Why I Did Not Like Michael Clayton, or: Calling Erin Brockovich! Calling Erin Brockovich!

WARNING!! SPOILERS APLENTY!! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY SEEN THIS MOVIE!!

• Because, if you're a "fixer" at a giant law firm, why would you be surprised that phones are being tapped, and Bad Things Happen to Good People? Like, isn't that your job, man?
• Because, if your company is being sued by 468 people for billions of dollars and The Wall Street Journal is doing an expose, wouldn't you think that at that point your product would not be doing so well? At the least, I'm sure you could buy stock very, very cheap!
• Because, if someone is having a meltdown in a closed door meeting, taking off his clothes, ranting about a 15-year old memo, why bother to kill him? Just slap the thing on YouTube!
  
• And where was the rest of this guy's legal team? No one knew that he had turned against the firm to side with the plaintiffs?
• Can you really fake a death with no body?
  
• And would the police really show up to arrest someone without physical evidence, and also, um, before the fact (the fact being bribery, which looked extremely coerced, in my opinion)?
• What I liked: The performances and also the end credits: oy, that face!!
• For a much better movie (at least in my opinion) on a similar subject: The Constant Gardener.
  

My Left Eye

Finally caught up with two movies I've been wanting to see for a while:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir, concerns a man who suffers from a stroke while in mid-career and is completely and utterly paralyzed - the only thing he can move is his left eye. Beautifully photographed (I think it won an Oscar for best cinematography), this film manages to be moving without being unutterably sad.
I also saw the quasi-Tarantinoesque In Bruges (2007), about two hit men on the lam in Belgium. With a screenplay by the Irish playwright, Martin McDonagh, who wrote the very witty, very violent, play The Lieutenant of Inishmore, a few years ago, which I saw and very much enjoyed, this is very much in a like-minded vein. I recommend both of these films highly.

"We won't stop until somebody calls the cops...

...then we'll start again, and pretend that nothing ever happened..."
Juno (2007) the movie is one thing. Sweet and amusing, much like it's heroine. The soundtrack, however, is something else. Studded with obscure indie gems from the likes of Kimya Dawson (who?), alongside rock classics from The Velvet Underground, The Kinks and Mott the Hoople, this is THE must-have disc to own in 2008. Warning: If you're a fan of our current President, you may wish to stay away, as one of the songs takes him on in a tirade which would make your grandma blush!!

"Dos Vedanya, Anna Ivanovna"

I just saw one of the more powerful movies of the past year, Eastern Promises (2007), a stark look at the Russian Mafia, with the always amazing Viggo Mortensen transforming himself into yet another unforgettable character. It also has one of the most memorable fight scenes ever committed to film (one critic called it "spectacularly deployed gore"), and another terrific performance on Naomi Watts resume. If you can stomach a lot of violence, I would highly recommend this film!

Eat...Pray....Some other thing....

Well, I finally finished Eat, Pray, Love (which I ended up loving by the way, though I had misgivings early on, if for no other reason than Oprah loved it) -- when did I start reading it -- July?? And now I hear it's going to be made into a movie starring Julia Roberts (not normally one of my favorites, but this part should fit her like a glove), and directed by Nip/Tuck's Ryan Murphy! How excited am I! I can't wait to be over the moon with the Under the Tuscan Sun crowd!

The Savages (2007)

This sad little slice-of-life movie, The Savages concerns two siblings forced to deal with the realities of caring for an enfeebled parent, when they don't even have their own lives together. The story is redeemed by glimmers of hope in a cleverly written screenplay, and by the performances of the leads -- Philip Seymour Hoffman (or Sir Philip Seymour Hoffman if there were any justice in this world), Philip Bosco (or Sir Philip Bosco if there were any justice in this world), and Laura Linney (or Sir Laura....oh....never mind). And also by marvelous performances by Genghis the cat and Marley the dog, who somehow manage to hold their own in this formidable company.

"They call it stormy Monday, but Tuesday's just as bad"

Some great caper films and offbeat gangster films to get you through the new year:
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
Bob le Flambeur (1956)
The Hot Rock (1972)
The Killing (1956)
The Limey (1999)
Rififi (1955)
Sexy Beast (2000)
Stormy Monday (1988)
Topkapi (1964)

Starting Out in the Evening (2007)

That wonderful actor, Frank Langella, gives a bravura performance in Starting Out in the Evening, as Leonard Schiller, an aged writer, whose best work is long behind him, and largely forgotten. Two refugees from Six Feet Under are also in the cast, Lili Taylor, as his daughter having a crisis all her own, and Lauren Ambrose, as a young fan attempting to revive his career through her "rediscovery," as it were. This once incredibly attractive actor is certainly not afraid to offer a warts-and-all portrayal of a certain New York literary type, and I, for one, hope that he gets some long overdue recogniton come awards season.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Blood. Guts. Vomit. Lidocaine. Betadine. More Blood. Cotton Balls. General Mayhem. Even More Blood. And Tommy Lee Jones to secure the premises. Yes, it's another frothy romantic comedy from the Coen Brothers! Based on the novel by Cormac Mccarthy, it features an excellent cast, doing their thing, excellently. And if you're asking me what you should see next (in my spare time I dabble in film advisory), I would have to say:
Fargo (if you haven't seen it yet, but I know you have)
Kill Bill
A Simple Plan
Shallow Grave
and you MUST see:
Before Night Falls (to catch the ever amazing Javier Bardem in a totally different kind of part, in the role that put him on the cinematic map).