The Painted Veil

Release date: 20 December 2006 (New York City, USA)

Directed by John Curran and starring uber-actor Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, The Painted Veil - based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham - tells the 'love' story of Walter Fane (Norton) and his cheating wife Kitty (Watts) as they battle cholera in China in the 1920s. When Fane discovers Kitty's infidelity, he accepts a position in a remote Chinese village and drags her along just to be spiteful. However, what ensues in the closeness of a cholera village and amid the dying bodies is a new understanding and love for each other. While the story seems a tad farfetched, the strong acting of Watts and Norton, and the breathtaking scenery (shot by cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh)) make this film worth a watch.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Zodiac

Release date: 2 March 2007 (Canada)

Directed by David Fincher and starring a post-Brokeback Mountain star, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downy Jr and Brian Cox, Zodiac is based on the true story of a serial killer who terrorised the San Francisco Bay area in the 1970s. Downy gives a great performance as an-over-the-top, drugged-out reporter. However, his performance is not enough to save this film from its ever so slow pacing and the fact it's too smart by half. A whack of editing may have helped certainly, as we didn't need to have every clue, every discovered rehashed in a movie that's trying to build some tension. I think ultimately where this film fails is not knowing its starting point: was Fincher trying to do a thriller? A bio-op alla In Cold Blood? Or something in between.

For failing to deliver on what could have been a very good film, my rating 5 out of 10.

There Will Be Blood

Release date: 10 December 2007 (New York City, USA)

Wow! Well, what can you say about this Oscar-nominated movie but, wow. The film is a 2:40 glimpse into the mind of a seemingly good guy oilman (played by Daniel Day Lewis), who, over the course of the film reveals his truly ugly, sickening colours and, in doing so, ends up a hollow, evil skeleton of a man. As you watch his descent over the movie into the pure evil creature he is, you're struck by the strangeness of it all, sure; but more by the knowledge - sadly - that people like Daniel Plainview exist even today. There Will Be Blood is a masterpiece for sure and kudos to Paul Thomas Anderson's directing and Lewis' bravado acting. The film's ending is appropriate for its sadness, sadism and leaving us all to wonder, why? With this and No Country for Old Men, I'm stumped on Best Picture this year.

My rating 10 out of 10.

Mongol

Release date: 10 August 2007 (Vyborg Russian Cinema Festival)

Sergei Bodrov directs this historical epic of Genghis Khan (the early years) starting way back in circa 1206 when the great khan was nothing more than a wee lad named Temudjin. Mongol is Russia's entry as Best Foreign Language Film in this year's Academy Awards, and, from the great, sweeping story (think Dr. Zhivago without the melodrama), simply gorgeous cinematography (with dibs to Rogier Stoffers and Sergei Trofimov) and perfect performances from Tadanobu Asano (as Temudjin, aka Genghis Kkan), Khulan Chuluun (as Borte, his wife), and especially Hong-lei Sun (as Temudjin's friend/nemesis, Jamukha), this film is definitely Oscar-worthy. And while a great, entertaining story, Genghis in this version is a little too zen, if you will, for my liking. In addition, the version I watched suffered from a Tower of Babel syndrome where I viewed english subtitles with mongolian and mandarin speaking-actors and a quieter Russian voice over that was thoroughly distracting.

All in all for showing us one man's glimpse at one of history's greatest conquerers, my rating of 8 out of 10.

Atonement

Release date: 29 August 2007 (Venice Film Festival)

As a story outlining the awful things that happen when we bear false witness, Atonement is brilliant. As a medium to giving Ian McEwan's masterful novel a visual context, Atonement is also brilliant. What I found most interesting about the film, however, is its 'craft'. Atonement is an over-directed film. Every scene is so competent and perfect; every 't' crossed, every 'i' dotted. And while that makes for a velvety, rich, beautiful movie, it also hinders its ability to come across as real. And that's where Atonement ultimately fails. Directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley as Celia and James McAvoy as her doomed lover, Robbie, Atonement plays like a good Masterpiece Theatre drama. Kudos to Christopher Hampton (Quiet American, Total Eclipse) for his excellent work taking a complex novel to a screenplay and to Dario Marionelli for his perfect original score.

For giving us an example of how to transition a novel from page to screen and for reinventing the Merchant-Ivory genre, my rating 7 out of 10.

Michael Clayton

Release date: 31 August 2007 (Venice Film Festival)

The ever-pretentious George Clooney stars as Michael Clayton, a gambling addicted lawyer who stumbles into the truth behind a multimillion dollar settlement his firm is negotiating after the lead lawyer, a manic-depressive Arthur Edens (played with over-the-top gusto by Tom Wilkinson), suffers a nervous breakdown. Caught between his duty to the firm and the truth Edens has uncovered, Clayton is forced to chose which truth to follow; all the while being tapped and hunted (and eventually targeted for assassination) by the litigator (Tilda Swinton) of the very company, U/North, his firm is working for. Michael Clayton is a soft thriller built in the Silkwood/Pelican Brief vein. Tony Gilroy of the Bourne films directs with a steady hand bringing just enough life to Clooney to actually make you want to know how it all ends. Oscar-worthy yes; for bringing us a thriller that is both tight and intelligent.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Juno

Release date: 1 Sept 2007 (Telluride Film Festival)

This film was written by a lass named Diablo Cody, which is an odd name granted but a perfect name for the writer of this quirky film built on the Little Miss Sunshine model. Directed by Jason Reitman and starting Ellen Page, it follows the pregnancy of 16-year-old Juno from conception to birth. While its all very well done, it is not certainly not Oscar-worthy. Juno is chock-a-block full of odd characters, living odd lives but remains real at its core - in a Ferris Bueller's Day Off sort of fashion. Page is hands-down the best thing in this movie (as she was in her debut film, Hard Candy, which is worth a watch if only to see a completely different side of her). The transition to the animated credits is also worth a shout-out.

For taking the delicate subject of teen pregnancy and casting it in a refreshing, non-moralistic light, my rating of 7 out of 10.