Brothers

Jim Sheridan, 2009

plot synopsis: A young man comforts his older brother’s wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan.

Jim Sheridan’s remake of the 2004 Danish film Brødre isn’t nearly the soapy, melodramatic mess that it’s trailer had led me to believe it’d be. It’s not a great film by any means, but what it does, it does well. It’s sort of like Alkaline Trio. I haven’t seen the original, so I can’t compare it, but I was surprised how little the film actually focuses on the romance aspect of the story. Instead, this is more a story about the mental health of soldiers when they return home from our current “war.” The entire cast is good, particuarly Sam Shepard (always great), Tobey Maguire (who I have never liked but I think is really good here, particularly when he DOESN’T overact in the final scenes; it’s completely fitting with the condition of the character) and Gyllenhaal. However, the standout of the film, and maybe the best new actress to watch of 2009 short of Carey Mulligan, is Bailee Madison as Sam’s daughter Isabelle. If Abigail Breslin can get an Oscar nomination for Little Miss Sunshine, this girl should get one here. She won’t, the film wasn’t very well received critically or commercially, but she DAMN deserves it. My biggest gripe with the film was actually with Jim Sheridan, who is one of my favorite directors and made one of my favorite films of this past decade, In America. There is nothing here that remotely lets me know this was a Jim Sheridan film; as far as I could tell, it could’ve been made by anyone. Still, a good film, and one of the better surprises of the year.

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Up in the Air

Jason Reitman, 2009

plot synopsis: With a job that has him traveling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham leads an empty life out of a suitcase, until his company does the unexpected: ground him.

I was a staunch defender of Jason Reitman’s Best Director nomination for Juno. I heard a lot of people argue that “anyone could’ve directed that movie,” but I disagreed. I felt there was a lot going on behind the camera, in Reitman’s direction of his actors, that made that film so fantastic. And I think with his third film, Up in the Air, I have been proven right. In terms of technique and overall skill, the jump Reitman has made from Thank You for Smoking to here is astounding. I really believe it cements him at the forefront of the next wave of great American filmmakers.

Clooney has never been better. It’s been said before, but he was BORN to play this role. A suave bachelor in his 40s having a bit of an existential crisis? It’s no contest. And the way he manages to show just enough vulnerability and true hurt in certain scenes (if you’ve seen the film you know what I’m talking about) just kills me. Vera Farmiga continues to be one of the great unappreciated actresses working today; her back-and-forth with Clooney (particularly in their initial meeting) brings to mind flashes of His Girl Friday or The Philadelphia Story. Jason Bateman continues to enjoy the second best career reboot of the decade.  And Anna Kendrick, who most people probably know from Twilight (or, if you like good movies, Rocket Science), nearly steals the show from Clooney. I won’t say I wasn’t disappointed when her character more-or-less disappears from the film 30 minutes before it ends.

A lot of people will use the phrase “movie of the moment” to describe this film, because of the way it deals with massive job loss and firings. However, don’t let that make you think this is a flash in the pan type of film that will be forgotten in five years (like a certain other Anna Kendrick film). This is one of the best American films of the year, and very well may earn both Jason and Ivan Reitman their first Academy Awards.

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The Messenger

Oren Moverman, 2009

plot synopsis: An American soldier struggles with an ethical dilemma when he becomes involved with the widow of a fallen officer.

Had I written this review right after viewing the film, I’m pretty confident this would be non-stop gushing. I LOVED this movie as I was watching it. However, with time to reflect on the film, I have found a fair number of flaws that keep this from being great. It never completely settles on it’s tone, the ending doesn’t quite work, and after awhile, the NOK notifications just become a chore to sit through. Still, it’s impossible to deny the power of the performances, particularly Foster and Harrelson, who play off each other so good. Sort of 2009’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead; not as good as everyone seems to be making it out to be, but definitely worth a look.

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Avatar

NOTE: THE SECOND TIME YOU WATCH THIS MOVIE (ESPECIALLY IF YOU GO FROM 3-D TO 2-D) YOU WILL HATE IT.

James Cameron, 2009

plot synopsis: A paraplegic marine dispatched to the planet Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.

I did not buy into the initial Avatar hype. At all. I thought the trailer was bad, the creatures looked fake, and the whole thing was going to just be a huge bust. However, as the early reviews started to trickle in, my views started to shift. I started seeing random celebrities (Ben Stiller, Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart, etc.), not connected to the film at all, singing its praises, and my interest was piqued more and more. By the time I sat down at the 12:01 am screening (my first of (at the time of this writing) three viewings), I was teeming with excitement. I am happy to say that this film not only lived up to the hype, it surpassed it. I almost don’t want to try and describe the feast for the eyes it is, because I feel like no words could really do it justice. It is, plain and simple, the most gorgeous film I have ever seen. Every inch of Pandora is crawling with such intricate details. From the monsters to the computer systems to the Na’vi themselves, it’s like looking at a moving work of art. No, the story isn’t incredibly original. If you’ve seen Dances with Wolves, you will probably know exactly where the story is going about 30 minutes in. That doesn’t bother me at all. Cameron has been working on this film for TWELVE years; going so far as to create the technology he needed to make the film in the first place. The fact that maybe the script wasn’t the most important thing on his mind shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody. Plus, Cameron has said he would like to make at least two more films in this world. With all the technological details in place this time, the stories should get better and better as the series(?) progresses. Two other things I would like to make note of; the absolutely gorgeous score by James Horner (in my opinion the current frontrunner for the Oscar), and the fantastically evil performance of Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch. Next to Christoph Waltz in Inlgourious Basterds, this was easily the best villian on-screen in 2009, and it’s a shame he’s not getting any Academy Awards buzz. All in all, Avatar is an out-and-out masterpiece, and I cannot wait to visit Pandora again.

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The Blind Side

John Lee Hancock, 2009

plot synopsis: The story of Michael Oher, an homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

A film that would win my award for the worst trailer of 2009 actually turned out to not be half bad. My two biggest qualms with the trailer; that the Christian element of the film just seemed to be saying “hey, we believe in God, and we’re better than you nasty Atheist liberals,” and Sandra Bullock’s ridiculous seeming performance, were completely unfounded. The Christian element is there, but it’s never better-than-thou. Secondly, Bullock’s job may be the best “over-makeuped star with an accent” performance since Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich. The film itself is pretty by-the-numbers and a little long, no surprises here, but overall a decent, watchable, and, most importantly, uplifting film.

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Coco Before Chanel

Anne Fontaine, 2009

plot synopsis: The story of Coco Chanel’s rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world.

The problem with biopics (or at least the ones I’ve been watching lately) is that they tend to put all their marbles in the basket of the lead performance, leaving the rest of the film to do it’s best to try and keep up. It was the case with La vie en Rose, Ray, and unfortunately it’s the case with Coco Before Chanel. Behind Tautou’s mesmerizing/nuanced/layered/(insert adjective here), Oscar-worthy performance (that seems to be being sadly overlooked early here in the awards season), everything else is left in the dust. Desplat’s score is by-the-book, the costumes are, while perfectly nice, nothing I haven’t seen in a million other period pieces, and the cinematography is (aside from a few gorgeous shots) surprisingly conservative. Still worth checking out to see one of the great 2009 performances that will likely be forgotten come March.

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December-February Plans

Just wanted to leave a quick note to the no people who come here; over the next 6-8 weeks, I will be spending the majority of my movie watching time trying to get through all the films I have yet to see from 2009, so I can get my huge “Best of 2009” stuff out there before the end of January. Here is a list of the films I have and haven’t seen from ’09 that could be contenders for my top 20:

Shortlist:

Star Trek, Up, Drag Me to Hell, The White Ribbon, A Prophet, The Hangover, (500) Days of Summer, Inglourious Basterds, Adventureland, The Hurt Locker, Zombieland, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, Goodbye Solo, An Education, The Damned United, Bright Star, The Baader Meinhof Complex, The Cove, The Girlfriend Experience, Adam, Antichrist, Food Inc., The Informant!, Where the Wild Things Are, Broken Embraces, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Paranormal Activity, Julie & Julia, District 9, Collapse, The Blind Side, Coco Before Chanel, Avatar

Still need to see:

A Single Man, The Lovely Bones, Invictus, Up in the Air, Sherlock Holmes, Nine, A Serious Man, A Single Man, The Last Station, Crazy Heart, That Evening Sun, Trucker, The Road, Sugar, Lorna’s Silence, The Messenger, The Beaches of Agnes, Big Fan, Me and Orson Welles, Coraline, Mary and Max, The Princess and the Frog

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