The 2009 malcolm movie review thread

malcolm1980 · Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 6:35 am Post subject:

8/21

Up (Pete Docter) **** - This is not PIXAR's best work but it's VERY close, I would say within the Top 3. The 10 minute opening scene alone is a masterful piece of storytelling. Great voice work, great animation and Michael Giacchino's score is fantastic (it strongly reminds me of the music in Charlie Chaplin movies). It's my favorite movie of the year (so far).
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 8:45 am Post subject:

8/29

District 9 (Neil Blomkamp) ***1/2 - After much pre-release hype and acclaim, this film actually mostly lives up to it. The semi-mockumentary style and the entirely unknown cast is advantageous to making the world believable. One of the most inventive sci-fi films of late.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:46 am Post subject:

9/5

The Naked Island (Kaneto Shindo) **** - I'm a fan of Onibaba so I had to see more of director Kaneto Shindo's work and this is another great one. The film chronicles the lives of a family who live on a tiny island off the coast of Japan. The film was done almost completely without spoken words (though we hear singing a few times). It's exquisitely shot and the music is quite haunting. This is cinema at its purest form. More people should discover this.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 2:48 am Post subject:

9/6

Bruno (Larry Charles) **1/2 - Although not quite as good as Borat, the film still contains lots of laugh out loud and truly outrageous moments. Some sequences though try a tad too hard in trying to top itself and the fact that a lot of this movie is staged makes it lose some of its appeal and charm.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 3:25 am Post subject:

9/7

Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang ("Weighed But Found Wanting") (Lino Brocka) **** - This is not my favorite Lino Brocka film but it is indeed one of his major works and it's still relevant to this day which is a testament to its greatness. The film exposes the hypocrisy of people in a town through the eyes of a young man (Christopher de Leon) after he befriends the two town outcasts, a leper (Mario O'Hara - I didn't know he was also a pretty darn good actor in addition to being one of the Philippines' major auteurs) and a mentally ill woman (Lolita Rodriguez - a fantastic performance). This is another Filipino flick worth checking out.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:51 am Post subject:

9/15

Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow) ***1/2 - There is actually a great vampire gang movie in the 1980's and it ain't The Lost Boys. A young man stumbles upon a gang of vampires after he becomes infatuated with one of them. It's pretty intense and wonderfully directed. Based on this, I have NO IDEA why Kathryn Bigelow isn't a more prolific action director.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 4:58 am Post subject:

9/19

Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson) **** - I blindbought a barebones DVD version in Singapore since I've been wanting to see this film for a long, long time. I have to say that I agree with the rave reviews. The film absolutely works both as a sweet coming-of-age film and a dark, disturbing vampire horror movie. For God's sakes, forget Twilight. This is the vampire film of 2008 that actually matter.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:58 am Post subject:

9/20

[Rec] (Jaume Balaguero/Paco Plaza) *** - I've seen Quarantine so I pretty much knew what to expect when I saw this well-done Spanish horror movie for a free film festival (it was the last night too). It isn't that groundbreaking but it's quite scary and entertaining. Perhaps I should've seen this first. It's superior to the American remake.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 6:47 am Post subject:

9/20

Breaking the Waves (Lars Von Trier) ***1/2 - This is another one of those movies which I can't believe I haven't seen until now. Von Trier is a wildly divisive director but you can't say he's uninteresting. I can definitely see why Emily Watson broke out in a big way with this film. Her performance carries the film, so emotionally raw and naked (sometimes literally too) and very bravel. Film's not perfect but it's one of Von Trier's best works.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 6:03 am Post subject:

9/26

The Little Foxes (William Wyler) ***1/2 - This film is quite shockingly relevant to this day. Bette Davis is the star and she's magnificent as one of the very devious, corrupt and money-hungry members of a rich family from the South but the rest of the ensemble particularly Herbert Marshall match up to her acting-wise. This would definitely rank as one of the best films on the American South.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:54 am Post subject:

10/3

3 Godfathers (John Ford) ***1/2 - Three bank robbers on the run from the law escape through a perilous desert with very little water and on the way, helped deliver a baby from a dying pregnant woman and promise to bring the infant to safety. It's not as famous as Stagecoach or The Searchers but this John Ford-John Wayne collaboration is definitely something worth seeing. John Wayne gives a lot his best acting work here and the cinematography is to die for.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 5:35 am Post subject:

10/4

El sueño de una noche de San Juan (Angel de la Cruz/Manolo Gomez) ** - A rather formulaic but quite entertaining Spanish CGI film based around the characters from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream but given a more humourous, contemporary and kid-friendly spin. The animation's pretty good considering they probably don't have a PIXAR/Dreamworks-level budget.

Casual Day (Max Lemcke) **1/2 - Employees of an unnamed, undefined corporation go on a team-building type retreat dubbed "Casual Day". Despite the fine direction and performances of a large ensemble cast, the film's seriocomic script never quite find its balance and left me feeling a bit "meh".
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 3:17 am Post subject:

10/11

Les Miserables (Raymond Bernard) **** - This film is a truly masterful and probably the definitive cinematic adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel. Everything is in it: great filmmaking, outstanding performances, great music, design, etc. Even at almost 5 hours, the film doesn't seem to be all that long (granted I watched it in 3 installments). I had the Les Miz score in my head, LOL.

La zona ("The Zone") (Rodrigo Pla) ***1/2 - A gated community of upper-middle-class people live side-by-side amongst the slums of the city. When a robbery-homicide occurs due to an accidental breach in security, the residents' lives are turned upside-down as seen through the eyes of the teenage son of the head of security. Well-crafted, well-acted drama thriller that is both gripping and thought-provoking.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:12 am Post subject:

10/12

Fat Girl (Catherine Breillat) *** - I can definitely see why this film is so divisive among audiences and critics. The shocking, seemingly out of nowhere and random violent ending is bound to make people mad, that is of course on top of the rather explicit sexuality involving adolescents that precede it. I honestly don't know if it's as brilliant as its fans say it is nor do I think it's awful and offensive as its detractors say but I will agree that it IS a film to see and talk about.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:55 am Post subject:

10/17

Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino) **** - Yes, it's self-indulgent. Yes, it's far from being historically accurate. Yes, it's chockful of film references. But, hey, it's Tarantino. Going to a Tarantino film and complaining about it being "self-indulgent" is like going to heavy metal concert and complaining that it's too loud. I make no apologies for really enjoying Tarantino and I definitely enjoyed the hell out of this movie. Brad Pitt may have gotten top-billing but I think Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent are the stars. One of my favorite movies of the year (so far).
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:37 am Post subject:

10/18

Lola ("Grandmother") (Brillante Mendoza) ***1/2 - An unfortunate crime involving robbery and homicide tie together two elderly women, one the grandmother of the victim, the other the grandmother of the perprator as they try with their limited power and limited resources to fight for their respective grandsons. The two leads of the film give sublime performances. This is another jewel in director Brillante Mendoza's increasinly prolific filmography.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 5:43 am Post subject:

10/19

Samson and Delilah (Warwick Thornton) ***1/2 - Samson and Delilah are two young Aborigines who decide to leave their tiny isolated town into the harsh unforgiving "real" world. The version I saw did not have English subtitles (it was in French) and more than half the spoken dialogue is in Aboriginal language but that doesn't matter because there was barely any actual dialogue in the film. What remains is a fascinating story of a journey between two young people. Excellent performances by the two leads. This is Australia's entry to the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar category. I hope it gets a nom.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:05 am Post subject:

10/23

The Circle (Jafar Panahi) *** - This is my first foray into the films of Jafar Panahi. This is actually a series of overlapping vignettes about the plight of a group of women in an oppressive, patriarchal Muslim society where they are essentially second-class citizens. Though it doesn't really say anything we didn't sort of know already, the film is nevertheless fascinating, well-acted and well-directed. I'd like to see more films from him.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 9:20 am Post subject:

10/24

Hunger (Steve McQueen) ***1/2 - A very compelling dramatic feature about the final days of Bobby Sands, an IRA volunteer who died as a result of a hunger strike to protest the actions of the British government back in the early 1980's. Michael Fassbender, in the lead role, was amazing. This coupled with Inglorious Basterds, makes him a talent to watch. Also a talent to watch is director Steve McQueen. I'm very eager to see more work from this filmmaker.

The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow) ***1/2 - This is probaby the first great narrative feature on the 2003 Iraq War. This intense, superbly directed war film about bomb disposal technicians kept me at the edge of my seat if it wasn't gripping me with its compelling drama. Great performances by the three leads, Renner especially.

(500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb) ***1/2 - Most romantic comedies these days almost make me wanna slash my wrists. Not this one. I agree with the people who say that this is Annie Hall for Generation Y. Joseph Gordon-Levitt carries this film with his charming performance. Its quirky style of filmmaking actually enhances, not distracts from the story.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:51 am Post subject:

10/25

The Milk of Sorrow (Claudia Llosa) *** - This is Peru's entry to the Oscar Best Foreign-Language Film race this year. I don't think I've ever seen a film from Peru before. This film about a woman who seems to be in constant state of melancholy/unhappiness attributed to the superstition she was nursed during a time of crisis by her mother (the "milk of sorrow" of the title). The film itself didn't really blow me away but it held my interest and the lead actress gives an outstanding performance.

The Informant! (Steven Soderbergh) *** - This movie isn't as consistently laugh-out-loud funny despite what the trailers (thought it does contain some laughs) and the numerous cameos from comedians/comedic actors may suggest. The film does not completely work but Matt Damon's inspired and believable performance makes it worth it. Melanie Lynskey is also great in her supporting work as the wife.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:25 am Post subject:

10/30

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols) **** - Why did I wait so long to see this film? Plays being adapted for film have this inherent danger of being too stagey that it feels like it's simply a play being filmed. Not so with this film, it truly felt CINEMATIC. Thanks in part to Haskell Wexler's cinematography and Ernest Lehmann's screenplay all realized through Mike Nichols' direction. All four principal characters were excellent especially Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (who I thought also should've won the Oscar too).
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 5:20 am Post subject:

11/7

Michael Jackson's This Is It (Kenny Ortega) ***- When I first heard of this project, I thought it's a shameless plot to cash in on the death of Michael Jackson but the end result is more of a loving, bittersweet tribute. It's a fascinating rare look at how Jackson's work style from behind the scenes. It also highlights the hard work put into by the dancers and behind-the-scenes crew. Not a perfect film but it accomplished its goal.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:54 am Post subject:

11/14

If.... (Lindsay Anderson) **** - Depicting a shoot-out in a school was shocking in the late 1960's and seems shocking AND tasteless now, only further proves how well this amazing film holds up. Obviously loosely inspired from Zero for Conduct (and indeed would make an excellent double-bill with it), the film's masterful handling of adolescent angst, both the reality and fantasy of it, sexuality (both hetero and homo) and a really crazy third act makes this one of the best films of its subject matter.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:53 am Post subject:

11/21

The Killing (Stanley Kubrick) ***1/2 - This is one of Stanley Kubrick's early features (all I need to do now is see Fear and Desire and I've seen all the features already). A group of crooks led by Sterling Hayden come up with a very intricate, complex heist on a racetrack. Of course, things go wrong. Although it isn't quite as great as Kubrick's later masterpieces, it still holds up as an exciting piece of filmmaking and I do believe Kubrick's streak of great films actually started here.
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malcolm1980 · Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:38 am Post subject:

11/22

Contempt (Jean Luc Godard) **** - Godard films tend to fall under two categories for me: The ones that go straight to my favorites of all time and the ones where I go, "That was interesting but I don't get it". I'm happy to say that this film is more the former than the latter. Friction between a writer and his beautiful wife occur after he gets hired to doctor a script for a Fritz Lang film by an American producer. A perfect companion to Truffaut's Day for Night, this one casts a far more cynical eye towards the film industry. Raoul Coutard's color cinematography is gorgeous.
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