Short Reviews #30
Cloverfield (2008)
Who doesn’t love a good monster movie? Note the word ‘good’ because there are plenty of monster movies that suck. But Cloverfield isn’t one of them. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the filmmakers went down the whole Jaws route in that they don’t reveal the ‘monster’ fully until much later in the film. And secondly, the use of hand-held camera-work and attention to suspense work beautifully, as it did in The Blair Witch Project. Brought to us by Lost and Alias creator J.J. Abrams (he didn’t direct this however) and rolled out over a highly successful online campaign, the film delivers the goods where it needs to. Letting the film down slightly is the two-dimensional, fresh-faced WB-lookers but that doesn’t matter a great deal since all the effort has gone into the execution and special effects and that’s what you pay your money for with these films. It would be nice to have stronger characters in there but it’s not essential for a film like Cloverfield. It’s intense and original enough to recommend it.
Juno (2007)
Calling Juno this year’s Little Miss Sunshine is 100% correct. It’s quirky, well-written, the cast are uniformly excellent, the soundtrack fantastic and is bound to end up a cult classic. In fact it’s damn-near impossible to dislike this film if you enjoyed Little Miss Sunshine. Ellen Page (who was incredible in Hard Candy) is going from strength-to-strength and gives my favourite female lead performance of 2007. She really is brilliant in this film. The rest of the cast are great too, particularly a low-key J.K Simmons as Juno’s father. The very beginning I was a little worried the film would venture into the Wes Anderson school of filmmaking (ie) trying to be cool just for the sake of it. But there’s real heart here and director Jason Reitman finds just the right balance.
The Kite Runner (2007)
Based upon the best-selling novel, The Kite Runner is one of those films that had the potential to be great but is letdown by the Hollywood-type ending. It’s a real shame too because the performances are very good and it’s fashioned in a reasonably authentic way. Part of me wished another (non-Hollywood) director had handled this story but at the same time Marc Forster (who is directing the next Bond film) does a very decent job of getting performances out of his younger actors and making us feel for these characters. I haven’t read the book but from all reports the filmmakers have done a great job with the translation. And if I found the ending disappointing, I can’t imagine what that book lovers would think. And wow! I had no idea they filmed the Afghanistan scenes in West China (for obvious reasons) but you really can’t tell a difference.
I Am Legend (2007)
This slightly better than average action-thriller is easily 3 – 3.5 stars during the first 45 minutes or so. The set-up is really good – simple and effective. Then it gets majorly stupid, with cheesy special effects and heinous religious propaganda thrown down your throat. Easily the best thing about this film is Will Smith. Sometimes Smith can be annoying but here he is rather good. Sure he continues to choose roles where he saves the world but he’s likable and dare I say it, becoming quite a decent actor. And here’s another case where another director (like David Fincher) would have given us a much richer and more dynamic experience.
3:10 to Yuma (2006)
Although there are much better Westerns out there, this is kinda like a return to form for the genre. It’s action packed, character driven and director James Mangold clearly understands the genre’s conventions. But casting Russell Crowe as the ultimate bad-ass cowboy just doesn’t sit right with me. He can be quite good at times don’t get me wrong. But I still feel like I’m watching the person Russell Crowe up on the screen and not the actor. He has presence but just doesn’t slink into the role as comfortably as say Christian Bale in this movie. And that kind of pulled me out of the experience. The ending is rather good and unpredictable so it gets a few brownie points from me.
4 Responses to “Short Reviews #30”
I quite enjoyed Cloverfield, despite all the ‘boos’ by the audience at the end of it. Had never experienced that before. Anyone know where the name comes from?
I also pondered the ‘cloverfield’ codename and basically thought of the three-leaf clover, and how it covers the entire ground. The beastie had elements of that. I kind of liked the fact that it was kept vague; gave the film a nightmarish quality.
I’m not all that sure about the camera work, did it not make you feel a bit ill with all the moving about. Like being on the roller coaster ride?
Besides that I’m also looking forward to seeing the movie as well.
[...] Going back to the beginning of the year and let’s not forget this little gem. Ellen Page, the soundtrack, Diablo Cody’s screenplay and Jason Reitman’s spot on direction won the minds of many, including my own. Plus if you were an Arrested Development fan and needed a fix, this should suffice until the movie comes out hopefully next year ;) (read review) [...]