The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
Posts tagged Dark Comedy
Mother (2009)
Aug 21st
Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Ku Jin
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Country: South Korea
Genre: Foreign, Thriller
Joon-ho Bong has quickly become one of the most promising international directors around. In 2003 he made his presence known with a tour de force called Memories of Murder. In 2006 his brilliant take on the all-but-forgotten ‘monster’ genre manifested itself in the form of The Host. And here, returning to the mystery/thriller genre he creates his masterpiece, (surely the first of many,) with Mother.
Do-joon and his mother have a unique bond that extends well beyond her overprotective reach. She attempts to look out for him, but as he’s growing into adulthood (slowly, I might add, due to a mental handicap,) he seems to push her away. But when he’s arrested for the murder of a girl, his mother will ‘stop at nothing’ to prove his innocence – even if he can’t remember the details.
There are so many things that go into making this film great. Naturally part of it is Bong’s visual style and ability to tell a compelling stories through the eyes of intriguing characters. But no amount of praise can overstate the magnificence of Hye-ja Kim’s performance as ‘mother’. Without her raw and natural talent to wear her emotions on her face, (and trust me, they get complex,) Mother could not have been made, at least not in the capacity in which it stands. This is one of those special films that only come around once every ten years or so.
Have You Seen This? (Scandinavian Edition)
Jul 23rd
International films have always played an interesting role in the American film market. They aren’t usually embraced by the majority of the nation, unless under the most extreme word of mouth or marketing. While I can only speak for my own time on this planet, I don’t feel like this was always the case. During the height of huge international directors like Truffaut, Kurosawa, Bergman, or countless other names, it seems like even if most American’s weren’t familiar with the films, they were familiar with the names. But most foreign and international films have always been subjected to art house releases, particularly in New York and Los Angeles with only select few making it to markets in each state’s Big City.
Understandably, subtitles are a bit laborious for viewers who are just looking for escapism. AMC Theaters provide a plethora of options for each week’s new releases, so why bother seeking out a film that will put you to work? Well, the independent and foreign market have some amazing pieces of art that should absolutely be seen at some point in your life. You can find any number of top 10, 100, or 1000 lists on the internet for suggestions. But a foreign market that greatly gets overlooked is Scandinavian cinema.
Outside of it’s one great master, Ingmar Bergman (and perhaps the master of all things cinema), most people might not know much about this territory’s films. Firstly, Scandinavia is kind of an amorphous location for most American’s. “It’s that one part of Europe that has those countries in it, right? It IS part of Europe, right? Is the Swiss part of it?” So it’s no real surprise that the films of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland (and Iceland) elude the general population of America.
But! There are a number of directors like Susanne Bier (who directed the 2004 film Brothers which the 2009 Jim Sheridan version was based on,) Lasse Halström (Academy Award winning director of Chocolat and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?), and the controversial Lars von Trier (Antichrist, Dancer in the Dark) who have been making films in both countries for years. And with the popularity of the Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,) 2008′s Let the Right One In, and the novelty of the Nazi zombie film Dead Snow, Scandinavian films seem to be rising in popularity.
Feast (2006)
May 18th
HORROR PICK:
Starring: Henry Rollins, Judah Friedlander, Navi Rawat
Director: John Gulager
Country: USA
Genre: Horror
The ‘characters-stranded-in-a-house-while-being-attacked-by-creatures’ subgenre never gets old.
This Project Greenlight film definitely fills a void in this decade’s lack of decent creature features. Feast is hyperaware of the stereotypes that tend to bog down other horror films, (whiny female characters, children, unrealistic heroism,) and remedies it with gooey splattery fun. This film’s audacity to hold nothing sacred is its biggest weapon. The unexpected can and does happen creating a complete sense of chaos. Are there loop holes in the plot? Sure. But over analyzing it is missing the point entirely. It’s a barrage of unadulterated grimy tongue-in-cheek horror that Hollywood almost never releases.
Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
May 5th
HORROR PICK:
Starring: Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, Brian Cox
Director: Michael Dougherty
Country: USA
Genre: Horror
It’s about time that the horror genre received it’s version of Magnolia.
This film weaves together four stories (or four and a half if you count the opening,) of horrific events happening on Halloween in a small town. Each tale deals with a slightly different subgenre: slasher, monster, zombies, ghosts, and other furry creatures, tying each of the characters into one another’s story. The film as a whole is told with a gleeful excitement, as if Dougherty can’t wait to reveal how each character is connected, and scare us with the handful of pleasing surprises. Trick ‘r Treat really fills a void that the horror genre as been missing since the 80s of a film really embracing what it is and relishing in every second of its storytelling. Plus, the cast is brilliant fun. Dylan Baker is an underrated genius.
The Host (2006)
Apr 23rd
SCIENCE FICTION PICK:
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Hee-bong Byeon, Hae-il Park
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Country: South Korea
Genre: Foreign, Sci-Fi
As far as modern monster flicks go, this is as fun as they come.
The director of Memories of Murder brings us another enticingly directed film in the form of the often humorous and subtly tragic creature-feature The Host. It focuses on one family of slight losers trying to save the life of the youngest, the daughter of loseriest brother, after being taken off by a giant sea creature. The first scene where we get to see the monster is by far the best since the Harryhausen days. Joon-ho Bong finds a steady balance of drama and humor, never ceasing to show the consequences of destruction, but quick to show character’s incompetence. The monster itself is a bumbling idiot, in a way similar to the family of main characters. The Host‘s biggest downfall is that it’s a bit overlong, but it builds to a very satisfying conclusion that’ll have you cheering for the underdogs.
Adaptation. (2002)
Apr 1st
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper
Director: Spike Jonze
Country: USA
Genre: Drama
Convolution has never been so sweet.
The term “film within a film” is nothing new, but a “script within a script” is a different story (no pun intended.) Adaptation. is a mind-bending (nose-bleedingly) idea on an adaptation of an unadaptable book. Only from the mind of Charlie Kaufman could we get such a neurotic brilliant mess of a writer who writes himself into a script based on a novel about flowers after writing in the author of the book he’s trying to adapt and realizing that there’s no way to craft it into the story he wants without selling out his ending. It’s a case of art imitating life, but the art is in fact the life that it’s imitating and thus another layer is added. Spike Jonze masterfully captures this bizarre concept on two levels, one) for those who are just watching the surface as an entertaining two hours, and two) relaying the information needed to those who look deeper and realize just how skillfully complicated the story actually is.
Sin City (2005)
Mar 23rd
Starring: Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke
Director: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
Country: USA
Genre: Crime
What happens in Sin City… doesn’t really matter because there’s always someone doing something worse than you.
Sin City is one of the most stylized films of the 2000s, and one of the most faithful adaptations. Using Frank Miller’s beautiful black and white graphic novel panels as the storyboards for every shot in this film results in what can only be described as a live action comic book. The casting of the beloved (or behated, is that a word?) characters was handled with tenacity; the choice of Mickey Rourke as the ugly-and-tough-as-sin Marv. Rodriguez’s unique approach to filmmaking provided the perfect atmosphere to appropriately create the world of Sin City in all it’s grittiness. No punches are pulled here, it’s as violent as the books are… and stylized as it may be, it’s not for the squeamish.
