Category Archives: 2007

American Dreamz (2006)

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2007 #33
Paul Weitz | 103 mins | DVD | 12 / PG-13

American DreamzThis loosely satirical comedy from the director of such diverse fare as American Pie and About a Boy sees Dennis Quaid’s Bush-growing-a-brain President agree to be a guest judge on Hugh Grant’s Simon-Cowell-with-looks TV talent show that features Mandy Moore’s moral-less wannabe and Sam Golzari’s Iraqi potential-suicide-bomber as contestants.

It’s pretty much as loopy as that sounds, though not as clever as it thinks it is. It starts well, the quality dips as it takes too long to get to the actual contest, but the ending manages to redeem things.

3 out of 5

Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)

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2007 #31
Stephen Frears | 99 mins | DVD | 12 / R

Mrs Henderson PresentsJudi Dench is clearly having a whale of a time in this 1930s-set comedy about a 70-year-old widow who starts up a nude revue.

It begins as light comedy with a gently risque edge (rather in-keeping with its subject matter!), but things get a tad serious when the war hits. Luckily the film finds its lightness again in time for the ending, which is much more suited to the general tone.

All told it’s simply a bit of fun, but its overall quality just about nudges it into a four.

4 out of 5

Mrs Henderson Presents is on BBC Two tonight, Sunday 14th December 2014, at 10:30pm.

Trainspotting (1996)

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2007 #29
Danny Boyle | 90 mins | DVD | 18 / R

Trainspotting

Choose great direction.
Choose iconic images.
Choose a great soundtrack.
Choose a brilliant cast.
Choose a career-making performance from Ewan McGregor.
Choose a witty script.
Choose realism.
Choose drugs.
Choose sex.
Choose a condom, for the first time on screen.
Choose swearing.
Choose violence.
Choose drink.
Choose Scotland.
Choose Trainspotting.

5 out of 5

Choose Film4 tonight, Thursday 2nd April 2015, at 10:55pm.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

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2007 #30
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris | 97 mins | DVD | 15 / R

Little Miss SunshinePeople will tell you this is a comedy, when really it’s a comedy-drama. A TV critic once said, not wrongly, that a comedy-drama is something that isn’t especially funny nor especially dramatic so tries to do both.

Luckily, Little Miss Sunshine is frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious, from the opening dinner scene to the send-up of inherently paedophilic beauty pageants at the climax (so hilarious it almost single-handedly pushed my mark up to a five). There’s also some competent drama threaded through to make that side worthwhile. And I suspect that loveable little Abigail Breslin was more deserving of the Oscar than that irritating Jennifer Hudson.

4 out of 5

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

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2007 #28
Tommy Lee Jones | 116 mins | DVD | 15 / R

The Three Burials of Melquiades EstradaEmpire gave this film one of their five-star reviews, immediately making me want to see it. Shame they overrated it then.

A confused first act (which jumps about in chronology for no discernible reason) gives way to a more linear second two that, while more pleasing, seem to do away with major characters for no reason other than the plot ran out of things for them to do.

The film has its moments, and some pretty views, but five-star it ain’t.

3 out of 5

Crash: Director’s Cut (2004)

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2007 #27a
Paul Haggis | 115 mins | DVD | 15

Crash: Director's CutOK, I must confess, this one is something of a cheat — I’ve seen Crash before, and whilst some ‘director’s cuts’ can be vastly different, this one is only around two minutes longer. But I'll take any chance I can get to go on about how this is a much better and more Oscar-deserving piece than a certain overrated film about gay cowboys.

In my opinion this is a film that should be seen, not necessarily for its message, but for its quality in terms of performance, direction, etc.

5 out of 5

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

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2007 #27
George Clooney | 109 mins | TV | 15 / R

Confessions of a Dangerous MindGeorge Clooney’s directorial debut is part biopic, part comedy, and part spy thriller.

It’s the last part that works best, but perhaps that’s just because I have a predilection for spy thrillers; that said, the filmmakers would seem to agree as, after a late appearance in the plot, it comes to dominate its climax. It’s also nicely shot, especially the excursions to Europe.

I would recommend it (though not quite as heartily as Clooney’s second film, the excellent Good Night, and Good Luck).


4 out of 5

Flight 93 (2006)

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2007 #26
Peter Markle | 85 mins | DVD | 12 / PG-13

Flight 93Oh dear.

The Other Film About United 93 is just that. With poor acting, pedestrian direction, dreadful effects, and a young child in every single scene involving a relative, this film is infinitely inferior to Paul Greengrass’ United 93. Where that was subtle, realistic and moving, this is over-worked, cheesy and laughable — yes, laughable; we spent half the running time taking the piss out of it! Not good for a film about a tragedy.

Some have called this a worthy companion piece to United 93. It’s not. United 93 is essential; Flight 93 you can take or, preferably, leave.

1 out of 5

Flight 93 featured on my list of The Five Worst Films I Saw in 2007, which can be read in full here.

Doom (2005)

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2007 #25
Andrzej Bartkowiak | 113 mins | DVD | 15 / R

DoomDoom is quite flawed in many ways. I don’t say this because I inherently dislike mindless action films (while I am perfectly aware they are not usually Great Films, I enjoy them as entertainment); I say this because Doom doesn’t really succeed at being one. It takes too long to get anywhere — I think someone thought it was building suspense, when really it’s just nothing happening.

When it does kick off it’s brief and only vaguely entertaining. And the much-discussed first-person sequence is far too much like watching someone play a video game.

2 out of 5

The Reckless Moment (1949)

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2007 #24
Max Ophüls | 79 mins | DVD | 12

The Reckless MomentOphüls’ film noir about a mother who covers up the death of her daughter’s much older boyfriend. I think I’m perhaps erring on the side of generosity with the rating, but it is still quite a good film. Certainly it allowed me to play one of my favourite games: what would I change if I remade it? I had a few quite good ideas, actually. I’m tempted to start writing…

4 out of 5

Postscript #1 (9/7/2014)
The Reckless Moment was probably only the second or third film noir I’d ever seen, and I don’t think I properly appreciated what I was watching. It doesn’t really come across in this ‘review’ (being as it is from the era when I was only providing a couple of lines on each film), but I’ve felt for several years now that the sense of apathy I felt then (which I think is implied) no longer reflects my memory of the film. I would dearly like to get round to revisiting it and form a fresh opinion, but until then this is archived as-is.

Postscript #2 (22/10/2017)
Having finally rewatched it, I posted a couple of brief thoughts on Letterboxd, here.