Film Fight 2009

June was a relatively sparse month for me at the cinema, so only two films to review.

The Hangover is very much a dumb comedy. There’s nothing clever happening and it doesn’t have the levels of sheer bizarre genius of something like Anchorman. It does, however, have Zach Galifianakis doing his slightly crazed humour, that pushes against the comfort threshold a little much at times. The cast are pretty solid, and the laughs are consistent throughout, but don’t see the highs of other films. All in a good comedy. (see my The Hangover Twitter review).

Sunshine Cleaning is a slightly odd film. Being the next movie after an Oscar winning indie film (but not a sequel), it sits in a middle ground: it’s not a big movie, but it doesn’t seem like an indie film either. At it’s heart, it deals with the story of two sisters coming together to build something, while dealing with the issues elsewhere in their lives. When that something is a bio clean-up service, you know you’re going to get some funny moments, some sweet scenes and some troublesome times. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are both great as the aforementioned sister, and the supporting cast are all solid. Alan Arkin was equally good, but seemed to be shoe-horned in. It could really have benefited from tighter editing and a reduced running time, but it was good as-is. Worth seeing.   (see my Sunshine Cleaning Twitter review).

I don’t feel all that strongly about either film. They’re both good in their own right, but haven’t exactly resonated with me all these months later that I’m writing this. I’m going to opt for The Hangover though,  simply because if you asked me to watch one right now, I know I’d pick it.

Yes, yes, it’s more than a little late this time. I’m hoping to get caught up on the old film fights in the next few weeks (I think I’ll be doing around one a week). Let’s get started.

Star Trek is a brave take on an old and well-loved franchise. The central conceit of the franchise reboot is deftly handled: it’s set in an altered time-line, the details of which are laid out in a companion comic and left out of the film. Some people might see this as only getting part of the story, but the truth is for most people it’s actually really tight editing. For the most part, the film is well done. It’s a decent action film, with the blockbuster effects you expect, but is also a boldy written story; with each character falling into the new timeline perfectly. Karl Urban is particularly good as Bones, getting all of the original ticks just right. JJ Abrams and co have put together a solid film, regardless of whether or not you know the original material. Very good. (See my Star Trek Twitter review.)

Synecdoche, New York shows Charlie Kaufmann at his best, this time both writing and directing what will surely be his opus. We get another fantastic performance from Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a frustrated theatre director who embarks on a near timeless project to have his art imitate life, literally, by recreating a chunk of New York city in a stage play. As he gets more involved, life and art start reflecting each other more and more, showing more intricate and beautiful detail. Synecdoche is beautiful, confusing, painful, funny, and full of oddity. In this way it reflects the subject matter itself: life. I cannot recommend this film highly enough. It’s an obvious pick for film of the year. (See my Synecdoche, New York Twitter review).

Finally, Night at the Museum 2 carries on in exactly the same vein as its predecessor. A little bit of a magical set-up ends with some mayhem, bad guys plotting and good guys saving the day. It’s simple but relatively good humoured, with some decent cameos, particularly by Jonah Hill. It’s a funny enough kids film, though there are better choices. (See my Night at the Museum 2 Twitter review).

The winner for May is, unsurprisingly, Synecdoche, New York. Kaufmann does it again.