Category: 2000s

Posted on 2022-05-09 | No Comments |

I Am Sam (2001)

Sean Penn is a man with an intellectual disability, raising his seven year old daughter Dakota Fanning, who due to plot contrivances is suddenly forced to prove his worthiness as a parent. Though my Oscars dedication meant I had to check out Penn’s performance, I had long avoided watching this film. It was both better than and as bad as I had feared. Penn’s performance is dedicated and sincere, but it still feels like just a performance. Michelle Pfeiffer, as the hardened lawyer who has a change of heart, is just one big trope of a character. The film requires the viewer to mostly ignore the first seven years of fatherhood where he would have had to somehow afford formula and diapers when he later struggles to buy his daughter a single pair of shoes , where he receives state assistance and at some point registered his daughter for school but no legal entity questioned his parenting fitness until he got arrested for simply talking to a prostitute. Fanning is the film’s high-point. She gives an exceptionally mature performance for such a young age and there’s a real sweetness to her interactions with Penn.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role

Posted on 2022-05-09 | No Comments |

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

After their parents divorce, twin brothers Freddie Highmore move with their mother Mary-Louise Parker and sister Sarah Bolger to an abandoned estate their mother inherited from her uncle David Strathairn. One of the brothers quickly discovers a field guide their uncle had written about the fairies that inhabited the woods near the estate. I was happy to see that even though it was combined into one film, it is a rather faithful retelling of the book series with solid performances and a good use of CGI to convey the various creatures. I enjoy a good dual performance and even at his young age, Highmore adeptly the two separate personalities of the boys.

Posted on 2022-05-05 | No Comments |

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

During World War I, Audrey Tatou’s young fiancé was one of a handful of soldiers who were given an almost certain death sentence after being convicted of committing self mutilation in order to escape. She devotes her life to discovering the truth about his fate. It’s surprising to see Jean-Pierre Jeunet directing what sometimes feels like a fairly straightforward war film, but there’s no doubt many of his whimsical touches. Tatou’s optimistic resolve and the twists and turns her story takes as she searches for the love of her life often feels like Amélie has been transported back in time.

Oscar Nominations: Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Art Direction

Posted on 2022-05-05 | No Comments |

Battle in Seattle (2007)

Set during the 1999 WTO protest in Seattle, this film follows the experiences of several fictional characters who participate in the events and are affected directly by the escalating violence. Not being long experienced in large scale protests, this had been the first one I was personally aware of that incorporated large planning and police countermeasures, so I was curious as to how the film would present them. Unfortunately the large number of characters really overwhelms the true story and the reasons behind the protest and the escalation. The mostly uninteresting personal lives of the characters takes precedence over the actual timeline of events and the decisions that were made at the time.

Posted on 2022-05-04 | No Comments |

2046 (2004)

Part of Wong Kar-Wai’s informal trilogy, Tony Leung Chiu Wai attempts to come to terms with the loss of Maggie Cheung in his life through his relationships with other women and by writing a science-fiction tale about the titular room. Like the other films, it does not follow a linear narrative which makes for a somewhat convoluted, but richer story. Filmed in equally lush colors and settings, I didn’t quite love it as much as In the Mood for Love, but it provides an intriguing exploration of coming to terms with lost love.

Posted on 2022-04-19 | No Comments |

Poseidon (2006)

A rogue wave capsizes a luxury ocean liner on its New Years transatlantic journey. On board is a whole mess of famous passengers who must traverse many dangers to escape the sinking ship. It’s nowhere near as entertaining as the original Poseidon Adventure, but I appreciate that the films don’t shy from killing off well-known characters. Sadly that leaves the film with a lot of humdrum characters toward the end, though I do like the buddy leadership of Kurt Russell and Josh Lucas carrying the group from peril to peril.

Oscar Nomination: Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Posted on 2022-04-18 | No Comments |

Being Julia (2004)

As successful London theatre actress Annette Bening approaches middle age, she finds herself disillusioned personally and professionally. Bening shines in the role, but that’s all there really is to recommend. It’s rather tropeful and I was bored until the climax. It was at that high point that it becomes memorable enough that it made me realize I almost certainly have seen the film before.

Oscar Nomination: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Posted on 2022-04-12 | No Comments |

Brick (2005)

In this neo-noir set at a California high school, loner Joseph Gordon-Levitt battles against school’s drug ring to investigate the details of his ex-girlfriend’s disappearance. It contains many of the expected noir features: jazzy soundtrack, femme fatales, lost blondes, slow moving fans, and the detective being knocked out multiple times. it also includes quite a convoluted plot with bread crumbs being thrown left and right that don’t always lead straight to the conclusion. I probably would have liked this a lot more if I hadn’t watched The Kid Detective fairly recently. That film handled shifts in tone infinitely better and the teenagers seemed more realistic which gave me greater entertainment value.

Posted on 2022-04-09 | No Comments |

56 Up (2012)

While I recently watched both 49 Up and 56 Up, this is my review for the majority of the series. For 56 years, director Michael Apted revisited a group of Britons every seven years to establish the changes that individuals undergo in life. While Apted only worked with the director of the first installment, that one began with the idea that you could see the adult person simply by looking at that person at the age of seven. I have no idea how really true that is (I personally think there are some hints in comparing the progress as they age), but it is truly a gift that this group allowed the world a glimpse into their lives and the wisdom they have to share in being compelled to reflect on the turns their lives take every seven years. It’s very personal to try to compare myself at various ages, particularly when watching the episodes most close to my current age, and feeling how universal some milestones are.

Posted on 2022-04-07 | No Comments |

The Four Tops: Reach Out – Definitive Performances 1965-1973 (2008)

Included with the twenty-two performances on this documentary are interviews, past and present, from the original Four Tops, later members, and their contemporaries. I enjoy learning about Motown’s history and while I have delved somewhat into the Temptations’ history, whom I sometimes confuse with the Tops, I didn’t know much about them before watching this, but now at least can tell the two groups apart. The video for I Can’t Help Myself is super cute with the singers trying to entice a bunch of kids with candy while the little ones dance about.