A decade before Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity, Roma) was winning Oscars for Best Director, he directed the critically acclaimed and now cult classic Children of Men, a post-apocalyptic thriller set in 2027 Britain. In this dystopian world, it has been 18 years since the most recent human has been born. Humans have become incapable of reproducing for reasons unknown, resulting in a global fear that the extinction of our species is imminent. England is now the one remaining civilized society on the entire planet, making it a place where everyone can immigrate. The borders are strong, but people still illegally enter. Those caught are promptly placed into refugee camps. While this scenario may seem completely foreign to many of us, it should be a fear in our minds that lawlessness is entirely possible, and situations like these are already happening (though not globally) in many of our smaller countries that cannot defend themselves.
Category Archives: 2007
Before the Devil Knows Your’re Dead (2007)
Murphy’s Law. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Sidney Lumet’s (Guilty As Sin, Dog Day Afternoon) Before the Devil Knows Your Dead is a good-old-fashioned robbery gone wrong that involves older brother Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote, The Savages) and younger brother Hank (Sinister, Before Sunrise) fleecing the strip-mall jewelry store of their parents Charles (Albert Finney – Erin Brokovich, Tom Jones) and Nanette (Rosemary Harris – Spider-Man, Tom and Viv) on a day where neither parent was expected to be there.
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
If you want to watch a sweet drama that commits you to think outside the box, then Craig Gillespie’s (I, Tonya, The Finest Hours) might be that secret little hidden movie that might be for you. Starring Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine, The Nice Guys), this tender, sweet film is like nothing you’ve ever seen. And if the premise scares you away because it looks stupid, watch the trailer. If the trailer still doesn’t do it for you, read what some top reviewers said. If that doesn’t work, then trust me a little. “The Ryan Gosling Dates a Sex Toy” movie is not what Lars and the Real Girl is about. At all.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Ben Affleck’s (Argo, The Town) Gone Baby Gone is a classic film if you watch it once. But then comes the age-old question, “Does a movie stand the test of time?” And the answer to the question for this film is “I think so.” By this, I’m referring to the fact that if you watched it today for the first time, you would likely feel the same sentiments I felt on my first watch. You would think that it is an instant gem. But there are better movies for repeat viewings. Some films are great the second, third, and fourth time around. Gone Baby Gone is not one of those films. It’s a bit frustrating on repeat viewings. But I will ignore my most recent viewing of this film and write it from the standpoint that I had just seen it for the first time because that is the review it deserves.
The Mist (2007)
The best film adaptation of a Stephen King horror novel since the 1980s, The Shining, is not classics like Misery, Cujo, Pet Sematary, 1408, Christine, Firestarter, Thinner, or even IT (who seemingly everyone not named me seemed to love). Instead, it is the 2007 Frank Darabont’s (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) The Mist, a creepy dark tale that haunts your mind as much after its viewing as it does during it. King’s adaptations are either hit or miss, and all of the ones mentioned above (except for IT) are ones I enjoyed and would watch on multiple occasions. But there is both a plot and a suspense factor with The Mist that is like nothing I’ve seen before. I will also say that The Mist is the best Stephen King book I’ve ever read (granted, I’ve only read five or six), and it is one of the best adaptations of a film made from a book that I’ve read before (again, granted there had not been many of those). Recently, I started watching the Netflix show based on the book/movie. While not nearly as good as the book or the movie, Netflix did the show right. I don’t know if there was a need for the show, but I’m glad that they did it right since they went that route. Everything about The Mist is fantastic. I wish I could say the same about a movie like The Fog, one of the worst horror films I’ve ever seen. But I digress.