The Savages (2007)
Sam: ★★★
A good dark movie (about disfunctionaly adult siblings dealing with their neglectful dad’s dementia) until the end when it flashes forward 6 months to what seems like a crass attempt at audience-pleasing.
Emma: ★★★★
Good but I don’t know why anyone would want to make a movie like this — too depressing.
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Emma: ★★★★
Frank Langella was great as former President Nixon & Michael Sheen was very good as interviewer David Frost. It’s impressive that a good movie could be made about an interview.
Sam: ★★★
Well-done but not enough of a story for me: washed-up, disgraced former President fails to completely dominate the final of a series of interviews.
—
Half Nelson (2006)
Sam: ★★★
I kept going back & forth on Ryan Gosling’s Oscar-nominated performance as a left-wing, do-gooder white teacher — and drug addict — in a black school. Interesting, intriguing concept, & pretty good performance. Ultimately, I felt that the story didn’t progress much & Gosling’s performance was somewhat one-dimensional. Still, not bad.
Emma: ★★★★
Good acting, especially from the young Shareeka Epps.
—
Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)
Sam: ★★★
An early-’50s movie with the then-racy theme of adultery. Now it has some good aspects but is too dated to be really enjoyable.
Emma: ★★★
Started off well, but declined into mediocrity.
Hamlet 2 (2008)
Sam: ★★★★
H2 was written by Pam Brady, who also worked on the South Park movie, so it has bad South Park-style jokes. But there are some yucks & some surprises (Elisabeth Shue as Elisabeth Shue), the acting is very good (Steve Coogan & Catherine Keener, especially), & the musical-within-the-movie is weird, well-done & funny.
Emma: ★★★
There are some funny gags in this movie — I particularly liked the high school theater critic — but it’s odd to the point of being disjointed.
JCVD (Le Rois des Belges) (2008)
Sam: ★★
Emma: ★★
The Robinsons: Series 1 (2005)
Sam: ★★★
Martin Freeman who was so good in The Office (UK), stars in this sitcom, which is like part-Office part Coupling (UK). I tried watching Coupling a few times & thought it was unfunny, poorly written, and neurotic. Unfortunately, that also describes The Robinsons. I’m starting to think the Brits just aren’t good at sex comedy.
Emma: ★★★
Watchable but not amazing, nor groundbreaking like The Office.
—
Meet Bill (2007)
Sam: ★★★
It was as if filmmakers got together & decided to make a movie as close to American Beauty as possible but different enough to avoid being sued. The movie meanders and ends badly. Still, I chuckled a few times.
Emma: ★★
Were the people who made this movie stoned? It goes on & on pointlessly & when there seems to be a point it’s something we’ve seen before.
Sudden Fear (1952)
Sam: ★★★★
This is a classic noir: ridiculously unrealistic in places but also dark & intense. Jack Palance is creepy & has a face unlike anything in movies today.
Emma: ★★★★
Still very watchable a half-century later. Has the Joan Crawford campiness but is also genuinely suspenseful. I also like that a-lot of it was filmed in SF.
—
Martian Child (2007)
Sam: ★★★
This movie was really not very good: John Cusack doing his usual schtick, not much action, not much in the way of plot surprises, etc. The only halfway good thing about it was Joan Cusack’s comedic timing. I would have hated it before I was dad. But, as I’ve said before, fatherhood has turned my brain to mush, so I kinda liked this movie.
Emma: ★★★
I’m a John Cusack fan & a parent. If you are also both of those you might think this movie is OK.
The Duchess (2008)
Emma: ★★★★
Keira Knightley’s very good acting surprised me.
Sam: ★★★
This movie was too slow-moving & mannered for me, and the classicalish soundtrack music was a little too loud & intrusive.
—-
Run, Fat Boy, Run (2007)
Emma: ★★★
A few funny scenes but ultimately too predictable. Dylan Moran (of Black Books) was good as the zany pal.
Sam: ★★★
This directorial debut of David Schwimmer (formerly of Friends, which I’ve never seen) has some nice shots of London but is otherwise disappointing.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Sam: ★★★★
This movie was produced by Judd Apatow, and it shows. Like Knocked Up, Superbad, and 40-Year-Old Virgin, it uses that rauchy-teen-boy-flick-meets-sensitive-romantic-comedy formula that’s been so successful this century. FSM may not be a good movie but it is a good that-genre movie.
Emma: ★★★★
Surprisingly funny, and funnily surprising.
The Visitor (2007)
Emma: ★★★★
A nice story, well-told. First-timers Haaz Sleiman and Danai Gurira are especially impressive as the young immigrant couple.
Sam: ★★★★
The cynical side of me had trouble with the liberal propagandizing: an uptight, lonely, alienated white American benefits from meeting beautiful, talented, model illegal aliens. But it’s just a movie &, yeah, it is well-made and well-intentioned. In the words of Paul McCartney: what’s wrong with that?, I’d like to know. I also like the film was written & directed by Thomas McCarthy, the actor who played the despicable, lying reporter in the final season of The Wire
—
Burn After Reading (2008)
Sam: ★★★★
The Coens’ misanthropy gets tiring, and the plot leads to nothing but good acting and an interesting story makes up for a lot.
Emma: ★★★
I really enjoyed Brad Pitt as a over-enthusiastic, moronic, fitness instructor but I had trouble with the Coen brothers’ usual excessive violence.
