The Top 10 of 2006: #3

Venus (Roger Michell, 2006)
Peter O'Toole is this film. He carries it through his pathos and his beautiful longing. This is a love story, though a very unconventional one. At first the love between Sir O'Toole and the teenage Jessie (played by Jodie Whittaker) creeped me out. However, when you move past the sexuality that appears to drive this relationship towards the beginning, something beautiful shows itself. This is an extremely sad film, and it's not for those who are easily upset (sorry Kiki). However, it is a film that is rewarding to the viewer in every sense of the word. I love it.

The Top 10 of 2006: #4

Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)

Although I expected something completely different than what I ended up getting with this film, it was captivating nonetheless. This "fairy tale" of a girl removing herself from her dour surroundings through her imagination is a film that has immense emotional power. It also is undeniably one of the most beautiful looking films of the year.

"The Kite Runner" (2007)

The Good:
When watching a film that relys heavily on child actors to tell a portion of the story, it's always a hit or a miss with the quality of acting. Marc Forster's The Kite Runner is a definite hit. The entire first forty-five minutes or so of the story rely almost entirely on child actors, and the two actors playing Amir and Hassan achieve a level of quality in acting that is rarely found among grown actors. The children have such charisma and such believable camaraderie that you as an audience member can't help but fall in love with both of them.

The Bad:
Although the plot of the story is well-adapted, the heart of the story somehow fell by the wayside in the adapting process. This is a story about living with guilt and betraying one of the greatest friendships a person could have. Once the main character of Amir grew up, I forgot about that essential part of the storyline, and I was bored with the story. It isn't until Amir gets his chance "to be good again" that I regained my interest, because the story went back to the real reason this story needs to be told. The novel had such emotional power, and such a heart to it, that the film is just unable to completely translate that. This takes away from the film significantly. By the time we're asked to feel for Amir and his guilt, I have lost my sympathy.

This is a little nit-picky, but there is one crucial plot-point towards the end of the novel that was completely cut out of the story. While I understand why this step was taken and the film works fine without it, I felt as though it added much to the novel. I think that if they had cut some of the other plot points and kept this one in that the film could've carried much more power.

The film as a whole spent too much time focusing on Amir's marriage and his relationship with his father. The story isn't about either of these relationships, but about the relationship between Amir and Hassan.

Overall: Adapting a story isn't just about getting the plot right, it's also about getting the heart of the story right with it, and this adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's famous novel is missing it's heart.

B

"Atonement" (2007)

The Good:
When I anticipate a film, I usually walk away from my viewing of it disappointed. Since reading Ian McEwan's Atonement this summer, I have been fascinated with this story and it's characters. So naturally I have been hyping up the film beyond measure. Luckily for me, the film did not disappoint one bit. This is by far my favorite adaptation of a novel I have read EVER. Everything that's cut is cut with perfect reason, and everything left works perfectly. The scenes are exactly as I imagined them, and the characters act exactly as I imagined as well.

The acting is top-notch. Keira Knightley plays Cecelia Tallis with such longing and hurt, that an uneasiness forms in your stomach each time she appears on screen. Then there's James McAvoy as Robbie Turner. Mr. McAvoy has basically come from nowhere in the last year to become my favorite working actor today. He impressed in The Last King of Scotland, but he is so incredible in this film, that it's unfortunate there so many other strong male performances this year, because he would surely have been the Lead Actor frontrunner had it been any other year. However, the real great performance in this film is that of Saoirse Ronan in the role of Briony Tallis. This character has so much going on in her head, that I personally felt there's no way it could be adapted well on screen. However, this little actress was absolutely fantastic, and she carried the first half of the film so well, and so believably.

There are two scenes in this film that stick out to me above all others, and they for me turn the film from a good one to a great one. The first is the sex scene between Cecilia and Robbie. So much passion is shown on screen that I didn't feel as uncomfortable as I usually do during long sex scenes. Plus, this scene being such an important part of the film, you as an audience member were wholly engrossed in Cecilia and Robbie's consummation of their love. The second scene is the long tracking shot along the beach during the evacuation of Dunkirk scene. The scene is not only beautiful and completely representative of wartime, but it is so moving that I was brought to tears.

Overall: There are so many amazing moments in this film that easily make it one of the best films I've seen this year, and the best adaptation of a novel I've ever seen. This has easily become one of my favorite films of all time.

A+

The Top 10 of 2006: #5

Dreamgirls (Bill Condon, 2006)

This was my most anticipated film of 2006, and if you'd asked me a year ago today what my favorite film of 2006 was, it would be this. However, recent rewatches have show that the film is a tad too long, and the overall film too melodramatic, and it's unfortunately moved down the list. However, why it's on the list is that this is one of the best adaptations of the feel of a musical I've ever seen. The glitter, the music, everything comes together with near perfection. Not to mention the powerhouse performances by each one of the actors in the film. Even Beyonce does a formidable job of playing the Diana Ross-inspired Deena Jones. But the entire film rests on the amazing performance of Jennifer Hudson, and her performance of "And I'm Telling You" sent goosebumps up my arms and chills down my spine.

The Top 10 of 2006: #6

Hard Candy (David Slade, 2006)

I have no idea where I first heard about this movie and saw the trailer, but the minute I did I couldn't wait to see it. I bought it the day it came out, and when I watched it I had to sit and think about it for about 20 minutes. This story of one girl's revenge on a pedophile is jarring and genius. The lines of good and evil are blurred, so the audience at first think they know who the bad guy is, but then events change and leaves the audience wondering who the victim really is. For me to see Ellen Page in this and fall in love, then see her in Juno and fall in love all over again, just goes to show the versatility (and hopefully) staying power of this wonderful actress.

The Top 10 of 2006: #7

Volver (Pedro Almodovar, 2006)

Penelope Cruz is a force to be reckoned with, and until this film, I hadn't known the potential that she held. The story starts off as a sort of comedic ghost story/murder story, but at it's heart it's a story about all women's need for their mother's love. There is a beautiful scene about halfway through when Penelope Cruz is singing along to a Flamenco guitarist, and tears stream down her face (I won't say why for fear of spoiling parts of the film), and it is a scene that works so well, and is so endearing, that I couldn't help but fall in love.