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Reviews: November 2007 Archives
"The Savages"
By Matt Singer on 11/26/2007
By Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "The Savages," Fox Searchlight, 2007] It's not something one often praises in a film, but there's a mundaneness to "The Savages" that is incredibly appealing. The film is about a brother (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a sister (Laura Linney) dealing with their ailing father (Philip Bosco). That is all. There is no wacky road trip where they all reconnect, or a romanticized bank heist that solves all their unaddressed problems. That simplicity is refreshing, even if the movie's tone is a little uneven. Bosco's Lenny Savage has been living with a woman in Arizona;... MORE »
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"The Savages"
By Matt Singer on 11/26/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "The Savages," Fox Searchlight, 2007] It's not something one often praises in a film, but there's a mundaneness to "The Savages" that is incredibly appealing. The film is about a brother (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a sister (Laura Linney) dealing with their ailing father (Philip Bosco). That is all. There is no wacky road trip where they all reconnect, or a romanticized bank heist that solves all their unaddressed problems. That simplicity is refreshing, even if the movie's tone is a little uneven. Bosco's Lenny Savage has been living with a woman in Arizona;... MORE »
"I'm Not There"
By Matt Singer on 11/19/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There," Weinstein Company, 2007] A man stands on a stage and plays ferocious, grinding blues. At first glance, the man is Bob Dylan, defiantly pounding away on his electric guitar despite the protestations of an angry crowd at Manchester's Free Trade Hall. On second glance, the man isn't Bob Dylan at all; the man, in fact, isn't even a man. It's Cate Blanchett as "Jude Quinn" in an incredibly lifelike simulacrum of the Manchester show in Todd Haynes' Dylan deconstruction "I'm Not There." There's a lot of that in... MORE »
"I'm Not There"
By Matt Singer on 11/19/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There," Weinstein Company, 2007] A man stands on a stage and plays ferocious, grinding blues. At first glance, the man is Bob Dylan, defiantly pounding away on his electric guitar despite the protestations of an angry crowd at Manchester's Free Trade Hall. On second glance, the man isn't Bob Dylan at all; the man, in fact, isn't even a man. It's Cate Blanchett as "Jude Quinn" in an incredibly lifelike simulacrum of the Manchester show in Todd Haynes' Dylan deconstruction "I'm Not There." There's a lot of that in... MORE »
"Margot at the Wedding"
By Matt Singer on 11/12/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Margot at the Wedding," Paramount Classics, 2007] There are two family trees in Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding," and both are in deep trouble. The one in the backyard of the Zellers' house is overgrown. Neighbors say it's dead and demand it be cut down. The Zellers themselves can't agree on anything except the fact that the tree must stay, protecting it as a way of clinging to their own flimsy relationships. The title character (played by Nicole Kidman) returns home with her son Claude (Zane Pais) for the title nuptials of her... MORE »
"Margot at the Wedding"
By Matt Singer on 11/12/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Margot at the Wedding," Paramount Classics, 2007] There are two family trees in Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding," and both are in deep trouble. The one in the backyard of the Zellers' house is overgrown. Neighbors say it's dead and demand it be cut down. The Zellers themselves can't agree on anything except the fact that the tree must stay, protecting it as a way of clinging to their own flimsy relationships. The title character (played by Nicole Kidman) returns home with her son Claude (Zane Pais) for the title nuptials of her... MORE »
"Southland Tales"
By Matt Singer on 11/12/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Southland Tales," Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2007] Two roads diverged, and director Richard Kelly took the path not taken. The cult wunderkind behind "Donnie Darko" could have taken all that indie cred, gone Hollywood, and directed a sequel to a superhero movie like so many others before him. Instead he made the shambolic "Southland Tales," and he took so long doing it that his vision of an alternate future is already almost an alternate history at this point. Kelly's vision of an encroaching apocalypse begins on July 4th way back in 2005, when nuclear weapons... MORE »
"Southland Tales"
By Matt Singer on 11/12/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Southland Tales," Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2007] Two roads diverged, and director Richard Kelly took the path not taken. The cult wunderkind behind "Donnie Darko" could have taken all that indie cred, gone Hollywood, and directed a sequel to a superhero movie like so many others before him. Instead he made the shambolic "Southland Tales," and he took so long doing it that his vision of an alternate future is already almost an alternate history at this point. Kelly's vision of an encroaching apocalypse begins on July 4th way back in 2005, when nuclear weapons... MORE »
"No Country For Old Men"
By Matt Singer on 11/05/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: Josh Brolin in "No Country For Old Men," Miramax Films, 2007] I've seen over 80 new releases in the five months since I saw "No Country For Old Men" at this year's Cannes Film Festival, including fine works by directors like Steven Soderbergh, Michael Winterbottom and Abel Ferrara. But none has stayed as fresh in my memory — or, hell, just straight-up kicked as much ass — as the Coen brothers' "No Country For Old Men." I'd say it's their masterpiece, but they've already put out two or three other movies that might qualify... MORE »
"No Country For Old Men"
By Matt Singer on 11/05/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: Josh Brolin in "No Country For Old Men," Miramax Films, 2007] I've seen over 80 new releases in the five months since I saw "No Country For Old Men" at this year's Cannes Film Festival, including fine works by directors like Steven Soderbergh, Michael Winterbottom and Abel Ferrara. But none has stayed as fresh in my memory — or, hell, just straight-up kicked as much ass — as the Coen brothers' "No Country For Old Men." I'd say it's their masterpiece, but they've already put out two or three other movies that might qualify... MORE »
