Best of

By Erin Donovan

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Best Movies Seen on Screen or Via GreenCine in 2007

By Dylan de Thomas

Like most of us who don't work for major newspapers - or live in Manhattan or the City of Angels - I haven't had the chance to see many of the year-end must-sees, like Paul Thomas Anderson's much-anticipated and discussed There Will Be Blood, Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly or even Tamara Jenkins' The Savages. These either haven't made it up here to sleepy, rainy Portland, Oregon, or I just haven't made the time to make it out to the theaters to see 'em. Instead, I offer my favorite moments from mostly new-ish DVDs that I was able to see in the comfort of my own home, in between changing diapers and having tea parties with short, messy people. I gotta say, even from this distance, it's clear that it was a great year for film. Here are some of my favorites, split into neat categories for easy consumption.

» continue reading "Best of 2007: Dylan de Thomas's Best Films Seen on DVD List"

By David Hudson

At some point during the just-wrapped year, I promised myself I'd write up one of those year-end top tens (a first for me), and I have, finally, and it follows, but first, a round of the all but obligatory hemming and hawing. Last year at GreenCine Daily, I wrote a wordy entry on, oh, the state of things in general, and over the past couple of days, I've been wondering if I'd be doing something along that line again. But then I re-read that entry and realized that, with regard to most of the issues raised, not a whole lot has changed over the past 12 months. Let me explain.

» continue reading "Best of 2007: Yep, Another Top 10"

By Erin Donovan

As with last year's list, this is a look at some of the best women-centered films released - except, notably, for the first one - to theaters or DVD in 2007.

Eve and the Fire Horse - A Sundance darling that has yet secure a US distribution deal, though it's aired on the Sundance Channel on Demand. Julia Kwan makes a magnificent directorial debut with a light-hearted film about coming of age, religious education, immigrant assimilation and grief.

Broken English - A romantic tribute to the neuroses and glory of life New York City (the way it could only exist, in films) is a remarkable directorial debut from Zoe Cassavetes. Like Sex and the City with the brain cells added back in.

Read the whole list by clicking below:

» continue reading "Best of 2007: Best Lady Films"

By Craig Phillips

Some fine adaptations are central to this year's diverse list. Looking back on it all to try to find some overarching pattern emerge doesn't work as well, but that's what I like about the best films of 2007; they're unique and they made blood pulse through my veins in excitement. A few of them made me laugh. At least one of them made me slightly queasy.

Maybe this expansive list will counter those who've said '07 was a weaker than average year. Nonsense, I say. While I'm fortunate in that, unlike newspaper critics, who are forced to sometimes see truly bad films against their will, I can usually pick and choose films that I at least think will be interesting. But I certainly saw my share of Disappointing Films With Merit. (And by deadline time, I'd still missed more than I would've liked, too - see the list at the bottom*.) But these are the 15 films that lifted me somewhere special, and which I'd revisit again. And, as you can see, I didn't punish films just for being released much earlier in the year.

Read on for the Top 15, and many more.

» continue reading "Craig Phillips' 15 Best Films of 2007 (and more)"

By Erin Donovan

These were the best documentaries I saw this year, new to theaters or new to DVD in '07.

51 Birch Street - Doug Block, so incensed by the betrayal of his father getting remarried just 3 months after the death of his mother, turns an investigative lens on the once romanticized memories of his childhood to discover (via decades of journals, interviews with friends and home-made movies) the starkly different inner life his mother was leading to the woman he'd grown up with. Through the discovery of sad and ordinary dysfunctions 51 Birch Street is as much a touching family portrait as it is a window into the generational contrast between expectations about marriage.

Girl 27 - A surprising documentary that played to quiet appreciation at Sundance this year. Girl 27 starts out as a true crime expose about a vicious assault and the cover up by the svengalis of 1930s Hollywood but becomes a touching (platonic) romance about how intertwined a documentary film-makers can become with their subjects.

King Corn - Two affable food activists grow an acre of corn in Iowa and attempt to trace it into our food system only to learn that between starchy fast foods, artificial sweeteners and preservatives Americans eat so much corn that an acre (producing 10,000 pounds) is a mere drop in the bucket. In the vein of Super Size Me, co-stars/directors Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis create an oral history of a declining farm town as well as illuminate some of the absurdities of food production in America.

Read the rest by clicking below:

» continue reading "Best of 2007: Best Documentaries"

By James Van Maanen

Available Men: This series of gay-themed shorts is way better than most compilations (only one of the bunch sucks--it's in claymation and thankfully brief). The title short is terrific, and those that follow are each quite different as they explore various facets of "love"--in unique and clever ways. Give this one a try.

Broken Sky: A Mexican art film by Julián Hernández that is indeed art, this is a long one (2 hours and 20 minutes) but if it manages to pull you in to its story of a young university man and his "lost" love, you'll be hooked. It's that beautiful, strange and hypnotic. There is little dialog but the visuals are so unusual that I think you'll pay attention.

» continue reading "Best of 2007: Best Gay DVDs"

By Calvin Souther and Tiffany Harker

The 2006 DVD release schedule was spattered with some of the most f---ed up story premises we've had the pleasure to observe. Here are a few of our favorites, and a few more worth mentioning.

Hard Candy: A menacing revenge fantasy with a spectacular performance by actress Ellen Page who, in this brutal and cleverly paced story of vigilante justice, deals an Internet pedophile a crushing blow of reality after she allows him to take her to his home. The two main actors fill the screen for most of the film. We follow along, enduring every painful moment of torture our young heroine can dish out. Hard Candy is not for the casual viewer. Strap yourself in for a ride through some tough subject matter that will have most of you squirming, while evoking some interesting questions about your reactions to the film.

The Hidden Blade: Set in Japan's Edo period; the characters struggle with modern warfare and display the seldom exposed vulnerabilities of the Japanese empire. In sharp contrast to their tradition of etiquette and graceful swordplay, they transition to western guns and canons. Wide angled shots display a sort of clumsy ballet of soldiers; fumbling with canon fire. All the while, the vestiges of ancient tradition enable a story of love fostered by the very social practices being ousted by the influence of westernization. This new era of Japan is ushered in violently as our protagonist is forced to meet his best friend in a duel that will ultimately claim one of their lives.

Lady Vengeance: The third and final film in director Park Chan-Wook's revenge trilogy once again takes the dark and razor sharp humor we've come to expect and combines it with a brilliant cast and graceful cinematography. Our "heroine," having been jailed for the murder of a young boy, spends her imprisonment ensuring indebtedness of her peers. After her release, she forgoes the costume for a red eye shadow that signals her transformation. In Lady Vengeance - as in all other films in the trilogy - the futility surrounding the pursuit of vengeance is made undeniably clear.

Clean, Shaven: Director Lodge Kerrigan artfully tells the story of a recently released convict with severe schizophrenia. The main character is brilliantly and intensely played Peter Greene. First released in 1994, and shot on a budget of only $60,000, he creates a visceral experience for the viewer that is unrelenting, keeping us engaged and confused by identifying with the main character's perspective. Clever and creepy, you have to be willing to participate in the full journey. Throughout the film, the director utilizes white noise, humming and buzzing, to enact some of the illness's more brutal symptoms; the sound design alone can be considered one of the story's main characters.

Delicatessen: Although released in theaters back in 1991, this year marked this cult classic's domestic release on DVD in the United States. With underground dwellers, a murderous scheming butcher, and a building full of crazy cannibals, Delicatessen is by far Jean-Pierre Juenet and Marc Caro's most delightfully twisted films. One of the scenes features the common household noise of various apartment tenants; masterfully edited, it builds to a cacophonous musical crescendo that'll have you grinning from ear to ear. Gorgeously shot, Delicatessen has a wonderful weirdness that almost makes you forget you're watching a cannibalistic love story.

Battle in Heaven: An astounding and challenging film, Carlos Reygadas' second feature, like its predecessor Japon, is directed with cunning precision. The cast, made primarily of non-actors is essential on the part of Reygadas as he does not want the viewer to (even subconsciously) make connections to previous roles of the actors. The stage is set for a pure viewing. In the story, Marcos and his wife botch a kidnapping and spend the rest of the picture indolently deciding what they should do. Unlike his wife, Marcos has a significant amount of trouble coming to terms with his crime and mutters a confession to the amorous daughter of his boss, dragging both characters deeper into a world in which he seems able to only make dangerous choices.

The Proposition: The Outback, with its stark yet gorgeous landscape, adds grit and an unwavering sense of desperation to this standout film from director John Hillcoat and first time screenwriter, musician Nick Cave. With camera work that is carefully executed, exposing the unbending desires of the story's characters. Both the men of law and the criminals spend time committing horribly violent acts, each trying to protect some idea of truth while testing the boundaries of what people will do in the name of love. The score for the film - also written and performed by Cave - haunts many of the films scenes like some kind of dusty, wayward ghost. It will be very difficult for this writing/directing team to top themselves, but we look forward to that attempt.

Honorable Mentions: Werckmeister Harmonies; The Quiet Earth; Brick; A Scanner Darkly; When the Levees Broke (the Government's response to Katrina was totally f---ed up.)

By James Van Maanen

As gay films expand in quality and subject matter, the genre is creating its own garden of sub-genres that -- not surprisingly -- fit comfortably into many of the usual categories that film buffs know and love. Herewith, a selection of nine "sub-genres," with 29 worthwhile (for the most part) examples released on DVD during 2006. (Editor's note: Sadly, this also seemed a weaker year for Lesbian-themed films, with no Saving Face, no My Summer of Love. And, not wanting to encroach on anyone's territory, nor fuel any philosophic debate about the inclusion or exclusion of lesbian film in the gay genre, Jim would welcome a similar lesbian list but did not feel all that qualified to compile it.)

Ratings are out of 5 stars.

Comedy

Eating Out ****: Politically incorrect, often tasteless in the extreme and twice as much fun because of this. Great dialog and very sexy, too: that phone scene is hot! (And the sequel is in theatres now.)

Another Gay Movie ***: Tries to ape American Pie and the straight date/comedy/sex movies and succeeds -- if only because the genre itself is so low-end and sleazy. The game cast gives itself over to this muck 100 per cent.

Raspberry Reich ***: Hardcore porn meets political satire in Bruce La Bruce's combo of slogans and schlongs. The hard core wins, mostly because the writing and acting is relatively feeble. But the guys are cute and...big.

Coming Out

(a sub-genre that does not exist in straight films: think of it as gay "coming-of-age")

Garcon Stupide ***½: French and full of concept, philosophy, transgression and angst. But also rigorously intelligent and self-aware.

Innocent **½: By-your-bootstraps filmmaking that very nearly succeeds in its endeavor: making us care about a young emigrant from Hong Kong to Canada and his attempt to find a life for himself in school, in love, with family and at work.

Summer Storm ***½: A German high-school rowing champ comes to terms with his difference and his lust. Rich, romantic and full of natural beauty. (Applicable for the "sports" sub genre, too.)

You Are Not Alone ***: Landmark Danish film from 1978 (but released on DVD this year) that still packs a punch, as two boys -- one pre-, the other post-pubescent -- explore their sexuality.

Mystery

Third Man Out ***: A gay detective and his lover come to terms with "outing," politics, murder and deception. Fun but just good enough to make you wish it were better.

Documentaries

Fabulous: The Story of Queer Cinema ***: If not quite as "fab" as its title proclaims, it's a decent, cheerier follow-up to an earlier decade's sadder "The Celluloid Closet."

Gay Sex in the 70s *** ½: And yes, there was a lot of it -- leading to fun, excess and you-know-what. This interesting, if problematic, documentary shows us both less and more than we might like.

Three of Hearts *** ½: Gay lovers decide to include a straight woman in their mix. Great joy and greater problems ensue. A one-of-a-kind history that knocks you -- and its characters -- for a loop.

Gay Republicans ***: The oxymoron of all time meets and greets several major and minor morons, including a neo-miami ex-cuban and his mom (loved her, hated him) in this hour-long fun-fest directed by Wash Westmoreland (Quinceañera).

That Man: Peter Berlin *** ½: The enduring 70s icon proves a most interesting semi-host in this eye-and-libido-opening doc that undresses its "hero" both literally and metaphorically.

Drama

Time to Leave ****: François Ozon does it again -- tackling dying and family is a manner that is so beautiful, real and sad (a little edgy, too) that it's downright humbling.

Fixing Frank *** ½: Three-hander adapted from stage play, that plays with its characters (doctor/patient/patient's lover who is also a doctor) and the viewer in very interesting ways.

Simon **** ½: Dutch treat dealing with life, love, gays, straights, parenting and death -- in funny, sad, adult fashion. Cees Geel, who won Best Actor at the Tribeca Film Festival, is quite memorable in the title role.

WTC View **** ½: Call it drama or a 9/11-inspired fiction, this surprisingly moving "aftermath" movie is beautifully written, directed and acted.

Also of note, even if as a failure: Poster Boy (**): The Gay genre's attempt to do something politically meaningful, dramatically sound and up to the minute is a disaster on every count - but instructively so.

Romance

Adam & Steve ****: Smart, silly and occasionally shocking romantic comedy that takes the gay love story to a new level. There's even a musical number!

Cote D'Azur *** ½: The team that brought you The Adventures of Felix offers a bright, seaside romantic comedy of love and confusion. There's a good musical number here, too.

The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life Of Ethan Green ***: It's unusual for a film that begins this poorly (uber-cute and sappy) to win me over, but this one did. The endings - both of them - are a treat, and here's a chance to see Daniel Letterle (of Camp) once again.

Queens ****: Four long-reigning divas of Spanish cinema --Carmen Maura, Mercedes Sampietro, Verónica Forqué and Marisa Paredes -- play the moms of about-to-be-married gay men in a movie generally dismissed by critics but a lot more fun and surprising (intelligent and savvy about people, class and politics) than anything on the subject from these shores.

Sci-Fi

Hard Pill *** ½: Okay, it's only sci-fi but does posit a sexual preference change via the titular pill, with sexy, smart results that are amusing, sad and unusually rigorous.

Slasher/Suspense

Hellbent ***: Serial killer stalks West Hollywood gays on halloween. more clever than you'd expect, from low-budget filmmakers high in imagination, irony and wit.

Open Cam **½: Silly but fun serial-killer soft-core featuring a hunky artist (who paints nudes, of course) and a pretentious cop (played by a guy who mistakes attitude for acting).

Two Drifters ** ½: This weird portuguese contrivance conflates "moon river," some great visuals and a bizarre young woman stalking a corpse. Different but faintly ridiculous.

Sports

Guys and Balls ***: A feel-good, gay sports movie no better/no worse than you'd expect, in which a charming cast offers up the usual clichés--except that gays & sports are rarely this closely entwined.

Musicals

Just out and also of note: 20 Centimeters **½: CWDs (Chicks with Dicks) finally get their very own movie -- and it's a musical! (How's that for genre specificity?). One number is terrific; the rest range from okay to drab. Monica Cervera (El Crimen Perfecto), as the CWD with the courage of her convictions, makes a game leading lady. For you metrically-challenged, 20 centimeters translates to 7.87 inches (...but it looked a lot bigger to me).

By Erin Donovan

Four Eyed Monsters: After failing to secure a distribution deal for their debut feature directors Arin Crumley and Susan Bice began documenting their process (and failures) via video podcasts just as the video iPod was becoming the "it gadget". They became minor internet/MySpace celebrities, saw their film play in five major cities and the DVD will be released in early 2007.

Inland Empire: Forgoing the typical film festival schmooze circuit while seeking distribution for his new film, Inland Empire, David Lynch chose the corner of La Brea and Hollywood in Los Angeles to practice some transcendental meditation with (I am not joking) a cow, a poster of Laura Dern and a sign that read "if not for cows the Northwest would have NO CHEESE". If not for the internet this stunt would have landed Lynch in a loony bin, but it... just... might... work.

The Descent: Fans posted an alternate (i.e., British) ending on YouTube which overnight turned this awesome low-budget horror movie into a referendum on whether Americans need to have everything dumbed down and saccharined up (I, for one, actually prefer the American ending). The film wound up making back its full production costs in its opening weekend.

Running Scared: To promote the film starring Paul Walker, New Line posted a sexually graphic video game wherein the player/protagonist has to pleasure his wife in a limited amount of time. The game was quickly removed from the film's website when the people who call it "the internets" found out the movie still managed to hold its own against the Bruce Willis vehicle 16 Blocks and UltraViolet -- a film with an actual female in it.

Monty Python's Personal Best: For the release of this new DVD set A&E Home Video created a game where users could animate "silly walks" with their favorite characters. A delightful way to procrasturbate.

Serenity: To exploit the earnest Whed-fiends dizzy with glee to see their beleagured Firefly series reborn as a feature film, Universal posted a series of 'training videos" (starring writer/director Joss Whedon) that depicted psychic waif solider River Tam killing a doctor without raising a finger and breathily intoning geek references. Universal also hosted dozens of "fan previews" hoping convert fanboy energy into cheap blog marketing power. But after a disappointing theatrical run last year, the studio turned around and sued fans for using copyrighted images on web banners, shirts and butttons. The fans responded by serving Universal with an invoice for the money they had spent marketing the film (to the tune of $1.9M). There is no talk of a Serenity 2 at this time.

Lost: Okay, not a film but so what, I'm still obsessed and so is everyone you know. ABC networks posted an online sleuthing game called "The Lost Experience" that rewarded fans with tiny fragments of a training video used by the "Dharma Initiative." Consider me confused, ABC. I'll see you in February.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan: 20th Century Fox leaked a slew of deleted scenes on YouTube. It also didn't hurt that the president of Kazakhstan (yes, it's a real country) personally complained to President Bush and ran full-page ads in ten American newspapers illustrating how totally funny, un-anti semitic, and not sister-fuckerly the Kazakh people kind, sort of, may or may not be. In its opening weekend Borat out-performed Tim Allen's Santa Clause 3 in one-third as many theaters.

Snakes on a Plane: Insiders leaked gossipy bits to blogs (such as a proposal to change the title to "Pacific Air 121" or "Venom") to demonstrate to New Line studio execs how excited fans were for the almost non-sensically straight-forward smut, violence and profanity Snakes had to offer.