such small portions...
Mini-reviews of the best and worst films I've seen this year. Note: It doesnt matter what year they were released, as long as I saw them this year.
BEST
Mean creek: Close contender for best film I’ve seen this year. It’s a well-shot and beautifully-acted tale about how a nice day out goes horribly wrong for a group of young kids. The acting is superb, the pace is unhurried and when the inevitable turning point arrives, it is still shocking even though you are likely to see it coming. Good stuff.
Knocked up: A funny film about what happens when you decide that condoms are optional.
Hot fuzz: The last half-hour or so are a bit tedious but the rest of the film is very funny although mainly for people who are attuned to British humour. Some of it is really quite subtle-those who have seen Shaun of the dead (with the same director and leading actors) will know what to expect when they rent this film.
Bourne ultimatum: Not just the best action film of the year, but possibly the best action film of the decade. The fight scene in a Morocco apartment is just breathtaking-so realistic you can almost feel the blows- and the directing is superb.
Children of men: The best film I saw this year. It’s dark, disturbing and violent-its about a dystopian world in which mankind has stopped reproducing- but film-making rarely gets better than this.
Little Miss sunshine: Charming and funny, I really enjoyed this.
Flight 93: An achingly realistic film about 9/11 focusing on the passengers on one of the doomed planes and their loved ones on the ground. There’ll never be a better film about those events than this one.
House of flying daggers: After Crouching tiger, hidden dragon showed us that martial arts and sword fights could be as graceful as ballet-and gravity could be overcome if you were skilful enough- here is another film to follow that path. The action sequences are unbelievable but the film as a whole is a truly memorable experience. You wont see too many violent martial-arts love stories in your life.
Anchorman: A lot funnier than I thought it would be and already one of the most quotable films in years.
Red Eye: How to make a gripping action thriller with most of it set in an airplane- and with the heroine and villain barely leaving their seats until about an hour into the film.
24 hour party people: This film came out about five years ago, but I only saw it recently and I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants something a bit more unconventional. It is set mainly in the eighties and chronicles the music scene in Manchester so wonderfully and with such humour that you cant help but be drawn in. It stars comic genius Steve Coogan (of I’m Alan Patridge and Knowing me, knowing you fame) and has too many good moments to mention.
The departed: Intense and uncompromising-and what an ending!. Martin Scorcese’s genius is clearly evident in just about every frame of this movie.
WORST
XX2: Take your worst hangover and multiply it by about a thousand. That’s how bad this film is.
Scary movie 3: So bad, so repulsive, so insulting I feel actual physical pain just thinking of this travesty of a film. It is so bad that I heard angels weeping loudly for mankind as the closing credits rolled. I would rather drink paint than watch this again. I hope that wasn’t too subtle- this film is an abomination on so many levels. It sucked so badly it warped space and time. If you liked this film, you need to take a long hard look at your life.
Nacho libre: To quote Charlie Brooker (from one of his priceless reviews about a TV show whose name escapes me) this will be warmly welcomed by those sitting infront of a TV set with a shotgun in their mouths trying to pluck up the courage.
Elizabethtown: This film was very similar to Garden state- depressed guy meets quirky girl who changes his life- but while Garden state was funny and smart, this one was just pretentious and dull and Kirsten Dunst’s character was just plain irritating (compared to Natalie Portman’s character in Garden state who was charming and a lot more believable) The only good thing about the film is Alec Baldwin’s very brief role- he’s onscreen for about ten minutes but he steals the film. Very poor and frequently annoying.
The Simpsons movie: While I think The Simpsons TV show is one of mankind’s greatest achievements- there’s never been a funnier series than the show in its prime- the film is a desperate let-down. It’s truly disappointing and has very little of the wit and warmth of the series.
Next: I blogged about the sci-fi author Philip.K.Dick in a recent post and this film starring Nicholas Cage and Jessica Biel is based on his story The golden man. It starts off very promisingly but by the end it just loses its marbles. One problem is Jessica Biel- she’s a fine actress but shes so beautiful and has a certain je ne sais quoi that the film inevitably becomes a love story and a celebration of her rather than a smart sci-fi film(I saw the same thing in The illusionist which also had Biel- that also became a lets-worship-Jessica-Biel film as soon as she made her appearance) The lead character-and the camera- cant help falling in love with her at the expense of the film.
Revolver: I’m a big fan of the director Guy Ritchie-Snatch still makes me cry with laughter- so it really hurts to say this, but this is without a doubt the worst film I’ve seen this year. Pretentious, stupid and completely incomprehensible. Don’t go anywhere near this.
BEST
Mean creek: Close contender for best film I’ve seen this year. It’s a well-shot and beautifully-acted tale about how a nice day out goes horribly wrong for a group of young kids. The acting is superb, the pace is unhurried and when the inevitable turning point arrives, it is still shocking even though you are likely to see it coming. Good stuff.
Knocked up: A funny film about what happens when you decide that condoms are optional.
Hot fuzz: The last half-hour or so are a bit tedious but the rest of the film is very funny although mainly for people who are attuned to British humour. Some of it is really quite subtle-those who have seen Shaun of the dead (with the same director and leading actors) will know what to expect when they rent this film.
Bourne ultimatum: Not just the best action film of the year, but possibly the best action film of the decade. The fight scene in a Morocco apartment is just breathtaking-so realistic you can almost feel the blows- and the directing is superb.
Children of men: The best film I saw this year. It’s dark, disturbing and violent-its about a dystopian world in which mankind has stopped reproducing- but film-making rarely gets better than this.
Little Miss sunshine: Charming and funny, I really enjoyed this.
Flight 93: An achingly realistic film about 9/11 focusing on the passengers on one of the doomed planes and their loved ones on the ground. There’ll never be a better film about those events than this one.
House of flying daggers: After Crouching tiger, hidden dragon showed us that martial arts and sword fights could be as graceful as ballet-and gravity could be overcome if you were skilful enough- here is another film to follow that path. The action sequences are unbelievable but the film as a whole is a truly memorable experience. You wont see too many violent martial-arts love stories in your life.
Anchorman: A lot funnier than I thought it would be and already one of the most quotable films in years.
Red Eye: How to make a gripping action thriller with most of it set in an airplane- and with the heroine and villain barely leaving their seats until about an hour into the film.
24 hour party people: This film came out about five years ago, but I only saw it recently and I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants something a bit more unconventional. It is set mainly in the eighties and chronicles the music scene in Manchester so wonderfully and with such humour that you cant help but be drawn in. It stars comic genius Steve Coogan (of I’m Alan Patridge and Knowing me, knowing you fame) and has too many good moments to mention.
The departed: Intense and uncompromising-and what an ending!. Martin Scorcese’s genius is clearly evident in just about every frame of this movie.
WORST
XX2: Take your worst hangover and multiply it by about a thousand. That’s how bad this film is.
Scary movie 3: So bad, so repulsive, so insulting I feel actual physical pain just thinking of this travesty of a film. It is so bad that I heard angels weeping loudly for mankind as the closing credits rolled. I would rather drink paint than watch this again. I hope that wasn’t too subtle- this film is an abomination on so many levels. It sucked so badly it warped space and time. If you liked this film, you need to take a long hard look at your life.
Nacho libre: To quote Charlie Brooker (from one of his priceless reviews about a TV show whose name escapes me) this will be warmly welcomed by those sitting infront of a TV set with a shotgun in their mouths trying to pluck up the courage.
Elizabethtown: This film was very similar to Garden state- depressed guy meets quirky girl who changes his life- but while Garden state was funny and smart, this one was just pretentious and dull and Kirsten Dunst’s character was just plain irritating (compared to Natalie Portman’s character in Garden state who was charming and a lot more believable) The only good thing about the film is Alec Baldwin’s very brief role- he’s onscreen for about ten minutes but he steals the film. Very poor and frequently annoying.
The Simpsons movie: While I think The Simpsons TV show is one of mankind’s greatest achievements- there’s never been a funnier series than the show in its prime- the film is a desperate let-down. It’s truly disappointing and has very little of the wit and warmth of the series.
Next: I blogged about the sci-fi author Philip.K.Dick in a recent post and this film starring Nicholas Cage and Jessica Biel is based on his story The golden man. It starts off very promisingly but by the end it just loses its marbles. One problem is Jessica Biel- she’s a fine actress but shes so beautiful and has a certain je ne sais quoi that the film inevitably becomes a love story and a celebration of her rather than a smart sci-fi film(I saw the same thing in The illusionist which also had Biel- that also became a lets-worship-Jessica-Biel film as soon as she made her appearance) The lead character-and the camera- cant help falling in love with her at the expense of the film.
Revolver: I’m a big fan of the director Guy Ritchie-Snatch still makes me cry with laughter- so it really hurts to say this, but this is without a doubt the worst film I’ve seen this year. Pretentious, stupid and completely incomprehensible. Don’t go anywhere near this.
posted by Minzo at 6:02 AM
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