So this is my first documentary of the year, and it's really quite something. Unlike anything I've ever seen, this film is one of the most thought-provoking things I've ever seen. The sheer amount of information thrown at you in the hour and a half interview with Michael Ruppert is overwhelming, I felt I should be taking notes. The basic idea is the film is a single interview with this man who basically throws down everything he knows about the upcoming major crisis with oil supplies. He lays out why it's a problem, where we're going and when. He's a little full of himself and his accomplishments, and in some way this film is about the mind of this man rather than what he's actually saying. What he is saying though is absolutely enthralling, just tearing apart why alternate fuel resources won't work, and giving his impression of what the world will be like in 50 years. He paints a drastic change of life for everyone and in some way I think everyone should see this just to get the idea in their head. By no means is the the end-all to researching these problems he talks about, I would even say he just scratches the surface. But what he says has such resonance and tells such a story that aside from it's real world implications, it's straight up entertaining.
8.5/10
Film#72 - Big Fan, 2009, dir. Robert D. Siegel
Take a comedic actor and add in an extraordinary screenwriter, tied up in a dramatic tale and you've pegged this movie. The general idea is Patton Oswalt, who is a comedian by trade, is an obsessive New York Giants fan. Absolutely nuts for these guys. He meets his favourite quarterback and through a 'misunderstanding' gets beat up. Of course this doesn't go unnoticed, and so we have a situation where he's been assaulted by his idol, and is basically given control over whether he goes to jail or not. The plot is fairly unique I would say, but the best part of the film is the way it all plays out. Oswalt's family is such a group of characters that set up an atmosphere that you can't help but feel for Oswalt and his rebellion against their best wishes. Kevin Corrigan plays his best friend, and together the pair are such a naive match made in heaven that makes it all too plausible. Corrigan really startled me with how different he is from his typical roles, although he looks the exact same and is a familiar poor, oddball type character, yet his nervous demeanour really emphasizes how good these actors are outside of their typical roles. But I would have to say the best part of the film is the air of anxiety that runs through the entire thing, for all sorts of different reasons, that just speaks to how real life can be.
8.5/10
Film#73 - What Just Happened, 2008, dir. Barry Levinson
With such a star-studded cast with the likes of Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Catherine Keener and Sean Penn, this film isn't really anything spectacular. It's amusing for sure, but such a surface film that I just can't score it that high despite my deep interest in it's subject matter. De Niro is a movie producer, Willis plays himself (who stubbornly refuses to shave his beard, which is honestly a large plot point) and the entire thing is about getting movies made. This isn;t much on the production side but mostly the business surrounding it, and I loved it. But the film lacked any real depth. The characters were reciting lines and it showed. They didn't transform from the people they are in real life into characters, they were all almost just floating along. No one had any real believable passion. Still, it was pretty good as a look at the Hollywood system and poking at real actors and such.
7.5/10
Film#74 - Shutter Island, 2010, dir. Martin Scorsese
I don't know what to say. I had fairly low expectations, well, I thought it would be good but nothing special. I said it before we stepped into that theatre and this film started playing. This film that just would not let up. It was nonstop beauty in every sense. There are so many layers going on it's unbelievable. The cast is beyond phenomenal. The music was insane. It was all so overwhelming. But to get down to it, the trailer did this film no justice at all. DiCaprio plays with such heart it goes into a realm beyond typical acting and truly into playing another person's life, taking on such individuality that despite his star image you see his character above all else. The aesthetics are just too much. Scorsese plays with colour and symmetry in such a phenomenal way I can't even describe it. It's unlike anything else. DiCaprio goes through these dream-like sequences that have such style I don't know how to describe. The film has this level of paranoia and mystery that never lets up, only getting stronger to a point that speaks so deeply that the real emotions it causes are enough on their own to make this movie transcend into a realm of classic cinema. This is the reason I aspire to make movies.
10/10
Film#75 - Sherlock Holmes, 2009, dir. Guy Ritchie
This was strangely good. I guess it slipped my mind that this is a Guy Ritchie film and he's usually at least pretty good, and this is no exception. I must say Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law work together so well, they have such good chemistry and play the characters to a tee. It has this clever delivery of dialogue and a perfect pacing to make it a really enjoyable experience. In fact I can't find much wrong with this at all. The action sequences are well done and often quirky, just how I like it, and are not drawn out for the sake of violence in film. It really isn't what I thought it would be. The story basically picks up just as Watson and Holmes are no longer working together, playing on the fact that most viewers are already aware of what they generally do. The film pokes fun at all sorts of cultural structures and really doesn't ever give up it's wit and charm.
9/10
