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'Hot Fuzz'
"Hot Fuzz" is a gore-packed, tongue-in-cheek pastiche of action movies from the '80s and '90s by the guys who did "Shaun of the Dead." Deftly toeing the line between parody and homage, "Hot Fuzz" is a great movie for anyone able to stomach more crimson onscreen than a pre-Emmys red carpet special.
Probably not the best date movie (unless you're really lucky), but a thrilling action hit in its own right.
- Hudson Lockett
'Beowulf'
After seeing the film once again, this time in IMAX 3-D, it is undeniable that Robert Zemeckis has made an outlandishly exciting epic. Scribes Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary took the story, tied events together to make it a smoother experience and modernized the language so audiences wouldn't have to try to understand Olde English (save for Grendel's dialogue). With the performance capture technology, Zemeckis is free to throw the camera around wherever he wishes, leading to a dazziling and head-spinning experience, especially when viewed in 3-D.
Truly, IMAX 3-D is the format a film of this scale should be viewed in. The level of detail was astounding, and the huge screen created an intensely immersive experience.
I love when a film goes from just a film to a movie-going experience, where the director has crafted something that brings something new to cinema. Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino did it earlier this year with "Grindhouse," and now Zemeckis has done it with "Beowulf."
- Alex Regnery
'Zodiac'
David Fincher's film about the California Zodiac murders and subsequent investigations spanning from the 1960s to near present day is easily one of the best (and underrated) of 2007. If you're expecting something akin to "Fight Club" or even "Se7en" look elsewhere as Zodiac showcases a new sort of meticulous talent from the director that may not be unanimously enjoyable.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr., this movie focuses much more on the detective work behind the killings than the murders themselves. In fact, after about half an hour of the movie there is no blood or hard action shown at all.
If this sounds boring to you, rest assured that no gore is needed in this film in order to frighten or unease you. The scare factor in "Zodiac" rests in its reality, the fact that the murders only occurred nearly 40 years ago and no one was ever caught.
Fincher does a great job presenting us with various prime suspects, but no one fits the bill perfectly, and as the minutes pass by you'll come to share the detectives' frustrations. As soon as the movie comes to its bittersweet end you'll likely find yourself on Wikipedia researching the Zodiac and contributing your own detective work to the cause - I only ask you not to become the Robert Graysmith who Gyllenhaal plays in the film.
I honestly feel that this movie has cult-classic written all over it. It's filled with slick cinematography, memorable characters and a suspenseful script. Aided with smart dialogue, tasteful and perfectly placed humor, one-liners from various creepy characters that will make your skin crawl (John Carroll Lynch's deadpan "Even if I was the Zodiac I certainly wouldn't tell you") and a cameo of the mysterious "Aqua Velva" cocktail, this movie will certainly garner an appreciative audience for a long time to come.
- Travis Bauer
'Black Book'
This small foreign film was probably missed by most when it hit theaters in April, but I'm here to remind you how great it is. Paul Verhoeven of "Showgirls" and "RoboCop" fame has crafted an intense spy thriller that will both titillate audiences and keep them at the edge of their seats.
Carice van Houten plays a young Jewish girl who, after seeing her family murdered by Nazis, joins the resistance and infiltrates the SS. There's enough backstabbing and double crossing to make the plot of "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" seem simple, but this doesn't keep the story from being enthralling and gut-wrenching. The film is packed with action, adventure, romance, violence, nudity, sex and even some fecal matter to make sure that any audience of any kind is completely satisfied.
Verhoeven has taken some flack in the past for "Hollow Man" and the infamous "Showgirls," but it's the director of the wonderful "Starship Troopers" and "Basic Instinct" that has made his triumphant return with "Black Book."
- AR
'Wristcutters: A Love Story'
While "Wristcutters: A Love Story" is technically classified as a dark comedy, it's really more dark than comedy. In fact, the movie's depiction of the yawning chasm that is the Great Beyond might even be depressing enough to make you momentarily lose sight of the meaning of life. But try to ignore that, because without a doubt, "Wristcutters" is the best cheerless, grim-as-hell, post-suicidal rom-com ever created.
After suffering through what clearly must have been a pretty bad break-up, Zia, played by Patrick Fugit, ends it all by slitting his wrists - or so he thinks. Apparently there is a very special purgatory reserved for those who off themselves, and that's exactly where Zia winds up. Here in the doldrums of the afterlife, everything is the same as it is in reality, yet somehow worse. And dirty. And meaningless. With nothing to look forward to but more of the same, the inhabitants of this parallel universe can only seek entertainment in their own deadpan irony: "After I killed myself, I got this job at Kamikaze Pizza," Zia narrates.
Cameos from Tom Waits and "Arrested Development's" Will Arnett are enough to keep the laughs coming. Yeah, it's sort of gloomy, but there's a certain charm to the sadness of the whole thing, one that sticks with you long after you've left the theater. Don't forget, it is a love story, after all. And anyway, aren't indie flicks supposed to be a little depressing?
- Cate Smithson
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