(500) Days Of Summer

Desire and reality are two forces that rarely seem to mix well. It's that whole oil and water thing. We want what we desire, believe it is attainable, yet in the end most will find only disappointing results. Which is sad, but made all the worse when you know from the beginning that what you want won't be what you get. And thus we delve into the little indie rom-com, (500) Days of Summer. Utilizing a time hopping narrative, we are told the story of a young man who falls in love with the girl of his dreams, Summer. In a traditional rom-com, there would be little doubt one could guess the outcome of the relationship without ever seeing the film, and the same would go for (500) Days of Summer if that damned narrator didn't shoot that idea out of the water in the first few minutes. And knowing the end doesn't ruin it, but forces the viewers to hope beyond reason that what they know to be true is false, which is kind of the point. I credit the writers, Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter, for using the disjointed narrative perfectly, getting both the good and the bad of the Tom/Summer relationship almost simultaneously. A couple of scenes are so great that you wish you could have watched a film entirely composed of like scenes. One is a dance number that goes on long and ends hilarious, pushing past cute and tiresome into funny. The other is shown in split screen, detailing what Tom, our main character, expects to happen at a party with Summer and what actually takes place. Again, desire and reality mixing to ill effect. But while the writing was solid, so was the acting. Zooey Deschanel plays her cute and funny and wonderfully weird role perfectly, making a great pairing for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He is an actor who picks his roles carefully, winding up in a diverse and solid group of pictures, which one might have scoffed at the idea back when they were watching him on 3rd Rock from the Sun. So while desire and reality might not mix, the creative forces behind (500) Days of Summer do, which may make the whole thing that much more powerful.

Genre - Comedy (3.5)

Screenplay (4)
Acting (4)
Production (3)
Directing (3)

Slumdog Millionaire

Walking into Slumdog Millionaire, I had no idea what to expect. I knew the basic outline of the story; it was set in India, had Who Wants to be A Millionaire, and was centered around love. There was good word-of-mouth, but that isn't always reliable. So how did it turn out?

Great. The way the film weaves in and out between present and past, connecting the dots to why Jamal, a poor "slumdog", was on the popular game show, was exciting to watch. It is for Latika, his true love, but we expected that. The audience is supposed to ask why is this is the best way of getting her attention. The two come in and out of each others lives, with fate always cruelly separating them until their next reunion. Plus, Jamal's brother Salim is kind of a prick. He often assists fate in separating Jamal and Lakita. And director Danny Boyle can add another entry to his ever expanding genre list: Love. Watching Slumdog, I was reminded at times of another great film, City of God. Not that Boyle necessarily meant this, but the connection existed for me. Slumdog is a very worthy film, and it is certain to receive all kinds of awards. It deserves it.

Genre - Drama/Romance (3.75)

Screenplay (4)
Acting (3)
Production (4)
Directing (4)

Freaks

"One of us. One of us." Either you side with the titular freaks or suffer the consequences. That seems to be the message of Freaks, or maybe it is simply about being kind to those who are different. Either way, I'll side with the freaks, because they can kick ass. This 1932 cult classic, classified a horror film, but it is everything but. Save for the final 5 minutes, you would have a tragic love story of a freak who fell for a "normal" woman (normal meaning without disability. But she is still quite the bitch). When the film switches genres, it first transforms into murder/revenge flick, pitching two normals against a circus full of freaks. Tod Browning does a decent job behind the camera and the freaks are great. See it for its cult status, but don't get your hopes up for a horror movie. Or a spectacular one.

Genre - Romance/Horror (2.25)

Screenplay (2)
Acting (2)
Production (2)
Directing (3)

Let The Right One In

Where to begin? Let The Right One In is a film of multiple genres: horror, romance, coming of age story. But at its core, it is simply the romantic story of 12-year-old Oskar and apparently-12-year-old vampire-girl(?) Eli. Don't let that scare you off. Sure, there is a vampire. Sure, the film has moments of brutal violence and gore, but it is so much more. This Sweden film is a stunningly beautiful one, able to convincingly make this story of children for adults. They really have all the same problems as young couples, save for the death by sunlight. And flying. And the whole drinking blood thing. And maybe that kind of dead thing too. So there are minor differences, but regardless, Let The Right One In will mezmerize, transfix, and tenderize. It is haunting, for sure, though only enough to make us worry about the characters, to sympathize and cheer for.

Genre - Horror/Romance (3.5)

Screenplay (3)
Acting (3)
Production (4) - Highlights: Hospital fire scene
Directing (4)