In the Valley of Elah (2007) - Haggis and a great ensemble succeed with pointed, critical Iraq War homecoming tragedy

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+ 3rd Best Movie of the Year
+ Best Political Movie of the Year + Best Crime Drama of the Year + Best True-Story Movie of the Year

Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron look distraught before a huge US flag, (which is not upside down as in the film), on this poster for Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah

  
A young soldier returned from duty in Iraq disappears. His father, himself a retired sergeant, starts his own investigation, and soon the police uncover his son, who has been burned, stabbed and dismembered.

In the Valley of Elah is the third theatrical feature written and directed by great Canadian filmmaker Paul Haggis (Red Hot (1993)). It is inspired by the true story of the death of Iraq veteran Richard Davis in 2003 as described in the Playboy article Death and Dishonor (2004) by Mark Boal (Detroit (2017), screenplay).
This is a deeply disturbing story. It tells of the muzzy sense of humanity that is a frequent side effect of being a soldier at war.
Tommy Lee Jones (Just Getting Started (2017)) underplays the part of the investigating, unsettled father with credibility, adding much to the film's gripping nature. He is well-matched by Charlize Theron (The Cider House Rules (1999)) as the police detective who involves herself in the case. In the Valley of Elah, - which takes its title from the valley known from the Biblical story of the battle between David and Goliath, - also has stellar supporting actors such as James Franco (Yosemite (2015)), Josh Brolin (Men in Black 3 (2012)) and especially Susan Sarandon (Mr. Woodcock (2007)), who is positively awe-inspiring as Jones' wife, yet some of the best parts are acted by acting amateurs, ex-soldiers.
SPOILER The ending with the upside-turned US flag is right on point; it points to the film's implicit societal critique of US war and veteran policies, which is simultaneously quiet and deafening.

Related post:

Paul Haggis: 2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) - Eastwood's Iwo Jima portrayal is captivating and profoundly moving (co-writer)

Watch Theron talk of her involvement with the film here

Cost: 23 mil. $
Box office: 29.5 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.28 times the cost)
[In the Valley of Elah premiered 1 September (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 121 minutes. Haggis wrote the script with Clint Eastwood in mind for the lead, but Eastwood was busy on other projects. He liked the script, though, suggested Jones for the part instead and reportedly helped get the film green-lit. Shooting took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tennessee and in Morocco from December 2006 - ?. The film opened #35 to a 133k $ first weekend in 9 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #14 and in 978 theaters (different weeks) and grossed disappointing 6.7 mil. $ (22.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain and France, both with 3 mil. $ each (10.2 %). Lanny Davis, the father who Jones' character was based on, has commented in favor of the film. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch better than this one. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor (Jones), losing to Daniel Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece There Will Be Blood. It was also nominated for a David di Donatello award, won a National Board of Review award and 1/2 Venice award nominations. Haggis returned with We Are the World 25 for Haiti (2010, video documentary) and theatrically with The Next Three Days (2010). Jones returned in great thriller In the Electric Mist (2007). Theron returned in Battle in Seattle (2007). Sarandon returned in Mr. Woodcock (2007). In the Valley of Elah is fresh at 73 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In the Valley of Elah?

I'm Not There (2007) - Haynes' experimental Bob Dylan biopic is half-good, half-bad

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Cate Blanchett with a lit cigarette and a Bob Dylan-curled, disorderly hairdo strikes a pensive pose on this sparse poster for Todd Haynes' I'm Not There

I'm Not There is an atypical biopic of a great creative champ of our time, Bob Dylan: 6 different actors portray different aspects of the mysterious folk and rock music hero's life and long career.

I'm Not There is written by Oren Moverman (Face (2002)) and Californian master co-writer/director Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine (1998)).
I will admit that I didn't really understand this film. To think that this is supposedly Dylan, or 'the many Dylans'... Maybe I don't know Dylan well enough to truly get it, or maybe I'm Not There really is narratively in search of a structure as well as visually confusing.
I didn't get why Christian Bale (Heart of the Country (1987), miniseries) is cast as one of the actors portraying Dylan; the two seem so very different.
The reason that I still give Haynes' intangible and somewhat elitist concoction 3 hearts is for its poetic values, the music (many great Dylan songs are featured), and for Marcus Carl Franklin (But Not for Me (2015)), the black kid who plays another iteration of Dylan, and Bruce Greenwood (Cell 213 (2011)) who is also good in the film. Franklin sings, acts and speaks like something of an angel here.
I'm Not There surely was a lot of work to make. Watching it feels like an odd recess.

Related posts:

Todd Haynes: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
Top 10: Best 'box office success' movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Carol (2015) - Haynes' romance adaptation is a triumph
Mildred Pierce (2011, miniseries) - Haynes' spin on the Cain classic is a luxury 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 11.6 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.58 times the cost)
[I'm Not There premiered 3 September (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 135 minutes. The title comes from the song I'm Not There by Dylan in 1967, which wasn't released until this film brought it to light. Haynes' fractured concept impressed Dylan to let him use his music in the film. A 7th character, a Chaplinesque tramp in Greenwich Village, was scrapped before filming began. 9 companies collaborated to make it. Shooting took place in Québec, Canada, and in Los Angeles, California from July 2006 - ?. The film opened #17 to a 730k $ first weekend in 130 theaters in North America, where it peaked #15 and in 149 cinemas (different weeks) and grossed disappointing 4 mil. $ (34.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 1.2 mil. $ (10.3 %) and France with 1 mil. $ (8.6 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to two notches better than this one. It was the last of Heath Ledger's films (he also plays Dylan in the film) to be released before his death by an overdose in January 2008. The film was nominated for 1 Oscar: Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett, who also plays Dylan, the iteration most critics went wild over), lost to Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton. It won a Golden Globe, was nominated for a BAFTA, won 2/5 Independent Spirit award nominations, 3/4 wins at Venice and many other honors. Haynes returned with Mildred Pierce (2011, miniseries), an episode of Enlightened (2013, TV-series) and theatrically with masterpiece Carol (2015). Franklin returned in Be Kind Rewind (2008). Dylan stated in 2012 that he thought I'm Not There was "all right", that it "looked good" and that the actors were "incredible". I'm Not There is certified fresh at 77 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I'm Not There?

Into the Wild (2007) - Penn and Co. triumph with true-story, American odyssey

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+ Best Movie of the Year
+ Best American Movie of the Year + Best Adventure Movie of the Year + Best Youth Movie of the Year + Best Road Movie of the Year

Emile Hirsch sits on the roof of an abandoned bus in Alaska and ponders existence on this serene poster for Sean Penn's Into the Wild

Into the Wild is the true story of Christopher McCandless, who as a young man in May 1990 breaks radically with his parents' suburban life and cuts himself off from everything and every one he knows to go on an American adventure as a 'Alexander Supertramp.'

Into the Wild is the 4th feature written and directed by Californian master filmmaker Sean Penn (The Crossing Guard (1995)), based on the same-titled 1996 nonfiction book of McCandless' life and journey by Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air (1997)).
Rarely does a film touch people the way that Into the Wild does, and certainly does touch me when I watch it. It gets to you like a sharp, pointed arrow with a vivacity, a fullness of life, a formidable drive and a devastating but also enormously beautiful end. This film is an absolute masterpiece.
Emile Hirsch (Killer Joe (2011)) is a star and a generational hero for his towering performance here, and his scenes with Hal Holbrook (Innocent Victims (1996, TV movie)) are among the most moving that I can recollect ever having seen in a motion picture.
The music in the film, made up of monumental, howling, acoustic and beautiful songs by Eddie Vedder (The Namesake (2006), song) and a strong score by Michael Brook (The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)) and Kaki King (How I Got Lost (2009)), is forceful, as is the exceptional cinematography by Eric Gautier (Clean (2004)). Into the Wild is a visual cornucopia of the majestic sights in America's Godly nature.
As a film about a young radical idealist and explorer, Into the Wild is out of this world, and with the release of this masterpiece and his outstanding performance in Gus Van Sant's masterpiece Milk (2008), Penn touched a height in movies that is only afforded very few certified greats.

Related posts:

Sean Penn:  Gangster Squad (2013) or, Good Men vs. Bad Men! (actor)
This Must Be the Place (2011) - Sorrentino's Nazi-hunting stoner cracker (actor)
The Tree of Life (2011) or, Mother, Father, Sharks, Dinosaurs, My Brothers, Sunflowers, the Desert, the Wind and Me (actor)
Fair Game (2010) or, The Intelligence War (actor)
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
21 Grams (2003) or, Hardcore Life (actor)
The Pledge (2001) - Maddening, realistic, unpleasant child-killer story (director)
The Crossing Guard (1995) - Penn's great, downbeat Jack Nicholson-starring drama thriller (writer/co-producer/director)
Carlito's Way (1993) - De Palma's best gangster movie (actor)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Estimated 15 mil. $
Box office: 56.2 mil. $
= Big hit (returned 3.74 times the cost)
[Into the Wild premiered 1 September (Telluride Film Festival, Colorado, USA) and runs 148 minutes. Shooting took place in Washington, including Seattle,  Oregon, including Portland, Arizona, Alaska, South Dakota, California, Atlanta, Georgia, Nevada and in Mexico from April - November 2006. SPOILER The final bus section of the film was shot in Alaska about 50 miles (80 km) from the actual site, using a replica of the real bus. The film opened #33 to a 212k $ first weekend in 4 theaters, a huge 53k $ cinema average, and widened to peak at #14 and in 660 cinemas in North America, where it grossed 18.3 mil. $ (32.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 13.5 mil. $ (24 %) and Italy with 8 mil. $ (14.2 %). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (Holbrook), lost to Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, and Best Editing, lost to The Bourne Ultimatum. The film won 1/2 Golden Globe nominations, an AFI award, was nominated for a César award and a David di Donatello award, a Grammy, won two National Board of Review awards and many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, equal to its rating here. It is currently #181 on IMDb's user-generated Top 250 list, sitting between Wild Tales (2014) and Life of Brian (1979). Penn as filmmaker returned with the ridiculed The Last Face (2016). Hirsch returned in Speed Racer (2008). Into the Wild is certified fresh at 82 % with a 7.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Into the Wild?

The Heartbreak Kid (2007) or, The Seven Day Itch

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+ Best Crazy-Comedy of the Year

Ben Stiller and his co-stars are highlighted in some funny moments from the film on this poster for Bobby and Peter Farrelly's The Heartbreak Kid

Eddie is our sympathetic protagonist here, who meets a sweet woman and gets pressured into a quick wedding to her by his encouraging father and friend. But on the following honeymoon she turns out to have been the completely wrong choice, a disaster, meanwhile he falls for someone else ...

The Heartbreak Kid is written by Scot Armstrong (Semi-Pro (2008)), Leslie Dixon (Freaky Friday (2003)), Kevin Barnett (Hall Pass (2011)) and co-writer/director brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber (1994), both), remaking the Elaine May/Neil Simon-created The Heartbreak Kid (1972).
The film is an incredibly wacky round of Farrelly zaniness, led by a top-motivated Ben Stiller (Arrested Development (2005-18)). His real-life father Jerry Stiller (Cousins (2013)) and Rob Corddry (Childrens Hospital (2008-16)) are funny as Eddie's father and friend, respectively, who act as his dubious advisers. Michelle Monaghan (Blindsided (2013)) is sweet as the real romantic interest, and Malin Akerman (Catch .44 (2011)) is a nightmare as the bride. The Heartbreak Kid works as a loose romantic crazy-comedy that has a lot of laughs along the way, (Danny McBride (Alien: Covenant (2017)) also supplies his share of them.)
SPOILER The ending goes for one last, sardonic tail on Eddie's predicaments instead of that whiff of Hollywood romance that I for one was sighing for after watching Stiller's many unenviable situations throughout the movie. The Heartbreak Kid also has poor posters and a reused title that doesn't really fit the film. - But it's a gaga fun train nonetheless!

Related posts:
 
Peter & Bobby Farrelly: Dumb and Dumber To (2014) or, Harry and Lloyd: Still Dumb and Lovin' It!  
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Hall Pass (2011) - The Farrelly brothers' probably worst film to date 
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Dumb and Dumber/Dumb & Dumber (1994) - The Farrellys brothers and Carrey/Daniels' comedy classic 

Watch a politically incorrect, early wedding scene from the film here, - and if this makes you laugh, you'll like the film

Cost: 60 mil. $
Box office: 127.7 mil. $ 
= Flop (2.12 times the cost)
[The Heartbreak Kid premiered 27 September (Westwood, Hollywood, Los Angeles) and runs 116 minutes. The Farrelly brothers wanted the film to have the title The Seven Day Itch, humorously riffing on the classic Marilyn Monroe-starring marriage comedy The Seven Year Itch (1955), but they lost a lawsuit (likely to Fox, the studio behind the film) and were pushed instead to reuse the Heartbreak Kid title. Shooting took place in Mexico and California, including San Francisco and Los Angeles from September 2006 - ?. Some nudity was reportedly cut from a sex scene in the film. It opened #2, behind holdover hot The Game Plan, to a weak 14 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#5) and grossed disappointing 36.7 mil. $ (28.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 11.6 mil. $ (9.1 %) and the UK with 9.9 mil. $ (7.8 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this one. The Farrelly brothers returned with an episode of Unhitched (2008, TV-series) and theatrically with the awful Hall Pass (2011). Stiller returned in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-07), Elmo's Christmas Countdown (2007, TV movie) and theatrically in Tropic Thunder (2008). The Heartbreak Kid is rotten at 29 % with a 4.6/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Heartbreak Kid?

Hannibal Rising (2007) - Harris returns famed cannibal in sub-par origins flick

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New Hannibal Lector, Gaspard Ulliel, is restrained in what looks like an iron mask on this dark poster for Peter Webber's Hannibal Rising

As a child, Hannibal Lecter's family die in the atrocities of WWII. As a young man he develops an unhealthily close relationship to his aunt and becomes consumed by thirst for revenge.

Hannibal Rising is written by Thomas Harris (Black Sunday (1975)), his only screenplay, based on his own same-titled 2006 novel, and directed by Peter Webber (Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)). It is the 5th movie in the Hannibal Lecter franchise, following Manhunter (1986), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002), being a prequel to them all.
Gaspard Ulliel (Saint Laurent (2014)) is well cast in the titular role as cinema's most famous cannibal, but Harris' script doesn't give us new insights, an exciting plot or any very sensational elements: Hannibal does have an Asian aunt (played by Li Gong (To Live/Huo Zhe (1994))) in Europe in 1949, which remains unexplained, which makes it seem like a bit of a stretch.
The production design is not bad in Hannibal Rising, but in the context of the preceding Lecter films, of which only Ridley Scott's Hannibal is a solid dud and the rest are great, thrilling movies, Hannibal Rising falls through as a both flat and boring origins story.

Related post:

2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Hannibal Lecter franchise: Manhunter (1986) - Perhaps the best criminal profiling picture ever

Watch a short trailer for the film with Japanese subtitles here

Cost: 50 mil. $
Box office: 82.1 mil. $
= Big flop (1.64 times the cost)
[Hannibal Rising was released 7 February (France) and runs 121 minutes. It was shot in Lithuania, France and the Czech Republic, including Prague, from October 2005 - ?. The film opened #2, behind Eddie Murphy-starring Norbit, to a 13 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its second week and grossed 27.6 mil. $ (33.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Italy with 7.5 mil. $ (9.1 %) and Japan with 6.4 mil. $ (7.8 %). Webber returned with Jasim (2009, short) and theatrically with Emperor (2012). Ulliel returned in L'Inconnu (2007, short) and theatrically in La Troisième Partie du Monde (2008). Hannibal Rising is rotten at 15 % with a 3.9/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hannibal Rising?

How to Get Rid of the Others/Hvordan Vi Slipper Af med De Andre (2007) - A generally awful Danish surreal comedy turkey

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A hit list of society's unwanted, a helicopter carrying a disabled person in a harness and two well-known Danish actors line up on this game poster for Anders Rønnow Klarlund's How to Get Rid of the Others

A new military law has taken effect in the kingdom of Denmark, which demands that citizens who are mainly an expense for the country and don't contribute beneficially at all are executed.

How to Get Rid of the Others is written by the also co-starring Rasmus Botoft (The Gift/Gaven (2008)) and co-writer/director Anders Rønnow Klarlund (Strings (2004)).
What little amount of fun there is to be had with this surreal satirical comedy, - which comes from veteran actors Søren Pilmark (The Last King/Birkebeinerne (2016)) and Tommy Kenter (Skibet i Skilteskoven (1992), TV-series) and the grotesque content, - pales in the context of a fatal combination of the dialog and script in general, acting (apart from the two mentioned actors) and photography - all of very poor quality. Klarlund perhaps tries to compensate by making the film very loud, full of screaming and yelling, but it helps naught: This very expletive-heavy concoction fails miserably.
The point to a big African element in the plot, - along with possibly other points which the obtuse creator duo had envisioned, - are lost in a case of a simply botched job here. How to Get Rid of the Others is a strange morass.

Related post:

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unclear, - perhaps 7.3 mil. DKK, (7,300 DKK is reported on IMDb, which must be a mistake and likely should have been 7,300,000 DKK), or approximately 1.15 mil. $
Box office: Unknown - but seemingly only around 1.2 mil. DKK, or approximately 0.19 mil. $
= Uncertain - but likely a box office disaster (seemingly returned approximately 0.16 times the cost)
[How to Get Rid of the Others premiered 26 January (Denmark) and runs 94 minutes. It was shot in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, Denmark. It sold 13,855 tickets in its production country Denmark, which only makes up a gross of around 1.2 mil. DKK. It was released in 5 other markets, 3 of which were only at festivals. No information on its performance there is available. It was nominated for 2 Robert awards (Denmark's Oscar). Klarlund returned with The Secret Society of Fine Arts (2012), an experimental still-photo-based film, which is the filmmaker's last to date. Pilmark returned in The Taste of Hair/De Kaldte Os Frisører (2007, short), Mr. Poxycat & Co. (2007, TV-series) and theatrically in The Early Years: Erik Nietzsche Part 1/De Unge År: Erik Nietzsche Sagaen Del 1 (2007). 980 IMDb users have given How to Get Rid of the Others a 6.0/10 average rating.]

What do you think of How to Get Rid of the Others?

Hallam Foe/Mister Foe (2007) - Bell charms again in Mackenzie's flawed romantic drama

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A cutesy, ghastly-yellow poster for David Mackenzie's Hallam Foe that doesn't convey too much about the actual film

Young Hallam is an aimless young man, who turns his rage from his mother's suicide against his father and stepmother and flees to the big city, where he falls in love with a young woman, who looks like his mother.

Hallam Foe is written by Ed Whitmore (Waking the Dead (2002-11)) and co-writer/director David Mackenzie (Starred Up (2013)), based on the same-titled 2001 novel by Peter Jinks. There is something off about the rhythm of the whole film, but Jamie Bell (Snowpiercer (2013)) as the title character is the reason to see it in himself.
Hallam's spying on the other characters, SPOILER and especially his final attack on his stepmother, are so indefensible acts that I was fairly distanced from the grieving protagonist here during the film. Ciarán Hinds (McCanick (2013)) doesn't seem like Bell's father here and may just be miscast, whereas Claire Forlani (Ripley Under Ground (2005)) is fine as the stepmother.
Hallam Foe is mostly for Bell fans, and it seems to have been one of those films that are cheerfully overrated locally (in this case in the UK.)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 3.8 mil. £, or approximately 5 mil. $
Box office: 2.1 mil. $
= Mega-flop (0.42 times the cost)
[Hallam Foe premiered 16 February (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 95 minutes. Shooting took place in Scotland from March - May 2006. It opened and peaked at #14 in the UK, its home and biggest market, where it grossed 808k $ (38.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 569k $ (27.1 %) and France with 451k $ (21.5 %). The film opened and peaked at #75 in North America in 2 theaters, though it spread to 6 venues, grossing 60k $ (2.9 %) under the title Mister Foe. The film won 1/4 BAFTA Scotland nominations, 2 awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, 6 British Independent Film Award nominations and won a National Board of Review award. Mackenzie returned with Ashton Kutcher-starring Spread (2009). Bell returned in Jumper (2008). Hallam Foe is certified fresh at 72 % with a 6.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hallam Foe?