2007 in Music: The Soundtrack That Wasn't

I'm going to break my own rule here and bring an outside interest into the realm of movies.

When you're listening to music, do you ever imagine how it would perfectly frame a specific scene from a specific movie, even one that only exists in your mind? Sometimes I do. Here are the new songs from 2007 that made me think, "This would have been great in (movie) or a scene where (something) is happening." In other words, here are the best songs (and albums) of 2007.


Song: "Drivin' Me Wild" by Common feat. Lily Allen from Finding Forever
Scene: Opening Credits - Boom! Cue track for studio & production company logo/intros. Cut to black screen with white text, title. At 0:38, wipe left to close-ups of boots in stride, jewelry, back of head, purse, zoom out to young woman strutting through urban streets.
2007 Movie: N/A

Song: "Mango Pickle Down River" by M.I.A. feat. Wilcannia Mob from Kala
Scene: Nerdy friends or posse walking toward the camera in slow motion.
2007 Movie: Superbad, Ocean's Thirteen, Hot Fuzz

Song: "No Cars Go" by Arcade Fire from Neon Bible
Scene: Road trip montage.
2007 Movie: N/A

Song: "Creo" by Ozomatli from Don't Mess With the Dragon
Scene: Latino house party or any nightclub scene, preferably with a group dancing montage.
2007 Movie: Knocked Up

Song: "Malemolência" by CéU from CéU
Scene: Aerial panning of exotic location.
2007 Movie: Manda Bala, The Bourne Ultimatum

Song 1: "Intruder Alert" by Lupe Fiasco feat. Sarah Green from The Cool
Song 2: "The People" by Common from Finding Forever
Scene: Urban ghetto montage, single subject (Song #1) or multiple subjects (Song #2).
2007 Movie: American Gangster (starring Common!), I Am Legend, Southland Tales

Song: "Lesson Learned" by Alicia Keys feat. John Mayer from As I Am
Scene: Depressing end of a relationship.
2007 Movie: Things We Lost in the Fire; Reign Over Me; Gone Baby Gone

Song 1: "Flashing Lights" by Kanye West feat. Dwele from Graduation
Song 2: "Superstar" by Lupe Fiasco feat. Matthew Santos from The Cool
Scene: Glamorous nightclub scene in Times Square, Las Vegas, L.A. or South Beach.
2007 Movie: N/A

Song 1: "Me Llaman Calle" by Manu Chao from La Radiolina
Song 2: "Hoy Me Voy" by Juanes from La Vida es un Ratico
Scene: Young teenage boy sets off at sunrise for journey through Latin America, either for opportunity (to the U.S) or soul-searching. Montage of clips riding bus through Mexico City or other urban landscape, coastal road, desert road, etc.
2007 Movie: Into the Wild

Song 1: "Betterman" by Musiq Soulchild from Luvanmusiq
Song 2: "Because of You" by Ne-Yo from Because of You
Song 3: "Someday Soon" by KT Tunstall from Drastic Fantastic
Scene: Subtly sweet montage of young couple experiencing new love or sheepishly making up.
2007 Movie: Lars and the Real Girl; Juno; Into the Wild; 2 Days in Paris; Eagle vs. Shark; Rocket Science

Song 1: "Iron Bars" by Stephen Marley from Mind Control
Song 2: "Inner City" by Arrested Development from Since the Last Time (arguably my favorite album of the year)
Scene: Urban chaos and/or riots.
2007 Movie: Freedom Writers, American Gangster

Song: "We Got Love" by Ryan Shaw from This is Ryan Shaw
Scene: Celebratory party.
2007 Movie: Pride; The Great Debaters; Talk To Me

Song: "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. from Kala
Scene: Closing Credits - Cue music early. Long zoom out from two friends traveling in different directions after finishing some adventure with a witty line. Fade song up to full volume and cut to black at 0:56. This is simply the best closing credits song I've ever heard, topping Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey."
2007 Movie: N/A


In reality, the best musical scenes in 2007 came from Across the Universe ("I Want You"), Sweeney Todd ("A Little Priest"), I'm Not There ("Pressing On"), and of course...

Song: "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard And Marketa Irglova
Scene: Aspiring Irish songwriter and innocent Czech pianist fall in love during jam session in a Dublin music shop.
2007 Movie: Once

Uh-Oh: Golden Globes Cancelled

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced today that they will be canceling the 65th Annual Golden Globes Award Ceremony, following the announcement from the Screen Actors Guild last weekend that their nominated members would not cross the picket line of the Writers Guild of America. This wasn't really a surprise, but it is troubling to imagine what could happen to my beloved Oscar ceremony if the writers' strike is still happening in 6 weeks.

The Golden Globes will still be announced in a "press conference" this Sunday night on NBC. Boooo-ring.

I guess it will be interesting to see them announce 25 award categories in less than an hour. Lightning rounds! I know most people would hope for the same from the Oscars, but I enjoy the drawn-out speeches, nominated song performances, and amusing reactions. The worst acting in Hollywood is seen from the nominated losers on Oscar night.

Stay tuned for post-Globe analysis and Oscar predictions. I'm not doing my Top 10 of 2007 yet because I consider the "year" to end in February, and a couple of contenders (namely Persepolis) have yet to arrive in Minneapolis.

REVIEW: There Will Be Blood (A-)

Background: I haven't seen Hard Eight. I liked Boogie Nights. I loved Magnolia. I've forgotten Punch-Drunk Love. And along comes writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's fifth film, There Will Be Blood, loosely based on Upton Sinclair's "Oil!" and starring the living legend Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York, The Last of the Mohicans), and Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, Fast Food Nation). It also stars no women. Seriously, I don't remember a spoken line from any female in all 2 hours, 38 minutes. How is that possible? Anyway, There Will Be Blood has already been named Best Picture by the National Society of Film Critics, one of many, many awards it is likely to win by the end of February.

Synopsis: Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) is a misanthropic, alcoholic silver miner who strikes oil in early 1900's California. With his shrewd business practices and knack for efficient drilling, he soon becomes one of the foremost "oilmen" in the area. His greatest find actually finds him when Paul Sunday (Dano) tells him there is an ocean of oil under his family's ranch. Plainview and his young son, H.W., immediately stake their claim on the ranch and the surrounding area, but meet strong opposition from Paul's twin brother (?) Eli (Dano), who is the fiery preacher at the Church of the 3rd Revelation. Plainview's oil venture seems to be cursed from the start, as accidents (H.W. loses his hearing) and advantageous visitors (Daniel's "brother" shows up) almost bring him down. Enough damage is done so that years later we see Plainview as a wretched tycoon shooting sculptures in the hallways of his opulent mansion. He cruelly disowns H.W. and has a final, chilling confrontation with his rival Eli Sunday.

I Loved:
+ The first 10-15 minutes, in which there is no dialogue. Impressive and effective in pulling you in.
+ Daniel Day-Lewis, who is once again frightening, and frighteningly good.
+ The restaurant scene where Daniel confronts the Standard Oil group in front of his unassuming son.

I Liked:
+ The production design - amazing details and sweeping shots of the terrain in the Old West. Filming in Texas and New Mexico set the tone here, a la No Country for Old Men.
+ The actors who played H.W. Plainview, both as a child and as an adult.
+ The disturbing ending.

I Disliked:
- Some minor but noticeable similarities between Daniel Plainview and Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York.
- Paul Dano - he did well acting but I just didn't enjoy the scenes he was in.
- Some dragging in the production, mostly 20-30 minutes after Henry Plainview shows up.
- That I didn't sense any overarching lesson from the movie except the predictable warnings about greed and religious zealotry.
- At times, the way-too-present soundtrack. Here and there it added to the scenes, but when it disappeared in the last half hour I found myself able to get deeper into the movie.

I Hated:
- That the mystery of Paul/Eli Sunday isn't fully clarified. I've seen strong arguments that they are the same person and also that they are twins. Apparently there is more evidence that they are twins, but I think it's a much richer story if Paul is in fact the sinful persona of Eli.

Grade:
Writing - 9
Acting - 10
Production - 8
Emotional Impact - 9
Music - 5
Significance - 4

Total: 45/50= 90% = A-

Last Word: There Will Be Blood is a major departure in almost every aspect from Paul Thomas Anderson's previous films, so don't expect anything similar. Instead, prepare for the dark descent of an opportunistic man into an evil, Howard Hughes-like loner. As I said above, I'm not sure if there are any really deep lessons from the movie - at least maybe not as much as their could have been - but it's still a compelling story that is masterfully told. For me, the sight of oil gushing from the ground was amazing, especially in thinking of just how significant it is to global everything in 2008. I don't even know how that was done - what do you use as fake crude oil? And if it was real, didn't it inflate the budget? In addition to incredible camera work, we also see Daniel Day-Lewis once again dare anyone to out-act him (reference the restaurant scene again). Fortunately no one tries, and the all-male cast is excellent. Will There Will Be Blood turn its late momentum into an Oscar win for Best Picture? I don't think it was the best movie I saw this year, but worse films than this have taken the top prize before.

REVIEW: The Kite Runner (A)

Background: I didn't read the book. Gasp. Go ahead. OK...done? The Kite Runner is the highly-anticipated film adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's novel by the same name, which, if you didn't know, swept America by storm in 2003. Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction) directs the screenplay that was adapted by David Benioff (The 25th Hour, Troy). Starring are Khalid Abdalla (United 93 - the best film of 2006) and a host of supporting characters (several from Iran), including three amateur child actors from Afghanistan whose safety was in danger in the months prior to the film's release due to the tribal shame expected from a scene in the movie. This in fact delayed the release of The Kite Runner, which was filmed in China and features authentic dialogue in Dari, a Persian dialect spoken in Afghanistan.

Synopsis: Amir (Abdalla) is the son of a wealthy Pashtun in 1970's Kabul. His best friend, Hassan, is a Hazara boy who works along with his father as a servant for Amir's father. The two boys ignore their tribal and class differences as they develop into the best kite flying duo in Kabul. On the day of their greatest victory, Amir silently witnesses the assault and rape of Hassan by local Pashtun teens. Their friendship immediately frays as Amir is privately racked with guilt and orchestrates the resignation of Hassan and his father as the family servants. As the Soviets invade, Amir flees for California with his father, where they work in the local flea market. Here Amir meets his future wife Sonaya and goes onto to become a successful novelist in the Bay Area, until in 2000 he receives a call from his father's oldest friend in Kabul who is asking him to return and rescue Hassan's son from the the Taliban. Amir reluctantly sets off on the journey that he hopes will atone for the sins that have haunted him for 20 years. Kabul has obviously become a different world, and Amir's only chance for redemption is to learn the local culture and fight his inner demons.

I Loved:
+ The sweeping cinematography and aerial shots of what was supposed to be Kabul and its surrounding mountains.
+ Khalid Abdalla, who carried the movie from the first to the last frame. Hopefully more to come from this talented actor, who reluctantly took the role of a terrorist in United 93.
+ The final scene and powerful, memorable last line. I cried through the credits.
+ The charm and talent of Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada as Hassan.

I Liked:
+ The scene in which Amir reads the letter from Hassan. Starts out schmaltzy, ends up devastatingly heartbreaking.
+ The scene in which Amir and his escort visit the orphanage in Kabul.
+ The supporting performances by Iranian actors Atossa Leoni as Soraya and Homayoun Ershadi as Baba. He'll be overlooked when Supporting Actor nominations are announced January 22nd.

I Disliked:
- The scene in which Amir speaks to Sohrab, which felt a little contrived and/or awkward.
- A little bit of drag here or there, which was the awkwardness that comes when a director can only communicate with the actors through translators.

I Hated:
- The poor special effects of all the fake kites flying around.

Grade:
Writing - 9
Acting - 10
Production - 9
Emotional Impact - 10
Music - 5
Significance - 5

Total: 48/50= 96% = A

Last Word: For those 3 or 4 of us in America who have not read the book, The Kite Runner is likely one of the best films we've seen all year. At least I can say that. It's certainly the best story told on screen in 2007, with The Namesake in second place. It's a visual delight with truly believable acting and moments of real suspense, humor, and drama. The casting was absolutely perfect and the only weakness in the production is the kite flying. Aside from your problems with how it differed from the book, I don't know what else you can criticize about the movie on its own merit, and of course that's what I'm interested in here. Marc Forster has done an admirable job as far as I'm concerned, and were it not for the millions and millions of people holding him accountable to the novel, he would probably be preparing a speech for Oscar night.

How to Use Labels and/or Find Reviews

Because this feature isn't immediately obvious, I thought I should point it out. Ever wonder which movies I've given A's? Which are adapted from books? Which feature a particular actor? Which are about Iraq?

Simply click on one of the "labels" below each post, and you'll be given all the posts that I've given that particular label. For example, click on "best of 2007" and you'll see which I've so far labeled with that distinction. Click on the "comedy" label and you'll see which movies fit into that category.

It's pretty simple, and it will be handy as more and more content is added to this, provided I can keep it up. Remember you can also just go the "search" field in the upper left and use a key word to find any post on here.

So far the labels are pretty generic (for example just "B's" - not B+'s, B's, and B-'s), but maybe I'll find a better way to arrange this in the future.

REVIEW: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (A)

Background: Painter/Director Julian Schnabel (Basquiat, Before Night Falls) once again uses a true story as his inspiration for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which was adapted by Ronald Harwood (Love in the Time of Cholera, The Pianist), whose screenplay was fortunately translated to French by Schnabel before filming. The source material was the book by the same name written 10 years ago by Jean-Dominique Bauby - one letter at a time, using only his eyelid. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was filmed on location in France and stars Mathieu Amalric (Munich), Marie-Josee Croze (Munich), and Max von Sydow (The Exorcist, Rush Hour 3 !?). Apparently Johnny Depp was originally lined up to play Bauby, which would have been outstandingly awful.

Synopsis: Frenchman Jean-Dominique Bauby (Amalric) is a charming man-about-town and the editor of "ELLE" magazine when he suffers a massive stroke at age 43. Consequently, he suffers from "locked-in" syndrome - he can hear, see, and understand everything around him, but he is completely paralyzed and cannot speak. We meet him as he is awakening from the coma and struggle with him as learns how to communicate, blinking one eyelid for a specific letter as the alphabet is recited to him by speech pathologist Henriette Durand (Croze). Almost the entire experience is through Bauby's eyes, so much so that we don't even see his face until halfway through the movie. Eventually he comes to grips with his disability and reconnects with his family and friends. He decides to write a book about his experience in his "diving bell," and develops a loving relationship with his muse and scribe Claude (Anne Consigny), who copies his "dictation." The story has a predictable ending, but it's true life, so what can you expect. It's quite a story, to say the least.

I Loved:
+ The beautiful and artistic cinematography, use of light, use of point-of-view perspective, etc.
+ Mathieu Almaric - wow. Despite not having many traditional speaking scenes, he completely inhabits the character with his non-verbal acting.

I Liked:
+ Marie-Josee Croze. She looks so familiar, but I think it's because she's the doppelganger of Naomi Watts.

I Disliked:
- Not knowing just a little more about Bauby's earlier life.
- The first scenes, only because they were so visually uncomfortable for me.

I Hated:
- "Rien." (I just looked that up, it should mean "nothing" in French.)

Grade:
Writing - 10
Acting - 10
Production - 9
Emotional Impact - 8
Music - 5
Significance - 5

Total: 47/50= 94% = A

Last Word: More than any movie I've seen in recent memory, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly gave me the most intense perspective as to how life is lived with a disability as severe as "locked-in" syndrome. Along with a powerful story, superb acting, subtle comedy, and vivid cinematography, you have an excellent all-around film. It's the kind of movie that so many people should see, but so few probably will. Although I was inspired and moved by the reality of the story, I wasn't really shaken with emotion. Maybe I was visually distracted, I don't know, but knowing me I would have expected to cry quite a bit, and I didn't at all. Most likely I've just seen the "triumph over disability" story before, but I can nevertheless appreciate the importance in that catalog of films. Schnabel has masterfully created a sad yet uplifting, artistic human interest drama, and the final canvas looks beautiful. In a year with weaker competition, this would likely earn a Best Picture nomination.

REVIEW: The Savages (B+)

Background: Tamara Jenkins last wrote a screenplay almost 10 years ago - her critically lauded Slums of Beverly Hills, which she also directed. Jenkins took on both roles again for The Savages, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Charlie Wilson's War) and Laura Linney (Breach, The Squid and the Whale). In supporting roles are Philip Bosco and Peter Friedman - unrecognizable names, but somewhat familiar faces, almost as if you've seen them in a nightmare before...turns out they were both in Freedomland, an almost unforgivable sin.

Synopsis: Jon (Hoffman) and Wendy (Linney) Savage are adult siblings who are uncomfortably reunited when their estranged father Lenny (Bosco) requires living assistance - he suffers from dementia and his elderly girlfriend passes away. Jon, a bookish college professor in Buffalo, NY, and Wendy, a depressed but aspiring playwright in Manhattan, decide to move Lenny (Bosco) from Sun City, AZ, into a nursing home in Buffalo. Over the course of the next few months, Wendy and Jon reconnect with each other and with their father as their failed romances and quirky personalities get in the way.

I Loved:
+ Philip Seymour Hoffman, who completely owned this character. He excels at plain, downtrodden guys. You can have Capote, which was just an acting show for anyone who still doubted his talent. I'd much rather see him in Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Happiness, or Love Liza, to name a few.

I Liked:
+ The amusing dreariness of Buffalo, NY. Even when it was sunny it looked miserable.
+ Laura Linney and Philip Bosco as the other Savage family members.
+ The scene with Linney and Hoffman outside Greenside Manor or Greenhill Manor or whatever it was called.

I Disliked:
- The "6 months later" ending, which was a little tacked on and unnecessary. The pace seemed to drag a bit in the second half.

I Hated:
- That old age was portrayed as hopeless and miserable.

Grade:
Writing - 10
Acting - 10
Production - 7
Emotional Impact - 8
Music - 5
Significance - 4

Total: 44/50= 88% = B+

Last Word: In the array of family tragicomedies that come out every year (i.e., Little Miss Sunshine, Margot at the Wedding), few ever seem as realistic or truly touching as The Savages. Bolstered by impressive performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, it's at times dark without being cruel, and funny without being hilarious. Of course, you could say that about a lot of independent movies, which is also what works against The Savages: it's just not that original. More than once I was reminded of last year's Aurora Borealis, and you could name a whole bunch of movies where a family character has dementia. That being said, The Savages still delivers a good story with subtle comedy. And, I'll give it some extra points because, believe it or not, the family members actually like each other! That's an original idea these days.