movies i liked last year
We rarely, if ever, talk about movies around these parts — probably a serious omission on our part, but we also try to be pretty focused on the music game. Still, there are some tie-ins to eMusic itself worth noting, and so here are some brief thoughts on some films I dug last year.
FAVORITE MOVIES
01 Grindhouse Presents: Death Proof: Totally did not expect to like this one, especially considering my apathy towards the Kill Bill series. But Death Proof ended up being way better than advertised, the dialogue so sharp, the female characters so well written (shocking for such an objectifier of women, and an Asianphile to boot) and the music out-of-this-world great. Best of all was Sidney Poitier’s (the daughter) dance to Smith’s incredible “Baby It’s You,” a spellbinding track (YouTube video below) that slayed me, as well as the death-scene soundtrack of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich’s glam classic “Hold Tight!” I’m alone in the office with my love for this film, but screw it: they’re all wrong.
02 Ratatouille: Watched twice with the family over Christmas, and once before that. Such an incredibly well-conceived movie, and a well-deserved payday for Patton Oswalt, who voices the title character (of sorts). I love this movie for two different reasons: one, the kitchen/food stuff is so completely on point in tone and feel (Brad Bird is obviously a foodie), and two, the character of Anton Ego is easily the greatest critic that I have seen in a film (he even scares me more than Burt Lancaster channeling Winchell in Sweet Smell of Success). The scene where a bite of food sends him delightfully back to his childhood, rendering his steely superiority Jell-O, is absolute genius, and his ensuing critical mea culpa might be one of the best meta-monologues about criticism ever written. So great.
03 The Host: The DVD release of this Korean horror/action/comedy movie is fraught with bizarre decisions, especially in that a) it defaults to showing the movie with English dubbing and b) displays subtitles in a white, rather than the standard yellow, font, making them often illegible. However, once you get by the difficulties presented in actually watching the thing, you’ll be overjoyed by an incredibly strange film that’s as much about Korean suspicion of all things American as it is the bizarre river monster itself. It is an incredibly cynical film, judging all of humanity during its exciting twists and turns.
04 No Country for Old Men: I liked but did not love this latest from the Coens, certainly their best work since The Man Who Wasn’t There (although I do have more than a passing affection for the light Intolerable Cruelty), which was curiously overlooked as everyone jumped on the “the Coens are weird again” meme. And, for me, the attention paid to Bardem, who certainly was a grade-a creep, overlooked Josh Brolin (sexy, rugged, fun) and, even more-so, Tommy Lee Jones, who I typically do not like, but who slays as the seen-it-all cowboy-cop. His opening and closing soliloquies are pure poetry, and I could listen to them with a beautiful accompaniment of desert landscapes, for hours.
05 Once: I am not supposed to like this movie. Wasn’t a fan of the music particularly, and I hate the Frames, and yet the film’s huge heart was so hard to miss. The simplicity and directness of the movie has been rightly acclaimed, but for me it was the ease and authenticity of the shifts into the musical numbers: the nervous starts, the awkward fumblings, the moments when two voices become one. If ever a movie were made for eMusic folk, this would be it. By the way, you can take a listen to many of the songs on this album, which can be found on eMusic.
Others Worth Mentioning (Good & Bad):
Michael Clayton: Good but not great, yet an absolutely incredible final shot that completely makes the movie.
The Bourne Ultimatum: I am a Paul Greengrass believer.
Zodiac: Love Fincher, love true crime, love procedurals, but I cannot stare at Jake Gyllenhaal for two-plus hours.
Knocked Up: Paul Rudd, come over here so I can give you a kiss.
Juno: Don’t see this movie. I’ve seen it twice now, for some reason. Joe, Todd, Maris and I caught this on a mini-eMusic field trip on its opening day, and we all left fairly pleased with it, me more than anyone despite a lot of flaws. Fast forward to New Year’s Eve when I saw this again with my gal Kali, and we both hated it. Despite everything you hear about Diablo Cody and how amazing the script is, it is not. The script is lousy. So bad, in fact, that someone utters the line, without irony, “Honest to blog!” Is that really something you want to pay money to hear? The music primarily comes from the Moldy Peaches — it’s basically a commercial for them — which I think Joe is going to cover on eMusic soon. The songs are cute, but when added to the already-saccharine plot/feel, it becomes a bit much. Again, this is not a good movie — it’s just the film critics who like to think of themselves as being young and in touch who think so.
Movies I’m Meaning to See:
There Will Be Blood: That asshole Joe Keyes got into an advanced screening of this.
The Savages: I hear good things.
Manufactured Landscapes: High on my too-see list for the whole year, finally out on DVD.
What about you?
And, for me, the attention paid to Bardem…overlooked Josh Brolin…and, even more-so, Tommy Lee Jones…
Um…Kelly MacDonald? Always excellent, but in this she was simply amazing.
I am in love with Kelly MacDonald. Unabashedly. (see – The Girl in the Cafe)
Got my tickets to see There Will Be Blood TONIGHT!
I’m kind of nervous…
Hmmm, well I liked 300.
I’m saving the spot at the top of my list for There Will Be Blood, but at the moment, No Country for Old Men is keeping that space warm. A riveting film, and as you said, Yancey, it has moments of “pure poetry”. Others likely to be on my top 5: Zodiac (and I’m not usually a Fincher fan), Eastern Promises, and . . . I don’t know, maybe The Wind That Shakes the Barley?
Honorable mentions: The Simpsons Movie, Grindhouse: Planet Terror (haven’t seen Death Proof yet, though), Superbad, Into the Wild (despite the Eddie Vedder soundtrack), Atonement. Movies I expect to like but haven’t seen yet: Rescue Dawn, Sunshine, This Is England, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. . . .
And I agree with your take on Juno, particularly the overly precious music and the idiotic dialogue (“honest to blog” is just one of many dumb phrases uttered in the movie), but hell, maybe high school kids really do talk like that these days. Still, I warmed up to it as it went along and walked out liking it much better than I expected to.
I thought the beginning of Juno was a little rough (first 15-20 minutes or so), but after that I was absolutely sucked right in. I will admit to being biased because I’ve been good friends with Diablo Cody (aka Brook) for 15 years, but Ellen Page more than makes up for any script shortcomings and the rest of the cast is solid.
Note: I too hated the “honest to blog” line.
I saw This is England last weekend on DVD and was completely blown away. The kid actor in the lead is absolutely convincing and heartbreaking. The soundtrack is killer as well, with songs by Dexys Midnight Runners, Toots and the Maytals, the Specials, and tons more.
Also adored The Lives of Others, though I’m not sure it ranks as a 2007 film. American Gangster made me love hoods again, while Eastern Promises rocked balls…literally. I Am Legend is a great popcorn movie.
Like everyone else, I am eager to see There Will Be Blood.
Stinkerama: Elizabeth The Golden Age and Things We Lost in the Fire (Halle Berry is gorgeous, but she is done).
On a smaller screen note: The WIre is back this Sunday! Best damn show on television.
On a smaller screen note: The WIre is back this Sunday! Best damn show on television.
A-Frigging-Men!
And Girl in the Cafe was wonderful.
Yeah, I’ve been debating posting about the Wire on here. My old blog, now defunct and deleted, was almost entirely about that show from the second season on. I defy you to find a bigger fan!
Yancey, you and I will have to duke it out for biggest Wire fan…though, I admit that I did not have blog dedicated to it. Does preaching about it at every possible opportunity count?
We can settle for a tie, although I will just add the fact that right now I am reading David Simon’s book “Homicide” for the fourth or fifth time…
The folks at Heaven and Here might put in a claim as well.
Speaking of Wire-blogging, did you see this post by Matt Yglesias? Interesting discussion in the comments, made still more interesting by Dave Simon himself showing up with a lengthy comment about how he sees the show.
good stuff. thanks for that link, tom.
man, back in 2002-2003 when i was full-time writing, i pitched so many places on wire pieces (slate, new york, new yorker, ew, village voice) and no one cared. i wuz robbed!
Throw Eastern Promises and its bath house scene in the mix.
Praise for Grindhouse, and dissing on Juno. Yep, we pretty much have the exact opposite in opinion and taste.
Granted, Juno has its flaws, is silly, and you might need to be younger to laugh at the dialogue. But Jesus, Grindhouse was a f**kin JOKE. What a masturaborty affair for Tarantino. But I guess that can be said for blogs as well.
once? really? i could not stand that movie.
maybe it was the daniel clowes illustrated movie poster, but i was expecting a completely different movie from the savages. the trailers hinted at a dark comedy, but instead it was just really depressing and laura linney was straight up annoying as hell.
i enjoyed the last 15 minutes of juno but i hope diablo cody never writes anything ever again. even an amazon review.
I love the geeky reverend of the Church of the Sun, such a detestable character!