Seraphim Falls (2007)

A lone man in the wilderness is pursued by a posse determined to capture him. He's not superhuman, but he is resourceful and manages to slip away time and again, reducing the number of pursuers one by one. Eventually we find out why he's being pursued and, honestly, it's a simple case of willfully misplaced vengeance. 

By the time we get to the magical saleswoman in the middle of the salt flats, I'd had it.

C

The Mist (2007)

A dense mist descends on a small town after a storm. A few dozen people in a grocery store discover that the mist is home to terrifying creatures. They work together for a while, but soon the ravings of the local nutjob begin to make sense to some of the people so now there's danger from without AND within.

It's pretty effective when not depending on prideful contrariness. That device of people being so sure that warnings are deliberate lies always makes me crazy. I must concede, however, that the last 6 years or so have proven that simply loudly denying verifiable truth really really works on some people. That's scarier than any monster lurking in the fog.

C+

This Christmas (2007)

A family with six grown kids gets together for the holidays. There are fights and laughs and revelations and major life changes... the usual holiday stuff. It's capable, but not particularly memorable.

C+

No Country for Old Men (2007)

I recently read the novel and loved it so much that I wanted to re-watch the film. And, wow, I'm so glad I did. I originally viewed a couple of directing choices as "flawed," but now I agree with them -- rather than sensationalizing some of the events, they were treated as inevitable. It's a choice that truly works for the story.

Over the last 13 years, when I'd think about this movie, it was always Chigurh (Javier Bardem's character) that loomed large -- as though the whole film had been about him. But it's really not: he's just the most unique character. The story belongs to the people coping with a monster rather than to the monster itself. It's about Tommy Lee Jones' weary sheriff and Josh Brolin's savvy, yet decent, blue collar husband. It's even about Kelly Macdonald's scared yet strong young wife. It's about normal people in extraordinary circumstances. 

In my last review I said it was no masterpiece. I was wrong.

A

Counter Investigation (2007)

After the suspected killer of a detective’s daughter is quickly arrested and convicted, he begins a correspondence with the detective, which leads to the reopening of the case.

This was a very tight movie -- not even 90 minutes -- and it did a good job of pulling the rug. Fantastic performances.

B+

Hot Rod (2007)

An amateur (and inept) stuntman decides to raise $50k to pay for his stepdad’s surgery so that he can prove he’s a man… by kicking his ass once he’s recovered. Completely stupid and also ridiculously funny. I laughed so hard at a couple of scenes that I was almost embarrassed.

B

Across the Universe (2007)

Definitely imperfect, but it had so many wonderful moments that I really didn't mind. The "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" number (vid below) was a standout and the male lead was simply made to break hearts. By the time it was over I was both teary-eyed and smiling.

B-

King of California (2007)

Something about this story just got to me. It’s an irresponsible parent/responsible child set-up -- something I’ve seen dozens of times -- but it transcends that somehow. There was a patience to the kid and an intelligence to the parent and a complete innocence in both that I found hard to resist. I felt as though I was watching a dynamic I’d never seen before. Plus...buried treasure.

A-

Jindabyne (2007)

Guys on a fishing trip find a dead girl in the water, but wait a couple of days to report it so that they don’t have to cut their vacation short. There’s plenty of fallout from this act, both in the community and within their own families.

There’re a few things in this film that I simply didn’t get, a cultural undercurrent of Australian race relations that wasn’t fully explained, I think. The body wasn’t white and that became a thing -- there was something about the dead not being dead and an interrupted journey... I don’t know. In a pre-movie notice, there was a warning that said something about “for those in xx communities, there are images of deceased and they are named,” and during the movie a newscaster similarly warned before she uttered the name of the slain girl. I have no idea what’s going on there, but it would’ve been nice to have it explained for us ‘murcans.

As a whole, it felt rather disjointed. There were a lot of threads to this story and precious few of them were happy ones.

B-

Jimmy Carter Man From Plains (2007)

I've long been an admirer of Jimmy Carter: for a believer and a reasonable, thinking member of society like myself, he's nothing short of a hero.

This documentary covers the book tour for his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.  Although the film is unnecessarily stylized -- the datelines were often almost part of the scenery and, therefore, easy to miss and the music was sometimes confusing and distracting -- Carter's personality shines through.  He comes off as smart, decent, hardworking and fearless.  He also rarely loses his temper and is an always-gracious guest even when interviewers clearly haven't bothered to do their homework.

My opinion of him held fast and I'm happy to have him representing both Christianity and America.  I really should read some of his books.

B+ (more for the subject than the presentation)

In a Day (2007)

A sandwich shop employee suddenly finds herself with nothing to do when the restaurant has to shut down for the day due to an owner emergency. After being harrassed by a jerk, her day turns around when a regular patron of her shop makes it his mission to give her a great day.

It’s got a really weird vibe going for quite some time while we (along with the girl) try to figure out the guy’s angle. Things kind of come together at the end, but it feels very, very small and kind of not worth the time.

B-

Red Road (2007)

I'm embarrassed to admit that the Scottish accents were so hard to decipher at times that there were entire scenes that left me baffled.

Still, it's an involving movie concerning a woman who's employed to scan cctv for signs of criminal activity and who inserts herself into the life of one of the people she sees. The story unfolds slowly and effectively; we spend quite a bit of time in the dark as to her motives. It's probably not quite as cathartic as it was intended to be, but it was still pretty dang good.

B+

For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)

Both heartbreaking and hope-filled, this is a clear-eyed look at how those who grew up in the "God hates fags" religious rhetoric respond to their homosexual children. What I liked best (and, frankly, surprised me most) about it was the fact that so many of them understood that it didn't have to be God OR their kids. It went beyond acceptance of these individuals to a reevaluation of their core beliefs of right and wrong.

Except for a snarky cartoon interlude with the production values -- and effectiveness -- of a health class filmstrip, this was well done and incredibly effective.

B+

The Last Winter (2007)

An almost laughable "message" movie about a small group at a tiny Alaskan outpost researching the land in preparation for drilling. The problem is that there are ghosts or giant birds or "sour gas" that are dead-set against letting anyone get the oil out of the ground. So, of course, almost everyone at the outpost either goes crazy and/or dies.

The mood started out great -- I'm a sucker for "trapped" thrillers -- but it just got so stupid.

D

Death at a Funeral (2007)

One of those "lots of wacky things happen" movies that just doesn't pay off at all. Veered too far into obnoxious and unbelievable.

D+

Rescue Dawn (2007)

This movie had me asking myself what had ever made me think Christian Bale could act. He's so broad here, it's almost like a Forrest Gump character...but both smarter and more retarded (and, yes, I know that doesn't make sense, but neither does this portrayal). He's like a idiot McGyver stuck in a movie told with little finesse or build.

I did a little research about this movie afterward because I was curious as to what REALLY happened. Turns out that the families of the POWs involved were not at all happy about the creative liberties taken with the story -- considering that the changes only made for a less believable, more annoying story, that was a pretty crappy move.

D

Control (2007)

I'm not a Joy Division fan, but I was still pretty mesmerized by this film -- shot in appropriately moody black & white -- chronicling the creation and rise and sad end of the band.

The picture focuses on lead singer Ian Curtis, who's played appealingly by Sam Riley. He's all sullenness and intensity, I mean very rock and roll. His quick jump into marriage, development of epileptic seizures, and the birth of a child seem to all conspire to push Curtis deeper into himself. The movie did a fantastic job of getting me on his side (though I can't help but wonder if the intent was to make me sympathize with his wife, whose book served as source material), I could feel the desperation and confusion and had no trouble understanding why suicide might seem an inevitable destination.

B

Premonition (2007)

I like my Sandra Bullock smiley, thanks. But if she's just GOT to do one of those dark roles, the story has to be solid enough to bear a little scrutiny -- and this dud just can't cut it.

The story (my husband's dead! No he isn't! My daughter's face is ruined! No it isn't! I'm crazy! No I isn't!) was ridiculously confusing and there was never any "why" offered. Add to that the fact that I absolutely hated Bullock's character and her moody lump of a husband, and there's really no reason to care about any of it.

F

Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven (2007)

This documentary about Le Cirque, formerly the center of New York's restaurant world, truly tried my patience.

We spend the first chapter in New York, with '80s footage of the original location fawning over its star patrons (news personalities, politicians, and actors). That's interesting, just from a history standpoint, but probably would've been more so if I were either a New Yorker or had visited the restaurant at some point.

We eventually make our way to Las Vegas, were the Maccioni family -- ruled with dismissive annoyance by Sirio -- is working to get a new location of La Cirque off the ground. If this were just a focused look at the mechanics about the work that goes into opening a large-scale restaurant, I think this could have been fascinating. But this was more about the Macccioni clan itself and their petty squabbles between spoiled adult children and the struggle to maintain dignity in the face of a demeaning father who must have his way, even when it's obvious to everyone else it's the wrong way.

Not an enjoyable family with whom to spend any time -- even the short 78 minutes this film ran.

D

Sleuth (2007)

I've seen neither the play nor the 1972 film adaptation, so I can't natter on about the changes and which is best -- I can just say that this was fine, though a little too stagey to be much more than clever at arm's length.

There were quite a few times that I felt a bit off balance for a few seconds before "catching up" to what was actually happening, which may sound like a fun idea but didn't actually wind up working all that well. I was rather annoyed by the end.

C