[Movies]

Good Flicks So Far

The Golden Globe announcements came out yesterday, with several surprises. Brokeback Mountain came out the big winner, with seven nominations, proving that Hollywood may be in Red California, but it's true blue. (Personally, the dischordant note for me is not gay + cowboy, but love + cowboy. Who wants to see cowboys pining for love? [Not that many people, it looks like.]) But enough about movies I haven't seen. Here are my early faves for the coveted Jeffies (aka Goldies):

Kontroll - I saw this at the Portland International Film Fest in February and was blown away. The Hungarian subway functions as purgatory for the hero Bulscu (bull-shew), who wanders around as a "Kontroll" agent--a subway policeman--who is either unwilling or unable to pass to the light of the upper world. But it's neither heavy or ponderous--the director, Nimrod Antal, keeps it lively with techno music, wry wit, and a fair amount of low-risk action. Whenever I see a movie so good so early in the season, I wonder if it will stay with me through to awards season. It has.

Crash - An ensemble piece that also has its share of metaphor. The film follows a series of scenes interconnected by characters and circumstances, all exploring various crashes--racial, class, cultural (but mostly racial). These kinds of movies are hard to bring together, but this one manages it, finding both a clear throughline and a consistent tone and emotion. It's also held up well in my memory. (director: Paul Haggis)

Junebug - This is one of those funny indies I wonder if anyone else liked. It's a film that deals essentially with families. It's looking for little-t truth, and finds it by looking sideways at the way families treat each other, sort of like being able to understand the sun better by not looking at it too directly. It's slow and personal, and has a few moments that show the first-time hand of director Phil Morrison, but it also succeeds on the larger level.

Good Night and Good Luck - The best liberal movie in years. Or the best movie for liberals. Or the best movie by a liberal. Anyway, the key word is "best," not "liberal."

Murderball - I've been slowly collecting a list of "the best movies you've never seen." This may be tops on that list. It won the audience award at Sundance, and everyone expected it to kill in documentary-crazy first run. Apparently people were scared off by the topic--quadrapalegics. (It made less than two million at the box office.) Ostensibly about a kind of wheelchair rugby they play (nicknamed 'murderball'), it's actually about how they live. It's incredibly honest and fascinating, never pitying or voyeuristic. The best example? The discussion about sex. It's the best documentary I've ever seen. (directors: Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro)

Last year was the low point in film since I first really started paying attention about 15 years ago. My annual Jeffy award featured just one film I thought actually warranted being called a classic (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). The year was filled with such crap, I wondered if we'd entered the beginning of movie end. I'm more hopeful this year. Already--before the "Oscar season"--I've got too many candidates for my lone Grand Jeffy. So maybe last year was just an anamoly.