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D-Hillman75
Reviews
The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008)
Gripping, incredibly effective film
It's actually hard to watch because the whole point of watching it is to arrive at a place where you really dread going. Mozhan Marno, the actress who portrays the title character, is extremely stoic and resolute, desperately trying to be brave about her impending fate -- yet the actress allows us to see her fear poking through the facade, even as the character tries to conceal it. It's an extremely tough trick to pull off, and Marno does so admirably.
Navid Negahban is riveting as Ali, the husband who falsely accuses his wife of adultery so that he can get out of his marriage in order to be with a much younger woman. One by one, he convinces/blackmails the people in Soraya's village to turn against her. The moment in which he coerces his young sons into joining the angry mob and to toss rocks at their own mother's head is one of the most powerful, horrible scenes depicted in a film in recent memory.
It's the type of film that makes your blood boil because of the horrible injustice inflicted upon the innocent. Small, intimate, and gritty. Highly recommended for those that can take this sort of thing.
Target Practice (2008)
Smart, exceptionally suspenseful bit of filmmaking
I can see why this one divides people. No robots, massive explosions, or big-name stars. Just relentless mounting tension and a surprisingly intelligent script dealing with the scary topic of terrorist training camps in our own backyards. A group of friends head off into the mountains on a weekend fishing trip, already at odds with each other over a variety of issues, ranging from mundane things like stopping for bathroom breaks to more serious arguments over racial prejudice. When they almost run into a vehicle that's been left on the side of a mountain road, the argument becomes whether they should stop to see if anyone needs their help or just keep going.
They end up doing the good samaritan thing and it costs them big time; minutes after stopping, they find themselves the targets of a bloody ambush and the survivors are running for their lives through the forest. From that point on, the characters are battling for survival, trying to figure out who's hunting them down, and why, and facing a series of increasingly nerve-wracking, horrific discoveries. The level of suspense that the film generates is, at times, staggering.
The camera-work may be off-putting to some. It's not herky-jerky as in the Bourne movies, but it moves restlessly, picking out a subtle hand movement here, a nervous flitter of someone's eye there. And for the most part, the actors are previously undiscovered newcomers, which is to be expected in an ultra-independent film like this (ala "Blair Witch" or "Paranormal Activity"), but they're all very good. A couple of them are excellent, and there are some unexpectedly touching moments of genuine emotion between them.
If you need your toys to have lots of noisy whistles and blinking lights and to come in big boxes with shiny red ribbons, this one probably isn't for you. If you like your action films to be a little more well-developed, edgy, and thought-provoking, you'll really appreciate this tense little trip into the woods.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
extremely powerful drama
I was never much of a fan of either Ben or Casey Affleck, and so originally had no desire to see this film. But I kept hearing good things about it, and so tuned in one afternoon when I saw that it was on TV, coming in midway through the film. I watched about five minutes before turning the TV off -- not because I didn't like what I saw, but because I was so impressed that I wanted to order the film and watch it from the beginning. I wasn't disappointed; this is the film that made me a fan of both Afflecks.
Casey is terrific as the gumshoe searching for a missing little girl through the gritty, dangerous streets of a very blue-collar Boston neighborhood, sticking his nose into places where he is so obviously not welcome. Ben Affleck's direction is incredibly deft, patient, and subtle. There are a myriad of twists and turns, not just in the plot but in the characters themselves; everyone has a dark side and even most of the so-called bad guys have understandable, even noble motivations.
This is a drama but be forewarned: there are several bursts of very graphic violence and the language is very, very rough. There are no easy, pat, Hollywood-type solutions to this film, either, and some viewers may be frustrated by the ending, but that's exactly one of the reasons that I found it so satisfying; it feels messy and real. One of the best crime dramas that I've ever seen.
Winter's Bone (2010)
Wonderfully dark and edgy drama
This is a beautiful, intelligent, and understated film dealing with some very dark and ugly subject matters. Jennifer Lawrence turns in a wonderful performance as the teenage girl forced to raise her younger siblings and care for her mentally unstable mother, all the while searching for her career criminal father in some very dangerous, very unwelcoming backwoods hovels and dealing with an array of increasingly unsavory characters. The only lead performance by an actress that has impressed me more this past year was Natalie Portman in "Black Swan," and an Oscar nomination for Lawrence seems inevitable.
The film definitely takes its time to unfold, but there is a sense of menace and dread from the very beginning that builds relentlessly, like a coiled spring being drawn tighter and tighter. The film also has a wonderfully unpolished, un-Hollywood type of vibe to it; it feels edgy, real, and dangerous. Be prepared to get creeped-out by this terrific little drama.