No Country for Old Men

You Can't Stop What's Coming.

No Country for Old Men has the unmistakable mark of a Coen brothers film. It's part thriller, part comedy, part western, part action film. Somehow the Coens are able to wrap all of these elements into one fantastic film. Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem weren't that famous before this film, but they are now and their careers will certainly take off from here- they both gave smashing performances. There is no way to describe the experience of a Coen brothers film. It's not heartwrenching or a "ride of your life" really. I guess it's as close as you're going to get to swashbuckling cowboy-pirate-assassins in Texas duking it out as who will end up the most ultimate badass. It's just...a story. It's epic because it's not. It'll scare the sh*t out of you but you won't be able to look away. It's the Coen brothers, what more can I say?

Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) is your average dude. He's a Vietnam vet, lives in Texas in a trailer; his wife works at Walmart. Out hunting deer, Llewelyn stumbles across a drug exchange gone wrong. Everyone's dead; there are the drugs and there's the money, so why not take the money? It's a decision that will give him far more trouble than is worth even two million dollars, because the bad guys are about to come looking for it. Psychopath Killer on the rampage to kill Llewelyn is quite possibly the devil incarnate. Asked to describe how dangerous he is, one character replies, "Compared to what, the bubonic plague?" This guy is pretty much pure evil through and through. And he's coming for Llewelyn Moss. Trying to catch up with both of them as Llewelyn runs for his life, is Tommy Lee Jones as the local sheriff and Llewelyn's wife, Carla Jean.

In a Coen brothers film, you can't pick favorites. ALL of the casting is great; ALL of the acting is great; the cinematography is gorgeous too. How can a film that won 83 of 114 film award nominations be criticized? I really did love Brolin's performance; he really embodies his character. And Bardem's character won't just give you the chills, he'll give you nightmares. This is one of Tommy Lee Jones' best roles, mostly because he just gets to play himself. And Kelly MacDonald, the Scottish actress, sure does pull off a great west Texan accent.

Conclusion: The Coen brothers create instant classics. No Country For Old Men is no different, it really is incredible.

Rated: R for strong graphic violence and some language.

Trivia:

• Heath Ledger had been in talks to play Llewelyn Moss
• Joel Coen and Ethan Coen share the record of four Oscar nominations for a single person (in this case, shared by the two)
• The credited editor for this film, Roderick Jaynes, is a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen. Despite his non-existence, Jaynes was nominated for an Oscar for editing No Country For Old Men.

Jumper

Hayden Christensen is back as a new version of Anakin Skywalker. Luckily, George Lucas didn't write the script for this film or we'd be in real trouble. A young man discovers that he holds extraordinary powers but then finds himself in the midst of a war that has been going on for a millennium between the forces of good and the forces of darkness. He must choose sides with his parent or with his girlfriend (who, thank God, doesn't end up being his sister.) I'm making it sound worse than it really is. I like the idea behind Jumper, it certainly has potential, and it certainly was entertaining; Christensen is even a descent actor if you can believe it. But there was too little character development, and too much ado about nothing and not enough ado about everything. If that makes sense.

David Rice is just a kid when he discovers that he has the power to transport himself anywhere he's seen before. Egypt, Rome, New York, Paris, anywhere. Dave leaves his less-than-great home life behind to start a new life. He can steal money from banks without breaking a lock after all, so he wants for nothing. Except love. And excitement. Dave finally gets up the nerve to ask his high school sweetheart (played by the mawkish Rachel Bilson) out on a date. To Rome. Unfortunately, Dave's carelessness is about to get him caught. While exploring the Colosseum, he learns that he's not the only one with transporting powers and evil religious fanatics are out to eradicate the transporters. It's a fight for his life that can have no happy ending.

Jumper is pretty entertaining until about the last 15-20 minutes, during which it starts to go a little downhill. At 88 minutes, it barely makes the cut for a feature-length film, and you can tell. This is an epic tale, or it could be; it's supposed to be this big story, big-picture film, but it's not. Even Sam Jackson can't breathe life into this walking corpse as lightsaber toting, Bible-quoting, Mace Windu-meets-Pulp Fiction Dude. But the effects are pretty good, and it's interesting to see Christensen in a mainstream film again. But overall, the director of the Bourne Identity has really taken a step down.

Conclusion: If you're a Sam Jackson fan or a Hayden fan, go see it, but you could skip it and I wouldn't blame you.

Rated: PG-13 for for sequences of intense action violence, some language and brief sexuality. [The brief sexuality is nonexistent, all person keep their clothes on]

Trivia:

• The crew was allowed to film inside the Colosseum for three days under the condition that no equipment could be placed on the ground. The only lighting allowed was natural sunlight.
• Two other actors were cast as before Christensen and Bilson but after 2 months of filming and inflating production costs, Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson were recast as the leads.

See the Trailer.

Step Up 2: The Streets

The first Step Up was bad enough, only Channing Tatum (tantalizing eye-candy + acting skills) and Jenna Dewan's (talented dancer) relational story kept the film afloat. Unfortunately for Step Up 2, there is no story- or the story is barely hanging on by the thread of the main actress' slowly unraveling clothing. The acting is questionable and the dancing is entertaining, but not mind-blowing. Even though these are professional dancers with a professional choreographer, search YouTube and you'll find more impressive dancing.

The nearly-nonexistent story goes like this: Troublemaker, gang member, Andie, gets into MSA, an expensive private school as a charity case. Her "Street Dancing" is far too risque for Director Collins, who must teach her ballet (which proves to be completely pointless later). Andie finds the hottest guy in school, who has a mean ex-girlfriend, and they come up with a dance for their crew to compete in the Streets, a contest for street dancers. But can their relationship survive when they're from such different worlds? Sound familiar? In the first Step Up, Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) is a troublemaker, gang member who goes to MSA for community service. He finds the hottest girl in school, who has a mean ex-boyfriend, and they come up with a dance for their crew to compete in the school talent show. But can their romance survive when they're both from such different worlds? Hmmm...
Anyway, Andie must face discrimination at the school, payback from her old crew, and Director Collins for the chance to prove that she's good enough for MSA, for the Streets, and for her place in the world. It sounds dramatic, but it's really just disappointing. It's a rehash of the same story with some new dance moves.

The new dance moves are entertaining, and impressive, don't get me wrong, but it's Tatum's cameo in the beginning of the film that provides the hook. The rest of the dancing is great, and the end dance is pretty impressive, but it just can't make up for the rest of the film.

Conclusion: Skip it in theaters, skip it on dvd, check out the dances on YouTube - it's just not worth it.

Rated PG-13 for language, some suggestive material and brief violence.

See the trailer

Trivia:

• To prepare for the role of Chase Collins, Robert Hoffman actually went into the Baltimore city underground dance scene and participated in competitive break dance circles.
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Atonement

Atonement, I would have to say, is my favorite movie I've seen since I started Film Fancy. Considering I've probably seen (though not formally reviewed) 100+ films in that time period, that's saying a lot. But Atonement really takes the cake. It absolutely deserves its 13 BAFTA, 6 Golden Globe, and 7 Oscar nominations. It won Best Motion Picture at the BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards. Both McAvoy and Knightley give great performances as awkward sweethearts, as passionate lovers, and as tortured souls when separated from each other. Also, Saoirse Ronan gives an almost chilling performance as young Briony. The film seems light and sweet at first, but underneath can be felt a deep foreboding. Something is about to go very wrong.

Briony is the precocious younger sister of the ravishing Cecilia (Knightley). After an explicit letter from Robbie, the housekeeper's son, mistakenly makes its way into Cecilia's hands, the two realize their love for each other. Unfortunately, Briony, the messenger, read the letter. And later she walks in on the two lovers during a passionate episode in the library. Shocked and confused by what she has seen and read, a whirlwind of events later leads Briony to accuse Robbie of crimes he never committed. He is sent away to prison, and then to World War I still raging in Europe, irrevocably changing Cecilia and Robbie's lives forever. Although at the time Briony had no idea the gravity of her actions, she later sees that her false accusation broke her sister's heart, creating an irreparable rift between them, and ruined a good man's life. As she grows into a woman, Briony spends her life attempting desperately, though in vain, to atone for her sin.

McAcoy's performance is really outstanding. I really enjoyed his performance, as well as Knightley's. It was amazingly refreshing to see Knightley as a character who's actually a "grown-up" instead of a girl on the edge of womanhood. McAvoy and Knightley really do light up the screen together. The cinematography is beautiful, the settings and the lighting as well. Oddly enough, the fact that Atonement is a British film can actually be seen in the cinematography. Director Joe Wright has been nominated for several awards for Atonement, and with good reason. Child actress Ronan is really fabulous. On the whole Atonement is very, very good. If you haven't seen it, you really should. It's a beautiful, beautiful love story. Heartwrenching but a treat to watch. Very rich.

Conclusion: This is going on the official Unmissables list. It's captivating, it draws you in, it lets you feel what Briony feels, what Robbie and Cecilia feel. If you're old enough, or mature enough to see the sex scene, then go see it. In the theater, rent it, or illegally download it, it's a must-see.

Rated: R for disturbing war images, language and some sexuality.

See the trailer

Trivia:

• James McAvoy considered the script the best he had ever read.
• The opening film of the 2007's Venice Film Festival. Director Joe Wright, at 35, is the youngest director to have a film open this prestigious event.
• As Robbie is taken by the police, Briony peers through a window decorated with figures in stained glass. One stained glass figure is labeled Matilda. This is an allusion to a famous children's poem by Hilaire Belloc entitled "Matilda", whose first line runs, "Matilda told such dreadful lies, it made one gasp and stretch one's eyes". By the end of the poem, Matilda has burned to death, having called wolf one time too many.

27 Dresses

Starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden

27 Dresses is your average romantic comedy. It's formulaic, it's predictable, and most of its characters are characters used in every romantic comedy. But. Heigl and Marsden make a great team, bringing out the best in each other, and there were some scenes where I was laughing pretty hard.

Jane has been in 27 weddings. And she's never been the bride. Jane is a bridesmaid. The perfect bridesmaid. She's the bride's best friend, the hairdresser, the dress model, the do-everything person. Jane's real job is assistant manager at a company. She happens to be madly in love with her boss, George. Jane has a sister named Tess who has come for a short little visit. Unfortunately, Jane introduces Tess to George, the two hit it off, and all of a sudden, they're getting married. And Jane has to plan the wedding. Into the picture comes Kevin, a writer for the Commitments column of the local paper who writes the most poetic things about weddings. In reality, however, Kevin is a bitter, cynical guy who hates weddings and thinks they're stupid. But Kevin finds Jane's perennial bridesmaid situation intriguing and, unbeknownst to her, decides to write a story on her.

Things get crazy. Jane is in love with George, who is marrying her sister Tess, who is lying to George, who doesn't know Jane loves him and Kevin is the perfect guy for Jane and Kevin likes Jane but Jane doesn't realize it because she's too busy pining after her sister's fiance. What can I say? It's classic. Romantic comedy that is. Heigl, best known for her role in Knocked Up and ABC's Grey's Anatomy, really shines. She's proven herself to be a great romantic comedy actress, and she does show a lot of potential for other roles; I just hope she takes advantage of that. Marsden is great too. His breakout role was in X-Men as Cyclops, and has since then managed to pick chronically blockbuster films to add to his resume (X-Men series, The Notebook, Superman, Hairspray, and Enchanted). I'd go to see a film just because Marsden makes an appearance, I enjoy his performances that much. 27 had some cute concepts, like Jane keeping all of her 27 hideous bridesmaid dresses, and Marsden's character was interesting. So to wrap it up, on to the conclusion...

Conclusion: Fun and entertaining, but predictability took away from that. Marsden and Heigl are great on screen together so if you like chick flicks, go ahead and check it out.

Rated: PG-13 for language, some innuendo and sexuality.

See the trailer

Trivia:

• The wardrobe department reported that their initial designs for the dresses all looked too good on Katherine Heigl because of her figure, and they were hard-pressed to design bridesmaids dresses that would look bad on her.

Across the Universe

Ever wanted the experience of doing drugs like Acid or E and having cool psychedelic hallucinations, but are too afraid to actually do the drugs? Well now you don't have to! Just go to your local Blockbuster and rent Across the Universe. But seriously now...Across the Universe tells the story of America during the 1960's, the Vietnam War, the drugs, the revolution, all of it using the songs of the greatest rock band in history, The Beatles.

In England, in the sixties, a young man named Jude sets off for America to search out his long-lost father. What he finds are the drugs and revolutions, peace and war, freedom and free love of the sixties. Jude meets Max, a college dropout who just wants to have fun, symbolizing the face of young American men. Through Max, Jude meets his friend's sister, Lucy. The two fall in love and would like to live happily ever after. But when Lucy gets involved with some not-so-peaceful radicals and Max gets drafted and sent to Vietnam, things are going to change.

Across the Universe is the tale of young men living and dying, the tale of young love , the tale of the confusion of the sixties. It's extremely symbolic and although you can enjoy it without knowing much about the Beatles or the Sixties, it's better understood if you know something about both. The entire movie, it's style, the songs, the color, represents the sixties. You really do feel like you're on some kind of drug trip, but it's a very interesting way to present this story since you're supposed to be seeing it through Jude's eyes. And this is what he would see.

Conclusion: Very enjoyable, but if you're not into the Beatles or musicals or the sixties or mass psychedelia, I'd steer clear. (Kids might find it frightening or especially confusing.)

See the preview

Rated: PG-13 for some drug content, nudity, sexuality, violence and language

Trivia:

• This film was released in the United States on John Lennon's birthday (October 9th).
• Prudence, a character in the film, first enters the apartment through the window, a reference to "She Came in through the Bathroom Window" by the Beatles.
• he rooftop concert toward the end of the film is a reference to the rooftop concert of the Beatles atop Apple Records' headquarters, their final public appearance. The Beatles' concert was also interrupted by the police.
  

The Unmissables Vol. V

Numbers 41 through 50 coming right up...Timeless classics, whose beauty and inspiration have never gone out of date, and some new, soon-to-be classics, that will live on in film history...

The Godfather Part I - Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather is a classic of our time, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in his first movie role. The story of the life of mafia families spans several generations. 8 Academy Award Nominations, 3 Wins, 5 Golden Globe Awards

42. Clerks I and II - Okay, this one is more of a cult classic, but Kevin Smith has created two characters now forever immortalized in his films, Jay and his heterosexual life mate, Silent Bob. The hilarity and raunch is matched only in its wit and profundity. (and maybe its profanity as well). Winner of 2 Cannes Film Festival and 2 Sundance Film Festival Awards.



43. Walk the Line - Joaquin Phoenix steals the film as the tortured Johnny Cash and his road to music stardom, his fall into drugs, and his agony and guilt over the past. Fabulously done, and the soundtrack is great. Nominated for 5, winner of 1 Academy Award, winner of 4 Golden Globe Awards.



44. The Departed - A troubled undercover cop must penetrate the criminal underworld undetected; a crooked cop is already inside the police department; the good cop is trying to uncover the mole inside his department; and a sadistic crime lord is about to bring it all down around them. Martin Scorsese, Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlburg, and Jack Nicholson. Nominated for 5, winner of 4 Academy Awards; recipient of 47 other film awards.



45. Borat - Borat has come to America "for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan", to make a documentary that will change comedy and film and the people Borat meets forever. Gloriously acted by Mr. Sasha Baron Cohen. Nominated for 1 Academy Award, Winner of 2 Golden Globes.



46. The Sound of Music - Julie Andrews plays an almost-nun who is sent to nanny a military man's (Christopher Plummer) children in Austria just on the brink of World War II. The Sound of Music is the true story of the singing Von-Trapp family. Winner of 5 Academy Awards.



47. Gone With the Wind - A breathtaking, epic view of the Old South before, during, and after the devastating Civil War. As seen through the eyes of young, vain, foolish Scarlett O'Hara. Also starring Clark Gable. Winner of 10 Academy Awards.



48. My Fair Lady - One of Audrey Hepburn's best films, also starring Rex Harrison. Harrison bets his friend that he can take a homeless girl off the streets and in six months, pass her off as a duchess at the Grand Ball. The homeless girl? Audrey Hepburn. Winner of 8 Academy Awards.



49. Napolean Dynamite - Napolean's crazy life win Grandma, Tina, Pedro, Kip, and Uncle Rico is a tale so un-epic, you'll love it. Hilarity ensues. Starring John Heder and his hilariousness.



50. Grease - A sweet girl and the school bad boy fall in love over the summer, but are surprised to find that they will be attending the same high school. Can their love conquer their reputations and their egos? Starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, a musical. Nominated of 1 Academy Award, Recipient of 5 Golden Globe Awards.