I'm Still Here (2010)

I don't buy the whole 'it was only a hoax' thing. I think the guy is still off his rocker, calling it a hoax was the only way he could get away with it and still be allowed to make movies. I think I liked confused/upset bearded JP better than real-life-crazy Joaquin. If you watch some of the post-movie interviews, where he's supposedly 'cleaned up' you can totally tell that he's still bubbling with sorts of crazy up in there. In this sense, this is a hoax-within-a-hoax. Had this been real, it would have been like 'Grizzly Man'-calibre, but alas, the world isn't perfect, and our dear Juaquin will join the ranks of other hollywood actors who are pretending to keep it all together but are really crazy inside, like Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Danny DeVito.

Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010)

Brilliant! Be it a hoax or not, 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' is at once entertaining, fascinating, insightful and a poignant comment on the state of contemporary art today. I wish with all my heart that it is not a Banksy hoax, but at times, the over-the-top humour and 'too-good-to-be-true' plot seems to point to the contrary. Regardless of authenticity, the film presents a rare and curious peek into the world of street-art and contemporary art in general. Thierry's (and by extension Banksy's) presence, be it authentic or not, gives at an at once entertaining, fascinating and 'all-too-real' look into the nature of art and artistic success as it exists in today's world. Overall brilliant and I would recommend it to anyone with any interest the state of art and artistic merit in today's 'so-real-it-must-be-fake' reality.

Castaway on the Moon (Kimssi pyoryugi) (2009)

funny, heartwarming and charming. a very simple story that at times gets a bit clichée but overall executed almost to perfection. makes it feel very fresh and pulls you in to the story and emotion. with every step and every day, you feel more and more for the characters until you're rooting for them on that last stretch of highway running after the bus. not to miss!

Omohide poro poro (Only Yesterday) (1991)

Isao Takahata's second feature at Studio Ghibli, despite being a light nostalgic drama about growing up and one woman's introspection into her attitude on life, establishes Takahata's style, along with Grave of the Fireflies, as one that has an appeal to a somewhat older audience, with perhaps an affinity for more adult themes than those usually explored by fellow Miyazaki. While alternating between 1966 and 1982, the heroine reminisces about her life as a 10 year old in Tokyo and how it shaped her outlook on life 16 years later at 27. There is slow buildup toward the final climax that brings her to some painful realizations, but eventually she is redeemed and we are offered an optimistic conclusion as the credits roll by. Overall enjoyable, although I think it might have been more effective without the happy ending. It offers, in small part, a critique of industrial and urban life vs. a farmer's simple country life, although it is very much idealized and romanticized to fit in with the emotional path that the film is taking. Preferred it over Grave of the Fireflies, which I felt was trying too hard to jerk those tears, and I think it was a more adult and rational view on emotions and growing up, at least to the extent that anime can get at.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2008)

Yet another masterpiece born out of Holywood's fascination with pain and suffering and fueled by its liberal guilt. Ofcourse, plotwise this is risible, having things like Mariah and random Lenny Kravit's in there is redoknulous, but honestly every movie that gets away with having the overweight black chick running away with a bukkit of chikkin is A-OK in my book. Props go to Mo'Nique for an amazing performance, although I can't tell how much of it was acting and how much was her riffing on racial stereotypes that Holywood is pushing. Still it took guts to go ahead with all those close-ups of her makeupless face and bad skin and all. This is a curious mix between something depressing à la Trier (Dogville, Manderlay), inspirational sap à la Dangerous Minds (I half-wished for Gangsta's Paradise to randomly start playing in the background) and Oprah. Overall I liked it, but maybe not for the right reasons, but oh well, I can't possibly hope to relate in the truly meaningful way that I'm sure the makers of this intended me to.

The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) (2009)

Another masterpiece from Writer/Director Michael Hanke, of Funny Games and Caché fame. As intriguing and engrossing as the story of The White Ribbon is, I can't help but think that this is a mere excuse for Hanke and cinematographer Christian Berger (which worked on most of Henke's films) to create this tour de force of cinematographic aesthetics. I absolutely adore the way that this film looks. Be it in part that I'm a sucker for that classic 60's black and white look (as it was used at a time when color cinematography was well surpassing black and white, and its use was purely aesthetic) or because I can appreciate a form-over-content philosophy. This is not to say that the story is inferior or in anyway overshadowed by the aesthetics; in fact they compliment each other quite nicely. The performances are solid, with an ensemble cast of mostly character actors and child actors that do a wonderful job of conveying the imminent feeling of dread in a small German town before WWI. Many choose to read into the plot various things, mostly related to human nature and totalitarian/patriarchal regimes and even the rise of nazism (although relatively a very distant echo), but in the end I found that taking it at face value and just enjoying the form as much as the plot, without too much hypothesizing, worked best. Overall great film, albeit one that will most likely appeal to the more art-film inclined audiences.

Italiensk for Begyndere (Italian for Beginners) (2001)

I always dread of comedies as they tend to always be dumbed down and generally instill a sense of guilt in me as I watch them. Thankfully there are things like Italian for Beginners and The Boss of it All that supplement the laughs with a good dose of absurd, grief and requisite avant-garde Danish cinema movement to put it all into perspective. This actually fits Dogme 95 while still managing to work very well as a light-hearted romantic comedy (although by no means to the extent that some Hollywood vanilla would have it). So yes, there is the handheld camera, the occasional jumpcut and the overall depressing feel of a small Danish town. But so what? It only shows that you can find humour in anything, and it doesn't have to be watered down and washed out, reduced to the lowest common denom just to qualify as funny. Not many movies manage to mix miserable despair and grief with comedy quite so eloquently, and I am thankful that there are still filmmakers out there willing to do it for the rest of us when we feel that we have seen the same old Hollywood comedy for the 500th time.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)

The third and final part of the Millennium trilogy. Like the previous two, it follows the book pretty closely, tweaking the plot here and there and getting rid of some unrelated subplots to make it fit the cinematic format a little tighter. Overall great adaptation of the book, considering the original's length. Some characters are completely gone and some are reduced to a few lines and smaller roles, but in the end the most crucial parts and the overall feel are still there. Noomi Rapace is again great as Salander, and the rest of the cast fits in nicely with their novel counterparts. I am so thankful that this was picked up by a Swedish filmmaker keeping most of the original regionalisms intact, instead of some undoubtedly failed Hollywood adaptation (although I'm sure one is in the works). Overall enjoyable, but definitely to watch AFTER having read the novel.

In the Company of Men (1997)

I feel as though Holywood has not completely exhausted the whole 'harsh businessman's world' motif in cinema, but so far it has had some pretty good examples of the genre. In the Company Of Men is a fine example of this, perhaps a precursor to things like Boiler Room and Rodger Dodger, but also to American Psycho to a certain extent. Thankfully shows like Mad Men pick up the slack, but nevertheless In the Company of Men serves as an early precursor to a genre that still has a lot left in it to be explored. Aaron Eckhart is of course excellent in a role that he since has honed to perfection leading up to its peak in Thank You for Smoking, providing a more raw version of the Nick Taylor character in that movie but ultimately just as deranged as Bale's Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, albeit in a less bloody manner. Watching it in 2010 shows signs of its age, prompting snickers when they talk about physical files and folders and carrying their oversized cell-phones, but ultimately it was not too distracting to be able to relate to in a contemporary context. Overall enjoyable and well made considering the budget. Ending didn't disappoint, although not completely unpredictable.

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Having only experienced the book after seeing the film, I find it to be a close and appropriate adaptation, and I'm glad that Spike Jonze was the man at the helm. Having said this, I can't help but feel like I was prying into a world that was better experienced through the nostalgic eyes of an adult who flipped through the book in their youth. The film has all of Jonze's signature moves, including the dark, awkward feeling of Being John Malkovich and the plot ambiguity of Adaptation. The original material is inevitably expanded upon, with the Things getting much bigger roles than in the book, but keeping with the original concept, the Things function as caricatures of old jewish couples, as the original book's author (with which Jonze kept contact throughout the making of the film) intended when he designed them based on his aunts and uncles of his Brooklyn youth. The one exception was Gandolfini in Carol's role, whose voice is by now so linked with the iconic Tony Soprano that it was hard to separate the two, but I found it worked nicely since Carol is the most violent and temperamental of the Things. I think it's more than appropriate for kids, although the slow pace will most likely have them bored instead of scared by the dark portions. Overall, a fun ride for fans of the book or Jonze, albeit less so for audiences that don't care for either unless under the influence of some good hallucinogens.

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Like the many Vietnam war films, which seem to only get better with time, so are the Iraq war films finally beginning to take their place within the library of American war films that have become classics. Of course, it is unfair to compare the two, as they are very different wars and these are very different times, but while most notable Vietnam films (like Deer Hunter, Apocalypse now, Platoon and Full Metal Jacket) were made a few years after the conflict was over, Iraq war movies have been emerging throughout the 7 years (and running) that passed since its inception. That being said, one can only guess how these new movies will withstand the test of time. One thing is for sure, the only film that managed to be nominated for as many (nine to be exact) Oscars as the titanic Avatar this year was The Hurt Locker. With the closest second being Inglorious bastards, itself being a war movie albeit with a slightly more idealistic ending to WW2. Perhaps it says something about the American psyche, congratulating at once both wild fantasy and hyper realism. Of course, the fact that Avatar will most likely snatch most of those Oscars is a simple matter of economics (especially considering the crisis) but nevertheless one can see what is on the minds of the nation (of course, with the academy being a very loose, yet at times more accurate, extension of 'the nation' than, let's say, congress). I suppose the only thing that's left to ask now is how Bigelow's past relationship with Cameron plays into Hollywood politics and creative output.

The Book of Eli (2010)

It seems that it is post-apocalyptic season, because just on the heels of The Road, comes the Hughes brothers' would-be Denzel epic, complete with dirty, toothless hillbillies and the requisite unspecified apocalypse that turned the earth into the set of Mad Max. Denzel plays a version of the magical negro that is so magical that he almost becomes Jesus, though is more like a combination of Jesus and Blade, complete with a holy knife of decapitation and permanently carrying a flask of his holy water. In fact the whole movie is a big sermon on the continued relevancy of the Christian bible, if not its validity, seeing as it is presented both as destroyer and savior of mankind. Eventually, Denzel's magic negro, like Jesus, ends up dying, resurrecting and going to heaven. Heaven of course being Alcatraz island and God is mustachioed Malcolm McDowell, maybe because the scriptwriter felt like there weren't enough metaphors and decided to shove some more down our throats. Of course the Denzel/Jesus/Blade ends up also being blind, like lady justice and I can only assume Mila Kunis is some hot piece of Mary Magdalene ass. Other than Tom Waits, whom, by virtue of being a singer in real life, ends up with the role of the guy who recharges Denzel's iPod 3G, the other good part of the cast is the wonderful Gary Oldman, who is perfect in the role of Carnegie, the obsessed warlord with the Kim Jong-il glasses that seeks to use religion as a weapon. Overall flawed and preachy, and I didn't even get started on the aesthetics, which seem to involve over-the-top greenscreen CG skies and overexposed barren deserts. A download at best.

Grizzly Man (2005)

Absolutely amazing! This thing has everything I ever wanted from a nature documentary... AND MORE! The fact that it's all real is just too amazing to begin with, but the real star of this film (other than the Grizzlies) is Mr. Timothy Treadwell, whom, though undoubtedly suffering from a number of psychological issues, manages to bring a unique kind of humanity and, if not sympathy, then at least understanding to the film, that would otherwise be lost in a normal nature documentary. The film is primarily about the Grizzlies, but in reality it is about Treadwell, his difficulties in life, his anxieties, frustrations and introspection, that all come out on camera as he shoots footage of himself with the bears. He is not an easy man to relate to, and given all the background about his life, it wouldn't be too hard to hate him to the point of thinking that he deserved his death (as some of the witnesses and acquaintances candidly admit to agree with). The range of emotions in the film goes from whimsy, to suffering, to disdain, to ridicule, grief, horror, happiness and eventually emotional closure. The most terrifying aspect is perhaps the story of his so called girlfriend, whom barely appears in the film but whom, at numerous occasions, is said to be terribly afraid of bears, and which ends up dying alongside Treadwell, mauled by the same bear that killed him minutes earlier. Overall some great work from Herzog, like no documentary I've ever seen or chances are that I'll ever see again, considering the unique circumstances of its production. Oh yes, there is also bear poop. Lots and lots of bear poop.

Julia (2008)

I could mention that Tilda Swinton deserves an Oscar for this, but the acting is besides the point. What we have here is one of those rare films that are at once art and compelling to watch as an 'edge of your seat thriller', which, even when that seat is a comfortable sofa, manages to pull you in to a story that, about the middle of the movie, takes a crazy unexpected twist, which REALLY pulls you to the edge of your seat. Everything is so unbelievable that only Swinton's extraordinary performance and the fact that all the events flow as the inevitable outcomes of the ones that precede them, and as extraordinary as they may be, we are never left with the idea that this plot is 'forced' or 'unrealistic' (despite very much being so) because of the inescapability of it all. The sheer necessity to deal with the path that she made and is making for herself, by itself leads the plot to an all-too-real unreality. Exceptional.

Knowing (2009)

I thought it was gonna suck, especially with Cage in there and the plot randomly pooping some aliens out of nowhere in the middle of it all. But it ends with the destruction of New York and the earth in slow mo to the Allegretto from Beethoven's 7th and the "new beginning" on an alien planet which in the end made it worth the while. Overall enjoyable although at times it felt like I was watching some M. Night Shyamalan drivel but thankfully Alex Proyas managed to make it not suck, the way he did for Dark City and The Crow. Just wish they would have found someone other than Cage to be the lead, though all things considered, I'm having trouble picturing anyone else in that role right about now.

A Single Man (2010)

I must admit I wanted to see A Single Man after seeing the poster alone, with Julianne Moore in her 60's makeup and hairdo and Colin Firth in his wide-rimmed glasses. Never before has the production design been so instrumental to a film as it is here. I suppose I am now a 'fan' of Dan Bishop, the PD on both Mad Men and Carnivàle, which really gave this film its look and style. I am less of a fan of Tom Ford, with his blatant color changes and long sequences that seem to only be there to admire the film's style, instead of making said style a part of the film. In this respect, Ford fetishises Bishop's work and turns his movie from a creation of Tom Ford to a creation that idolizes Bishop and Isherwood's work. Performances are solid, with Firth providing one of his strongest ones yet. It is a pleasure to look at, and can only imagine that it is an appropriate adaptation to Isherwood's novel. In this respect, Ford's film seems to disprove the auteur theory, and it becomes no longer a Tom Ford film, but rather an Isherwood/Bishop/Firth film. Don't watch if you can't handle style-over-plot unless you're completely obsessed with Bishop's work.