The TV Addict 

CLOVERFIELD
At its core, CLOVERFIELD has such a clever approach that you’re shocked nobody has ever done it before. Instead of following the people (usually the army) trying to fight off a monster attacking a city, and eventually succeeding, CLOVERFIELD shows us people like you and I just trying to survive. That being said, that doesn’t stop the film from having a wishy-washy central plot right out of those typical Hollywood films that conveniently places its main characters in perpetual danger. The shaky video camera (through which the events are seen) also grates on the nerves eventually, as does the tendency of the monster to somehow always pop up when the characters need it least (then again, Manhattan is maybe not that big). Nevertheless, it’s incredibly immersive and exciting. It extracts loads of tension from its approach, effectively placing us in the shoes of its protagonists, as if we were in the trenches right there with them. It’s thrilling, shocking, scary, and even has a surprise ending. In other words, CLOVERFIELD is what we look for in films: an experience.
Overall rating: B

CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR
CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR is about a light as cotton candy, and just about as filling. It’s silly, and incredibly hard to take serious, despite the fact that it’s dealing with pretty serious stuff – mainly the initial domino that got knocked over into the others to eventually lead America to 9/11. Sure it’s entertaining, but it remains a strange film, because you’re never entirely sure what it’s getting at. At times it seems to be genuinely making fun of the absurdity of the events (perhaps in a CATCH 22 style, another Mike Nichols film), yet at times it seems to be using the humor to indicate that these events are not funny at all, and condemning America. Even if you place politics aside, it doesn’t work well as a film. You have nothing but build up, and then as Wilson achieves his goal, the film abruptly and speedily propels itself to a hasty end that leaves you a little befuddled. Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performance as a hilariously indelicate CIA agent does make this film worth a look, as does the relish with which Tom Hanks throws himself into playing the womanizing, drug-taking, unconsciously self-aggrandizing congressman.
Overall rating: C+

THE SAVAGES
Any film that thematically evokes one of my favorite films (You Can Count on Me), stars the same actress (Laura Linney, my personal favorite), and throws in Phillip Seymour Hoffman, immediately earns my love. It of course helps that film is really good. Like Kenneth Lonergan’s film, Tamara Jenkin’s THE SAVAGES beautifully captures the complexity of sibling dysfunction, though it’s not content with just that. It also takes on the frustration that emerges from artistic (and depressive) individuals unable to realize their creative ambitions, children having to grow up to take of their parents, the senselessness of a stagnated life in the face of death, and, well, just plain growing up. It’s not a happy film, but it’s a real film, one bolstered by the phenomenal performances (seriously, is it actually possible for Linney and Hoffman to suck?) and a fantastic script (which should have won the Oscar instead of JUNO). This is what independent filmmaking is all about. Heck, this is what good, character-driven filmmaking is all about.
Overall rating: A

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