LIFE AS FICTION > for the love of film / a dequinix.com externality

Shutter Island

2010 / Martin Scorsese > Something happened to Scorsese between Goodfellas and Casino. He stopped demanding more of the viewer, started catering to a lower common denominator and/or became too complacent with his storytelling. For a film to work, the technicals need to match the fundamentals and aesthetics. They don't always need to be in equal parts, but if one fails, the others get dragged down hard. In the case of Shutter Island, a darkly beauteous approach to classic Hitchcock horror, the director of Taxi Driver becomes satisfied with an ending that's not only predictable but has become almost expected in this day and age. It takes a lot more than a question of morality and human conscience that surrounds the finale to quench the thirst for a good film.

Daybreakers

2010 / Michael Spierig & Peter Spierig > Daybreakers starts out strong with a focus on creating atmosphere, context and a scientific approach to how vampires come to rule Earth, and then quickly teeters into a banal action clone that misses out on a chance to be a science fiction classic because of its shortsightedness.

Avatar

2009 / James Cameron > From a historical perspective, the positives for Avatar far outweigh the negatives. Cameron's technology is incredible: Often during action sequences, I was wondering if the make-up would come off in the heat, only to realize that, no, this wasn't make-up, that this was a new generation of CGI that would change the way we create and experience movies for the the next decade. Throw in the vibrant, imaginary setting of Pandora and you have a world ripe for the picking. But then comes the story, the characters and the barrage of cliches. One could argue that a tried and true story can be made better with refinement, but I'll argue that even in that, this film fails. The writing is tragically bad at times ("I see you!"), and the supporting players are ridiculous caricatures. If in doubt, seek no further than the element of interest in the film: Unobtainium. If that doesn't give away to the fact that someone, somewhere down the line forgot to do some quality checking on the script, I'm not sure what will.

The trick with Avatar, though, is this: I'm grateful for it. Some consider The Abyss to be the test vehicle for Terminator 2, and that to be a test vehicle for this. But given its lack of maturation in the storytelling department, I can't tell you how excited I am to see what Cameron does with his upcoming Battle Angel. Technology allows filmmakers to provide instant gratification to viewers. But you need a story for a film to be memorable, for it to age well. The Matrix is shockingly corny now, and I have little doubt that Avatar will also fail to hold up in the annals of time, box office receipts be damned. Its legacy, however, will be carried forth by the technology and all the cinema that will be founded on it.

The Box

2009 / Richard Kelly > As a kid, I was pretty obsessed with classic Twilight Zone episodes. They were all about possibility and imagination, about the world that may be out there without us knowing. Kelly, after his commercial fuck-up in Southland Tales, pastes on Cameron Diaz and brings forth The Box, which, in the most positive way possible, is a feature length version of a 1950s Twilight Zone episode. With a bigger budget allowing for a fully realized and more refined production process, the film allows us to enter the mindset of mid-century America with fears of the Cold War. Except, of course, there are more sinister things in the air than Communists. There's some level of campiness involved here, no doubt, but if one can accept that as part of the experience, this is an unpretentious sci-fi treat not often found in today's cinema.

Zombieland

2009 / Ruben Fleischer > Two things in short: Yes, it’s fun to watch, and the cameo is absolutely fantastic. The best in movies since Tropic Thunder. And no, it’s not as good as Shaun of the Dead. That film was ingenious, blending the zombie genre with a type of self-heckling comedy that created something memorable. Instead, Zombieland holds the handrails a bit too close, never really flourishing beyond a louder version of what’s already been done. For that, it maintains its own ground though never matching the charm of Simon Pegg’s vehicle.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2009 / Michael Bay > I’ve been suckered: I was told there was no story, that it was a bunch of explosions, that they exploited Megan Fox’s body. Well, it’s not like I was lied to: It really is based around explosions, not to mention very strategic placement of Megan Fox and her navel. But both of those points simply added to my enjoyment. As for no story? That’s a bit harsh. It had more story than the original, and decent enough in its own right that I wouldn’t fault it. It’s Transformers 2. Directed by Michael Bay. Who, I’m convinced now more than ever, is the most brilliant director in Hollywood today when it comes to making stuff explode. I liked Bad Boys, even the sequel, and I loved The Rock. All snobbishness aside, you can’t help but respect the man for his vision and ability. What he does is not easy to do, regardless of what the perception may be. Remind me the last time you saw something like Devastator climb the Pyramids of Giza. That doesn’t happen overnight. If I was Egypt, there are probably two directors in the world I'd let film there: One is Steven Spielberg, and the other is Michael Bay. And folks, that's some massive street cred. What'll be blown up next in Transformers 3?

500 Days of Summer

2009 / Marc Webb > This started out well. I can understand the premise of a so-called serious story about how relationships are in the real world. Hollywood doesn't produce real world stories because they don't sell tickets. Though frankly, they don't sell tickets because Hollywood isn't particularly good at telling real world stories. In that regards, it was with great excitement that I approached 500 Days of Summer, which seemed to be slowly taking the world by storm (as it sits at #116 on the IMDb 250 right now). A small, independent romantic dramedy doing well is something to cheer for. But for me, it just doesn't stack up.

The biggest epidemic in independent film continues to be quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. Form fails to follow function, and we end up with a bunch of silly side-effects that don't necessarily move the story or create a certain mood. The boardroom scene, for example: The speech was bad enough, but his friend's reaction? Ten times worse. That's a film groveling to its audience, saying, "I know this is what I'm about so far, but just in case you don't like it, we also have some silly, stereotypical characters who will make you laugh by doing silly things!" That's lazy, and honestly, disappointing. Throw in the whole expectations vs. reality sequence, and you've got it tailor-made for emotional manipulation.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is as exciting an actor there is in my generation. Walloping this into the group with Mysterious Skin, The Lookout and his work on Third Rock from the Sun exposes his obscene range. On the other end of the spectrum is Zooey Deschanel, who continues to waste her abilities by taking the most banal of roles. If you think she's two-dimensional in this, you probably shouldn't watch Gigantic either. The poster girl for the modern hipster female desperately needs to outgrow her peculiarities. Someone get her a role where she plays something other than the girl that every geek wants to get with.

All this being said, I do respect the film for trying to bring a certain feel to the masses. It slipped (quite a bit, in fact), but the direction is good. Hannah Takes the Stairs will never be mainstream, and sadly neither will Chungking Express, but if the story of heartbreaks is going to get bought on Blu-ray (and maybe even get an MTV Movie Award nomination), Webb may be one of the guys to lead the way. And while it doesn't sound like it, such a feat would deserve accolades.

Observe and Report

2009 / Jody Hill > Been a few months since I saw this, yet I still haven't fully digested it. I know that I respect it for its guts without escaping into a sensationalist romp. It walked on the border of exploitation so many times but never crossed it, and regardless of how one feels about the violence and the probable yet peculiar plot devices, Hill's got me interested in seeing whatever he may direct next. Observe and Report has the unusual achievement of leaving me with a gleeful smile for the future of the human race—not because of the typical melodramatic hope that pervades the movies but because of the sheer raw energy of Seth Rogen's character and the way it makes him so damn human.

Watchmen

2009 / Zack Snyder > Respectably ambitious, Watchmen is an epic on a small scale: It has no big name movie stars, nor does it field superheroes of mainstream lore. There are two things it does very, very well: The cinematography is stunning with vibrant colors and imaginative awareness, and the violence is gruesome, righteously effective with exacting choreography. Then there are things that just don't seem to fit: The music is a mess. No film should ever use Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence." It reeks of empty ambition since it's already been used nearly perfectly in The Graduate. A lot of the other, more well-known tracks also seem forced ("99 Luft Balloons?" Really?). This, ironically, actually detracts from the mood the film tries to set. But let's talk adaptation: Faithfulness is good and all, but a comic is a different medium. Whatever you think of Alan Moore, he had it right in saying that the reader has time to reflect back on what he's just read, maybe even doubleback to check facts and link a character to his speech bubbles. But a film of this supposed gravity almost becomes a joke in its obtuse seriousness without being given the time to digest. The awkward pacing and plot jumps that leave us filling in gaps with a considerable level of assumptions also don't help. The graphic novel walked a very thin line between the pretentious and the cautionary, and unfortunately Snyder may have fallen on the wrong side of those tracks.

Stalag 17

1953 / Billy Wilder > Though he's not particularly known for layered works, Wilder definitely swings the bat hard when it comes to making the audience enjoy a movie. Together with William Holden in his Oscar-winning performance, he cooks up a rip-roaring adventure in what could be called the bachelor's version of The Great Escape. The comedy easily surpasses the drama in Stalag 17, as the latter is often predictable if simple and honest. A German POW camp during World War II shouldn't be something you laugh about, but give the writers of the original play some credit for giving us a reminder that laughter remains an alternative tool for vengeance.

Jaws

1975 / Steven Spielberg > There are a lot of stories behind production mishaps in Jaws, most of them dealing with issues with faulty animatronics of the shark. How right they were, and how sad. For 70% of the film, it's really something swell, atmospheric even when bordering on the expected cliché. More often than not, Spielberg just couldn't get the villain to look real, so he used clever methods of making sure the audience would feel its presence other ways (like filming from its point of view, below the water, with the menacing theme music signaling impending doom). But then you see it, and it's over. Unlike The Thing, where the literal creativeness of the special effects made up for its outdated looks, here I had trouble digesting the climactic battle because it looked just downright silly. It's really sad when special effects ruin the potential for a great film to age well, and this is no exception.

The Thing

1982 / John Carpenter > It doesn't matter how much the special effects in The Thing have aged, what stood out for me is the sheer ingenuity of its intentions. The creature from outer space is keenly unique, grotesque and memorable, but more importantly, the writing is taut, imaginative and the pacing fills every scene with tension. Color me absolutely surprised that I enjoyed this that much, as I was pretty much expecting some sort of kitsch fare that was good for a laugh more than a scare.

Synecdoche, New York

2008 / Charlie Kaufman > Here's a thought: Twenty years from now when we look at the 2008's global filmography, Synecdoche, New York will be the year's towering achievement. Kaufman's directorial debut is an injection of a life into the bloodstream, and the way it shakes down our internal struggles and chaotic delusions is truly magnificent. It's imperfect in the way it should be, in that pseudo-bullshit philosophical manner that nobody can really explain. And because it tries to explain things so minimally, it becomes the viewer's movie. Everyone can live this, everyone is this, and as crazy as it sounds, sometimes I find myself thinking that it's about me. The aging of man is a topic that has been touched upon with much success in the past (Ikiru, Wild Strawberries) but never like this. It's something only Kaufman can do, and it will undoubtedly polarize, fascinate and confuse for years to come.

Horsemen

2009 / Jonas Åkerlund > You know how a well-written thriller is supposed to be one step ahead of the viewer, making sure that the tense atmosphere continues until the very end? This isn't one of those. Too often, the genre conventions fell into place and I found myself one step ahead of Dennis Quaid's detective in charge of discovering the Horsemen behind some grizzly murders. In and of itself, this could survive if the story is good, but even that fails because of lack of scope. It's as if someone promised me a trip to Paris and then took me to Philadelphia—it simply doesn't work. No matter how well intentioned the ending may be, disappointment remains. All this is quite sad in two respects: Akerlund was on my list of directors to watch after a risky yet satisfying effort in Spun. Also, it was nice to see Zhang Ziyi play something different (in this case, a creepy, slithering snake of a woman with devious intentions).

The Ox-Bow Incident

1943 / William A. Wellman > The Ox-Bow Incident is a simple story of conscience done very, very well. Often reminding me of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, the film's crux is a lynch mob hellbent on punishing some rogue cattle rustlers for the crime of murder. How this unfolds isn't particularly novel, but is undoubtedly daring for a film made in 1943. Henry Fonda is instantly watchable, as is Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn as a couple of men that get held up at the stake. If only the resolution didn't delve into a sort of preaching mode, this would have stood out as a better testament of mob mentality.

The Night of the Hunter

1955 / Charles Laughton > After Robert Mitchum's turn as the dashing anti-hero in Out of the Past, I found it refreshing to see his portrayal of a so-called holy man with a batshit crazy mind. The man gives you the creeps in The Night of the Hunter, with his wild religious rhetoric and instantly suspicious demeanor. What tricks me is that I can't figure out what Laughton was up to. The film's hard to figure out because it's not simply a good vs. bad story, as it has shades of a fable and a darkly Biblical undertone. But all that withstanding, everything simply falls apart at the end. Symbolically and fundamentally, it becomes a jumbled mess. Sure, it's possible to justify everything that happens, but it just doesn't feel acceptable to a rational mind. Either way, one thing is for sure: This has some of the finest cinematography I've ever seen in a black & white film. Stanley Cortez uses beautiful, stark angles and really captures the depth of what one can do without color.

Frankenstein

1931 / James Whale > Regardless of what kind of classic status Whale's Frankenstein may hold in the annals of cinema, the fact that it mostly circumvents the humanist touches of Mary Shelley's original work keeps it from actually being a great film. So much of this hinges on the simple fact that the creature is never given a chance to grow and mature. In the novel, it's Frankenstein's fear that drives the creature into madness, but here it's the doctor's assistant making a mistake by providing an "abnormal brain" for the experiment. Therefore any sort of commentary the film tries to make becomes null. Criminal brains do criminal things, so where's the lesson of morality and the God factor? Shelley tried to warn of taking life and death into the scientific framework whereas Whale gives us no particular basis to believe that it's good or bad, simply that you have to make sure to pick the brain of a gentle, loving person in order to create a creature that may also be gentle and loving. When the viewer already expects the worst, then the compassion for the creature is lost, and in the process, so is the wonder and warning within the story.

Chaplin

1992 / Richard Attenborough > Considering the spotlight on Robert Downey, Jr. post-Iron Man, it's shocking that more people haven't brought up his magnificent performance in Chaplin. Even now, watching Charlie's flicks, I can't help but substitute in Downey's face without a worry. At age 27, he mimicked the lives of one of the most magnetic performers in cinematic history yet it feels as if no one remembers. Some of this blame arguably goes to Attenborough for taking an unorthodox approach to a biopic by focusing on Chaplin's love affairs to progress the storyline, which led to slightly uneven pacing and treatment of his work as almost secondary. While this may have resulted in mixed critical response, there's no denying that his life did indeed revolve around women, and that the longing for his first love led to multiple marriages to younger and younger women. Furthermore, there was at least 12 minutes cut from the director's version and almost two hours left on the cutting floor altogether. Who knows how much better this would have made it, but even as it stands, it's an incredibly enjoyable piece about a fascinating icon of culture and is worth viewing to get a glimpse into him and his works as well as the ridiculousness of the McCarthy era.

The Girlfriend Experience

2009 / Steven Soderbergh > The big question everyone will be asking is, "Can Sasha Grey act?" Sad to say, the pornographic star's crossover role has such a limited emotional palette that it's hard to tell. Her character is the subdued type, quiet and reserved except for bursts of emotion inflicted at a loved one. And the story itself is Pretty Woman with a tinge of cynicism. Credit to Soderbergh for giving the girl a chance (as I'd love to see her do more work outside of the realm of the skin and saliva), and for fleshing up the sights of Lower Manhattan true to life. But from those basics, the film is a study of the world's oldest profession in its modern setting without really bringing anything we didn't already know. Were it a character piece, I could understand, but even that doesn't seem to really fit into the details of the script. Even the stints at social commentary via the clientele's morning shoptalk is too lackadaisical to derive some level of interest.

State of Play

2009 / Kevin Macdonald > Frankly, there was no way this film could make me happy. The original 2003 BBC miniseries on which this is based is one of my single favorite pieces of television ever. It's clever, thrilling and intelligent. John Simm in the lead is downright brilliant and the rest of the cast is near perfect. But in the process of cramming six fantastic hours into two for the global mainstream audience, quite a bit of detail and charm has been lost. While it remains a rather well-made film, the last third seems rushed and increasingly trite. The pacing of the movie kills the appreciation of the character motivations and starts insulting the viewer's intelligence. Incidentally, the same storyline in the miniseries successfully orchestrates these emotions. Thus, I can't stress enough that everyone should give the original a chance. Avoid a couple of clunkers this summer and spent those extra four hours diving into this riveting Brit drama and come out much more satisfied.

The Elephant Man

1980 / David Lynch > When dealing with subject of such social sensitivity as Joseph Merrick, the so-called "Elephant Man," directors are put in a very tight spot: They can either go balls-out with sympathetic adoration, or stay back and reduce the emotions in order to portray the objective viewpoint. Lynch, as confident and masterful has he thinks he is, tries to combine the two into proving a fuller experience. It's unfortunate, then, that I personally just didn't find much satisfaction in his overall presentation. Save for the famous "I am not an animal!" cry, I found The Elephant Man mostly uninteresting, if well-made. The question we have to ask as viewers is fairly simple: Was Merrick actually an interesting person? Is he worthy of being made a film about? Or are we falling into the same trap as circus goers and simply praising a film because it involves a deformed man of possible intelligence, and we simply cannot be caught failing to extend our hearts to him?

Ace in the Hole

1951 / Billy Wilder > Now, Billy, you've failed me here. This story of exploitation may have gotten a rise out of people back in the day, but it's aged faster than anything else I've ever seen by you. Even Kirk Douglas seems like he's too busy acting to actually play his part. Something about how simple you make everything seem in Ace in the Hole just doesn't feel right. The morality is too clear cut, and if I really wanted to doubt my conscience, maybe I'd go back to watch the layered Sweet Smell of Success instead! Or am I just feeling backlash to the sudden sprouting of liberal guilt in our current media environment?

Singin' in the Rain

1952 / Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly > With the possible exception of Cary Grant, I can't imagine anyone more suave than Gene Kelly in classic cinema. He's got the type of charisma that makes movies, careers and eventually legends, and he puts it all on display in Singin' in the Rain. The fact that the famous title sequence was actually performed when the actor had a 103° fever just makes it that much more extraordinary. But as a film, you can often tell that the story itself was written to match the musical numbers. But let's face it: You don't watch this for plot, you watch it to see Kelly and Debbie Reynolds and Cyd Charisse dance and sing and dance again. For that, it's absolutely dandy. In fact, the wondrous Broadway sequence, with its innovative set designs and dazzling colors, is alone the worth the price of admission.

Casino

1995 / Martin Scorsese > There is no Henry Hill in Casino, and that kills it. Scorsese had a hook in Goodfellas with Ray Liotta's Hill as a guy you could cheer for. Someone caught up in the shebang and rightfully taking advantage of it. Someone you could like. But this three hour long venture finds Joe Pesci another despicable gangster to play, but one that isn't counter-balanced. Throw in the working girl-cum-druggie, deceitful wife in Sharon Stone's Ginger and the scales just tip in ways from where there is no retribution. Why is that so troubling? Because this is, technically, a fantastic piece of work. The production may be one of the finest the director's ever put on, and that's why its mediocrity is so tragic. I just didn't care about anyone. I needed my Henry Hill.

It's a Wonderful Life

1946 / Frank Capra > The television stations loved playing this every Christmas when I was growing up, but I never actually saw the whole thing. The moments I caught here and there over the years, I somewhat fused together, but until now, I never really understood the mythology of George Bailey. Consider this a spiritual companion piece to Memories of Matsuko: Sometimes the things that we want to do weren't meant for us to begin with. Luck and circumstance are part of the game, and It's a Wonderful Life shows us the grass doesn't always have to be greener in order for a happier day. It's highly manipulative, but ironically not nearly as sentimental as one would expect. By the end, we don't really care because the manipulation was for a positive cause, because without it the modern moviegoer may be too cynical to enjoy a scene of sincere, unexpected happiness and joy. Could they make this now? I doubt it, but I'm happy that its spirit has barely aged in over half a century.

Dog Day Afternoon

1975 / Sidney Lumet > Bleaker than it initially comes off, Dog Day Afternoon is a scriptwriting achievement by Frank Pierson (who was rightfully awarded an Oscar for it). It head-on attacks society and the system in cleverly underhanded ways (i.e., who could have imagined a gay rally challenging the likes of Harvey Milk?) without being whimsical or, more importantly, impractical. It's harsh but loving, and Lumet's direction is nothing short of just right. Nothing really feels forced, and the phone call between Chris Sarandon and Al Pacino (fully improvised, amazingly) is a testament to the heart of the film.

Fanboys

2009 / Kyle Newman > Sadly, the funniest parts of this Star Wars geek-a-thon are all in the trailer. Probably a must-see for those who can recite the Boba Fett entry in Wikipedia from memory, the movie does nothing else to field itself away from a typical teenage comedy. It also comes off as a half-assed, stereotypical attempt at rationalizing the world of fanboys. Then again, we all know this bit to be true: Dan Fogler has made out with Maggie Q, and most of us haven't.

He's Just Not That Into You

2009 / Ken Kwapis > He's Just Not That Into You is one of the most mediocre attempts at legitimizing the tough-love, romantic dramedy genre in Hollywood. It fails primarily because it tries to be street smart only to then fall into trite turns and twists seen a mile away. The lack of focus also doesn't help: Proper storytelling needs to address the little nuances that tilt emotions, but here we're dilly-dallying left and right, making sure the dots connect, and all the while, are being given advice and then being told it's wrong. This again reminds me of Ben Younger's much unheralded sophomore effort, Prime, which I recall as one of the last movies with similar themes and big stars that worked successfully on multiple levels. Plus, let's be honest at this point: Scarlett Johansson's sheer presence on a screen is enough to ruin any movie.

The Hottie & the Nottie

2008 / Tom Putnam > Last year, I was slotted a silly, amateurishly made yet almost jovial little sci-fi horror flick called Raptor for Lucid Screening’s White Elephant Film Blogathon. Because the film didn’t take itself so seriously, I was inclined to comment on it in a satirical fashion, tongue-in-cheek with lots of superlatives and naked praise. This year, I expected to do more of the same, but to my great surprise, Tom Putnam’s The Hottie and the Nottie is not a joke. This is a mostly serious production with mostly serious intents. But as it sits at #51 on the IMDb Bottom 100 (up from #1), one has to wonder where it all went wrong.

Let’s start at square one: Director Putnam’s last film was Red White Black & Blue, a respectable PBS documentary about the Japanese invasion of Alaska in 1942. It stands in out in history as being the first and only time since the War of 1812 that a foreign country has invaded American soil. Everyone from trade bible Variety to The Christian Science Monitor and The Boston Globe laid accolades on it, the latter calling it “a wrenching look at a forgotten battle.” So how does the director of that go forth in directing this, a movie that was pimped out to the masses in the guise of a Paris Hilton showcase? The truth is, I don’t know. I don’t know Putnam, but one thing is for sure: Hollywood isn’t easy, and every critic and commentator out there blindly splashing manure at this piece of work because of Hilton’s involvement ought to be ashamed of themselves for not being more considerate.

The Hottie and the Nottie is not a classic. It's not even good enough to become a cult favorite. It’s mediocre at best, though it should be filed a couple of notches below that. But it’s also not as bad as the reviews would suggest. My disgust stems from incendiary commentaries around the Internet that knock this movie down simply because of Hilton's involvement. There are proper ways to be critical and then there are half-assed ways. Much of what I've read is of the mooning assortment, devoid of respect for the hard work of all the individuals who actually did hone their craft on this unfortunate movie. Show your anger at those who caused this to be such a disaster. First of all, the marketing is terrible. The posters and DVD covers have Hilton (“the Hottie”) glowing in a white bikini while pal Christine Lakin (“the Nottie”) stands behind her looking like the offspring of The Goonies’ Sloth and the mother from Peter Jackson's Braindead. It’s an unappealing sight undoubtedly Photoshopped for further effect, and simply a bad business decision. If there’s really anyone who could be blamed for the failure of such a production, it would have to be the marketers and whoever was responsible for the casting of Paris Hilton.

The writing is good enough for what the movie was supposed to be: A run-of-the-mill My Fair Lady with a slight twist. But Hilton cannot act. She’s statuesque, almost frigid and incapable of evoking emotion. She’s not even the lead, yet she ruins every scene she’s in. One could argue that her celebrity has caused us to take her less seriously, but then how do you respond to the way Angelina Jolie marveled in A Mighty Heart? Good and great actors work beyond their real-life egos to make audiences believe, but Hilton, flush with her family fortune, lacks that in spades. In fact, what may be scary is that her performance in this was only slightly worse than in 1 Night in Paris. Recast her character and we’ve already improved the final product by 100%.

Story-wise, the fundamental problem with makeover movies is that they're predictable. You know the protagonist will get the once-ugly girl. That's the formula, but give credit to screenwriter Heidi Ferrer for trying to change things up a little. Lakin (who most of us remember from the mid-90s TGIF sitcom Step by Step alongside Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Sommers) transforms in a more respectable fashion than usual in this sub-genre. It's natural and readily believable. And while Lakin isn't Rachel Leigh Cook, she's still a formidable ugly duckling. Even Joel David Moore, known primarily for the portrayal of a wacky game designer in Grandma's Boy, puts forth the kind of lovable loser performance that's bound to tug a couple of heart strings.

So, about Putnam and Hilton and the film as a whole: How did this occur? Hilton is listed as executive producer, so maybe her Benjamins influenced the direction. Maybe Putnam realized making documentaries wasn't the way to pay rent. Maybe the marketers saw the final product, realized it stunk of six-month old milk and decided to sell it to the VH1, I Love New York niche-market that loves celeb trash to death. But even they'll be disappointed. Either Putnam or Hilton or someone else with muscles flexed them to the point where the film's identity crisis forcibly looms over its path to success: Too serious to be taken as a gross-out romantic comedy, and too ridiculous to be satirized.

Safety Last!

1923 / Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor > Often forgotten amongst Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin is silent comedy master Harold Lloyd who, a year before Keaton's special effects bonanza in Sherlock Jr., created a comedy of lively proportions in Safety Last! Most famous for the image of him dangling from a clock atop a Roaring Twenties skyscraper, the film is an entertaining comedy that centers around Lloyd trying to make his girlfriend back home believe that he's become a successful store manager in the big city. This simple act, which has worked as a story basis for hundreds of films afterward, leads to all kinds of hilarity and stunts by the actor. Personally, I found that it barely aged, and that a film of such a nature could not benefit from the addition of sound or color. It feels honest and authentic, and with a running time of roughly 70 minutes, it also packs in quite a punch without testing one's patience.

Sherlock Jr.

1924 / Buster Keaton > If there's one thing anybody can take away from a viewing of Keaton's Sherlock Jr., it's that the kind of special effects we see in movies nowadays had their roots way before we could have ever imagined. Some of the tricks pulled off here are, even now, not easy to replicate. And some are as clever now as they were then. We tend to forget that Hollywood has matured over almost a century of ups and downs, but thankfully works by great minds like Keaton and Charlie Chaplin are always there to remind us of the wonderful stash of cinema still existing from our often forgotten past. As for Sherlock Jr. specifically, I did find a few tonal shifts in the film a bit jarring, mostly stemming from the need to show off effects and techniques when such hullabaloo were not necessary. The film tends to stand firm on its own footing as a cornerstone of visual effects but not necessarily as a storyteller. But Keaton is so very watchable, you just might not care.

Alien

1979 / Ridley Scott > See, I get it now. Scott’s primary objective in Alien is to portray the relationship between a woman and her cat. Everything else was simply fodder. And why not? It’s a serious issue worthy of further discussion in our society. It was as relevant in 1979 as it is now. As dogs are a man’s best friend, cats are a woman’s. No? Well, alright. Maybe I’m just being a bit a harsh, but I just found my experience with the original Alien to be quite underwhelming. In short, the film did not age as well as I’d hoped. Visually, it’s still quite crisp, even if some of the special effects (e.g., the android sequence) are comic. But it’s the pacing that really gets me. The first half is a bit of an exploration, languishing scene by scene, setting up for the arrival of the beast from outer space. The second half is a considerably more tense rush for the crew’s survival. But from a viewing distance, I couldn’t justify the anticipation early on for what came after. The action sequences are tame, even if the birthing scene remains one of the greatest moments in cinematic history. Scott said he shortened some scenes to tighten the film, but that could never streamline this if the existing content isn’t compelling to begin with. In comparison, 2001 gave us a philosophical pill to swallow (whether you liked the taste of it or not), Aliens gave us the excitement we’ve come to expect from the genre and Sunshine attempted, in what may have been an honorable failure, to fuse the two formats. But this? It’s an impressive stepping stone that’s simply been left behind.

Once Upon a Time in the West

1968 / Sergio Leone > Most of us who grew up in the 80s only knew Charles Bronson as the man who answered your Death Wish, but before that came the man who stood tall against screen-legend Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West. Now, I'm not generally a big fan of Westerns—I have a hard time identifying with them, especially the setting and rural lifestyle. But that definitely didn't keep me from respecting what may be the finest film I've ever seen in the genre. Unlike The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, everything here just fits. The long shots linger, making sure we notice Fonda's gray hair and blue eyes, the glean in Bronson's squint as he plays the harmonica, the hidden softness beneath Jason Robards' beard and the mystique of Italian beauty Claudia Cardinale. The story develops in a calculated manner, and then deconstructs itself in a near mirror image. Ennio Morricone's score is subtler, but still comforts every scene with its soothing touch. But most importantly, there's a sense of moral ambiguity. Nobody's outright good or bad, and everybody's got a bit of the ugly in them.

Rachel Getting Married

2008 / Jonathan Demme > As I watched the Oscars, my quiet, secret hope for a coup lay in Anne Hathaway. Our princess with a diary who created havoc while breaking mountains had somehow ended up at her sister's wedding, half-broken, trying to be resilient and drawing attention to herself in an effort to not do so. Hathaway plays the role with such tact. Her character isn't particularly likable, yet by the end, it's nearly impossible not to feel some level of empathy, because we've all been in situations where we've been misunderstood, been misguided or simply didn't know better. Along with Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt (the Rachel in question) and Bill Irwin (their father) hold up their own ends with simply excellent performances that puts Rachel Getting Married near the top of best ensembles of the year.

For Demme, this is a nice, flowing, rhythmic piece, and arguably his finest since 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. (Yes, it's been that long.) The direction seems so hands off, with organic angles, lively dialogue and an actual band being cast to provide the music for the film, some sort of homage to Dogme 95. To top it off, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe plays the groom and even has a bit of a vocal solo that fits in seamlessly.

This is the kind of family drama that is completely hit or miss for most viewers. Some will find it cynical, contrived and downright boring, but many, like myself, found it true-to-life uplifting. (Sure, the actual wedding is a bit new age, but the family troubles are as bread and butter as they come.) But let me be fair: This is not the kind of uplifting that makes you think you can go and conquer the world. It's more about hope in people, and that family can work even with a few very large kinks.

Choke

2008 / Clark Gregg > I've never read anything by Chuck Palahniuk, but between Choke and Fight Club, one has to be closer to the truth. The latter is a masterpiece, a testament to the modern twenty-something in deep need of guidance. The former is ridiculous. Well, at least the movie is. The gimmick of a sex addict doesn't really do much in terms of driving the plot, though I'm sure it got a couple of people to buy the DVD hoping for some Kelly Macdonald nudity (sorry, there is none). Halfway through, I was wondering what the point of it all was, and there wasn't really any ending I could have imagined that could have saved it. I was right. At least it gives you an idea or two about airplane etiquette.

Out of the Past

1947 / Jacques Tourneur > It's pretty obvious why David Cronenberg paid homage to Out of the Past in A History of Violence: If you're going to put a twist on a genre, why not pay respect to its standard-bearers? Tourneur's take on classic film-noir is thoughtful and riveting. The directing is meticulous, setting up a moody atmosphere, taking time to play out scenes that would otherwise have been rushed and making sure each of our characters are aptly developed. I can also now finally understand why Robert Mitchum was such a big deal. His quiet poise calls upon him an honest appearance while underneath he has the ability to carry deeper, darker secrets. And in a film where Jane Greer counters him as a dame of great beauty and equally great villainy, both work together balancing each others' brilliant performances.

But fundamentals aside, Out of the Past is more notable for its congruence of issues: Lies, murder, secret pasts, infidelity, love, hope, greed, happiness. Novelist and screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring threw the kitchen sink plus some toiletry in the story's mix of ingredients. But what amazes is how well it all works out. The final scene with the boy stands the test of time as one of those moments that leave you wondering the improbable quality of the film you've just witnessed. These days, the descendants of noir have simply too much cynicism or lack of storytelling skills to be this effective.

Strangers on the Train

1951 / Alfred Hitchcock > As much as I enjoyed Vertigo and North by Northwest, neither of them gripped me in the traditional sense of a suspense the way Strangers on the Train did. From the get-go, you know something is going on, something sinister, but you just can't get the hang of it. And then when you realize that you may have underestimated Bruno Anthony (played impeccably by Robert Walker) just a bit, the real shock arises. Too often, we want the bad guy to win because we're bored, but here, in the face of what is a human evil, I found it easy to bind myself to the good guys and hope for victory.

Sadly, Walker passed away soon after filming, leaving behind one of the best portrayals of a villain I've ever seen. In contrast, Farley Granger is wooden as the leading man. One could argue he balances Walker, but that would be giving the casting director too much credit.

The Reader

2008 / Stephen Daldry > In a guest appearance on the Ricky Gervais/BBC sitcom Extras, Kate Winslet joked around about how she may finally win an Oscar by playing a role in a Holocaust film. As fate would have it, the Academy somehow overlooked her incredible turn in Revolutionary Road for her portrayal of Hanna Schmitz in The Reader, an ex-Auschwitz prison guard with a couple of mystifying secrets. When you think about it, this was made for a nomination, but the tragedy may be that she'll actually win for a mediocre film whose sole purpose, it seems, is to apologize on behalf of all the no-holds-barred anti-Nazi sentiments apparent in our world today.

This is where it gets tricky: It's understandable to humanize those who have committed heinous acts against humanity. There's always another side to the story, and that side should always be heard. We are a society that depends on a fair trial, so it's almost necessary that we should extend that courtesy to even those who have sided with the Third Reich. At the same time, it's downright laughable how The Reader approaches this process. As the film unfolds, it becomes infuriating to see the opportunities that could further enhance our understanding of Hanna's character ignored in order to slap our faces with the literal meaning of the title. We are not children, and if you want us to give into our conscience and empathize with those who have caused the world so much grief, you have to give us a better reason than illiteracy.

The Mist

2007 / Frank Durabont > I assume this was meant to be some sort of a conceit upon humanity, but it's effectively a well-directed, technically apt version of an average Twilight Zone episode. The fact that it's executed well doesn't excuse its weak foundation and an ending that's downright shameless. Apparently it deviates slightly from the ambiguous version that Stephen King originally penned, but it does make me wonder just how much better a film it would have been.

The Assassination of Jesse James

2007 / Andrew Dominik > I've never seen Chopper, but if this is what Dominik is capable of, then Cormac McCarthy's Cities of the Plain is in great hands. The term "lush" isn't one you would usually use to describe a Western, but somehow Dominik and cinematographer-extraordinaire Roger Deakins brings that sort of vibrancy to the era heretofore unseen. For its 160 minute running time, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is an immensely watchable picture that rarely tires, and in fact accelerates into the final 20 minute homestretch. Much of this is driven by the awkward and solemn performance by Casey Affleck in his Oscar-nominated role for Ford. He outshines Brad Pitt at every step, though one could argue this was not an acting film. It was about the mood, the feeling, the drama and the mythology.

An American Carol

2008 / David Zucker > This was a chance for the right to satirize the left in the mainstream market. It had over 1,600 theatres in its widest release, a number generally saved for moderately marketed studio pictures and often guaranteeing superior exposure to the rest of the industry. And opening right before the elections was the best timing it could have gotten to give McCain that slight edge. But no, leave it to Zucker to shit the can once again. It can now be understood that Airplane! was a fluke (and BASEketball was more Trey Parker and Matt Stone than him). He, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer have become the bane of Hollywood. But we can only blame them so much if the tickets continue to sell. Unfortunately, there's a market for those who find Judd Apatow to be too highbrow, and there's not much anyone can do about that. Nonetheless, An American Carol is lazy and insulting. It makes Uwe Boll's Postal look like a modern day Jonathan Swift work. Ignore it, and leave Zucker to wonder why the film did so bad at the box office. Leave him wondering so he never releases another film again.

The Wrestler

2008 / Darren Aronofsky > Over the years, I've not been a huge fan of Aronofsky. Requiem for a Dream has aged worse than almost any film (with arguably the exception of The Matrix) in the past decade. The quick cuts and screeching sounds have been done and done again, and once you remove all that, so much of what made that film work goes away. But in The Wrestler, he's come forth to show that he can create a work of emotional resonance, one that knows how to tell a good story without the gimmickry and flashes. It's impressive, especially when you realize that wrestling is a "sport" that's mocked and doubted, but somehow the film makes us feel for both the rookies and veterans of the game. Lives have dreams, and while not every dream matches our individual expectations, they are valid, fulfilling dreams nonetheless.

And who better to bring all of this to life than Mickey Rourke? Actually, most people would have had a million other preferences beforehand, but Rourke's performance should set all of that to bay. Aronofsky took chances with his casting here (especially after the potential debacle this may be been with role originally going to Nicolas Cage), but it's obviously paid out in spades. It's hard to gauge how much of this is acting, and how much of it is Rourke dipping into his soul, trying desperately to redeem himself in his own eyes and those of the world. It's a spectacle of sorts. The long shot of him walking into the deli is easily one of the best scenes in 2008 cinema. With all due respect to Sean Penn in Milk, no other performances this year dominated a film as Rourke here and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

Frozen River

2008 / Courtney Hunt > So glad to see Hunt and lead Melissa Leo get proper acknowledgment from the Academy. Slipping under the radar of most moviegoers, Frozen River is a surprising and equally as effective drama with an element of crime that does an excellent job of objective storytelling. The script deals with morality and ethnic boundaries in the most delicate manner while holding no punches. The characters are fleshed out, the plot developed and the tension builds steadily. I can only imagine how much better a film Gran Torino would have been if it had taken some notes from this instead of hurling heavy-handed stereotypes and amateur acting onto the screen. In a year where studio films have dominated, this is a proud accomplishment from the indie scene.

Wendy and Lucy

2008 / Kelly Reichardt > Michelle Williams gives a terrific performance in her portrayal of a twenty-something in search for a new life, but with complications of love and loss in between. But this love and loss is more specifically symbolized by her dog, Lucy. Whether you own a dog or not, the metaphor works on many levels, but unfortunately what doesn't work for me is the final punch. It's tender but unlike the pull that Gran Torino had, where I'd become entangled with the characters (regardless of the film's fundamentals), here I just couldn't care by the end. Maybe I've become a bit cynical with this style of filmmaking, but it tends to be very hit or miss for me. It is a style that should get its due of respect, but nobody should be forced into liking it.

Babylon A.D.

2008 / Matthieu Kassovitz > I should have guessed when Kassovitz himself denounced the final product, but I figured it was worth a shot. I'm generally a sucker for apocalyptic near-futures, and this one seemed to have a lot of the typical plot points—military black markets, religious fanatics, a savior or two. But Fox's interference during the filming process looks more than obvious. Considering what Kassovitz was capable of in La Haine, arguably a better version of Boyz n the Hood, this is a mess beyond belief. The story jumps, becomes incoherent, then suddenly has a wonderfully poignant (at least in its own, deluded mind) finale. Supposedly there's a longer cut out there somewhere, but the director himself has said that he didn't even get to film his vision. So, in effect, any alternative cut out there ought to be rendered useless.

Blindness

2008 / Fernando Meirelles > Maybe this is another one of those novels that's unadaptable, because Meirelles' vision is nothing short of torture filled with the kind of stereotyped, polarizing "lessons" that makes decent movies into ham-handed atrocities. Even as it is technically proficient, with fine acting performances from Julianne Moore and Japan's Yoshino Kimura in her English-speaking debut, Blindness still comes off as a chore. The film's simply not enjoyable, and when the credits roll, the satisfaction borne of the ending is significantly underwhelming considering the emotional upheavals experienced earlier.

Gran Torino

2008 / Clint Eastwood > Eastwood's farewell to acting is as polarizing a film he's ever made. His portrayal of a seemingly racist Korean War veteran is reminiscent of his gritty facade in Dirty Harry, in ways that Gran Torino essentially becomes Finding Forrester with a shotgun. The story isn't innovative nor is it particularly well-written, and a lot of the supporting actors are mediocre at best. The dialogue often seems elementary in its cultural naivety, though it does try to educate. (And there's absolutely no reason the young Hmong brother should have any accent at all.) But whatever regurgitated parable about race relations and family life this is supposed to be, somehow, someway, Eastwood succeeds in packing in the kind of punch where it's hard not to be affected by the end, even if you feel deftly manipulated.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

2008 / Nicholas Stoller > Forgetting Sarah Marshall lacks the juvenile sensibilities of certain other Judd Apatow vehicles, and has a near-perfect balance of ideals and realism in its treatment of relationships so that it never feels tiring or sensationalist. This is also the first time I've ever really appreciated Mila Kunis as an actress, in contrast to her annoying character on That 70's Show and her being totally miscast in Max Payne.

Quantum of Solace

2008 / Marc Forster > This is what we get after Casino Royale? Having seen all but the Timothy Dalton adventures of Bond, I felt that Casino Royale was arguably the best in the series, even if it significantly veered from the style of the first 20. But Forster's vision in Quantum of Solace failed to catch the slipstream of its successor. The whole show feels anti-climactic: Too much goes on without any kind of concreteness, and the scope is so minuscule that we find it tough to care for Bond when the final fight vs. the bad guy comes. Aren't Bond films supposed to be about global domination? Aren't there supposed to incredibly powerful henchmen who protect the super-villains, who themselves are maddeningly intelligent and devious? This felt more like a take on Bond as if he were Jason Bourne. The film's enjoyable, sure, but the satisfaction doesn't last. I can't help but stress the weakness of scope, and how it reminded me of the terrible storyline from Diamonds are Forever. The stories of James Bond are supposed to be grand in every essence of the word, but this that was not. Here's hoping they take heed of Daniel Craig's latest comments in saying that Bond's initiation has ended. It's time, finally, for the real villains to come onstage.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

2008 / Kevin Smith > Has Smith always been mushy and we've just not noticed it because of all the vulgarity? After all, who can forget the mushiest of all rain sequences ever made in Chasing Amy? But hey, it's completely normal to have banter filled with obscenities with your loved ones. It's a part of life that's never usually reflected properly in films due to the inevitable marriage of a PG or PG-13 rating to every romantic comedy possible. (This is partially why Four Weddings and a Funeral was such a winner.) But hey, Smith does it proper for the most part: Zack and Miri Make a Porno is often hilarious, sometimes charming even if it's incredibly, ridiculously predictable from the first minute. Smith's still got some of his quirks up the sleeve, but the film doesn't match the overall wittiness of either Clerks II or Chasing Amy. The best part may be the revelation that is Elizabeth Banks. I've always liked her, but this was really something special, as if she's finally coming into her own: Sweet, endearing and possessing just the right amount of vulnerability.

The Visitor

2008 / Thomas McCarthy > With all the buzz surrounding Richard Jenkins' bid for a Best Actor, it's easy to watch and like this movie. But I can't help but find it fundamentally flawed in its approach. I understand that people within America find the immigration system full of injustice, but often these are the same people who would complain if their jobs went overseas. Nobody's going to have their cake and eat it too, but McCarthy throws away the subtlety from The Station Agent and pulls a Scott Templeton on us with his liberal guilt. Breaking the law is breaking the law—if you know what the consequences are, you shouldn't be shocked to face them. But politics and social commentary aside, Jenkins deserves praise for his work, but I wouldn't call it Oscar-calibre. His character's development felt very calculated, not natural. In contrast, Hiam Abass' portrayal of the mother was considerably more poetic, memorable and filled with heart. She could definitely slip in a Best Supporting Actress nomination on Jenkins' coattails.

Rambo

2008 / Sylvester Stallone > Exactly what it should be: Thin but acceptable plot, lots of bloody action and gore, and a running time that keeps the babies from crying. I haven't seen the original ones since I was a wee little lad, so maybe I need a refresher, but Stallone's smug look in Rambo does get pretty tiring after a while. Has John Rambo always been such a bitter man like this? I want some Tango!

Max Payne

2008 / John Moore > Confessions first: I loved the video game when it was first released. I loved the story, and I loved the gameplay. But ironically enough, I couldn't remember much of the story (besides the obvious wife and child getting murdered). So, while watching the movie, I had no idea that they were actually being surprisingly faithful to the whole thing. Which makes me ask: Did this story simply make more sense as a video game? Because as a movie, this was predictable and a huge waste of potentially awesome bullet-time sequences. In fact, there's nothing to indicate the Max Payne action-style in the whole first-half. Worst of all, the casting is atrocious. Mila Kunis is wonderful in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but not so here. Mark Wahlberg? He's no Max Payne, let's face it. And this movie, it doesn't do the game justice.

Pineapple Express

2008 / David Gordon Green > I can't help but say how surprised I am at how much I couldn't stand this movie. I barely laughed at its predictable jokes and had trouble cringing through its terrible story. Sure, maybe the focus of the film wasn't its story, but rather how silly things get when toked up. But there's a difference between credulous silly and insulting silly, and this is pretty easily in the latter territory. An incredible mishap and a terrible introduction to the works of Green. I just wanted this to end, but it dragged on forever.

WALL·E

2008 / Andrew Stanton > It's truly a testament to Pixar's ability to make an animated film where the lead character barely utters a word. In its quiet repose, WALL·E evokes emotions that are all within us, of abject loneliness and wanting to be understood, though never sensationalizing either. Face it: This isn't a kids movie. The ideas within the film are not easily understood beyond the surface level by anyone who hasn't experienced a degree of heartache.

The first half is sheer brilliance. While its minimalist approach isn't a rarity in the current film market, the unpretentious manner in which it unfolds is. It works for almost everyone who watches it because it doesn't insult anyone's intelligence or patience. The second half, however, becomes problematic for me. To begin with, the treatment of obesity is something I had a hard time looking past. In a country where weight is such an issue, it almost hurts to see it treated as a joke. More importantly, I felt that nearing the climax, the story lost its footing. It became symptomatic of a typical animation flick than something special. Finally, the ending was too easy. I just couldn't find solace in its outcome. I felt cheated. Maybe that makes me cynical, but sometimes too much hope is a bad thing. But these points withstanding, WALL·E makes a strong case for the spirit and future of Western animation.

The Darjeeling Limited

2007 / Wes Anderson > Anderson knows how to seduce me. Emotionally, visually, with music and wonderment, the man has a certain style that gets me at the core. Even now, several months after having seen The Darjeeling Limited for the first time, I can't forget the The Kinks' "This Time Tomorrow" and the opening sequence it accompanies. It has, in this short time, become one of the most memorable film moments of my life. But unlike The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the thematics presented here are considerably more universal.

We're all in search of something, always. After we find one thing, we realize we're missing something else. The brothers in the film search for ways to deal with loss, love and redemption using their own paths. But one thing leads to another, and things are never as simple as they seem. Ironically, this leads to my primary qualm about the film: Several times the movie seems to end only to continue on. Pacing becomes an issue until we realize we're like that too. Sometimes the journey is the solution in itself, and sometimes it doesn't end when you think it ought to. The Darjeeling Limited is an experience that sticks, moreso than any Anderson film, in those small spaces in your mind that keep hope alive.

Kung Fu Panda

2008 / Mark Osborne & John Stevenson > There's a creature out there who's sometimes hard to ignore, but in the right habitat, he blends in just right. That creature is none other than Jack Black, who, in Kung Fu Panda, is as fitting and effective in a role since The School of Rock. And if you think it's an easy job doing a voice-over, I must point to the fact that someone like Angelina Jolie simply can't hide her persona behind her animated character. The second she speaks, you know who it is, and her larger than life character shows through the CGI. But back to the movie: This is beyond anything I could have expected from Dreamworks Animation and is arguably their best effort since the original Shrek. It's light-hearted, imaginative, highly entertaining and funny. It lacks the depth to rank alongside some of the great animated works of this era, but is nonetheless a great story of an underdog that gives hope to noodle shop owners who aspire to be something more.

Burn After Reading

2008 / Ethan & Joel Coen > Burn After Reading is a bit of a mystery: On one hand, the plot is put together in a way that's almost too perfect, too clean to be the work of two brothers who just won an Oscar for directing. Things are forced and coincidental to the point where the audience loses the need to think. I know that's generally considered a negative, but let's face it: The boys just finished No Country for Old Men and wanted to do something fun and simple. Subsequently, this is an enjoyable, relatively superficial work with some basic commentary on our everyday lives. The best part, though, has to be how great the individual performances were (especially the hilarious Brad Pitt). The Coens have quite a few gifts, and one of them just may be getting the finest out of their actors.

Traitor

2008 / Jeffrey Nachmanoff > I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. It held my interest for quite a bit until the steam started running out. And then the preaching began. I don't need Hollywood to patronize me on what's good and bad. The fact that there's two sides to every story is nothing new, and the plot twist that occur two-thirds through could be seen fifteen minutes into the show. But Don Cheadle is so watchable that he sometimes carries films, and such is the case here. He's got a kind of silent charisma that makes you pay attention, hoping for something poignant. Well, it didn't really happen here, but let's hope he can make it rain in War Machine. Oh, and Steve Martin wrote this? How Intriguing.

Righteous Kill

2008 / Jon Avnet > It might be a tad bit unfair for having such high expectations for this film just because of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, but that's just the way it is. For us to have waited this long for the duo to appear on the same screen, this is an atrocity. It's a tough task for Avnet, no doubt, but that doesn't excuse the fact that the sole purpose of the film is to misdirect the viewer. Nothing else. No story, no morality, no nothing. Not to mention boring. The faults here must come from all-around. I mean, seriously, I can't imagine the script sounding even remotely good for both of these legends to jump onto it? It's best to erase this from our memories and hope for another hurrah from the two.

Bangkok Dangerous

2008 / The Pang Brothers > The Pang Brothers created a mystic atmosphere before throwing in the Molotov. First, there's an assassination that doesn't make any sense. Then, the "bad guys" make a move that makes no sense. Then, another uncharacteristic assassination sequence. I'm not technically an expert on assassins, but I think it's safe to say that if you do this for a living, there's a certain code you abide by, and when that code is shattered in some silly fashion, there's no turning back. So, the basic premise that Nicolas Cage's lead suddenly finds love isn't what's far-fetched, but rather how the script takes him down that path. The final thirty minutes is a shame because the locale itself gave the film enough potential to succeed. I don't know if it's the Pang Brothers' fault (as I haven't seen the original) or if the studio bigwigs have forced them into this silly circus. Good music, though.

Rushmore

1998 / Wes Anderson > I'm not sure how much my familiarity with the soundtrack had to do with it, but my latest viewing of Rushmore was a completely different experience than I'd previously recalled. Seeing it in theatres originally, when Anderson's tactics were still fresh, the first half was all the rage while the second half seemed banal at best. And over time, that first half became a sort of gimmick, something to create an illusion of substance when in reality, it mimicked that indie quirkiness that continues to plague current cinema. But now, three Anderson films later, I've finally realized what makes the film isn't its first half, but rather the second half, which maintains a sense of quiet rumination filled with the appreciation of living and acceptance.

In ways, this is as unusual a coming of age film as there ever may be. While Jason Schwartzman's Max Fischer isn't immediately someone to identify with, his emotional see-saw with Miss Cross (played by the elegant and lovely Olivia Williams) provides an intangible yet definite hook for us to latch onto. He seems the antithesis of what we see in Dangerous Minds, yet in many ways, he's exactly similar. Nobody said you had to deal with guns and drugs to be a delinquent—You can also do it with extracurricular activities like building aquariums on the baseball diamond or tending bees instead of taking exams.

Also impressively, no Anderson film has used music as effectively as Rushmore. The Who backing the revenge sequence, John Lennon supporting Max and Bill Murray's hopeful Herman Blume road back to grace and Miss Cross taking Max's glasses off to The Faces, all of these are further impacted by just the right song and the calculated camera work of Richard Yeoman. So beautiful, in fact, that the curtain scene at the end has forever become etched in my memory.

Syriana

2005 / Stephen Gaghan > It's hard not to appreciate the way in which Syriana unfolds, slowly, meticulously and filled with a sense of legitimacy. It's neither partisan nor apologist, two qualities that are very hard to find in films that tackle geopolitical issues like oil, terrorism and espionage. In contrast to the recent Body of Lies, Gaghan doesn't try to wrinkle out emotions out of every nook and cranny, but rather works with the audience to connect dots that are far from obvious. The plot's complexity mirrors the real world in ways that never feels forced. Even when dealing with the topic of American imperialism, there's a silver lining of sorts as oilman Tim Nelson Blake tells prosecutor Jeffrey Wright: "Corruption is our protection. Corruption keeps us safe and warm. Corruption is why you and I are prancing around in here instead of fighting over scraps of meat out in the streets. Corruption is why we win." Yes, it's blatantly ironic, but that's fine. The tone is a undoubtedly pessimistic because unfortunately that's the kind of world this has become. And because we live in it, a film like this is easy to digest and even easier to appreciate.

Stargate

1994 / Roland Emmerich > It's always a bit sad to re-visit a film only to find it a shade of its former self. Such is the case with Stargate, something that I had fondly remembered as a great science-fiction experience upon its release. But time has not been so kind to Emmerich and his creation. The CGI effects are awkward and often unforgiving, some of the the acting is downright wooden (such as Jaye Davidson, who sucked the last bit out of his fame from The Crying Game here) and the story is a bit too shallow to be memorable. (Come to think of it, this and Independence Day are basically the same plot, but on different home fields!) But all of this aside, it's hard not to give the film credit for climbing us up the imagination tree and fusing ancient Egyptian mythology with a good dose of futurism. This is no classic, not anymore, but it's still worth a viewing for its sense of nostalgia.

Body of Lies

2008 / Ridley Scott > On his follow-up to The Departed, screenwriter William Monahan really tries to up complexity of the plot as if it wasn't enough the first time around. In many ways, Body of Lies ends up being a similar type of poker face tale of Billy Costigan, though this time Leonardo DiCaprio's character works for the U.S. Government and fights terrorism. It works but it doesn't work: The pacing is disjointed and certain subplots seem afterthoughts to make the whole equation make sense. Scott, though, knows how refine coal into diamonds, so there's little surprise in how effective much of the directing is. If the film has a purpose other than liberal guilt, it's not completely obvious. And what it lacks in terms of intelligence (ironically) compared to a film like Syriana, it makes up for with a slick presentation and intensity.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

2008 / Guillermo del Toro > Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a fun romp through the world of Dark Horse Comics that often gets bogged down by the "too much" theory which commonly plagues sequels: If it worked once, do it again and throw more of it in, right? Well, no, not really. That's what kills franchises (see Batman & Robin). The story's fairly generic and a lot of the jokes are barely on the right side of slapstick, though thankfully, del Toro's considerably more tactful than most others in his profession. But after the serious foray that was Pan's Labyrinth, I really can't blame him for having a bit too much fun.

All God's Children Can Dance

2008 / Robert Logevall > I'm probably not the easiest of people please when adapting a Haruki Murakami work, but I tried my best to understand Logevall's vision. Unfortunately, unlike Jun Ichikawa's work on Tony Takitani, the hour and a half of meandering done by star Jason Lew seems forced and unnecessary. This was never a story that should have been developed this far, and had it been necessary to make it full-length, maybe taking Ichikawa's direction (where the last half of his film is basically based on one short paragraph) would have been more suited. Otherwise, it mostly bores. On top, Joan Chen's indie-quirks are pretty hit or miss (the latter being this, the former being Saving Face). Treatment for Murakami's written word is hard: His novels are too complex, and his short stories are too simple. Either way, Murakami or no Murakami, All God's Children Can Dance works only on the most superficial levels before receding back into the uninteresting.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

2007 / Zach Helm > Had high hopes for Helm's debut, having loved his writing in Stranger than Fiction. Throw in Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman and Jason Batemen and we should have had a winner, no? Sadly, the film is a complete and utter mess based on ideals that are better fit for a sketch on Sesame Street. While the store in the film brims with imagination, the plot apparently got the short end of that stick.

The Golden Compass

2007 / Chris Weitz > Boring and bloated though undeniably gorgeous, it's no surprise that The Golden Compass failed miserably with both critics and audiences. Once you get past the eye candy, the film lacks the charisma to stay afloat, which is too bad, because now we'll probably never get to see the story finish. This also marks a serious misstep for Weitz, whose About a Boy was full of heart and wonder.

Tropic Thunder

2008 / Ben Stiller > Riding on the waves of a star-studded cast and one of the best (and funniest) marketing campaigns for a comedy I've ever seen, Tropic Thunder had some of the highest expectations I've had for a film all year. But, as it often happens when a lot of big egos join together in one project, the film ends up being more a collection of multiple hilarious scenes rather than a successful, comedic whole. Specifically on point are Robert Downey, Dr. and the head-splitting brilliance of Tom Cruise who both take their ridiculous characters to the perfect level of seriousness. But staggering behind seems to be Ben Stiller, whose schtick, however self-deprecating, feels overused and works mainly as a vehicle to move the story forward. Some of the lines, admittedly, are some of the funniest in recent film memory, though one of the most underrated may be Jack Black's (after shoving heroine into a couple of guards' faces): "Let's move! We only have 16 hours before they wake up!"

Speed Racer

2008 / The Wachowski Brothers > Ever since The Matrix sequels reared their pretentious heads, The Wachowski Brothers have been on my shit list for their self-serving, pseudo-philosophical bullshit. V for Vendetta, even with a fine directorial effort by James McTeigue, couldn't rub off its leftist silliness for a second to let me breathe in the excitement of the man behind the mask. And with Speed Racer, they almost cornered me into something similar with its heavy-handed anti-capitalist angle. But alas, the prettiness (of both the film and Christina Ricci) saved the day. It's fun, lots of fun, even with the annoyance of Spirtle and Chim Chim, though I gather, as someone who has never seen the animated episodes, that this was part of the show's charm.

Emile Hirsch seemed a bit miscast, but honestly, nobody cared much for acting in this. (On that note, when did Dr. Jack Shephard leave the island and become Racer X?) The true star of the film was the visuals, and my, how glorious they were. You know how the Crayola 64 packs always had a few neon, ultra-bright colors? Apparently these were the only ones used when doing the Speed Racer storyboards. The Brothers utilize their genuine feel for style in conjunction with an aptly thrown in kitsch factor that makes me wonder what everyone who threw down sharp one-liners at this gentle giant were actually expecting.

Meet Market

2008 / Charlie Loventhal > I'm not sure why I watched this (Krista Allen, maybe?), but Meet Market is basically a self-congratulating ode to those who believe there's some sort of sexually charged possibility in picking out the right tomato. It's not bad by any means, but it's not memorable either. The kind of metropolitan dating flicks that actually work to the end are the ones that bring something new, not used stories picked up from existing flicks. It's an interesting effort, no doubt, but one that's subpar and doomed to be filler on cable television.

Lost in Translation

2003 / Sofia Coppola > Coppola's sophomore effort has quite a few tangibles working for it: Impactful yet understated acting, a functional/moody location and a near-perfect mixture of ambience and rock for the soundtrack. But these only tell half of the story. The feel of it all—being alone in a city where your mind and body seems misplaced, not knowing if what tomorrow brings is worth waking up or going to bed for, wondering if the past you've lived is the past you've wanted to live—these are the intangibles that are undeniably infused into the self-analyzing experience that is Lost in Translation.

But I'd be lying if I said this was a perfect film: I find Scarlett Johansson's character to be weak, though part of it's because Bill Murray puts forth a subtle yet powerful performance portraying a man of such humanity that she comes off comparatively cookie-cutter. The pacing isn't always perfect, with hiccups that seem misplaced and solo scenes of Johansson that pale in comparison to those of Murray. And while I never really found the film to be racist by any means, the xenophobic viewpoints sometimes come off silly rather than calculated. But the point remains that Coppola, with the help of Brian Reitzell and Roger J. Manning Jr.'s effusive score, has concocted a mood piece of master quality that takes away our sense of vengeful cynicism and fills it with the kind of hope and bewilderment that both the young and the young at heart seek.

Semi-Pro

2008 / Kent Alterman > Somehow, Will Ferrell has become a product (and that's fine). Since Frank the Tank first streaked through the college campus in Old School, his hyper-persona has become a face that sells movie tickets. This has led to many memorable parts: Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights, Buddy in Elf, and a subtler Harold Crick in Stranger than Fiction. But a hyper-persona alone cannot make a film work. Without proper casting, writing and direction, this throwback comedy during the days of the American Basketball Association, with crazy balls, crazy moves and Julius Erving, falls flat even before it begins. Simply put: There's just too much Ferrell and not much of anything else. If we want that, there are better options. Sure, the viral marketing ploy with Heidi Klum in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue was brilliant, but that was better than the film itself. Hopefully the studios got the message, as Semi-Pro is Ferrell's worst performing film to date.

Wanted

2008 / Timur Bekmambetov > It's usually a terrible idea when 70% of a film's plot is told over narration within five minutes, but Russian blockbuster director Bekmambetov brings his Night Watch fame this side of the Pacific with an action-packed extravaganza that's short on plot and long, very long on intensity. In fact, Wanted may have some of the best action sequences ever seen on film. Suspending disbelief is a priority in this adaptation of a comic grounded on prophetic assassins—This is also partially because we know Angelina Jolie has the potential to blow stuff up, but James McAvoy? Not your likeliest action star, but the special effects make it all work in spades.

Doomsday

2008 / Neil Marshall > You have to give Marshall credit for trying to create an intelligent mixture of The Road Warrior and 28 Days Later, but somewhere along the way, the focus shifted away from the storyline into chases, beheadings and twists seen from a mile away. Rhona Mitra, the original Tomb Raider, fitfully shows that she had the right to star in the films of her former alter ego, and Craig Conway is superb as a chilling vision of humanity gone awry. Though generally exciting, Doomsday's premise of de-evolution in modern society never really develops into anything fresh to deserve the kind of cult status it could have achieved.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

2008 / Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg > Let's just keep it simple and say this is an out and out absurdity of a film. There, that makes things easier. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay won't win Oscars (nor it should), but it does things that keep you glued to the screen until the end—even through an unbelievable sequence involving George W. Bush where you can't help but smile. Doogie Howser is all kinds of crazy, and Kumar's math poetry just makes you tear a little. There is, however, definitely a generational gap in the film that scours it away from a significant amount of moviegoers, and those who are easily offended will probably switch off within the first half hour.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

2008 / Mark Waters > On a small scale, The Spiderwick Chronicles works just fine, but considering the onslaught of fantasy genre blockbusters, it's a bit harder to swallow the film's lack of scope. One of the key reasons the genre works so well is the mythos that backs every fantasy world, but in this case, it gets reduced to a miniature description that we're forced to swallow as if it meant something. Not a terrible effort, but not something that you'll want to stand in line for the sequel to.

Charlie Bartlett

2008 / Jon Poll > While there's no doubt that Anton Yelchin is a youngster to watch, not much can be said of the manner in which Gustin Nash's screenplay takes the interesting and turns it into a play by the numbers coming-of-age story that fails to find what it started out looking for. Charlie Bartlett does get some refreshment from Hollywood's current darling Robert Downey, Jr., in a rather pitying role of an alcoholic principal-cum-father. If there's one way to sum up why the film doesn't work in the end, it's that everything happens too easily, with disregard to reality, and that, for a film that's trying to find the uniqueness within a cultural subtext, is a small tragedy.

The Incredible Hulk

2008 / Louis Leterrier > The most impressive thing about The Incredible Hulk isn't the fact that it's actually good, but that Marvel was able to eat the mistake that Ang Lee made and reboot the series in five short years. Not only does it show that the movie-going audiences have surprisingly short-term memories, but also that a storied franchise need not be bogged down by a misfire. That being said, Zak Penn's script is more on par with his first X-Men 2 effort than Elektra, and Leterrier has targeted a good blend of action and drama while respecting Hulk's fanbase. Now it'll be interesting to see if Hulk returns as a good guy or bad guy in the upcoming Avengers movie.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008 / Steven Spielberg > Some of the scenes make no sense, the writing is mediocre and often laughable and the ending messes with the whole mystique of the Indiana Jones series. But those minor, silly things aside, the damn thing is still a lot of fun to watch. It's kind of hard to consider it in the same vein as the originals (especially when Raiders of the Lost Ark can legitimately stand up as a classic), but it was never meant to be taken seriously. Not with Shia LeBeouf and a 65 year-old Harrison Ford. But there were still moments of old Indy greatness, hidden here and there, and that's pretty much all we could ask.

Be Kind Rewind

2008 / Michel Gondry > The bar's up pretty high after Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep, but this what it is on purpose: lighthearted, sentimental and while a bit ill-paced, generally enjoyable. Though Jack Black is on the edge of annoying, the rest of the cast holds the film together in a very communal way. The movie recreations are reason enough to see this as they serve up the genius of Gondry in small, snack portions instead of a whole meal at once.

The Happening

2008 / M. Night Shyamalan > Obvious, insulting and intensely disappointing in that we may have the technical skills of such a crafty director wasted by his delusions of grandeur. Everything Shyamalan has done since The Sixth Sense has been filled with a sense of greatness that simply isn't there. I excused both Unbreakable (because on a small scale, it made sense to me) and Signs (because I gave it the benefit of the doubt), but the last three have gone further into the ground in insulting the viewer's intelligence. The Happening is ridiculous in its message, the way that a kindergarten student would tell an adult to not waste electricity. The script and acting? Just leave this one alone.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

2007 / Jake Kasdan > A deliriously fun parody, Walk Hard doesn't ever actually stop to analyze what it's doing. The way Kasdan organized the project, it really ends up being a seamless, over-the-top yet surprisingly believable (if you were to actually try to believe) story of a rock 'n' roll superstar. John C. Reilly is completely in his element and Tim Meadows is, well, funny again. However, the extended cut is arguably too extended and ill-paced for the film to be enjoyable by the time the credits roll. The theatrical cut is clean, efficient and paced just right.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

2007 / The Brothers Strause > There are only a couple of reasons to see this: First, the more obvious of the two, is the fact that you finally get to see some alien on predator action. Unfortuantely it's just one predator vs. tons of aliens. Why? Well, how else would they get to set up the next sequel? Second, and less obvious, is the finale. I can't say I'm shocked by much anymore in film, but I have to say that I give The Brothers Strause immense amount of credit for holding onto their bollocks and giving the audience what they want. For once.

The Bank Job

2008 / Roger Donaldson > The Bank Job is a very enjoyable heist flick that is intensely charged while it lasts, but fails to carve a niche into the history of the genre. Stylish, well-paced, the whole product is very refined, though I imagine it's not surprising since this is not, by any means, the first Jason Statham vehicle to take take on such a premise (see The Italian Job and Snatch).

Street Kings

2008 / David Ayer > Street Kings kills its suspense level and pacing before we're ready to commit, which is a bit tragic because the overall show is pretty respectable. The typical viewer ought to figure out the ending 20 minutes into the film, which is tricky because it makes us lose motivation to continue watching. However, Ayer and writer James Ellroy of L.A. Confidential fame do pull out a couple of tricks near the end that make it worth the wait. The morality tale in the film is not as well-thought out as Gone Baby Gone, but the social questions brought forth are given a new spin even if they've existed for ages.

Bart Got a Room

2008 / Brian Hecker > Bart Got a Room is a lighthearted, silly but fairly portrayed life of a teenager preparing for the high school prom. It's an obvious comedy, but its underpinnings are exaggerations based on life experiences, which tends to give it the credibility it needs to stay afloat. Steven Kaplan shows promise as the protagonist, but William H. Macy steals the show as the divorced father whose curly afro and need for womanly love take a backseat to the love for his son.

War, Inc.

2008 / Joshua Seftel > Those who are looking for John Cusack to be John Cusack, or those who want to see Hilary Duff put on an Eastern European accent and mimic Britney as popstar Yonica Babyyeah, War, Inc. is a good watch. But if it's biting political satire that is being sought, it's probably better to go back to Bulworth or Wag the Dog because this script doesn't know what it wants to be or who it wants to offend. It's heavy-handed and a total waste of a good setup considering how relevant the film could be in current society.

Teeth

2008 / Mitchell Lichtenstein > While the idea behind Teeth is a boy's worst nightmare, the failed opportunity at making something bigger, more interesting and/or important out of the story is arguably much worse. Jess Weixler puts in a nice enough performance on a script that is light on ideas, heavy on redundancy. It doesn't stick as either a horror film or a character study, but may do its job as a quaint little public service announcement for abstinence.

10,000 BC

2008 / Roland Emmerich > Talk about making Apocalypto look like a bloody masterpiece. 10,000 BC is a ridiculous waste of a $105mn budget even if the CGI looks fantastic. The pacing is atrocious, the editing is sloppy and the story is silly. Throw in the beautiful Camille Belle, all you have here is eye candy and nothing else. Probably a great thing to put on the television while you vacuum.

Vantage Point

2008 / Pete Travis > Vantage Point is surprisingly enjoyable, though it lacks the sort of depth that's necessary for a politically charged action/mystery to be intellectually satisfying. It's sharply cut, adequately acted and has enough semblance of a story to forget that beneath this tiger, there's actually no engine.

Cloverfield

2008 / Matt Reeves > Effectively an extra-long episode of The O.C. with a monster in it, Cloverfield uses and abuses the amateur camera technique to a level where it's more annoying than satisfying. But the worst thing about the film may be that it tries to put the lives of people who we really could care less about above the story of the monster, which is a terrible, terrible waste of opportunity.

Horton Hears a Who!

2008 / Jimmy Hayward & Steve Martino > It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen an animated film this simple and innocent yet so enjoyable. Aside from all the logical messes that may exist in Horton Hears a Who! (after all, this is based on a Dr. Seuss story), the silly but smart humor, the optimism and hope and the succinct running time make it one of the best family films to come out in some time.

Raptor

2007 / Jim Wynorski > "What's that?" The magical phrase is, according to the director Wynorski's count, uttered at least 18 times in the film. What could that be? It's sheer brilliance, I tell you. From the opening deaths of idyllic teenagers lost in the arid caves of Utah, I knew I was in for a special treat. It didn't mean much that the film echoed scenes from the famed Jurassic Park contemporary Carnosaur—these were obviously of much higher budget, especially when the screen turns green to identify with the raptors' point of view. (Yes, that was plural. There are multiple raptors in the film! Have you invited your friends over yet?!)

Wynorski, also known as Jay Andrews and H. R. Blueberry, is the man behind a substantial amount of late night Cinemax classics such as Alabama Jones and the Busty Crusade and The Bare Wench Project. In Raptor, he hones his technical mastery with the help of master filmmaker Roger Corman. The final product is a seamless composite of what feels like three, four or even five films! But in reality, it is only one. Anyone who has told you otherwise has been deceived into belittling the good names of Wynorski and Corman. Why else would Golden Globe-nominated Corbin Bernsen take a key role as the evil Mr. Hyde?

I do have a minor complaint: Blonde bombshell Melissa Brasselle (who is currently starring in Danny Bonaduce's VH1 cult-hit I Know My Kid's a Star) is a bit of a distraction from the glorious beauty of the raptors. For some reason, Wynorski strategically decided to utilize her in rather tight-fitting outfits and in scandalous positions, often opposite the splendid Eric Roberts. Roberts, by the way, hasn't been this spot on since the original Best of the Best. The manner in which he battles the alpha raptor in the end makes Sigourney Weaver look like an absolute chump in Aliens. "Take that, Barney!" might be one of the most important lines of our lifetime, as many of us grew up thinking and wanting to do similar violent acts to our purple-furred friend.

What Spielberg started, Wynorski and Corman have finished. There can be no other film about raptors after this. It is conclusive evidence that we should not meddle with our genes or stem cell research because all it will do is kill the neighborhood kids, your daughter's boyfriend, your co-worker, that guy who drives the truck full of chickens across state borders so that illegally implanted raptor babies can be kept in a cage away from society, Corbin Bernsen and lots of really mean looking military guys. Raptor is a cinematic achievement that parallels Fellini's 8½ in innovation, and supercedes the science-fiction philosophy of 2001. (It's also better than many films that don't contain numbers in their titles.) Thanks for the recommendation Lucid Screening.

Hannah Takes the Stairs

2007 / Joe Swanberg > The backlash against "mumblecore" generally tends to be driven by the fact that these films always focus on middle-class, post-graduate white kids who do nothing but complain about their lives. But this is arguably the best social class through which to canvass this topic. If Whit Stilmann's Metropolitan was a satirical look at the upper-class who excel at discussion and inaction, and the Hughes Brothers' Menace II Society commands attention because it tries to portray the lack of options in the urban ghetto, films like Hannah Takes the Stairs competently approaches the social classes in between who have myriad possibilities of both success and failure. And whether this optionality is displayed through lack of interest in one's occupation or discontent in relationships is often the deciding factor between the film, the viewer and whether the experience will be enjoyable.

Having miserably failed at watching Andrew Bujalski's Funny Ha Ha, I stayed away from most films in the sub-genre until this Swanberg vehicle. Co-writer and start Greta Gerwig's endearing yet infuriating title character is composed of some of the best and worst bits of ourselves and our loved ones—past and present. By the time the final two scenes come around, everything kind of, sort of, actually makes sense. The cerebral aspect of the film suddenly subsides to let the emotive aspect sneak through and, in the process, lets the viewer do the same. If mood was ever a critical ingredient of a film's success, this may just be it.

Dedication

2007 / Justin Theroux > It's easy to say that quirky indie-romances are all the rage these days, and it's even easier for Dedication to be slapped with that same label. But what I found amazing is that underneath it all, this is a re-modeled formulaic romantic dramedy with better music (by Au Revoir Simone and the surprisingly soothing Deerhoof), better acting and a better story. It isn't perfect, and it isn't going to end up on any all-time lists, but what the film does is put a refreshing coat on an otherwise conventional plot and charms us from end to end. It's an admirable directorial debut by Theroux, backed by a superb performance by Billy Crudup as the misanthropic lead who's trying to figure out how to get along with substitute illustrator Mandy Moore after his long-time collaborator, played aptly as always by Tom Wilkinson, passes away. The star, though, may be the script by David Bromberg, with its tight, sharp dialogue and memorable banter.

Jumper

2008 / Doug Liman > It didn't bother me when Liman said in an interview that Jumper was the final part of his "sell-out trilogy." After all, both The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith were relatively smart, enjoyable fares. But apparently he was setting up the pre-emptive strike on a piece of shit: How Liman took a brilliant premise and muddled it into an episode of The O.C. (Rachel Bilson included) with intriguing yet ignored sci-fi elements is beyond me. What really, absolutely kills it: The sequel is in the works. This act of hypocrisy almost single-handedly negates the goodwill from Swingers and the rather underrated Go and turns Liman into a poseur until proven otherwise.

Paranoid Park

2007 / Gus Van Sant > In the final part of his death trilogy, Van Sant loses the ironic edge that he had with Elephant. Paranoid Park is subtle, provocative and thoughtful, but it still feels all too fleeting. The mood carries the film to its end but somehow, the sadness and despair never really penetrates the audience. Whether this is a function of an age-biased disconnect, I'm not sure, but many of us have found ourselves in positions where we feel guilty of an act we had little control over. This was an attempt at extrapolating that to a higher degree, but in many ways, it feels too forgiving and too simple to be poignant.

Enchanted

2007 / Kevin Lima > Enchanted works because of Amy Adams, as she turns the role of a princess into something identifiable by most stretches of the imagination. Disney's welcome back party, though, isn't without hitches: The story is still ultimately stale even with the sort of modern-day luster that's splashed atop it. And Patrick Dempsey is, unfortunately, forever going to smell of Grey's Anatomy thereby discounting the value of any character he portrays onscreen. (This is a pity, but alas, it's the price he'll have to pay for resurrecting his career.) The film almost works as a foil to Pan's Labyrinth with its cheerfulness and optimism—It's lighthearted fare and undeniably enjoyable, though there's just not enough to hold onto to make it a classic.

Lars and the Real Girl

2007 / Craig Gillespie > This is the opposite of what every independent film-viewer has come to accept: That there is a world out there without cynicism, that people are generally good, even if troubled, that love is not impossible due to external social forces. Nancy Oliver's thoughtful script is devoid of the type of silly comedy one would expect from a film about a guy and his "real doll." Instead, the laughter is a gut response in relation to everyday life, about seeing things and understanding life's simple ironies and accepting them in their due course. Lars and the Real Girl provides the foundation for another superb performance by Ryan Gosling that ought to have given him an Oscar nod. This is, without a doubt, one of the most surprising finds of 2007.

Shoot 'Em Up

2007 / Michael Davis > Ridiculous gun battles (including a particularly challenging one when Clive Owen and ever-wonderful Monica Bellucci are consummating their relationship), an off-the-wall performance by Paul Giamatti and a short-running time: These are the three essential elements of Shoot 'Em Up, a film that holds no notion of seriousness, even poking fun at its own ridiculous plot involving babies for stem cell research. It's a good ride, though I imagine it'll lack the replay value of better offerings this year (such as Smokin' Aces).

Hostel: Part II

2007 / Eli Roth > The original Hostel had a cold, unwavering tension in its lack of information that made it so exciting to watch. We had no idea what was going to happen or what the backstory was, so as it unfolded, we were shocked, disgusted and entertained. This sequel, however, decides to educate us on the process by which nice Americans get stuck on meathangers in Slovakia. Gone immediately is the suspense, but increased, in compensation, is the brutality. Unfortunately, these are not equal exchanges, and as the Saw series went downhill after its initial imaginative introduction, it looks like Hostel will follow a similar path.

War

2007 / Philip G. Atwell > For all its logistical shortcomings, War is still good fun. The fact that Jet Li replaces his punches and kicks with bullets is not problematic, though it'll undoubtedly disappoint some. However, some of the gunplay is fairly innovative, and the plot, while sometimes dependent on the suspension of disbelief, is considerably above average compared to similar genre flicks. Also: It doesn't hurt that in the film, Li drives a beautiful, exquisite Spyker C8 Spyder.

He Was A Quiet Man

2007 / Frank A. Cappello > There's a strange quirkiness in the way the plot develops in He Was A Quiet Man. We're never really sure if it's taking itself seriously or if the whole thing is a sham, but regardless our attention is held by a thin link founded on Christian Slater's neurotically amusing performance as an overlooked office worker in the big corporate world who just might go postal. It's odd, sometimes endearing but the premise becomes sillier and sillier as the film wears on until we're left wondering what exactly is the message that's being delivered.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2007 / Tim Burton > I very much enjoy Burton's work, but am generally not a fan of musicals. This puts me into a sort of dilemma where I find myself only half-appreciating the meticulously crafted Sweeney Todd. Musicals generally tend to have fairly simple stories that are buffered by lyricism and melody, but when those aren't high on one's priority list, the foundation of the film falls off. Now, I can only hope that his forthcoming Alice in Wonderland is not a sing-along.

Epic Movie

2007 / Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer > I tried to laugh, but this was not funny. The most painful part of Epic Movie is arguably not the film itself, but all that wasted Hollywood parody material. I'm not sure why anyone is being credited with "screenwriting" this film, because it just seemed like they picked movies out of a bag and threw some scenes together to... wait, $87mn in the box office! Where da sequel at?

The Kite Runner

2007 / Marc Forster > To date, I've very much enjoyed Forster's work. It's admirable that he continues to diversify his style and challenge himself further (as witnessed by his helming of the next Bond film). And while it's hard to directly pin-point exactly why The Kite Runner feels like an utter mess, there's a sensation that the film's literary foundation may have overstretched screenwriter David Benioff's sense of imagination. Subsequently, there's a lot of unnecessary melodrama and sudden pacing changes that make me wonder how good the original story is to begin with. Its largest shortfall is its continuous sense of emotional manipulation, especially in the last third. Otherwise, it's relatively well-made with a couple of surprising performances by its young stars and a moving show by Homayoun Ershadi and a solid score.

Good Luck Chuck

2007 / Mark Helfrich > There's something disturbing about watching Dan Fogler in the presence of other women. In Good Luck Chuck, his sleaze factor is through the roof, which actually becomes mildly fascinating after a while. Either way, this gross-out romantic comedy is both enjoyable and forgettable for its over the top premise. Dane Cook is likable and Jessica Alba is in it. So, that was good.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007 / Tim Story > For some reason, I thought it couldn't get worse than the original, but indeed that was a naive assumption. Sequels are generally worse and this is no exception. Silver Surfer should have saved this, but he comes off pretty bland and one-dimensional, and the climactic sequence is lacking proper character development to be effective. Jessica Alba is in it, though. So, that was good.

Mr. Brooks

2007 / Bruce A. Evans > Mr. Brooks takes multiple pages out of serial killer thriller flicks and tries to package it together, but it's all been done before. There's really nothing fresh that the film offers that makes it stand out, though the interactions between Kevin Costner, William Hurt and Dane Cook are surprisingly entertaining.

The Hottest State

2007 / Ethan Hawke > I'm not sure if Hawke's novel is this moody and petty, but the film adaptation of The Hottest State is dreadfully painful to sit through. Neither lead characters give a reason to care, and the script lacks any sort of direction or wonder to hook onto. Films about heartbreak always walk a thin line between self-indulgence and an objective disposition, and this one gorges itself in the former.

Charlie Wilson's War

2007 / Mike Nichols > Charlie Wilson's War has an Aaron Sorkin imprint on it the way it doesn't have a Nichols one: It's a witty but forceful political piece where there's good and there's bad, and the good fights to win by sometimes doing morally ambiguous things. The film is smart and entertaining, even if it doesn't offer the kind of depth that that sticks in your mind years after. The writing is as sharp as one would expect, and Tom Hanks utilizes his dialogue well opposite an equally excellent offering from Philip Seymour Hoffman. It may be Nichols-lite, but it's better than most of Hollywood has to offer these days.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

2007 / Julian Schnabel > When I first heard this was going to be made into a film, I was filled with both worry and wonder. A film about a man who communicates by blinking? How interesting could that be on the screen? In amazement and awe, however, Schnabel and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (who ought to be a lock for an Oscar nod) have adapted The Diving Bell and the Butterfly into celluloid with a level of imagination that even Jean-Dominique Bauby may not have had in his writing process. The scenes where Bauby (played immaculately by Mathieu Amalric) and his father (played by an appropriately aging Max von Sydow) communicate before and after the stroke are mesmerizing and heartbreaking. All the women in the film shine in reflection to Bauby's "butterfly," each adding an extra layer of emotion and character to a life not to be pitied. No doubt one of the year's very best, the film is an epic of human creativity and strength.

I Am Legend

2007 / Francis Lawrence > Will Smith's best acting effort to date. Atrocious CGI mutants. Excellent action sequences. First 80% puts it in the top 5% of all sci-fi films ever made. Last 20% moves it back to the middle of the pack. Most of the story is better than the novel, but the ending, which couldn't have happened in the novel, was too Spielbergian to be effective. This wasn't just a weak ending; it was bad enough to render the whole film meaningless and tasteless.

Gone Baby Gone

2007 / Ben Affleck > Whatever you may say about the elder Affleck, know that his directorial debut is as sharp and promising as any this year. In supplement, also know that the younger Affleck is burgeoning into a full-fledged actor of a certain range and emotion that ought to impress for some time. Putting these two together with Dennis Lehane's novel and a superb performance from The Wire's Amy Ryan, we eventually come to find a final product that utilizes a child kidnapping as a device via which to question and analyze morality. Undoubtedly, one of the toughest distinctions over right and wrong is faced by those who are paid to uphold the law, and Gone Baby Gone explores this to a satisfying and almost fatalistic degree.

Music and Lyrics

2007 / Marc Lawrence > When the basis of the film is based around a songwriter, its ultimate sin is what Music and Lyrics commits: Having a rather boring, homogeneous treat for the ear. Other than that, the story is a bit ho-hum, and Drew Barrymore is simply annoying. The sort of childish charm from 50 First Dates is gone and instead replaced by a character built around silly paranoia and self-pity, exactly what you don't want to deal with in a romantic comedy.

American Gangster

2007 / Ridley Scott > Bloated and unfocused, Scott's epic fails to adequately build on the strong source material provided by the life and times of the notorious Harlem-based heroine distributor Frank Lucas. In fact, one of the most extraordinary angles of this story is left to a simple caption near the end which, if one has their head turned away for a split second, could easily be missed. Much could have been left on the cutting floor, much could have been added. Scott fails to give the audience an emotional center to latch onto besides the glorification of a gangster whose morality is seldom questioned. There is a belief that people who do socially irresponsible things (whether it's polluting the earth or murder) do so because it's the way in which they know how to live. American Gangster tries to tell us that over and over, but somehow never fully forms a complete thought to get that point across successfully.

Death Sentence

2007 / James Wan > In his first foray out of the horror genre, the director of the original Saw takes considerable missteps in portraying a revenge-minded father who's just seen his son brutally murdered. Though Kevin Bacon puts in an adept effort considering the material, the character evolution is weak and oddly paced. In a film such as this, if you plan on taking your work seriously and not simply using it as a method of violence exploitation, you need a foundation on which to base the spillage of the blood on. However, Wan negates any sort of rationale for what happens, making plot decisions that are muddled and hysterical. At the end, there's an attempt at teaching the moral behind the futility of revenge, but it's too little, too obvious and too late.

Interview

2007 / Steve Buscemi > Even at 80 minutes long, Interview tests your patience over and over until you realize the film is actually a Sienna Miller biopic that Steve Buscemi made so he could make out with her. And while that could be considered a legitimate reason in some circles, the sheer pain of having to witness an unending conversation that continuously assaults the intelligence all but nullifies any reason for the film's existence. Let's hope the rest of the trilogy isn't so weak.

Balls of Fury

2007 / Robert Ben Garant > As silly as it sounds, the idea of Dan Fogler making out with Maggie Q takes Balls of Fury two full notches down on the totem pole of love. In theory, there wasn't much that could go wrong with a parody of Enter the Dragon starring Christopher Walken and ping pong, but the show quickly runs out of meat and starts packing the minutes with unremarkable filler that stretches thin by the climactic sequences. There are some good moments, though better fit to be viewed as clips on YouTube, not with full attention in front of the screen.

The Brave One

2007 / Neil Jordan > It'd be one thing if the moral dilemma was abrasive or tactless, but The Brave One somehow manages to turn the inherent tension necessary in a film such as this into a bit of a snoozefest. Jordan's attempt to re-wrap the revenge genre fails as there's too much being slapped together to create some greater meaning. Ultimately, much of the film is simply conventional—Not to mention that the whole bit is a minor personal attack on the borough of Manhattan.

Resident Evil: Extinction

2007 / Russell Mulcahy > The worst thing a Resident Evil-like movie can be is boring. And this one is boring. It's not really exciting. Nothing really happens. Okay, some things happen but they're mostly boring. So, nothing might as well happen at all. Though, Milla Jovovich sure can kick some ass. And there are a few explosions to wake you up.

The Ten

2007 / David Wain > The Stella boys are pretty hit and miss: Wet Hot American Summer was fun and quirky, though far from brilliant. The Baxter had a sort of undeniable charm that kept it interesting. But The Ten and its gimmick of playing individually upon Moses' commandments gets old a bit too quick. Most of the stories lose steam when one realizes that they really don't go anywhere: They amuse briefly before simply becoming an obstacle until the next story. How much it reverberates simply depends on how much of the Stella comedy you can appreciate without thinking if its all a bunch of inside jokes.

The Kingdom

2007 / Peter Berg > Up until The Kingdom, Berg had quietly been making his mark on the directorial front. Very Bad Things is an often overlooked, underrated black comedy, and Friday Night Lights is undoubtedly one of the finest sports films of all-time. However, in his foray into the action/drama (as opposed to the action/comedy buddy flick The Rundown), he stumbles over a few heavy-handed messages and a fairly insulting foundation: Jamie Foxx and his FBI crew land in Saudi Arabia to investigate a civilian bombing on international soil as if the Saudi themselves are absolutely incapable of such. This type of convenience in the script is downright silly, but it doesn't stop there. The central conflict finds a magical solution at the buzzer, though Berg does add a couple of rather nice touches to make us pay attention. The Kingdom is not horrible, but it's shallow and treads thinly on deep water that could have used some further exploration.

A Mighty Heart

2007 / Michael Winterbottom > There are two significant breakthroughs in A Mighty Heart: We learn that it is possible for Winterbottom to produce an apolitical film. Unlike The Road to Guantanamo, which plays the West as the villain from the get go, the film doesn't utilize the people in the story to prove anything—As a bastard child of 9/11, A Mighty Heart rivals only Reign on Me in its appreciation of the event's after-effects from a non-agenda viewpoint. It is tactful and intelligent, though not necessarily forgiving or hopeful of the strife and confusion that surrounds our current society.

We also get to enjoy Angelina Jolie in a role that brings her back down to earth, finds us focusing on her character and not the Hollywood megastar that she is. This is a joint accomplishment on both Winterbottom and Jolie's part that I find impressive, to take the celebrity out of a film and put in its place the strong-willed but broken hearted Marianne Pearl. Combined with an always impressive Irfan Khan, the cast of both professional and non-professional actors deliver an emotionally engrossing picture not to be taken lightly.

Stardust

2007 / Matthew Vaughn > On the back of the success of Layer Cake, Vaughn's decision to take upon a tale of such fantastic proportions is both admirable and a little suspect. Gone are the calculated plotlines that made his previous venture such a joy to watch, and in their place is a messy, underachieving fantasy that's all gloss.

The film starts strong by setting up a potentially epic story of lost love and the search for the rightful ruler of a mystical kingdom, but then succumbs halfway to a mildly droning last hour where it becomes predictable and often just downright silly. In fact, most of De Niro's character is a distraction and seems as if he's given more screentime because of his big name. Claire Daines is lifeless as usual—hasn't anyone figured out that the reason she was so good in My So-Called Life was because her character was supposed to be lifeless? Throw in another pointless cameo by Ricky Gervais, and we have the recipe for a bloated project that nearly crumbles on its own weight. There was enough here to enjoy (especially some of the campy jokes), but what could have been a memorable experience instead remains something momentary.

Ratatouille

2007 / Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava > Is Brad Bird the West's answer to Miyazaki? For a while, I thought that was the case. Both Iron Giant as well as The Incredibles showed off an intense originality that had been missing under the shadows of Japanese animation. Now, I'm not so certain: Ratatouille is a fine film, enjoyable from beginning to end and very warming to the heart. But I just can't get over the fact that it feels to me as if Bird's vision has regressed, that he's fit his story into a sort of a mainstream mold that caters to preconceived notions of what Pixar should do. This feeling of the gut is what keeps this tale from being a classic—or you could just argue that the cynic in me has won this battle.

Hot Rod

2007 / Akiva Schaffer > The Lonely Island boys may have made quite a name for themselves with SNL's "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick in a Box," but Hot Rod, while a project of love, falls flat soon after take-off. The jokes constantly overstay their welcome and feel like they're targeted for an elementary school demographic. By the end, though, there're some heart-tugging moments, no matter how manufactured, that make you think, "Alright, so not an absolute total waste of time. Just mostly."

2007 / Franck Khalfoun > The pre-eminent display of Rachel Nichols' cleavage throughout P2 is undoubtedly the highlight of what is otherwise an instantly forgettable psychopath/horror attachment to popcorn written by the director of the much-acclaimed High Tension. But aside from all that, one has to wonder about Wes Bentley. Is this where all the fame and glory of American Beauty leads? There's no way he could have found something beautiful in this.

No Reservations

2007 / Scott Hicks > Due to its bleaker foundation, No Reservations is calmer and more contemplative than most romantic comedies. It tries for poignancy without ever being able to achieve the emotions it wishes for. Thankfully, the cast and music (done aptly by Philip Glass) carries it past its testing and often predictable story. I doubt memories of the film will linger for long, but the feeling is nice while it lasts.

Shrek the Third

2007 / Chris Miller & Raman Hui > Almost every negative thing I can think of about Hollywood is somehow summed up in this film. Not only does Shrek the Third lack the freshness of the original and the tongue-in-cheek nature of the sequel, but it tries to justify its amalgamation of refuse with a lesson in being yourself. Unfortunately, $800 million in worldwide box office receipts will do little to dissuade the studios from such idiocy. Instead, here comes Shrek Goes Fourth!

Trade

2007 / Marco Kreuzpaintner > Trade may just be this year's biggest missed opportunity, overshooting any chance of credibility with its amateur, aggrandized screenplay. Because the subject of sex trafficking is misunderstood in both its scope and prevalence, Kreuzpaintner and screenwriter Jose Rivera's attempt to bring it onto the mainstream is admirable, but ends up being frustrating in its execution. While the cinematography and score are superb, the writing that surrounds it is vapid and cliche. (This worries me terribly since Rivera is in charge of scripting the American remake of the superb Korean drama Failan.) The excess in the storytelling particularly disappoints, taking away the focus from the true horror of the industry while emphasizing the superfluous. Ultimately, I wanted to like it but couldn't; I found myself too angry at its silliness and disrespect for the subject matter.

3:10 to Yuma

2007 / James Mangold > This retelling of 3:10 to Yuma is neither fresh nor does it take any risks. Using a conservative approach, the centerpieces effectively become Crowe and Bale, who, for a couple of foreigners, sure play the role of tough, Western men quite well. In my experience, there's just something about Mangold's style that cheapens the emotional plight of his characters. This, though, is not nearly as bad as Walk the Line, partially because the film pacing's keeps our attention on the action. By the end, 3:10 to Yuma turns out to be a solid effort, even if it comes nowhere near the potential of its foundation.

Planet Terror

2007 / Robert Rodriguez > Planet Terror dangerously treads the middle ground between being a genre film and a mainstream movie. In doing so, it fails to gain proper traction to exploit either end of the spectrum and fully realize its potential. While Tarantino's Death Proof has higher highs and lower lows, Rodriguez's constant barrage of zombie action never really gathers enough steam to hold one's attention. Without many surprises—unless you count Rose McGowan's M41A assault rifle for a leg, the highlight of the show that comes arguably too late—Planet Terror is ultimately too indulgent to be successful.

Death Proof

2007 / Quentin Tarantino > In Pulp Fiction, Tarantino's dialogue was fresh and exciting, but more importantly, it led to some level of character development that helped us understand the chaotic world within. In Death Proof, however, he engorges himself in dialogue that does little but waste time. Some may find it clever, but mostly it comes off pretentious and unnecessary. Thankfully, his skill in creating suspenseful action comes through gloriously in a couple of sequences that essentially justify the whole film. It's no wonder that this was cut and packaged together with Planet Terror in North American theatres: The meat here, while thin, is still quite juicy.

Michael Clayton

2007 / Tony Gilroy > Michael Clayton is easy to like: Other than its somewhat long running-time and debatable ending, Gilroy's directorial debut is void of any crass errors. George Clooney puts forth another intelligent performance that keeps him atop the top tier of Hollywood actors, but Tom Wilkinson ends up outshining him in a part that ought to get him an Oscar nomination at the very least. With its issues of corporate negligence and capitalist morality, the film is contemporary yet fresh. Its approach is akin to a lighter version of The Insider that's better fit for the masses—there's just enough action and craziness within to keep it riveting to those without an attention span. This all works well, but what trips the complete product is that it's just too well packaged by the time the credits roll. But while there's not much to hold onto past the two hours of celluloid, it must be said that this is one of the finest efforts major Hollywood has put forth in quite a while.

Eastern Promises

2007 / David Cronenberg > If there's one thing that Cronenberg's always done and deserves the most praise for, it's the respect and intelligence with which he treats his audience. Hints are dropped, arcs are drawn but most of the dots are ultimately connected by the viewer. More often than not, this technique works wonders (e.g., Crash and eXistenZ). In Eastern Promises, this technique is further refined to the point where it actually backfires a little: Considering the strength of Viggo Mortensen's character and the underlying tension/mystery that develops throughout, the finale is anticlimactic and disappointingly flaccid. The credits brought forth no emotions in me, a fact I found disheartening after 100 minutes of stellar filmmaking. In The History of Violence, there was an emotional purge at the end that left me at peace, but here that was absent. It's simply too clever, and I can only wish that he had added a few more minutes to extrapolate the ongoings—not for the purposes of holding my hand, but in order to find a foundation to rest the violence and stereotypes by which the film operates.

The Royal Tenenbaums

2001 / Wes Anderson > The Royal Tenenbaums is ridiculous yet tactful, endearing when necessary and endlessly cathartic. It spends some time intriguingly setting up the familial landscape before falling back to let the action commence. It's not immediately apparent that there's anything here beyond Anderson's peculiar directing methods until he blitzkriegs into the last third of the film. One scene after another crescendos—without pomp—into a collusive, heartwarming and/or heartbreaking whole that delivers the knockout punch. A stellar cast and spotless performances, a concise and elegant screenplay and pitch perfect cinematography contribute to a sly and wry final product that supersedes its components into the annals of film history.

Superbad

2007 / Greg Mottola > Superbad is a lot of fun but, unlike the subtle brilliance that's persisted in previous Mottola/Rogen works, childish jokes make up a bulk of its content. It straddles an awkward middle ground where it's neither intelligent nor stupid, and while that might work for some, I found it hard to position in my list of adolescent comedies. Cera's fine—his work on Arrested Development suits him better, but this is by no means a stretch. There are moments that are nice and cuddly yet not cheesy, which is a pleasant surprise. But ultimately, the storyline fails to stand out—as the "get laid before high school ends" plotline is anything but uncommon—and the afterglow is made less memorable by the fleeting nature of its juvenile jokes.

Man of the Year

2006 / Barry Levinson > Immense is the level of frustration involved in watching Man of the Year. Levinson drops the balls on a premise that we've always joked about, packing it tightly and sweetly at the front and then quickly letting the air out of the bag until there's nothing left in the bag. It's a film about problems, but not solutions. It would have been impressive to actually see what a comedian does once he takes the oval office, but here the action is curtailed into an incredulous scenario which does nothing to advance the initial premise. The endgame is one that reads like an amateur parable, filled with one-sided morality and Hollywood cliche. After the wondrous Wag the Dog, this is a truly misguided film that could learn a lesson or two from Warren Beatty's Bulworth. Skip this, watch Robin Williams: Live on Broadway instead.

Black Snake Moan

2007 / Craig Brewer > The "Black Snake Moan" scene is one of the most memorable this year, but aside from that, the film is a hard nut to crack. Brewer deserves notice for trying something different, but it may just be that he's wrapped this up in something fancy as to hide the fact that there's nothing inside at all. Surely, the story seems to unwrap that way, where by the end, nothing much has happened, but there is something almost taunting about the film that keeps you from turning away at times. Ricci is as strong as ever, Jackson is, well, himself and Timberlake, unfortunately, really drops the ball and makes me want to erase him off his scenes. Still, with Hustle & Flow and this under his belt, Brewer might be credited with a little more praise than he deserves, but thankfully his vision remains fresh and undiluted.

Ocean's Thirteen

2007 / Steven Soderbergh > I had such distaste for the first sequel that I had little initial inclination to see this regardless of positive word of mouth. Thankfully, I let that slide because this is arguably more satisfying overall than even the original, albeit the level of disbelief you must suspend to thoroughly enjoy it is quite inexplicable. The overall show is as sharp and sleek as ever, and the addition of a spicy Ellen Barkin adds a nice bit of spunk on top. Ultimately, the fact that the bottom doesn't fall out of the plot in the first twenty minutes is a great reason it should survive most attention spans, if not overwhelm them.

TMNT

2007 / Kevin Munroe > Harshly misjudged by critics who never appreciated the original cartoon series in its heyday, TMNT is incredibly beautiful, often funny, sometimes serious and overall enjoyable piece of work. It's not great cinema, and it doesn't go beyond its safe zones, but it does what it does well. I simply couldn't help at times to think that the animation was completely outsourced from Hong Kong, with its production values as good if not better than anything Pixar's put forth. Obviously, the story remains the key, and while it doesn't compete with Brad Bird's output, it ends up having a slightly more mature tone that should satisfy those who have grown with the turtles themselves.

The Last Legion

2007 / Doug Lefler > As a huge fan of anything related to Ancient Rome, I was very much anticipating The Last Legion and its take on the dying days of the empire. Not shockingly, of course, disappointment rose up and stamped its feet well within the film's first fifteen minutes. Now, it would be silly to expect an accurate depiction of a period of such mayhem and corruption, but what amazes me is the absolute lack of imagination put forth by the writers here. The only thing they could come up with was to somehow link Julius Caesar to King Arthur, but even that is a weak, fleeting piece of amusement amidst a barrage of cliches and a plot that's driven by a game of cat and mouse. Moreover, Aishwarya Rai says she's turned down Hollywood offers where the scripts did not suit her, but this? I imagine since she got a chance to play a hardened female warrior while being held tightly in Colin Firth's bosom is enough to make up for a forgettable experience.

Everything's Gone Green

2007 / Paul Fox > Douglas Coupland's screenplay has a subtle charm, that much is for sure, but what's magically missing is any substance. The film rides the coattails of capitalistic stereotypes while mixing in weak ideals of individualism. On a pure entertainment level, it doesn't shine, and on an inspirational level, it revels in its de-motivation by taking a one-sided view of ambition backed by a ridiculous plot.

Transformers

2007 / Michael Bay > It's a not a perfect film, or even a good one. It has silly dialogue, little character development and a storyline that leaves one wanting more. But it does have: 1) Robots in Disguise™, 2) lots of awesome explosions, and 3) Megan Fox. The basic sense of childhood nostalgia that brought me to the theatres walked out fully satisfied (and this includes me yelling at the top of my lungs during many parts of the show). I do, however, feel that that any further films in the series (and unfortunately there seems to be a green light for two more) will simply water down the enjoyment gained in this first one.

Rush Hour 3

2007 / Brett Ratner > One was good, two was entertaining, but against the good grace that third time's the charm, Ratner has thrown us a curve with one of the worst films of the year. Tucker may have put forth the single most annoying performance of the year, and Chan probably just enjoyed learning the secret to horses in pornography (see end credits for further clarification). The only thing that could save us now is a guarantee that there will be no fourth installation of such idiocy.

Sweet Smell of Success

1957 / Alexander Mackendrick > Sweet Smell of Success is as dark and biting now as it must have been in its heyday. Burt Lancaster's performance as a ruthless society columnist is second only to Tony Curtis' mercurial, almost repulsive role as the public relations agent in constant need of dire favors. It's always interesting to see a film from half a century ago and think that the world hasn't changed much. While we all imagine a nice, quiet place pre-Internet, films like this are kind enough to show that people are always the same, and that it's just their surroundings that change as time goes on.

The Simpsons Movie

2007 / David Silverman > Truth be told, there wasn't much that could've been done to fully satisfy me here. Wherein South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut delivered what its title promised, The Simpsons Movie essentially failed in sufficiently going beyond the boundaries of what television could already provide. It's incredibly enjoyable, but not enough to keep it decisively memorable and separate from its broadcast brethren. (Bart's penis can barely hold a candle to the brilliance of "Uncle Fucka.") But it's The Simpsons Movie, and we've waited eighteen damn years for it. My expectations were high, sure, but it's still a grand showing. I think I even teared a little when the videotape played.

The Lookout

2007 / Scott Frank > At a basic level, it's hard not to respect The Lookout for its relatively unique take on the heist genre. The film's move away from the standard setup theme is of interest, but the execution is sometimes flawed with staccato pacing and peripheral characters that come across extremely two-dimensional. Moreover, the gimmick of memory disorientation is utilized in a somewhat predictable way, even if the final sequence is a rather impressive one.

1408

2007 / Mikael Hafstrom > It pains me to say that the payoff in 1408 didn't suffice, because it's definitely a well-crafted psychological horror with none of the childish tactics of the latter two Saw films. Hafstrom has skill as a director (noted in both Derailed and Evil), but these scripts just don't do him justice. Or maybe I'm overestimating his ability past the pure technical aspect. Either way, Cusack's presence made the film bearable for me even if the end didn't equate.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007 / David Yates > I'm not a Harry Potter fanatic by any stretch of the imagination (i.e., I haven't read the books), so I find watching these films an idle form of entertainment. In such, it's hard for me to get riled up over them without understanding their long, literate histories (unlike my child-like giddiness towards Transformers). With Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I do feel like I've missed out on a lot of the meat by not having read the books (and not refreshing my memories of the last four), but I did come out of the theatre feeling quite comfortable about Yates taking Harry into maturity.

The darkened atmosphere surrounding Harry is quite welcoming to the sense of the world's impending battle between good and evil. Dolores Umbridge as well as Luna Lovegood add some fresh spices to the character pool, an act that Cho Chang (and that sad, pathetic kiss) absolutely fails at. Fundamentally, it's not always even or even coherent to us non-readers, and admittedly I did feel by the end that not much had happened. Retrospectively, however, it can be noted that many of the simple events that occur during the film are indeed rather significant in the battle against He Who Must Not Be Named. For that, I would've actually liked the film to have been longer, with more depth.

Twelve and Holding

2006 / Michael Cuesta > Turning thirteen and technically becoming a teenager, that's when the struggles of adolescence becomes official. But there are always those who hit their strides earlier due to special events that surround their lives—family, death or love, for example. In these times, a child is forced to act years in advance of their actual age, replicating what they've learned from those around them and on television and books. But always in this state of being precocious, it's important to remember that they retain their naivety. That naivety is what Cuesta so very impressively portrays in Twelve and Holding. The challenge for a filmmaker with such material is never the shock factor one needs to achieve, but rather to justify its existence within the scope of the film. Cuesta's treatment is gentle, intelligent and all the while respectful to the nuances of growing up.

Live Free or Die Hard

2007 / Len Wiseman > Die Hard films are about being in a position of impossibility. The building, the airplane—they made sense. But when Die Hard: With a Vengeance successfully moved away from that formula, the title became a bit of a misnomer. With Live Free or Die Hard, Wiseman moves even further away from the original premise, and those who remain loyal to the originals will undoubtedly be disappointed. But I've moved on, and this is one hell of an action-packed flick. Arguably the best summer adrenaline rush since Mission: Impossible 3, once McLane starts, he never stops (although Maggie Q almost makes that happen). Enjoy the mindlessness, don't think too hard about the economics or the technology and let Willis help you forget that he's 52 years old.

Knocked Up

2007 / Judd Apatow > It often seems that for a film about relationships to be good, there has to be some destructive forces involved with cynicism abound. But Apatow is better than that: Judging from his work on Freaks and Geeks, where he tackled a topic of much maligned stereotypes with a level of reverence unfound elsewhere, he's figured out how to turn common, beaten topics into constructive expositions. In Knocked Up, he successfully balances the jokes, the pop culture references (often needed to understand the nuances of the male protagonist) and the reality of an accidental pregnancy. It's touching, it's commendable and it's got Matsui.

Four Eyed Monsters

2006 / Susan Buice & Arin Crumley > I don't deny that the intent here is of great interest: How has the world of relationships evolved with the advent of social networking for those who are still somewhat lost, especially in their twenties? And with that, it starts off quite strong. But somewhere along the way, it digresses into issues of identity that are specific to a certain demographic (of which I can't entirely relate to). Ultimately, it's a deeply personal film by Buice and Crumley, who also star, and one that should attract those who have a certain sense of disillusionment from urban living vs. original expectations.

The Namesake

2007 / Mira Nair > It's a rare thing that celluloid beats its paper foundation, but The Namesake does just that. Personally, I've found Jhumpa Lahiri's writing style to be better fitting for short stories, but maybe I'm biased: The first two-thirds of the novel deal with things I've personally experienced, while the third is fairly uncharted territory. For that, maybe Nair's pacing fit me better.

The film itself is graceful, respectful, ignoring the stereotypes that often plague cinema that crosses cultural boundaries (and for this, both Lahiri and Nair ought to be credited). It's not perfect, but it has enough universal identification that it should be able to appeal to most of who have a chance to view it. The only dubious factor with the film is Kal Penn being casted for the lead role: He does a suitable job, but it's just hard to forget that this is Kumar we're talking about. The rest is quite appropriate, with special note to Tabu's performance as the beautiful, maturing mother who can make or break the viewer's heart.

Spider-Man 3

2007 / Sam Raimi > I couldn't help but have high expectations for Raimi's latest venture: With the first sequel, he had fired on all cylinders. The emotions were on the dot, as was the action and the romance in-between. It was about Peter Parker, not Spider-Man or the villains. So, the third incarnation could only get better, right? Not exactly: The melodrama here is downright silly at times, and while there's definitely some fun to be had, it doesn't really satisfy in the end. In fact, if it wasn't for Venom's downright creepy, lingering presence, this would be almost unbearable.

Reign Over Me

2007 / Mike Binder > In Reign Over Me, Binder continues displaying the skill of creating laughter in the face of tragedy he utilized so effectively in The Upside of Anger. And in doing so, he may have crafted one of the best films dealing with loss since The Sweet Hereafter, while taking an indirect approach towards 9/11 through a perspective that hasn't yet been fully explored. Sandler is spot on, but Cheadle, as he so often does, steals the show as the man who you know has problems but just can't face them. Sandler is his foil and while we see him transform, Cheadle follows suit ever so subtly. It has its slow moments and its awkward moments. It's not brilliant, and it isn't groundbreaking, but it has the kind of heart that one cannot often find in Hollywood these days.

300

2007 / Zack Snyder > One thing is undeniable: The film is visually stunning with visceral battle scenes that generally satisfy. However, the faithfulness to Frank Miller's original work keeps 300 from becoming a cinema classic. There are awkward, boring moments of long narration, seemingly infinite slow-motion sequences and not enough liberty taken to adjust and adapt to the different medium. The screenplay felt weak, with a storyline that tried to be a foundation for the action but instead just felt like a distraction to the meat. It has its moments—notably, the oracle and her mystical movements—and it may just have given birth to another generation of comic book films, but ultimately 300 is a film of enjoyable superficiality that should have been 20 minutes shorter.

Zodiac

2007 / David Fincher > Maybe it's because of my high expectations for Fincher, but the man's crafting of this solid, methodical work is lacking the underlying charisma that drove Fight Club and Seven into the annals of film history. Moreover, compared to Bong Joon-Ho's Memories of Murder, Zodiac's absence of heart tugs on the length of the film, which clocks in at nearly three hours. When you know there's no payoff (as both cases still remain unsolved), it's harder to keep from twiddling in your seat. Fincher's attempt at losing the gimmicks that some would say have plagued his previous films is successful for the most part: By the end, I felt satisfied, but in retrospect there wasn't enough to make this nearly as memorable as his previous ventures.

Alpha Dog

2007 / Nick Cassevetes > I'll consider myself fortunate to start the year off with two films that were not critically well-received, but have nonetheless given me an abundance of entertainment. Along with Smokin' Aces, Cassevetes' seemingly satirical look at the lives of irreverent, hedonistic teens in Southern California is sometimes witty, sometimes outrageous, and almost impossible to stop one's self from watching. In the right light, his is a tragic mockumentary, filled with polarizing scenes of drug abuse and sex, anger and lack of control.

Emile Hirsch continues to impress and mature, and Ben Foster gives one of the more intense performances (reminiscent of Spud from Trainspotting) I imagine we'll see all year. Justin Timberlake isn't great, but is watchable. (The problem with popstars in acting is that you always focus on them, judge them deeply and in the process, forget that there is a film around them; thankfully, it's not so much the case here.) In fact, much of the acting is to the point, often over the top but fitting for Alpha Dog's ride through mayhem and madness.

Smokin' Aces

2007 / Joe Carnahan > While a cornucopia of outlandish fun, Carnahan's follow-up to the critically-acclaimed Narc lacks the subtlety and tension that made his initial directing effort so effective. But that's not to take away from the fact that for nearly two hours, I was glued to the screen with little thought of what else was around me. Whether the movie has a real point or not is not the point at all, but rather that its sustainability is jaw-dropping. It's a fine mess, if you will, and a mess that luckily you can leave behind once the credits roll.

The Prestige

2006 / Christopher Nolan > There's really no other way to put it: This was a well-crafted film that I just couldn't enjoy as much as I should have. It's intricate and one can garner a lot of satisfaction dissecting each thread from beginning to end, but I personally couldn't be motivated to care beyond the broad level. Coming from a person who finds Memento to be one of the most overrated films in history, one might think that I just have it in for Nolan—but I did enjoy Batman Begins and even found Insomnia to be fairly solid. Maybe the fact that Scarlett Johansson just can't act was an issue, or maybe I just can't get over the fact that Nolan's knack for complicating matters just drives me insane. Alright, it's probably the latter. At least The Dark Knight looks promising.

The Motel

2006 / Michael Kang > The quiet subservience of youth is often incorrectly displayed in film. There lies a difference between emotionally manipulating through stereotypes and enveloping the stereotypes to build a foundation for something more. Kang does the latter here, gently and effectively. Non-actor Jeffrey Chyau's lead character is unassuming and imperfect, but is as a boy his age should be. One of the key reasons the film works is because Kang doesn't seem to approach this as an "Asian-American" film, but rather a film about growing up where the central character just happens to be Asian.

Along with Saving Face, this is arguably the only other so-called Asian-American film that I find myself recommending to others. I'm now anxiously awaiting Kang's next film, West 32nd, which as far as I know is the first film that Korea's CJ Entertainment has funded for a Korean-American director as well as Korean-American stars (John Cho and Battlestar Galactica's Grace Park).

Cars

2006 / John Lasseter & Jon Ranft > Toy Story might have jumpstarted the animated film genre a little over eleven years go, but the magic of previous Pixar films have definitely failed to carry into 2006. This, what has widely been called the best animated feature of the year, is long, arduous and painstaking in its delivery of an all too obvious life lesson. It rarely entertains but instead folds back into a shell to manipulate emotions and make us feel as if there's something below the hood, but alas there isn't. It's a little insulting, even, when compared to the magic of The Incredibles and the ingenuity of Monsters, Inc. One can only hope that Brad Bird comes back in full force with Ratatouille to restore the pride of Pixar and take the art form back to respectability.

The Last Kiss

2006 / Tony Goldwyn > It's nowhere near as bad as I expected (which was, essentially, a cross between Garden State and Crash). It's definitely a film where personal identification makes or breaks one's opinion. It's made for people in certain stages in their lives, especially those in longer-term relationships who question and wonder the long-term viability of these lives. The Last Kiss, surprisingly, does little to answer those questions, which is preferable as not to seem pedantic and righteous. In the sector of emotional resonance, though, it comes nowhere near Nichols' Closer, which further perfected the art of heartbreaks. Nonetheless, the supporting stories here are relevant and of interest, and Rachel Bilson's film-debut is full of appreciative spunk.

Factory Girl

2006 / George Hickenlooper > First, a blessing of sorts: Sienna Miller can actually kind of act. Unfortunately, however, Hickenlooper's attempt at mimicking a Warhol-in-film style falls flat through its brash interruptions of what could have been a decent biopic. The script starts decently enough, but then the drawn out storyline with the faux Bob Dylan takes the film further into the realm of unbearability. It becomes bland and boring, and while Guy Pearce's Warhol raises a few eyebrows, the ultimate result is forgettable.

Stranger Than Fiction

2006 / Marc Forster > In the third film since his breakout Monster's Ball, Forster once again takes his style and does a modest 90 degree turn, being only second to Winterbottom in diversity of his content and style. Here, Forster's playing a game on two levels: In the very basic sense, Stranger Than Fiction is a tragicomedy that Ferrell himself does the best to figure out. But as an underlying, it ends up being a self-deprecatory piece of work about the medium of writing as well as audience expectations of films.

Strung at the hip by a surprisingly solid and poignant performance by Ferrell, the film touches base with quite a few obvious everyday philosophies (including a non-so-stubborn version of carpe diem) and turns them into something more solvent. It's a great find and one of the best American films of 2006 (second only to The Departed in my count). It includes one of my favorite scenes of the year: I imagine it'll warm your heart too when you see it. Also, watch out for writer Zach Helm, as this sets up a high bar for what may be a great career.

The Painted Veil

2006 / John Curran > It's beautifully filmed and Desplat's score is impressive in its ability to turn violent at a moment's notice, but the film is flawed in its ability to say something beyond the obvious. People make mistakes and redemption often comes when the world is put into perspective, but The Painted Veil tries to say that in a way that finds itself to be almost self-congratulatory. I've never read the novel and am unsure of its depth versus the film, but maybe something is lost in the adaptation that keeps it from being of interest. As a period piece, it works on basic levels, and Norton's passion in making the film comes through, even if a little forcefully at times, quite well.

Dreamgirls

2006 / Bill Condon > Generally, I'll avoid musicals if possible, but one had to see what the hoopla was about. And Dreamgirls reminded me why I tend to avoid the sing and dance: In the middle of all the great musical numbers, costumes and sets, the depth and emotion needed for the story to stick and progress gets lost. Condon's effort here is sub-par to Chicago, but thankfully, it shines on a technical basis.

On the debate of Beyonce vs. Jennifer Hudson, it's pretty silly. Beyonce lacked script to deliver a real performance. Most of her lines were thin and unoriginal. Hudson, on the other hand, was solid but not entirely Oscar-worthy. (As of now, Kikuchi's performance in Babel takes the cake for me.) Her character felt forced, self-centered and simply annoying. I'm not doubting she doesn't have the skills, but I am saying the script kept her back. It was good, by the way, to see Murphy work some magic that we knew he always had.

As a huge fan of Motown music, this was still enjoyable at times. While the tracks were not nearly as catchy, the glitz and glamour of the girls made up for it. Taking that into effect, I would think those who are not fans of Motown or musicals will not find this nearly as appeasing.

Apocalypto

2006 / Mel Gibson > It's not nearly as profound as it would like to be, but Apocalypto is nonetheless a small triumph in filmmaking. On the surface, its entertainment value is immense, with heart-wrenching moments that gnaws past one's level of indifference. For over two hours, Gibson succeeds in keeping our attention and making us wonder what will become of our protagonist. It's finely crafted, with enough attention to detail to stave off everyone but the best of historians. If one can get over the small awning of preachiness, the film rewards the viewer with a surprisingly believable thrill ride.

Saw III

2006 / Darren Lynn Bousman > While the original's premise was under wraps until the end, the second and third have been forcefully convoluted to try and mimic the shock and awe created by their predecessor. Unfortunately, for the second time, they've failed. Gone is the underlying tension that there is something deeper, more sinister at play. In fact, it could be argued that the antagonist has become a sort of an anti-hero, one we actually find ourselves supporting and wondering what type of ingenious puzzle will be left for the next victim.

Cary Elwes and Danny Glover gave solid performances in the original, but that category has deteriorated further in this second iteration. What's probably most disturbing and annoying is the unnecessary amount of visual quick-cuts that the editors take the liberty of shoving onto the audience. Combined with the numbingly overused screeching sounds, Saw 3 leaves us bored with the exception of some clever deaths.

The Pursuit of Happyness

2006 / Gabriele Muccino > The reason the film is ultimately bearable isn't because of Will Smith's performance, but rather the predictable yet heartwarming moments our protagonist finds himself in. Much of the storyline progresses as expected, and by the end all is swell and life goes on. The voiceovers are probably the worst part, and it brings down the film a whole notch. As an underdog movie, it's nothing special—at least not something a dose of Rudy can't cure.

Of note is Thandie Newton's portrayal of Smith's wife, which I found striking considering she's often billed rather lackluster roles. Her character's not particularly multi-faceted, but what she does, she does well. As for whether Smith deserves a nod for the Oscars, it's tough to say. He'll probably get the nomination since the role is a made-for-Oscar one, but without a doubt there are better options out there.

Flushed Away

2006 / David Bowers & Sam Fell > Coming from Aardman, this is a disappointment. The men who've brought us the glorious Wallace & Gromit flicks have paired up with Dreamworks for a mediocre if adequately satisfying venture into Ratropolis. There's little meat to the story, and the emotion is almost nonexistent. Thankfully the action is solid and ought to keep one's attention for much of the ninety minutes. The voice acting is some of the best in recent memory: Kate Winslet shines by providing her voice to the female lead, a strong-willed woman determined to take good care of her family. The animation is superb, and while done in CGI, still has a lot of the effects of claymation. It won't salvage a year of weak animated films, but it's a fun ride nonetheless.

Dead or Alive

2006 / Corey Yuen > I'm not sure if I should ever expect another Fong Sai-Yuk out of Yuen, but with The Transporter and now Dead or Alive, he's slowly building up a reputation for directing some of the best no-nonsense martial arts/action flicks that are just great fun. The girls wear little clothing (although with smaller busts than their video game counterparts would suggest), there's enough plot to advance the story and Eric Roberts is the bad guy. What more could you want? Oh: There's also beach volleyball. Just the ticket for attention deficit.

Blood Diamond

2006 / Edward Zwick > And Hollywood preaches on: While this is supposed to be a lesson in how diamonds are bad for the world, Zwick forgets to erase the excesses off the drawing board. The violence here is generally appropriate, but the story comes to a standstill too often. Cutting off 45 minutes from the film would do it wonders (because I'm certain we'll survive without hearing DiCaprio wheeze for 25 of them).

The melodrama is suffocating, with blatant right/wrong arguments that are just too silly. For that, the story itself is fairly inaccurate and makes the Sierra Leone rebels look unnecessarily barbaric. Nonetheless, the first hour is quite strong and for a while I was thinking that this may be one of the better films of the year. DiCaprio impresses even with a weak script, but Connelly fails to show up. Hounsou is effective. It could have done more, but for that, it ought to have tried less.

Man Push Cart

2006 / Ramin Bahrani > With a mood similar to Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Bahrani almost pulled off a coup of sorts here: He nails the loneliness, the colors, the feel of the city, but ultimately fails to stay true to its nature. Man Push Cart, ironically, should be called Man Pull Cart as we rarely see our protagonist push it, but that's excusable. What's not are the pretty girl at the newsstand and the absolutely preposterous climactic sequence. It's a joke to someone familiar with the churns of the city, and complicates the film even if put in a metaphorical context. The potential here was enormous, but the film ended up getting carried away in its own little world with absolute disregard to the viewer.

Shortbus

2006 / John Cameron Mitchell > Calling it experimental would be a bit of an insult: Without its explicit sex scenes, Shortbus is less novel and considerably more of the old. It's about relationships, sex and the proper mixes that lead to comfort, themes that have persisted and evolved throughout the history of film. And Mitchell's sense of evolution by incorporating what most of us are all familiar with in vivid detail is meant to have given us a better grasp of the lessons within.

Admittedly, though, the atmosphere here is a little quirky, and the characters in Shortbus and the eponymous gathering place are often hard to relate to. It's easy to like the film on the surface level: It's playful, honest and seems to treat sex in an essential but non-exploitative manner. But ultimately, I found it tough to replay the rhymes and reasons of the players without questions, without wondering the simple craziness of sequence after sequence. I imagine this is a great film for many, and in fact I've been surprised by the multitude of those who have enjoyed it. But it's definitely not for everyone, especially those who may have trouble digesting some of the over-the-top scenes.

Beer League

2006 / Frank Sebastiano > One would think that a film such as this simply could not disappoint, but how wrong they would be. Really, I expected a laugh or two, but instead I felt a gnawing in my stomach in the absence of any. (Every time I snickered, though, I felt a tinge of guilt because it wasn't really the jokes I found myself laughing at, but rather at how ridiculous it all was.) More surprising, even, is how the film didn't go straight to DVD, considering its dismal two week outing in theatres and yet another failed comeback by the Karate Kid.

The Departed

2006 / Martin Scorsese > In short, The Departed is the best American film of the year, and the best work from Scorsese since Goodfellas. Whatever qualms one may have based on their positive experience with Infernal Affairs, these should be given less gravity due to the meticulous craftsmanship that Scorsese employs in his direction. The film is not perfect (which is a common ailment for most remakes), but isn't so mostly because of certain personal preferences. It is, however, sharply written with an incisive comic pull and drenched in objective emotion.

The cast is flawless (so much so, that the film was recently awarded Best Ensemble of the year by the National Board of Review), with Leonardo DiCaprio giving what is perhaps his finest performance to date and worthy of an Oscar nomination. Mark Wahlberg gives the film an extra edge (and definitively separates it from the original), and Vera Farmiga is a promising, if delayed, discovery. The only weak spot seemed to be Martin Sheen, but that seems to be attributable to the script's momentary weakness rather than the actor's own abilities.

I found it fascinating how The Departed barely felt like Infernal Affairs. While hard not to continuously compare the two, there were more than enough fresh jolts in the Scorsese venture to take my mind away from the original. But as for the inevitable question of which is better, the honest truth, however sidestepping, is that they are different films with different styles based on an underlying idea that alone could not have made these the works of art that they are.

Borat

2006 / Larry Charles > So highly anticipated that it barely met expectations—which, in this case, is a very good thing. It's hard to judge the film on its artistic merits as it's essentially a broad practical joke on the uninformed American public (or at least those who don't fancy a premium subscription to HBO). What sets Borat apart from its spiritual brethren Jackass is an attempt at a storyline, one that the film reasonably succeeds at. Sacha Baron Cohen has done better skits than what is presented here, but this seemingly fluid compilation of punchlines (and a few scenes that tug the heart and soul) works as the clincher. This is hands down one of the best comedies of 2006, but it remains to be seen how it stands up to the test of time.

Little Children

2006 / Todd Field > The follow-up to In the Bedroom, Little Children comes off as a mixture between Desperate Housewives (voiceover included) and Crash. There is excess in its tactics, although technically, Field keeps total and absolute control of his world. The film shifts between its central storyline and a side one, and while that can be attributed to the source material, it's nonetheless inexcusable as it distracts from the chemistry between Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson. Their story is a tragedy, and it's beautiful in its process. But those around them remain miniatures of the real thing, exerting one-sided characterizations and little in terms of evolution. Unlike In the Bedroom, where the line between right and wrong was blurred, Little Children positions its characters' actions in such a judgmental manner that its hard to swallow every bit by the end.

Lady in the Water

2006 / M. Night Shyamalan > Similar to The Fountain, Lady in the Water went through development hell before finally making its way onto the big screen. At the very least, we should respect that, and admire Shyamalan for standing by his own personal vision. However, the absurdity that is instilled in the film makes its brethren look quite sharp and educated. Shyamalan executes a sort of deus ex machina in his storytelling technique, pulling strings out of thin air to get the story to work magically. While it's meant to be a fairy tale in itself, it discredits the traditional fairy tale by taking the suspense and initial disbelief out of all that is wondrous. By the end, little seems to have been gained from the adventure, and we find ourselves idling away, connecting dots that have already been numbered. Viewers are not this passive.

Kids

1995 / Larry Clark > Not nearly as controversial and horrific as its reputation would have one believe, Kids is surprisingly credible and straightforward about its subject matter. The so-called exploitation of teenagers in the film is unfounded, and instead Clark's portrayal is dauntingly honest, if slightly sensationalist. The cast is perfect, natural. Chloe Sevigny shows off skillset opposite of the tragic Justin Pierce and newly resurgent Leo Fitzpatrick. Moreover, it's amazing to think that was actually Rosario Dawson. It's definitely a film that gels in the subconscious after time expires, but has the unfortunate effect of making one feel a little guilty, even ill, that there is so much truth present.

The Fountain

2006 / Darren Aronofsky > It's pretty, and the music's not bad either. But how much validity there is in Aronosky's interpretation of love and death, I'm not sure. I found myself quite bored and annoyed at the lack of any real tangible concept in The Fountain. What Aronofsky's trying to say is there at the tip of his tongue, but it never comes out as it should. Many have commented that the film is for the deeply intelligent thinker, but I would argue that they may be deluding themselves into believing a rather self-important piece of work that's force-fed via the glowing face of Rachel Weisz and bald head of Hugh Jackman. While Aronofsky should be commended for standing by his labor of love, it does not excuse the film's excesses. The remainder is filled with style, repetition and naive philosophies that fail to support the initial premise.

Beerfest

2006 / Jay Chandrasekhar > After their hilarious misadventures in Super Troopers, I've come to expect a decent amount from the troupe at Broken Lizard. And while Beerfest is only a slight step above the somewhat misguided slashfest Club Dread, it still delivers on the basics of what it promises: beer, breasts and (male) bonding. What it lacks compared to its cops-brethren is a formidable opponent, without which a comedy of this styling can fall pretty flat. So, while Beerfest has the necessary ingredients for success, its mentally-diminutive German foes keep the film from holding its liquor until the very end.

Deja Vu

2006 / Tony Scott > For a film that deals with folding the time-space continuum, there is great irony in its predictability. But there is credit to be given to Tony Scott for getting off the speed and rejoining the human race after the dismal Domino. The sober and tactical directing of Man on Fire is nearly back, but with an unusual dose of science fiction thrown in. More specifically, the Hummer on the highway is arguably one of the finest science fiction/action sequences ever put on film. If only that level of imagination were present throughout, it would have been a considerably more memorable adventure, plot holes or not.

The Break-Up

2006 / Peyton Reed > Both Hollywood and the independent film market have generally been a little less than successful in dissecting relationships without pretension. Recent ventures Closer, Prime and the Korean Rules of Dating have been considerably more successful by taking a more mature perspective. While a valiant effort in the same vein, the problem with The Break-Up is its failure in keeping a straight face by delving into cheap laughs. Maybe this is an issue with the casting of Vince Vaughn, whose nature is befitting of such humor, but unfortunately it creates a lack of focus that slows the film down. Not only is the humor often forced, but the film also becomes predictable in its obstacles. The idea is there, the overall execution is good but some of the meat, in the end, is quite rotten and should be excised.

Babel

2006 / Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu > Babel is an unfortunate failure on many parts: Samuel L. Jackson's now-infamous "Crash Benetton" comment at Cannes is one of the simplest yet most accurate depictions of this film. It reeks of a lazily contrived storyline, hellbent on deriving some sort of bigger meaning through mishaps and the obvious. Wherein Amores Perros tried to be an objective narrator, Babel instead chooses to manipulate the action to the conclusion it sees fit. Of the four storylines, only the Japanese one holds a sense of legitimacy: It's raw, driven with emotion and mystery and is ultimately utilized as a stopgap measure on the remainder of the mess.

The film is beautiful: For Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography, one would hope that he gets another Oscar nod after last year's unsuccessful bid with Brokeback Mountain. Undoubtedly, the two best performances of the film come from Adriana Barraza as the Mexican caretaker of Pitt's children, and Rinko Kikuchi's deaf-mute Japanese schoolgirl in need of male attention. The latter, especially, is a bewildering success, even stealing the limelight from veteran Japanese actor Koji Yakusho's subtle and masterful acting. This is also Gael Garcia Bernal's weakest to date.

To say the least, this worries me about Inarritu. Sadly, he reminds me of the path Guy Ritchie has taken, in constantly repeating an initially successful technique until it's so over the top that it just loses all credibility (see Revolver). It will be good to see him pair up with a writer other than Guillermo Arriaga, who seems to be quite busy on his own these days after his falling out with Inarritu over the authorship of 21 Grams. The potential herein was immense, with a global concept that, to my knowledge, has never been attempted. Too bad, then, that it falls into its own trap, filled with cliches and one-sided social commentary on what, exactly, we're not even sure.

Casino Royale

2006 / Martin Campbell > Casino Royale is the best Bond film since 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It has style, grit, heart and a story that actually works. All too often, I've found my attention fading by the 7th inning stretch. Chases and shootouts mean considerably less if there's no plausible reason behind them. And by plausible, it's not just how it affects the global power paradigm, of the good versus the bad, but rather how humane and reasonable the motivations are. And while I'm not a fan of Paul Haggis, maybe it was his screenwriting touch that made this happen. (One could probably argue that the subject matter kept his heavy-handedness in check, and if that's true, I do look forward to him working on the next Bond film.)

As for Daniel Craig, the man is not Sean Connery. And that is exactly why he works. While Clive Owen would have been my first choice for Brosnan's replacement, Craig has shown that he fits the bill, much like the tailored suit that Vesper Lynd prepares for him. His youth reflects appropriately in what is the beginning of 007. The screenplay supports him throughout, offering us more insight into his character than ever before. Eva Green is nearly perfect as Vesper Lynd, and arguably the best and most complex Bond girl since Jane Seymour's Solitaire in Live and Let Die. Her onscreen chemistry with Craig is one of the key reasons the film works so well.

Casino Royale has me more excited about the future of James Bond than I've ever been. The style seems to be going the right direction, Daniel Craig is an excellent fit and they've finally taken to writing a properly thought-out script. It would be wonderful to see an arch-nemesis of sorts, similar to Blofeld, as well as further background on Bond himself. Either way, the next Bond, rumored to be a loose continuation of Casino Royale, is now on my calendar for 2008.

Children of Men

2006 / Alfonso Cuaron > Visually apt, Children of Men has some great sequences that keeps its dystopian world interesting, but the details are amiss. It's unfortunate that Cuaron seems to have stripped away most of the novel's intricate storyline, leaving a mostly superficial journey filled with one-sided social commentary and a large empty hole where there could have been substance. It's especially shocking how weak the dialogue is, often spelling out the obvious to the viewer. Thankfully, Owen is solid, especially considering how little he had to work with.

12 Angry Men

1957 / Sidney Lumet > An incredible cast led by the late Henry Fonda is undoubtedly the best reason to watch the original 12 Angry Men, a film that may feel outdated on the basis of its arguments. Similar to Rififi, it's interesting to see screenwriter Reginald Rose's systematic dissection of a jury's decision-making process in the days before television shows like CSI and Law & Order. The point is not the final answer, but rather how things come to be. But for 12 Angry Men, it just feels a little too easy. It's almost successful, conversely, as a tightly packed social commentary under the veil of a drama, but feels like it misses its target due to a storyline that seems contrived for the protagonist's obvious benefit.

Miami Vice

2006 / Michael Mann > Dreadful, monotonous and an underwhelming disappointment. Having expectations for a Michael Mann film is a bad idea, since living up to the standards he set with Heat and The Insider are a little unfair. But I was hoping the re-imagination of Miami Vice and the mainstream debut of Gong Li would be reason enough to keep me interested. But unfortunately the music, cinematography and the presence of Ms. Li is not enough to save the disjointed, unnecessarily contrived plot line from caving into its own back.

Marie Antoinette

2006 / Sofia Coppola > After everything, there's just something, however minute, missing from Marie Antoinette for it to become the rich and evocative biopic that Coppola must have intended. It could have been a different ending, better pacing or simply the addition or deletion of a storyline. But as it stands, the film is far more memorable for its dresses of grandeur, the decadence of the Rococo and Kirsten Dunst's performance in a role that very much becomes her. (Which, effectively, makes up for her being atrociously cast in Elizabethtown.)

There is a scene early on in the film where Dunst first wakes up at Versailles only to find a troupe of women and men at her servitude. In the following minutes where she is dressed, Coppola somehow manages to define the reasoning behind the French Revolution. For me, it stands as the defining moment in the film where she so subtly argues for and justifies the revolution. But what if one asks, "What is this film trying to say?" Coppola's intention is unclear: Are we to understand the aristocratic idiocy of the period, or focus on the girl in the center and try to empathize with her as a person, not as the Queen of France?

But letting such lack of clarity slide, it's hard to imagine not enjoying the anachronistic usage of modern music (particularly Aphex Twin's "Jynweythek Ylow" and Bow Wow Wow's "Candy") and the sheer jubilance Dunst's smile evokes. Using all that is style, Coppola did succeed in making me feel for Marie-Antoinette's predicament. The fusion of style and substance is a little skewed toward the former, but this is ultimately a film for the heart, not the mind. It is as imperfect and naive as Marie-Antoinette herself.

Thank You For Smoking

2006 / Jason Reitman > Even though his father hasn't done anything respectable in a decade, Jason Reitman certainly has—on his first try, no less. Reitman's sobering yet insanely objective view of a tobacco lobbyist (played superbly by Aaron Eckhart) is a much needed breath of fresh air from Hollywood. Recently, there's been a barrage of weak, simply blasphemous liberal propaganda films that preach in a contrived, heavy-handed way (and while some of you may not include Crash in this, I certainly do). Thank You For Smoking takes a step back and billows out a smokescreen through which we identify with the human side of the tobacco industry while being repulsed at the same time.

American Dreamz

2006 / Paul Weitz > I expected more from the director of About a Boy: After all, Weitz should have been capable of a well-done, imaginative satire on the state of today's media. But American Dreamz basically ends up engulfing itself in several layers of useless satire that render it cliche'd and predictable. The irony here is that the message of the film—a mockery of American Idol and our government—gets lost in the silliness that ensues. The subtlety of Weitz' previous films (including American Pie) is completely lost here, as is the film's potential charm.

Flags of Our Fathers

2006 / Clint Eastwood > What can I say? Paul Haggis is one of the most skillful writers in Hollywood when it comes to manipulative, contrived scripts that base their sole existence on every cliche in the book. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I did find myself having a tough time not walking out of this unnecessarily melodramatic drivel that just about drove me to laughter at many of its most "critical" points.

Flags of Our Fathers has a story behind it that could have been brilliantly approached with a level of subtlely and intelligence that would have made it a surefire Oscar candidate. Similar to Saving Private Ryan, it had the capability of being a poignant war allegory. However, Haggis (and arguably Eastwood) filled the film with enough sewage to destroy any message it could have represented.

This is the worst film I have seen in theatres this year. The war sequences, while beautifully done, were pointless and, amazingly, just boring. I cared about none of the characters, and there was only one good sequence of dialogue and two scenes where I felt any real emotion—which, coincidentally, where both contrived beyond belief. This is disappointment that I cannot explain. A great story mistold. One can only hope Letters From Iwo Jima does not suffer the same fate.

The Devil Wears Prada

2006 / David Frankel > How's this for a film trying to justify the existence of the fashion industry? And maybe even show that it's not just glitz and glamour, but full of heart too! Well, whether you believe much of the fashionista propaganda or not, The Devil Wears Prada is still an enjoyable, formulaic ride enhanced by the presence of the one and only Meryl Streep. Sure, Anne Hathaway is nice, but one has to wonder how filmsy the film's foundation would have been without Streep's presence. The only real misstep was the decision by the screenwriters to chose an irrational ending that heavily deviated from the film's general ideals.

In the Bedroom

2001 / Todd Field > In his debut, Field crafts a quiet work that lingers at the edge of one's bones. While not as polished or impeccable as The Sweet Hereafter, both films challenge the viewer to face a state of gloom with patience, courage and hope. Tenseness is everpresent, but rarely does it overdo its charm. And while there are small missteps here and there (notably part of the climax), incredible performances from Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek ultimately glues the work to one's mind.

The Da Vinci Code

2006 / Ron Howard > Having never read the book, my expectations for The Da Vinci Code were moderate at best, especially after the barrage of critical dismay during Cannes. For its part, that may have worked out well, as I found the film to be a well-crafted, well-paced mystery that kept me surprisingly interested for a good part of its two and a half hour journey. It's not particularly dense, and things are explained to a degree where there's not much thinking involved. In other words: it's very appropriate for simple enjoyment. The ending took a bit too long (and that's time that Howard arguably could have used elsewhere), but the production quality is superb enough that it's hard not to recommend this as a solid popcorn movie. Just don't expect references for a Ph.D thesis.

Crank

2006 / Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor > The MPAA advises audiences for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity and drug use in Crank. While all of these positively contribute to the feel of this Jason Statham vehicle, none of these could have saved it from falling flat on its face. The plot is a gimmick, the story is bland and, with the exception of a sequence or two, there's little here that's memorable.

Half Nelson

2006 / Ryan Fleck > Bad before the good: Much of the film's realism and objectivity is lost through the "mini-lectures" made on society and the government. While interesting, they take away from the interplay between the king (Gosling) and queen (Epps) of the show. The only reasonable explanation for these inserts might be that writers Fleck and Anna Boden needed a little bit of this and that to stretch the original short ("Gowanus, Brooklyn") into this full-fledged feature.

That aside, the poignancy of Half Nelson is present in the way it's resonated in my mind for the past few weeks. Against the backdrop of Broken Social Scene's score, Gosling's portrayal of a crack-addicted schoolteacher in the inner-city is a testing experience. The beats are heavy, and the film is filled with areas of gray that have little in terms of definition. Shareeka Epps' performance as Gosling's headstrong pupil is glowing—undoubtedly one of the breakout young actors of the year. Not much of the story is predictable. The second half of the film crescendoes into its final sequence, one of heartbreak and simplicity. Things click, and things may or may not work. Thankfully, the film does.

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift

2006 / Justin Lin > There are a few great scenes in the film, including an incredible sequence deep in the heart of Shibuya. And many will argue that these scenes make the film worth its running time. Unfortunately, the story itself is so bland and teeth-tugging, it's hard to care for any of the characters, including the horribly miscasted Lucas Black as an good ol' Southern boy who just can't stay away from his cars. The races, of course, are the focus, and they are successful for the most part. I did find the climactic race a little boring compared to the introductory one, and up until that point I had hopes for a smashing finish. I find myself disappointed, having put my faith in Justin Lin since he will direct the American Oldboy. After all, high standards are warranted when you've been picked to do such a project.

The Illusionist

2006 / Neil Burger > One of the most refined films of the year, it's hard to find any technical flaws in The Illusionist. Most noticeable is its cinematography, crisp and decisive about its turn-of-the-century Vienna setting. The mood is further perfected by Philip Glass' elegant score. The acting is above par at worst, with Rufus Sewell's post-Dark City re-emergence being a pleasant welcome. But as the drama unfolds, we find ourselves within a rich love story that, unfortunately, feels like it's on shaky foundations. Thankfully, the mystery of the illusions drives the story forward. By the end, it is what it is: The unexpected is actually expected, but we not only only accept it, but actually enjoy it.

Little Miss Sunshine

2006 / Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris > The primary complaint about Little Miss Sunshine has been how contrived its characters are, how they so easily fit into sitcom slots. It's true, but I found it to be a positive attribute of the film. Each family member is exploited to create a ranged satire of the American dysfunctional household. It's not meant to be cheap and actually comes out surprisingly clever.

At times, I found myself genuinely laughing, the way only a few films have (such as this year's Family Ties and last year's The Upside of Anger). We end up empathizing with much of the silliness, sometimes directly and other times in a metaphorical sense. Much of this is due to the superb acting: Virtually everyone shines, including a heartbreaking sequence by The Girl Next Door's Paul Dano.

The writing is crisp, but one could make an argument that the plot is a little too connect-the-dots. It ends up working, however, mostly because of the "road movie" nature of the film. Indeed, it's a wonderful ride from beginning to end, even if one finds the return home a little muted in direction. The final revelations aren't holistic, and that may be enough to keep it from reaching higher ground.

Tideland

2006 / Terry Gilliam > If your only defense for Tideland is the phrase, "It's Gilliam's purest film yet," chances are you'll have to do better than that to please the general audience. There's a lot here to love, but unfortunately there's also a lot here to bore. The idea that the whole story is told through the eyes of Jeliza-Rose, a young girl who becomes orphaned early on by her heroine-abusing parents (played superbly by Jeff Bridges and Jennifer Tilly), is by no means enough to validate the long, enduring passages of repetitive dialogue and uneventful actions. Were this to be a short(er) film instead of clocking in at almost exactly two hours, the tightness of the script would have held together the otherwise magical aspects of the film.

Star Jodelle Ferland is truly a sight to behold: She drives every scene with one of the most charismatic performances seen by a young actor in quite a long time. Co-star Brendan Fletcher, playing a mentally challenged boy/man, also shines, and the two balance each other well enough in the latter half of the film to make things a little more bearable. The cinematography is dark yet beautiful, and the overall feel of the film is almost an anti-Alice in Wonderland (although, there are no extensive travels into a rabbit hole here). For any Gilliam fan, this is a must-see, love or hate. For others, it's a crapshoot at best.

Silent Hill

2006 / Christophe Gans > At the hands of the director of Brotherhood of the Wolf, I expected more: At the very least, I imagine, a level of depth that gives meaning to the film outside of its video game universe. The tone of the film evolves from abject horror early on to a psychological metaphor of oppression and injustice. And while that may be a brilliant wavelength to follow, the underlying foundation doesn't satisfy. Once I got past the so-called conventions of a proper film, however, the perverse beauty of the villains and their inversely gorgeous surroundings, together with a polished shine on the overall product, combine into a relatively memorable experience for an otherwise mediocre event.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

2006 / Adam McKay > There are a lot of jokes in Talladega Nights—in fact, almost as many as there are product endorsements—but thankfully, the success ratio is high enough that it's hard to stop laughing for much of the film. Moreover, the surrounding cast in John C. Reilly, Gary Cole, Sacha Baron Cohen and a surprisingly stunning Lesbie Bibb gives the film a balance usually found tipped in other Ferrell films. It's tongue-and-cheek, silly, self-deprecating, but thankfully knows exactly what it is (as witnessed by the outtakes during the end credits). And it's probably the best Hollywood film this summer so far.

Mini's First Time

2006 / Nick Guthe > The initial premise is intriguing: Rebellious teenage girl starts moonlighting as an escort girl only to find herself in a hotel room with her step-father. Unfortunately, the film peaks 10 minutes into the story, and while the opening credits were some of the snazziest I've seen in a while, Mini's First Time descends into a predictable and cliche'd storyline,wasting a solid performance from Alec Baldwin and a very effective one from Carrie-Anne Moss. Also, Nikki Reed, who plays the lead and co-wrote the teen drama Thirteen, is someone to keep on the radar (and hope she keeps herself off The O.C.'s).

A Scanner Darkly

2006 / Richard Linklater > It's pretty simple: Without the witty back-and-forth prose/dialogue that Philip K. Dick originally wrote in his short story, A Scanner Darkly would be half the film it is. This banter, often engaged by the characters of Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey, is what keeps much of the film from being a snoozefest. Keanu Reeves is innocuous as usual, which takes away from the level of impact a character like his could have had. The rotoscoping works exactly as intended, and should truly be noted for its creative flexibility as well as its budget-cutting capabilities. As for the basic plot and climatic sequence, it's all a bit too cliche for this day and age. The final feel of the film is a nice, contemplative one, but that comes only after one hasn't dozed off somewhere in between.

Clerks 2

2006 / Kevin Smith > While not a big Kevin Smith fan, I do respect him for essentially making films for himself, which is a rather beautiful thing. And it just so happens that Clerks 2 feels intensely personal, which for once is an outright positive than a notable negative. Bringing closure to the Askewniverse, Smith presents us with a ridiculous combination of obscenity, hilarity and heart-warming moments that, for better or worse, keep us entertained throughout the film. Of special note was Rosario Dawson: Her character seemed to be the natural embodiment of her own self, and that shone through the screen without reservations.

Edmond

2006 / Stuart Gordon > David Mamet's first script since Spartan feels forced and archaic, not surprising as its foundation was penned ten years before the wittiness seen in Glengarry Glen Ross. Dealing with a middle-aged man's downward spiral into the night, William H. Macy gives a striking performance, especially in the short scene with Julia Stiles. The film itself, however, begins to falter soon afterwards as irrational plotting sequences lead to an anticlimatic and inevitable ending. It tries to be deep with its dialogue, but even at barely 75 minutes, tends to drag on without much material substance. Necessary for Mamet fans, but only passable for most.

Hard Candy

2006 / David Slade > There is little doubt in my mind that Hard Candy is an exercise in sensationlism. It reeks of judgment, and lures the viewer into a world where minds have been made up about what is right and what is wrong. That is the bad part; fortunately, Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson put on such an incredible show that it's hard to turn away from the ridiculousness that follows. The character study of the two is stupefying, changing at the velocity of a ping pong ball. Aside from them, the cinematography is simple and beautiful sans a few unnecessary editing techniques that often feel gimmicky rather than functional. In the end, however, there is a disturbing emptiness due to the absence of any proper social/moral commentary.

Running Scared

2006 / Wayne Kramer > This film is absolutely ridiculous—and that's exactly why it works. Every style point you can think of in an action flick, whether from Guy Ritchie, Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher or Tony Scott, it's all here. In fact, throw Paul Haggis into the mix, because the manipulation that goes into the plot is just short of the "genius" behind Crash. Thankfully (or I'm giving it too much credit), the film knows what it is and abuses it it. It doesn't try to be more than that.

Kramer should essentially be credited for two things: First, utilizing eye candy in a functional manner, as many of the sequences actually had some rhyme and reason. And second, creating a movie for guys. In some ways, this DVD ought to complement Wedding Crashers in every frat house in the country.

United 93

2006 / Paul Greengrass > By definition, United 93's subject matter defies objectivity. It's hard to like it or dislike it, mostly because of social courtesy standards and the simple fact that the so-called truth will always be skewed by the filmmaker.

This paradox withstanding, the film does an excellent job in re-enacting the events that occurred on September 11. However, my primary complaint lies in the characterization of the terrorists aboard the plane: While it's essential to hear both sides of every story, I often felt that I empathized more with the terrorists because the time devoted to them paled in comparison to the passengers. One could argue this makes sense as post-9/11 media coverage has also been skewed towards the terrorists: We know where they're from, how they grew up and what they ate for breakfast everyday. But as for the passengers, they are inevitably grouped together as a collective with a singular face, and it's hard to feel a deeper emotional connection to them in such a superficial situation.

Another minor gripe is that the flight control terminology that is scattered throughout the film also diminishes the tension level because the audience will often waste precious time thinking, "Wait, what did they mean by that?" Sure, it's necessary to challenge your audience, but I believe there is an argument against that in this scenario.

Overall, though, United 93 is as appropriate a film as I could have envisioned about the incident. It's not an easy topic, and I do commend Greengrass for a brave and understandably flawed product that succeeds in its goal.

Superman Returns

2006 / Bryan Singer > My disappointment in Superman Returns has considerably little to do with expectations, and everything to do with the fundamentals. I'm amazed that Singer has constructed a giant caricature of a superhero film, filled with big explosions, a villain with ridiculous plans and a storyline that tries to pull a cover over our heads. Dare I say, that even Ratner did a better job with X-Men: The Land Stand because at least he made that fun.

The film has lots of big action sequences, many of which are technically fantastic, but in reality felt laborious to the viewer. Moreover, many of the plotlines—particularly that of Lex Luthor—simply don't make much sense. Luthor's plans are inane, but even that is topped by the uninspired climax. Why on earth would you build up that film only to conclude it so simply? Thankfully, Kevin Spacey and Parker Posey were entertaining enough to keep me interested. Brandon Routh's Clark Kent was well done, but his Superman was fairly harmless and bland (which, sadly, may have been a structural issue).

With great hesitation, I do look forward to Superman Reborn, as it has a much darker, grittier and considerably more interesting storyline. Also, the so-called twist in this film should also be further exploited in the sequel, which alone should make for some entertaining cinema.

Kingdom of Heaven

2005 / Ridley Scott > There's been a lot of talk about how the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven is a considerable improvement on the theatrical cut. While I agree that may be true, both cuts fail to take the film beyond a level of superfluous grandiose. Sure, there are some memorable sequences—the climactic siege at Jerusalem is a magnificent artistic and technical achievement—but that isn't enough for a film nearing four hours where I keep asking myself, "Why do I care?"

There were too many deviations from the main plotline, many of which would have been better left out. The backstory provided in the director's cut is of importance, however I could have had a little less of Eva Green's character, who was ultimately time fodder. Worst of all, it feels, was that the epicness of the film was mitigated heavily by the middle third, which became an attention-testing palace drama. The mistake Sony made wasn't chopping up the film for theatrical release, but rather cutting up the incorrect parts. Who knows, maybe now we'll get a theatrical director's cut that will work a little better.

Metropolitan

1990 / Whit Stillman > Having the vibes of an upper class, Manhattan Pretty in Pink, Stillman's directorial debut tackles ideas of social mobility and structure through the eyes of college students on Christmas vacation. Heavily conversation-based, it's funny, sardonic and Chris Eigeman's Nick Smith defines both the film and much of his generation. The writing is incredibly sharp and witty, with intelligent one-liners that drive home each respectable point. It's surprising that this has been off the radar of indie cultists for so long, but that should change with the recent remastered release of the film by Criterion.

Art School Confidential

2006 / Terry Zwigoff > The term overcriticized is arguably the best way to describe Zwigoff's follow-up to the heart-warming, gut-wrenching family drama Bad Santa. Be warned, however: This is a bitterly made film, one with direct and ebullient comtempt for the academic world of art. It's unfortunate that such a well-made satire will be lost on many, especially those who will identify a little too well with the characters in the film. By the end, the joke is on everyone but those who have distanced themselves from such a subjective industry. As long as one does not take the film too seriously, the underlying message, however exaggerated, is in my opinion appropriate and necessary.

Over the Hedge

2006 / Tim Johnson & Karey Kirkpatrick > While nowhere near Miyazaki or even Pixar quality, this most recent animated offering from DreamWorks is perfect fodder for 80 minutes of summertime. The storyline is simple, but not always plausible. The humanity involved, as often in animal-laden animations, is cliche and at times uninteresting. But with strong voicings by both Bruce Willis and Gary Shandling (plus a hilarious Steve Carell), Over the Hedge is an exercise in filler, biting off from its peers and chewing it successfully.

X-Men: The Last Stand

2006 / Brett Ratner > To my dearest Bryan Singer: I don't know if I can ever forgive you for abandoning the X-Men. I'm sure I'm not alone in this assessment. Mr. Ratner has meddlingly turned what potential you put forth in this series into a childish circus, filled with caricatures and dialogue that ought to be spoken by eight-grade thespians. Why are there so many wild tangents in this film? Why do people have to die left and right for emotion to be evoked? Why essentially windowdress what could have otherwise been a considerably deeper storyline than the previous two? By the end, I could care less about the explosions because I was so bored by the whole escapade. And what about that silly post-credits "ending?" What purpose does it really serve other than to say, "Hi, I am Brett Ratner, and I am planning on directing another X-Men film!" Dearest Bryan, please do your best to keep him away from such a tragedy. Thank you.

Zero Effect

1998 / Jake Kasdan > Two things that this film brings to the forefront: Bill Pullman is underrated, and Ben Stiller needs better scripts. The whole neurotic, private detective role is played to the pin here by Pullman, one that he obviously embraced quite a bit more than the President of the United States (i.e., Independence Day). As for Stiller, I still miss his foray into films such as Permanent Midnight, which lacked the slapstick and had considerably more heart (and a little bit of darkness).

As entertainment, Zero Effect is a fairly good example of how a film can hold your hand but still not patronize you. The detective's Doogie Howser-like journal entries keeps you in the game, yet keeps the modern-day noir feel in check. I imagine this is a film that has largely been ignored at the rental stores, but it's one that is definitely worth a shot. It probably won't hold up against your Vertigo, but then again, there isn't much that will.

Something New

2006 / Sanaa Hamri > This is certainly not a film that was marketed properly: It's not about African-Americans or simply race issues, but rather a fairly simple, somewhat superficial yet ultimately satisfying story about the hurdles of love (and life). Along with Prime, these are the types of films that Hollywood has lost interest in, films where the Humphrey&Ingrid-type chemistry helps you empathize with the characters and storyline even if you're uninterested in the actual plot. The emotions evoked by the film are universal: Of misguided hearts, societal norms and family pressures.

Thankfully, first-time director Hamri does an excellent job in balancing style, substance and the manipulation that is so prevalent in romantic dramedies. Often, she utilizes cut-scenes to bring up a topic and then leads to an expository sequence. Surprisingly, instead of creating staccato pacing, it actually smooths out transitions and keep us glued. I do hope now that she builds on this first venture, and would love to see how she deals with a completely different topic.

Hostel

2006 / Eli Roth > The truest horror is when you find yourself identifying with the characters and their situations, and Roth hits this on the nail. After all, how many college kids have dreamed of backpacking through Europe and picking up girls along the way? Turning fantasies into nightmares is truly a gift, and that's primarily why Hostel works. It's real, in the sense that it could be occurring right now, and we could be the next victim.

The film is tightly packed: half of it is the setup, which is unusually interesting and fun, and half of it is the execution. The story is initially subtle, and since most viewers know the basic gist of what will happen, the time leading up to the execution creates a natural tension. My biggest annoyance with the film was its overuse of sound, specifically the high-pitched screeches, to evoke fear, as it felt like an awful cop-out. In retrospect, however, the final work is a well-crafted horror/thriller that ought to stay in the annals of the genre for quite a while. The ending, especially, gives me hope that Eli Roth is a man to watch.

V for Vendetta

2006 / James McTeigue > I generally tend to like 1984-esque storylines, especially when done with such high production value on multiple fronts (i.e., not Equilibrium, which wasted both Bale and Watson's acting talent). V, fortunately, was good at worst on most fronts, but fairly disappointing due to the not-too-subtle liberal ideologies that permeate it. Yes, I understand this was written to criticize Margaret Thatcher, not George W. Bush, but the comparisons, in this day and age, are absolutely inevitable. And while there are amazing possibilities in fusing social commentary with entertainment, V fails primarily because the story becomes so one-sided that it loses its credibility as time goes on. Thankfully, if you can turn a blind eye to its hard-handedness, the film does stand well on its own as bonafide, if fleeting, entertainment.

Lucky Number Slevin

2006 / Paul McGuigan > I'm not sure why I've heard so many complaints about this film "tricking" the viewer, since it was fairly obvious from the opening sequence that something fishy was going on. But as I let myself delve into the fantasyworld that was occupied by a very revived Josh Hartnett, I found time slipping past me. Well edited with gorgeous cinematography, Lucky Number Slevin is hands down the biggest surprise (on the upside) I've had in a film this year. This is not for those who always want to know what's going on, but perfect for those willing to give in and indulge what the new Hollywood has to offer. A perfect antithesis to megabores such as Poseidon, LSL is definitely worth a watch for its creativity and no-nonsense mindset.

Brick

2006 / Rian Johnson > Impressive is Johnson's ability to supplant the world of old noir-like films (a la The Maltese Falcon or North by Northwest) into a modern-day, high school setting. The dialogue is supercrisp to the point where it took me a minute to adjust to its speed and complexity. Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues to impress, following up his tremendous performance in Myterious Skin. While the setup is solid, the execution flounders at times due to somewhat lack of proper pacing. Overall, the film is still a treat even if it taxes your interest here and then.

Mission: Impossible 3

2006 / J.J. Abrams > This is the most fun I've had while watching a film this year. Entertaining from beginning to end. Better than the first two, and definitely more faithful to the television series as well. Aside from some absolute lameness (i.e., the trite plot that mirrors anti-Bush sentiments), I enjoyed this thoroughly. And Maggie Q is going to fucking blow up in this country.

Scary Movie 4

2006 / David Zucker > What's fascinating about a film such as this is that I'll end up idly watching it, as will the rest of America. This is not so much a film (it's really not) as it is a character study on the audience: Why do we watch it? Do we actually find it funny? What are our expectations entering the theatre? Aside from the fairly amusing Dr. Phil and Shaquille O'Neal meets Saw introduction, this goes downhill below sea level. Spare yourself and stop at the first Scary Movie, which at least had the saving grace of Carmen Electra's implants out in the air.

Everything is Illuminated

2005 / Liev Schreiber > I didn't read Jonathan Safran Foer's novel, on whose fictionalized real-life experience this film is based. And although both Liev Schreiber's directorial debut as well as the the primary narrator Alex 's choice of words ("Many girls want to be carnal with me because I'm such a premium dancer!) both intrigued me, the catalyst for me to watch it was Matthew Libatique's cinematography. As expected, therefore, the film is absolutely gorgeous which a few memorable scenes (including the top-down views of Alex's bedroom at the beginning and bathroom at the end).

The story is interesting as a Jewish-American returns to Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather's life from the Nazis, and in this journey, he and his guides discover their past. The ending is arguably too ideal, too cheesy, too clean but nevertheless still above par. I look forward to more work from Schreiber.