Movies 2007
Lars and the Real Girl
This is charming, delightful, and all-around feel-good in the least cheesy way possible. At the heart of the movie are two complementary ideas: 1). Everyone’s a little screwy, and 2). People are essentially good-hearted and interested in doing whatever necessary to help a friend. Of course this last idea is paramount Pollyanna-ism, but that’s what ideology is for, I suppose.
Ryan Gosling is officially must-see after this performance and last year’s Half Nelson.
Perfectly told story. Brad Bird is patient, preferring long expository scenes to the quick cuts that pervade most animated films. And I like quick-cut flicks; the main point is that Bird does what he does better than most directors do what they do, and this makes his films refreshingly different. The restaurant review at the end is one of the unlikeliest of stirring movie moments.
Michael Clayton
George Clooney doesn’t have a ton of range, but the note he sings always seems perfectly tuned. As good as he is in Michael Clayton, it’s a team effort. Tilda Swinton plays her role just on the edge, as if at any moment she may dissolve right in front of us. And Tom Wilkinson, one of my favorite supporting actors out there, brings his usual intensity.
No Country for Old Men
This runs the gamut. Harrowingly suspenseful, sweetly pastoral, uncomfortably funny, and, more than anything else, intensely engrossing. Top-notch performances from the three leads – Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. Even Kelly MacDonald excels in her role, though the Coens’ female roles are never written as brilliantly as the male ones. Bardem is the revelation for English-speaking audiences, as he commands every inch of the screen in his scenes.
The Simpsons Movie
This had been in the works for a long time, and I always secretly hoped it would never happen. The creators and writers of The Simpsons have perfected the 22-minute ’sitcom’ format, and I feared the extended movie would fall a bit flat. Of course, I was wrong. The movie combined the experience of a ‘long episode’ with the patient unfolding of a movie. My one complaint: Why did Rainier Wolfcastle turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger?
