Welcome to part one of today's Blogorium madness! In this half of the Year End Recap, I'd like to spend a little time with movies the Cap'n saw this year that, while pretty to very good, didn't make the list of "Favorites". There's nothing about these movies that should prevent you from seeing them, and I recommend them highly. Unlike my favorite films, I'm not going to insist you see them as soon as possible, but I think most readers here will enjoy the "Honorable Mention"s of 2009.
Whenever possible, I'll try to link to the original review and keep my thoughts to a minimum. There's a lot of writing left to do, you see. In no particular order, the movies that weren't my favorite but are still pretty nifty:
I Love You, Man - Still a fun movie to watch, and probably as good as the "Bromantic Comedy" subgenre is going to get. Anchored firmly by Paul Rudd and Jason Segel with some clever supporting roles for Jon Favreau, Jaime Presley, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Jane Curtain, Rob Huebel, Andy Samberg, Jo Lo Truglio, Thomas Lennon and Lou Ferrigno of all people, it's a consistently funny comedy that just missed the cut. Still, if you like Role Models and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man is right up your alley.
Star Trek - It only really didn't make it to "favorites" because upon reflection, I honestly can't find a plot to attach the film to. As I've said before, it's a testament to JJ Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, along with the cast and some great visual effects that for Star Trek's two hour running time you hardly notice. There's not a lot about the film that's hard to like, but I wish that it held up better when put to closer scrutiny. Still, it's not "your father's Star Trek", to be sure, but my dad still liked it. So did I. I just didn't love it.
Coraline - While Coraline has as good a chance as any at dislodging Pixar's Up for Best Animated Film (something I'll get to during the "Favorites"), I think that perhaps my polite admiration for the film is tempered in some way by knowing the story so well. I read Coraline two or three times after its publishing, and as a result, the movie lacked tension to me. It's a completely personal issue, I admit; Henry Selick's animation surpasses The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, and the film has no shortage of amazing sights, but as much as I appreciate Coraline, I just didn't love it. Which is a pity, because I suspect many of you will.
Funny People - I thought long and hard about where Funny People fit in the "Best Of", because I do sincerely recommend you check it out, provided you understand that it's not necessarily a comedy. Perhaps the biggest reason I left Funny People out of my "Favorites" is the length: Apatow's film covers a lot of ground and a lot of characters, and the shifts are a bit awkward, especially when moving back and forth between George (Adam Sandler) and Ira (Seth Rogen). I will note that I watched the theatrical cut and not the extended version, but even at its shortened length I felt Funny People had a bit too much padding. Still, I highly recommend the movie as a character study, and length aside, it's easily the best Judd Apatow movie yet.
Sherlock Holmes - Blame it on all the negative reviews I read after watching the film, which rightly point out things I overlooked because of how charming and fast paced Sherlock Holmes is. It's still a fun movie, and I'll gladly pick it up on Blu-Ray, but it's just shy of my top films.
Crank: High Voltage - I watched Crank: High Voltage again on Blu-Ray, and while the film is still insanely offensive and cartoonish in every regard, it just couldn't match the energy of opening "Bad Movie Weekend" at the premiere. There's nothing wrong with Crank: High Voltage - okay, that depends on your definition of the word "wrong" - but I fear that it may never be as fun as it was in The Carousel.
Public Enemies - I found Michael Mann's Public Enemies to be an exceptionally well made film. It's interesting, and the two-and-a-half hour run time never drags. The digital photography can be a little iffy: it alternates between "ye gods! look at that detail" to "yeesh! that digital grain is unbearable" and even into "should a period film look this contemporary?", but that's Mann's technique of choice and he gets better with it film by film. There's nothing wrong with the cast (more on that in a second), and the true story of Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) chasing John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is frequently riveting. At times it reminded me of Ridley Scott's American Gangster. My favorite scene has to be the moment - probably fictionalized- where Dillinger walks into the Federal Task Force office, totally unnoticed by ancillary agents, and looks around at their evidence boards.
Yet, Public Enemies left me feeling detached. It's not that I didn't enjoy the movie, because I thought there was nothing particularly "off" about it; it's just that I didn't really invest in any of the characters or feel much when Dillinger's men are killed off. Sure, it's a technically fine film, and well acted, but the end result was rather cold. I was never engaged in the story, which is a crippling problem for the Cap'n.
One thing that is likely to come out of Public Enemies is yet another excellent "Movie Game" film. Like Mann's earlier Heat, Public Enemies is filled with recognizable names in smaller roles. For example, in addition to Depp and Bale, you have Marion Cotillard (La vie en Rose), Stephen Lang (Avatar), Jason Clarke (Brotherhood, Death Race), David Wenham (The Two Towers, 300), Stephen Dorff, Channing Tatum (Fighting), Rory Cochrane (Dazed and Confused, A Scanner Darkly), Emilie De Ravin (Lost, Brick), Giovanni Ribisi, Billy Crudup, Shawn Hatosy, Stephen Graham (Snatch), Lili Taylor, and Leelee Sobieski. There are a lot of ways to use Public Enemies in the "Movie Game".
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - After watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets again, I appreciated Half Blood Prince more for its willingness to move away from a "kid's movie", but again I must stress that it doesn't do the title of the film justice, nor does it properly convey the gravity of what's to come in The Deathly Hallows.
Extract - Mike Judge fans are going to enjoy Extract, with reservations. That's my suspicion. Extract is the King of the Hill of Judge's movies: the comedy is mostly understated, and only on rare occasions does the film reach the cartoonish levels peppered through Office Space and abundantly featured in Idiocracy. That said, there's a lot to like about Extract, and a whallop of an ending that reminds you who the director is. Ben Affleck is allowed to be funny again, which should be mandated for his roles from here on out, unless he plans to direct movies as good as Gone Baby Gone in the future.
Jason Bateman is saddled mostly with the "straight man" role, but then again most of the comedians you're expecting to go wild and crazy don't. Like I said, understated. Kristen Wiig, J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins Jr., and Mila Kunis are all pretty reserved. Only Dustin Milligan's idiot gigolo Brad, Gene Simmons dirtbag attorney Joe Adler, and David Koechner's neighbor from hell Nathan get to cut loose. Extract is a fun movie, but it's not going to be the kind of film you drag people over to watch, like Office Space or Idiocracy.
World's Greatest Dad - Bobcat Goldthwait's World's Greatest Dad, which is not exactly Heathers but does have a character named Heather, is an odd movie. I was expecting it to be much darker than it was, but the movie is kind of uplifting. Well, as uplifting as a movie about a father who fakes his son's suicide after he chokes to death masturbating can be.
The film, which is about Lance Clayton (Robin Williams), an unpublished writer who teaches a barely attended poetry class and has the worst son ever (Daryl Sabara of Spy Kids), is similar to Heathers in that after Kyle dies, a faked suicide note and "secret" journal (both written by Lance) make the little sociopath a school hero. It's never as outlandish as "I Love My Dead Gay Son!", but this kind of movie has to work pretty hard to distance itself from Heathers. World's Greatest Dad doesn't necessarily, but it's still an entertaining film, if you define entertainment by listening to a little shithead talking about felching and anal sex before accidentally strangling himself tugging it to pictures of his dad's girlfriend's underwear.
And yet, I tell you the film is kind of sweet, in ways I couldn't begin to explain without spoiling the film. For some of you, this is right up your alley, but for most it's probably best to move on to the "Favorites" list...
The Girlfriend Experience - I don't have much to add to my review here. I wish I'd seen Soderbergh's The Informant! now, but it'll be out on dvd before too long. While interesting, and certainly worth watching, The Girlfriend Experience isn't quite in the realm of "Best Movies I Saw This Year".
Whatever Works - It's not as good as Match Point, but it's better than Cassandra's Dream. The teaming of Woody Allen and Larry David isn't quite what some people expected, but I liked it.
Stay Tuned for the thrilling conclusion, which will probably be as long, but I'll try to keep things brief!
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