Myndir mánaðarins: Desember 2006

Úr myndum mánaðarins: Desember 2006

Áreiðanlegar klassamyndir:

United 93
93%.
Potent and sobering, United 93 is even more gut-wrenching because the outcome is already known. While difficult to watch, director Paul Greengrass' film has been made with skill and treats the subject matter with respect, never resorting to the aggrandizement of which Hollywood has sometimes been accused. Especially effective is the cast of mostly unknown actors, who portray the passengers of the doomed flight as ordinary people who respond with bravery to extraordinary circumstances.


Volver
91%
Volver catches director Pedro Almodovar and star Penelope Cruz at the peak of their respective powers, in service of a layered, thought-provoking film. This magical tragicomic melodrama may be Almodovar's most restrained work to date, but it still features his trademarks: a strong attention to color and detail, a celebration of the trials and tribulations of women, and, of course, the inestimable Carmen Maura. The lovely Penelope Cruz hasn't shone more brightly as she does here.

Half Nelson
91%
An honest and inspirational film that explores the precarious relationship between a white inner-city public school teacher struggling with his own demons and a young black girl on the verge of losing her innocence, Half Nelson features powerful performances from Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps. It's a wise, unsentimental portrait of lonely people at the crossroads. Half Nelson proves one doesn't need a huge budget or an A-list star to make a honest, absorbing drama.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley
85%
Bleak and uncompromising, but director Ken Loach brightens his film with gorgeous cinematography and tight pacing, and features a fine performance from Cillian Murphy.
- Winner of the Best Film at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, this powerful political saga is not merely a cinematic masterpiece from start to finish but a righteous rallying cry for disenfranchised masses anywhere with nothing left to lose but their chains.

Ásættanlegar afþreyingar:

Down in the Valley
49%
The premise of Old West clashing with modern suburbia is fresh and initially intriguing, but the second act degenerates into a clumsy jumble of events which strain credibility.

The Dying Gaul
48%.
Though it has a fine cast, The Dying Gaul's plot feels calculated and too intellectualized

Renaissance
44%.
Renaissance attempts to blend sci-fi wonder with stark noir animation, but is often more fun to look at than to watch.

The Night Listener (Robin Williams)
41%
This psychological thriller compels by blurring the line between truth and fiction; unfortunately, the film itself gets muddled in a hazy account of Maupin's original novel.
- As a consideration of the power of storytelling (and the urge to mythologize one's own life as well as the lives of others) The Night Listener could serve as creepy paranoid cousin to the current Lady in the Water.

Eitthvað til að forðast (þó það líti ágætlega út)

Step Up
22%
This trite teen romance has too little plot and not enough dancing.

Lady in the Water
24%
A far-fetched story with little suspense and unconvincing scenarios, Lady In The Water feels contrived, pretentious, and rather silly
- The surprise here is that he's created a story mythology for this fantasy/thriller that's so ludicrous and convoluted that it's almost laughable. At times it seems his cast members are making up the story as they go.