2007 Retrospective

[Watashi]

It's that time again, my fellow Match Cutting cronies. It's time to look back at the year before and celebrate and ridicule it and putting our own factual stamp on what were truly the best that cinema had to offer. Is this the most definitive Top 10 list out there. Damn straight it is. Armond White ain't got nothing on me!

So what did 2007 have to offer? A bucket list of great films. I know it's a broken record to say that X year has been excellent or Y year has been terrible, but dammit, 2007 was one helluva year. We got a new Brad Bird film, for cryin' out loud! That's like the accumulative of 20 great years rolled into one. 2007 saw the resurrection of the western in many different formats from traditional outlaw shoot-em' up, man vs. nature, and the anti-western of greed and faith. It's awesome. We saw the return of Fincher, Paul and Wes Anderson, the Coens, Zemeckis, and... Affleck? Yes, Ben and Casey Affleck were perhaps at the top of their game in 2007 and the best part was that no new Kevin Smith film came out!

I've seen pretty much every film I wanted to see this year except one: The Assassination of Jesse James. It never came near me and I'm sure there's a spot on my list for it when I do eventually see it.

Honorable Mentions:

Paprika (dir. Satoshi Kon)

Sicko (dir. Michael Moore)

Offside (dir. Jafar Panahi)

The Bourne Ultimatum (dir. Paul Greengrass)

The Host (dir. Joon-ho Bong)

[Watashi]

- 10 -

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dir. Todd Haynes

If you’re looking for the latest Bob Dylan biopic, don’t bother watching I’m Not There, because Bob Dylan is nowhere to be found. His music is here, as is his lyricism and dialogue, but Robert Allen Zimmerman isn’t. Todd Haynes’ film is more of a deconstruction of the traditional biopic that has been caressed by the Academy in the past few years (most significantly Ray and Walk the Line). The film begins with an autopsy of Dylan to show you the innards of Dylan’s mystique that made him the generation icon and how each part is crucial to understanding what makes him live on the outside. Instead of the regular dominant actor portraying the role of Dylan through the three-course narrative, there are six Dylan stand-ins to represent each period in his life. Woody (Marcus Carl Franklin) represents his “Young Romantic” phase; Jack (Christian Bale) shows us Dylan as “The Prophet”; Arthur (Ben Whishaw) is “The Enigma”; Jude (Cate Blanchett) is “The Innovator” when Dylan went electric and abused of tarnishing his celebrity image; Robbie (Heath Ledger) plays the “The Restless Lover”; and Billy (Richard Gere) is “The Lone Gun”, an anachronistic representation of Billy the Kid whom Dylan believes to be an reincarnate of.

Each actor approaches the Dylan persona differently. Blanchett and Whishaw capture Dylan’s physical appearance and mannerism to a near-spooky mimicry. Gere and Franklin dig into Dylan’s mythical essence and surrealist embodiment as a wandering folk figure whose spiritual change is represented by train-hopping towards an untaken path. With each shift in Dylan’s life, not only does his appearance change, but so does his music. As his fame came out of limited release, so did a cry of criticism from his fans as he took on a more rock image leaving his acoustic-brand back at home. The thing his fans complain about is that “he’s different than he was at first.” The criticism about change keeps coming up in different ways throughout the film. The freedom of creativity is lost when the demands of being a celebrity require you to keep recreating what you have already done. This is why Dylan’s music is so special and rewarding. He never succumbs to fan pressure and always brings something new and fresh to the table.

While Cate Blanchett has been getting all the critical approval and is most likely on her way to a fourth Oscar nomination, it’s Heath Ledger and Richard Gere whose non-physical transformations resonates the true emotional power of Dylan’s life journey. Robbie is unlike the other Dylan clones because he is an actor portraying a Dylan stand-in. Ledger’s performance is tremendous as is supporting costar Charlotte Gainsbourg as Robbie’s estranged wife, Claire. Ledger’s Dylan shows off the misogynist side that most fanatics were unaware that existed and his painful imbalance of separating his self-image from his acting. The Billy section features the film’s best scene and the best cover of “Goin’ to Acapulco” that I’ve heard. It’s an avant-garde of Dylan memorabilia from the depths of his spirit. This is a complex project that Haynes pulled off masterfully. You will never watch another standard biopic again.

[Watashi]

*cough*

[Mr. Valentine]

nice review. I'm Not There is one of the movies i'm really angry that i missed this year when i had a chance.

[Sycophant]

Great thoughts on I'm Not There. Largely agree.

[Velocipedist]

Nice review that I largely agree with... except for the Gere and Ledger part. I think their slots are very good, yes, but it's the writers' achievement (Haynes and Moverman?). An interesting approach, but Gere and Ledger never lived up to it.

What's your rating for it?

[odditie]

I'm watching, glad to see The Host got an HM.

[Watashi]

- 9 -

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dir. Craig Gillespie

Meet Lars Lindstrom. He holds down a steady job, has family and friends who support him, and goes to church weekly, but there is something blocking Lars’ ability to develop further and taking the leap in becoming an independent. He stands there outside his garage door window, hiding away from a world that makes him uncomfortable to live in. His sister-in-law and brother, Karen and Gus, have to beg him just to sit down to have dinner together, but he avoids them as much as possible. Things aren’t much different at work, where he rarely speaks with his cubicle-buddy and blatantly ignores the girl who has a crush on him. The only place he can find peace with himself is at church, but even there his alienated discomfort is felt with the townspeople. Help comes one morning as a giant box is delivered to Lars’ garage-house. Lars gets well-groomed and comes out of his social-hibernation to announce a new visitor that he met on the internet to his brother and sister-in-law. Their thrilled joy turns into abrupt shock as they learn that Lars’ new friend isn’t real, but an anatomically-correct sex doll. Lars calls her Bianca and has invented an entire back story for her. He treats Bianca as if she is living and breathing the same space next to him. The first immediate thought is to lock Lars up in the loony bin, but because of their strong religious background, Karen decides to play along and let Bianca stay in an empty spare room upstairs.

Though Bianca’s purpose is to give sexual pleasure, Lars does not use her in any sexual matter nor does he even think about it. Lars uses Bianca for emotional fulfillment and healing. There is obviously something broken within Lars’ mind, but he is not insane or mentally ill. He is still caught back in a safe-zone state of mind through a series of fragmented memories and experiences in his past. With Bianca by his side, a rush of happiness and altruistic purpose overcomes Lars healing him not only of his fear of being touched but being in touch with the people who love him deeply. Director Craig Gillespie, whose only previous directorial effort was the juvenile Mr. Woodcock (though it is said Craig was only hired to raise funds to make Lars), avoids indie clichés by making Lars a sympathetic character and not a quirky invention whose problem is meant a target of humiliation. There are the occasional stares of awkwardness and uncertainty directed towards Lars as he wheels Bianca around grocery stores and parties, but Gillespie never intends to mock Lars, but to embrace him as he brings no harm and is a relief that he’s experiencing the world around him once again. It isn’t only the love that he thinks he shares with Bianca. She serves as a catalyst that allows him to receive the love of all the people around him. His faith in Bianca (not just his mistaken belief that she is real, but his faith in her goodness and love) allows him to develop a faith within himself.

At the core of Lars and the Real Girl is Ryan Gosling as Lars. Gosling is becoming one of the best working actors in this new century and was only outperformed by Daniel Day-Lewis (of course Day-Lewis outshines anyone whenever he steps in front of a camera) in 2007. In order to bring a complex character like Lars to life, Gosling had to fixate himself in a pre-meditative trance to understand the pain that is felt from his social abandonment. It’s not just the hunched-like posture, constant blinking, and other mannerisms that makes Gosling’s performance so heavy to watch, but the patience he brings to the character and not to overdue himself to make it more humorous than it is. Ryan Gosling never left character even when offset. He treated Bianca like a real person including talking to the doll regularly and has it stay in his trailer and share his bed. Now, that may seems a bit creepy, but it was a crucial aspect of perfecting Ryan’s performance to make his relationship believable, and making the emotional last moment before Bianca’s exit a much more impactful resonance.

[Watashi]

What's your rating for it?

A ***1/2, but upon further reflection it may move to a **** film.

[dreamdead]

Lars is one film that seemed incredibly idiotic when the premise was first announced, but I'm now quite intrigued by it, all told. Gosling and Schneider are enough for me to check it out after it hits dvd.

[Derek]

Lars is one film that seemed incredibly idiotic

A bit harsh, but still pretty accurate.

Love the pick of I'm Not There though, Wats.

[Watashi]

A bit harsh, but still pretty accurate.

Love the pick of I'm Not There though, Wats.
Is it just me or did you give Pirates: At World's End a higher score than Exiled, Sweeney Todd, and Atonement?

[Derek]

Is it just me or did you give Pirates: At World's End a higher score than Exiled, Sweeney Todd, and Atonement?

Nope, you got it. I hated the first two Pirates films, but I loved the experimental nature of certain parts of this one. Of course it's still bloated, but I thought it was one of the riskiest blockbuster films of last year with several mesmerizing sequences. Verbinski could have easily sat back and made another safe, silly film, but he used his complete directorial control to try things you don't see in other mainstream films. The entire dream world sequence gave me great joy - certainly more so than the empty, though beautiful style of Exiled, the Burton-by-numbers direction of Sweeney or the wretchedness of Atonement's WWII scenes.

But this is all completely beside the point, which is that Lars and the Real Girl is still a bad film. :)

[Raiders]

The multiple Depps was the worst thing I saw in theatres last year.

[Bosco B Thug]

I wish I got around to seeing Lars. I am very glad and intrigued about its critical reception. Skimmed your review, shouldn't have 'cause I caught the fact that in the film

the doll isn't used for sexual purposes which I find questionable and dubious... but still, can't wait to see what's the deal with this one and I sincerely hope the blow-up doll movie wins me over!

Great review for I'm Not There. It's a messy movie, but your review reminds me why I liked it so much.

[Ezee E]

On paper, Lars seems pretty stupid. But with all the love, I'll probably watch it.

[Watashi]

- 8 -

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dir. Tim Burton

If you happened to blink during the trailer for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, you might have missed the mere 2½ seconds of singing in a near all-musical stage adaptation. The brilliant marketers at Warner Bros. seem eager for audiences to see the latest dark, gothic throat-slashing film from Tim Burton, but make it unaware of any musical references until you’ve already purchased your ticket and inside the auditorium. This would explain the many complaints I received from customers (mostly of the male variety) asking for a refund because there was “too much singing”. The juggling audience expectations were also a concern as no one really knew who Tim Burton was targeting with his film. Obviously, you had the Johnny Depp fangirls who would follow Johnny into the pit of Hades no matter what. You also have the musical theatre buffs and Sondheim enthusiasts who are ready to start the Depp/Hearn comparisons and proclaim Helena Bonham Carter is “no Lansbury”. Then finally you have the Burton fanatics, decked out in Goth make-up wearing their Jack Skellington hoodies, where no movie is too dark, gory, or pasty for them to swallow up. The result ends up being satisfying for all parties even though it’s funny to get all three groups into one dark theater for two hours.

Sweeney Todd is a Burton film through and through. It has all his common trademarks from the pasty white skin and dark eyeshadow to the black and white pajamas that should unfortunately be a huge economic boost for the Hot Topic industry nationwide. It should be no surprise to anyone that Sondheim’s musical and Burton’s German expressionism undertones would be a perfect marriage, but the main question that was dripping off people’s tongues was “can the cast sing?” Well, yes and no. The spotlight was mainly on Burton’s right-hand man-slave Johnny Depp to carry out the passion of Sondheim’s lyrics and match the intensity of the previous Sweeneys. While Depp wouldn’t win on American Idol, he does a serviceable job, but he is not the caliber of singer that Sondheim’s finest score requires, indeed demands (then again, singing Sondheim isn’t exactly a walk in the park). Sweeney, with razors at his side, is prepared for the darkness and horrors that await him onshore. He is evil and he does not relent. In the hands of Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd is not a sympathetic character, nor should he be. Helena Bonham Carter’s Mrs. Lovett might be considered a disappointment if compared side-by-side to Angela Lansbury’s performance in the 1982 stage production, but she matches up with Depp’s Todd quite nicely. She is a robust temptress that needles her way through Todd’s scheme attempting to boost her own business and while wooing Todd at the same time. Her venomous humor only adds to the darkness in a trio of three enjoyable musings (“Worst Pies in London”, “A Little Priest”, “By the Sea”).

While Depp and Bonham-Carter carry the film down the drains and into the sewer, the main character in Burton’s exercise in demon barbery is the main man himself, Stephen Sondheim. If you are unfamiliar with Sondheim’s lyricism, you might be taken back a bit at the anti-progressive repetitive melodies. There are no yodeling Julie Andrews or tap-dancing penguins (though that would have been amusing) to be found here. Unlike traditional Hollywood musicals, there are no breaks into the story to neatly place a number, but instead the lyrics flow out of the characters mouths in a herky-jerky motion in an almost Morse code pattern. Nearly the entire film is sung through various pitches and tones and each song is as crucial to the developing story as the next. The supporting cast is the strongest feature and are great singers all around: Alan Rickman as the devilishly Judge Turpin; Jayne Wisener as Sweeney’s daughter Johanna; Jamie Campbell Bower as Anthony Hope, the earnest young sailor who pulled Sweeney from the sea; Sacha Baron Cohen as barber rival Signor Pirelli; the always repulsive Timothy Spall as the Beadle Bamford, the Judge’s right-hand man; Laura Michelle Kelly as the intrusive Beggar Woman; and young Ed Sanders as Todd’s assistant, Toby, is the lone drop of pureness in all the darkness.

[Spinal]

Helena Bonham Carter’s Mrs. Lovett might be considered a disappointment if compared side-by-side to Angela Lansbury’s performance in the 1982 stage production, but she matches up with Depp’s Todd quite nicely. She is a robust temptress that needles her way through Todd’s scheme attempting to boost her own business and while wooing Todd at the same time. Her venomous humor only adds to the darkness in a trio of three enjoyable musings (“Worst Pies in London”, “A Little Priest”, “By the Sea”).


Yes, I'll buy that. I was disappointed with her first number, but very much enjoyed her take on the other two you mention. "By the Sea" is probably my favorite number in the whole film, a place where Burton's film truly hits the bullseye.

[Barty]

I hated the first two Pirates films, but I loved the experimental nature of certain parts of this one. Of course it's still bloated, but I thought it was one of the riskiest blockbuster films of last year with several mesmerizing sequences. Verbinski could have easily sat back and made another safe, silly film, but he used his complete directorial control to try things you don't see in other mainstream films. The entire dream world sequence gave me great joy

Whoa. Someone agrees with me. I've held this position since day one. :pritch:

[D_Davis]

Exiled is anything but empty. There is an intense spiritual journey at the heart of To's masterpiece.

/thread jack

Nice write up on Sweeney Todd, Wats. I am looking forward to renting this one.

[dreamdead]

Yeah, the absurd whimsy of "By the Sea," which effectively transposed the film beyond Sweeney Todd's constrained world, was probably one of the brightest spots in the picture. At the time it felt almost out-of-place visually in the otherwise austere cinematography, but now I think it's the song that most effectively utilizes the camera and the visuality of film to transplant the song into another place cinematically. Still something haunting about those final pull-outs of the camera, too.

[Bosco B Thug]

Yeah, the absurd whimsy of "By the Sea," which effectively transposed the film beyond Sweeney Todd's constrained world, was probably one of the brightest spots in the picture. At the time it felt almost out-of-place visually in the otherwise austere cinematography, but now I think it's the song that most effectively utilizes the camera and the visuality of film to transplant the song into another place cinematically. Still something haunting about those final pull-outs of the camera, too.
Epiphany also breaks the film into fantasy, and I like how Burton employs the same choppy, montage style for both that and By The Sea, creating a tie between both fantasy sequences. I liked Burton's refusal to use flowery scene transitions - the fantasy sequences, the flashbacks, the Johanna Trio intercutting - all use a wry, sharp cutting/editing approach that works perfectly in the film.

Aww, #8, too low! Oh well, great inclusion.

[Watashi]

- 7 -

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dir. Frank Darabont

If there is one genre that is hard to perfect, it's the horror genre. The horror genre has been stuck in a dead-end phase these past few years where remaking cult classics from the glory years (did anyone demand a Prom Night remake?) has become the norm for a simple cash-in response. If not remakes, certain directors (I'm looking at YOU Eli Roth) have gone down the path of starting the sub-genre respectfully noted as "torture porn". Dread and atmosphere is lost and replaced with gross-out contraptions that is more concerned about pushing the envelope rather than developing a consistent tone of fear and developed characters. The very best horror films usually delves into two common themes: the fear of the unknown and the depravity of man. You'd think that Stephen King would adapt quite smoothly over to the big screen, but for every Misery or The Shining there is a Cujo, Maximum Overdrive, or Thinner. However, Frank Darabont, who has specialized in Stephen King prison movies (Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile), has proven that he understands Stephen King. Those wary of Darabont’s schmaltzy Capra-lite routine seen in his recent misfire, The Majestic, can breathe a sigh of relief in knowing that The Mist is his most bleak, nihilistic, and gutsy piece of filmmaking yet.

The Mist achieves what great horror films like Alien, The Thing, Dawn of the Dead, and the recent 28 Days Later accomplish by focusing the impatient denizens' battle within (as they slowly turn on each other) along side the terrors that await outside swimming in the fogged void. As fear, desperation, and dwindling hope set in, the townspeople break up into groups siding themselves with either confident rationalists, led by Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) who think this a big hoax gone wrong or religious fanatics, led by Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) who the mist is God's sign for the End of Days to smite the weak-minded. Standing in the middle is poster artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) who acts as the lone voice of reason to wait until an explanation is in order. We, as the audience, connect to Drayton because he is the atypical hero who stands up against the doubters and will do anything to keep himself sane without resorting to chaos. There is a degeneration as Drayton wrestle with the unknown and come to the limits of his ability to control things, be it man-made or natural disaster. We’ve been blessed and cursed with a need to know and often our need for proof goes to war with our need for faith.

The most talked about aspect of The Mist has been its polarizing, humorless ending. We often sense, if not experience, an existential terror, a gnawing emptiness that claws at our souls. A darkness, the deep, that threatens to suck the joy from all aspects of our lives, that can lead to a spiraling sourness to life that makes us want to crawl into bed and never get out. With Drayton, he chooses not to convert himself over to Norton's "it's all in your head" philosophy or Mrs. Carmody's "old testament" tactics of survival. This bites back as Drayton tries to outrun his fear, but stops short of the finish line, out of breath, and decides to call it quits before he can go any further. This is perhaps Darabont's most cynical maneuver in attempt to tear a part the role of a hero. While they are noble acts of heroism, they brought nothing but more pain to the situation than Drayton hoped (for example, Drayton's mission to the pharmacy ends up killing more than planned instead of saving just one). Look at the role of Mrs. Carmody. She is perverted by her religion to follow her own agenda and laws, but she never attempts to "fight back" or lose hope. The crucial scene is when one of the creatures flies on Carmody's head, but she doesn't panic and remains calm, and she is spared like her preachings forewarned. It's a dirty trick by Darabont by flip-flopping positions and to have you root for a guy who ends up failing when all he could have done was to not panic and stay calm for a few more minutes until the unknown becomes the known.

[Sycophant]

Loving your write-ups. I regret missing The Mist in theaters. When it comes out on DVD, I'll be sure to catch up with it.

[Watashi]

Really?

:|

[Mr. Valentine]

i missed out on The Mist and really wanted to see it so i'm avoiding your writeup.

[Wryan]

So what did 2007 have to offer? A bucket list of great films.

Aaaaand now you must die.