Fall 2007 movies not to miss

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (directed by Andrew Dominik)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (or: How I Learned to Love Jesse James And Then Shoot Him in the Back) is most definitely a movie that takes its time. However, if you're a fan of westerns that are shot in Canada, especially existential ones that feature lots of wide open spaces and shots of nature, you will most definitely love it.

Casey Affleck plays the Coward in question, and he's finally able to step out of the shadow of big brother Ben in a terrific performance. Affleck has always been an actor that's interesting to watch, especially in his roles in To Die For and Gerry, where he spent most of the film looking very pissed off and tired.

The cinematography (by Coen brothers regular Roger Deakins) is excellent, the music (by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis) is haunting and rustic, and Pitt in the title role shows off his acting chops once again.



Into The Wild (directed by Sean Penn)

Sean Penn is attracted to depressing material. This is not to say that one day he won't make a bubbly romantic comedy, but his track record as a director so far, which includes The Indian Runner, The Crossing Guard, and The Pledge, have all been very dark films, dealing with death, grief or loss. Into The Wild is no different, but it tells the true story of Christopher McCandless in a manner that is both inspiring and transcendental.

Penn waited to make Into The Wild for 10 years, and it shows. Based on the novel by Jon Krakauer, Penn wasn't given permission by the McCandless family to make the film until just recently.

Emile Hirsh, in the lead role, brings to mind a young Leonardo DiCaprio. Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt play his quarreling parents, who are distraught when they realize that their son has taken it upon himself to drop out of college in Georgia and realize his dream of trekking through Alaska.

It's a great story, and Penn does it justice here.



The Darjeeling Limited (directed by Wes Anderson)

If you were disappointed with The Life Aquatic like I was, then you'll be glad to see Wes Anderson and co. back on track with The Darjeeling Limited.

Owen Wilson is a great talent whom we almost lost, and it's nice to see him at work here; it's obvious that his collaborations with Anderson bring out the best in his acting.

Anderson also finds a way to work three Kinks songs into the movie (off of Lola Vs. Powerman and the Money-Go-Round), which is never a bad thing.



Kurt Cobain: About A Son (directed by AJ Schnack)

Basically, you can sum this documentary up in a sentence: A collection of audio interviews with Kurt Cobain done by Michael Azerrad, set to music that influenced him and shot where he grew up. However, it's what Schnack does with the documentary that's so interesting: filmed in Cobain's hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, (as well as Montesano, Olympia and Seattle) it follows the various stages of his life, from his troubled upbringing to making it big with Nirvana.

All the while, we see the exact places he's talking about: the hotel rooms he slept in when he was supposed to be working, the high school hallways he once walked down, etc. Very few documentaries have come as close to picking a subject's brain as this one does, and how can you beat the soundtrack? Queen, CCR, Big Black, the Vaselines, David Bowie. It'll stick in your head long after you've left the theater.



Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (directed by Sidney Lumet)

What do you get when you mix a veteran director (Lumet), two great actors (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Albert Finney) and a relatively standard plot device of a heist gone wrong? One hell of a movie.



American Gangster (directed by Ridley Scott)

When a movie starts out with a man being set ablaze and getting shot, it gives you a pretty good idea of what you're in for. Ridley Scott sets up a great gangster picture, telling the true story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), who saw a window of opportunity for buying and selling pure heroin from Thailand, and making a killing off of it during the Vietnam era. Russell Crowe is the narcotics cop trying to nab Lucas, and when he finally does, it's a key religious moment.



No Country For Old Men (directed by Joel and Ethan Coen)

The Coen brothers return to their noir roots with an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, and it's more Blood Simple than Fargo, although there is sly humor abound. Poor dogs are getting shot left and right.

Javier Bardem is creepy as the killer Anton Chigurh, and Josh Brolin (also notable for his work in American Gangster) is good as the man Chigurh is hunting. Once Brolin's storyline separates, the movie loses a bit of its energy, but it's compelling nonetheless--another winner from the brothers grim.