Traffic (2000)

I had the opportunity to watch a favorite movie of mine once again, and thought I would do a throwback review. An all star cast comes together in Traffic, an incredibly suspenseful movie about the drug trade in the United States and its components in Mexico. Traffic is a so-called "hyperlink movie" - that is, the protagonists of the film rarely share screentime together, but their seperate storylines touch just enough to bring everything together in a central message. I personally am a big fan of this method of film-making - and nearly every movie I have seen that does this well has ended up as a favorite of mine (Babel is another notable film that employs this method of film-making).

Plot Summary
Traffic tells the story of the drug trade from four perspectives - a user, a DEA officer (played by Don Cheadle) and his partner, a U.S. politician (played by Michael Douglas), and a Mexican police officer swept up by circumstance into helping the drug cartels in Tijuana (played by Benicio Del Toro). The plot is a bit intricate, and as I said before, these four story lines barely touch, so I will let you read the plot at Wikipedia if you want a spoiler. However, I would recommend seeing this movie without reading too much about it - the plot develops in a way that is endlessly surprising, and very moving.

Why you should go out of your way to see this movie
This movie is very compelling on many levels. Visually, the film makers added a heavy yellow tint to everything that happens in Mexico, and a blue tint to everything that happens in the United States - which give the characters and storyline in the U.S. a detached and cold feeling, which goes very well with the politicians struggling to figure out how to wage the war on drugs, and the users who have a great deal of angst against the society in which they live - and give the characters and storyline in Mexico a hot and in your face feeling, which adds depth to those parts of the movie.

The acting is superb. Benicio Del Toro won an Oscar for his work here, and well deserves it. He is so authentic as a man torn by his morals and his instinct for survival as he gets swept up in the drug trade that dominates the Tijuana landscape. Douglas, Cheadle, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Dennis Quaid all round out the all star cast and really give great performances.

The plot as I mentioned before is intricate, and as the film wraps up, the resolution really resonates and conveys the ongoing battle and struggle that rages around drug use, trafficking, and policy. However, the movie doesn't seem to take one side or another on any issue - it does a great job of just laying out the problem and letting the audience soak it in. It definitely makes you think, and gives you a peek into a dark world that really exists out there, though many of us may never have realized it.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone.

Here is the trailer from youtube, but actually, I don't think it does the movie much justice - I couldn't find a better one, so here it is anyway.

Fargo (1996)

After watching No Country For Old Men a few weeks ago, I had to go back and watch another classic film by the Coen brothers, Fargo. The movie is a classic, and I believe one of a dozen or so that really stand out for me that were made in the 90's.

Fargo is set in North Dakota, and Minnesota, and follows the bizarre plot by Jerry Lundegaard, played brilliantly by William H. Macey, to have his wife kidnapped in order to get ransom money from his wealthy father-in-law. Things go awry, resulting in several murders which are investigated by a quirky pregnant police officer Marge Gunderson, even more brilliantly played by Francis McDormand (who won an Oscar for her role).

What makes this movie so interesting is that the setting highlights the ordinary and regular people of North Dakota and Minnesota, complete with their strong Midwest accents. This is juxtaposed with the ruthlessness of the two men who are hired to kidnap Lundegaard's wife. The intersection of these two complete polar opposites is of course Francis McDormand's character, who deals with the brutal killings, but at the same time keeps her small town and homey personality.

Another interesting message in this movie is that of unintended consequences. Lundegaard is a simple man, but gets himself involved with ruthless people, and the rest of the movie is a chain reaction - the results of which could never have been foreseen.

Particularly poignant is the final scene in the movie, which is truly horrifying and leaves the usually upbeat Officer Gunderson to wonder with her final words, "I just don't understand it."

Though the plot twists a bit, the movie is pretty straight forward - yet every time I watch it I find it impossible to look away, or do the "good parts version" as I commonly do with many other movies I have seen more than once. The acting and music are just great, and the drama and the comedy are sublime. I highly recommend this movie to anyone.

There Will be Blood (2007)

Daniel Day Lewis deservedly earns his Oscar nod in the dark There Will be Blood, based on the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. The movie is quite an exploration of human greed and ambition.

Lewis's character, Daniel Plainview is the epitome of these base human traits, and from the beginning of the movie he has no qualms about treading heavily upon all who stand in his way. What makes this movie even more interesting, is that his character is juxtaposed with another ambitious figure, the local preacher. The two spar and dance around each other grasping for power and influence. There are moments in the movie when you think Plainview might just have an inkling of humanity as he cares for his son - but it becomes evident that even if he did, his son is not as important as his ambition.

There are two scenes in particular that really stand out (see two embedded videos below). One in which Plainview must be baptized in the local church in order to get the lease on a piece of property owned by one of the church parishioners. The confession of his sins is quite moving, and is one of those moments that you wonder if Plainview might just be a good man at heart. The second is the final scene in the movie, in which the preacher and Plainview square off, and Plainview revels in his triumph over his rival by mercilessly berating him after the preacher begs him for money.

The ideas portrayed here about religion, capitalism, the affluent, the poor, ambition, humility, and ultimately egoism and selflessness are sublime. Although there is some impressive scenery, the movie is subtle in its message, and very insightful. It is a movie that will make you think for many days and weeks afterwards about what it all means. And it is one of my favorite movies of the year.

The first scene:


The second scene:

In Bruges (2008)

In Bruges is a dark comedy reminiscent of Pulp Fiction to a degree, albeit with a European setting. It is violent, quite disturbing in parts, equally as hilarious in parts, and in the final moments rather pensive and philosophical. That having been said - I loved the movie.

The movie follows two hit men that are hiding out in the town of Bruges after a hit went awry and an innocent child was killed. Collin Farrell's character is tortured by guilt after inadvertently killing the child. One of my favorite actors, Ralph Fiennes plays the mob boss, and Brendan Gleeson plays Farrell's mentor. The plot is endlessly surprising, and is filled with supremely ironic moments which are really great, so I won't ruin it for you.

The interplay between the characters is quite funny - and the dialog shows the humanity of the characters even though they are in the end, hired killers - which makes for the same kind of cognitive dissonance in the audience that you get watching Pulp Fiction. How can a hit man be a moral person? Do immoral people who do immoral things actually have a conscience? These are the things you will be asking yourself as you watch this movie.

I was very entertained, and give this a hearty recommend. The sensitive should beware though - like Pulp Fiction it is very violent and disturbing.

Aocalypto (2006)

Apocalypto is a highly stylized epic set in ancient America that follows the travails of Jaguar Paw, a Mayan hunter. See more on the plot here.

This movie is quite remarkable, and I am surprised I have missed seeing it for so long. The costume design and makup is absolutely amazing - one of the few movies where costume and makup alone tell a huge part of the story. The whole movie is subtitled being spoken in a native American tongue, but it really feels authentic. Perhaps one of the ingenious things about this movie is that it still feels like a personal movie focused on a small set of characters even though there are sweeping epic scenes that show off Mel Gibson's version of the Mayan civilization. Jaguar Paw is so removed from the present, and witnesses things and places that are so different and quite unfathomable from the modern experience. Yet, you really identify with him as a person who wants to be good, to live a life of peace and happiness with his family.

Oh yeah, and there are some freaking awesome fight/chase scenes. Not to mention the horrifying close call with a Mayan priest on top of a pyramid and his attempt to cut out Jaguar Paw's heart in sacrifice to the Gods. Really fantastic movie - one of my favorites from 2006.

Atonement (2007)

Got a hold of another best picture nominee - Atonement. The first half of the movie portrays life on a large estate in England, where a romance blossoms between the caretaker's son (played by James McAvoy), and the daughter of the estate (played by Keira Knightly). Tragedy strikes as the jealous younger sister witnesses the rape of one of her young friends, and bends the truth to falsely indict McAvoy's character of the deed. He is scurried off to prison, and ends up enlisting in the war during the buildup to World War II. He still pledges his undying love for Knightly's character, and longs to return home. As the young sister grows up, she realizes how horrible her fib really was, and how it has ruined the lives of two people she dearly loves. Atonement for her misdeed consumes her, but the trio are already caught up in the madness of the war - the two women working as nurses tending to the maimed and dying, and the young man stuck at the infamous Dunkirk where the British Army is pinned down by the German Panzers.

Quite an epic story. However, I was underwhelmed. The acting was good, and the plot was good too - but after McAvoy's character is sent away about half way through the film, it seemed to try and be too much of an epic, and lost a lot of its authenticity. I give the first half of the film a hearty recommend, and the second half a very mild recommend. Verdict: Good, not great. Definately not Oscar material - I am surprised it was nominated for Best Picture. Once, and Into the Wild were much better in my opinion.

Into the Wild (2007)

Into the Wild is a deeply introspective film that is based on the life of Christopher McCandless. McCandless is the son of wealthy parents, and appears headed towards Harvard law school, when suddenly he decides to forsake everythin, and search for a deeper meaning and spirituality. He donates his life savings (about $20,000) to charity, burns his Social Security card and what little cash he has left, and wanders the country. Along his journey he meets a variety of people, shares tender moments with them all, but eventually leaves them all behind. Eventually he decides to go to Alaska, far away from anything to do with modern society.

The plot may seem a little bare - but the reality is, the film was very moving for me. McCandless seems to exude authenticity, sadly a rare attribute in today's world, and something I have always striven to have myself. The story of his rejection of society as a fake and invented system is something that is not new for the thousands of drifters in the world, but is a breath of fresh air, and gives a new perspective on life and love and the things that really have meaning to all of us. Well, there I go, blithering about the story - you can tell I loved it. The story is all the more poignant since it is a true story - the film is based on the book about McCandless. For those who haven't heard about McCandless before, I won't ruin the ending.

The acting was great, the music was great, the story was great, and the scenery was incredible -- definitely one of the best movies of 2007, and I highly recommend this to anyone.

Here is the trailer from youtube:

No Country for Old Men (2007)

I finally got my hands on the Best Picture Oscar winner for 2007.

No Country is a raw and dark movie that really makes you think. The movie is set in a dusty small Texas town, where a small town guy (played by Josh Brolin - remember the Goonies?) stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong. After sifting through the dead bodies, he finds a satchel with 2 million dollars in cash, and decides to take his chances in keeping the money. Little does he know that one of the most frightening and heartless killers you are likely to see in a movie (played by Javier Bardem) has been hired to recover the loot. What follows is an immensely engaging cat and mouse game, in which the cat spreads death and destruction everywhere he goes. Then of course is the local Sheriff (played Tommy Lee Jones) that is trying to make sense of the aftermath, always one step behind the hunted and the hunter.

Several things about this film really stick out:

The first thing I noticed is that there was almost no music at all, I only remember some odd strains starting a good 60 seconds after the final credits start to roll. The effect is that everything feels very realistic and in-your-face. The last time I remember such an approach was with one of my favorite movies, Castaway.

Secondly, Javier Bardem's character, Anton Chigurh, is perhaps the most frightening and memorable villain of the decade - I put him in the same class as Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, and Mr. Smith. I am actually surprised that Bardem was up for the supporting actor Oscar, he could easily be considered the lead character. This guy is literally out of this world, and something of a case study in psychology. From the first scene, Chigurh almost guided by principle in his killing, as if it is his calling in life - no one is immune, and even in some of the tender moments where innocent bystanders are pleading for mercy, Chigurh's face reveals that they might as well be flies to be swatted.

Third, the setting of the film is quite reminiscent of Fargo, one of the Coen's previous films. It reveals a real down to earth people. Coming from a small town in the west myself, I have to say this movie absolutely nailed it. I could point to half a dozen people in my town that mirror the people that I grew up with.

The ending of the movie was a little strange - but honestly, the more I think about it, the more I like it - I won't give it away. Suffice it to say that this movie was easily one of the best movies of 2007, and one that I am dying to watch again. The movie is not just a violent movie for guys who like violence, but a deeply introspective film that challenges your perceptions on what is right and what is wrong, the reality of violence no matter what part of the world you live in, and how people cope with it and try to make sense of it. I heartily recommend this movie to anyone (who can stomach the violence).

Just wanted to show one of my favorite clips from the movie, where Chigurh meets a random guy at a gas station and starts a tense and fascinating dialog:



And here is one of the trailers:

Michael Clayton (2007)

I was finally able to see one of the Best Picture nominees, Michael Clayton, which was also nominated for Best Actor (George Clooney), Best Supporting Actress (Tilda Swinton), and Best Supporting Actor (Tom Wilkinson). My thoughts on their performances? George Clooney was good, Tilda Swinton was good, and Tom Wilkinson was awesome (I am still waiting to see Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, but until then, Wilkinson is definitely my favorite supporting actor performance for 2007).

Michael Clayton (played by Clooney) is a "fixer" at a prestigious law firm in New York City. What is a "fixer" you say? Basically, he cleans up difficult situations with sometimes unconventional methods. The plot really gets kicked off as one of the senior partners at the firm (played superbly by Tom Wilkinson) has a mental breakdown of sorts in the middle of a deposition for a 3 billion dollar class action lawsuit. Clayton is dispatched to get the situation under control and try to ease the minds of the General Counsel of the firm's client (played by Tilda Swinton). It soon becomes apparent that Wilkinson's character will not be settled, and starts working against his former client. With 3 billion at stake, how far are people willing to go to silence him? Dunh dunh duuuuuuh....

I thought this movie was superb. Easily one of the most memorable films of 2007 - I actually watched it twice, and then the good parts version a third time. The acting is great, the plot intricate, the moral questions deep, and even little details like the cinematography, and music were just perfect for dramatic effect at just the right moments. Another thing I really liked about it was that it didn't waste time talking down to the audience, to explain things, which happens sometimes with movies like this. It was sharp and direct, and the drama carried me through the movie without me thinking once about when it was going to end. Oh, and the ending, by the way, was perfect.

I still have a deep love for Once so I can't put this at my top movie for the year, but so far, it neatly slides into second place, with a strong recommend.

The movie is rated R for language - though this is no Scarface in that regard, it is definitely not one I would watch with my grandmother :).

Paris, je t'aime

One of the more interesting movies of 2007 that I have seen is Paris, je t'aime. As the title indicates it is a portrait of Paris. Why is it so interesting? Well, it is actually a collage of 18 short films that loosely tie together, with the only really common factor being that they all take place in Paris, and most have something to do with love. Sounds shmoozy and there are a few of those short films that were strange or odd, but the majority of them were quite good. There are a ton of well known actors and actresses that you might recognize, and each of the segments was directed by a different director. The clips with Natalie Portman, Steve Buscemi, Nick Nolte, and Catalina Sandino Moreno were particularly memorable for me.

It is kind of hard to rehash any kind of a plot to give you a peek, so I will just say that there were about 6 of the segments that I really liked, about 10 that I liked, and 2ish that I didn't like - so I am giving this a solid recommend.

American Gangster (2007)

If there is one movie genre that I love more than zombies and sci-fi, it is a good mob movie. And if there are two actors that I had to say are my favorites of all time, on a given day you probably would hear me annoint Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. So needless to say, I was super hyped when I first saw the cutouts for American Gangster at the movie theaters last year. I never made it to the theater to see it, but it finally came out on video this last week.

The movie is based on the real life story of Frank Lucas (played by Washington), a Harlem crime lord that smuggles heroin from Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War in the coffins of dead service men. Crowe plays cop Richie Roberts who makes a name for himself as a good cop in a corrupt New York City police force.

I was really hoping to see some fireworks as the colossal actors faced off, but there is surprisingly little screen time when the two are together - it only happens in the last 10 minutes of the film. Don't get me wrong, the acting was superb, as you would expect, but it didn't quite live up to what I had imagined in my mind. Overall the movie was good, but I can't shake this nagging feeling that it could have been truly great. I give it a qualified recommend - as with Scarface, Blow, and any of those other unknown-ambitious-ruthless-dude-makes-it-big-in-the-drug-business type of movies, there is a lot of language, drugs, and sex, so the sensitive should beware.

Grindhouse (Planet Terror and Death Proof) (2007)

OK - So I saw this movie out of a bit of self indulgence - I just get a kick out of zombie movies for some reason - plus, I remember watching those terrible movies from the 1970s (not because I was even alive back then, but because during summer vacation they were always on the weird channels in the middle of the day). So needless to say, this double feature that pokes fun at both genres was a blast to watch.

The plot of Planet Terror is pretty senseless, and the details won't do you much good - by some crazy plot device the locals in a small town start turning into zombies, and a small group bands together to fend them off. By far the coolest part of the movie (I am laughing out loud as I type this because it is going to sound so ridiculous) was when they attached an assault rifle onto Rose McGowan's leg, and she starts wasting people with it.

Death Proof is a little more grounded in reality, with Kurt Russell as "Stunt Man Mike" a sadistic serial killer who kills people by smashing into them with his souped up stunt car. The film is slow getting going, but gets quite exciting towards the end, as his next victims turn out to be more than a handful themselves.

I loved both films - and laughed through a lot of it, enjoying the spoof/tribute. However, I think you have to be of the right persuasion to like them - as evidenced by the fact that Grindhouse got great critical reviews but did poorly at the box office.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Ben Affleck's directorial debut finally came out on video, and I snatched it up. There has been a lot of buzz around this movie, and I was interested.

Casey Affleck (Ben's brother) stars as a private detective hired to help search for a kidnapped little girl in inner city Boston. Turns out the girl's mother (portrayed by Amy Ryan) is just about as despicable of a person as you could find - addicted to crack, prone to leaving the little girl alone for long stretches at a time - and yet, she is guilt ridden for leaving her daughter long enough to be taken from her. Affleck's character knows "the people" around the neighborhood - meaning of course, he knows all the drug dealers and shady people that lurk around. One clue leads to another as he searches for the girl, and well... the plot is a little complex, and it has a twist ending, so I won't ruin it for you.

I will say this though - it was very good. I have been hearing hype about this movie for a while now, and though it wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be (thats usually the way it is with movies that I have heard a lot about), I still consider it one of the best movies of the year, and think it does deserve the Oscar and Golden Globe nods it is getting. Casey Affleck really shines, and he has a great supporting cast which includes Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris - two fantastic actors. Who would have thought that geeky dude from Ocean's Eleven was a headlining actor?

Mr. Brooks (2007)

It has been quite a while since I saw Kevin Costner in a movie that I thought was even decent - but finally after so many years, I found one. Costner plays Mr. Brooks, a successful businessman, who lives a normal life by day in the suburbs with his wife and daughter. By night however, this movie takes a dark twist as it is revealed that he is actually a serial killer with an addiction for the grotesque. William Hurt lends a supporting role as the personification of Costner's addiction, and is constantly at his side urging him to give in to his guilty pleasure. Things turn dicey as his latest murder is witnessed by a peeping tom, played by Dane Cook, but rather than turn Mr. Brooks in, he wants in on the fun.



This is a very creepy movie, but quite fascinating, as it explores the depths of Mr. Brooks' twisted psychological disorder. Costner and Hurt both do an incredible acting job, and it is their interplay that makes this movie really compelling. Sometimes they argue, sometimes they agree, sometimes they try to convince each other of some action - all the while portraying the Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde halves of the larger Mr. Brooks. In the end I was highly disturbed, and as usually happens with this type of movie, wondered if I was imagining my reality. But I never enjoyed being disturbed or prodded into solipsism quite as much as I did while watching this movie.

A Mighty Heart (2007)

Angelina Jolie flexes here acting muscles (how is that for a totally bizarre and random metaphor) in A Mighty Heart. The film is based on the true story of the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002 by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan. Jolie portrays the Daniel Pearl's wife Mariane who relentlessly prods the police and government into pursuing Pearl's kidnappers.



If you are a news junkie, you know how this story ends. However, you may not know some of the nitty-gritty details of the story. I was fascinated as the Pakistani authorities followed the trail of evidence in pursuit of the terrorists. I know it is a movie - but, being based on a true story, it made the fight against terrorism very real to me, and shows that there are good people around the world that are joining in this fight. Jolie's portrayal was thought by some to be Oscar-worthy, and I tend to agree, but alas, she was snubbed.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone, except for children as it contains a good deal of vulgar language and frightening images of terrorism and violence.

The Kingdom (2007)

I wasn't expecting much from The Kingdom, mostly because I have really disliked the so-called "ripped from the headlines" movies that have a penchant for overbearing political grandstanding. However The Kingdom avoids the politics of the current war in Iraq despite taking terrorism as its primary subject. Kudos to the screenwriters for this one, because I felt I could enjoy the movie without being preached to.

The movie stars Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, and Chris Cooper. My wife and I were pretty excited to see Garner as a butt-kicking government agent again, since it has been a few years since Alias has been off the air. The film begins with a horrific suicide bombing in an American housing complex in Saudi Arabia. The plot is pretty straight forward, an FBI team muscles its way through the normal channels of diplomacy in order to investigate. As they start to piece together the clues that point them to the terrorist cell behind the plot, things are increasingly more dangerous and culminate in an edge-of-your-seat chase/fight sequence in a terrorist controlled neighborhood. The drama was quite good, and the action was top notch. There were scenes reminiscent of A Mighty Heart and Clear and Present Danger - two movies that I loved. Overall this is probably the best action flick of 2007 that I have seen so far.

Once (2007)

Several months ago, I saw one of the most refreshing and interesting movies of the year. A small budgeted independent film set in Dublin called Once. The movie follows the fortunes of an Irish guitar playing busker (who remains unnamed throughout the film), who I will call "Dude". He meets a Czech immigrant girl one day on the street, and almost by accident they realize that they make great music together. There is a great scene near the beginning where they sit in a piano shop and play one of Dude's songs together. The effect is quite magical, and the rest of the movie plays out like a musical, but feels grounded in the real world. A quasi, un-requited romance develops between the two as they move into a studio to record an album, and we begin to learn about their past loves and shipwrecked dreams.



Maybe this is the music lover in me talking, but I loved the film. Each one of the songs was great, some of them quite moving, and the acting was surprisingly very good for two unknown actors. Glen Hansard (who plays Dude) and Markéta Irglová who plays his charming young sidekick, wrote all but one of the songs in the movie, and this is one soundtrack that I will definitely be picking up at my next opportunity.

I really want to recommend this movie to everyone, but it actually has quite a bit of vulgarity, so the sensitive should beware. At the end of the day though, the merits of the film shine through brilliantly. The movie took Sundance by storm, and is easily one of my favorite films of 2007.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Two of my favorite actors, Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, face off in this gritty western remake. Even if I had heard that the movie sucked, I would still have seen it just for them. I have yet to see a performance by either Bale or Crowe that was not interesting and engaging. This film did not disappoint.



Christian Bale plays peg-legged rancher, father, and husband Dan Evans, who struggles to make ends meet. Things turn from bad to worse as his landlord cuts off his water, and burns down his barn because he is late on his payments. As luck would have it, the ruthless outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) comes to town, is caught and destined for Yuma prison. Bale's character volunteers to escort the evil Wade to the prison train in order to make some extra cash. Gratuitous violence ensues as they travel through Indian territory, evade Wade's mob, and eventually end up in a shootout at the train station. Interestingly, Wade goes through a transformation during the journey, after observing the stalwart goodness of Evans in the face of certain death.

The ending was a little unbelievable, and the movie seemed to have the token western stereotypes (Chinamen working on the railroad for example). But in the end, I really enjoyed this movie. Ben Wade is one of those really bad bad guys that you love to watch in movies like this. I was actually a little shocked at first that Crowe was portraying this type of character - it seems like his staple is the heroic character that Bale was playing. But, Crowe's prowess as an actor shines through all the same. Bale's performance is just as good.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone. One of the better films of 2007.