Movie Recap: August 2005

The summer season has crested and started it's decline. The freedom of children to attend the Hollywood dreck is drawing to a close as they prepare for the oncoming onslaught of the school year. Still, we are graced with a few good movies, mixed in with the late summer forgettables that get dumped into theaters in the hopes of collecting the last bits of pocket change that these kids have. I guess that sort of backfired as this month, and year, have not been another record breaking year that the industry had hoped for. Anyway, are you interested in what I saw this month? Of course you aren't.

Best of the Month: Broken Flowers
Worst of the Month: Stealth

In chronological order from the beginning of the month:

1. Stealth. What an awful movie, bad characters, bad story. I know it was trying to be a fun action movie, but it failed miserably. *.5
2. The Dukes of Hazzard. Surprisingly fun. It held onto the spirit of the old show while bringing some more modern touches into the fold. Silly summer fun. **.5
3. The Bad News Bears. I really like Billy Bob Thornton, this is almost an extension of his Bad Santa character. There are some plot threads that I would have liked more of, but overall this was an entertaining update. **.5
4. Four Brothers. John Singleton has crafted a fine Western disguised as an urban thriller. Some good performances and a touching story ground this gritty film. ***
5. The Aristocrats. Absolutely hilarious, and one of the most potentially offensive films I have seen. One joke told over and over, each time a little different. ***.5
6. The Skeleton Key. Considerably better than I expected. It features some creepy sets and some good performances. The end was a touch convoluted, but it was nice to see a thriller that didn't overly rely on jump scares. ***
7. Red Eye. Wes Craven has crafted a focused, tightly wound thriller. At the same time, it is helping to solidify two new stars in Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy. ***
8. Broken Flowers. Near brilliance. Bill Murray has reinvented himself as this deadpan comic, conveying all sorts of feelings with minimal expressions. Here he is searching for what may be his son. This is a must see. ***.5
9. The 40 Year Old Virgin. Funny, sweet, and vulgar all at the same time. Steve Carrell has arrived as a new leading comic. The title sounds like a one joke movie, but it is so much better than that. ***
10. Valiant. I admire the thought behind this as a tribute to the animals of WWII, but the execution is not so good. Sub par animation, thin story, shallow characters. This could have been much better. **
11. The Cave. A poor creature feature with no attempt at a story. There is so little to hang onto here, I am surprised the movie got made. *.5
12. Grizzly Man. Werner Herzog's constructed look at the life and death of Timothy Treadwell. Compelling and sad at the same time. ***.5
13. The Brothers Grimm. Gorgeous set design in search of a story. Some good performances and wonderful vision are marred by the lack of a focused story. **.5

That does it for this month.