Post hurricane double feature: Ghost Town & Boy-A - REVIEW(s)

Boy A: I like to think of this film as a teenage male counterpart to Frozen River: main character in bleak setting undergoes various trials based on unfortunate circumstances, mostly stemming from the past. If there's ever a movie that epitomizes the saying "no good deed goes unpunihsed" it's this little British indie. At its center is Eric/Jack (Andrew Garfield) who, after being part of a crime when he was only 12, is relocated after his release from prison with a new identity to start life over. At first everything seems fine (and as a result, the first half borders on being somewhat sluggish) but once the past inevitably begins to permeate the present, everything changes, and no matter how hard "Jack" tries, he can never escape what he may or may not have done. Much like Frozen River, the performances are all solid, but only the central performance is worthy of true praise. Mr. Garfield, who more than makes up for his awful turn in 07's "Lions for Lambs", does a lovely job of letting the audience look into Jack and empathize with him, even after we realize what his crime was (One change I think the film might have benefitted from: not revealing this before we're presented it in flashback form). Though different, the lighting is striking like "River" with many scenes bathed in soft white light; another scene which is half flashback and half dreamsequence is the apex of John Crowley's direction because it manages to present evil and dread in a way that seems like it could have been straight out of a Kubrick's The Shining (albeit on a much lower budget). However, just like Frozen River, the film also suffers from its script. I'm still not sure exactly what it was, but there's a certain "something" missing from the screenplay that manages to a) reduce the impact of the more powerful moments and b) undermine the strong acting efforts of the cast. All in all, though,this is another one of those bleak indie films that, despite a unique story and solid direction/camera work, doesn't quite have a script to keep up with itself.

Grade: B
Nominations(Pending...): Best Actor - Andrew Garfield(#2), Best Cinematography(#5????)

Ghost Town: Sometimes, if one can't think of something original, then the next best option is simply to do something done before, and do it the best way possible. Ghost Town is such a film. Though the premise and the path it takes cover quite a bit of familiar ground, this one has enough differences to keep it afloat and allow it to become something more thanks to one ingredient: Ricky Gervais. The British comedy icon and creator of the British "The Office" and the sidesplittinglu hillarious "Extras" is in top form as the anti social central figure Bertram Pincus. When Pincus (who, quite appropriately, is a dentist) goes in for a minor operation, the he dies for 7 minutes in the OR, before coming back to life. Everything seems to be fine, until he realizes that he can see ghosts...and they annoy him even more. Chief among them is Frank (Greg Kinnear) who wants to enlist Pincus to prevent his widow (Tea Leoni) from marrying a human rights lawyer who he claims is a "really bad guy underneath". While such comedies have been done before, few succeed as delightfully as Ghost Town. Though the initial setup is a bit uneven, by its second third, the film acheives liftoff and becomes increasingly funny (a prolonged scene where Leoni, Gervais, and the lawyer have dinner together is the standout). In its final third when (of course) things have to go south a little, the film still manages to keep itself from veering into melodrama/schmaltz territory; instead Ghost Town becomes surprisingly touching and sweet (though never sacharrine). Special props (again) go to Gervais, whose dry unpleasantness, hilarious delivery, and great stop-start sentences make him a comic force to be reckoned with. Leoni and Kinnear are also good in their respective roles, and I finally respect Leoni as an actress (I've never seen her give a remotely memorable performance until now). Thought most will probably be able to predict the ending, there's still more than enough surprises, which makes it an even great shame that this film tanked over the weekend. Hopefully it will find a wider audience on DVD, because even though it's a bit lightweight, Ghost Town still deserves to be remembered for being one of 2008's most delightful mainstream surprises.
Grade: B
Nominations(Pending)...: Best Actor - Ricky Grervais(#5), Best Supporting Actress - Tea Leoni(#5)
NUmber of 2008 Films seen: 31
Top 10 of the Year:
1. The Dark Knight
2. WALL-E
3. In Bruges
4. The Fall
5. Burn After Reading
6. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
7. Tropic Thunder
8. Boy-A
9. Ghost Town
10. Frozen River