well. And it's been far too many years since I last saw The Last Man on Earth to remember whether it's good 60's sci-fi, or pure camp. But I really didn't expect much here, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I liked Smith's performance, and I found his character honestly interesting. There were incredibly tense moments, and at least one damn difficult scene to watch. I liked that they didn't cop out at the end, and stuck with an ending in the same vein as that of the previous iterations. And I was pleasantly surprised when they actually justified, in a story sense, the use of such a readily identifiable piece of music as the Bob Marley piece he keeps listening to. It wasn't simply "Oh, it was my wife's favorite" or some other trite explanation. It actually served a purpose in the story, and revealed more than a little about Smith's character. Nice work!
30 Days of Night
There are times, when you're watching a movie based on a play that you can see the movie's pedigree — it's obvious that it used to be a stage play and what you're watching somehow just feels like a play. 30 Days of Nights is the graphic novel movie equivalent of that feeling. I liked the movie (more so at the beginning than by the end) and thought it did had some very cool moments. But ultimately, it was crushed under the weight of it's own graphic novel beginnings. Things that make sense, or at least don't call attention to themselves in an episodic piece of storytelling leaped out at me here, since there was no cushion of time to distract me from the disconnects. It wasn't just the problem of time suddenly advancing days or weeks at a time (quick fade to black at the end of a scene, then back up with a title graphic saying "Day 15" when you know moments ago it was day 5 are disconcerting). But more to the point, it calls attention to one of the major flays of the story. The few surviving humans barricade themselves in an attic, a grocery store, and then the power station over the course of the 30 days the film encompasses. The vampires have swept into town and killed the vast majority of the townsfolk in a matter of hours. So why the hell weren't the able to find the last few humans after weeks without any food source? Aren't the vamps getting hungry by now? With that much time, and the superhuman strength of the vampires, you'd figure they could have torn virtually every building in town to shreds looking for the humans. Instead, they play decoy games, and stalk through town playing cat and mouse. But to what point? Of course, in the course of a comic book, with issues coming out every month or six weeks or so, that time compression wouldn't be so apparent, and would tend to make more sense (after all, several weeks have passed for you, the reader, by the time you get to the next issue). Stylistically, the movie had a great feel, dark and atmospheric, with more than a touch of blood (the vamp with the blood beard, for instance, looked cool, but wouldn't you want to wipe the blood off at some point?). And I have to admit the story was fun, until it began to collapse under the weight of its own inanities.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
It should come as no surprise to anyone that knows me that this has always been one of my favorite shows. I first saw the musical (with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury) on PBS years ago and fell immediately in love with it. A revenge-obsessed psychopath and his loony "I know just what to do with the bodies" downstairs accomplice, gleefully singing through Victorian London — what's not to love? And I was reassured when I heard that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were tackling the movie version, sure that they'd be able to do justice to the wonderful depravity of the stage production. I wasn't disappointed. Depp brought another of his stellar characters to the screen, making Sweeny completely believable and compelling. (Apparently, I wasn't the only one to think so.) Burton managed to compress the Broadway musical into something that felt at home in a movie theatre, and Helena Bottom Carter's Mrs. Lovett was wonderfully deranged. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, disappointed only by how relatively poorly it's done in theatres. But let's face it, Hollywood marketing machinery HAD to be baffled by this movie (as one can tell by the "let's not let them KNOW it's a musical" ad campaign), so that should be no surprise to anyone.
Juno
Ok, hands down my favorite movie of the year. I hope I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon here, but I was looking forward to this one from the moment I saw the first trailer, and was pleased to discover it was worth the wait. Ellen Page is simply amazing, and Jennifer Garner gives one of her best, and most "out of character" (judged against 'typical' Jennifer Garner roles) performances ever. And, while there has been LOTS of discussion about this movie and what it says about teen pregnancy from both sides of the abortion issue, what I liked most about it is that it didn't seem to be pushing ANY agenda. I didn't get the feeling that Juno's decision to keep the baby was motivated by any of the pro-choice hot-buttons. It felt, simply, like a young girl saying "no, this isn't for me, I have a different idea." I really liked the decision not to burden this story with a heavy agenda, despite it's subject matter. Loved this movie, and one of my "best" for the year.
&nbps;
P.S. I Love You
Not that we're necessarily starting auspiciously. Let's face it, weepy romantic comedy ranks slightly lower then standard-issue romantic comedy on my "must see" list. But Dani really wanted to see this one, and that pretty much trumps. I didn't hate this one… Hilary Swank is almost always interesting to watch, and there were a lot of other good performances. And yes, despite the weepy nature of the movie, there were some genuinely funny moments. Overall, not terrible for a movie I wouldn't be caught dead going to on my own.
I Am Legend
Now this is more like it. I had my doubts going in to this one. I mean, I enjoyed The Omega Man years ago, but let's face it… it doesn't age well. And it's been far too many years since I last saw The Last Man on Earth to remember whether it's good 60's sci-fi, or pure camp. But I really didn't expect much here, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I liked Smith's performance, and I found his character honestly interesting. There were incredibly tense moments, and at least one damn difficult scene to watch. I liked that they didn't cop out at the end, and stuck with an ending in the same vein as that of the previous iterations. And I was pleasantly surprised when they actually justified, in a story sense, the use of such a readily identifiable piece of music as the Bob Marley piece he keeps listening to. It wasn't simply "Oh, it was my wife's favorite" or some other trite explanation. It actually served a purpose in the story, and revealed more than a little about Smith's character. Nice work!
30 Days of Night
There are times, when you're watching a movie based on a play that you can see the movie's pedigree — it's obvious that it used to be a stage play and what you're watching somehow just feels like a play. 30 Days of Nights is the graphic novel movie equivalent of that feeling. I liked the movie (more so at the beginning than by the end) and thought it did had some very cool moments. But ultimately, it was crushed under the weight of it's own graphic novel beginnings. Things that make sense, or at least don't call attention to themselves in an episodic piece of storytelling leaped out at me here, since there was no cushion of time to distract me from the disconnects. It wasn't just the problem of time suddenly advancing days or weeks at a time (quick fade to black at the end of a scene, then back up with a title graphic saying "Day 15" when you know moments ago it was day 5 are disconcerting). But more to the point, it calls attention to one of the major flays of the story. The few surviving humans barricade themselves in an attic, a grocery store, and then the power station over the course of the 30 days the film encompasses. The vampires have swept into town and killed the vast majority of the townsfolk in a matter of hours. So why the hell weren't the able to find the last few humans after weeks without any food source? Aren't the vamps getting hungry by now? With that much time, and the superhuman strength of the vampires, you'd figure they could have torn virtually every building in town to shreds looking for the humans. Instead, they play decoy games, and stalk through town playing cat and mouse. But to what point? Of course, in the course of a comic book, with issues coming out every month or six weeks or so, that time compression wouldn't be so apparent, and would tend to make more sense (after all, several weeks have passed for you, the reader, by the time you get to the next issue). Stylistically, the movie had a great feel, dark and atmospheric, with more than a touch of blood (the vamp with the blood beard, for instance, looked cool, but wouldn't you want to wipe the blood off at some point?). And I have to admit the story was fun, until it began to collapse under the weight of its own inanities.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
It should come as no surprise to anyone that knows me that this has always been one of my favorite shows. I first saw the musical (with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury) on PBS years ago and fell immediately in love with it. A revenge-obsessed psychopath and his loony "I know just what to do with the bodies" downstairs accomplice, gleefully singing through Victorian London — what's not to love? And I was reassured when I heard that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were tackling the movie version, sure that they'd be able to do justice to the wonderful depravity of the stage production. I wasn't disappointed. Depp brought another of his stellar characters to the screen, making Sweeny completely believable and compelling. (Apparently, I wasn't the only one to think so.) Burton managed to compress the Broadway musical into something that felt at home in a movie theatre, and Helena Bottom Carter's Mrs. Lovett was wonderfully deranged. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, disappointed only by how relatively poorly it's done in theatres. But let's face it, Hollywood marketing machinery HAD to be baffled by this movie (as one can tell by the "let's not let them KNOW it's a musical" ad campaign), so that should be no surprise to anyone.
Juno
Ok, hands down my favorite movie of the year. I hope I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon here, but I was looking forward to this one from the moment I saw the first trailer, and was pleased to discover it was worth the wait. Ellen Page is simply amazing, and Jennifer Garner gives one of her best, and most "out of character" (judged against 'typical' Jennifer Garner roles) performances ever. And, while there has been LOTS of discussion about this movie and what it says about teen pregnancy from both sides of the abortion issue, what I liked most about it is that it didn't seem to be pushing ANY agenda. I didn't get the feeling that Juno's decision to keep the baby was motivated by any of the pro-choice hot-buttons. It felt, simply, like a young girl saying "no, this isn't for me, I have a different idea." I really liked the decision not to burden this story with a heavy agenda, despite it's subject matter. Loved this movie, and one of my "best" for the year.
&nbps;
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