Finally, something good.

The Movie: The Jacket, directed by John Maybury
Recommendation: Me!
Reason: Adrien Brody's part in The Village really appealed to me. Also, Keira Knightley.

Keira Knightley taking a swing at an American accent was a little jarring to me. Though hers was better than Hilary Swanks in The Black Dahlia. And guess what? That's my only major criticism of the movie! Huzzah! It's so refreshing to see something good today! With a slightly stronger supporting cast and script, this could have been a true classic, a suitable heir to Jacob's Ladder. It missed, but it was a near miss.

Adrien Brody really is compelling in this role. He's flexible, disappears entirely into the part and portrays everything so clearly that it's really wonderful to watch. He's unconventionally talented. Keira Knightley was a little awkward, but when she was in the role, there was no separation. As mentioned, the supporting cast was a little weak. Jennifer Jason Leigh was the strongest of them, with Kris Kristofferson not quite being as convincing as he could be. Daniel Craig got a quick doubletake, but he didn't stand out enough.

The movie was well shot, with apparently some method acting caught on screen. Adrien Brody spent quite a bit of time locked in his death-metaphor...er...drawer, and some of the effects of that lockdown made it into the film. It was really effective and obviously quite convincing.

-159/365 down, 206/365 to go

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the subtext here.

The Movie: The Night Listener, directed by Patrick Stettner
Recommendation: Nobody!
Reason: I was vaguely aware of this movie when it was quietly released, and I was interested in Toni Collette's other work after seeing Little Miss Sunshine.

This film was a good way to pass some time. I can't really give it overwhelming praise, but it was a good, understated movie that was perhaps a little shallow for its subject matter. The search for identity and truth amidst the turmoil of the loss of a relationship is great fodder for a film of depth. Unfortunately, through either the scripting or the direction, The Night Listener simply didn't reach far enough.

Robin Williams was incredibly low-key in this film, so restrained, in fact, that he was almost unrecognizable. That's a good thing, because he managed to be believable, intelligent and sympathetic. Toni Collette on the other hand, was a mess. I don't just refer to the situation of her character, more to the misuse of her presence. She's a good actress, very solid as we've seen in Little Miss Sunshine. I don't believe she was given good direction here.

The pacing of the film was a little off too. With so much time spent on the 'opening', so to speak, the real meat of the story was left off to the bitter end. The result came across a little anemic. However, it did have its good points. The subtlety with which the relationship between Noone and Jess was treated was excellent. The 'investigation' Noone undertakes was realistic and made some degree of sense. Sandra Oh's character was a bright spot of interest. The film wasn't all weak, but it wasn't strong, either.

-156/365 down, 209/365 to go

Potential and realization.

The Movie: The Accused, directed by Jonathan Kaplan
Recommendation: DKS
Reason: She's catching me up on my Jodie Foster fandom.

This year, I've seen a striking amount of torture scenes. A lot of eye gouging, a lot of needles and knives. Plenty of decapitations. Saw a guy's head almost get bisected in Pan's Labyrinth. I've seen Oldboy, Zombi 2 and Audition. I've only seen two rape scenes, and they stand out in my mind more than any of the gore. In The Accused, Jodie Foster steals the entire movie out from under Kelly McGillis, making every second of her screentime wrenching (including the aforementioned scene). The story of The Accused is based on the real life "Big Dan's rape". As usual, real life is actually worse than fiction.

It's par for the course that Jodie Foster, in her younger years, would outdo almost anyone she shared the screen with. I'm not saying she's a hack, simply that her presence is overwhelming. For once the supporting cast held up with distinction, and while Foster overwhelms McGillis several times, it's the latter that delivers one of the better summations I've seen on screen (No, I haven't seen Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Yet.). If you want to read it, here it is (huge block of text, you can't miss it), but I would strongly recommend seeing it for yourself.

This movie could have easily been made-for-TV. They've made movies of more horrible things and aired them. There were script issues and there were a few questionable editing decisions. I know some people question the necessity of the length of the rape scene, but I think I understand the director's point-rape isn't a comfortable time. It's not something that is over with quick and easy. I believe shortening the sequence would detract from the impact of that summation I mentioned earlier, neutering the climax of the film.

If you took a moment to flip through the article up above from Massachusets Lawyers Weekly, you'll note that the story this movie was based on was one of the first nationally televised trial. Kaplan made some interesting decisions in the background setting of his film to point out the bread-and-circuses spectacle the real case became, and the astute will easily pick up on them. Televisions are prevalent in his set dressing, and the images they show give some very subversive commentary. To give an example, a sexy commercial plays at the bar as the prosecutor visits to get an idea of the circumstances surrounding the rape. It's an interesting point, and one of the reasons this movie was so much more than it could have been.

-150/365 down, 215/365 to go

A child is missing, and Julianne Moore isn't playing the lead.

The Movie: Flightplan, directed by Robert Schwentke
Recommendation: DKS
Reason: We share a mutual like of Jodie Foster and the movies she chooses to star in. Admittedly, this does extend to Panic Room and Flightplan, which both have their good points along with the bad.

Bite me.

That's for everyone who dislikes movies I've enjoyed and wants to make sure I know it, as loud and annoyingly as possible. I'm not interested in discussing it with you unless you have some new insight. NEW. INSIGHT. I don't feel that I'm asking too much here, really. I don't force anyone to read my reviews, don't force me to listen to endless droning about how repetitive and awful my bad-movie darlings are. Now that I've got your attention...Flightplan wasn't a great movie. Peter Sarsgaard is too slimy not to be evil (oh, sorry guys, spoiler warning!). Sean Bean surprisingly did not die. Attaboy Sean, keep up the good work. The editing was...questionable. The acting, even Jodie Foster's bit, wasn't top notch.

This movie really just vanished into thin air (hahahahahaha) after it hit the screens around the same time as Red Eye. I haven't seen that movie, but it could just be a little better than Flightplan. This movie didn't have much of anything going for it aside from Jodie Foster and though she's really great, she does need a bit of help if she's going to be the one and only highlight of the show. She didn't get that help here, which is a major suffering point of the film.

This movie wasn't really bad, it was just pedestrian and forgettable. Foster's frantic attempts at maintaining drama and pushing the plot along aside, Flightplan just plodded along by the numbers, not really forking away from the formula and certainly not breaking new ground. It's not her best, but it's something to tide us over until she wows us again.

-146/365 down, 219/365 to go

Good legal advice does not come from those who were disbarred due to killing someone.

The Movie: Double Jeopardy, directed by Bruce Beresford
Recommendation: Broomie
Reason: After watching Fracture, we started talking about the double jeopardy laws that are in place. During our...'discussion', it came up that I hadn't seen this movie.

So, the entire premise of this movie is faulty. I think by now we all know that, but if you're wondering why, Wikipedia has a long answer and IMDB has a short one. Basically, this entire movie could have been avoided with some good detective work. Actually, it's pretty likely that Ashley Judd's character could have come out well ahead if she hadn't grabbed a gun and gone on a crime spree three seconds after getting out of prison. The whole thing came off as a poorly thought out Kill Bill. And really, why would you trust the legal advice of a woman who was disbarred for murder and a legal professor who hasn't been teaching for years? Why not get your dumbass lawyer to clarify exactly what you can do?

I spent a good portion of the movie trying not to compare it to Kill Bill, but really...at one point there was a 'one-inch punch' moment. How can you not see the parallel (even though Kill Bill came out after Double Jeopardy)? My own mind took me right out of the movie and off to a better place where nobody licks Melanie Griffith or tries to pretend that Ashley Judd is an action hero. She's better off playing a suburban housewife in milquetoast dramas.

It was an unbelieveable premise with a cornball script and lame-duck acting. Tommy Lee Jones played his usual wisecracking mentor guy, and most of his scenes were overwhelmed by our out of movie commentary of the "search every doghouse etc." variety. I'm not much more enlightened for having seen this movie, and I don't think very many other people would be either.

-102/365 down, 263/365 to go

I am not Paul Avery

The Movie: Zodiac, directed by David Fincher
Recommendation: Dee and The Boy
Reason: From Dee: "The book was really, really good." From The Boy: "The editing and the lighting was really well done."

People, I beg of you, stop bringing your small children to the theater. Please. Not because movies like Zodiac will warp them for life (for a movie that's being hyped as being about a serial killer, it's not very gory), but because they will get bored, and every time the screen goes black, they will yell "MOMMY THE MOVIE'S OVER!" Get a sitter. Please. The moviegoing public will appreciate it. Small children shouldn't be put through the excruciating boredom of sitting in a dark theater watching a story they don't care about, without anything that would interest them happening on the screen at all. It annoys adults who are really enjoying the film.

Anyway. My mother once told me that when she was a teenager, she was afraid of David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam. She didn't live in New York at the time, had never been there to my knowledge, but she somewhat fit his profile. She recalled that when the Son of Sam was prowling the streets of Queens, a lot of young women started cutting their hair short, whether they were near New York or not. Serial killers like Zodiac and the Son of Sam do some strange things to people. They're the supervillains of our age, and the police who try to outmatch them are our heroes, to put a four-color spin on it. I was therefore quite impressed by the thought put into this film. From a story perspective, Zodiac is not fast moving. It stops and starts. It jumps. In a way, I imagine it's what real casework would be like. From the early stages, when leads were hot and the killer seemed just inches away, the film flows fast and clean, the rough patches in the story palpably frustrating. In the later stages it seems halting, difficult to watch, much as an investigation must become when reality sets in and the 'outwitting' takes longer than expected. The pace, I think, stuck with the story Graysmith wanted to tell. He did more than make a case for one suspect or another-his book and this film discuss the impact of the case on the investigators and those around them.

Theories and accusations aside, I liked the story the film told. Zodiac is a strange figure, morphing according to eyewitness accounts (and played by different actors, who matched the descriptions the victims and witnesses provided at the time). Graysmith is a weedy little nerd, Avery's a wannabe gonzo journalist, Toschi's eternally frustrated, and as they each take their own shot at IDing the knife-hand who's been tormenting their careers, a little more of the whys and the hows of the case's handling are brought to light. It's difficult to watch the interactions between the agencies that handled the case-so many things were dropped or missed. Jake Gyllenhaal struck a perfect chord of desperation and logic. Toschi's frustration was greatly played by Mark Ruffalo. This movie isn't for the easily distracted, weighing in at around two and a half hours, but it's worthwhile if you're interested in the case and the way the book came to be.

-74/365 down, 291/365 to go

So...Julianne Moore doesn't even have a kid?

The Movie: Benny and Joon, directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik
Recommendation: Dee
Reason: It's Valentines Day!

As you may guess, the title's a reference to Julianne Moore's more recent roles, in which she has a child, usually a boy, who is dead or has been taken from her, and the loss is driving her insane. Refreshing to go back to the time in which she wasn't so wrapped up in such dramas. Of course, I barely remember her being in the movie, due to the presence of a certain Johnny Depp.

I have a great deal of respect for Depp as an actor. He has a signature style, admittedly. He plays quirky characters, characters with a weird sort of depth to them. He steals the show, lights up the screen just by being on hand. He's not even a title character-it's pretty obvious that he was never intended to be more than a supporting actor, but seriously, he blows Aidan Quinn right off the screen. Sam and Joon just wouldn't be as good a title, unfortunately. He's spectacular, essentially, as usual. It's just not worth it to comment on the rest of the cast-they're basically props for Depp to work off of.

Musically, this movie was quite excellent. I'm a huge fan of seminal moments in movies being denoted by the perfect music, and Benny and Joon's musical selector (whoever they are-I don't know who on the crew list would do this job!) was some kind of genius. 500 Miles, by the Proclaimers, now sits right up there with Battle Without Honor or Humanity, Misirlou, I Need a Hero, You Don't Own Me, Sugar High, Lovefool and...well, you're getting the idea. The closing shot of the movie was perfected by music. Huzzah. Excellent Valentine's Day movie.

-42/365 down, 323/365 to go