The Class [Laurent Cantet, 2008]

• Laurent Cantet is a smart fellow. Taking cues from the brothers who've won two Palme d'Ors in the last decade alone, he translated their hand-held, cinema verite style to an uncompromising observation of a French class at a middle school in Paris. This is not to say he "stole" their style by any means--the Dardennes certainly were not the first to keep their camera obsessively close to their characters' faces, or attempt objective realism. In fact, Cantet beat out the Dardennes' The Silence of Lorna for the Palme d'Or, so there's obviously no mimicry going on.
• If The Class seems curiously real, even for those familiar with naturalism, it's probably because it is, somewhat. Like Abbas Kiarostami, another Palme d'Or winner, Cantet blurs the line between fiction and documentary with his casting of Francois Begaudeau, who essentially adapted his own semi-autobiographical novel for the screen, and stars as his semi-self in it. Meanwhile, the students are all obviously real students, and almost all go by their real names. 
• If Ryan Fleck's Half Nelson and Mike Akel's Chalk proved that there was still nuanced or painfully comic narratives to be had from the classroom drama subgenre, Cantet's movie is out to deconstruct the narrative and instead observe the failure of a school system to its students, and remind us that the teachers are often as frustrated and confused as their pupils. The film takes place neatly over the course of exactly one school year, following Francois only while at work, and never resorting to any scenes of students outside of school to achieve sympathy for their conditions or "explain" why they act how they do. There's probably never been such a good cast of students in a film of this subgenre, likely because the actors "workshopped" their characters in Mike Leigh fashion, giving them a lot of time to get a feel for their characters and ultimately become them (if I were told every character was told simply to act as themselves, I would have believed that). The film resonates so well because these characters are so memorable, and portrayed so objectively that it's hard not to embrace them if only for their imperfectly human nature.
• While Cantet can't, and henceforth doesn't try to characterize every student in the classroom, he does a damn good job of presenting the ten or eleven of those who are the most involved, and thus the most important (in this film of course). Although it doesn't take two seconds to notice that the class is almost completely made up of low-income emigres, the movie never makes the mistake of stereotyping its characters, nor portraying the white Francois as a stereotype-giver (except in a subtle connection of Chinese with mathematics, only noticeable for the comically deadpan look given by the boy's mother). 
• It's original title, Entre les murs, translates as Between the Walls, and is indeed the motif of the film. When the last shots of the film are shown, it becomes increasingly apparent what(/who) the title is referring to.

9/wonderfully objective observation of a middle school class, furnished with memorable characters and performances

The Edge of Heaven [Fatih Akin, 2008]

• I've had a copy of this since February, but have put it off for no good reason, until now.
• Built on consciously coincidental contrivances, Fatih Akin's latest is similar to the Dardennes' films in the way it presents conventions and then gracefully goes in a completely direction than you're trained to expect. while it is a film about extreme coincidences, it's loose enough that it's believable because, in the words of Stanley Spector, this happens sometimes.
• Comparisons can also be drawn to Babel, in that the film connects many different people and a key set piece is a gun. The Edge of Heaven is much less heavy-handed about this than Inarritu's film, and so it's fitting that this film ends not with a bang but with a sigh.
• I don't think this was a very good collection of my thoughts, so I'll keep going a bit. The acting across the board is very fine, the only actor of note being former Fassbinder leading lady Hanna Schygulla, who is especially affecting in her limited screen time. The film's cinematography is very humble, showing what needs to be shown and focusing on its content moreso than style. The locations are what makes the atmosphere so brilliant, effectively painting a picture of both Germany and Turkey.

8/affectingly unconventional sketch of the way humans connect with each other, if not through life than through death

In the City of Sylvia [Jose Luis Guerin, 2008]

• Guerin's latest has ended up on many critics' top ten lists this year, almost out of nowhere, and is clearly loved for its exercise in pure cinematic techniques, pushed to the limits
• the first 25 minutes have received the most buzz, as it features an incredibly long sequence in which the protag stares at different women outside a cafe. Guerin makes such a thing interesting by framing his POV shots in a way that clearly seems to be influenced by Edouard Manet cafe paintings. Guerin focuses on the layers of women (all beautiful, naturally), at times blocking the line of view with other people. if this kind of dedication to technique excites you, you'll likely enjoy this film. if not, run for the hills.
• as i mentioned, the first 25 minutes are what most critics are drooling about, but the greatest part of the film in my opinion comes in the later half of the film, specifically in scenes in and around a tram (to describe more would ruin the little plot that there is). Guerin here uses shadows and reflections to scape a ridiculously beautiful setting for the long awaited sequence of actual dialogue. it allows Sylvia to morph from a person to a symbol (or ghost?).
• In the City of Sylvia sounds comparable to the recently reviewed The Headless Woman in some ways (no background detail, following a single person throughout), but Guerin's is far from boring and only a tad bit frustrating in its remoteness.

7/a laudable technical achievement wrapped in a slight, whimsical search for someone from the past

Let the Right One In [Tomas Alfredson, 2008]

• the best films get under your skin, and Let the Right One In certainly does a good job in that department. i'm glad i slept on it before writing this, as I like it more in retrospect--it truly warrants the phrase "hauntingly beautiful"
• Alfredson captures a cinematic world that I've never seen before. a small, middle class town in Sweden flips between the bright reflections of snow and the eerily dark woods and playground outside the leads' apartment complex. 
• both the leads (Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson) are wonderfully interesting, neither looking nor acting like the other children shown. the romance that ensues is handled gracefully as their "love" is never taken too seriously and yet its still enough to draw the audience in.
• horror scenes are mostly very creepy without extreme gore. the first kill is first shot from a distance, and then the subsequent gore is blocked from view. the kills do become more graphic, but Alfredson clearly is not trying to merely please bloodthirsty viewers.
• all in all the story is touching and strikingly slight, ultimately about a friendship between two children who aren't like everyone else. with some revenge thrown in there as well.

8.5/nimbly balances its coming-of-age story with horror elements to create a not soon forgotten product

Shotgun Stories [Jeff Nichols, 2008]

• unjustly snubbed by Sundance, probably because of its slow, lethargic pace, Jeff Nichols' directorial debut is nonetheless one of the most mature debuts of the year.
• Michael Shannon stars as Son in a story about two sets of half-brothers whose hostilities are brought to surface when their father dies. the film plays as a sort of double-edged In the Bedroom, focusing on the apparent necessity of revenge and the lack of satisfaction that comes with it.
• while far from perfect or as well-made as Todd Field's picture, Shotgun Stories has a sensible pace and makes its statement in only about 84 minutes. Nichols (who also scripted) would've been better to make the film solely from Son's family's point of view as the brief scenes of their half-brothers fail to characterize any of them beyond archetypes. Nichols is however properly subtle in his economic contrast of the two sets; the superiority can be felt when Son's half-brother shows up to his house, parking his new Ford in front of Son's beat up Mazda.
• landscape is well captured which is to be expected when David Gordon Green is producing, and one gets a fair idea of Arkansas as that's all the camera or the characters seem to know.

7.5/genuine directorial debut with enough nuance to successfully recapitulate its themes

Hunger [Steve McQueen, 2008]

• Steve McQueen surely earned his Camera d'Or for Hunger, a film whose visual audacity is bested only by its content. the picture is carefully divided into three acts: the brutality against the prisoners, Bobby Sands' unthinkably long conversation with an IRA-affiliated priest, and Sands' hunger strike and death.
• first act begins with the morning routine of Ray Lohan, who we are lead to believe is our protagonist until we see him put on prison guard uniform. isn't this a Bobby Sands biopic? McQueen's camera (d.p. Sean Bobbitt) focuses on the nuances of Lohan's routine -- the crumbs he brushes off his lap during breakfast are obviously a juxtaposition of what's to come; we see him washing his hands in the morning and then again at work, except the second time, his knuckles are bloodied.
• then we are introduced to a skinny new inmate who we find is not Bobby Sands? we follow him for a bit before finally getting to Bobby (played admirably by Michael Fassbender). I believe McQueen (with Enda Walsh) designed the film this way so not to glorify Sands as the lone martyr in what was indeed a community suffering. one of the film's few missteps is in this transition, though, as the viewer is left wondering who's Bobby, when's he going to show up, was Bobby the roommate who had his hair cut?
• McQueen makes up for this lack of focus quickly in an unthinkably long static shot (pictured above) of Sands conversing with a priest. Fassbender's chops really show here, as he displays selflessness, doubt and charisma all within the same shot.
• last act is dedicated to Hunger, and Fassbender's grotesque body transformation rivals Bale's infamous weight loss for The Machinist and Rescue Dawn. McQueen pulls quite a few visual and aural tricks to communicate the symptoms of your body slowly shutting down.
• all in all, Hunger is certainly unflinching in its portrayal of IRA prisoners of war in 1987. it's an extremely subjective film, and assumes you know quite a bit of the civil war (I didn't), and is clearly sympathizes with its portrayed side. nonetheless, McQueen's direction is magnificent, and had the world any justice, both he and Fassbender would be receiving Oscar buzz. European Film Awards noms will have to do.
• i suppose that was too much plot for a review, but hey, it's my first since October. give me a break.

9/unflinching, beautifully observant examination of Bobby Sands' last six weeks

Ranking the 25 Films I've Seen This Year

The Signal was the 25th film I've seen in 2008 (going by theatrical release date in the States, not festival or domestic release).

1. The Dark Knight

2. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

3. Frozen River

4. Flight of the Red Balloon

5. Chop Shop

6. In Bruges

7. Pineapple Express

8. 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days

9. Snow Angels

10. [Rec]

11. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

12. My Brother Is an Only Child

13. Iron Man

14. Cloverfield

15. Paranoid Park

16. The Wackness

17. The Bank Job

18. The Signal

19. Funny Games

20. Baby Mama

21. Redbelt

22. Tropic Thunder

23. Married Life

24. The Strangers

25. The Ruins

The Signal [David Bruckner; Jacob Gentry; Dan Bush, 2008]

• The Signal is a rather muddled film, but with ultimately more good ideas than flaws
• broken into three "transmissions," the first and second are nearly exceptional in their own ways while the third breaks off into self-importance and leaves a bad taste in one's mouth by the end
• first transmission does a fair job of explaining the story without beating it through viewers heads, and is shot in a truly scary manner, dimly lit hallways and faces almost always too shadowed to make clear
• second act is a sudden but understandable shift to black comedy, and good comedy at that. everyone is crazy by now, some because of the signal and others because of the people with the signal. they're not that much different
• third bit isn't worth going too far into, it's loaded with dialogue and empty of importance. it's the final stage of delirium but that doesn't mean we want to see incoherent blabber for the last fifteen minutes

6/enough talent to be considered a success

Cloverfield [Matt Reeves, 2008]

• essentially taking the faux-doc subgenre that The Blair Witch Project pioneered and making its subject a monster comparable to Godzilla or the more recent The Host, dir. Matt Reeves and pen Drew Goddard think up and bring to life a hell of a concept
• the monster is effectively scary and realistic. the film's best and worst attributes largely relate to its medium, though. on one hand, pic's dedication to viewers watching a REAL videotape of the destruction is admirable in its switching between monster footage and interaction between the two leads who love each other shot a month before. however, flaws are revealed here as well. during the film, there are several occasions where scenes have obviously been edited together. it uses a good number of Rope tricks to appear continuous but there are still many unexplained stops and starts. and i wasn't looking for them through, hoping to report on it
• is engaging in its entirety, with a running time that is smart enough not to overstay its welcome
• unfortunately, the most sympathetic character in the film is....well, no one. for all the time and professionalism put into the special effects, a rewrite of the actual characters and dialogue could have made the picture absolutely epic. there's an arguably daring choice to make the camera holder a socially awkward character...but he's just annoying and rarely funny. the central love story pulls no emotional strings for me as I was only given about a two minute intro to get to know them and judging by everything afterwards, they aren't very interesting. in essence, i enjoyed the ride, just not who I was sitting next to throughout

6.5/creative, contrived monster movie

Redbelt [David Mamet, 2008]

• from beginning to end, Mamet's latest is implausible, stacking up plot contrivances that are ridiculous not because of implausibility but because of stupidity.
• film is largely a character study, and i understand that, but Chiwitel Ejiofor is the ONLY character among a large cast that gets any kind of development. Ejiofor's wife, played (rather badly) by Alice Braga, is shown only as a whiny bitch. Tim Allen is an action star (stretch!) and mainly just a McGuffin. We're supposed to care about Ejiofor and Emily Mortimer's relationship but we don't because we don't have a clue who she is
• between the stupid opening involving Mortimer and a suicide, the picture is pretty engaging, as Ejiofor is given room to work. everything afterwards is muddled, and the ending is laughably bad...I'm not going to bother going into it
• pic is however more entertaining than it is good, as Ejiofor is fun to watch in anything and the fight scenes are often very cool. easily the worst Mamet pic (script or direction) i've seen to date, though

4/implausible and dumb

Iron Man [Jon Favreau, 2008]

• solid, at times intriguing superhero movie that seems more interested in its characters than in plot, for a change. unfortunately, these characters aren't incredibly deep. this is made up for, though, by the always fantastic Robert Downey Jr. and an optimistic return to big movies for Gwyneth Paltrow. The former is perfect for the role, at times hilarious. Aud can relate to him better than Bale's Batman, and he's a lot cooler than Maguire's Spider-Man. Paltrow looks beautiful and has great chemistry with the much older RDJ
• there is minimal action scenes prior to the inevitable final battle, both impressive and puzzling. the exposition and general plot are an entertaining ride but not particularly ambitious. Terrence Howard is disappointingly restrained but Jeff Bridges chews away as Obediah, intriguing especially because of his high voice and intimidating stature
• aforementioned final battle is worth the wait, not terribly clever, but well edited and technically cool. final few minutes are a great wrap-up but certainly leave one desiring more, especially in regard to the RDJ-Paltrow relationship (and tongue-in-cheek reference to Howard's possibly expanded role).

7/effective popcorn pic w/ great perfs

Vicky Cristina Barcelona [Woody Allen, 2008]

• Spain has undoubtedly inspired a new (or, revived) type of Allen film, always observing its characters, but with sympathy more than cynicism
• the three central characters, played by Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, and Javier Bardem, are all flawed but captivating characters. Hall, in the only role I've seen from her outside of playing a period character in The Prestige, is wonderful, playing out her indecisions in tangible fashion
• narration is at first off-putting because of Christopher Welch's irritatingly casual tone, but is written beautifully. the connection of the opening and closing narrations perfectly encompass the complexities and simplicities (not in that order) of the picture
• Allen smartly goes to the native Javier Aguirresarobe (Talk to Her) for lensing, capturing the language in characters' eyes as well as Barcelona's streets with equivalent excellence
• Penelope Cruz enters the picture with only about forty minutes to spare, and her presence is immediately felt. all characters are affected and the influence adds so much more to the film. She is both beautiful and detesting, innocently manipulating Johansson with grace
• believe it or not, Vicky is as liberal a film regarding relationships as he's ever made. the hypocrisies of "relationship rules" are broken down quickly through the Americans' culture shock while this free perspective is in turn criticized
• note: in one scene, at dinner with fellow good-intentioned snobs, Hall's husband begins a joke about Indonesian rugs or of such but the audio goes silent while Hall contemplates the dullness of her future. Patricia Clarkson is also adequate in this sense as swiftly adding an element of falling out of love with someone you marry thru boredom

9/classic Allen, updated

The Wackness [Jonathan Levine, 2008]

• props first of all for Levine not beating viewers over the head with its slang or hipness (cheap shot at another Thirlby film?!). i know what purple haze is, and yes, white people do say "peace out" regularly. Nothing over the top.
• the slimmed down Josh Peck gives a good performance, though its Ben Kingsley who, not surprisingly, molds the most interesting character. most of the comedy goes through him and without the comedy, this could have gone seriously wrong.
• soundtrack excellently captures the hip hop influence of '94, but becomes overused to a point; the great "i like my girls brainless.." line would've been a lot better if we weren't beaten over the head with Biggie's music throughout the film. still, it's refreshing to hear an Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Niggaz song in a film that isn't named Belly or Waist Deep.
• tiny roles from Mary Kate Olsen, Method Man and Jane Adams are all memorable. Famke Janssen however is miscast or at least underused, only breaking free in a scene toward the end.
• pic really falls off the map in the last thirty or so minutes, dry out of themes to revisit and instead decides to experiment with drug use for the hell of it. nearly every relationship arc in the pic falls apart here and only Kingsley is around to keep us interested.

6.5/promising premise, confused prestige

Snow Angels [David Gordon Green, 2008]

• '07 Sundance film that didn't see its theatrical release until March (ideally it should've been released around October, the probable and important setting of the pic)
  
• excellently paced, developing characters through short cuts that observe the subtlest bits of behavior, while every once in a while taking a moment to admire the beautifully white town (camerawork a la the great Tim Orr, who's yet to receive Academy appreciation for his talent)
• standout performance belongs to Sam Rockwell, who continues to stack his pile of great performances that (will) ultimately be forgotten come awards season. young thesps Michael Angarano and Olivia Thirlby give wonderfully mature performances in their pivotal role as the only working relationship in the picture
• Angels is most admirable for its refusal to shy away from the emptiest depths of human relationships, and its small town realism. Rockwell's Glenn is probably the most sympathetic character in the movie yet he not only disappoints those around him, but the vi hopeful ewer, too. 
• what could've potentially ranked with George Washington and All the Real Girls, pic disappoints in its last ten minutes once the viewer realizes where its going and how unnecessary it is. really, a near-perfect film up until that point, so its quite disappointing.

8/affecting storytelling

The Bank Job [Roger Donaldson, 2008]

• heist film that's unique in its focus not on the robbery but rather its consequences.
• paints a descriptive picture of the hostility between police, government, and blacks in Britain in the '70s
• serviceable acting around the board, with no real stand-outs save Saffron Burrows looking stunning [probably not difficult, but i digress]. a case for Statham's need to stay across seas is strengthened but alas Transporter 3 hits in November
• first 45 minutes of pic is set-up and probably too much; if you must overbear the viewer with information, you need the pace of Zodiac or All the President's Men. pic's final act is smart and exciting, though
• ending is somewhat ridiculous, or at least queer. if your husband robs a bank and cheats on you in the process, one would hope it'd take more than a couple days to get over it. perhaps if implied she was a gold digger, however...

6.5/sharp, reasonably interesting thriller