All these films have been reviewed previously by my colleagues. In some cases I’ve commented on the film previously, but, for the record:
Rescue Dawn C+
This is a dissenting view from the Lawyer’s (A- from him and a placement in his top 20). I’d be tempted to give this a C if the acting wasn’t so solid throughout. That said, in the P.O.W. camp (at least half the movie) nothing happens then nothing happens, then nothing happens again. The dialogue is good, but it goes on and on. The third act is much stronger, but, by then, I didn’t care. Click below to keep reading "Other Takes."
Gone Baby Gone B+
Casey Affleck’s was my favorite thing in Ocean’s 13. Come to find out, he was just getting warmed up. Starring in his brother Ben’s redemption song, he plays a morally complex private eye pulled into a no-win kidnapping case with subtlety and feel. Still, it’s the Boston southside locals inhabiting the edges of this film that nearly steal it with their gritty, honest performances. Not an easy film, but a good one that will keep you thinking about right and wrong (and who gets to make that call). Original review.
No Country for Old Men A
It’s time to acknowledge that the Coen Brothers are master artisans at the absolute top of their game. As a friend said to me the other day (speaking of No Country): “The thing is, nothing happened for the first half-hour, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.” The best movie I’ve seen in several years. Original review.
You Can Count on Me B
I liked but didn’t love this film of siblings dealing with their parent’s untimely death 20 years on. Laura Linney is great and Mark Ruffalo is as well, although Mark is just too good looking to be dating the poor girl he’s taken up with at the beginning. The story rings true throughout, but I need some move towards redemption to really get behind it. Original reviews.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Other Takes
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5 comments:
Okay, okay. Rescue Dawn didn't warrant an A-. I have since (see my comments to the top 20 list) downgraded it to a B+, and I doubt it will remain in my top 20 after I see everything else that's out. I think the camp stuff is good, especially watching Bale's leadership and Zahn's fragile psyche. It was an oasis in the desert of the early summer movies, so it probably seemed better than it was.
As for my full A for You Can Count on Me, I stand by it. I watched it again last week, and I still love the religion piece of the film, as well as the male comradery/mentoring going on.
i wasn't questioning your love for rescue dawn. i glanced around online after i wrote the review and a lot of people appear to like it pretty well. i just couldn't get into it.
as for you can count on me, i almost gave it a B+, but i don't really want to see it again. you, doc, and my brother all swear by it, so i'm obviously missing out.
btw, on a different topic, doctor was right. ebert lossed it. he gave Compass four stars.
Rescue Dawn (B) has some pretty spectacular (and real) aerial shots of bombing runs. It has some of the best original music of the year. But you're right, watching the POWs "do" stuff isn't remotely as interesting as watching Llewelyn Moss put a case full of money in the ventilating shaft.
The priest scene in You Can Count on Me is what elevates it all the way to A-. Maybe that scene didn't ring true for you as many scenes with "doctors" are so false to me that they ruin a good movie. The Fountain is the most recent example of this.
i liked the priest scenes pretty well. i thought they were revealing at points. people often want a pastor to be a surrogate parent, to come in and tell a loved one what they should do in any area of life (get a job, get direction, stay in school, whatever), but that's not really a pastor's gig in the end, and it just puts the priest in a no-win situation. when she comes clean about the affair, i appreciate that she really just wants someone to tell her what she's doing is wrong. that said, the question, "why do you think you are doing this?" is a perfectly reasonable one. linney obviously has some issues she needs to work through.
i think what bothered me about the film is that it wasn't obvious to me at all that linney could count on ruffalo. i'm all for the "we each have to make our own way" thinking, but linney gives and gives and ruffalo takes and takes. god ultimately isn't really in this film. linney turns to the priest and the priest goes into psycho-babble (as portrayed in the film) and so the ending is "all we've got is each other," but linney doesn't even have that. she's got nothing but a son and occasional sex.
I guess that's the point I was clumsily trying to make. To me, the priest isn't speaking "psychobabble" whereas Hugh Jackman obviously is in The Fountain.
You bring up an interesting point about Linney not getting anything back from Ruffalo, but I see it differently. The way she feels about him when she sees him and the way it reminds her of her childhood and innocence is enough to get her through the tough times ahead until the next time she sees him.
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