Our 2008 Movie List

4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days)
A Casa de Alice (Alice's House)
Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias, O (The Year my Parents Went on Vacation)
Bab'Aziz
Be Kind Rewind
Beed-e majnoon (The Willow Tree)
Before the Rains
Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness
Burn After Reading
Cassandra's Dream
Chicago 10
Cidade dos Homens (City of Men)
Du Levande (You, the Living)
El Orfanto (The Orphanage)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Fall
Frozen River
Irina Palm
It's Fine! Everything is Fine
Man on Wire
Military Intelligence and You
Mio fratello è figlio unico (My Brother is an Only...
Mister Lonely
Monster Camp
OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies
Paranoid Park
Persepolis
Roman de gare
Sukkar banat (Caramel)
Surfwise
Synecdoche
There Will Be Blood
Va, vis et deviens (Live and Become)
The Visitor
Voyage du ballon rouge, Le (The Flight of the Red Balloon)
The Wackness
Young at Heart

Synecdoche

This movie was amazing...weird and convoluted and wonderful. And I saw it 3 months ago...so I have nothing valuable to add to anything that has been written here or here or here. I don't agree with all these reviews, but they are all good ones to read.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is an amazing actor.

I could talk about what happens in the film, but I have no idea what really happened.

This might have been the last movie we saw in 2008. I'm not sure which is more sad: the fact it might have been the last 2008 movie or the fact that I can't remember if it is...either way it is the baby's fault.

Burn After Reading

I think this is the Coen brothers' funniest since Lebowski. They are such amazing crafters of plot and dialog.

I saw this 4 months ago and am just posting about it now so I don't remember what else I was going to say

...ugh. Motherhood ate my blog.

I really liked this film and want to see it again.

Monster Camp

We watch as adults (mostly) play live-action role playing games and talk about how it is more an important part of their lives than all that reality stuff.

The filmakers appeared to be trying to capture these folks earnestly, but it amounts to the same -- they could have been trying to point their fingers and laugh.

I wished it was less of a freakshow and more of a comedy, but I guess in the end, people dressed up as butterfly warriors and cat-elfs banging each other with padded sticks and yelling out hit point losses is just not all that entertaining afterall.

Clunky as a documentary but it does have some very funny moments and it wasn't as bad as I am making it sound.

Encounters at the End of the World

Werner Herzog is becoming my new hero. (As an aside, the trivia in his bio on IMDB is fascinating!)

Grizzly Man was weird and funny and tragic. He showed up in Mister Lonely for a bizarre small role, and now this.

Herzog sets out with his camera to find out about the people who go to Antarctica to work...it turns out there is some kind of weirdo magnet down there and pretty much all he had to do was turn the camera on and let it roll, but the results are stunning and not without the wonderful Herzog charm, brought to you in long still shots, hilarious overdubs and scenes of scientists laying face-down on the ice listening to seals.

From fork-lift driving philosophers to electric guitar playing scientists to a man who keeps a backpack packed at all times with everything he would need to pick up and go - including a kayak(!), the motley crew he encounters at the end of the world is quite entertaining, but the film is much more than that. It is gorgeous and sad and good in that way that keeps coming back to you for days after you've watched it.

The Wackness

I want to put on the record that this is the first movie we saw after Tilia was born.

It made me feel old.

Nothing more than a teen love story where the guy gets his heart broken, but the twist is that he sells pot out of an ice cream trolley. A lot of pot. And they show him having sex...imagine that in Ferris Bueller or The Breakfast Club.

My oh my how times have changed.

And yet, they haven't -- this, like the John Hughes movies of my time, was very conscious of its tragically hip self and as such shouldn't be expected to be any more than a Pretty in Pink for the Y Generation as they graduate from high school.

The main character's teacher (following the Hughes narrative again, all Hughes movies also had a wise teacher character) is played by Ben Kingsley who was amazing. He can play any character in the world masterfully. He made/saved this movie for me.

Speaking of Ferris Bueller -- Josh Peck who plays the main character kept looking so much like Alan Ruck who played Cameron in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, that I was convinced it was his son! Figuring out that that was possible made me really start feeling old. A quick IMDB search proved that they don't look anything like each other -- age takes its toll on the mind.

Frozen River

We picked this movie out of the SIFF lineup because it was on a day and time that we had free. This is not a good reason to see a movie...or is it? We knew very little going in, and were pleasantly surprised....sort of.

At first, I was completely put off by the dialog and storyline. It felt forced and contrived. But after about 30 minutes, I began to see another side of it: a creative tale of two women helping each other. Women doing what needs to be done to care for their children. Above all, I think the location was the best character in this film...bleak and cold and frustrating -- the environment really added to the feeling of hopelessness and desperation.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to everyone, but as a writing and directing debut it was solid and captivating.

Man on Wire

I was sure we were watching a mockumentary for most of this movie...there were such wonderfully silly moments that I would have bet money they were staged and I watched in delighted disbelief. Later, when I realized the events in the film were real, I felt these great touches of true whimsy lightened the mood in just the right way.

This is an inspirational and shocking and silly film and utterly delightful.

Surfwise

Fascinating documentary about a family of nine children who grow up somewhat wild under the iron first and open heart of their surf-guru dad, Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, an ex-doctor who dropped off the grid to raise child after child in a 24-foot long camper wherever he had the whim to take them all. He was obsessed with health, fitness and surfing, told his kids that school is dangerous, and taught them to be good people using the laws of nature and "clean living." He's obviously crazy, but some of his philosophy does work out in the end...his kid love him (despite his foibles) and they turn into good, loving parents, overall. The story is well told with old pictures and footage mixed with modern-day looks at the family and who they have all become.

The Fall

We saw this hours ago and I am still completely blown away. I think some time might need to pass before I write anything meaningful about it. Here's what I want to say now: It is gorgeous. Sincere. The performance by 11 year-old Cantinca Untaru is spellbinding. The saturated colors, quirky, beautiful costumes and otherworldly images are all completely mesmerizing. The two stories are perfectly entwined, sad, dark, funny, timeless, surreal. It might go to my top 20 of all time. I know I'm gushing. I'll stop...and maybe I'll be able to put something more coherent together about it later. This is was just perfect film making for me. I had very high expectations based on seeing one preview and those were totally blown out of the water.

Before the Rains

Trite and disappointing. I at least hoped for an intelligent period piece and if not that than a good love story and if not that than at least a pretty picture with nice camera work and stunning, sweeping shots of the gorgeous Indian countryside. I was let down on all accounts. The politics of the time are dumbed down for the viewing public and the stunning camera work was all displayed in the previews. The love story never develops beyond the heartless white spice baron conquering the exotic Indian "landscape." Colonialism is bad. Everyone loses. In the end the Indian woman's soul is freed and she turns back into a dragonfly. The end.

OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies

We chose this movie as a back up to getting into a film festival film (The Fall, which actually opens next week in wide release here in Seattle) which was sold out and we didn't make it into and we picked OSS 117 because it started a half-hour later. We both knew it would be silly and light, we didn't know it would also be boring and dumb.

Mister Lonely

Weirdo Harmony Korine is at it again and, if you can believe it, it seems like he has refined his technique. Far from the offensive, uncomfortable tales of Gummo and the troublesome morals of Kids, this is a fairy tale with 10 years on Gummo and a world apart.

Celebrity impersonators live in a commune is Scotland. Michael Jackson is asked to join the group by Marilyn Monroe (the voluptuous and amazing Samantha Morton) who is married to Charlie Chaplain. The stooges are there too along with Buckwheat and Abe Lincoln (whose foul mouth adds to the fun.) Non sequitur scenes (some named by Jackson's songs) ramble along beautifully and take you to another reality. There is a culminating scene and "plot" but it didn't really matter to me. The gorgeous colors, bizarro events and a completely unrelated (as best as I can tell) story line about nuns in South America who can fly (encouraged by none other than Father Wener Hertzog) are the stars of this show.

Du Levande (You, the Living)

Surreal and drably lit, this black comedy highlighted the ups and downs of human existence...love, dogs, tubas and the fact that there is always someone observing you.

Roman de gare

The title is taken from the trashy pulp novels that one used to buy in French train stations. That suits this movie - there's not much substance, but it's not an altogether bad read, either.

My complaint is there is too much going on. Some scenes/characters/events only appear to plant a seed of confusion or doubt about what is really happening, and then they disappear. There are plot lines headed every which-way and only one or two of the really matter. I was disappointed by the ending. There is a lot of deus ex machina going on.

My highest compliments go to Dominique Pinon (City of Lost Children, Amelie, Delicatessen) whose rubbery face really saves this movie.

Mio fratello è figlio unico (My Brother is an Only Child)

Part coming of age comedy, part political drama -- two brothers wind up on opposite sides of the fascist/communist divide in Italy in the 60s and 70s. This was a part of history that I knew nothing about and don't feel much more educated for having watched the movie, but I really did enjoy the performances by the two actors who played the brothers.

Voyage du ballon rouge, Le (The Flight of the Red Balloon)

I can't tell you how much I love Juliette Binoche. She is flawless. She completely inhabits her characters in a way that other actors cannot. I am always blown away by her -- even in mediocre movies. She is almost upstaged in this movie by the little boy who plays Simon, but not quite.

This is a "remake" of the 1950's original The Red Balloon, but it's not necessary to be familiar with the original to enjoy this movie -- in fact, I remember very little of except that the red balloon follows the boy and then floats away (?) maybe I don't remember as well as I thought.

Anyway, this is a very sweet and detailed film...it's about outsiders and imagination and the minutia of life that makes us all tick.

Young at Heart

I knew we would laugh and cry, but I had no idea...this was an amazingly touching, funny and respectful look at a performing troupe of senior citizens who sing The Rolling Stones, The Ramones, and Coldplay. That's really all you need to know.

The Visitor

When Jon and I saw The Station Agent in 2004 (?) I was stunned to find out that it was Thomas McCarthy's first film. So delicate were the characters approached and so subtlety funny were the humorous movements in that sad film about a lonely man, that I was sure this was an experienced and skilled hand at work. I was wrong.

When I discovered (after seeing it) that The Visitor is his movie as well, it made perfect sense.
The Visitor is another film about a lonely person -- another film that is perfectly cast and played -- another film that tackles something as big as isolation and solitude without being heavy handed.

Walter, the main character (played perfectly by Richard Jenkins who was the father/ghost on Six Feet Under), finds his way though his sadness by meeting a guide (actually a few guides) who shepherd him though his own baggage. He is as surprised as we are at the man who emerges.

This film tackles some bigger issues in the periphery, but it transcends the need to solve or answer or even comment on the big picture by just showing us what we need to know or what Walter needs to know.

Thoughtful and well done.

Irina Palm

Oh no we didn't....we didn't just go to this to see Marianne Faithfull playing the "wanking widow" who, apparently has the "best right hand in London" and uses it to pay her grandson's medical bills. Well, actually, we did. If it hadn't been the lovely Ms. Faithfull, we wouldn't have been caught dead at this film. It had some good moments, a few great lines, but not nearly enough to carry the awkward plot and bizarre ending.

Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias, O (The Year my Parents Went on Vacation)

What I have to say first that this film is directed by a guy named Cao Hamburger (I'm not up on my Brazilian Portuguese but I think that's pronounced "cow.")

What I will say second is that Mr. Hamburger has directed a very sweet and original coming of age story set in a very interesting time in Brazil. 1970 was the year Brazil won the world cup and a year of political upheaval and unrest. It was also the year that Shlomo's freedom fighter parents had to run from the police and go on "vacation" leaving him with his Jewish grandfather until, they promise, they will return to watch the World Cup with him.

Great characters and wonderful acting by the kids, especially. Watching the scenes of the city shutting down for each round of the finals that their team made it through, Jon and I got a great flashback to when we were in Rome during the World Cup that Italy won in 2006.

Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness

Debut feature-length movie from film school weirdo Laurin Federlein. The main character gas-huffs his way across the Scottish countryside on a scooter talking to locals about how they might support and collaborate on his "traveling disco." It is as weird as it sounds and weirder. For one thing, the locals are not actors. They are actually locals who have only been asked if they want to be in a film, and then the camera rolls. The other thing is the look of the film -- Federlein turned the contrast way up and forced us all to squint and look away about half-way through the film from the dreamy, gas-huffing, glare of lime green and burgundy landscapes.

Part of what made me enjoy this was that I wasn't quite sure what I was watching. We knew nothing going into it and some of the dialog (all improvised, so near as we could tell) and camera shots are so fantastically bizarre, you can hardly believe what you are hearing and seeing.

Sukkar banat (Caramel)

Peek into the daily lives of five women living in Beirut. Think Steel Magnolias set in Lebanon (OK, so I never saw Steel Magnolias, but I'm pretty sure the analogy holds up. ) We read Charles (did we see the same movie?) Mudede's review in The Stranger and had high hopes for it reaching outside the salon and their petty (and sometimes bizarre) problems and solutions to problems, but it stayed in the blow-dry chair the whole time. And blew.

Va, vis et deviens (Live and Become)

Epic (by which I mean long and over-reaching) journey of a young boy whose mother forces him to leave her, pretend to be Jewish and pretend to be another woman's son so that he will be evacuated from Ethiopia as part of "Operation Moses" to Israel in the early 80s.

In Israel, with his new family, he grows up, finds new meanings of faith and family and eventually, happiness and closure. Neat.

The problems, however, overshadowed -- they included awkward dialog, trite plot turns and a little too much deus ex machina to be enjoyable for me. The good things were the actor who played the young Schlomo and the historical context which I had never learned about before.

We decided we needed to coin another tag for these kinds of movies: the Heavy-Hearted Foreign Film.

Paranoid Park

Gus Van Sant is so good at being Gus Van Sant. He can take a relatively bland and conventional story, which this is, and make it contemplative, dark and dreamy. He revisits the milieu of Last Days or Elephant in that he takes relatively unheard of actors, or people who have never acted before, and thrusts them into his grainy, repeating-scene world. Jon and I noted that if he hadn't put his stamp on this, it would have been boring, with a capital b, but what we got was pure Van Sant -- almost too much so (enough with the young skateboard hotties taking their shirts off!) -- well lit, well shot, story well told.

Bab'Aziz

A stunningly beautiful and fascinating fairy tale. As we slowly progress through the story of Bab'aziz, we meet unusual and interesting characters whose lives intersect, seemingly at the whim of the storyteller. In this desert landscape, blind men journey without direction, wandering bands of musicians head toward "the gathering," humans become animals only to change back to humans and soul-seekers are made insane by their quests. I was simply in love with the granddaughter.Though she and her grandfather never say, "I love you" to one another, you can see it in their touch, their trust and their eyes. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Chicago 10

I knew the story of the Chicago 8, but was curious who the additional 2 were. The movie didn't provide any answers, and Jon had to look it up after we watched the film. The mix of animation and archival footage was fun and funny and dramatic and I learned a ton about the trial and the actual events over the days that Abby Hoffman and Co. were involved. The other two were the lawyers who were actually slapped with several contempt of court charges during the trail in which the 8 were eventually found not guilty. Great soundtrack.

Be Kind Rewind

This is not the Michel Gondry we have met before. This is a new, lighter, less complicated and in some ways, less enjoyable Michel Gondry. But, we had to see this, knowing it wouldn't be Eternal Sunshine or The Science of Sleep, we had to see it, and I am glad we did.

Mos Def is left in charge of a video (actual VHS video) store while owner Danny Glover is away. Jack Black, through a completely implausible accident, ruins all the videos forcing the duo to remake all the films ('sweding' them). Black is the only person who could have played his character. In fact, I think he plays that character so much that we believe that is who Jack Black is. Loud, crazy, annoying, dim, enthusiastic. We buy it when he plays it. At least I do. So we go along with the goofy idea and find ourselves caught up in the fun.

Wonderful, whimsical cardboard cutouts on the sets, fancy camera angles to produce great visuals, a completely absurd plot and silly characters combined to carry this movie through. Mos Def was pitch perfect. It rode the line between sweet and schlocky, perfectly.

Military Intelligence and You

Sarcastic and spoofy take on a WWII military training film of the 40s. The idea is that if you say "Iraq" each time they say "Germany", the results are hee-larious, but it really misses the mark. Kind of too true to be funny, what had real biting political commentary potential was basically wasted on Airplane!-style jokes and repetitive melodrama/slapstick. It has a few good moments for sure, but not enough to carry the idea.

Cidade dos Homens (City of Men)

Intense drama set in the favelas of Brazil. Based on a TV show that was a spin-off of the movie City of God by the same director. The themes of fatherhood, friendship and responsibilities are right on the surface, but kept interesting by the phenomenal performances by the two leading men. The sweltering heat and gang violence and poverty are so close you can feel the pressure and the need for things you can count on. Not complicated or surprising but a very well told story with hope as a footnote in the lives of the characters.

A Casa de Alice (Alice's House)

The performance by Carla Ribas in this is amazing. Somewhere Jon read that this was meant to be a "state of feminism" in Brazil today picture, which, if it is, is very depressing....even more depressing than the simple, subtle, flavorful character drama that is appears at face-value. The director has, until now, I believe, only made documentaries, and you can feel that approach come through, with interesting details highlighted without being part of the story. I felt sorry for this woman and her mom and her client who lies about her life and the young girl who finds an older, married man to flirt with -- these women are all controlled in every way by the men around them -- their lovers, sons and husbands. No one is happy. Life carries on.

4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days)

What surprised me most about this movie is that it is about the friend who arranges an illegal abortion for her friend, not about the friend having the abortion. We follow them both through about 6-8 hours in almost real time, but the main character is the one who we really feel for, her irresponsible friend, by virtue of not being able to take care of herself, asking far too much too many times in this unfortunate scenario. Set 1980's Romania where the oppressive government touches almost every aspect of people's lives, even the most private and personal.

There are interesting moments in this film, directorial touches that made me pause and appreciate how hard it is to paint in all gray. But they are few and far between deserts of difficult, sad, slow circumstances. Some of the emotional horror is far too intense, and there is little or no redemption for anyone. I left this film feeling depleted and tired.

Persepolis

I saw Marjane Satrapi speak a few years ago about her autobiographical graphic novels by the same name of this movie. She was incredibly funny and spoke eloquently of her surprise at finding her way to be a "comics artist." She had me as a fan for life and I was thrilled when I heard about the film.

The film was impeccably done. They kept Satrapi's style, spirit and touch so perfectly, you might beleive she drew the whole thing herself. Magnificent shades of gray envelop each scene with wonderful details and palpable emotion. We are transported with sadness, patriotism, joy and adventure.

Even though Marjane lived in Iran through war and revolution and moved to Austria and Paris, her life was not that remarkable. It is her gift for storytelling that draws us in and wraps us up in journey.

Beed-e majnoon (The Willow Tree)

In the lobby of the theater, one of the employees said that folks coming out of this movie thought it would be lighter and beautiful, but most were surprised to find that it was intense and depressing. "That's my kind of movie!" I said, suddenly much more excited to see it.

It was intense and depressing. Somewhat hard to watch at times, but in many ways really beautiful and haunting. The director stayed away from the cliches that might have been easy and obvious way to illustrate what Yusef was going through. Instead we get a evocative look at his psychological life before and after this sight is regained.

Cassandra's Dream

Oh Woody...it seems that you don't even try sometimes now.

This story was almost exactly like Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (which I didn't really like either), which begs the question, why take a tired storyline and put actors that seem totally wrong for their roles and have an awkward chemistry together and rehash it half-baked into a poorly named movie? Sometimes Allen seems to make movies just to have one each year, whether or not they are well-conceived, constructed or executed.

I have to admit, I was sucked into the drama a few times, but this was despite, not because of the acting, the dialog or the characters. Ironically, only one of the minor characters stuck out as realistic and believable. Sally Hawkins who played Kate hasn't been in much but British TV before, but she is the one who Woody got a great performance out of.

Finally...why is the boat called Cassandra? Was the one regretful brother's half-baked, drunk reservations before they do the deed supposed to call up visions of the Greek Cassandra whose fierce portents were ignored by all? Hardly. The more I thought about this, the more I disliked the whole film.

It's Fine! Everything is Fine

Part two in delightful freakshow Crispin Glover's "It" trilogy. He opened the movie with a slideshow and dramatic reading of pages of eight of his books. That part was weird, funny, enjoyable. The movie, however, was none of that. I am certain it's art. I'm sure some of the equally-as-weird-as-Crispin audience enjoyed it (I actually saw a guy in Grateful Dead MC Hammer pants!), but the point of scene after scene of graphic elderly Cerebral Palsy patient porn was lost on me. I understand the main character wrote the screenplay and he played himself in this psycho-sexual fantasy of his own making, but there are just some things I just don't want to see. Thanks, Crispin, but no thanks.

There Will Be Blood

Daniel Day Lewis gives the performance of a lifetime in what basically amounts to a one-man show -- he is in every scene and in every scene he recites what might as well be monologues. Really -- there are other characters, but they are there to support his lines, his character development and the story, which is him. But it's completely gripping. His character is so gritty and dark and single-minded that I was drawn into his drama as it unfolded. Shakespearian in its tension, bloodiness and morals -- think Hamlet or King Lear.

P.T. Anderson crafts the perfect environment for Lewis' character Plainview. The landscape is dusty and dry and the scene is desperate. Tensions between religion, family, community and money are clawed by dirty hands to the surface for us to pick through and find our fortune.

I'm finished!

El Orfanto (The Orphanage)

We were lured in by reviews which said that this is a spooky movie, and not for people with a short attention span. I guess we expected a smart, scary film, but it wasn't really either. It ended up being slow and somewhat predictable in the end. I did enjoy the few major jolts that started happening about halfway through. I like a good suspenseful moment with great payoff. One of these moments, caused several people to actually scream in the theater, so you do get some bang for your buck. I liked some things about it (the story and the main child actor) but truthfully, it's not much more than a mainstream horror movie.