Letters to the Editor
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Xrandadu Hutman's rundown of all the movies mentioned in this article (Part 1)
-- "Sweeney Todd": Didn't see, but most certainly will after reading Kathryn Harrison's convincing praise of it.
-- "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead": Didn't see; heard mixed reviews. Considering his age, it's cool that Sidney Lumet managed to direct a film that made it into theaters. (Other old-age directors, like Robert Wise or Blake Edwards, could barely get financing for straight-to-DVD movies.)
-- "Atonement": I agree with Anne Lamott that it's overrated. It's the "English Patient" for 2007. Ian McEwan is a fine writer, but the story construction does not lend itself well to cinema (despite pointless stunts like the long take of the war scene), and I agree about Keira Knightley: in spite of her looks, she's a bland on-screen presence.
-- "There Will Be Blood": I think it's overrated and dumb even though I liked the line about the milkshake. Farhad Manjoo's praise for Paul Dano's performance is a bit goofy. Manjoo might want to read Stephanie Zacharek's review, where she describes Dano's faith-healer scene as overacting. I have to agree....the only thing I was convinced of is that this young actor was in over his head.
-- "No Country for Old Men": I thought it was pretty good as punch-in-the-gut cinema, though the way the story unravels is unsatisfying, even as "unsatisfying for art's sake" endings go. Regarding the comments on this film, my god, is it possible for anybody to discuss it without having to prove how cool they are by making fun of Javier Bardem's haircut?
-- "Away From Her." Overrated. Sorry. Yes, Julie Christie was magnificent. Sarah Polley's direction, with its careful visual touches and resistance of formula schlock, was fine. But the story's insistence on overcomplicating a disease with the couple's past romantic issues made what should have been raw and truthful into something contrived and muted. I am glad at least one commentator gives the credit where due: Gorden Pinsent's performance, which is much more central to the film than Julie Christie's.
-- "The Savages." Planning to see soon (it's next in the queue!). From what I understand, the film is relentlessly bleak, and the preview misleadingly focuses on the film's only mirthful moments. Bring on the pain!
-- "Juno." It was great. Steve Almond's comment that it's "a 'Rushmore' for the 'Knocked Up' crowd" is lame. WTF does that even mean? "Rushmore" is non-stop irony while "Juno" is irony that veers powerfully into drama. Stop trying to be cool and write something that's reinforced with the virtue of meaning. Mary Elizabeth Williams totally nails what was great about Jennifer Garner's performance.
-- "No End in Sight." Saw this. It's a must-see for every U.S. citizen. You can watch it online at Netflix. (You can listen to it on headphones while doing something else, though the dumbfounded expressions on people's faces, as they discuss the criminally idiotic Iraq war plans, are worth seeing.)
-- "Gone Baby Gone." Didn't see but plan to. I wish somebody hadn't given away a major plot point to me though.
-- "I'm Not There." Might see. I'm not much of a Bob Dylan fan. I mean, the guy can't even sing. And what's with the "She makes love like a woman, but she breaks like a little girl" song? That's poetry? No, that's just retarded. Anyway, I am sure Cate Blanchett is superb as she always is, but I am more interested in seeing Charlotte Gainsbourg, whom I find even more diggable.
-- "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." Will see. Anne Lamott's comments about writer's block are funny.
-- "Starting Out in the Evening." Would like to see. Not in a big hurry to, and unlikely to find anybody to watch it with me, but...
-- "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days": I understand this is the sequel to "9 1/2 Weeks," and as such, I would love to see it, especially if Kim Basinger gets nekkid again.
-- "Into the Wild." Will see in my hermetically sealed living room. Gotta love a movie about somebody roaming off to Alaska and into oblivion. Sounds like it would make a terrific double-feature with "Grizzly Man."
-- "Charlie Wilson's War": I would probably see this if not for the double-annoyance factor of Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. They both seem to be milking their hammiest qualities too, with Roberts doing her "big laugh" shtick -- you know, the one where she tilts her head back and blurts out a, "Whup whup womp!" laugh. God I hate that.
-- "This Is England": Never heard of it. Curtis Sittenfeld's description gives me reason to consider checking it out.
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Xrandadu Hutman's rundown of all the movies mentioned in this article (Part 2)
-- "Superbad": I totally agree with Curtis Sittenfeld that this movie is both overrated and, well, a pile of crap. Cops destroying their own car is funny? Cops being careless with their guns is funny? A woman menstruating on a guy's jeans while close-dancing is funny? A fat kid being verbally abusive to his friends is funny? That same fat kid accidentally punching the face of a girl he's got a crush on is funny? A kid stupid enough to name himself "McLovin" is funny? Plus the whole friendship theme at the end just seemed tacked on, with no earlier scenes actually establishing anything important about the friendship or what it meant to each character. I can't believe anybody gave this film high marks unless they were still in high school.
-- "Billy the Kid": Never heard of this documentary, about a kid with Asperger's Syndrome. Sounds good, so thanks for the head's up, John Cameron Mitchell.
-- "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford": What an unruly title. I avoided this movie just to punish the filmmaker for Title Pretentiousness. But I might have to check it out sometime if I'm snowed in and it's the only DVD left.
-- "Into Great Silence": Another documentary that sounds potentially good. Thanks for the head's up, Robert Burton, M.D.
-- "The Last Man": Thanks for the recommendation, Andrew O'Hehir. I sure haven't heard of this movie (though I have heard of its prequels, "The Third Man" and "The Fourth Man").
-- "Reservation Road": Nice of you to sit through this turkey and report on its mitigating graces, Andrew O'Hehir.
-- "Michael Clayton": I really want to see this. I wanted to see it when it came out, but one too many reviews referred to the movie as "talky." If you're a reviewer and you want your readers to see a movie, avoid the word "talky." Say it has fantastic dialogue or something.
-- "3:10 to Yuma": Saw this. It's pretty good! Even my friends who hate Westerns liked it.
-- "Once" and "Music and Lyrics": Matt Singer, the cherbic IFC guy from the Salon movie-review videos, compares and contrasts them. "Once" is a great title for how many times are too many to watch that film. If the music in "Once" is supposed to signify the outlet that the musicians use to make up for their romantic repression, then I am of the opinion that they would have been better off tearing each other's clothes off and going at it like meth-addicted monkeys. "Music and Lyrics" was decent though, and the Hugh-Grant-as-1980s-pop-star stuff was hilarious. I'm glad Matt Singer decided to sing its praises (that sentence contained two puns for the price of one).
-- On Philip Seymour Hoffman: Kevin Berger and Anne Lamott both end their sections by saying "he should get an Oscar every year just on principle." WTF? Why not offer him a blowjob while you're at it. YES he's a great actor. Fine. Don't ruin that fact for the rest of us by slobbering all over the guy.