The Nanny Diaries (2007)
Release Date: 24 August 2007 (USA)
Genres: Comedy | Drama | Romance
Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti, Chris Evans, Donna Murphy, Alicia Keys, Nicholas Art, Nathan Corddry, Cady Huffman, Brande Roderick, Nina Garbiras, Judith Roberts, Alison Wright, Heather Simms, Sakina Jaffrey
Directors: Shari Springer Berman
Country: USA
Plot: A college graduate goes to work as a nanny for a rich New York family. Ensconced in their home, she has to juggle their dysfunction, a new romance, and the spoiled brat in her charge.
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Somewhere between Mary Poppins and Sex and the City lies The Nanny Diaries, an adaptation of Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus’ sordid, cynical best seller that is able to coast on its working-grrl attitude and a couple of intelligent casting decisions.
It’s nice to see Scarlett Johansson outside of Woody Allen’s clutches. Here she showcases her rarely exercised knack for self-deprecating physical comedy as Annie Braddock, titular babysitter and recent college graduate who postpones her inevitable plunge into the rat race by accepting a nanny position at the posh Upper East Side residence of snippy Mrs. X (Laura Linney, fabulous in the role).
The dream job quickly turns nightmarish, though. Rumors that the last nanny received her walking papers after indulging in one date prevent Annie from pursuing the Harvard Hottie (Chris Evans) who lives upstairs. Meanwhile, the elusive Mr. X (Paul Giamatti) fills his calendar with business meetings — code for girlfriends he keeps on the side. And the self-absorbed parents have no connection with Annie’s charge, Grayer (Nicholas Art), a child of aristocracy pressured to behave like anything but a kid.
One nagging problem of Nanny, however, is that Johansson can’t create much of a connection with young Art either, and too much of the story hinges on Annie’s concern for Grayer’s well-being. There are handfuls of times we half expect this put-upon pseudo-parent to tell the X factors they can take their job and shove it. She doesn’t, and we immediately question why. The part of Grayer requires more sympathy than Art - or Johansson, by extension - can muster.
What Nanny can do is punch holes through the stuffiness of Manhattan’s upper crust. The script records smart commentaries on New York’s social caste system, finding ways to categorize the unique borough’s residents without digging too deep beneath the shallow surfaces. Yet even here, the movie oversteps its firm footing. During an impossibly impromptu dinner disaster, Annie demands Grayer try a peanut-butter-and-jelly concoction that, even after a lifetime of Grey Poupon, goes down smoothly. I was surprised to learn such a product existed. I was even more shocked that co-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini would mistakenly believe the Xs would have it in their pantry in the first place.
But the movie stays in its exclusive comfort zone for the most part, safely arriving at its stated bottom line: that those without money are equal to something a pampered pet would leave under a tree in Central Park. Don’t worry, though. The nanny will pick that up.
By Sean O’Connell for Filmcritic.com
Tags: laura linney, paul giamatti, Romance, scarlett johansson
Posted in Comedy, Drama, Romance | No Comments »
Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
Release Date: 8 June 2007 (USA) 
DVD Release Date: 5 October 2007
Genres: Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Actors: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Shaobo Qin, Don Cheadle, Eddie Jemison, Andy Garcia, Scott L. Schwartz, Carl Reiner
Directors: Steven Soderbergh
Country: USA
Plot: Danny Ocean’s team of criminals are back and are composing a plan more personal than ever. When ruthless casino owner Willy Bank double-crosses Reuben Tishkoff, causing a heart attack, Danny Ocean vows that him and his team will do anything to bring Willy Bank and everything he’s got down. Even if it includes hiring help from one of their own enemies, Terry Benedict.
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Hollywood.com Says:
"Third time’s a charm. Ocean’s Thirteen outshines the second installment, offering that certain breezy fun the original provided. Those cutie pies just work better in Vegas."
This is more like it. Leaving the smug self-congratulation of Twelve far behind, Ocean’s Thirteen is a stylish, breezy confection that, from first to (almost) last, is all about the con instead of the Hollywood royalty doing the conning, its eventual lapses into self-awareness forgivable for being more playful than egotistical.
The specifics of the plotting are both too dense and quite frankly, ludicrous, to go into in detail, but it goes something like this: big time Vegas hotel owner Willy Bank (Pacino) reneges on a deal with Reuben (Gould, who all but steals the film with an absolutely delightful Godfather joke) to partner him in a new casino, leaving Reuben broke and nearly dead. Ocean (Clooney) and the boys (Pitt, Damon, et al) vow revenge on Bank by coming up with several hi-tech schemes to win so big on opening night that Bank will be ruined. An added complication arises when the one person able to finance their plan, old foe Terry Benedict (Garcia), will only do it if the boys steal some diamonds from Bank’s impregnable penthouse while they’re at it. And why is Vincent Cassel’s Toulour, the bad guy from Twelve, hanging around the hotel?
Actually, it’s quite a straightforward setup really, but the joy of the film lies in the way the intricacies of the scams are revealed, in the smooth byplay between the supremely talented players, and in Soderbergh’s now finely polished direction. Though the zip and flair is back, the style quotient hasn’t been sacrificed to accommodate it, with some glorious camera work and beautiful aesthetics on top of the fun all coming together to make Ocean’s Thirteen probably the strongest of the trilogy.
Almost everyone returns from the first two outings, the only dropouts being Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones, neither of them particularly missed. As ever, such a large crew means casualties (Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner and Shaobo Qin barely merit showing up), especially with the inclusion of three new characters (Pacino, plus Barkin as his assistant and David Paymer as an unfortunate hotel inspector). Damon gets some decent screen time and laughs, while Casey Affleck and Scott Caan probably score the biggest yucks as the dopey, scrapping Malloy brothers. Truth be told, even Clooney and Pitt have very little to do other than stand around in sharp jackets or wear silly disguises, but that they do it with such exquisite, effortless cool is just the reason why we joined the game in the first place.
By Paul Greenwood for Future Movies
Tags: al pacino, brad pitt, george clooney, Matt Damon, steven soderbergh
Posted in Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Thriller | No Comments »
Reign Over Me (2007)
Release Date: 23 March 2007 (USA)
Genres: Drama
Actors: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, Donald Sutherland, Robert Klein, Melinda Dillon, Mike Binder, Jonathan Banks, Rae Allen, Paula Newsome, John de Lancie, Paul Butler, Camille LaChe Smith.
Directors: Mike Binder
Country: USA
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Alan Johnson has everything he needs to get through life: a good job, a beautiful and loving wife, and their wonderful children. Yet he feels isolated because he finds having a hard-working job and managing a family too much to handle and has no one to talk to about it. Charlie Fineman, on the other hand, doesn’t have a job or a family. He used to have both until he lost his family on the fateful day of 9/11, and the grief he felt caused him to quit his job and isolate himself from everyone around him. As it turns out, Alan and Charlie were roommates in college, and a chance encounter one night rekindles the friendship they shared. They soon feel that their friendship is the one thing that allows them to forget about their problems.
"Reign over me" shows Adam Sandler in slightly different angle. While his character (Charlie Fineman) is sort of a combination of "Punch-Drunk Love", "Big Daddy" and "Mr.Deeds", it reveals a new inner perception of the world around him. In the movie Charlie "pairs up" with a successful dentist, his former college roommate, Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle), which creates a bridge between Charlie’s insularity and Alan’s overall life unhappiness. During the movie Alan is trying to help Charlie get through an awful tragedy that lives inside Charlie’s mind and soaked with his whole essence. By helping him, Alan comes to realize that Charlie, in spite of his problems has something that such successful dentist as himself does not have - Charlie is free!
Movie is witty, funny and very sad at the same time. It has this unbelievable power, when you’re watching it, you know it is long, but every 5 minutes, closer to the end, you are alert and constantly worried that it is going to end, when you really want it to be "just a little longer".
Tags: adam sandler, don cheadle, jada pinkett smith, liv tyler
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Release Date: 11 July 2007 (USA)
Genres: Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy
Actors:Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton
Directors: David Yates
Country: UK | USA
Plot Summary: Harry is about to start his fifth year at Hogwarts. He’s desperate to get back to school and find out why his friends Ron and Hermoine have been so secretive all summer. However, what Harry is about to discover in his new year at Hogwarts will turn his world upside down….
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After a lonesome summer on Privet Drive, Harry returns to Hogwarts to begin his fifth year there for one of his most difficult years yet. He’s desperate to find out why his friends Ron and Hermione have been so secretive all summer, and not only he must study for his OWL exams, but Harry Potter discovers that much of the wizarding world, including the Ministry of Magic, didn’t believe in him or Dumbledore’s warnings of Lord Voldemort’s return. In retaliation, the ministry had decided to step in by appointing a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in order to keep en eye on Hogwarts.
The Order of the Phoenix, a group sworn against Voldemort, is using its vast array of wizards and witches magical abilities to combat Voldemort. Meanwhile, a new witch assumes control at Hogwarts, throwing the entire school into chaos. To top it off are dreams that Harry can’t explain, and a mystery behind something Voldemort is searching for.
Harry is forced to confide his trust within a different force and discover that his new year at Hogwarts will turn his world upside down.
The film itself is a joy to watch whether you have read the book or not. Not only has "Order" marked Harry Potter as not just a very good read but a very good film as well. Entertaining, dark and mysterious the film is more than just an appetizer but more like a second helping of the main course.
Tags: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Harry Potter, hogwarts, kids movie, Rupert Grint
Posted in Adventure, Drama, Fantasy | No Comments »
Georgia Rule (2007)
Release Date: 11 May 2007 (USA)
Genres: Comedy | Drama | Romance
Actors: Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman, Dermot Mulroney, Cary Elwes, Garrett Hedlund, Hector Elizondo, Dylan McLaughlin, Zachary Gordon, Laurie Metcalf, Tereza Stanislav
Directors: Garry Marshall
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content and some language.
Country: USA
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Rebellious teenager Rachel (Lohan) screams, swears, drinks and is-in a word-uncontrollable. With her latest car crash, Rachel has broken the final rule in mom Lily’s (Golden Globe winner Huffman) San Francisco home. With nowhere else to take the impulsive and rambunctious girl, Lily hauls her daughter to the one place she swore she’d never return…her own mother’s Idaho farm.
Matriarch Georgia (two-time Oscar® winner Fonda) is not your typical sweet and doting grandmother. She lives her life by a number of unbreakable rules, demanding anyone who shares her home do the same-God comes first and hard work comes a very close second. Now saddled with raising the young woman, it will require each patient breath she takes to understand Rachel’s fury. But as Rachel succumbs to her summer of misery and shakes up the tiny Mormon town, Georgia notices something is changing within her granddaughter. Given structure and responsibilities, Rachel is letting her guard down and learning compassion…especially for her mother. Her journey will lead all three women to revelations of buried family secrets and an understanding that-regardless what happens-the ties that bind can never be broken.
Tags: Dermot Mulroney, Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan
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Death at a Funeral (2007, USA)
Release Date: 11 July 2007 (Belgium)
Genres: Comedy | Drama
Actors: Matthew MacFadyen, Rupert Graves, Alan Tudyk, Daisy Donovan, Kris Marshall, Andy Nyman, Jane Asher, Keeley Hawes, Peter Vaughan, Ewen Bremner, Peter Dinklage, Thomas Wheatley, Peter Egan, Jeremy Booth, Gareth Milne
Directors: Frank Oz
Awards: 2 wins
Country: USA
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Death at a Funeral is a 2007 black comedy film directed by Frank Oz and written by Dean Craig.
Tags: black comedy, Frank Oz
Posted in Comedy, Drama | No Comments »
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Genres: Action | Adventure | Drama | Mystery | Thriller
Actors: Matt Damon, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez, Scott Adkins, Joey Ansah, Daniel Bruhl, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Dan Fredenburgh
Directors: Paul Greengrass
Download: DivX ($2.99)
This is the cinematic equivalent of lighting a high-power repeater firework and having the director strap you to it before you can retreat to a safe distance. It’s insane and it’s the Bourne Ultimatum. The third and final installment of a trilogy that has raised its genre’s bar to new heights, completing what has been an adrenaline-fueled rollercoaster ride of emotion through the murky world of government splinter cells, high-tech surveillance and assassins aplenty.
Tags: Bourne 2007, Matt Damon, Paddy Considine, Paul Greengrass
Posted in Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller | No Comments »
