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December 2008
The Best Movies of 2008
Many people have said that 2008 was a lousy year for movies.
Quite frankly, I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.
There is simply no way that any year that produces films as good as the ones that made this list can qualify as a bad year - not by any stretch of my imagination. Call me an optimist, but when I get to see more films as good as these, I will consider myself all the more enlightened and entertained.
Per my policy, I have included only films that played in the Dayton area in 2008. That means you’ll see a few 2007 copyrights in this list, and you won’t see films that won’t get here until next year, like Revolutionary Road or The Wrestler. (I haven’t screened them yet myself.) Perhaps you’ll see them in this space next year. For now, here are 20 films that provided the brightest lights in a darkened theater. All films are on DVD, except as noted.
First, the runners-up, in alphabetical order: If a title has a link, it goes to the full review.
Atonement: A fascinating and ultimately wrenching look at the elusive nature of truth, with events seen from multiple vantage points. Director Joe Wright, who also made Pride and Prejudice with this movie’s star, Keira Knightley, has a way of making period pieces seem kinetic.
Australia: Baz Luhrmann’s much-maligned epic is messy and unwieldy. but filled with a unique, vibrant kind of love for movies you simply don’t find anywhere else. (In theaters)
The Bank Job: Hey, look - a Jason Statham movie that isn’t just empty calories, but a crackling retelling of an incredible-but-true British heist!
Bolt: An encouraging, often hilarious sign that Disney is on its way back to greatness. (In theaters)
Burn After Reading: Many people thought the Coen Brothers were making just another oddball lark. Look again - it cuts a little deeper.
Kung Fu Panda: DreamWorks’ best animated film since Over the Hedge.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: OK, predictable choice since it stars a favorite of mine, Amy Adams. Sue me.
Pineapple Express: Wow. The first cinematic stoner comedy. And it’s hilarious to boot! (On DVD Jan. 6)
The Visitor: Attention Academy members: Not all great performances are loud and showy. Exhibit A: Richard Jenkins’ sterling work in this movie.
Young @ Heart: Sometimes this documentary about a senior citizens chorus gets self-consciously cute, but when they sang their version of Coldplay’s “Fix You,” my heart melted.
The 10 best, after the jump:
10. Rachel Getting Married: For years I have been saying that Anne Hathaway is a great actress. This year, a lot of people caught up with me after her searing turn as the hard luck member of a heartbroken family. (On DVD March 17)
9.Doubt: Meryl Streep. Philip Seymour Hoffman. Amy Adams. Viola Davis. Taken purely as an acting showcase, this is the best movie in theaters right now.
8. Happy Go Lucky: As the film started, I wondered, can someone really be as indomitably happy as Sally Hawkins’ character? By the end I was convinced that at the very least, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try to be more like her. Another gem from director Mike Leigh. (On DVD March 10)
7. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days: One incredible film that is shattering, no matter how one feels about abortion.
6. Man on Wire: For 94 exhilarating minutes, the Twin Towers stand tall again, thanks to the story of the man who walked a tightrope between them.
5. The Dark Knight: How to make a superhero movie that truly excels? Simple. Make a gripping crime thriller first that just happens to have people with costumes and scary makeup.
4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Through incredible point-of-view shots, this film brought me inside the mind of a man who could only communicate by blinking one eye. Extraordinary.
3. There Will Be Blood: Milkshake, anyone?
2. Slumdog Millionaire: This tale of a poor young man who wins big on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, only to be accused of cheating, goes on the short list of films I will turn to whenever I need a burst of energy, along with Singin’ in the Rain. Joyous. Don’t miss it. (In theaters)
1. WALL-E: After calling three friends the first night I saw it, going on to see it four more times, getting my own WALL-E robot for my birthday and declaring this one of the best animated films of all time, I couldn’t very well keep this transcendent masterpiece out of the top spot, could I?
For a compare/contrast, check out the list by fellow Cox blogger Zack McGhee.
Now you tell me: what were the best films of 2008 for you?
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Highlighting the lowlights of 2008
Since I’m lucky enough to choose which films I review, I’m usually able to avoid real stinkers. This year, I counted only three films that got a D-range grade. Even so, there were still plenty of moments to make my eyes roll and my stomach turn.
Worst Film: 10,000 B.C. This stupid, turgid mess certainly seemed to last 10,000 years. Full review.
Worst Sequel: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: So badly directed it actually made a fight between Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh boring. And it made Maria Bello, the replacement for Rachel Weisz, less than appealing to boot. Full review.
Worst Remake: The Day the Earth Stood Still, or The Two Hours Time Stood Still. Full review.
Biggest Disappointment: Quantum of Solace, with its frenzied-to-the-point-of-incomprehension action scenes. A major letdown after the triumph of Casino Royale.
Most overpraised film: Milk. Too many critics confused a great subject and a great lead performance with great filmmaking, which was in short supply.
Worst Trailer: Beverly Hills Chihuahua. And yet the thing still made $93 million. Yeesh. To borrow a phrase from critic Leonard Maltin, “I don’t expect ten-year-olds to be critical; I just pray that someday someone will introduce them to something better.”
Worst Waste of Resources: How Mamma Mia! underused Amanda Seyfried, the one and only cast member who had a truly great singing voice.
Worst Come-On: “You’re like a drug to me. Like my own personal brand of heroin,” from Twilight. I wonder how far I’d get if I told a girl that she beats an acid trip any day of the week.
Worst Hypocrites: Megaplex Theatres in Utah, which would not play Zack and Miri Make a Porno, but had absolutely no problem playing Saw V.
Most Pathetic Onscreen Death: It happens in Seven Pounds. I won’t give anything away except to say one word: Jellyfish.
Most Insufferable Complainers: The people who complained about the “nuke the fridge” scene from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Because after all, the appeal of Indy’s adventures was always their gritty realism, Spare me. Second runner-up: The people who said WALL-E denigrated the obese. Third-runner up: The grossly misguided Special Olympics protest against Tropic Thunder.
Biggest cause for alarm in 2009: The sequel to Alvin and the Chipmunks is actually called the “Squeakuel.” Oy. Please New Year, let’s be late.
Coming Wednesday: The other end of the spectrum, the best movies of the year. For now, tell me: What were your least favorite movies or movie moments from 2008?
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How to stop the talker at movies: SHOOT him!
At one time or another - heck, at many times, even, most of us have wanted to do something really nasty to someone who annoyed us at the movies.
Well, over the weekend in Philadelphia, somebody did. At a showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a man became so enraged at somebody gabbing during the movie, he actually shot him - in the city of Brotherly Love, no less.
I imagine in some people this will prompt a dual reaction, like so:
(Angel appears on left shoulder to the sound of harps strumming)
“Oh my, that’s terrible. Maybe what the man did was wrong, but the other man did not have to shoot him. He should be punished, and I hope the injured man will be all right.”
But then:
(Devil appears on right shoulder in puff of smoke to the sound of frightening minor chords)
“Don’t listen to that CHUMP! The guy had it comin’! Finally, some real justice - they should all be shot! MWAH-HA-HA-HAAAAA!!!”
Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere had this novel solution: “If theatres were to sell squirt guns at the kiosk along with popcorn and drinks, far fewer people would talk during movies, for obvious reasons. Just as (and I don’t want to give the wrong impression by saying this) if people were getting shot for talking in theatres with some regularity — say, two or three times a month nationwide — you know that talking in theatres would all but cease. I’m just saying.”
What Wells doesn’t suggest is how to fill the squirt guns: Hot sauce to aim for the eyes? Hydrochloric acid? Bodily fluids? (Apologies to those who are eating lunch).
In all seriousness, what do you think is the best way to deal with talkers and other disturbers of the peace at movies?
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Sir Critic’s Holiday Movie Guide, 2008 - updated
There’s a lot to see in the cinema, and here’s a roundup of the lion’s share of it. My busy schedule precluded me from screening every movie I wanted to see, but I hope to add more reviews in the coming days.
Also playing now are Marley & Me (supposedly very charming), The Spirit (supposedly dreadful) and Valkyrie (supposedly decent, not great). I had heard Frost/Nixon was supposed to open in Dayton on Christmas but it hasn’t; it is playing in the Cincinnati area.
Happy Holidays to all who read this, and thank you for reading. It’s been a great month. Feel free to add comments as you see the movies. The letter grades link to full reviews.
New this weekend
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button David Fincher’s chronicle of the life a man (Brad Pitt) who ages backwards resonates with many beautiful individual scenes, thanks largely to the director’s unmistakable and remarkable visual style. However, the whole is a a little less than the sum of its parts because the screenplay never quite figures out a viewpoint from which to tell the story, so I didn’t get to know the characters as well as I wanted. Even so, there are enough great moments to make this a fascinating if somewhat incomplete journey. GRADE: B+
Doubt
Meryl Streep plays a nun who suspects a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of molesting a student. Amy Adams plays the good-hearted nun who plants the seeds of doubt, and the ever-impressive Viola Davis has a knockout scene as the boy’s mother. All four principals have been nominated for Golden Globe and SAG awards, and all are richly deserving. Shot by the great Roger Deakins, the movie very effectively opens up director John Patrick Shanley’s play, which cannily lets the audience make up its own mind. Taken purely as an acting showcase, there’s not a better movie in theaters right now.
GRADE: A
Still playing
Australia
Baz Luhrman’s new film is a big, sprawling, overheated opus — and since this is a movie by the director of hyper-stylized movies like “Moulin Rouge,” I mean that as a compliment. It doesn’t always work, but the movie is made with such passion and verve, it’s still affecting and often dazzling. It’s like nothing in theaters now — or at any other time.
GRADE: A-
Bolt
Disney’s latest animated movie turns out to be one of its best in years, with this cross between The Truman Show and Toy Story. A TV star dog (John Travolta) doesn’t realize he’s not actually a superhero when he sets out to rescue his owner, Penny (Miley Cyrus). Filled with many great sight gags and endearing characters, this movie shows Disney returning to nearly its former strength.
GRADE: A-
The Day the Earth Stood Still
One can’t reasonably expect this remake to measure up to the 1951 classic, but it’s still dispiriting to see it miss as badly as it does. Despite a few imaginative changes here and there, this movie is mostly a portentous mess that gets sillier and dopier as it goes along. Trying to turn the story into a modern-day special effects extravaganza just doesn’t work.
GRADE: D+
Four Christmases
The latest contemporary Christmas comedy is passably entertaining thanks to leads Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, but talents such as theirs deserve better than the loud and obvious gags this movie drops on their shoulders. There are enough laughs to make it worthwhile, but I’m really tired of movies that skewer Christmas most of the way, then embrace it at the end.
GRADE: B-
Milk
The less one knows about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in San Francisco, the better this biopic is likely to seem. It’s worth seeing for Sean Penn’s outstanding performance alone, but director Gus Van Sant strains too hard for effect, particularly in foreshadowing the tragedy of the story. The movie is loud and obvious when it should be quiet and inventive. It’s a good movie that should have been great.
GRADE: B
Quantum of Solace
James Bond returns but disappoints in this muddled follow-up to Casino Royale. The gritty low-key story is a nice change of pace, both new Bond girls are appealing and Daniel Craig remains excellent as 007. Unfortunately, the action scenes are incoherent, making it impossible to tell who is doing what to whom. When the action scenes don’t work, you don’t have a Bond film. It’s that simple.
GRADE: C+
Seven Pounds
Will Smith and the director of The Pursuit of Happyness try hard to wring tears with this story of a Good Samaritan desperate for redemption. Problem is, the movie tries too hard. The script is so concerned with the Big Twist, it doesn’t reveal its characters enough. I cry easily at movies, and I didn’t even get misty-eyed at this one.
GRADE: C
Slumdog Millionaire
No one you’ve ever heard of is in the cast, but don’t let that stop you from seeing this masterful, wondrous movie, the best live-action film of this calendar year. In telling the story of a young man accused of cheating on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” Danny Boyle directs with boundless energy and imagination. It’s an exhilarating experience that I didn’t want to end. If you see only one movie, make it this one.
GRADE: A+
Twilight
Vampire chick-lit isn’t exactly my vial of blood, but this adaptation of the intensely loved romance series by Stephenie Meyer delivers, thanks to director Catherine Hardwicke’s gifts for working with young actors. The movie has many lines worthy of an eye roll, but leads Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart sell them convincingly enough.
GRADE: B
Yes Man
Sort of a more genteel version of Liar, Liar, this Jim Carrey comedy leans a bit too heavily on his rubber-mugging, as so many of his comedies do. What ultimately puts the movie over is not the comedy, but the romance between Carrey and the delightfully offbeat Zooey Deschanel. She’s Carrey’s best match next to Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
GRADE: B
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What if the actors go on strike?
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and it’s beginning to look a lot like 2008 all over again, what with all the rumblings of an actors strike.
The latest news is that the Screen Actors Guild has delayed a strike authorization, and a lot of people seem to think this means a strike won’t happen. I certainly hope that’s the case.
There is a time for everything, and now is NOT the time to hold a strike. I agree with a letter sent to SAG signed by multiple celebrities who said they could not in good conscience strike when the economy is in such miserable shape and so many are losing their jobs.
If the guild does strike, I believe that would create a tremendous amount of ill-will from the public, who aren’t likely to sympathize with the actors under these depressed circumstances. Yes, the guild probably should get a better deal from the producers, but the writers strike last year crippled the industry, especially television. I’m sure people have had enough. Live to fight another day.
Am I right? How would you react if the actors went on strike?
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The best Barbie doll EVER!
OK, readers, take a look at this and tell me your reaction:
(Image copyright by Mattel)
Several thoughts are rushing through my head:
Oh dear lord…
That’s kinda cool, actually! First Barbie I’ve ever wanted!
For people who hate Barbie, all they have to do is imagine this doll in that last scene.
Just imagine how perverse a Marnie Barbie would be!
Maybe we could make the proposed Birds remake more tolerable by populating it entirely with Barbie dolls. Todd Haynes can direct! Click here to see what I mean by that in-joke!
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A tribute: Stand up - your director’s passing.
Some moviegoers may not recognize film director Robert Mulligan’s name, but no matter what kind of movie fan you are, I think you’ll agree the occasion of his passing deserves great respect when I type just six words.
He directed To Kill a Mockingbird.
Any questions?
I didn’t think so.
Besides that, Mulligan also directed the very fine film Fear Strikes Out, starring Anthony Perkins as troubled baseball player Jimmy Piersall, Summer of 42 and Same Time, Next Year. He continued directing up into the 90s with Man in the Moon, which immediately established a 15-year-old named Reese Witherspoon as someone to watch.
HIs subtle, intuitive visuals and his sensitive handling of actors are two qualities that seem increasingly rare these days. They - and Robert Mulligan - are missed.
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Double-header review: ‘Seven Pounds’ and ‘Milk’
On the surface, Seven Pounds and Milk don’t seem to have much in common, but they share an unfortunate trait: both are well-intentioned movies that fail to match their lofty ambitions.
Seven Pounds reunites Will Smith with director Gabriele Muccino, who steered the actor to a Best Actor Oscar nomination in the touching The Pursuit of Happyness. To its credit, Seven Pounds treads very different ground. To its detriment, the movie keeps tripping itself.
Lurking somewhere within this confounding film is a truly unique story about a Good Samaritan named Ben (Smith) who randomly selects strangers to better their lives, and to atone for a devastating tragedy he caused. Frustratingly, Muccino and writer Grant Nieporte keep undermining the drama by trying too hard to turn their movie into some kind of parlor trick.
Seven Pounds leans far too heavily on The Great Twists, doing everything it can to knock the viewer off balance, from scrambling its chronology to offering only brief glimpses of the people Ben is trying to help. While I understand the need to maintain some air of mystery, the movie gets so carried away with trying to keep secrets, it doesn’t do enough to explain exactly who these people are and why we should care about them.
Smith valiantly pours his unfailing energy into his character, making Ben intriguing if not always empathetic. Rosario Dawson gives one of her best performances as the woman who becomes Ben’s most important beneficiary. Their scenes offer a glimpse of how good the movie could have been.
But not even their appeal can lift Seven Pounds out of its self-defeating quagmire. Its twists and turns are sometimes so off the wall, that Ben’s ultimate aim comes across not as moving, but pathetically weird and desperate. I wanted to like these characters more, but the obfuscating storytelling kept pushing me away.
When it comes to tear-jerkers, I’m notoriously easy. It takes only a few notes of the Schindler’s List theme to turn on my waterworks. The ultimate failure of Seven Pounds is that I didn’t shed a single tear over it.
GRADE: C
Milk review after the jump …
Sean Penn gives one of the very best performances of his career as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States.
I only wish the movie were as good as Penn.
For a filmmaker as innovative as Gus Van Sant, Milk often comes across as disappointingly ordinary and obvious. I didn’t expect the movie to be like one of the director’s more avant-garde films, e.g. Elephant, but I certainly expected better than a fairly standard biopic with a few solid performances.
Van Sant didn’t seem to know what kind of film to make. Is it an intimate portrayal of Milk’s life and loves? Is it a docudrama? Or is it a statement encouraging people that it’s OK to be gay? By trying to be all these things, the movie doesn’t especially work as any one of them.
The scenes about Milk’s private life are poorly developed. It sets up a potentially interesting relationship between Milk and Scott Smith (James Franco), his first lover in San Francisco, only to minimize Smith in favor of the more emotional but more off-putting Jack Lira (Diego Luna). Among the supporting players, only Emile Hirsch is truly memorable as Cleve Jones, who went on to create the AIDS quilt. Josh Brolin tries his best to create a nuanced portrayal of Dan White, the city supervisor who was often at odds with Milk, but the actor can’t rise above a two-dimensional part.
The movie does a better job of covering the momentous final year of Milk’s life, 1978, thanks to excellent photography and period detail, but even here the movie falters when Van Sant and rookie writer Dustin Lance Black rely too much on heavy-handed foreshadowing. Much of the movie comes across like the Cliffs Notes version of the excellent documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, with vultures circling overhead.
For all the film’s faults, it’s still well worth seeing for Penn alone. He brilliantly captures Milk’s canny intelligence and ingratiating charisma that could charm even a hostile crowd. Watching the actor, I could understand why millions idolize Milk. Penn offers a good look at the man, but only The Times of Harvey Milk provides a true understanding of his life. It may be that the less you know about Harvey Milk, the more compelling the new movie will seem.
Milk has drawn considerable praise from critics, but I fear they’re confusing the importance of its subject with the actual effectiveness of the filmmaking. Unfortunately, Van Sant has also confused importance with real insight. Penn buoys Milk up to a point, but it’s still a great performance in only a good movie.
GRADE: B
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SAG award nomination reactions
Here are the Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Commentary forthcoming.
Male Actor in a Leading Role
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
Leonoardo DiCaprio’s work in Revolutionary Road was overlooked; that film has seriously lost momentum and its Oscar chances are in jeopardy. No nod for Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, which has divided critics. But I’m thrilled to see the very deserving Jenkins here; subtle work like his needs more attention. But I’ll guess Rourke for the win.
Female Actor in a Leading Role
nne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”
The surprise here is Sally Hawkins’ omission for her Happy Go Lucky performance; I prefer her work over Leo’s. Otherwise, no surprises. Winslet may well win here; is there anyone more overdue than her?
Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
As regular readers well know, I am a huge fan of Slumdog Millionaire, but Dev Patel’s nomination is one of the most egregious instances of category fraud I’ve ever seen. Who, exactly, is Patel supporting? The Who Wants to be a Millionaire host? Ridiculous. Ledger’s got this anyway.
Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Again, no major surprises. As ever, I’m thrilled to see Adams in the group. The showier Davis is deserving too, but there’s more to Adams’ understated work than has met most reviewer’s eyes. But I won’t complain if Davis wins, although Cruz could take it too.
Best Stunt Ensemble
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
“Iron Man”
“Wanted”
Gotta be Dark Knight for the stunt work in the opening heist alone.
Cast in a Motion Picture
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
Go Slumdog! Love for the film just might carry it to a win. And it’s interesting to note that the cast nomination for Doubt is sort of redundant, since all four principals were nominated.
What do you think of these nominations?
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What’s opening Friday, Dec 19?/More new DVDs
New releases in theaters this week bring us some animation, Jim Carrey and Will Smith, while a major Oscar contender goes wide.
Milk: Sean Penn has earned well-deserved raves for his performance as San Francisco icon Harvey Milk. Too bad the movie as a whole isn’t nearly as good. Review runs Friday.
Seven Pounds: Will Smith reunites with his Pursuit of Happyness director for this drama about a man trying to atone for a tragedy. The trailers don’t tell us much, and in a way, neither does the movie. Review coming Friday (you get a double-header this week).
The Tale of Desperaux: So this animated vehicle is Emma Watson’s non-Potter debut, Fine, but I’d rather see her in a live action movie. Reviews so far are rather mixed, But hey, it has to do better than Delgo, which made about $72 last week.
Yes Man: Jim Carrey makes one of his periodic returns to physical comedy, this time as a man who just can’t say no. The delightful Zooey Deschanel is in tow. Again, reviews are iffy.
At the arthouses
The Neon opens Milk and retains the wondrous Slumdog Millionaire, which I continue to urge everyone to see.
Little Art opens The Secret Life of Bees and Baz Luhrmann’s underrated Australia.
DVDs after the jump:
With Christmas coming next week, the release calendar is a bit different.
Coming Friday:
The House Bunny: Likable but overly juvenile and obvious comedy that needed a script as funny as the very talented cast, led by Anna Faris as a Playboy bunny trying her hand at being a sorirtiy leader. GRADE: B-
Traitor: This didn’t make much of an impression when it came out, but Don Cheadle is forever watchable.
The Women: It took writer/director Diane English years to get this remake off the ground - and then no one cared. So much for Sex and the City spawning a wave of female-centered hits.
Coming Sunday:
Burn After Reading: The Coen brothers treat us to their unique brand of a paranoid conspiracy thriller, lacing it with the kind of quirky comedy only they can pull off. Great fun, and not as lightweight as it seems at first. Full review - GRADE: A-
Death Race: Well - Stephen King liked the remake.
Hamlet 2: The trailers for this comedy looked promising and then nobody came to theaters to see it. Perhaps it will gain a cult following at home?
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What are the lump of coal Christmas movies?
A number of times on this blog, I’ve asked you about your cinematic holiday favorites - movies, Scrooges, Santas and so on. Now it’s time to get Grinchy and look at the Christmas movies that make you pout and cry.
I like to think my judgment has been sound enough to avoid most Christmas movies with terrible reputations like Surviving Christmas and Jingle all the Way, but I’ve been unlucky enough to experience a few that actually manage to make fruitcake seem delectable.
Deck the Halls: I have to confess, I haven’t actually seen the whole thing, but believe me, it’s all for the better. I stayed away from it in theaters, but I happened to catch a few scenes on TV because I can’t resist watching Kristin Chenoweth. Even with her in the movie, I saw enough to convince me that an “r” was missing from the first word in the title.
Fred Claus: When the first trailer for this came out, featuring Paul Giamatti as Santa and Vince Vaughn as his ne’er-do-well brother Fred, I thought it looked really funny. Thing was, that trailer was just the two actors riffing and wasn’t footage from the real movie. No wonder: the real movie was a snide, humorless wreck that wasted some really talented people. Between this and the underwhelming Four Christmases, maybe Vaughn should just admit holiday cheer isn’t his shtick.
Jack Frost: It’s not a Christmas movie per se, but any film that features the world’s ugliest snowman has to go on the list. I don’t care if it contained the spirit of a dead relative, if that monstrosity crossed my path, its next stop would be a sauna.
Scrooged: A lot of people really seem to like Bill Murray’s Scrooge vehicle, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. Loud, shrill and obnoxious, the movie made me want to deck, all right - deck everyone on screen. You want a truly funny anti-Christmas movie, watch Bad Santa instead.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians: I don’t understand why everyone picks on this movie. I saw it once and thought it was hysterical. Oh wait - you mean it’s not supposed to have that guy and those two robots down in the corner?
Note: A lot of people would put the live action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas here. While it’s not a very good film, I can’t put it on my list because The Cat in the Hat made Grinch look Miracle on 34th Street.
So what holiday movies make your heart three sizes too small?
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First face transplant? It’s been done!
According to this story, the nation’s first face transplant has taken place right here in Ohio, in the Cleveland clinic.
Liars. Everybody knows Nicolas Cage and John Travolta did that 11 years ago. It’s too bad it didn’t take, though. I wonder how Cage might have played Edna in Hairspray? Or how different John Travolta’s take on Ghost Rider might have been.
Insert your own bad jokes in the comments below.
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Today’s DVDs: Mamma Mia, Mummy, meh
Today’s DVDs bring us two of Universal’s lesser summer offerings - decidedly lesser.
Mamma Mia!: Despite my disdain for its Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture (Comedy /Musical), I truly understand why some people love this. Really, I do. I just don’t personally care for a movie that minimizes its best singer (Amanda Seyfried) in favor of bigger names whose singing voices are highly variable. I also don’t care for movies that are garishly shot and clearly directed by someone who doesn’t know what she’s doing. And I really, REALLY don’t care for a movie that reminds me of the time a drunk woman came on to me at a party. But hey, if you love it, have at it. Full review - GRADE: C-
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: I didn’t expect much out of the third Mummy movie, and I got even less than I expected. Lousy even by Hollywood’s standards, the sequel drags no thanks to action scenes badly directed by Rob Cohen, a miscast Maria Bello standing in as the love interest, and humor that might embarrass a third-grader. When you can’t even stage a good fight between Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, what’s the point? Full review - GRADE: D-
And hey, why bother with these when you could see Slumdog Millionaireinstead?
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I URGE everyone to see ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Somewhere out there, a movie theater is playing Slumdog Millionaire, and I’m sorry I can’t go.
That’s how eager I am to see this absolutely spectacular film again. It’s the best live action movie of this calendar year. The buzz humming around it is more than justified. As I watched it, I felt a charge that only dissipated was when I realized the movie was about to end. I did not want it to.
Based on the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, Slumdog Millionaire chronicles the whirlwind life of Jamal (Dev Patel), a young, uneducated man who grew up in India’s slums. Through a mix of sharp wits and extremely good fortune, Jamal gets to be a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”
He stuns everyone by winning more than a million rupees. Then, Jamal himself is stunned when he’s arrested, accused of cheating, and tortured by police who can’t believe Jamal actually knew all the answers.
On the surface, the premise may sound a little far-fetched, but never once did I question it while the movie was playing because it made me believe in its story so strongly. That’s due mainly to director Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Trainspotting), who deftly juggles many storylines without ever once losing the thread. Boyle, with his eclectic worldview, strength with young actors, and especially his affinity for dazzling visuals, is the ideal helmsman for this story.
Slumdog moves at a dizzying speed, with Boyle’s cameras darting everywhere and the editing coming thick and fast. However, it’s never so fast as to be disorienting. Using many ingenious cuts, Boyle and his ace editor, Chris Dickens, flash back and forth between the game and the events in Jamal’s life that led to him knowing the answers. It makes for a unique experience that puts most of Hollywood’s fast editing to absolute shame. Boyle’s direction of a cast of unknowns makes performances shine throughout.
Credit must also go to screenwriter Simon Beaufoy for keeping the story varied and fascinating. The film could easily have been monotonous with repeated scenes of the Millionaire game, but each one of the game scenes plays differently, narratively and visually.
Slumdog Millionaire has some very dark passages, particularly when Jamal is tortured, but the dark scenes make the joyous scenes that much more powerful. This picture will join a short list of films like Singin’ in the Rain that I will watch whenever I need a shot in the arm.
As I did with WALL-E earlier this year, I am urging everyone to see Slumdog Millionaire as soon as possible in a theater. Do NOT wait for DVD. Do not let the fact that no one you’ve ever heard of is in the movie. Don’t even let the lousy economy keep you from it, because it’s the perfect antidote to these downbeat times.
I do not have the finances to give my review a money-back guarantee, but if I could, I would. I feel that strongly. This is not merely a feel-good film, it’s a feel-great film. See it as soon as you can.
GRADE: A+
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Van Johnson, 1916-2008
A number of writers have done a fine job memorializing Van Johnson, who died on Friday. His name may not be remembered by many people today, but any actor who could hold his own against Bogart in The Caine Mutiny deserves a tip of the hat and a fond farewell.
The timing of his passing is poignant for me, because when I think of Van Johnson, the movie that always comes to mind is In the Good Old Summertime. No, I haven’t got my seasons mixed up - it’s actually a very fine holiday movie, even though it’s not typically thought of as such. Key scenes take place during Christmas, with Judy Garland singing the lovely and very underrated song “Merry Christmas” and Johnson being exceedingly charming as the man who loves her but takes a while to realize it.
The movie was a remake of The Shop Around the Corner (which was later remade again as You’ve Got Mail), and that Johnson could be just about as charming as Jimmy Stewart speaks very well of his talent. It will be on Turner Classic movies at 10 a.m. Dec. 21 and 2:15 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Film critic Joe Leydon eloquently writes on his blog: “Chalk up his passing, at age 92, as one more melancholy severing of our ties to a time when movies were magic, and even secondary stars seemed larger than life.”
Amen.
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And the host of the next Oscars is …
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have turned to a superhero, a drover, a frustrated magician and monster hunter as their host.
In other words, they’ve hired Hugh Jackman, whom most people probably know as Wolverine in the X-Men movies. He’s currently in theaters with the underrated Australia, for which Oscar buzz is pretty well dead, so no conflicts there.
All kidding aside, I like the choice. If Jackman is half as delightful as he was hosting the Tony awards (for which he won one Emmy and was nominated for another), we’re in for a very entertaining show Feb. 22. And I like that the Academy broke from their “Thou Shalt Have a Comedian Be Host” dictum. The “Will it be Billy or Steve or Whoopi or Jon” cycle was getting stale.
What say you?
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The Day the Remake Stunk
When 20th Century Fox announced it would release a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, film geeks everywhere howled in protest.
I wasn’t surprised they turned out to be right. The 2008 The Day the Earth Stood Still misfires about as badly as your average Imperial Stormtooper. It’s one of the dullest, dumbest films of the year.
But let’s just forget about comparing the movie to Robert Wise’s picture right now. Anyone with a decent amount of taste in movies knows there’s no way this version could hope to approach the original. Instead, the question should be, does the film stand on its own as even a decent movie by today’s standards?
The answer is an emphatic no.
I wanted to give the movie a chance. Even as everyone complained about the project, I reserved judgment, because I quite liked the previous film by director Scott Derrickson, The Exorcism of Emily Rose. That movie, however, was essentially a low budget courtroom drama. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a megabudget special effects movie, and Derrickson doesn’t have the chops for it.
The basic premise of the movie is the same as it was in the 50s: Strange being from another planet named Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) arrives on Earth with giant robot Gort in tow to deliver a dire warning. Whereas it was about the dangers of the cold war in the 1950s, the new movie warns against the abuse of the planet. Aiding his quest, sometimes reluctantly, are scientist Jennifer Connelly and her adopted son, played by Jaden Smith (the son of Will, from The Pursuit of Happyness.)
Following a pointless prologue, the movie rights itself a little, offering some intriguing ideas about how Klaatu survives on Earth and how his supernatural powers function. I liked how Klaatu could turn the tables on an interrogator and make the interrogator obey his will.
After that promising start, though, the movie slides downhill and never recovers, becoming sillier and dopier by the minute. Part of the problem is that Reeves is miscast. I appreciated that he was trying to play Klaatu as an awkward alien, but for Klaatu to be a convincing presence, he needs a gravitas and a sense of foreboding that Reeves doesn’t supply. Connelly does what she can, but even an actress of her ability can’t do much with a flatly written part.
Derrickson’s pedestrian, uninvolving handling of the big special effects scenes does the movie no favors, but I don’t place the blame primarily on the director. I place it instead on David Scarpa’s screenplay, offering ideas as dumb as Gort spreading infectious disease via little insects (no, really), and on the Fox executives who greenlit said script.
Almost every minute of the way, The Day the Earth Stood Still reeks of a movie made by committee, in which a bunch of executives picked an old studio property and tried to graft modern action onto it to appeal to the razzle-dazzle crowd. Instead, it will end up appealing to the Golden Razzie crowd.
Now I’m going to do some remaking of my own. One of Klaatu’s speeches in the original movie can,with a little rewriting, stand as a warning against the remake:
I came here to give you these facts. You may watch whichever movie you wish, but if you choose The Day the Earth Stood Still, it may transform you into a burned-out viewer. Your choice is simple: watch a better movie and come out happy, or pursue The Day the Earth Stood Still and face crushing boredom. The decision rests with you.
GRADE: D+
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Golden Globe movie nominations - reactions?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon and Doubt each got five Golden Globe nominations a piece this morning, with the usual amount of surprises inclusions and glaring omissions.
I’ll add commentary as time permits, but my immediate reaction is disappointment that neither Wall-E nor The Dark Knight grabbed Best Picture nominations - and that’s especially egregious when you have separate drama and comedy categories.
For TV fans, those nominations can be found here, after you scroll down.
The movie nominations:
Best Picture (Drama)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Revolutionary Road”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
Snubbed: Milk. The Hollywood Foreign Press has a never-ending jones for Harvey Weinstein’s movies, so they had to nominate The Reader. Also a shame not to see Batman here. I’ll preliminarily call Slumdog the winner, it’s bound to appeal to the Foreign press.
Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)
“Burn After Reading”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Mamma Mia!”
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
If Mamma Mia is a better movie than WALL-E, then I’m Meryl Streep. BAH! I’ll guess Happy-Go-Lucky as the winner.
Best Actor (Drama)
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Revolutionary Road”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Micky Rourke, “The Wrestler”
No real surprises here, and I have no real clear line on the winner. Rourke, perhaps, for the comeback story?
Best Actor (Comedy/Musical)
Javier Bardem, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Colin Farrell, “In Bruges”
James Franco, “Pineapple Express”
Brendan Gleeson, “In Bruges”
Dustin Hoffman, “Last Chance Harvey”
It’s fun to see Franco among the nominees for his gleefully goofy turn; he just might win.
Best Actress (Drama)
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kristin Scott Thomas, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”
A strong group. I’ll guess Winslet, who’s double nominated and has never won. Unjust, no?
Best Actress (Comedy/Musical)
Rebecca Hall, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Frances McDormand, “Burn After Reading”
Meryl Streep, “Mamma Mia!”
Emma Thompson, “Last Chance Harvey”
Best Supporting Actor
Tom Cruise, “Tropic Thunder”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Ralph Fiennes, “The Duchess”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
I’m glad to see Cruise and Downey both nominated, both were hysterical. But then, everybody knows who’s winning this award. Oh, and um … Ralph Fiennes? Really??
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Thrilled to see Ms. Adams make the cut for her underrated work. I’ll say either the one-great-scene Davis or Winslet for the win here.
Best Director
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Sam Mendes, “Revolutionary Road”
SInce I called Slumdog for Picture, I’ll call Boyle for director.
Best Original Score
“Changeling”, Clint Eastwood
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance”, James Newtown Howard
“Frost/Nixon”, Hans Zimmer
“Slumdog Millionaire”, AR Rhaman
Ummm … where the HECK is WALL-E in this group? And I would have preferred to see Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard nominated together for their work on The Dark Knight. I hear the Benjamin Button score is great, I bet it wins.
Best Screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon
”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
A little surprising to see Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona not make the cut, since it did well in other categories. I’ll say Ben Button here, since that was the canniest adaptation.
Best Foreign Film
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“Everlasting Moments”
“Gomorrah”
“I’ve Loved You So Long”
“Waltz with Bashir”
A tough one to call - I’ll say I’ve Loved You So Long, but I would not rule out Waltz with Bashir.
Best Animated Feature
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”
The expected group. No prizes for guessing what I want to win.
Best Original Song
“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt”
“Once in a Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records”
“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino”
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
“The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler”
Well, at least WALL-E composer Thomas Newman picked up a nomination for the song he wrote with Peter Gabriel. And guess what, gang? Hannah Montana is a Golden Globe nominee for her song from Bolt. And guess what else - it’s actually not bad!
Your reactions?
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WALL-E wins Best Film, Dark Knight runner-up
I love LA - or the LA film critics, at any rate - because the group has ever so rightly named WALL-E the best film of the year, as has Time Magazine.
The AP story on the awards states that the LA critics went “populist” in their picks, noting that The Dark Knight was the runner-up film. However, populist should not be read as “conventional.”
The LA folks have been known to break from their fellow critics to promote a movie that might not otherwise get a lot of attention. The most famous example of this was when they named Terry Gilliam’s Brazil 1985’s best movie, helping Gilliam’s version see the light of day when Universal was attempting to butcher it.
Now, by giving an animated film the top prize for the first time ever, and by lauding The Dark Knight, I think the LA critics are saying, in effect, that yes, these are “populist” movies, but they’re populist movies that actually deliver the goods in an extraordinary way. They deserve to win top honors. And in the case of both WALL-E, and The Dark Knight, I couldn’t agree more.
I wish I could say that means WALL-E has a realistic chance at a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Yes, Beauty and the Beast made it in 1992, but that was before the animated film category was created. With that category in place, I don’t think voters will feel the need to give it the big prize. WALL-E has a shot, but a long one at best.
That’s a shame. For too long, animation has been ghettoized because there’s still a mentality that it’s primarily for kids. Any adult who has seen any Pixar movie ought to know by now that their movies aren’t just for kids, or even primarily for kids - but EVERYONE.
The Dark Knight, on the other hand, has better than a good chance at a nomination. It’s building momentum. While only recently its Best Picture prospects were dubious, I’m now ready to say it will get a Best Picture nomination. At this point, I expect the nominees to be The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk and Slumdog Millionaire.
The Golden Globes announce their nominations Thursday - we’ll see where they fall.
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Would you see ‘Dark Knight’ again in a theater?
The Dark Knight comes out on DVD today. I would ask if anyone is interested in buying it, but that would be facetious of me.
While there is no question the DVD will fly off the shelves, there is a question of just how well it will do when it comes back to theaters next month. The movie is still hanging around in dollarplexes now, but Warner Bros. plans to reissue it Jan. 23 in theaters, with the intent of capitalizing on hoped-for Oscar nominations.
So my question is, would you see it again in theaters, even if it’s already out on DVD?
Allow me to answer my own question: You should, especially if you can catch an IMAX screening. Parts of the film were shot using IMAX cameras, so that is the way director Christopher Nolan and his cast want you to see it. I don’t care how humongous your plasma/LCD/whatever TV is, and I don’t care how good your Blu-Ray looks. If you haven’t seen it in IMAX, you haven’t gotten the full effect. It’s WELL worth any drive.
For now, as far as the DVD release goes, you have a ridiculous amount of options to choose from in terms of those annoying DVD exlcusives that are different at about a half-dozen stores. Click here to review the options.
And speaking of reviews, my take on the movie was pretty much with the consensus. It really is one of the best films of this year. I hope it grabs a Best Picture nomination, and that prospect is actually starting to look more and more likely. GRADE: A+
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Oh, and this is for those determined folks desperate to see The Dark Knight topple Titanic’s all time box office record:
Forget it. Ain’t happenin. And why should it matter? Isn’t it enough that you love it, and most other people do too?
Also out today
Horton Hears a Who: Surprisingly effective animated take on the Dr. Seuss classic and the best of the big-screen Seuss adaptations so far - not that that’s saying much. Full review: GRADE: B+
Man on Wire: Another one of the best films of the year is this chronicle of the one-of-akind man who walked a tightrope between the World Trade Center towers. Even though there’s no actual film footage of the walk, the effect is still exhilarating. Review: GRADE: A
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Who should replace the director of ‘Twilight’?
News broke over the weekend that Catherine Hardwicke, the director of Twilight, will not be returning to helm the sequel, New Moon, due for release in late 2009 or early 2010.
The official reason given is “scheduling,” although insiders are rumbling that’s code for “We didn’t get along, so we’re going to pick someone else, thanks.”
I liked but did not love Twilight, so I’m not greatly moved by this news. However, I am sorry to see Hardwicke go. I liked her work in thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, and her skill at directing young actors went a long way towards making Twilight as effective as it was.
I’m sure Summit Entertainment, the company that produced the film, will want to hire someone they can control, and someone who won’t cost too much, so I think you can pretty much forget any A-lister like Alfonso Cuaron, whose name has been floated on Web sites, probably simply because he directed the third (and best) Potter film, Prisoner of Azkaban.
Summit will probably want to go the way of the James Bond franchise and hire a journeyman who’s a capable shooter but doesn’t have a signature visual style. That being the case, why not hire Mimi Leder, the woman who directed Deep Impact? Until Twilight came along, Deep Impact had the biggest opening of any movie directed by a woman.
Granted, that opening would have happened no matter who directed it, but Deep Impact was a solid film that showed she could work well with actors and direct decent action scenes. (Compared to that same year’s Armageddon, Deep Impact was a masterpiece.)
One plea to Summit - please stay as far away as possible from Marc Forster, who just botched the Bond franchise with his incoherent action scenes in Quantum of Solace.
So who should step in for the deposed Hardwicke? Are you sorry to see her go or not?
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When will the Oscar contenders get here?
It happens all the time around the holidays - you see a trailer for a movie that looks like it might be really good, and it says the film is coming in December. Then December comes and goes and there’s no sign of the movie.
That’s because “December” in that context only applies to metropolises like New York or LA. Many Oscar contenders take a while to get to us out here in the heartland.
I have local release schedules that say when those movies will most likely open in the Miami Valley. So since this is a bad week for new movies, I give to you instead this little calendar of when the probable Oscar nominees will get to us. Out of state readers, your mileage may vary. And of course, release dates are subject to change.
Please note the list consists of films that might be above the line Oscar contenders. You will not find the likes of Bedtime Stories or The Day the Earth Stood Still here.
Dec. 12
Milk: Sean Penn has earned rave reviews for his performance as the martyred Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in San Francisco. Gus Van Sant directs. (Dec. 19 in Dayton)
Slumdog Millionaire: Danny Boyle’s film about a young boy who makes it to the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire is rapidly gaining momentum in the Oscar race.
Dec. 19
Seven Pounds: A man close to suicide for his role in an auto accident that claimed the lives of seven people finds a reason to live. Sounds sober, but Will Smith could sell steak to a vegan. From the director of The Pursuit of Happyness.
Dec. 25
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: David Fincher directs Brad Pitt in the tale of a man who ages backwards. Some say this is the film to beat at the Oscars.
Doubt: Meryl Streep leads a powerhouse cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams in this adaptation of the Pulitzer-winning play about a priest who may or may not be wrongly accused of molesting a boy.
Frost/Nixon: Frank Langella and Michael Sheen reprise their roles from the stage play about the legendary interviews in the aftermath of Watergate. Ron Howard directs.
Valkyrie: Tom Cruise stars as a Nazi commander who leads an attempt to assassinate Hitler. It’s not seen as an Oscar contender so far, but neither was The Departed when it came out.
Jan. 9
The Reader: Law student Michael Burk is reunited with his former lover (Kate Winslet) as she defends herself in a war-crime trial. This is one of two shots the unjustly unrewarded Winslet has at an Oscar next year, the other being Revolutionary Road. The first reviews have been good, not great.
Jan. 16
Defiance: A group of Jewish brothers organize the largest armed rescue of Jews during the Holocaust. Daniel Craig leads the cast, but director Ed Zwick’s output, which includes Glory and Blood Diamond, is uneven. Early reviews are iffy.
Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood goes in front of and behind the camera, directing himself as a tough-bitten bigot and sparking even more Oscar talk, although word on the film is more than a little mixed.
Revolutionary Road: Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio reunite in a tale of 50s suburban angst, directed by Mr. Winslet, Sam Mendes. With that cast and director, hopes can be nothing but high. Reviews so far have been quite strong in some cases.
Jan. 23
The Wrestler: Praise abounds for Mickey Rourke’s performance as a retired wrestler who gets back in the ring. Directed by the always-daring Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream).
Which of these are you most/least anxious to see?
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‘Slumdog Millionaire’ named Best film
The National Board of Review, that somewhat shadowy group that is usually first to announce its year-end awards, has named Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire as the best film of 2008.
The other winners are:
Best Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Very anxious to see.)
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino” (Interesting. Is this Eastwood love or is the film not as bad as some say?)
Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married” (Yay!)
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk” (Continuing his assent)
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (Solidifies her chances)
Best Foreign Film: “Mongol” (So I’ve heard)
Best Documentary: “Man on Wire” (Well deserved)
Best Animated Feature: “WALL-E” (Ultra well deserved)
Best Ensemble Cast: “Doubt” (Ibid)
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”(Building buzz)
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Viola Davis, “Doubt” (Breakthrough? Really? She’s been working for quite awhile.)
Best Directorial Debut: Courtney Hunt, “Frozer River” (Meh. Overrated.)
Best Original Screenplay: Nick Schenk, “Gran Torino”
Best Adapted Screenplay (tie): Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire” and Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
The top ten (in alphabetical order):
“Burn After Reading” (Wow!)
“Changeling” (Really liked it, but not THAT much)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight” (Deserved. Now if the Academy will take it seriously …)
“Defiance” (Hmm. Not according to the iffy reviews I’ve read thus far.)
“Frost/Nixon” (Anxious to see)
“Gran Torino”
“Milk” (Also anxious to see)
“WALL-E” (Absitively!)
“The Wrestler” (I’ll see anything by Darren Aronofsky)
Interesting omissions: Zip for Revolutionary Road, the Sam Mendes film that reunites Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But then again, these are the same folks who put The Bucket List in their top 10 last year, ignoring There Will Be Blood. Um … yeah). Take it with a grain of salt.
At any rate, it’s nice timing: Slumdog Millionaire opens in Dayton next Friday.)
Reactions?
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What’s opening Friday, Dec. 5?
The first week of December usually bores moviewatchers to death as Hollywood takes sort of a holiday, and this year is no exception. You have to turn to the arthouses and a second run theater for the most interesting fare this weekend.
Cadillac Records: This limited release film tells the story of Chess Records, for whom Chuck Berry recorded. Beyonce Knowles stars as Etta James (?!) and Mos Def (?!) plays Berry.
Nobel Son: A young chemistry student (Shawn Hatosy) tangles with Nobel Prize-winning scientist Eli Michaelson (Rickman) by kidnapping his son then exposing Michaelson as an egomaniac. From the folks who brought us Bottle Shock.
The Punisher: War Zone: OK. I’d like to hear from someone who actually wanted to see a Punisher sequel. Hello? Anyone there? (crickets)
At the Arthouses
The Neon opens Charlie Kaufman’s latest mind-bender and his directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York, starring Philip Seymor Hoffman.
Little Art brings in Mike Leigh’s Happy Go Lucky, which has been earning Oscar buzz for its lead, Sally Hawkins.
Holiday fare
Just as A Christmas Story pops up all the time on TV these days, it’s popping up in more than one theater. Neon has it at noon this Saturday at noon as part of their annual Children’s Holiday Film Festival.
Then, the Beaver Valley dollarplex in Beavercreek has it as part of its own Holiday Film Festival, which will consist of A Christmas Story, Elf and The Polar Express on Saturday evening.
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Oscar prospects for Eastwood stall - as he sings!
People have seen Clint Eastwood’s new movie Gran Torino, and often I’ve heard a discouraging word.
As he has done on more than one occasion in his career, Eastwood has directed two movies in close succession. This year, it was the somewhat underrated Changeling and Gran Torino, due for release here in January. Word around the Oscar campfire was that Changeling would grag a nomination for Angelina Jolie, but that was it. Gran Torino was the real awards bait.
Now, Warner Bros. has started to screen the film, and the buzz has suddenly turned very sour indeed. At the Hot Blog, David Poland writes his review to the tune of “Those Were The Days.”
“Gran Torino takes a spin. Saying “gook” out loud gets thin. Hang yourself if you had money on this film for the win.
“His temper short, but films were long. “Make my day” made a terrific song. I don’t know just what went wrong. Those Were The Days.”
Over at In Contention, awards guru Kristopher Tapley wrote Tuesday that “in the way of a one-off, I expect John Wilson and his band of gleefully destructive voters may (regretably) have a field day.”
John Wilson is the head of the Golden Razzie Awards, which skewer the worst films of the year.
In the word of E.T. - ouch.
On the other hand, Pete Hammond, who writes the “Notes on a Season Column” says “If Gran Torino does prove to be Clint Eastwood’s acting swan song, he couldn’t have picked a better way to go out.”
And just to make things even more fun, Gran Torino sports a song sung by Eastwood, which you can hear part of by clicking here.
Now, this isn’t the first time Eastwood has sung for a movie: he warbled “I Talk to the Trees” in the infamous misfire Paint Your Wagon. Eastwood is an accomplished musician, having composed songs and scores for many of his movies. But this title number from Gran Torino brings back uncomfortable memories of his Paint Your Wagon castmate Lee Marvin growling his way through “Wan’drin Star.”
A few weeks ago I questioned the viability of the film based on its trailer. Now I’m not so sure I’m looking forward to it. I’ll never rule Clint out, but da-yum …
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Indie Spirit awards announced
Let the Awards season begin! The Independent Spirit Awards have been announced; here is the list.
Haven’t had the opportunity to see many of the nominees but kudos to Rachel Getting Married, which is indeed one of the best films of the year, and a YES! goes out to the nomination of Anne Hathaway, who did some of the best work I’ve seen all year. Congrats, too, to her fellow nominees Rosemarie DeWitt and Debra Winger.
I also applaud the nomination for Penelope Cruz in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and of Melissa Leo in Frozen River, though I thought the latter was rather overrated.
Thoughts, anyone?
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Today’s DVD’s: Second Narnia, Wanted, etc
A fairly mild week for DVDs brings us some of summer’s lesser lights, for the most part.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: The sequel underperformed at the box office this year, but I actually liked it better than the first film, finding it more confidently directed and more energetic. I wonder - did it underperform because people were that disappointed, or because it was released in the summer instead of the holiday? Full review: GRADE: B+
Step Brothers: There are a few genuinely funny scenes scattered about, but mostly this is about Will Ferrell mugging as loud and as long as he can - as usual. Full review: GRADE: C
Wanted: Put the letters “U” and “N” before the title and that very succinctly sums up what I thought of this movie filled with a profoundly annoying male “hero” and logic holes that are ridiculous even for this genre. Sure, there’s a neat action scene or two, but the film reminded me of that very old quote about a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. GRADE: C
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Australia: A mesmerizing mishmash of movie love
When people say Baz Luhrmann’s Australia is overlong, overwrought and overstuffed, I agree with them.
However, when these same people say these qualities make Australia a bad movie, or at best a misfire, I firmly disagree. Yes, the movie is sometimes a sprawling, ungainly mishmash - but that’s part of its charm.
In other words, it’s every inch a movie by the director of Moulin Rouge! This homage to Luhrmann’s homeland isn’t as frenzied as that musical, nor is it as potent, but it’s just as imaginative and willing to go for broke.
Australia’s very messiness gives it character, as was the case with last year’s Across the Universe. The movie is like Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, Rabbit Proof Fence and Tora Tora Tora mashed up in one tangled ball. It doesn’t always work, but even its missteps are weirdly endearing.
Here’s the litmus test: If you can make it past the deliberately hyperactive opening act, you’ll probably love Australia. If the first act makes you shake your head in confusion, the movie might be a tough sit.
Just as Moulin Rouge! did, Australia opens with very broad flourishes, both visually and narratively, to get the audience used to the idea it’s not your typical movie. At times, it plays like a slapstick comedy with Nicole Kidman, relentlessly mugging for the camera. She plays a British aristocrat who inherits a ranch in the title country, working with a mysterious cattle driver known as “the drover” (Hugh Jackman).
Of course, sparks fly between Kidman and Jackman, but that romance isn’t really the heart of the story, as the ads would have you believe. The true emotional center of the film is an aborigine boy named Nullah (newcomer Brandon Walters) struggling to become a man amid the chaos of World War II, and the prejudices against his race. The Kidman/Jackman romance is important and effective, but the scenes with Nullah resonate most strongly, thanks to Walters’ touching performance.
That’s a lot of ground to cover for one movie, and Luhrmann bit off a bit more than he can chew. The film doesn’t always flow very well. Characters drop in and out with little or no explanation, and the shifts in tone from comedy to romance to war drama and beyond are sometimes jarring. Luhrmann was editing this right up the 11th hour, 59th minute and 59th second, and it shows. If he had more time to finesse the final cut, the movie might have been a minor masterpiece.
Even so, Australia remains a gripping, one of a kind odyssey. Luhrmann is obviously in love with the power of movies, and that comes through most strongly in the many references to the greatest fantasy of them all, The Wizard of Oz.
Whether Australia incorporates the tune of “Over the Rainbow” or shows Nullah rapturously watching Judy Garland at a movie theater, Luhrmann’s film pulses with life, even when it doesn’t make sense. I was getting such a rush out of Luhrmann flipping his switches and pulling his levers, I couldn’t help but pay attention to the man behind the curtain.
I’ll take an ambitious mess like Australia over an unimaginative, passable entertainment like Four Christmases any day of the week. It may not be an unequivocal success, but Australia is like nothing else in theaters right now - or at any other time.
GRADE: A-
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