Saturday, March 29, 2008

It's a veritable cornucopia of great movies showing up at the video store these days, and over the past week or so Deyelle and I have been playing catch up.  Here's a survey of the best:

Death at a Funeral
This British farce is one of the funniest movies either of us have seen in a long time.  Lots of broad, almost slapstick gags, yet almost all of the humour comes directly from the unique circumstances of each character.  Everything is effortlessly set up and paid off in a typically foul-mouthed British way - it's hard to believe director Frank Oz continues to provide voices for Sesame Street characters.

I Am Legend
Will Smith continues to show why he's one of Hollywood's most bankable actors with a dark, intense performance in this post-apocalyptic drama.  Like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Smith carries the majority of the film by himself, going about his business as the last man alive in New York, trying to avoid being killed by the vampire-like creatures that stalk the shadows.  The tension is palpable throughout the deliberately paced first two thirds; unfortunately, the last act breaks into a sprint that somewhat undermines the intelligent storytelling that came before.  But despite a resolution that's a little too neat, the film is well worth seeing.

30 Days of Night
Still on the vampire theme, 30 Days of Night uses the why-didn't-I-think-of-that plot device of vampires in a northern Alaska town during 30 sunlight-free days in the winter.  Eerily atmospheric with surprisingly brutal violence, and featuring perhaps the best performance Josh Hartnett's ever given, this one is a genuinely satisfying horror flick, despite some glaring logic holes and an unconvincing blizzard. 

The Namesake
This tale of an immigrant family from India is a real hidden gem.  Stretching from the 1970s to present day - with seamless transitions between time periods that ensure you're paying attention - we get a genuine feel for the unexpected challenges faced by newcomers to America.  Beats that could've been disastrously precious - like when a character covers her bowl of dry Rice Krispies in curry powder - come across as genuine and insightful.  This is an easy recommendation.

The Darjeeling Limited
If you know Wes Anderson's other films (like Rushmore or The Life Aquatic), you know the thin line between comedy and drama that this picture walks, but the master storyteller has created a movie with a more intimate focus - three brothers - set against his most ambitious setting, the vast plains of India.  Filled with metaphor and insight both subtle and not so much (the brothers are literally traveling around carrying their dead father's baggage), this is a lovely little picture that'll float around in your mind for a while.

Atonement
A Best Picture nominee, and winner of several British Academy Awards, Atonement is a film that assures the viewer that, no matter how seemingly unimportant the events we are watching are, all will be revealed by the end of two hours.  It requires a fair amount of patience, and features frank depictions of violence and sex, but this highly literate tale of actions and their consequences is poetic, meaty, and satisfying.  Also noteworthy is Dario Marianelli's score, based upon the clattering of a typewriter, that's both endlessly interesting and ultimately a key part of telling the story.

The Mist
Frank Darabont writes and directs his third Stephen King adaptation, and ends up with his most successful picture in my estimation.  A harrowing tale of a diverse group of small town locals trapped in a grocery store when a creature-filled mist descends, The Mist is more interested in showing the horrific and illogical actions people will take when afraid than it is in having us terrified by the creatures themselves.  Which is a good thing, as the computer generated imagery suffers the most from the picture's low budget.  Playing like a 1940s creature feature, but with a dark view of humanity thrown in, this is a surprisingly edgy picture that caused a rare argument between Deyelle and I over the ending.

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