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January 7, 2008
50 Movies You Might Have Missed (26-30)

26. About a Boy

This film is surprisingly good considering the bland, slab of vanilla Hugh Grant plays the lead. This highly moral piece tells the story of Will, a man who is a complete waste of space. He has literally nothing to show for his life and is proud of the fact. Will is a delightful bit of clever writing. Peter Hedges’ script does a fantastic job of establishing that Will has nothing to offer anyone at anytime. He is a human vacuum. Will’s life begins to change when he gets involved with a boy named Marcus. Marcus’ life is in turmoil because of his suicidal mother Fiona (Toni Collette). He turns to Will for guidance. Will, Marcus and Fiona develop a strange but fascinating trio of dysfunction. The three faces their screwed up lives each driftless and lacking purpose. Through this trio the film teaches a valuable moral lesson while avoiding postmodern whimpering, which very rare these days. For this reason, I cannot recommend this film highly enough for you.


27. Memento

This film about a man with no short term memory who reawakens mentally every few minutes and is trying to find the killer of his wife is truly unique and brilliantly laid out. The use of the forward moving hotel phone conversation (in black & white) as a buffer between the backward moving scenes of the rest of the film completely makes me geek out. Even though the film delivers a horrid existential message, the brilliance of the plotting and the intelligence of the script make this well worth suffering through the low philosophy.


28. The Host

A great update to the Godzilla template. A strange monster terrorizes the citizens living near Seoul's Han River. The Park family is sent on a quest to kill the monster when it grabs the teenage Park Hyun-seo (Ah-sung Ko) and hides her away in its lair deep in the sewers. The monster is handled well and seems real enough. This is mostly due to the care the filmmakers took to give it realistic movement. It is somewhat clumsy when rushed but is capable of graceful movement when attacking much like a lizard. I was impressed with how they handled the beast. The characters elevate themselves above being simple sketches and gives this piece an interesting depth that makes this a worthy movie. I warn you that the ending teeters on the ridiculous and almost spoils any successes the earlier acts achieved.
29. Der Tunnel

This film about Harry Melchior, a German swimmer who slaves to free his sister Lotte from life under the budding Eastern German Communist Government reminds us of the casual horrors of life under communism. Often we forget the unrelenting anguish experienced around the globe under this brutal system. Families torn apart, an unstable legal system, the loss of self worth, all of these facts of life under communism had more impact than we usually admit. Melchior and his cohorts dare to dig a tunnel under the Berlin Wall in order to free those struggling to escape Communism's evil grasp. If digging the tunnel wasn't dramatic enough, with threats of being discovered and imprisoned, once they break to the others side, they still need to enter enemy territory and smuggle out his sister.

This film is expertly laid out and strongly executed. The script by Johannes W. Betz finds fertile soil in the emotional strain of those on both sides of the Berlin Wall. The torment of those seeing their country fall once again into political hell - moving from Nazism into Communism, while still wanting to believe the communist lie of a better life is striking. Betz also is adept at showing the pain of those living in freedom that are haunted by those left behind. The drive of his main characters is fascinating and the quiet fear expressed on both sides is memorable.


30. Ran

Akira Kurosawa’s rendition of King Lear is a long-winded film to be certain. Despite its length this film is fascinating. If you can sit for extended periods and don’t mind subtitles, this is a great film to experience. Not Kurosawa’s best film, this is still a wonderful work.







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posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 7:00 PM




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