My Cinema: recent reviews

Sweeney Todd, by Tim Burton, UK 2007

A beautiful graphical film with great acting. Probably the bloodiest musical in film history, this is a dark revenge tragedy served by great performances by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. And fortunately there is no happy ending. So even though I am not a big musical fan, this certainly is a good movie worth seeing. [3/5]

The savages, by Tamara Jenkins, USA 2007

From Sun City to… grey Buffallo. The savages is a wity drama, not a comedy. At moments it even seems to be a european film, from some eastern european country or a Ken Loach film with dry witty humour. No, this is not another Hollywood comedy set in some glamourous place like LA or Miami or Santa Barbara. Not everybody in the US lives in such ‘sexy’ places and some do lead grey lives in sad places like Buffallo… Director Tamara Jenkins pictures family dynamics and personal dense and credible characters in their mid-life chrises while dealing with their ageing dependent father, all not glamourous and not easy subjects. She paints this family portrait and all the many uncomfortable situations with realism and humor and with humanity, but never looks for the easy tear. And she gets the support of a superb cast, Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman in top form. It wouldn’t be surprising if they would get an Oscar. [4/5]

There will be blood, by John Paul Anderson, USA 2007

This could seem a metaphor about war and oil, blood for oil or conveying some subliminal political message… not so, it seems that this wasn’t Anderson’s intention. "There Will Be Blood" displays business and religion as two forces shaping America's "progress", amid greed, ambition and corruption. Transposing here a novel from the beginning of the century, John Paul Anderson (remember Magnolia?) tells the story of a self-made oil prospector in California and the evolution of his character, becoming meaner, more isolated, more wicked and merciless as he gets richer… personifying much of the evolution of the early days of the oil industry (and the economy in general) in the wild west. After a strong beginning, with strong images and plans, the film’s final 30 minutes do not fulfil the initial promise, failing to deliver the emotional density and strength ending a bit disappointingly. It remains however a fascinating, breathtaking and disturbing cinematographic experience served by a brilliant acting by Daniel Day-Lewis, a serious candidate to the Oscar (which would be well deserved) and not forgetting rising actor Paul Dano who we also saw in Little Miss Sunshine. [4/5]

Adaptation, by Spike Jonze, USA 2002

This is a movie from 2002 which I discovered now although Spike Jonze (the director, remember 'Being John Malkovitch') isn't quite a newcomer. He has particularly made many music video clips. Jonze and screenplay writer Kaufman manage to mix reality,...(read more) fiction and fantasy in an original and funny comedy/drama. It certainly is not a movie with much mainstream appeal, but it is quite an interesting approach about the narrative creative process, a film where the process of transposing a book into a film is actually the plot. And is served by an excellent cast, where Nicolas Cage excels. [4/5]

P.S.I love you by Richard LaGravenese, USA 2007

James Berardinelli (http://www.reelviews.net) wrote that this movie is the cinematic equivalent of a Celine Dion song, and that is quite true! Some sharp and witty lines are lost in many cliches and in a plot that is too contrived, too cute-to-be-tru...(read more)e. It even fails to reach the level of those 'feel good' movies or 'guilty pleasures' although it is watchable... And I liked one of the quotes, by Patricia (Kathy Bates): "if we're all alone, then we're all together in that too". [2/5]

The Darjeeling limited by Wes Anderson, USA 2007

Wes Anderson is not quite a newcomer and has already made some remarked films, such as The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic. I had expected more of his new film and was quite disappointed. It's about the journey of 3 American brothers who have not spoken to each other for a while, who set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find their mother (all organised by one of them) and re-connect the family again, after the death of their father. This sort of 'spiritual trip' reveals to be not very spiritual after all and even though it might be the journey that matters and not the destination, it all seems to lead nowhere. In the meantime they manage to get rid of their luggage (both metaphorically and physically, expensive & posh Louis Vuitton's), meet their mother (Angelica Houston in a meteoric appearance) and witness a local funeral. Despite certain witty and funny scenes and the strangeness of some situations (Bill Murray running in the railway station to loose the train, as if coming straight out of Rushmore, one of Anderson's first movies), despite the setting in charming and enchanting India and despite the whole design and photography, the film doesn't seem to get us nowhere and gets lost in its poses and smart attitude. Well, at least we'll have seen Natalie Portman in the scenes of the prologue short film, where she meets one of the brothers in a hotel in Paris (Jason Schwartzman) all very chic, too blasé... [2.5/5]