Movies I'd rather watch than the latest version of the pod people

8/29/07

Most recent releases are not doing it for TVOR. They just don't look good. Although there are a few interesting things out there, the summer blockbusters (some of which were good) are already out, and the classy stuff, the stuff designed for grownups, won't be released until after Labor Day.

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the book, that is) has spawned four films. The first, in 1956, had the same title. Then came two other ones. Then, this summer, came The Invasion, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (although apparently the Wachowski brothers were brought in to juice it up a little). TVOR plans to avoid this film, but not because of any lack of affection and respect for the work these folks have done. The stars and director of The Invasion have been involved in a lot of very good films, which are definitely worth taking a look at. She’s just not so sure about this new one. It would seem that other people aren't so sure, either, as it doesn't seem to be doing that well at the box office.

Here’s a partial list of what Daniel, Nicole, and Oliver have been up to over the years:

Daniel Craig films—

Casino Royale—TVOR has always felt that Sean Connery was the only Bond worth watching, but even she gives a thumbs-up to Daniel Craig in the latest film. Plus, there’s Parkour in the opening chase scene!

Infamous—this is the other Truman Capote film, the one nobody saw, the one that Philip Seymour Hoffman wasn’t in. It’s worth seeing, though, for Daniel Craig’s performance as Perry Smith. He’s human, charismatic, and chilling.

Munich—Stephen Spielberg makes one of his occasional good movies. In it, Craig plays one of the Mossad agents who go after the Black September terrorists. TVOR has some problems with the film (it's based on a true story, but there's a lot of fiction in it) but it is well-done and thought-provoking.

Layer Cake--see TVOR's blog post of August 6th.

The Mother--Craig plays a man having simultaneous affairs with a woman and her mother. It's a very well-done film, directed by Roger Michell from a screenplay by Hanef Kureishi, and not as trashy as it sounds.

Nicole Kidman films--

The Hours--she won an Oscar for this. Her performance is more than just a prosthetic nose, although TVOR couldn't stop looking at it.

To Die For--Kidman's performance in this Gus Van Sant film was Oscar-worthy as well. She is perfect as a TV personality wanna-be who will do anything to advance her career. Really. Anything.

Flirting--made early in her career, this lovely Australian film coming-of-age film was directed by John Duigan. Nicole has a supporting role as a kind of scary/popular older girl in the school.

Cold Mountain--Nicole and Jude Law. It's always dangerous to make a movie based on a popular book. It's not great, but it's worth a look.

Oliver Hiersbiegel has directed some very good German-language films, two of which TVOR can heartily recommend--

Downfall--this film tells the story of the last days in the bunker before Hitler's death, viewed, in large part, through the eyes of a young secretary. Bruno Ganz turns in an amazing performance as Hitler (even though he doesn't really look like him at all), and the supporting cast is excellent as well.

The Experiment--this "what-if" film is a fictional take on the Stanford Prison Experiment of the early 1970's. Twenty men are paid to participate in an experiment where ten are chosen to be prisoners, and ten, guards. Not surprisingly, this does not bring out the best in human nature, and nobody sings "Kumbaya".

So it's time to fire up the DVD players, and settle in with some videos.