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BABEL
(Paramount Vantage) |
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Impression: “International
chaos and disillusionment reigns supreme in this exquisite landscape of
personal circumstances that victimize the selected souls on a worldwide
scale. Babel is visually arresting and captures the imagination while
connecting us culturally and cinematically with its involving
storytelling.”
Comment: Filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu constructs a
sweeping and operatic character study of periled individuals—both
grown-ups and adolescents—that are caught up in the intrigue concerning
the quintessential “shot heard around the world.” When an errant bullet in
Morocco affecting an American couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett)
connects other sordid stories spanning the globe, Inarritu is skillful at
relating an everlasting angst that transcends foreign boundaries. Soon, a
sexually-deprived Japanese deaf mute (Rinko Kikuchi) and her widowed
father and a Mexican domestic (Adriana Barraza) and her two blonde-haired
American charges will all be united in the umbrella of a crisis along with
a Moroccan villager and his two mischievous gun-toting sons. Babel is a
sophisticated soap opera that resonates with passion and persistence. From
cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto’s eye-popping scenic world playground to
the textured performances, Babel brings authenticity to the concept of
global conflict. |
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THE DEPARTED
(Warner Bros.)
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Impression: “...riveting and
fearless in its intriguing scope. The Departed beats us upside our head
with a flashy fury that stings more caustically than an avenging queen
bee.”
Comment: Legendary moviemaker Martin Scorsese is back in riveting
form with the scathing Bostonian urban drama The Departed that echoes the
harsh sentiments of his earlier streetwise melodramas that recall the
colorful menacing street thugs and the ominous code in which they live
(and die by) so passionately. Turbulent in its violence yet oddly lyrical,
The Departed features top-notch talent rounded out by Oscar winners Jack
Nicholson and Matt Damon and Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio. Two
Boston-based state cops (Damon and DiCaprio) go undercover while their
target is a highly touted local gangster (Nicholson) that figures into the
messy mix. One cop looks to take down Nicholson’s heralded criminal while
another swears his loyalty to him and keeps an eye out for his
preservation. Scorsese never misses a beat as The Departed is hardcore and
compelling in its titillating skin. |
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DREAMGIRLS
(DreamWorks Distribution LLC) |
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Impression: “A dynamic
musical with hearty performances that brings its soulful touch to the
forefront. Dreamgirls is a spectacle of flash, conflict and showbiz
vibrancy that tingles with energetic urgency. American popular music and
the behind-the-scenes sensationalism is always something to behold with
the entertaining vibes that radiate from Condon’s finger-snapping fantasy
of stage-driven divas.”
Comment: Anybody that appreciates the pizzazz-driven politics that
paints a familiar picture behind that legendary music-making corporation
known as Motown will appreciate the boisterous backstage confrontation of
this fictional Chicago-based girl group. Filmmaker Condon’s musical
concoction is spry, thought-provoking and brings out phenomenal
performances in its veteran performers (namely a rejuvenated Eddie Murphy)
and its upstart (an impressive big screen turn by former American Idol
personality Jennifer Hudson). Overall, Dreamgirls sparkles with sheer
radiance in the pursuit for the glamorous and gritty aspirations of that
complicated animal known as show business. |
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HALF NELSON
(ThinkFilm)
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Impression: “No one can deny
the silent rage and intensifying disbelief...absorbing and structured in
its haunting desperation of addiction and social alienation.”
Comment: As I initially stated in my review of Half Nelson:
“Filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden deliver a reflective and involving
coming-of-age cautionary tale about the flawed human soul and an unlikely
friendship that develops because of the recklessness of dark psychological
forces.” This little film is probably my all-time favorite film of 2006.
The superb performances are so prevalent yet poignantly understated.
Hopefully, Oscar voters will garnish well-deserved nods to Ryan Gosling,
Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackey as a trio of disillusioned players whose
drug-addled universe is turned upside down. As a young and respected
“White Hope” history teacher Dan Dunne (Gosling) whose job is to shape the
minds of predominately black students in a dilapidated Brooklyn high
school, he’s seriously flawed away from the classroom—he’s a red-eyed drug
addict. When one of Dan’s students named Drey (Epps) catches him getting
stoned in the school’s locker room, they forge a bond that is uniquely
revealing. Drey also finds herself in another older male relationship with
drug pusher Frankie (Mackey). Half Nelson embraces its hypnotic hold on
these desperate characters with cautionary aplomb. |
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THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
(Fox Searchlight Pictures) |
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Impression: “Majestically
explosive and piercingly penetrating as a complex character study, The
Last King of Scotland presents the late African dictator as a shockingly
conflicting soul whose zest for life was both menacing and magnetically
colorful. Forest Whitaker will certainly make believers out of the
audience with his in-depth, eye-popping performance that should garner the
veteran actor/filmmaker with highly-touted acting accolades. Whitaker is
incredibly captivating as the kilt-wearing madman Idi Amin whose appetite
for murderous mayhem dazzles the psyche.”
Comment: Filmmaker Kevin MacDonald has served up a caustically
titillating and telling expose of a blood-thirsty ruler engulfed in his
own twisted eccentricities. The Last King of Scotland is brutal and
notorious for its stark look at a lunatic leader whose flamboyance and
dastardly demeanor is a head-scratching combination of a sinister soul in
moral decline. Forest Whitaker is astounding in his frightening and
frolicking take as one of the world’s most puzzling and powerfully corrupt
leaders to rule with an erratic, detestable fist. Whitaker manages to
instill an eerie likable factor for the tortuous Amin while reminding us
what a dangerous and cynical Teddy Bear of a man he could be with the
flick of a light switch. Darkly humorous and seedy in its irreverence, The
Last King of Scotland features one of the most absorbing and memorable
performances by an actor in ages. |
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LITTLE CHILDREN
(New Line Cinema)
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Impression: “Atmospheric in
moodiness and sporting an underlying chilliness, Little Children resonates
with a convincing sense of pathos in desperation and bewilderment.”
Comment: Little Children is one of these suburbia dysfunctional
dramas where the ideal utopia of manicured green lawns and
aesthetic-looking Victorian homes are a facade to what lies underneath the
real hostilities that are boiling at the surface. In this case, a smirking
study of bored and broken people trying to keep up pristine appearances
but realizing how incomplete and lacking they really are in the safety net
of their polished environment. Director Todd Field skillfully breezes
through this engrossing study of quiet, provocative alienation in a
seemingly pleasant hamlet where idealistic conventions of parenthood,
fidelity and moral fiber are strangely foreign to these aimless grown-ups
that are the bone fide “little children” under Field’s observational
microscope. This is a shrewd and calculated look at the concept of
civility and the performances—particularly by lead actress Kate Winslet
and supporting contributions by the sardonic Jackie Earle Haley as a
kiddie sex offender—are right on cue in Field’s warped world of flawed
protagonists. |
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LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
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Impression: “Amusingly
caustic [and] satirically droll...Little Miss Sunshine is a ray of
off-kilter sliced slapstick waiting to burst at the seams.”
Comment: Domestic dysfunction has never been this poignant or
side-splitting as the Hoover clan in this on-the-road fable to discovery
in the eccentric and heart-breaking farce Little Miss Sunshine. This indie
charmer stalks up on anything and everything that is unconventional and
challenging. From acknowledging the send-ups of children’s beauty pageants
to drug addiction and the philosophy of Nietzsche and Proust, there’s a
sardonic and sentimental scheming behind this flawed family comedy that
resonates with hearty wit, warmth and winking passion. The brilliant and
offbeat performances are amazingly effective—particularly by the likes of
Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin and the resilient Steve Carrell. Proudly
raunchy yet graceful in its glorious absurdity of family-oriented
frustration and togetherness. |
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THE QUEEN
(Miramax Pictures) |
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Impression: “Thoroughly
spunky and audacious...The Queen is magnificently balanced with the
hilarity and heartache of its piercing convictions. This risky and rousing
account of Queen Elizabeth II and the effects of chaos and criticism
following Princess Diana’s tragic demise is a tribute to the magnitude of
Helen Mirren’s spirited dimension as an accomplished actress. Do yourself
a cinematic favor and treat yourself to the royal treat that is The
Queen.”
Comment: Stephen Frears concocts a nicely subversive and solid
political dramedy in the riveting The Queen. Intensely involving and
fantastically droll in execution, Frears establishes a cynical beat with
the British monarchy that humanizes (or dehumanizes...take your pick)
Queen Elizabeth in the wake of a political tragedy that captivated a world
of intrigued spectators. Mirren’s high-caliber performance (not to mention
the acting chops of her fellow performers) is mind-blowing and scathing
wry. Frears is effortless in conducting this “what if” premise featuring
the indifference, personal pain, public opinion and behind-the-scenes
angst of the Royals caught up in a scandalous and sorrowful episode of
loss and love. The Queen wears a heavy crown when it comes to delivering a
divisive drama that wiggles between the surreal and the sensationalism.
This is one of the more enjoyably complete and carousing political
profiles that you will come away with feeling quite liberated. |
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SHERRYBABY
(IFC Films)
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Impression: “Clearly,
Sherrybaby is tender, psychologically complex, perceptive and resoundingly
redemptive in its reflection of womanly angst.”
Comment: Writer/director Laurie Collyer is in top form when
searching for the emotional truth of her feminine protagonist Sherry
Swanson. As Sherry, Maggie Gyllenhaal is the perfect performer to extol
the virtues of her alter ego’s child-like qualities. Sherry is
irresponsible, opportunistic and increasingly damaged spiritually but the
audience feels for her inner pain and roots for her structured foundation
both emotionally and psychologically. Being that Gyllenhaal is an
adventurous actress (witness her off-kilter turn in the kinky Secretary to
the uplifting United 93) you can see how she instills Sherry with a potent
playfulness that is both deceiving and sympathetic. Basically,
Gyllenhaal’s Sherry is a lost little girl with a criminal past that can
manipulate (through sex and saddened puppy dog eyes) her complex agenda.
Because Sherrybaby is quiet and quaint in its cynical realm, Collyer is
able to convey the percolating rage that is contained in this shapely doll
of a woman that never figured out how to grown up and take charge of her
embedded demons. |
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UNITED 93
(Universal Pictures)
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Impression: “Intense, numbing and
disturbingly surreal...perhaps one of the most confrontational and
courageous piece of significant entertainment...lingering [with] potent
inquisitiveness.”
Comment: Acclaimed British filmmaker Paul Greengrass (“Bloody Sunday”,
“The Bourne Supremacy”) revisits the human horror on an enormous emotional
scale. By taking moviegoers into that doomed terrorist airline flight
where periled passengers would perish in a forced cause by maniacs looking
to promote their twisted philosophical agenda to the world, Greengrass
showed us how misguided and morbid humanity can be as it rears its ugly
head. United 93 was criticized for reminding us too soon as to what a
deeply dour and damaging this unflinching event was in contemporary
American history. Whatever your preference is in choosing to digest the
memories of that disturbing date on September 11, 2001, United 93 will
personally serve as a gut-wrenching docu-drama about the human spirit in
the face of the madness and mundane. |
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