Todd Field’s Little Children (A) is a film about unease in modern-day suburbia featuring Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson as a couple meeting up at the neighborhood swimming pool and having an affair. Meanwhile, a freaky neighbor (Jackie Earle Haley) is possibly on the prowl for his own kind of release in the community. Field once again draws amazing, absorbing performances from his actors and doesn’t give obvious hints about where his plot is headed.
“The Queen” an Engrossing Character Study
Stephen Frears’ The Queen (A-) is about finding the proper time and place to say one’s peace. For Queen Elizabeth II, perfectly embodied by Helen Mirren, speaking out after the death of Princess Diana is especially difficult. The film details the negotiations between Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) and the queen to help put public closure on a nation’s tragedy. The film does a masterful job of showing all the steps it sometimes takes to move a mountain.
“Superman Returns” Sometimes Flies
Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (B-) is an often lovely art deco tribute to the most American of superheroes with Brandon Routh doing an admirable but thankless job stepping into the shoes of the late Christopher Reeve. Although the film is beautiful to behold, much of the story is a bore. Kate Bosworth is dull as Lois Lane, and Kevin Spacey is inspired as Lex Luthor until his master plan involves a bunch of rocks falling down for about 20 minutes in the film’s final act. Still, for its homage to the first two Superman films and restoring the grandeur to the franchise and for small touches such as a supporting performance by Parker Posey and a digital cameo by Marlon Brando, it gets a marginal vote of approval.
“The Departed” is Supremely Entertaining
It’s a bit ironic that one of the most original filmmakers of our time has made one of his very best films by following someone else’s formula. A remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, Martin Scorsese’s The Departed (A) traces a young undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrating a South Boston crime syndicate led by Jack Nicholson while the mobster’s protégé (Matt Damon) has simultaneously penetrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate. Both DiCaprio and Damon become deeply consumed by their double lives and the plans and counter-plans of their respective operations; but when they discover there’s a mole in their midst, they must race to expose each other’s identity. This is Scorsese at his most efficient, with each and every sequence important to the plot and every shot of blink-and-you-missed-it importance to the big picture. It’s an astonishing adventure with a great trio of central performances plus many other great ones in the ensemble including Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen and Vera Farmiga.
“An Inconvenient Truth” Awakens Eco-Consciousness
Al Gore’s environmental call to action in An Inconvenient Truth (A) shouldn’t make good cinema, but as directed by Dennis Guggenheim, it’s an efficient and effective entreaty for citizens to help combat global warming. As persuasive filmmaking, it makes a stirring case.
“Rent” Movie Musical Gets a Lot Right
Chris Columbus’ Rent (B+) faithfully adapts the Broadway musical about a circle of bohemian NYC friends coming to terms with mortality and having to pay their dues for living life to their own beat. What he gets wrong in awkward transitions, cheesy sets and cast members (many from the original stage production) who look too old to be twentysomethings, Columbus gets right in honoring and immortalizing the heart and bliss of artistic life and friendships. Idina Menzel, Tracie Thoms, Rosario Dawson and Jesse L. Martin are standouts in the cast, and Jonathan Larson’s propulsive music fuels a life-affirming experience.
“Revenge of the Sith” Partially Redeems the Prequels
Finally, the mess of a prequel trilogy gets some moments of badass as George Lucas’s Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (B) restores some dignity to the series. Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker and Natalie Portman’s Padmé Amadala are still the soapiest of characters – and now they are pregnant with Luke and Leia (guess it’s not a spoiler alert when you’re already in a prequel!) – and Anakin is still ticked at Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) for not making him a full Jedi. Lots of battles occur, and ultimately we get the anticipated volcano fight when Anakin finally transforms fully into part-man, part-machine Darth Vader. Of course, Lucas almost spoils that with a strange Frankenstein homage (the Ewoks weren’t available for a chorus of “Yub Nub”?) There’s at least some symmetry in this film that helps match it to the classic trilogy and foreshadows the continuing Skywalker saga to come. Did we care much about any of these prequel characters? Not really. There were some cool effects, and I guess it’s better to have a Star Wars movie than not (at least in some of Episode II ‘s case and most of Episode III). Fans will appreciate the plunge into darkness and the higher stakes than usual, even though the characters are still pretty undercooked.
“Batman Begins” a Glorious Reboot by Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (A-) is a thrilling reboot with Christian Bale as the caped crusader. I loved how it began unexpectedly in the Himalayas before settling in Gotham City. Nolan’s particular talents fit nicely with labyrinthine plot devices, elaborate inventions and double-crosses. Cillian Murphy is ok as The Scarecrow and Katie Holmes barely registers as a love interest, but overall the supporting cast is outstanding: Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson, to name a few. This is a highly recommended superhero movie that saves the franchise from the clutches of Joel Schumacher.
“Brokeback Mountain” a Watershed Gay Romance
Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain (A) pairs brilliant actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as men who fall in love in the Wyoming wilderness of the 1960’s and spend the rest of their life trying to reconcile their forbidden desires to their wives (played by Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway) and hide their emotions from themselves. It’s a heartbreaking reverse-romance as most of the love is unrequited. The cinematography and storytelling are exquisite, and the brittle emotions cut to the bone. The passage of time parallels the creeks and brooks of the gorgeous countryside, even if the emotions run deep and powerful but often unexplored. Ledger and Gyllenhaal may be more daring than they even know for taking on these roles with such abandon, and Lee gives them a narrative that resonates.
David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” is Powerful
David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, based on a graphic novel of the same name, is a powerful thriller in which Viggo Mortensen plays a low-key small town merchant who fends off some criminal types that come into town and outs himself as having a bit of a secret past. Mortenssen is dynamite, and Maria Bello is also spectacular as his wife. William Hurt is also great in a creepy extended cameo. Packed with secrets and poignant as a meditation on crime and American life, this was one of the best films of 2005.
Pixar’s “Incredibles” Lives Up to Name
Building on a legacy that includes anthropomorphic toys, fish and cars, Brad Bird’s entry into the Pixar universe, The Incredibles (B-) is one of the first to feature human protagonists. Like The Flintstones or The Jetsons, this animated situational comedy features a one-of-a-kind family. Because The Incredibles are all undercover superheroes, there’s a fun dichotomy between domestic bliss and all-out adventure. It’s all pretty fantastical but a touch forgettable, even with all the clever flourishes. Bird includes some deft touches and nostalgic homages, but ultimately I hoped this one would leap more tall buildings with a single bound.
“Before Sunset” Reunites Linklater’s Talky Lovers
Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset (B) reunites the spontaneous lovers played so memorably by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise. This time the conceit is that the roving conversation (this time in Paris) plays out in real time. It’s a bit more experiment than narrative continuation and only occasionally nails universal truths as before. But rarely do you get films with emotions laid this bare, and it’s fascinating to watch what Jesse and Celine will do next.