Here’s another recap of the movies I’ve seen in the past couple of months. Two movies among the best movies of the year made it to this group, but so did a couple of mediocre and even bad films. If you can say so this early, 2007 looks like to be a good year for movies; for months last year there wasn’t anything interesting on at the theaters, but now I have a long list of things I want to see (like Little Miss Sunshine, La Tourneuse de pages and The Departed but more about those when I get to see them).
Annapolis
- A story of a man determined to get into Annapolis, U.S. Naval Academy; but once there, the difficulties just begin. Getting off on a wrong foot with his superior and not really getting along too well with most of his roommates, Jake (James Franco) enters the academy’s internal boxing competition where he’s also determined to succeed. The determination is not, however, always unfaltering and there are some moments of hesitation. In the end the relationship with his superior(s) also get better, even significantly so.. Overall an average movie with some good moments. It can be filed under the “not bad”-category and scored at 3/5.
City of God
- Though well known and almost 5 years old, it was only now that we got around to watching the City of God. Telling a realistic story of growing up in the violent and drug-infested “City of God” housing project neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, it’s a story of many young people who watch and learn from the drug dealers and the violence. The main character, “Rocket”, tries to take a different path and dreams of becoming a professional photographer. With seemingly everyone else pursuing much different “goals” in their lives, it’s an uphill battle for Rocket to try to be apart from all the violence. A good movie at 4- out of 5.
Friends with Money
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A drama about three women and their lone single friend – a friend who is financially much worse off than the rest of them. Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) is working as a maid while the others can afford to give a cool million dollars for charity. The supposed teaching of the film is that money doesn’t bring happiness, but it’s it’s an odd movie with most of the characters out of whack one way or another. Olivia is strangely lacking any will of her own and her friends battle with their relationships and other problems. The movie is somewhat unmemorable, but Frances McDormand pulls off a great role as the high-strung Jane. 3 out of 5.
Memoirs of a Geisha
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Telling the story of a Japanese girl from a small fishing village who is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto; through tough training and despite her backstabbing competitors, Chiyo was to become one of Japanese most celebrated geisha. The story feels very realistic, but is based on a novel which was based on interviews of Mineko Iwasaki, who however later went on to write a vastly different autobiography – so who knows what elements of the movie are real and what are not. However, it’s an engrossing and fascinating tale of what it takes to be a geisha, and an interesting look inside the (sub)culture. The movie was sometimes a bit slow, but still bearable at 2h 20min. 4 out of 5.
Va, Vis et Deviens
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In 1980, black Falashas of Ethiopia were evacuated to Israel as Jews with the help of the USA. Schlomo, a 9-year-old Christian is semi-smuggled out of the country with the evacuations, but faces an uphill struggle in Israel – people there do not really believe he is a Jew and he must go to great lengths to prove otherwise. Luckily he is adopted to a family that isn’t all that regligious. Quickly learning the customs and traditions seems to pay off, but not all the prejudice disappears no matter what; and some still seem to doubt his “jewishness”. I think there was potential for a lot better movie here; as it stands, it was way too long – half an hour could’ve easily be cut and it would’ve been a much more concise and watchable movie. 2½ out of 5.
Inside Man
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In short, Inside Man is a story of bank robbery. Without giving away too much of the plot, the robbery turns out to be somewhat unconventional; with dozens of hostages, there seems to be little the police – who quickly surround the bank – can do in terms of storming in. The negotiator in charge (Denzel Washington) has things to prove in his own life / career and doesn’t always get along with other officials; even less so when he chooses to talk to the mysterious Madeleine White (Jodie Foster); nobody seems to know who she is but she convinces everyone that she can help with the situation.
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With some excellent performances, Inside Man is an intelligent, well-done and “clean” crime thriller and one I can highly recommend. It manages to keep the suspension right to the end and throws in just the correct amount of surprises and twists. One of the best thrillers since The Usual Suspects. 5- out of 5.
Babel
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Babel tells several intertwined stories – Richard & Susan (Brad Pitt & Cate Blanchett) are American tourists traveling in Morocco on a semi-mission to save their relationship when tragedy strikes them; the result of dumb games played by two Moroccan youngsters. We follow both stories, as well as events in US & Mexico where Richard & Susan’s nanny is watching over their two children but must take the kids somewhere they shouldn’t go to. Beautifully shot on location in several countries, Babel tells touchingly of the dangers of making haste assumptions and bad choices; yet, at the same time, it’s a story of people trying their best. In this, Babel shares some of the same feeling and theme as Crash. Brilliant scenery & acting along with a good storyline make Babel one of the best movies of the year, along with Inside Man. Highly recommended, 5- out of 5.
The Miracle
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While I’ve never really cared for ice hockey, I usually like interesting real-life stories; The Miracle tells the true story of Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) who leads the 1980 US Olympic team of inexperienced young players to victory against the seemingly invincible Russians. While there are no glaring faults with any acting or the storytelling, I just failed to get into the movie – I don’t know what the problem was. Maybe there was too much hockey, maybe Herb’s family issues side-plot was too superficial and distracting or maybe it was something else. With movies where you know the ending, the flow of the storytelling becomes that much more important. Here it somehow just didn’t work for me. I’m sure people who love ice hockey will also like the movie, but I just didn’t get along with it too well. Thus, I’ll give it 1½ out of 5 but YMMV.
Casino Royale
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I think it goes without saying that I was skeptical of the new Bond actor. In the end Pierce Brosnan turned out to be quite okay as 007, but of course Sean Connery still rules. Anyway, I’m glad to say that Daniel Craig pulled it off quite nicely. Nowhere near Connery, but then the Bond films have changed a bit since then also..
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And talking about the changes in the film; this newest (or, well, oldest, depending on how you look at it) Bond movie is definately an updated version of the genre. For one, the new 007 as a character is interestingly both less and more emotional than previous Bonds. Mostly the updates are good, but I still kind of miss the cold war era-007.. Casino Royale itself was quite a decent movie, although maybe a bit too predictable. The flow is nice, the ending is good and action sequences are perhaps a little more realistic than many before. Overall the movie met and in some sense exceeded expectations; there weren’t too many surprises but that’s one good thing about Bond movies usually – you know what you’re going to get. 4 out of 5.
Lake House
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A romantic drama with a well-known leading cast; Keanu Reeves & Sandra Bullock. Both pull off their respective roles well. The plot is a bit unusual; the two start a letter correspondence and soon discover they are living two years apart – this complicates their meeting somewhat and also messes with ones mind a bit, with some of the developments a bit confusing. I’m still not quite sure whether there’s a serious continuity error in the movie or not. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty good romantic drama with plenty of emotional content. 4 out of 5.
