Stranger than Fiction

I am not a fan of Will Ferrell. Actually, I'll take that farther. I don't find Will Ferrell movies funny - probably because he generally plays a character with an IQ that should be a shoe size. That said, I really loved this movie. Despite an unbelievable plot, this is a rare delight - a comedy that explores characters, that lets people act in plausible ways in ridiculous situations, that tempers silly with serious. Sort of like life.

Harold Crick (Farrell) is a dull man with a dull job and a touch of obsessive compulsive disorder who suddenly begins to hear his life narrated by a woman's voice. Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson) is struggling with the inability to finish her latest novel - she's run out of interesting ways to kill off her characters. Yes, you guessed it, Kay is Harold's narrator and yes, she's going to kill him.

As silly as this sounds, it works because you come to like Harold. No really. As Harold tries to foil the voice by changing his habits, he starts to become a real person. Will Ferrell imparts this sad, strange man with such innocence and sweetness you want to adopt him. Add Dustin Hoffman as the literary expert and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the unlikely love interest and this becomes a touching story about making a life. But all Kay's main characters die. Sort of like life.

Check out the official website here. (PS- an actually fun website!)

The Dead Girl

This is a seriously disturbing film. Which means I liked it. A lot. But by disturbing, I mean that this is a movie that will stick in your head - and not in a good way. Images will linger. You'll do mental replay. And you'll wonder what motivates human beings to do the things they do.

As the title suggests, the story begins with the discovery of a woman's mutilated body. Then writer/director Karen Moncrieff takes us on five different storylines, all of them pivoting on this single act of violence. What drives these stories and the women in them is a critical need for change. And with unswerving honesty, we watch how decisions can save a soul or lose it.

The men in this film, even the killer, are marginal characters and are barely defined. But the actresses shine - Toni Collette, Brittany Murphy and Marcia Gay Harden in particular. There's even a brief and horrific cameo by Piper Laurie. This is a really original take on the serial killer saga, but there are some terrible moments here - shocking as they are poignant. Be prepared.

See the official website here.

Tsotsi

If the purpose of art is to transport the soul - to share the experience of being human- then this film is art in it's highest form. A film of this magnitude transports us, and not only to a foreign land but to the foreign heart as well. The foreign land is South Africa. The foreign heart is that of a "tsotsi," a street thug, and it is a heart so full of darkness and violence that it chills us to the bone.

The blue South African sky seems an unlikely backdrop to the urban ugliness of Johannesburg, where street gangs slide out of the ghetto shantytown to prey on the upper classes. Tsotsi is the icy leader of these violent misfits, a boy without a real name, angry and lethal. One rash act leads to another and a spiral of violence terminates in a messy carjacking of a not so empty car - there's a baby on board. If our hero were as empty as he seems, this may have been a really short film, but something about that vulnerability touches the human in the monster, and he decides to keep it.

Presley Chweneyagae is an actor of remarkable ability. His Tsotsi spends a good deal of this film doing unspeakable things that usually involve guns and/or copious amounts of blood and yet he paints a portrait of a man unravelling. It doesn't happen quickly or magically like it would in an American movie, but Tsotsi rediscovers his humanity. It may be cliche to say that this is a film about the transformative power of love, but if you can make it through the last 10 minutes of this film without crying, check your pulse. No wonder it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2006.

Postscript: the language is a fascinating blend of Zulu, Dutch and English. See another review here.

The Departed

Okay, I know. It was Martin Scorsese's turn. A director of Martin's stature needs to get an Oscar eventually. But as much as I hate to agree with the Hollywood politic of the moment, this was an incredible film. A Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Picture trifecta and deservedly so.

The adapted screenplay part - this was an Americanized version of the Japanese blockbuster "Infernal Affairs." As for the rest - it would be pretty hard to mess up a movie featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Jack. Nicholson actually does his Nicholson schtick here, not that that isn't exactly what's asked of him - but it's hardly a stretch for Jack to play a charming if psycho Irish crime boss. Leo was surprisingly good in a surprisingly grown up way - by far one of his most challenging roles in a long while. Wahlberg was nominated for Best Supporting for cursing and about 10 total minutes of screen time (?) The unsung hero is Damon - who gave a rock solid performance and got about as much attention as a used coffee cup. DiCaprio and Damon made for a perfect match of light and dark - one edgy and pill popping, the other icy and unaffected.

It's a great story - a mole in the police department and a mole in the crime world trying to outwit each other and stay alive - each not quite knowing the identity of the other. Don't expect it to have a happy ending and be prepared for a good deal of murder and mayhem, however it'll keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat, just like a thriller should.

See the website here.

Borat

There are certain, unmistakable signs of a culture in decline. In my humble opinion, the popularity of this heinous piece of crap is irrefutable proof that the US has taken a sharp left turn toward the nether regions. That this is now one of Blockbusters' top five rented videos assures me that the taste of the average Blockbuster customer must run to fried SPAM sammiches and Ripple. But I'll come clean. I actually saw this stinker in a theater. With my husband. Guess who picked the movie.

Sacha Baron Cohen thinks of himself as a comedian. He is a comedian who reminds me of no one more than the late Andy Kaufman - who's idea of humor was anything that induced bad behavior or made people miserably uncomfortable. The big joke here is that all the real people in this film, and most of them are ordinary folks, don't know that Borat is a fictional character. Cohen pretends to be a journalist from a fictional backwater country and then eggs people into acting reallllllllly stupid. Not that it's hard to do.

Let's just say that the tastelessness knows no bounds. Lots of poop, lots of disgusting sexual innuendo, lots and lots of bigotry, and a naked wrestling scene with a hugely obese and very hairy man ( in on the joke although the poor, luckless folks at the hotel who get to witness it are not.) Several people have sued Cohen for being misled into making this film. It's hard to tell who gets shafted more, them or the folks who have paid to watch this, but Cohen is laughing all the way to the bank. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. That's the biggest joke of all.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, see the website here.

The Pursuit of Happyness

I didn't like it. I know it's based on a true story. I know it's uplifting and inspirational, and all "poor guy makes the big time" feel goody. I know Will Smith and his sweet little boy are all adorable. I suddenly feel the need for an insulin shot.

Chris Gardner (Smith) is smart but under. Underemployed. Undereducated. But overextended with an overworked wife and a five year old son. Synopsis - mom can't take it anymore and splits and Chris can't catch a break to save his soul, so he decides to overextend some more with son in tow and take an unpaid internship as a stockbroker. Homelessness and various other misfortunes ensue. Until the happy ending where Chris gets rich.

Will Smith works like a dog in this movie. Mostly he runs. A lot. Lots and lots of running. Since homeless, poor folks have often not had the regular meals, I considerably doubt that they do all this running. In addition, running is tough on the wardrobe and yet our hero, homelessness aside, always manages a clean shirt and tie. This is hollywood horseshit. The only thing I will say in it's favor is that the film manages to avoid implying that Chris is black. The voice over is annoying, Thandie Newton is wasted playing the one dimensional, screechy wife and Will's little boy is - cute. If you're really interested in the Chris Gardner story, read his book and avoid the running.

If for some reason you still want to know more, the website is here.

Notes on a Scandal

Back to brooding intellectual, I'm afraid. This is a heavy film that makes you squirm with it's intensity or the sheer moral ambiguity of the folks involved. With a cast that includes Dame Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy you are completely correct in your assumption that the acting is, well, about as perfect as acting gets. You don't see these performers, only perfectly rendered and horribly flawed characters.

This is a tale of obsession at it's ugliest so there's no one to root for. Not beautiful Sheba (Blanchett) nobly bearing her crosses until she succumbs to the temptation of a striking 15 year old boy. Nor lonely, jaded Barbara (Dench) who befriends her with less than honorable intentions. The tag line "we are bound by the secrets we share," sums up where all this is going- and you know it's hell in a handbasket time.

This is an artful film that is bound to offend or upset damn near everybody - still both Dench and Blanchett were nominated (Best Actress and Best Supporting) for a reason. It also received Oscar nods for best original score and best adapted screenplay. Bill Nighy is perfection as the older cuckolded husband, no one ever gives this guy any credit. So watch this when you don't mind being really creeped out by powerful, very human emotions with a twist.

See more here.