Zodiac

Wow. I don't know even where to begin. This is a great film. Se7en by far is my favorite David Fincher film and actually one of my favorite all time films. Fight Club is certainly up there too. This new film combines many of the film making/storytelling techniques used so effectively in both of those works. What is a step above here is that this film is a straight drama based on real events. It takes place in our world or at least the world of the late 60's and early 70's. FC and 7 take place in their own worlds, similar to ours but not quite real. Fincher's trademark visual techniques work very well here as he tells a story that is at first a newsroom drama then a police procedural and then both at once. All the President's Men, Absence of Malice and The Mean Season all resonate here for me. The newsroom scenes in Zodiac are as wonderfully staged as the police station scenes. They feel like they are filmed in the time they represent and not recreated to remind of us of the time. His team has made the film authentic. In addition to people smoking cigarettes throughout the film, I especially loved the telephone call sequences using the antiquated sound of the other end of the line. There is so much atmosphere in the use of that sound. The film does open with some gruesome killings and the violence when portrayed is not minimized. But the real violence is what happens to the three leads as they are possessed by the solving/reporting of the crime. The cast is awesome especially Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. in the lead roles; and then Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, and John Carroll Lynch in supporting roles. There is even another layer of supporting-supporting actors who are also terrific. The best cameo actor moment is the appearance of Charles Fleischer (aka Roger Rabbitt and so many other great voices) as a creepy, creepy potential suspect. He and Jake G. play out a scene that is a basement nightmare. I was a little shocked to see that the film relies on the same "library as informer" plot device that Se7en uses, though maybe this actually happened in this case. I certainly hope not... in a well functioning democracy libraries are allowed to respect the privacy rights of all patrons. Only corrupt governments (and movie plots) force libraries to reveal their patrons/citizens reading patterns. Freedom of thought and unfettered library access is the cornerstone of a free society and must remain untouched even when fighting real evil people. On a semi-lighter note, I was happily surprised to watch the plot develop and just as it felt that it was wrapping up, the film took a turn as the cartoonist moved from cub reporter to full fledged investigator. I really enjoyed the set up of this film from prologue to first act to intermission/bridge to second act. The pacing was just right.
Memorable moment: "Fuckin' library."
Film # 102

Raging Bull

It took me a long time to finally see this classic film. I had been holding out to see it on the big screen in a revival at an art house. I settled for the 32 inch tv which was ok but will definitely look for the big screen opportunity. Such beautiful composition! This film is absolutely gorgeous. I also loved the stillness of the soundtrack and long silences into which Jake has quiet conversations working out his lust and jealousies. DeNiro is absolutely stunning as the brute.
Memorable moment: Early on La Motta sticks his head out his apartment window to yell at a neighbor. The shot of him from outside framed by the brick is priceless!
Film #101

Because I Said So

It's a long way from Heathers to Because I Said So, both chronologically and attitudinally. Heathers was a very influential film for a generation who were bored by their parents and irritated by the nonsense of high school. Flash forward to 2007 and Michael Lehmann makes a film about the tribulation's of the single helicopter parent. Man is it a different world from 1989. This is a cute comedy which sometimes tries to be a screwball comedy and sometimes tries to be a romantic comedy but never fully achieves being either. It was odd to see Diane Keaton play a character who reinforces the image of women as technological ditzes who can't drive, are only at home in the kitchen and eat when they are sad. Oh the times they are a changin'. The highlight of this movie for me was Gabriel Macht who plays one of Milly's suitors. A couple other special mentions: the kitchens featured in the film and the various wedding cakes. Though the film is amusing it is nowhere near as funny as the four episodes of The Comeback that Lehmann directed. They may even rival Heathers for laughs.
Memorable moment: Johnny's little kid trying to tell a joke to Diane K.
Film# 100

El Laberinto del Fauno

Yes I dare to call this film by it's original name. Loved it. This film fascinated and frightened me throughout. I know next to nothing about the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath, and really appreciated that this film brought me to a place I had not been to before via the big screen. The director and writer, Guillermo del Toro, has both an intriguing visual sense and enchanting storytelling capability. Like Time Bandits the film weaves a child's reality and fantasy together and never really answers if one or the other is just make believe. I like del Toro's idea that monsters do exist in the world and are indistinguishable from those of fantasy. It is all one world in this film. The scariest monster is not the child eating creature but Ofelia's evil step father Capitan Vidal played by Sergi Lopez whose only other film I have seen was Dirty Pretty Things. Need to catch up with all his other films along with del Toro's. Great cast all round and terrific film!
Memorable moment: Ofelia's first meeting with the Faun.
Film #99

music & lyrics

Oh so sad! This movie looked very cute and charming (as all Hugh Grant movies must be) but its execution is bad, bad, bad. The story had a cute concept at its core (80's new wave has-been works to make a career comeback finding love in the meantime) and the cast had strong comedic talent (Grant, Drew Barrymore, Brad Garret and Kristen Johnston). The result is oddly off beat (and I don't mean indie off beat, I mean tone deaf off beat). I did find it amusing that the story focuses on a Brit 80's pop star who was in a band that appears to be a mixture of WHAM, Flock of Seagulls, Ah-Ha and most other new wave bands played on WLIR in its heyday. The amusing part to me is that the side story keeps taking place on Long Island where WLIR introduced a generation (including me) to all that new wave music. I see the writer/director was born in Brooklyn and went to school at SUNY Binghamton (my alma mater and also a popular school for Long Islanders who wanted to see the world). I'm not sure what's more embarrassing: being the stereotype portrayed by Kristen Johnston or the fact that this dreck came from a fellow alum. Wait...yes I do.... the latter is far more embarrassing.
Favorite moment: Alex trying to confront Sloan.
Film #98

Fired!

A very independent film about one woman's experience being fired by Woody Allen and then how she took that humiliation and explored termination through other people's experiences. Many of these people are her celebrity friends including Tim Allen, Fred Willard, Judy Gold, Andy Dick, Tate Donovan, Illeana Douglas and more. The highlights are a condolence video made by David Cross and a puppet film made by Tate Donovan telling how he was fired from a film that then filmed in front of his apartment. The film ends on more serious notes as she interviews auto employees who get laid off, and economists Robert Reich and Ben Stein (he is especially vehement about the wrongs of the current economy).
Favorite moment: Ben Stein ripping into the current state of the economy.
Film #97

Breaking and Entering

I could call this the anti-Notes On A Scandal. That film moved way too fast for me and this film moves exceedingly slow. Normally I might be bothered by this but seeing it right after Notes, it was a welcome relief to be allowed to see actors act and stories unfold. A while back I saw a film made by Jude Law and his friends called Final Cut. Not a good film but liked the idea of friends making a film together. This film felt like that especially with the re-teaming of Law with the director Anthony Minghella and the actor Ray Winstone (who was in Final Cut). The cast also includes Martin Freeman, Robin Wright Penn, Vera Farmiga, Juliet Binoche and an excellent newcomer named Rafi Gavron. The story revolves around two families trying to make emotional ends meet as their lives become intertwined. I enjoyed all of the performances and the story. I especially liked seeing Ray Winstone as a cop who uses his empathy instead of his temper to help turn a novice thief from his ways. It is also interesting that this major film like Casino Royale uses Parkour/Free Running as part of the story.
Favorite moment: Will and Amira getting to know each other.
Film #96

Notes On a Scandal

This film moves very fast. The actors are totally at the mercy of the plot which moved from point to point so quickly that I felt like I was missing an opportunity to see the actors savor the emotional moments. Instead they got to chew through the moments. This of course may have been the purposeful creative choice of the director Richard Eyre and the adapter Patrick Marber and I can only respect the choice even if I was not enticed or entertained by it. But that said, the film is a tense thriller that did hold my attention. Maybe that is where part of the disconnect was. I expect a thriller pace in an action film or even a murder mystery but this is neither. It's a thriller that takes place in one woman's head and her perceptions badly affects another woman's life. Both characters make horrific choices which hurt the people around them but one is acting out of mental illness and one is acting out of recklessness. There is also the issue of the soundtrack by Philip Glass. I was not sure if the soundtrack was bad or simply intrusive at points. At the very least it took me out of the film at various moments and pointed only to itself and not the action or moment on the screen. Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy all craft solid performances. At times though they were delivering some lines in a powerful fashion even though it felt like their underlying motivations for their passions were left on the cutting room floor. I did enjoy Marber's previous films adaptions, Asylum and Closer. But I think Notes and Asylum are similarly flawed. They are still two films that are better than most of the dreck coming out of Hollywood. One of the delights of seeing this film is that I saw it at one of the country's best theatres... AMC 25 on 42nd Street. I miss seeing movies here and this was a great treat! Best seats, best sound, best screens and on a week night best movie loving crowds!
Favorite moment: Barbara and Richard yelling at Sheba to attend to each of their immediate needs while Sheba's kids look on.
Film # 95