Best of 2007

Juno

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Juno
  • IMDb: link

“Look, in my opinion the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what-have-you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out of your ass.”

Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is a bit of an outcast at school with a small circle of friends including cheerleader Leah (Olivia Thirlby) and her best friend Bleeker (Michael Cera) who she decides to sleep with, which leads to some unforeseen consequences.

On discovering her pregnancy, and quickly dismissing the other options after a trip to the local abortion clinic, Juno decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption. She finds Mark (Jason Bateman) and Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) from and ad in the Penny Saver and everything seems like its going to work out, but this is a comedy so you know there will be some bumps along the way.

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No Country for Old Men

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: No Country for Old Men
  • IMDb: link

“It’s a mess ain’t it sheriff.”
“If it ain’t it’ll do ‘til the mess gets here.”

no-country-for-old-men-poster

Brutally violent, with eloquently scripted dialogue and sumptuously cinematography No Country for Old Men has all the pieces in place for a great film, but although it’s certainly a very good film it loses much of its momentum over the course of its two-hour running time ending with more of a whimper than a bang.

The story begins when Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) discovers the remains of a drug deal gone wrong and finds $2 million in cash.  A moment of conscience leads to him being marked by both sides after the money and LLewelyn sends his wife (Kelly Macdonald) to her mother’s (Beth Grant) as he takes to the road to stay one step ahead of a hitman (Javier Bardem) who knows his name and always seems only one-step behind.

The film begins in terrific fashion and the dialogue is perfect, especially the simple scenes between Llewelyn and Carla Jean (MacDonald).  I wish she had a larger role in the film because the two work so well together.  Bardem puts in a strong performance as the mysterious sociopathic hitman (even if his introduction gets thrown off a bit by some logic problems such as the events which take place in the near-empty police station far too large for the small force).

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Across the Universe

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Across the Universe
  • IMDb: link

“All you need is love.”

Across the Universe

The film begins with an English dock worker named Jude (Jim Sturgess) who travels to America to find his father.  His journey takes him to a college where he befriends a screw-up named Max (Joe Anderson) and falls head-over-heels for Max’s sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood).

Traveling to NY with Max Jude finds himself living with a nightclub singer (Dana Fuchs), a guitar player (Martin Luther), and a young lesbian named Prudence (T.V. Carpio) struggling with her place in the world.  Making a living as an artist and designer Jude enjoys his new world until the terrors of war fracture the group’s fragile peace.

What follows is an exploration of love against the backdrop of the 1960’s, Vietnam, civil unrest, violence, and change.  Max is drafted, Lucy becomes a civil activist, fame and glory strain the relationship between Sadie and JoJo.  The world changes and each struggles once again to find their place in it, stay true to themselves, and grow and change with the times.

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A Coward and an Outlaw

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
  • IMDb: link

“He was born Jesse Woodson James on September 5th, 1847, and was named after his mother’s brother, a man who committed suicide.  He stood five feet eight inches tall, weighed one hundred fifty-five pounds, and was vain about his physique…he was missing the nub of his left middle finger and was cautious lest that mutilation be seen…he had a condition that was referred to as granulated eyelids and it caused him to blink more than usual, as if he found creation slightly more than he could accept…he could be reckless or serene, rational or lunatic, from one minute to the next.  If he made an entrance, heads turned into his direction; if he strode down an aisle store clerks backed away; if he neared animals they retreated.  Rooms seemed hotter when he was in them, rains fell straighter, clocks slowed, sounds were amplified.”

 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Based on the novel by Ron Hansen the film tells the story of the famous outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and his friend who shot him in the back, Bob Ford (Casey Affleck).  The film is filled with supporting characters and events too numerous to mention here.  Plot divergences, threads, and events that work both with and against the main tale.  But at its core this is a film about two men and how their destinies became intertwined during their lives and long after their deaths.

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The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
  • IMDb: link

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Here we examine video games and the people who play them, not just for fun, but for recognition, glory, and world records; this is the subject of an outstanding documentary, with perhaps the best title of any film released this year (and the rest of the film ain’t too shabby either).

Director Seth Gordon paints us a surprisingly complex tale of two very different men.  Billy Mitchell is the king of his universe, the world record holder for Donkey Kong, who once played the first perfect game ever recorded on Pac Man, owns his own company, and is a longtime friend and contributor to Walter Day, the founder of Twin Galaxies (an organization which tracks video game records).

Mitchell was once named “the greatest video-game player of all time” and “Gamer of the Century.”  Confident and arrogant to a fault he is the undisputed master of his domain.

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