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nevillekiser
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Name: Neville
Country: China
Interests: Art, People, Books, Movies, Writing, Music, Dancing like there is no tomorrow
Occupation: Education/training
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
9/7/2005
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| The Top Ten Films of 2007
If you want to read the list, you gotta go to Neville's Blogger Blog
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| If I Could Pick the OSCAR NOMINEES (2007 Edition)...Most of the time, the Academy Award only honors a few select films. Roughly 8-12 films receive the majority of nominations and the films truly excelling in the field get left out. It's all political I guess (to some extent in the end) but here's my list (somewhat of an annual tradition) of the films and people I would've honored had I gotten to nominate peeps for these awards.
I hope you can respect them more than the current nominees.
BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Viggo Mortensen EASTERN PROMISES
Don Cheadle TALK TO ME
Ryan Gosling LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
Philp Seymour Hoffman THE SAVAGES
BEST ACTRESS
Nikki Blonsky HAIRSPRAY
Amy Adams ENCHANTED
Laura Linney THE SAVAGES
Ellen Page JUNO
Keri Russell WAITRESS
Helena Bonham-Carter SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett I’M NOT THERE
Amy Ryan GONE BABY GONE
Tabu THE NAMESAKE
Allison Janney JUNO
Vanessa Redgrave ATONEMENT
Leslie Mann KNOCKED UP
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Philip Seymour Hoffman CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR
Javier Bardem NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Irfan Kahn THE NAMESAKE
Hal Holbrook INTO THE WILD
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
JUNO
KNOCKED UP
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
RATATOUILLE
THE SAVAGES
WAITRESS
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ATONEMENT
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
THE NAMESAKE
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS
THE COUNTERFEITERS
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
PERSEPOLIS
ETERNAL SUMMER
LUST, CAUTION
BEST DIRECTOR
Joel and Ethan Cohen NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Julian Schnabel THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Sean Penn INTO THE WILD
P.T. Anderson THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Russell Crowe AMERICAN GANGSTER
BEST PICTURE
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
INTO THE WILD
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
RATATOUILLE
Did I miss anyone or anything?
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| Sundance Film Festival 2008: DAY FOURBaghead
The Duplass Brothers (The Puffy Chair) are back at Sundance again and this time, with a documentary-style homage to film festivals, art and the responsibilities of creativity. Baghead achieves the nearly impossible in 85 minutes. It plays as an all-out comedy, a horror film and a saucy romance drama. The comedy runs throughout but there are moments that are truly scary and also moments that are truly human. The four leading actors are dead-on portrayals of two couples---one recently broken up but still interested in one another and one just in the beginning stages of friendship, where the guy likes the girl more than the girl likes the guy---and this struggle is strong amidst the "baghead" dilemma going on in the woods outside of Los Angeles. With an ending as surprising as it is emotionally affecting, Baghead may appear to be art-house-minimalist cinema but instead it functions more as a small gift, funny and creepy and in the end, moving. Neville's Grade: B+
* * *
Sleep Dealer
It's really depressing when a film has such great ideas and yet, gets bogged down and diluted by them. This is the case with the science fiction/faction fantasy Sleep Dealer, a mess of a film that's predictable, "over" photographed and suffering from a screenplay written by the director who really needed someone tell him to "simplify, simplify!" Additionally, the film feels preachy and treats its audience as if they know nothing about what's going on in the world today. Yes, we know America attacks innocent people in other countries. Yes, we know the world is disconnected and cheap labor is outsourced overseas. But the problem is, the director/writer takes this "travesties" and rubs your face in it and says "this is the future!" On top of all this, the central character is one-dimensional...which is surprising for such a good actor in the role. His eyes resonate within us (or at least wants to) but the script doesn't resonate with him. Someone will one day make a solid, focussed motion picture about the future and the age of the disconnect (with immigration, global economy and water shortage) but this movie is not that one. The worst movie I've seen at Sundance 2008. Neville's Grade: D
* * *
Towelhead
(REVIEW COMING SOON)
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| Sundance Film Festival 2008: DAY THREEIt's late and we saw 4 films today after class this morning so it was boom, boom, boom, boom. Not that I'm complaining...but still. I'm tired now so the summaries will be brief.
* * *
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
The weakest film of the day, yes, but still a good one. Not as emotionally engaging as the other three but still worth the ticket. Peter Saarsgard is in it and he's brilliant as usual. It's a coming-of-age story for a wealthy son who's just finished college and is about to go out into the real world. The only thing is, he meets two free-spirited lovers in Pittsburgh who change his path and his mind on a number of things, as the summer goes along. It could've been so much better but strong performance, strong visuals and making Pittsburgh look as beautiful as it can be, gives the film its 'oomph.' Neville's Grade: C+
* * *
The Wackness
Ben Kingsley in the nuttiest performance of his career, no doubt, as a psychiatrist who gives sessions to a recent high school graduate in exchange for weed. This is also a coming-of-age tale but it's one set (surprisingly and wonderfully) in 1994. This is the era. And this is why this film is becoming such a hit at Sundance with the 24-35 crowd. Why? Because we love Notorious B.I.G., we listened to all the music the film has on its soundtrack back in our high school days. Still, the movie works as a great comedy, a coming-of-age tale (but for mature audiences for sure--not for kids) and as reaffirmation of hope in people. From parents who aren't perfect to friendships that are born out of a need and longing for one another. Once again, this is one of the many (what I'm calling) "Ecclesiastes" movies at Sundance 2008. A powerful story that will be out in theaters this summer (no doubt....word!). You'll get that joke when you see it for yourself. Neville's Grade: B+
* * *
Frozen River
Some movies come out of nowhere and knock you off your feet. Frozen River just about does that. It's the story of two poor women---one white, one Native American---who both find each other out of selfishness and abandonment. At first, all they want is money. Whatever the other can do to help them get this is all that matters. But later, things change. Smuggling people in America is the theme and it's set against the true-life backdrop of a Native American land in upstate New York where people cross the border often, transporting people in the trunks of their car. And they do it across a frozen river. The performances by all are hot, the direction is solid and the movie is the antithesis of your normal independent film. Why? Because it's about compassion, about grace and mercy and most shockingly, sacrifice. The best drama I've seen at Sundance probably. Neville's Grade: A-
* * *
The Visitor
Remember that little movie from 2003 that won the hearts of everyone at Sundance and all around the world? Its name was The Station Agent. And the director is back with a film so pure, so original, so deftly profound in its use of simple, everyday people and visuals, I almost couldn't get the lump out of my throat by the film's end. More moving than his previous film, for sure, The Visitor is about illegal immigration. Actually, that's not true. That may be what some people will tell you but it's not all about that. There's so much more here---every musician or artist who likes to create music must see this film---and so much rhythm to be found on the screen, it almost takes your breath away. Also, this is the only film I've been to at Sundance that received a 1200+ audience member standing ovation after the film's end. With thunderous applause that lasted for over a minute--maybe even two--this clearly reflected the political and the personal. The great Richard Jenkins leads this extraordinary cast. Basically, you must see this in April when it's scheduled to be released. A fantastic picture of community---and the Church, really---and the rhythms we must all learn to live inside. Neville's Grade: A
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As you can see, the films just kept getting better. More tomorrow.
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| Sundance Film Festival 2008: DAY TWOSundance Film Festival 2008...the second day. Same setup--three films--and all of them this time were extremely different.
* * *
Mermaid
(Dir./Screenwriter: Anna Melikyan--World Dramatic Competition -- Russia)
 
The first act of Mermaid is imaginatively explosive, waking people from the coma of creative mediocrity. It's a fairy tale set in Russia and it's about a girl who wants to be a ballerina. The only problem is, that's "not her destiny." The film is hilarious, shocking, and always surprising. The sound pulsates and screeches and screams its way into your air so you can truly feel Director / Screenwriter Anna Melikyan's magic. Her heroine is a loner, a quiet and desperate-for-love little girl who wants to meet her father. In this journey she realizes she has power in her self--not figuratively, but literally--and this becomes the catalyst for nearly everything else that will happen later on in the film.
The director of Sundance introduced the film as one of the movies this year that is "truly original" and there is no exception about that. Melikyan gives us a different way of seeing the dreary and developed Moscow today and does so with a production design and the kind of cinematography that will inspire anyone to pick up a camera and capture something beautiful.
Mermaid is not a perfect ride but it shouldn't be. Its wildness and unpredictability shift from fable to traffic to imagination to picturesque beach scenes that possess the idyllic spirit of aesthetics, as a concept. I won't give away anything else but to say...I'd love to see this Russian fairy tale win the Audience Award. And I think it has a good shot at it. For everyone I saw, including myself, voted "4 stars" for this dark and dreamlike comic fantasy. See it. As soon as you can. Neville's Grade: B (But if I only was to grade the first hour: A+)
* * *
Goliath
A random DV low budget film about a man who recently gets divorced and loses his cat while in the process. To cope, he searches for his cat (Goliath) and hopes to find redemption there. However, things change as we see the painfully funny (and sometimes only painful) effects divorce can have on one's life. This movie means well and has some incredibly funny and original scenes but it's gratuitious by its end and goes for an ending that feels "edgy" rather than "honest." Whenever a writer does that I always feel a little cheated. Still, I appreciated this film as a Sundance selection. Why? Because it's so lyrical it makes you actually think hard about what is actually going on onscreen b/c there's so little dialogue. For serious film buffs only. Neville's Grade: C
* * *
Alone In Four Walls
Not much needs to be written about this Russian documentary film in competition for the World Documentary award. It's about a group of young adolescent boys who are put into an educational/correctional facility for stealing food, stealing small items and oh yeah...murder. They are all younger than 13 and it's all done with interviews with the children (and a few of their parents). It's an eye-opener documentary for sure and one many people need to see. Community is such a powerful thing. We all really do need it no matter how young (or old) we are. Neville's Grade: B
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