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THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
Fatih Akin 2007
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| Fatih Akin’s latest dramatic gem is a contemplative piece that fills the viewer alternately with dread and hope. The dread comes from inter-titles that cut the film into three sections; two of these reveal the impending death of a main character. The hope comes after they die, when still-living loved ones begin to more fully understand themselves and each other. The characters in The Edge of Heaven consist mainly of three parent-child sets that become estranged and then re-connect in often-surprising ways. The film highlights the cruel irony of life; lost in randomness, people seem to have little control—until the irony turns in their favor. The Edge of Heaven isn’t as abrasive as Akin’s Head-On (2004), which also garnered critical acclaim. Instead, it is a quiet, steady, and visually striking exploration of human connections along the journey to the edge of whatever this life is. |
| Review by Kristina Chiappetta ~ 30|Jun|2008 |
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BROTHER'S KEEPER
Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky
1992
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's documentary about a controversial death in a rural farming community in upstate New York is documentary filmmaking at its best. William Ward, a farmer living in a one-room shack with his three illiterate brothers, is found dead one morning in the bed he had shared with his brother Delbert for his entire life. The film follows the brothers (whose only previous contact with the outside world was through what they could pick up on their tiny black and white television) as they react to the allegations of murder and the media frenzy that surrounded Delbert's trial. The cinematography is beautiful, the editing is flawless (and often times quite humorous), and the sympathetic Ward brothers are utterly captivating to watch. By the end of the film you find yourself in awe of a town that time forgot and its residents that wouldn't have it any other way.
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| Review by Catherine Wernquest ~ 26|Jun|2008 |
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GET SMART
Peter Segal
2008
I enjoy silly things like Bill Murray having a conversation with Steve Carell from inside a tree. I enjoyed Get Smart. The movie (based on the 60s television show) about a slightly inept spy stars Carell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as the lovely Agent 99, and is full of ridiculous gags that left me occasionally puzzled but mostly enthused. Although the occasional joke falls flat, the talent of the cast makes up for it (Alan Arkin is also on the bill, as is the ever-impressive... Dwayne Johnson). The plot is fairly intricate, though thankfully not overly confusing, as is often the case in the spy genre. And, also thankfully, the filmmakers aren't taking themselves very seriously. The movie moseys along leisurely, mixing bits of real suspense (the main duo fights and free-falls at 30,000 feet) with expertly performed physical comedy (Carell mini-harpoons himself—repeatedly and hilariously).
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| Review by Kristina Chiappetta ~ 23|Jun|2008 |
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THE HAPPENING
M. Night Shyamalan
2008
Billed as Shyamalan's first R-Rated movie, The Happening is filled with scenes of senseless gore as people are driven to kill themselves in a variety of graphic ways (I won't tell you why because you'd be laughing too hard to finish reading the rest of this review). Even more senseless than the violence, however, is the script itself. Because Shyamalan has such a knack for inducing suspense through the framing of his shots, the film is entirely awkward to watch as beautifully framed, suspenseful scenes appear on screen coupled with utterly appaling performances of a flimsy, and at times, laughable script (at one point Mark Wahlberg seriously pleads with a rubber plant for his life). Do yourself a favor and skip this movie unless you want to experience the longest 91 minutes of your life.
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| Review by Catherine Wernquest ~ 17|Jun|2008 |
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ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Werner Herzog
2007
Werner Herzog's latest documentary is, in a word, awesome. Narrated by the thoughtful and humorous director himself, the film tells the unique stories of a variety of people living in Antarctica, while often showcasing current scientific developments and the natural beauty of the continent. The imagery is consistently breathtaking, whether on the edge of a volcano or in the depths of the sea. There are moments of humor, moments of eccentricity, and moments of tenderness that occasionally fold into each other (a "deranged" penguin mistakenly travels not toward the sea, nor toward his home colony, but straight out toward the mountains, hundreds of miles away). The audience at first laughs at this confused animal, but is hushed when Herzog comments that it is on the path toward certain death (as are we, the narration suggests). Herzog’s latest film is truly entertaining and visually stunning; it offers an idiosyncratic insight into the human psyche.
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| Review by Kristina Chiappetta ~ 17|Jun|2008 |
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CONTROL
Anton Corbijn
2007
Control tells the story of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, who killed himself at 23 as the band reached its artistic and commercial peak. In a refreshing departure from the conventions of rock biopics (I’m Not There, for instance), Anton Corbijn’s debut feature neither asserts that Curtis was the most incredibly special creative genius who ever lived nor that Joy Division was the most important artistic force of its time. As a photographer, Corbijn helped forge Joy Division’s gothic image, and he perfectly captures the post-industrial gloom of the band’s native Manchester. Sam Riley puts on one of the best performances of 2007 as Curtis. The cast actually performed the music in the film, and it’s shockingly good. My only objection to the film is that it fails to capture exactly how Curtis harnessed his depression and transformed it into some of the most innovative popular music ever recorded.
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| Review by Rob Wohl ~ 17|Jun|2008 |
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BOMB IT
Jon Reiss
2008
Jon Reiss' global graffiti documentary hard hits a vital contemporary nerve. Where is the public space? Who owns it? And why do advertisers have the right to control our visual landscape with images that are often vulgar and disturbing? A consumer culture (that we all very readily accept) tells us that money buys these rights of control and access. Bomb It challenges this. The film suggests that there is nothing natural, neutral, or normal about this relationship. I'm not saying this is a Socialist film; it's a beautifully shot and edited documentary that asks us to re-think the borders of public space and art. Interviews with graffiti artists and writers from Los Angeles, New York, Sao Paulo, Paris, Barcelona, London, Capetown, and Tokyo re-situate graffiti outside the prison gates and inside a riveting dialogue about how we as humans negotiate a place for ourselves in controlled environments. Chaz Bojorquez, Cornbread, Revs, Os Gemeos, KRS One, Blek Le Rat, and Shepard Fairey deconstruct commonplace notions that graffiti is thoughtless and ugly and always gang-related. The film gives graffiti back its history and philosophical and social virility as an outsider art movement. The international perspective reveals graffiti culture as something innately human, dating back to the earliest days in caves - a mixed drive to say: "Hello world, I'm here," and to use art as a weapon to fight and express the alienation and ugliness of modern cities.
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| Review by Samantha Skinazi ~ 16|Jun|2008 |
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THE VISITOR
Tom McCarthy
2008
Actor-turned-writer/director Thomas McCarthy follows up his indie semi-smash The Station Agent with yet another tale of unlikely friendships whose title begins with the word "The". This time the story revolves around a Connecticut College professor who finds a couple living in his New York apartment. The woman is from Senegal, the man Syria, and neither are legal residents, a fact that quickly becomes a troublesome truth when the Department of Immigration gets involved. The film loses steam towards the end, but is notable for a revelatory and understated performance by seasoned character actor Richard Jenkins as well as a refreshingly authentic cinematic take on New York City that keys in on street vendors and drum circles.
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| Review by Andrew Gnerre ~ 13|Jun|2008 |
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SAVAGE GRACE
Tom Kalin
2008
Life should be good for Barbara Daly (Julianne Moore) after she marries Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane), the heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. But their wildly different backgrounds drive a painful schism between them, and events take a turn for the worse as Barbara gives birth to a son, Tony (Eddie Redmayne). Tony becomes increasingly dependent on his mother as he matures, while his father rejects him and deems him a failure. Tony’s fragile mental state approaches a meltdown as the family constantly relocates all over the world. Director Tom Kalin splits the pivotal moments in their lives into six chapters spanning four decades. Savage Grace is based on a true story and features another formidable performance from Moore. The Oedipal nature of Barbara and Tony’s relationship makes for uneasy viewing at times, but this is another noteworthy entry on the resumes of both Moore and Kalin.
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| Review by Nick Neyland ~ 11|Jun|2008 |
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SEX AND THE CITY: THE MOVIE
Michael Patrick King
2008
A week ago, I was a nonbeliever in Sex and the City; I avoided it like the plague and wasn’t sure what to expect when my mother, a lifelong fan of the HBO series, dragged me into a theatre full of women at the multiplex. I was pleasantly surprised by the film, which contains appreciable amounts of wit, style, and sex. By far the most electric lady on screen is Samantha (Kim Cattrall), whose comic timing is impeccable and who at one point covers her naked body in sushi as a Valentine’s Day surprise. Many such gimmicks occur in the film, which spans many months of developments in characters’ lives, resulting (somewhat unfortunately) in an episodic narrative. Regardless, the writers effortlessly wrap up this package of girly squeals, fashion shows, romance, and self-realization, with a less annoying breed of chick flick.
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| Review by Kristina Chiappetta ~ 11|Jun|2008 |
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DIARY OF THE DEAD
George A. Romero
2007
The fourth film in George A. Romero’s Dead series is an innovative addition to his canon. The entire movie is shot from the point of view of a group of film students who learn about a plague of zombies while out shooting a low budget horror film. Young Jason Creed (Joshua Close) leads the group of filmmakers and their college professor as they hit the road to document this ghoulish turn of events. The film is full of increasingly violent deaths, lashings of guts and gore, and inventive uses of social networking sites such as MySpace to share footage of the zombie invasion across the world. The trick of filming the entire movie on cheap digital cameras is a neat way for Romero to deal with the film’s minuscule budget, and the cast of young unknowns does a decent job of creating a palpable sense of terror.
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| Review by Nick Neyland ~ 29|May|2008 |
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INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Steven Spielberg
2008
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is indeed an Indiana Jones movie through and through. Which means it is packed with lots of ancient ruins and dark tunnels and moving walls revealing hidden portals; lots of thickly accented soldiers chasing Indy through the jungle; and lots of helicopter shots of sprawling, scenic locales. Harrison Ford still wears the fedora quite well considering he's in his 60's (a fact the script reminds us of repeatedly), and a new "sidekick" (played by Shia LaBeouf) sets up most of Ford's one-liners with a wide-eyed cockiness only exhibited by action-movie sidekicks. A fine alternative to the rock-'em-sock-'em robots fare of recent summers.
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| Review by John Brodeur ~ 29|May|2008 |
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THE BIG LEBOWSKI
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
1998
The Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski weaves the tale Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski and his romps with friends Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Buschemi). Details of the convoluted plot are not worth getting into, though, because they do not make the film the masterpiece that it is. Instead, bowling, White Russians, marijuana, violence and countless utterances of "dude", "man", and the F-word guide the viewer through the film, which has one of the best soundtracks out there. The music, in fact, reveals more about the characters than any other aspect of the film. In particular, Jesus (John Turturro) first appears on screen with the Gypsy Kings’ cover of "Hotel California", and the Dude is obsessed with Creedence Clearwater Revival. Overall, the film represents the Coen brothers at their very best.
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| Review by Genna Cherichello ~ 27|May|2008 |
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THE JAMMED
Dee McLachlan
2007
This film was created out of the sheer determination of director Dee McLachlan and producers Sally Ayre-Smith and Andrea Buck to expose sex trafficking going on in the Melbourne, Australia - The World's Most Liveable City.
They raised the money from one unsuspecting investor, assembled a formidable cast and produced a stark and dramatic tale of a trade in Asian sex slaves in the heart of middle-class Australia.
Winner of the Best Film at the 2007 Inside Film Awards and many other accolades.
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| Review by Simon Britton ~ 22|May|2008 |
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JUNO
Jason Reitman
2007
The surprise box office success of Jason Reitman’s Juno led to an Oscar for screenwriter Diablo Cody at the 2008 Academy Awards. Sarcastic teenager Juno (Ellen Page) decides to find adoptive parents for her unborn baby after she accidentally becomes pregnant with the geeky Paulie Bleeker’s (Michael Cera) kid. She develops a close friendship with the child’s future father, Mark (Jason Bateman), who introduces her to the joys of grunge rock and slasher movies. Meanwhile, Mark’s wife Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) spends her time in a constant state of panic and Paulie longs for Juno to fall in love with him. Reitman whips up a bittersweet blend of comedy and drama while also enticing some fine performances from his young leads. Juno could easily have descended into mawkish sentimentality, but a wisely chosen soundtrack (Kimya Dawson, Cat Power) and Cody’s whip-smart script gave the film a broad-ranging appeal.
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| Review by Nick Neyland ~ 22|May|2008 |
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CHOKE
Clark Gregg
2008
Take one part sex addict, one part con artist, one part Sam Rockwell, and blend. This little concoction is the recipe for Clark Gregg's adaption of Choke. From the twisted mind that gave readers Fight Club, the work of Chuck Palahniuk is once again gracing the big screen and Choke has the makings of yet another cult classic. Rockwell takes the lead as Victor Mancini, a man that pretends to choke (hence the title) to get the sympathy (and cash) of others. In between recovering from his addiction to flesh (really just trying to get laid) Mancini attempts to save the life of his dying mother. Aww, a con artist with a heart ...how cute?
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| Review by Lauren Roulette ~ 22|May|2008 |
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BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
Spike Jonze
1999
A career directing commercials, music videos, and documentary shorts preceded Spike Jonze’s leap to the big screen with Being John Malkovich. Jonze’s bizarro world is primarily inhabited by lowly office drone Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) and his co-worker, Maxine Lund (Catherine Keener). Schwartz discovers an entry into John Malkovich’s brain in his office, which allows him to experience the actor’s life for 15 minutes before getting churned out onto the New Jersey Turnpike. Schwartz uses his discovery to impress Lund, who proposes that they start charging money to gain entrance into Malkovich’s gray matter. The events build to an outlandish crescendo as Jonze draws some fine performances out of his principle actors, and finds small roles for stars such as Cameron Diaz, Charlie Sheen, and Malkovich himself.
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| Review by Nick Neyland ~ 22|May|2008 |
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BEING THERE
Hal Ashby
1979
Comic actor Peter Sellers relentlessly pursued the lead role in this adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski’s 1971 novel Being There. Sellers plays Chance, a lowly gardener who leads a sheltered life until the death of his employer forces him out into the world. He is invited to dinner with the wealthy Ben Rand (Melvyn Douglas) after being hit by a car carrying Rand's wife. Rand mistakenly believes that Chance's simple conversation about gardening is a deeply metaphoric spiel about the state of the economy, and it's not long before Chance (now called "Chauncey Gardiner" after another misunderstanding) is appearing on TV, advising the president, and striking a deep chord with the American public. Hal Ashby's thoughtful feature strikes a fine balance between comedy and drama, and provides a touching end to Sellers' career, which was cut short by a fatal heart attack just one year after Being There was released.
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| Review by Nick Neyland ~ 22|May|2008 |
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THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Julian Schnabel
2007
Director Julian Schnabel (Before Night Falls) helmed this compassionate feature about former Elle Magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby. The 43-year-old journalist was paralyzed by a massive stroke in 1995 and is played here by French actor Mathieu Amalric. Most of the film is captured via a point-of-view shot from Bauby's left eye, which is the only part of his body that still physically functions. Sympathetic nurses show Bauby how to communicate by blinking his eye and then help him write the memoir that Schnabel's film is based on. Amalric's primary function in the film is to provide a glimpse into Bauby’s mind through haunting voice-over narration and to appear in various flashbacks of his old life. Schnabel's poignant feature deservedly picked up four Oscar nominations at the 2008 Academy Awards.
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| Review by Nick Neyland ~ 22|May|2008 |
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SON OF RAMBOW
Garth Jennings
2008
It is rare that a film captures the humor and creative spirit of youth in an honest way while avoiding sappy, manufactured sentiment, yet Son of Rambow manages to pull it off. The film centers around two young boys, Will Proudfoot and Lee Carter, in 1980s Britain. Will is an innocent, sheltered boy, belonging to a religion that forbids modern media. With no television to occupy his time, Will spends his days creating stories and drawing on everything from his Bible to the bathroom stalls at school. Will meets Lee Carter, the school’s resident outlaw, and they strike up an unlikely friendship. Upon viewing a bootlegged copy of Rambo at Lee Carter’s house, Will decides the two boys will make a sequel to the film. It is a humorous adventure, denoting the quirkiness of childhood and imagination, and remains all the while so visually captivating that its flaws are forgiven.
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| Review by Elizabeth Miller ~ 20|May|2008 |
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