Thursday, April 24, 2008

by Ari

The summer movie season is about to begin, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how the movie year has turned out up to this point. Usually there's not too much to discuss at the beginning of the year. We all know the studios hold their prestige pictures for Oscar season and their box-office movies for summer. It doesn't have to be this way, but it is. So what's been good this year so far? I haven't seen everything, but I've certainly enjoyed a few early 2008 releases.

In Bruges is probably my favorite movie of the year thus far. This half funny/half serious comedy about a couple hitmen waiting around in Bruges after a problematic job is a strange little thing with a lot of different ideas....but it works. There's a sort of fantasy logic to the story that helps the crazy plot twists and ludicrous situations seem right. As I said the first time I reviewed it, the relationship that develops between Colin Farrell (brilliant in this) and Brendan Gleeson is oddly moving by the surprising, outrageous end. Plus, it's a very quotable film. Martin McDonagh's dialogue is quick and sharp. "That's for John Lennon!"

And speaking of Collin Farrell, he's also the best thing about Woody Allen's solid but not spectacular Cassandra's Dream. It's a decent thriller for Allen, but it's not close to the brilliance of his recent classic, Match Point.

Brett Morgen's Chicago 10 is a powerful recreation of the trial following the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The use of animation is very effective, and the emotional impact of the film is quite strong by the time it concludes.

Leatherheads is an underappreciated love-letter to old Hollywood screwball comedy. I'm not sure what people expected, but Clooney is charming, his direction is strong and the story is amusing. It's not brilliant, but it's fun.

And how can you not enjoy Martin Scorsese's concert epic, Shine a Light? The Rolling Stones do their thing at the Beacon theater in NYC and Scorsese and his crew shoot the event with just as much energy and enthusiasm as the crazy musicians on the stage.

This year has also had some surprise disappointments. I fully expected David Gordon Green's Snow Angels to be the first great film of the year, but the pacing was uneven and the story was tedious. It's not horrible, but Green has obviously done much better. Rockwell gives a great performance, though. My Blueberry Nights is visually satisfying and stylish, but Wong Kar-Wai's meditation on self-discovery, romantic meetings and unexpected bonds is marred by poor writing and acting. I still feel like almost everyone in the film was miscast except for maybe Jude Law and David Strathairn. I enjoyed some of the material between Law and Norah Jones, but the rest of it is flat and dull.