Movie year 2014

Since it's become more or less a tradition, I decided to write a blog post about my favorite movies from this year (2014). I think I'll try to keep my reasoning brief. First up, though, I want to give out a few additional shout-outs.

The year's most talked about movie:

Nymphomaniac, parts I & II
Dir. Lars Von Trier

Yeah, certainly not The Interview. I don't have Nympho on my proper list, because I feel it's less a movie, more a theraphy session with Lars Von Trier. That's not to say there's not plenty of interesting content within. Actually so much so, that I talked about and thought about this movie more than any other this year. I also saw it twice, both the theatrical and extended versions.

Trier seems to take basically any complaint people in general have had with his work, particularly concerning his films' treatment of women and his status as a provocateur. In the movie he has segments built on countering these complaints. Particularly in the extended version of part II this even reaches the dialogue. This meta-movie approach suddenly popping up is frustrating, since Charlotte Gainsbourg does a magnificent performance, and one would really like to appreciate her character as her own, not just an extension of Trier's public (and/or artistic) personae.

But yeah, it is certainly a fascinating piece of work. I personally would have liked to be the sort of movie that engages and stands on its own, but it is one of those take it or leave it deals. Trier really wants to specialize in those.

My review (in finnish)

The greatest scene in an otherwise disappointing movie:
The school cart, Snowpiercer
Dir. Bong Joon-ho

The start of Bong's postapocalyptic thriller rolls along nicely, with plenty of time used to show how desperate the lower-class passengers are in their position of the life-sustaining train. They haven't seen much of life outside their cart, and by extension, neither have us viewers. The initial push later, comes the first of the movie's surprises, with cheery kids being taught outrageously fascist lies about the world. We also get a bit of the train's backstory.

Now, this sunny cheerfulness has a satiric stride that brings to mind Paul Verhoeven's future fascist-bashing in RoboCop and Starship Troopers. It's also funny how the so-far main antagonist Tilda Swinton seems to join in the fun, thinking herself so righteous that influencing kids might tone down the rebellion.

But then the film has nowhere to go but down beyond this high point. Boring action takes over most of the film, which still tries to justify itself with tepid twists that only manage to stretch the already thin premise to breaking point. Any previous set-ups are contradicted almost immediately. To add the insult, Swinton's delicious baddie has nothing more to offer, and she is replaced with a boring mute, unstoppable assassin-type antagonist. The rest of the movie makes me think of Elysium in terms of squandering a perfectly good allegory in order to have the most boring and unrealistic gun-fights possible. The frustratingly regenerating villain is another similarity.

Geez, I really would've wanted to like this film a lot more.

Runner-up:
The opening scene of RoboCop
Dir. José Padilha

Padilha seems to have had some good sense on how to update Verhoeven's satirical scifi-action to the modern age, but sadly it seems that studio interference (mostly over the PG-13 rating, I'll bet) cut out most of his bite. Scattered throughout the film, there are flashes here and there on the film that might have been. None more so than in the very first scene, depicting ED-209's patrolling in Iraq, shouting "Salaam Aleikum" to the natives, and of course blowing any possible terrorist subject to pieces on live television.

Festival films top 10:

Several of the most interesting films of the year never got a proper release in Finland. This is a list of those. Drawing the line seems to get trickier this year.  I've allowed limited releases to be on the main list. Then certain, films, namely Whiplash and Turist (a.k.a. Force Majeure), should definitely be on this list, but they will get a theatrical release next year. Thus, I'll leave them out of this now since I might want to have them on my 2015 list.
 
10. The Babadook

This twisted parental horror is at its best in the middle when it balances reality and a fever dream together.

9. The Trip to Italy

More witty word-playing between Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, now on beautiful Italian landscapes. They have seen what was it people liked in the first one, so now there's less shots of food being prepared and more imitation battles. A little less of the latter would also have sufficed, but even as such it's very funny and likeable.

8. The Look of Silence

Joshua Oppenheimer offers another look into the heart of Indonesian war criminals, this time with the viewpoint of the victims as well. Now he doesn't have to rely on staging fantasy film sequences, the interviewees provide all the necessary drama.

7. The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq

This French comedy is as dry as the driest of wines. It's first and foremost about its author. But luckily Houellebecq is game about making fun of himself.

6. The Rover 

A tough-as-nails post-apocalyptic road movie, that showcases the only two paths for the weak when all chips are down. 

5. The Guest

Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett finally come to claim what You're Next promised. The Guest is so much fun from the soundtrack to the movie referencing plot devices. It starts out Killer Joe but ends The Hitcher - with a little Shining in the mix.

4. The Salt of the Earth

A surprisingly touching and heartfelt documentary about the photographer Sebastião Salgado. During his lengthy career, Salgado has seen the best and worst of the Earth. In the end the film has a hopeful outlook for tomorrow.

3. The Unknown Known 

Donald Rumsfeld spoke to Errol Morris and didn't at all come across as reasonable, intelligent nor altruistic. Instead, the man doesn't seem to care if he seems uppity, snooty or downright unscrupulous. As a companion piece to The Fog of War, this also manages to showcase how much the foreign politics have turned more and more ruthless in the course of recent history.

2. Starry Eyes 

This horror film offers everything I wish from the genre. I particularly like that all the horrors in the movie reflect the anxieties and personality flaws of the main heroine. The plot is also a twisted mirror image of A Star is Born -type of story in an unique way.

1. Winter Sleep

Distribution in Finland is so bad, Cannes Palm d'Or winners are routinely left out of movie theatres. This is a shame, since this 3,5 hour drama would deserve to be seen by more. Basically, it concerns the image of a wealthy author, who works as a patron for his home town. Although he holds himself in high esteem, lengthy dialogues begin to bring cracks to his image and way in the world. But will he learn from his mistakes? There are plenty of layers at work here, making the lengthy run time still feel rewarding.

The List:

The requirement to get to the list is a Finnish release in the year of 2014 (even if it was limited to a single theatre). That's why this mixes films that were completed in both 2013 and -14. I didn't list films like Borgman, Moebius, Nebraska or The Dance of Reality, since I listed them last year on the Outside distribution side.

These are mostly listed alphabetically. Since I have already singled out the top 5, they are seperately, as is the film I found to be this year's best. 

To be seen:
As much I'd like to, I haven't got the possibility to see every interesting movie there is. These ones are those recommended to me by various other lists and I'll be sure to check them out soon.

'71, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Locke, Mr. Turner, Återträffen

Runners up:
These warrant a mention, if only to make it to a round 20.

12 Years A Slave (Steve McQueen, USA)
Dallas Buyers Club (Jean-Marc Vallée, USA)
Emergency Call - A Murder Mystery (Ulvilan murhamysteeri; Pekka Lehto, Finland)
The Homesman (Tommy Lee Jones, USA)
The LEGO Movie (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, USA/Denmark/Australia)
Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy, USA)

Places 14.-6.

 

Grand Budapest Hotel (USA/Germany/UK)
Dir. Wes Anderson

Anderson has been on a roll for his two previous films, but it still took me by surprise on just how much he has mastered his craft. It is rare that he has as vicious a stride as in this film, where people are brutally murdered, fingers cut off and stabbed. but he gets away with it with his laconic sense of humor that makes this film such a hoot.

Her (USA)
Dir. Spike Jonze

It isn't just that the ethereal style and the unconventional romance depicted in the movie feel real and heart-felt. It's that this is a futuristic movie that feels realistic without having to depict big technology or major inventions, just develop a bit those that we have today. The glances we get of a city of tomorrow feel peaceful and warm, yet this utopia still has its wrinkles, the major one being the loneliness that still plagues many in big cities.

Ida (Poland/Denmark/France/UK)
Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski

Ida is one of those films you would not have any trouble believing was a lost classic from 40-50 years ago. That has to do with the way the film is shot, with every B&W image closely thought out and giving the characters the weight of the world to carry. The other part is the universality of its story, with a search for roots that turns ever more recluctant when it starts to become clear that even if Ida finds the final resting place of her parents, the burden will not lighten, but maybe even get heavier.
 
Inside Llewyn Davis (USA)
Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen

A wicked circle of a movie. Drying funds have made making a living with art harder than in a long time, and the Coens reflect on this. The thing is, there might be no escape even with giving up. The bleak lighting, using natural light or unhealthy looking greenish fake lights make no mistake that the times are tough all around. While the film has plenty of that trademarked Coen humor, at heart it is one of the darkest they have ever done.

My review (in finnish)

A Most Wanted Man (UK/USA/Germany)
Dir. Anton Corbijn

The sudden and sad loss of the brilliant character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman casts a shadow over this downplayed spy thriller. Hoffman carries one of his final roles with a powerhouse performance, as usual, but what makes this such a notable film is the way it portrtrays the doubt and shades of grey involved in studying immigrants who have already lost everything in the name of the war on terror. The film maintains that with all the paranoia, and with various agencies having petty contempt over each other, the humanism tends to get forgotten.

The Tale of Princess Kagya (Kagya-hime, Japan)
Dir. Isao Takahata

Studio Ghibli has been threatening to call it quits (although I'm not sure if they really mean it), since their two grand old men and founders, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata have decided to retire. From their final goodbyes, I was more taken by Takahata's historical fable, that also finds some time to study the expectations and role of women in general. Always one to try out different styles more, the film has an exquisite line-drawn style that to my mind makes it unique.

They Have Escaped (He ovat paenneet, Finland)
Dir. J.-P. Valkeapää

The most notable Finnish film of the year stunned many for once not relying on plot. Rather, the film is told symbolically, with a heavy emphasis on visuals. What seems to be a regular teenage rebellion story in the beginning, turns out to have universal implications on the outside world creating cages around us, and never allowing us to just be free.

Two Days, One Night (Deux jours, une nuit, Belgium/France/Italy)
Dir. Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

Yet another film about being driven to a corner. The Dardennes do manage to keep a very basic and self-repeating Herculean task interesting. But the most important element that really makes the film is Cotillard in the main role. She gives another performance nothing short of incredible. There are some fumbles (like the handling of the main character's depression) along the ride, but as a whole, the movie is catharctic.

Wolf of Wall Street (USA)
Dir. Martin Scorsese

Scorsese still has that spark that used to produce some of the greatest, most innovative American movies of the last 40 years or so. Here, he does repeat the pattern of some of his greatest hits, but the bitterness he feels about the recklessness of the 1% wrecking the economy carries out the movie. It's an exhausting movie, but in the end feels like we at least got a little kick back at these vultures.

My review (in finnish)

Places 5. - 2.

To my Finnish-speaking audience these may already be familiar from this questionnaire I filled. Nevertheless, here they are again, with some added commentary.

Boyhood (USA)
Dir. Richard Linklater

A mosaic-like impression about the last decade. It is a film not only about time and those sensitive, forming ages. It is also a view of America itself, its people and culture. Linklater has a knack of making his actors become multi-dimensional characters seemingly easy. It's also important to have scenes that seemingly don't connect to anything to give the impression that life is not just those moments that change everything, but a collection of fleeting little things. In some places it's a little cheesy, but it's always compelling.

Clouds of Sils Maria (France/Switzerland/Germany)
Dir. Oliver Assayas

I still plan to write something about this film (at least now I've gotten some of my blogging mojo back), so I'm not sure about what to say here. In a way, while there's plenty of themes of time passing, the film is about the contrast between art and nature. Nature's miracles come punctually, art may work if the time is right. I haven't liked any of the previous films by Assayas as much as I liked this.

Gone Girl (USA)
Dir. David Fincher

Fincher handles a good bait-and-switch from first presenting this as a thriller, but slowly unravelling this to be a pitch-black comedy where bad people plot against each other. So he basically gets to play with all the best storytelling toys from his three previous projects; House of Cards, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network. Some reviews have suggested this represents the relationship between men and women in modern relationships. I wouldn't go as far, but Fincher definitely feels that the sensation-hungry media chases revolving personal tragedies have a knack of leading these situations from bad to worse.

Only Lovers Left Alive (UK/Germany/France/Greece/Cyprus)
Dir. Jim Jarmusch

When a good movie somehat reflects your feelings, you sometimes can't help but to fall for it. For me, Only Lovers Left Alive is among there with Jarmusch's best films. It captures the sense of dread about the tomorrow, and the worry that the best days of movies, music, art and culture in general are behind us. But it's also oddly comforting, bleakly funny, and has characters you want to hang out with, even if they don't do much but whine.

1. A Touch of Sin (Tian zhu ding, China/Japan/France)

Dir. Jia Zhangke

To complete my preference of stories of desperate people in bad situations, this magnificent Chinese movie presents four (or four-and-a-half) heartbreaking stories where getting cornered by an unforgiving society eventually leads to bloodshed.

Supposedly, all stories are based on true human fates that the national media in China has not reported. In any case, it helps to understand China to understand the difficult situations small, ordinary people can find themselves rather than to just look at the booming business and hear the info official sources hand out. The completed movie was very controversial in China for fears it might raise social unrest. That, to me proves, just how powerful the film really is.

Us westerners tend to see foreign, far-away countries through the prism of the pop culture we consume. Director Jia Zhangke's brilliant idea is to build the stories in the way martial arts movies or revenge-driven Asian thrillers are built, towards the final confrontation. It makes the social message get across with a lot more ease. But in the end there's no grace or catharsis in the bloodletting, it only ends stories or serves to make them worse. None of the main characters survive the movie intact, there's bound to be at least psychological damage, also the threat of punishment looming in the horizon.

Many of this year's finest movies have a grim quality and a sense of dread on what tomorrow may bring - to these parts of the world, too. A Touch of Sin may serve as a cautionary example on a society that has no real value on a persons life. It also serves to remember how much suffering there may lurk beyond the reach of news channels. Luckily films are an excellent way of making these difficult subjects visible.

Film year 2013

Here we are again, another movie year is at an end, blah blah blah. It was a rather good year for film, (less so to writing about them) with plenty of quality stuff. In this post I shall look at the best of film year from various aspects and conclude with my Top 13 (since the year in question is -13). My criteria isn't based on the year a film was released but simply that it was a new film I saw during 2013. Only one post this year, since I didn't bother doing another one for festival films and such last year. I'll try to be brief.

Top 10 outside distribution

Finland isn't the most prolific country in the world when it comes to movie distribution. Many of the best films of the year are only shown at festivals or go straight to DVD. Thus any list of the truly best films of the year is somewhat of a lame duck without acknowledging that plenty of good things pass through mostly unseen. My top 10 of these films is as follows:


10. Cheap Thrills

The second-funniest movie of the year, this blackhearted indie comedy is also a somewhat blunt parallel of the relationship between the rich and the poor in modern societies.

9. Simon Killer

The hipster Taxi Driver, or rather just a psychological look inside a total scumbag's mind. The title perhaps gives away a tad too much. This isn't a horror movie - or really even a thriller. It's an unique look at modern loneliness and isolation.

8. The Dance of Reality (La danza de la realidad)

Jodorowsky's latest is true to form to the auteur - it is his own childhood story, after all. Pity the seams of the budget are a bit too visible and the director perhaps couldn't fully realize his wildest ideas. Still, we have to be greatful such an unique greatness as Jodorowsky is still with us and still creative.

7. The Act Of Killing

One of the most talked-about movies of the year. It is something that awakens a variety of emotions, all right. From disgust, to disbelief and to even odd bittersweetness. How should we try to approach or even understand people who have done despicable things in their time? For starters we should realize they are not monsters but people, which this film manages to present vividly. I have watched two versions of various length of the film. While the shorter TV version might lack in presenting the everyday life of the self-named gangsters, it's pace is a lot more easily digestible and it doesn't repeat itself as much.

6. Maniac

Very rarely do horror movie remakes attempt to do anything fresh with their concept, but usually just blandly redo every major scene. How refreshing, then to see the seedy Grindhouse shocker updated into a genuinely unnerving POV film, that allows perhaps a bit more insight into the mind of a madman. Rather than going through motions, this one dares to surprise and take the story into unexpected territories.

5. Moebius

Kim Ki-duk goes all-out crazy with his new film, which features no dialogue whatsoever, but even more various profane, disgusting and oddball moments. When Pieta was about a twisted motherhood, then this is about a fatherhood hat's very messed up. Also attempting to keep a dysfunctional family together, but just how dysfunctional, you just have to go and see.

4. Nebraska

Alexander Payne returns with a rather melancholy piece about the death of the American countryside. It's pulled by the great performances of its leads, who still don't hog the spotlight too much. It's better for the director when he's not working with A-list movie stars. The script is not half-bad, either.

3. Borgman

What's this? I've no idea. Every time I come up with an explanation, another scene renders it invalid. It may be about a lot of things. Or nothing at all. However, it is the kind of film that will leave you pondering, picking up clues, constructing, connecting, improvising and creating. Surreal, unnerving, odd, goes under you skin. That's what a really good movie can do. I can't wait to see this again, and perhaps show to some friends as well.

2. Jodorowsky's Dune

In a sense, this is a horribly sad movie about a masterpiece that was never completed, only planned thoroughly. On the other hand, this is a model piece of great storytelling. In the end, the best Dune is just the one creted in the viewer's imagination, while Uncle Alejandro yaps. It is also very comforting to see how genuine class of skill and creativity will always find some way to funnel through.

1. The Selfish Giant

Once again, a film that hit me hard to the stomach. The title is taken from a fairy tale, the concept and style from British kitchen sink realism. The end result is not a mixture of these ingredients, but a quirk that could (in a way) be either. That is a good movie, in that it successfully imitates the unpredictability and yet familiar patterns we see all the time in our human lives. Sometimes you just want to pound your fists to the boarded bottom of your bed.

Directors:

The greatest directors in my mind don't come from Hollywood and even from the States, but from all over the globe. The best American studio cinema could do this year were the technical mastery of Alfonso Cuarón in Gravity, and  Kathryn Bigelow who perhaps channelled her own ambitions and experiences of a woman to an intense revenge flick Zero Dark Thirty. In the outskirts the vivid, colorful Harmony Korine who created a trippy, dippy, oddball party of a movie in Spring Breakers.

In Europe, arthouse darlings Christian Mungiu and Asghar Farhadi (Beyond the Hills and The Past) delivered strong new films that gripped me perhaps even tighter than the films that respectively raised both of them to fame. Also in Finland the famed documentarist Pirjo Honkasalo returned to fictional films after 20 years with a very good film, Concrete Night. A bigger comeback was from the Swedish Lukas Moodysson, who battled long with depression and made grinding, dismal feel-bad films for years. His return to youth film, Vi är bäst! is a lot happier affair and it's for the better. Another, similar feel-bad return was from Thomas Vinterberg, whose grip on the terrifying athmosphere on The Hunt was a lot tighter than on his last few, rather bland films.

As far as directors go, there's no doubt in my mind that the strongest work of the year was done by Abdellatif Kechiche on Blue is the Warmest Color. To get such overwhelmingly emotional, vunerable performances from his lead actresses is one thing, crafting a three-hour relationship film that never feels dull is another. Plus, his sex scenes are steamy and hot without losing the emotional side or feeling too voyeuristic.

To Be Seen

I haven't seen every interesting-seeming film of the year. Here's a list of Top 10 of critical darlings I have missed this year. I'm not saying each of them should necessarily be on a best-of-the-year -list, I'm saying I should check them out as soon as I can.

Broken
Eat Sleep Die (Äta, sova, dö)
Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart (Laulu koti-ikävästä)
In the House (Dans la maison)
A Late Quartet
Open Up To Me (Kerron sinulle kaiken)
The Princess of Egypt (Silmäterä)
Rush
Something in the Air (Aprés Mai)
What Maisie Knew

Top 5 bubbling under

I just can't let go of some films, so here's 5 movie that just missed a slot on the main list.

Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace - Finns got this in theatres and while I'm usually not that into Stephen Soderbergh, I got to admit in this his cold directing style, plus the warm performances of Matt Damon and Michael Douglas created an aching portrait of romance among empty luxury.
Blue Jasmine - I also don't usually care for Woody Allen much, but his trademark neuroticism is kept at bay once he's got a lead actress as talented as Cate Blanchett. This is a sort of modern retelling of A Streetcar Named Desire and is just as harrowing, sad, comic and ponderous as that.
Captain Phillips - Paul Greengrass does what he does best and crafts another strong docudrama that feels like its what actually happened.
Mud - A deep southern coming-of-age tale with just enough of a mean and dark edge to it. It's a misfit that escapes categorization.
Silver Linings Playbook - Starts out a bit bland, but once the great cast gets comfortable with their unbalanced characters, this turns out to be a worthy feel-good movie.

Top 13 of 2013

13. The Master

Upon first viewing Paul Thomas Anderson's latest movie felt a little hollow and unsatisfying. Pondering on it a bit I realized that the film pulled the right strings, since that's precisely what the main character Freddie Quell is feeling. It's not as deep a film as many would have you imagine, most of its subtext seems to be easy enough to spot. But it is a film that strengthens up in time. And of course the least compromising American film in perhaps years. At the start of the year I wouldn'tve believed this would be on this list. A couple of years later it could possibly raise to the top slots.

12. Concrete Night (Betoniyö)

Pirjo Honkasalo adapts Pirkko Saisio's dark novel that, at first seems like a coming-of-age tale. Then you realize that the worldview fed to the young Simo (Johannes Brotherus) is cold and nihilistic. Then the film turns as bleak and unforgiving. It's a very dark film for demanding audiences. It does have its patches, but the final impression is strong enough to warrant it the best Finnish film I saw this year.

11. Gravity

It's a rather silly film, once you sit down and think about it. But undeniably well-crafted. So well, in fact, that you will grip the armrests of your seats and gasp and awe while it's running. At least when watched on the biggest possible screen. One of the funnest films this year to see in cinemas. It could've offered some more, which would've improved its ranking, but this is fine, too.

10. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

We had to await for ages for the big-screen debut of one of the most hilarious British comedy characters of the past few decades. But us fans were rewarded in spades. For mass audiences, the assholism of Partridge is a bit streamlined and doesn't delve too much on the more tragic aspects of the character. But who cares, when his misadventures are so rip-roaringly hilarious. Stomach-achingly funny.

9. Only God Forgives

This certainly wasn't for everybodys taste. While Drive was much beloved, it was more or less a minor work in Nicolas Winding Refn's filmography and with his latest he returned to the kind of divisive work he is better known for. Stylized study on the affects of violence and the grim consequences thereof. People expecting for a narrative as straight as in Drive were horrified. But films aren't necessarily stories, they can be vessels for emulating emotions. The sense of dead and impending judgement here is just intense. It has a religious aspect to it as the title suggests. And while actors (like Ryan Gosling) are mere vessels for the larger canvas here, Kristin Scott Thomas manages to deliver a truly memorable villain role.

8. Zero Dark Thirty

Another film that was judged by audiences that didn't bother looking beneath the surface. Precisely the fact that this was not a black-and-white morality tale makes it intriguing. Without the modern setting set on the very familiar newspaper headlines, what do you get? A manhunt-turned revenge film that proves ultimately unsatisfying to everyone but the viewer. That, and the invasion of the bin Laden house was the most intense action scene of the whole year.

7. Before Midnight

The world took Jesse and Celine's third outing with surprisingly open arms, considering that the young idealists have turned into a dreary middle-aged couple. Watching them argue makes for a truly cringe-worthy experience, but precisely the fact that even their love isn't all silver linings and steamy passion makes it so much more relatable. The naturalism is not as much on the foreground any more, but the discussions are still very well-written and life-like.

6. We Are Best! (Vi är bäst!)

Another sharp-eyed portrayal, this time about the lives of pre-teen girls. But it's a lot more rocking than that. It's a film where misfits find each other and have the times of their lives. It's a film where the dumbness of adults and how their rules are silly and pointless. And it's even a feminist piece on how girls are treated differently just because. But all in all, it's a film that gives hope and happy feelings to anyone who sees it. Punk is not dead!

5. The Past (Le passé)

It's a testament to Asghar Farhadi's skills on how he can pick up a seemingly-similar topic to the next film following the Oscar- and Berlinale-winning A Separation, but still deliver a completely different kind of a film. What starts out as a sort of mystery on why Marie and Samir separated years ago, becomes a study on the problems of almost every member of their (extended) family. And the revealed skeletons in their closets are truly heart-breaking. Another very humane film, one that finds reason in every mood swing and case of mistreatment.

4. Beyond the Hills (Dupa dealuri)

Cristian Mungiu was supposed to make a straight-forward retelling of a news item where a young woman was exorcised to death in a remote monastery. But he fictionalized the ordeal to be a comment on the situation on sexual minorities in remote areas, the relationship between the church and the state and the position of traditions in even the modern Romanian society. So Beyond the Hills are we that it's even hard to figure what decade (or century) the film is set before the final scene. Instead of exploiting the situation, Mungiu delivers a quiet, dignified and leisurely proceeding mood piece. Absolutely stunningly brilliant.

3. Blue is the Warmest Color (La vie d'Adele, chapitre 1 & 2)

It is just such a damn good movie. I'm tempted to use the stereotypical critic-words, such as "sensual" or "powerhouse" but in the case of such a high quality film, I can barely come up with more to say than the sentence above. Three hours fly by as a closely inspected lesbian relationship blooms and then turns sour. It's not "just" a LBGT film either, but anyone can find connections to their own love life from the rollercoaster of emotions this film presents.

2. Spring Breakers

IT'S TIME TO PARTY, LET'S PARTY, GONNA BE A PARTY TONIGHT! WHEN IT'S TIME TO PARTY WE WILL ALWAYS PARTY HARD!

Harmony Korine succeeds in both creating an absurd parody of MTV-like idle party culture, and yet avoiding moralizing or talking down to the young partiers. He must remember his own time when he toured the world getting wasted and hanged out with batshit crazy rappers like ODB. Anyway, much as his colorful party statement is morbid fun, he also posits that partying doesn't necessarily have to lead to a downer, but can be an empowering experience. Thus he also has feminist aspects to a film where the female cast wears revealing neon-colored bikini almost for the whole rundown. It's a cult classic in the making.

1. The Hunt (Jagten)

I like movies in which someone gets into a troublesome situation which there just isn't any way out of. What would I do in a similar situation? Probably I would go into a dark room and sob, which is what one would like to do after watching this particular film as well. The tensions are gripping, as an innocent man is condemned from paedophilia, which wrecks his closest friendships, losts him his job and even costs dearly to his family life. Mads Mikkelsen is perfect as the lead, since he does look a bit suspicious, but can believably play a run-down, emotional wreck of a man that earns our symphaties as well. Kudos also for the ending to be dark, but not succumbing to the feel-bad punches to the gut Vinterberg has made his trademark.

So, I'd like to know what are your favorite films for 2013? Don't be shy, tell me in the comments, or just give me a holler on Twitter (@LastMB in english, @pmihal if you speak Finnish).

Best of 2012, part 2 - April Fools

I am sorry for keeping you waiting so long for the second installment of my year best list. I wanted to make a list featuring all the good stuff that was left without theatrical release - those that went straight to DVD or only had a limited festival screening. Well, I am all the more proud of the conclusive list made here and now. All of these films are lesser known, but well worth searching and checking out.

10. Thunder Gun Express (USA)
Director: Amos Santo

This low-budget action movie owes a big debt to Wages of Fear as well as William Friedkin's Sorceror. In post-apocalyptic Philadelphia, a shipment of experimental guns to the military gets hassled by a gang of outlaw bikers. Obviously, if the guns got in the wrong hands all hell would break loose. But even more dangerous is that secretly one of the trucks in the convoy contains a casket of highly explosive chemicals that could level off several city blocks.

The cast and crew are almost unknown, but they do tremendous work here. The film isn't afraid to experiment with your fast-paced action movie storytelling quite a bit. We see the anguish in people's faces in close ups in the midst of fighting, and surprisingly also spend quite a lot of time to view the ordeal from the biker's point of view. Mark my words, director Amos Santo will make it big one of these days.

9. Octopus Slime (Indonesia)
Director: Patar Lando

Okay, I admit that this is not a good film as such. But this so-called "horror" movie is hilarious in its own right. The Indonesian tradition of making the most hilariously outrageous and madcap exploitation movies truly still lives large today. This cheesefest concerns a nuclear power plant disaster releasing fallout to the sea, which of course makes the octopuses sprout legs and learn to walk on land and prey on the flesh of the people. Not to spoil too much of the story, but it manages to tie together robot butlers, evil clowns and a scientist who saves the day with a power drill. Laughed myself silly.

8. Oliver's Arrow (Surinam)
Director: Roo Okinagabe

African film industry is rising and many countries have started to produce intriguing films based on their native legends and stories. Case in point is this film from Suriname, which updates an old folk tale. A small child travels the African plains, handing the animals their jobs in the circle of life. As he arrives to the mountainside, he finds reaching the mountain-dwelling animals troublesome. On the way, he falls in love with an eagle, that sometimes takes the form of a young girl.

I like the world-view where there is no clear good and evil, and characters are either attempting to do their duties or dismissing them because of their own personal reasons. All the talking animals are animated traditionally, while humans are portrayed by actors, Roger Rabbit-style. The story brings to mind the Kirikou movies, and this proves to be as stylish as they are.

7. Space Orcs (Orkusu spaisu, Japan)
Director: Isagawa Oni

This Japanese splatter has a surprisingly heavy athmosphere. It's a bit too much to compare it to Alien, when more suitable comparisons would be Sunshine or Dante 01. Cross-bred with Braindead. A cargo shuttle finds out that a mysterious breed of yes, Space Orcs, is on their tail. Initially seeming like an odd alien race, there's a lot more sinister secret behind the monsters.

Violence is inventive, gruesome and very, very silly at the same time. The CGI shots are reserved to outerior shots of spaceships and the vastness of space. The titular monsters are done with good old-fashioned rubber masks. Which is good that they hid mostly in shadows, hiding the clunkiness of that departement. This is a really rare breed, a convincing sci-fi story that forces you to think, yet serves our most primal blood-hunger and makes us laugh at the same time. A future cult movie.

6. Prognosis: Negative (Israel)
Director: Lamar Fuleh

A talkative spy thriller from the Middle East showcases much of the daily routines of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency. Agent Avi Azulai (Rami Fortis) discovers his partner is a traitor. In order to determine how he has been infiltrated he has to go through old files, and at the same time goes through his own history in the agency. His mission is to set up a trap to the enemies, but instead he finds out he might have not been on the side of the good so firmly as he has believed.

Naturally, this is on Israel's side of the Palestinian conflict, but that doesn't stop it from questioning the nation's policies. Morally, it's set on a grey area, questioning a lot of Israel's status of free speech, right to religion and even the power of the government. This is told mostly in dialogue scenes, with only a few outside shots. It's captivating stuff to watch. This would make a good double feature with The Gatekeepers.

5. Boyfight 2 (Luta meninos 2, Brazil)
Director: Fender Lasco

The first in this series of Brazilian crime action was brutal, the second one delves a lot deeper. Drug cartels kidnap children in the slums, forcing them to fight for money. In the first one, a full-grown former fighter Del (City of God's Leandro Firmino) rose to a battle against his mob overlords, reflecting Spartacus in a modern-day environment. Now, Del has risen to a public campaigner for having raids to stop the illegal fighting rings. Yet dirty politicians attempt to keep the slums isolated and quiet, particularly since Rio's tourist season is approaching. Del must fight on two fronts.

The film does seem to overplay Rio's crime problems a bit, but since director Lasco offers some of the most jaw-dropping action scenes of recent years, one can forgive a little jump into fiction. After all, the film shines light on how corrupt the society is that doesn't even bother to check into something as horrifying as boyfighting. The style is kept gritty and Firmino is as good as ever.

4. The Bonar Law Story (UK)
Director: Ollie Islington

Based on an old script written by none other than Monty Python's John Cleese back in the 1970's, it's no wonder this surreal comedy took this long to make. For one, the release of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and the discussion in Britain afterwards eerily seemed to echo a lot of Cleese's text. Later, a lot of his lawyer character here was rewritten for Archie Leach in A Fish Called Wanda. This is a pitch-black satire on the reception of art and entertainment. It concerns the trial of a filmmaker whose latest experimental film has had a series of rather peculiar effects on the audience. Or the rag-tag team of bullies and higher-ups just finds to blame an already down-on-his luck man for their own crimes.

The film's biggest surprise, as well as it's strength, is it's odd turn to surrealism in the third act. In contrast, modern technology is better suited for visions such as people growing a billion years old in seconds. The risque sex sequences would have been hard to get through the censors back in the day. The film seethes with the good, old-time John Cleese wit and comedy, both physical as well as banter and keeping up appearances. Comedian Islington is a worthy successor and makes the lofty Python satisfied with his vivid storytelling skills, even if Cleese had denounced the script before the project started.

3. Harvest of the Blood Oranges (India/USA)
Director: Oren R. Peli

Who could've known that the director of Paranormal Activity actually had the chops to make a good horror movie? It helps that the funding comes from his native India, even if the film is in English. Bollywood superstar (and True Lies villain) Art Malik makes an early appearance that essentially casts him in the role of Samuel L. Jackson in Deep Blue Sea.

In a vast Indian orange farm, foul play is afoot. The battle for the inheritance of the farm makes a jealous uncle summon shadow demons from the netherworlds. They lurk within the trees, day or night. As most horror films are used to having jump-scares in the dark, Peli manages to bring the genre to light and somehow use the heat of Indian Summer in his advantage. The film feels sweaty, uncomfortable and, crucially scary. Well done, Mr. Peli! Now, please stay where you are.

2. Ponce De Leon (The Netherlands)
Director: Len Paulaner

The Dutch adventure film of a famous explorer who may or may not have discovered the fountain of youth. Ponce (Derek De Lint) is a conquistador attempting to prove that there are mystical Inca treasures hidden in the jungle, but have his expedition cut short as all the other members keep dying. nevertheless, he presses forward. In a double role, De Lint also plays a 1930's explorer Paul Lindtmann that has similar obsessions of the jungle. Is he a reincarnation or even Ponce himself having survived for so long?

There's a real Indiana Jones-like quality with the adventure here, with a lot of native mysticism, raw willpower and cliffhanger-like situations. The flashback-like cutting style is familiar to anyone who has watched Lost. Unlike that series, however, this film raises a lot of questions but doesn't bother to give a left-handed explanation to even the major ones. There's a real mindfuck ending that makes one want to return to the jungles with Ponce again and again.

1. Changing Season (Canada)
Director: Sally Avril

Blue Valentine and Take This Waltz meet Terrence Malick. This out-of-sequence story of a marriage crumbling down is exhilaratingly sad and visually stunning. Lenny (Edwin Autridge) is happily married to Anna (Katharine Isabelle), but when he meets a new business partner Brett (David Lawrence), he seems to start to question his sexuality. We don't know what becomes of the men, but we cut forward to the following winter when Anna is alone, her life crumbled and afraid to trust anyone.

Much like life in general, the film tends to have a soft focus around its story. Director Avril plays a lot with symbolism and intercuts the personal drama with a lot of breathtaking nature scenes. In a sort of Lynchian manner, several scenes are also done with crude stop-motion animation. While heartbreaking, it's also inventive, surprising and more than a bit odd. There's only so many relationship stories one can tell, but this film proves that the number of how they can be told are endless.

The Adventurous 00's

The 10 Best Adventure Films of the 2000s – Part 16 in our ongoing series

The Motorcycle Diaries ©2004 Pathé Pictures International

We are heading steadily towards the conclusion for this series. I used to have an idea that I'd do seperate posts about both Martial Arts films and Road Trip films, but in the end, it seems more accurate to shoehorn them both into the same post. Now, it may seem that a few of these films fit pretty loosely to the Adventure genre per se, but seeing as I'd like to cover as many of the very best films of the decade, this is one of their last chances to be featured, so I had to loosen up a little. I see adventure as a film that changes locations during its running course. Die Hard is purely an action film, as it stays among the limits of a single apartement building, but the James Bond movies are action/adventures. Of course, many fine adventure films have already been dealt with in posts such as The Fantastic 00's or The Action 00's. But the leftovers are all the more sweet because of limiting the ranks a little.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long, 2000)
Director: Ang Lee

This chinese wu xia epic truly changed the face of cinema in the western world. It became the most succesful foreign language film of all time in the Unites States, and its iconography was soon adapted into larger cultural context. It also helped a number of Asian directors whose careers in the US were going downhill – you could be succesful even when going back to your homeland. This brought new chances for new rising for the careers of John Woo, Tsui Hark and the like. Yet, at first viewing, I didn't like the film much. I was subsequentally proven wrong.

The legendary warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) decides to give away his famed jade sword as a present to his friend Yu Shu Lieh (Michelle Yeoh). But before he can do that, the sword is stolen by the master thief Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi). The pursuit is further complicated when Li learns that Yu is working with the notorious assassin Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). The Fox has her own reasons for wanting revenge toward Li.

Part of the wu xia genre is that the characters themselves are legendary and possess superhuman powers. Yet this is never underlined, or explained to viewers used to pampering and thorough explanations. More crucially, the characters act and feel as human as us who don't possess flying kung fu superpowers. The importance is in the melodrama and the relationships between the three-dimensional characters. It's nice to see that the film features multiple strong female characters, who are treated as more than equals in fighting, compared to the men. The action, of course, is also jaw-dropping and beautifully shot.


Hero (Ying Xiong, 2002)
Director: Zhang Yimou

When talking about beautifully shot martial arts films, nothing can hold the candle to Hero, the finest hour in the careers of both director Zhang Yimou and director of photography Christopher Doyle. The eerily quiet landscapes are flowing with living colours and breathtaking beauty. All the better, then, to host a kick-ass wu xia battle. Which come aplenty in this story as well.

Before the reign of the first emperor of China, the kingdoms are raging and there is much bloodshed on the battlefields. The most powerful warlord Qin (Chen Daoming) is gaining power and influence over others fast. That's why there are multiple plots going on to assassinate the ruthless war-mongerer. A minor servant of the warlord, who has no name (Jet Li) defeats three of the most notorious assassins of the land to save Qin. That's why he gains audience with his liege, to tell the stories of his victories. But Nameless has some plans for himself as well.

Hero cuts down on the melodrama on brings on the business. Yet its characters are still finely caharacterized, with subtle strokes. Different fighters have a style matching their name (Broken Sword, Flying Snow, Moon and Sky) and also personalities to match. Usually also their scenes refer to their names somehow. Initially, the film is kind of Chinese nationalistic and preaches that one must obey the leader as he is the only one that can bring peace and unite the country. One may not agree with the statement, but there is still no denying that the resulting film is impressive and beautiful.

Kill Bill, vol. 1 & 2 (2003, 2004)
Director: Quentin Tarantino

Kill Bill vol. 2 ©2004 Miramax

It's hard to believe that before delivering this two-parter, Quentin Tarantino dropped out of the limelight for six years, as it feels like he's been with us from time immemorial. Likewise, it's hard for me to imagine the time watching movies before Kill Bill any more. The first film had a huge impact on me when I first saw it. It is one of the most important films leading me to other films that I've had. Tarantino decided to go even further into his love of old-school films and created perhaps the most kick-ass love letter to martial arts cinema ever created.

Volume 1 presents The Bride (Uma Thurman), an ex-assassin who has tried to escape her old life, and thus been tracked by her former employer and lover Bill (David Carradine). She is shot in her head on her wedding day, yet survives in a coma. When she wakes up, she makes a list and goes to kill every one of Bill's Assassin Squad one by one. In the first film she takes on Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), who has managed to leave her old lifestyle a lot more smoothly than the Bride, and O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), the boss of a big Triad gang called the Crazy 88. While Volume 1 is light with its story, the way it executes its action scenes is nearly flawless. The editing, photography and black humour in the script make this one of the best American action films, not just from the 2000s, but ever.

Volume 2 is the more story-oriented of the duo, and thus a bit more uneven in execution. Still, Tarantino manages to pull the rug under the feet of the viewers and brings a real heart into the roaring rampage of revenge. The Bride takes on Bill's loser brother Budd (Michael Madsen), Bill's current lover Ellen Driver (Daryl Hannah) and finally, Bill himself. Even though the film has a few scenes that feel like padding one film into two (particularly the one about asking for directions from Bill's foster father Esteban Vihaio (Michael Parks)), it still has a brutally honest spaghetti western heart beating inside it.

It would be a dream come true if tarantino could finally be arsed to release The Whole Bloody Affair as a blu-ray. The second one could use a few more scenes of the Bride and Bill's backstory, so at least the deleted scenes should be included. But by the way the things are going, we are probably going to get Kill Bill: Vol. 3 before that will happen. I'm not actually particularly interested in seeing that.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Director: Peter Weir 

Moving on from Martial Arts films to more classic syle of adventure we have this sea-faring adventure that is multiple times more exciting than anything the Pirates of the Caribbean films can throw at us. It's not exactly swashbuckling, with it having a more realistic look at life in a Napeoleonic era war ship. The attempt really makes it such an exciting film for viewers of all ages. Peter Weir is truly a master of making captivating films set on unexpected milieus.

The film deals with the friendship that the determined Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and the more analytical surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany) experience. Together, they're on a trip to destroy Napoleon's most formidable war vessel, the Acheron. To achieve this, Aubrey commandeers his ship, H.M.S. Surprise to a lengthy journey to the south along the coast of South Africa. His men, the ship, and his commands must be taken to the extreme, should they survive the dangerous trip. 

It's a film about different world views and how they can find common ground and peace when facing a threat to both of them. It is also a film about determination,a nd to what extent it can lead. The life of the adolescent sailors is a sad one, but historically accurate. The crew must face horrific conditions among scurvy, gangrene, malnutrition, and of course, enemy bullets and cannon fire. Yet while Weir manages to make all of those elements seem concrete threats, he never forgets the sort of boyish charm the film has, and the excitement of life at the sea. Well done, old boy.
 
The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de motorcicleta, 2004)
Director: Walter Salles

A film about the trip that Ernesto Guevara (later to be nick-named Che, played by Gael García Bernal) and Alberto Granado (Rodrigo De La Serna) made through South America on their motorcycle in the early 1950's is bound to be political, right? Well, yes and no. For Guevara's book itself is adored by students across the world for reasons that go beyond political issues. Like the book, the film is more about the sensation of being young, going out feeling the wind in your hair, and experiencing the world first-hand. Like today, back then there were a number of inequalities in the world, and seeing them with your own eyes shaped bothe men for the rest of their lives.

It is also a buddy movie. Ernesto and Alberto don't always see eye to eye on every thing, bickering and teasing each other. Along the trip, there are bound to be a few minor crises, and overcoming them is also a part of the coming-of-age that the film portrays. All of these elements are brought to life by the believable performances by Bernal and De La Serna. Of course, the most important part of this kind of road movie is the sense of being there yourself, which is achieved beautifully with shooting both the magnificent natural landscapes of Argentina, as well as the living conditions the poor working class have in the small villages. Also, in this film it really feels that things are happening, and it is not mind-numbingly boring. Steven Soderbergh should have taken a page here.

O Brother Where Art Thou (2000)
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen

The first part of their George Clooney-starring Idiot trilogy sees Clooney's Ulysses Everett McGill and two even bigger morons, Pete and Delmar (John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson) escape from the chain gang in the Deep South of the 1930's. What follows is a sort of Homeric Odyssey, where the boys meet Sirens, a Ku Klux Klan Cyclops (John Goodman), a bank-robbing gangster, and a blind prophet. And they also become succesful bluegrass artists, which makes the film music-filled and lively.

Early on in the film, a treasure is given as a McGuffin, which turns out to be false. Nevertheless, it is one of the most captivating and fun adventures of recent memory. As ever, the Coens have filled the film with outrageously funny comedy, well-observed charecters, just the right amount of absurdism, and some of their own je ne sais quoi. The whole film is shot with a yellow-toned nostalgic lense, which might explain the fondness that this film has towards its Folk music. More than actually updating Homer, the Coens are more interested in creating a mythical history for the roots of a genre of music they adore. Everything else in the film is just a sweet, sweet bonus.

I'm a Dapper Dan Man, myself.

The Road (2009)
Director: John Hillcoat

This is not a very happy adventure. But it is a road movie of sorts. When the world has reduced to nothing but ashes, a father and a son must fight for survival and hit the road to have a purpose. Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece novel is not an easy one to adapt by any means, but John Hillcoat succeeds in the job about as good as would be possible. The film is also very utilitarian – there's no unnecessary metaphors nor parables (and you can make your own mind about those that are there), and the film is to the point. Most of the running time is spent while the father tries to fight off starvation as well as the outside forces who are looking for their own interests. he sleeps one eye open, and ready to protect his son, no matter what the cause. Their journey takes them through what used to be America, but is now nothing more than a giant game of survival of the fittest.

The film is pulled of course by the leading performance by Viggo Mortensen. There isn't anyone who can portray just the right mixture of love and compassion, yet also hard-nosed determinism and the ability to resolt to brutal acts to achieve that, quite like him. Beside the father and the son, other characters are pretty disposable, popping up for a quick cameo of sorts. But nevertheless Hillcoat also manages to cast these small roles very well, and altough the film has major movie stars, they feel believable as their characters as well. The film's worldview is bleak as all hell, but it seems that the determined father is not so much the one leading as the son, who still has kindness in his heart. Thus the story has a glimmer of hope in its resolution. The children may yet turn out better than their parents did.


Sideways (2004)
Director: Alexander Payne

It felt a little unfair to just leave Sideways in the Comedy list with your Anchormen and Dodgeballs. While Alexander Payne's depiction of midlife crises can also cause just as big giggles, it is also much more than just a vehicle to make people laugh. It is also a melancholic film by nature, and as a mature piece of cinema, head over shoulders better than anything else on that list.

The recently divorced Miles (Paul Giamatti) is an expert in wines, so he takes his best friend Jack (Thomas Hayden Church) out on a trip through California's Napa Valley. Jack is getting married soon, and the trip is a bachelor party of a kind. Or at least Jack takes it as such, trying to get laid as much as he can when his soon-to-be wife isn't looking. Miles is against this, but powerless to stop Jack's raging libido. When he gets drunk, he also starts to feel crushing depression, and is bound to call his ex-wife. Jack also tries to get Miles feel better and hooks up with a pair of friends, Stephanie and Maya (Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen).

Payne makes films about real people, and Hollywood glamour is far from the film's characters. They are middle-aged, and not particularly well-matured. Every one of them has their personal crosses to bear, but the perfect cast makes them all believable in their vunerability. I've praised a lot of casts in this blog post alone, but the cast in Sideways is so pich-perfect, it could probably take on any of them. Wine as a metaphor is first used as an excuse to deal with something else as their troubles, then as a means of pouring some gasoline into already raging fires, and in the end, a sort of metaphor to life itself. Depending on who's tasting it, the same kind of life can taste bitter or delicious, but it usually pays to let one's feelings mature and allow one to move forward. For a roundabout long-weekend trip, the goal is a long way away looking at the start, but at a comfrotably lofty place looking from the finish line.

Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Teenagers can be just as horny as the middle-aged men. I know, shocking, right? This is another film that I dismissed upon my initial viewing. It felt too much like another teenaged sex romp, only without that many jokes. But I came to my senses. It's certainly not a clear-cut coming-of-age tale, and its ending can actually seem quite bleak. the things that Hollywood films usually praise, like finding the one to love, that friendships endure, and that the journey makes people grow up, don't apply here. Two of the film's three main characters would probably be better off without ever going on the film's trip. But the third one... Better not spoil too much.


The teenaged friends Julio Zapata (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch Iturbide (Diego Luna) stay at home while their girlfriends go off to Europe to become exchange students. The boys immidiately start to miss their sex life, and start to plan further hookups. They meet Luisa Cortés (Maribel Verdu) at a wedding and try to persuade her to join them to a road trip to find a beautiful secluded beach. The married Luisa is initially recluctant, but suddenly changes her mind when she finds out her husband has been cheating her. The road trip will take strains on the formerly tight friendship between Julio and Tenoch, and also Luisa will walk away with mixed feelings.


The film does sell itself as a sort of teenaged hijink show with loads of sex in the beginning. Director Cuarón has a wicked sense of humour, and isn't afraid to cross boundaries of good taste to show just what is going on in the mind of his main characters all the time. But the heart of the film, which starts to slowly unravel, is that even with a carpé diem attitude towards life, good times start to vanish and seemingly untouchable relationships can also crumble and die. The film surprisingly doesn't seem very nostalgic or autobiographical given its source material, but actually has the sort of in-the-moment sort of rhythm to it. It is a cynical film, in which a road trip doesn't heal all wounds, but also deepens them. But in that, it is also a suitable remedy to all the other road trip movies.





Bubbling Under:


About Schmidt (Dir. Alexander Payne, 2002) – Payne's other soul-searching road trip looks at the difficulties of one's autumn years and coping with losses.

The Darjeering Limited (Dir. Wes Anderson, 2007) – Three depressed brothers try to deepen their souls and to come together during a railroad trip through India. Anderson doesn't veer too much out from his comfort zone, but this is still among his better works.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Dir. Gillermo Del Toro, 2008) – Del Toro's sort-of superhero film is more of a creature feature, that discards the gothic sensibilities of its source comic, and flows around various magnificently realized fantasy worlds. Better then the first one.

Into the Wild (Dir. Sean Penn, 2007) – A graduate decides to leave everything behind and hitch-hikes to Alaska to survive on his own terms. Ponderous look at the human spirit, a road trip, and a character study of a real-world incident, all at the same time.

Ten Canoes (Dir.  Rolf De Heer, Peter Djigirr, 2006) – These mythical stories about the Australian aborigines open up a lot of questions about our relationship with Earth and the way we deal with our histories.



To Be Seen:
District B13, The New World, OSS17: Lost in Rio, The Russian Ark, Sunshine


So, don't be shy. What are your favorite martial arts / road trip films (or straight-out adventures) from 2000-2009? Also, I'd love suggestions on what I've left out on previous lists for the grande finale of this series.