August 2006 Round-Up

Like I said previously, I hadn't written anything movie-related for 4 months before my recent burst of effort. That means there's a ton of movies I've been silent on, and that cannot stand. I'll have the last word. Even if it's just one word.

Presenting, my monthly round-ups for 2006, starting from August!


De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped)
It meanders along slowly, but the mood and rawness of the emotions eventually get to you. Too bad about the bad dance music the lead listens to.







Combien tu m'aimes? (How Much Do You Love Me?)
Starring Monica Bellucci's breasts. No, seriously. They could form a small country all by themselves. Otherwise, the movie starts well, but deteriorates into a mess of over-the-top theatricality. Not before some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments of bawdy humor though.




The Libertine
The opening monologue promises lots of dirrrty goings-on. The only thing dirty is the image, which looks like it's been thrown out in the street and stomped around on before being exhibited. Boring as hell. Not even the amazing Samantha Morton can save it.






Me and You and Everyone We Know
Quirky, lovable movie. A bunch of misfits look for love and human connection. There's so much love for the characters, you root for them all the way, even when they're doing fucked-up shit to each other. There's a lot to be said for the expert handling of tone when a scene that would normally be seedy is, instead, even strangely touching.




Adams æbler (Adam's Apples)
A must-watch, if not for the fine performances, then for the extraordinary skill with which the film treads the fine line between black (very black) comedy and pathos, sometimes even simultaneously.






Hoodwinked
Fun script and good voice performances. Pity it looks So. Bloody. Ugly.










Ask the Dust
I think I was too busy falling asleep to pay attention to this one. Colin Farrell is a writer, and has a fling with Salma Hayek, and not too much happens. I think they have sex at the beach once, and we get to see Farrell jumping around in the sea naked. But then, isn't he always showing his ding dong to anyone and everyone anyway?




Sophie Scholl - Die letzen Tage (Sophie Scholl: The Final Days)
Well-made. Apart from that, I can't really say much. But hey, well-made is good enough, when most movies are crap.








瘋狂的石頭 (Crazy Stone)
Probably the most entertaining movie to come out of China. Ever. A convoluted heist plot, loaded with tons of hijinks and fun, makes this a wonderful time at the movies.







Don't Come Knocking
Just don't go knocking on the box office door asking for a refund after this snoozefest. Interesting in parts, but on the whole lacks something vital - a soul, perhaps? I don't know what Wim Wenders was thinking...






Hard Candy
Starts of brilliantly, but after the first 20 minutes, becomes a disgusting, exploitative and unbelievably noxious piece of crap. And I'm not just saying this because I'm a man and like having my testicles attached to my body. First 20 minutes are absolute gold, though.





The High Cost of Living
Wants to be many things - dark, brooding, dramatic, tense, exciting... Unfortunately, fails to be any one of these. The High Cost of Watching - pain.








Passabe
A gripping documentary on a massacre that took place in Indonesia. Well-made, if a little overlong. Here's a review from (of all places) Australia.



The Devil Wears Prada
It's fun, fun, fun whenever Meryl Streep is onscreen. What a lady. To quote her, "That's all."









Lucky Number Slevin
Wannabe-Tarantino. More smart-alecky than it is clever, which makes it ultimately very annoying.









Pretty Persuasion
Starts off a black comedy, then heads in directions darker than I imagined. But hey, it works, and makes the drama even more powerful. Evan Rachel Wood is a revelation.