-
Exterminating Angels (2007): B+
With Exterminating Angels, writer/director Jean-Claude Brisseau uses an incident from his life – a case in which he was accused of sexually assaulting several young actresses by asking them to pleasure themselves during auditions for 2002’s Secret Things – and turns it into a complex, confessional examination of his twisted, thorny and ultimately ambiguous feelings…
-
A Note About Comments
A quick apology to everyone who’s recently made a comment on a post, only to see it not get published. For unknown reasons, Typepad wasn’t notifying me about new comments (which it has done, without fail, since the feature was first introduced), and thus I didn’t realize that all of your comments had been submitted…
-
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007): C
The Bourne Ultimatum recalls The Manchurian Candidate, though it’s the nation’s critics who seem to have been brainwashed into almost unanimously praising this efficient and occasionally exciting, yet too often banal and chilly, threequel. Following up last year’s United 93, director Paul Greengrass (who also directed 2004’s slightly superior The Bourne Supremacy) once again goes…
-
Wrapping Up the Best-Ofs
Well, aside from my forthcoming film critics poll ballots, this is it. My final award-season list. With this one, I make a case for the five finest directorial debuts in a year rich with them. It’s over at IFC News. 2007: The Five Best Directorial Debuts (IFC News)
-
Charlie Wilson’s War (2007): C
Mike Nichols’ stagy direction and Aaron Sorkin’s talkative writing join forces for stilted War on Terror-related dramedy with Charlie Wilson’s War, a based-on-true-life tale about the East Texas senator, Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), who almost single-handedly spearheaded American funding of Afghan rebels in their 1980s conflict against the invading Soviets. Nichols’ primary focus is comedy,…
-
2007: Year in Film
Another film year is over, meaning it’s once again time to start picking favorites. And over at Slant magazine, Ed Gonzalez and I have done just that, via our respective top ten lists as well as some random (and, hopefully, humorous) thoughts on the past twelve months’ worth of movies. Enjoy. 2007: Year in Film…
-
There Will Be Greatness
Today, I offer my review of the film I consider to be 2007’s finest: Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. Links to other, far less positive write-ups are also included. There Will Be Blood (Slant magazine) Coming Soon: I Am Legend (Slant magazine) The Great Debaters (Slant magazine) A Walk Into the Sea: Danny…
-
End-of-Year Appetizer
My various year-end features should be done by this Friday, but in the meantime, here’s something to whet your appetite – a best-of list for IFC News, in which I nominate my choices for the Directors Who Shifted Gears for the Better in 2007. 2007: Five Directors Who Shifted Gears for the Better (IFC News)
-
Atonement (2007): C+
Stately and majestic but in a decidedly lackluster way, Joe Wright’s Atonement is a lushly shot, proficiently performed, and largely stultifying period piece that invites only mild, detached admiration. Based on Ian McEwan’s acclaimed novel (which I have not read), Wright’s film concerns the 1935 affair between wealthy Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and the son…
-
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007): B+
King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is yet another in a recent string of quirky subculture documentaries, yet part of what distinguishes this non-fiction film from its brethren is a story brimming with I-can’t-believe-they’re-real people straight out of a cheesy Hollywood underdog story. Seth Gordon’s doc charts the battle for Donkey Kong’s all-time high…
