Thanks a million to those of you who read and debated my debut blog. It's much appreciated, nice to know I'm not writing into a vacuum, that it's actually getting people talking.
Now, after bemoaning the state of cinema -- and, in particular, Hollywood cinema -- in 2007, while nothing new REALLY knocked my cotton socks off (one or two films came VERY close), I did manage to have some genuinely rewarding film experiences this last year. But before I get on to the '07 stuff, I'd like to give a shout-out to five older films I happily discovered on DVD and the big screen retrospectively:
- The thrilling Gulf War drama JARHEAD, which had more of a visceral kick than any other film I saw this year. Killer, almost heartbreaking, stuff and so incredibly vital and stylish. My man-love for Peter Sarsgaard grew another few inches after this, and his soon-to-be-brother-in-law Jake Gyllenhaal is so damn good -- both burn and pop with the internal frustration of active minds being wasted and potentially eroded as they're gradually dehumanised, keyed-up then left alone to tick till detonation. Greatness. After plodding somewhat with the elegant yet strangely ineffectual ROAD TO PERDITION, Sam Mendes got his game back in a massive way. My only question was: Why the hell did it take me so long to see this???
- Stephen Frears' little-known, little-seen and (most unfortunately) little-appreciated crime picture THE HIT, which is exceptional principally for introducing the talents of Tim Roth to the screen... and what an introduction! Criminal-turned-supergrass Terence Stamp lives out his days under protection in Spain, when he's ambushed by hitman John Hurt and Hurt's protege Roth, who've come to finally settle Stamp's debt. The plan is to drive him to Paris, where Stamp will reunite with the boss he snitched on all those years back and ultimately meet his maker. From here, what looks like a crime drama with Stamp and Hurt essentially vying for Roth's soul, gradually turns into a hugely engaging road movie of sorts, dealing out humour and menace in equal measure, even flirting with existentialism. Such a fun watch -- and even Bill Hunter pops up, watching Aussie Rules no less! If you can find it, get it.
- Another in the "if you can find it, get it" department is THE NINTH CONFIGURATION, the directorial debut of the author/screenwriter of THE EXORCIST, William Peter Blatty, and the first of only two film projects he's worked on since that horror touchstone. Imagine a very Eastern European-style castle hidden in the American Northwest (in truth, it WAS shot in Budapest) serving as a HIGHLY experimental psychiatric hospital for military veterans -- from hardened Vietnam vets to astronauts -- where they're encouraged to act out whatever psychosis-driven idea possesses them... whether it's believing you're Superman, obsessively quoting old movies or directing Shakespeare for dogs. What passes for reverie in this place is broken by the arrival of a new head shrink, who may just be... well... that's where the fun begins. Starts off as satire, swerves into psychodrama, veers into thriller before ending up somewhere else completely... I like to call it a "metaphysical psychodramedy" but that's probably not quite it. A bit baffling at time, but chock full of great atmosphere, even better dialogue and some cracking scenes... even if you don't agree with it's ultimate point of view, you should find something challenging and entertaining here. Assuming you can find the fucker, which has never been released in Australia, to my knowledge (I got the Region 1 DVD from Amazon, FYI)...
- Another film that takes some finding, but well worth the effort, is Kenneth Branagh's affectionately loopy theatrical comedy IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER (aka A MIDWINTER'S TALE). Made right after stinking up the screen with his abominable FRANKENSTEIN remake, this feels like Branagh getting back to basics, making a story (from his own screenplay) about the kind of people he has met, known and loved over a half-lifetime (he was 34 at the time) spent in the theatre, written for actors he has met, known and loved over the years. It also feels very much like this is his stab at a Woody Allen film (if Woody had grown up in the British theatre rather than NYC comedy clubs), particularly early on, from the white on black alphabetical credits backed by a jaunty old song, to the black and white photography and fast-talking characters and overlapping dialogue. Such a funny, sweet, sad and just flat-out-enjoyable film -- Branagh clearly loves his characters and you will too, despite (and, eventually, including) their rampant eccentricities. It's funny Branagh scaled down to make a film about a ragtag theatre company putting on Hamlet, then followed this up with a lavish all-star HAMLET for the big screen. It's as if this film helped him rediscover how fun it all is again.
- Dario Argento is a man whose films have kind have swirled around me since I was a kid: When I was 11 or 12 and started renting horror films, I'd see countless trailers for CREEPERS (aka PHENOMENA), TENEBRAE, OPERA and so forth -- as well as the trailer for the doco DARIO ARGENTO'S WORLD OF HORROR which would amuse my younger self no end, by juxtaposing scenes of the most sickening violence imaginable with shots of this very meek-looking little Italian man with bushy hair staring beatifically off into the distance, backed by rather happy music. Fucking slayed me. I'd even rented a film he produced, DEMONS, multiple times. But I had never seen a film he directed until I was about 25 or so, when I caught CAT O' NINE TAILS on SBS one night. And that was it... until this year. The loveable folks at ACMI did a retrospective on his daughter Asia, but included three of Dario's films: PROFONDO ROSSO (aka DEEP RED aka THE HATCHET MURDERS, which was the title we got, amusingly), SUSPIRIA and INFERNO. I'm sorry to say I missed INFERNO, but caught the other two. While DEEP RED was incredibly fun, blissfully incoherent and backed by possibly the most assaultive music score ever recorded (gotta love dem Goblins), SUSPIRIA was the real steel deal. Starring the terrific Jessica Harper (where is she now? Writing children's books and married to 20th Century Fox chairman & comic book franchise wrecker Tom Rothman) as an American girl who comes to study at a German ballet school, which turns out to be front for a witches' coven... and giallo hijinks ensue. Truly psychotic production design, another grinding, screeching Goblins score and Dario's nutty imagination make this one of the all-time great fun horror films -- and it has some genuine frights, too! Classic.
Okay, now to what you've all been waiting for...
TOP 11 FAVOURITE FILMS OF 2007 (#1 being the bes-- uhh, Most Favourite...)
11 - THE HONOURABLE MENTION:
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Yes, I'll freely admit it: I'm one of those people. The ones who were loving the hell out of this Neo-Western Noir until the last 20 minutes, where it just... lost me. I didn't hate it, mind you, in fact I didn't feel viciously one way or the other, just... bemused. A little cheated, but even more intrigued. Since then, I've talked to my partner, my friends, and read and listened to various discourses regarding this already-infamous ending. And I've heard some cracking theories. In the end, despite my somewhat muted reaction to it -- and it's not just my comprehension of the ending, there are a handful of little issues I had with the film overall -- any picture that builds tension and mood so masterfully, carries itself with both savagery and elegance, chills to the bone during and after the screening, stirs up this much debate and gets its audience thinking has to be applauded. The fact it features three of the best five male performances of the year -- a career-defining demon for Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones' best work in over a decade, and a perfect capper to Josh Brolin's breakout year -- doesn't hurt. See it. I may not have loved it, but I liked it a lot... and I'd love to know what you make of it.
10. EASTERN PROMISES
I didn't go as gaga for this as a lot of people did, but what I really liked about it was it was a good little story, told simply, tightly and with enough regional flavour to make it interesting. Loved all the stuff with the Russian Mob, the tattoos and customs were fascinating. But the real rock here is Viggo Mortensen, who is in career-best form here -- so fucking strong and chilling and irresistible to watch. A shout out to Vincent Cassel and Armin Mueller-Stahl, too. Cronenberg really makes this one sing, which is more than I felt for the atmospheric yet strangely simplistic A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. For mine, this effort kicks that one's arse up and down the street.
9. REPRISE
A real surprise packet, and the film that opened my Melbourne Film Fest this year. Debuting Danish director (how's THAT for alliteration, bitches?) Joachim Trier -- no relation, don't worry -- tells a vivacious story of two best friends and aspiring novelists whose lives and ambitions divert and dovetail in interesting directions, leading them to conflict, jealousy and, ultimately, understanding. The two hang out in a larger group of friends, who are possessed with their own peculiar habits and worldviews, and one of the major victories of this film are their conversations, which feel so real and off-the-cuff they'll scarily remind you of many inebriated roundtables during your piss-and-vinegar twenties. Very much influenced by TRAINSPOTTING but uses that to its advantage with energy and verve to burn... and, let's face it, there are worse films to be influenced by. Here's hoping Trier builds upon this highly engaging debut.
8. CONTROL
Another MIFF discovery, and equally powerful. The rise and fall of Joy Division singer/songwriter Ian Curtis is a tragic tale, with affectingly real characters, performed brilliantly by Sam Riley as Curtis, Samantha Morton as his long-suffering wife Deborah and Alexandra Maria Lara as his mistress Annika Honore. But it's the way this story is told which registers so strongly. This is clearly a passion project for first time feature director Anton Corbijn (it's shocking he wasn't attached as director from the start), who photographed Joy Division in their prime back in the late 1970s. This isn't like any other music biopic, told in a matter-of-fact fashion, yet with an overall look and mood which greatly reflects Curtis and his music. Then there's the photography... my god. Corbijn's extensive experience as a photographer and music video director comes into play big time, and so strongly in service of the story. This isn't a show-offy film, yet every single frame in the picture could be frozen, blown up and hung on a gallery wall, such is the breathtaking artistry on display here. It's the best shot movie I've seen not only in 2007 (sorry Lee), but in many, many years. The film loses momentum in the second half, feeling a bit repetitious at times, and could've benefited with some tightening, but this is as impressive a directorial debut as I've seen in this decade.
7. ZODIAC
A new picture from David Fincher is always cause for celebration at my place. For me, the man has made two innovative, life-changing, unassailable classics: SE7EN (the perfect thriller in every conceivable way) and FIGHT CLUB (which is to Generation X what A CLOCKWORK ORANGE was to Baby Boomers). While PANIC ROOM (compact, tight and tense) and THE GAME (a gorgeous, dark-humoured headfuck) are two of the better thrillers of the last decade, and ALIEN 3 is what it is, but has its benefits. So I was busting out of my skin for ZODIAC... but like everyone else, I was all, "Again with the serial killers? Really?" I needn't have worried. Yes, a serial killer is a pivotal character. Yes, there are a couple of creepy murder scenes (and one spectacularly creepy interview scene). But that's where the similarity to SE7EN pretty much ends. This is a procedural, all about the investigation, not the killings themselves, because the Zodiac murders were a siren song that ensnared and destroyed -- or, at the very least, upended -- every curious party who came into contact with them. Playing this cadre of obsessives are one of the best ensemble casts assembled in recent memory and, while I won't name them all here, for a start Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo and (in two scenes) John Carroll Lynch are all brainjuicingly good. In this age of CSI, LAW & ORDER and all the other shows that have dulled us to police investigations, Fincher's greatest gift is to burrow into the minds of the people who do this for real and watch them emerge on the other side, changed. But he doesn't stop at showing the obsession and righteousness of these investigators, but the perverse playfulness, the gamesmanship of it all, as well. He makes us care again. And the '70s period detail is just fucking sublime.
6. SUNSHINE
Is Danny Boyle quietly becoming the world's best multi-genre filmmaker? Since coming back from the fiasco that was THE BEACH, it seems that every genre he turns his lens to, he strikes gold. 28 DAYS LATER is pound-for-pound the best horror film of the new millennium and, although I haven't seen it, I've heard MILLIONS is an excellent family fable of sorts... and now, with SUNSHINE, he's taking on sci-fi. And, some of my geekier friends will be glad to know, it's actual sci-fi. Not in that the science is correct, I'm sure that's all over the place (I myself am a scientific nufty), but in really examining the psychological and spiritual effects of all this exploration and envelope-pushing. Boyle really takes you on a trip, reuniting with his 28 DAYS LATER screenwriter Alex Garland to get under the skin of this tale and bring us one of the best sci-fi pictures of the new decade. (Digression: Would you call ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND science-fiction? Discuss.) Another winning feature of the film is its terrific international cast and, although they're mostly playing Americans, it is impressive to see, alongside a trio Americans (of Anglo, Jewish and Vietnamese stock), an Irishman, an Australian, a Japanese, a Malaysian, a New Zealand Maori in a big-budget picture. Why don't big movies, particularly those with a global or apocalyptic focus do that more often? While it's not perfect and occasionally confusing, SUNSHINE is visually, aurally, intellectually, viscerally and emotionally impressive, and not many films -- never mind sci-fi -- can claim that these days.
5. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
The year's best blockbuster by miles: it's tight, efficient, doesn't overreach... and hugely enjoyable. British director Paul Greengrass stepped into the shoes of Doug Liman after the effective but occasionally flat setup of THE BOURNE IDENTITY, and made the series his own with THE BOURNE SUPREMACY by injecting some real energy, style and a bit of a cheek. I've heard a lot of people complain about the shooting and cutting of the action in SUPREMACY and ULTIMATUM, but I don't agree. I really don't believe he shoots too close and obscures all sense of time and space, like Michael Bay does. Sure, Greengrass' style is fast and shaky but, in my opinion, you can always tell what's going on. I found the action scenes invigorating, so much so I think they set a new standard for the genre. Bourne fights like an angry whirlwind; every motion, every blow is focused on the shortest route to taking his opponent out. (I came out of these flicks wanting to learn Cali/Eskrima, yesterday.) The cast in these films are incredible, and new addition David Strathairn is one of my favourites. Although the film does make some logical leaps, they aren't as wild or as plentiful as most action films these days and it's so well played, economically written and tightly directed that it sells it, each and every time. Possibly due to the source material, more than most "franchises" today the BOURNE series has retained had a real sense of being a trilogy which tells a unified story, rather than perpetuating a machine. Let's hope Universal show the same respect to the property by ending it here, as the books did, and being justifiably proud of producing the best action series of the new decade.
4. BUG
Let's face it: William Friedkin has been living off THE EXORCIST and THE FRENCH CONNECTION for far too long now. Great, classic, innovative films they may be, but they're over three decades old now. It's time to restock the cupboard, Billy, to become the director those films promised. With a string of unmemorable films including BLUE CHIPS, RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, THE HUNTED, JADE and THE GUARDIAN (the one where a nanny feeds babies to trees, fer chrissakes), it's easy to lose faith that he'll ever show that side of himself again... which is why we should thank the movie gods for hooking Friedkin up with BUG, the smartest, scariest and edgiest picture the man's made since the mid-70s. A paranoid's fantasy, mostly taking place in one room, it makes us sit and watch two people slowly go insane... and, even scarier, maybe give us cause to join them. As the two we share this journey into psychosis with, Michael Shannon, long a supporting player of untapped depth, is flat-stick awesome in this film and Ashley Judd -- that's right, get the finger out of your ear, you heard me just fine -- is right there with him. The less you know about this going in, the better, only to say that Friedkin is finally in sync with a story which allows him the freedom to push it into a heightened, hysterical place and push his audience's buttons, leading them to ask questions and formulate theories before eventually -- like some creatures in this film -- getting under their skin.
3. HOT FUZZ
With SHAUN OF THE DEAD, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright made one of the funnier films, and more assured feature filmmaking debuts, in recent memory, and HOT FUZZ proves it was no fluke. (Digression: I haven't really seen SPACED. How criminal is that??) When I heard about this, and even when I saw the trailers, I couldn't quite get my head around how they were going to successfully take on such a brash, uniquely American genre in such a doggedly English fashion, but of course that ended up being part of the joke -- watching London uniform Nicholas Angel (Pegg) burst onto the screen being so gung-ho and LETHAL WEAPONesque is so patently absurd that it warms you to the concept immediately. These are immensely clever guys with a firm grasp of genre and a perfectly judged comic take on things -- they don't always go for the cheap joke like so many modern US comedies, but will go there in a second if it's well-timed and, you know, actually funny -- and Wright does love to throw around a camera, which is nice to see in an English flick, particularly when genre demands it. The Wright/Pegg/Frost triumvirate have to be the most purely fun filmmaking team going around at the minute, and what I like most about them are, they're my favourite kind of film buffs: they've seen everything but they're not snobby or exclusionary, giving multiple shout-outs to tragic stone geeks like themselves while inviting the Saturday night/Tightarse Tuesday crowd to come play as well and, most importantly, they respect the genres they have fun with, rather than teasing them (which is why they refuse to call their films "spoofs"). It's no wonder everyone loves these guys.
2. PAN'S LABYRINTH
One of those few times you go into a film having no clue what to expect... and are massively rewarded. (Why do we film buffs crave every little scene/tidbit/story/review/trailer of a film when we all powerfully remember the experiences which caught us pleasantly by surprise?) This is such an imaginative and immensely intelligent film... and one of only two films this year (the other being NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) which I freely admit I'm still trying to comprehend. In a good way. Ofelia's fantasy world is obviously an escape from a dark, oppressive reality, but I believe the reality informs the fantasy more than is immediately obvious, and I'm still trying to make all the connections... sure, there's many a metaphor about the girl's pubescence and emerging sexuality -- and Pan often acts suggestively toward her -- but there's other stuff there. About perverted or aspirational father figures. About the war. About Spain. I know it's there, and I wasn't smart enough to catch it on first viewing, but I plan to attack it again on DVD. Ample proof that a film doesn't have to be ponderous and self-serious to carry intellectual weight. Guillermo Del Toro's magnum opus (to date) hit Australia in January, and though a whole year has passed, I've only seen one film I liked more...
1. BLACK SNAKE MOAN
I love a film that just comes right out, grabs you by the lapels and tells its story in a weird and wonderful way, but gets right to the point. Damn, I love that experience. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, you can't drag the smile from my face. This Southern American modern "gothic fable" of sorts draws so much power from its sense of place and atmosphere, which is no accident as writer/director Craig Brewer is a Memphis native, steeped in Southern lore, and man, does he put it on the screen. This film is hot, sultry, raw, funny, sad, sexy, slightly cockeyed, underlined by pain and ultimately redemptive -- the Delta Blues in a nutshell. More power is drawn from powerhouse performances from Samuel L Jackson and Christina Ricci, and backed up by a terrific supporting cast (yes, that even includes Justin Timberlake). Jackson and Ricci have a tough assignment; playing larger-than-life, rather extreme characters with the right amount of reality and genuine soul to express the very real depths of suffering these people have plumbed, which is the only way the resolution -- which is by no means definitive -- works. Such a great, great flick... and, might I add, probably far closer to a 70s grindhouse film that GRINDHOUSE ended up being! BLACK SNAKE MOAN, for me, was nothing less than 111 minutes of pleasure.
Well, that's my first blog, ladies and bruisers. There will be more over the coming weeks, on whatever popular cultular subject...ular... bounces around my cavernous crainium.
'Til then, feel free to reply to this post with your views, expressions, digressions, etc.
Cheers for reading, catch you soon!
TSIK out.
