The Pretentious Know It All

Five Talking Points About "The Descendants"

2012-01-30T21:23:00.001-05:00

I had honestly hoped it wouldn't come to this. For this lowly Oscar-obsessive, even I recognized that wishing for a total shut out of The Descendants was a bridge too far. But, I did hope for something akin to Frost/Nixon or Finding Neverland. That is, an inevitable Best Picture nominee whose appeal remains alien to me, but becomes easy to ignore past the nomination announcement due to its unlikelihood of actually winning any major awards. (Truthfully, that Best Original Score trophy for Finding Neverland does still loom as a minor "what the fuck" moment in Oscar history, but I suppose that's a conversation for 2004).

Alas, not only is Alexander Payne's latest effort a nominee for Best Picture, but it has a decent enough chance of picking up a couple of trophies as well. Fine. Even then, I'm happy enough to leave it alone. The Descendants lovers, up until today have more or less behaved themselves. But things, as is their wont to do this time of year, are getting ugly. I'm not going to pretend that the nine films selected as Best Picture nominees by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences represent the pinnacle of cinematic excellence in 2011. Hardly anyone is making that claim. What I can no longer abide nor stomach is the vitriol being thrown at The Artist, a film I'm not even particularly passionate about but, given the slate, is clearly in the upper tier of that list. I'm especially baffled when this Artist hatred comes from people who say they love Payne's milquetoast paradise milieu. Rather than writing a review of The Descendants, I thought I would position it against films that were in the Oscar hunt this year that are being torn down, ripped-apart and otherwise lambasted. These are all criticisms that, regardless of my opinions on the other films, these same charges should easily be levied (but are not) against The Descendants. Not wanting to incur any rath (because my blog has such enormous readership) I'll merely paraphrase and refrain from directly quoting anyone (aforementioned link aside).

1. The Artist is a shallow trifle that does not stand on its own as a resonant piece of cinema. In short, it's not about anything.

I've heard some variation of this more than I can even count this awards season. To be fair, it's not an accusation that The Artist can refute with any modicum of truth. But, hasn't The Artist always, more or less, presented itself as a film that is all about appropriation for the sake of novelty? I have less problems with a film that wears its intentions on its sleeve and is rewarded or rebuked as such than I do with a film that claims, on paper, to be about something deeper than it really is.

The Descendants masquerades as a probing character study about a man dealing with grief while coming to terms with his role as a father to his two daughters. I say masquerade because the film only half-commits to setting up this dynamic, then proceeds to treat its viewer to paint-by-numbers beats, arriving at a conclusion that feels at once predictable given the film's lack of ambition and unlikely given how little the film has worked to earn any of its payoffs. Matt's (Clooney) narration tells us that he's "the back-up parent." This bit of info is sandwiched between two scenes of he and his youngest daughter Scottie (Amara Miller) getting along more or less famously. Later, we're told (there's that word again) that Matt and eldest daughter Alex (Shailene Woodley) have a troubled relationship and that she is the type of out-of-control adolescent that Sally Jesse used to ship off to boot camp in the 90s. This is "evidenced" by a tame episode of teenage drinking, some uttered profanities (clutch the pearls!) and a therapeutic dunk in the pool, which is right about where Woodley's bafflingly lauded performance sinks for me (no pun intended). Alex then tells Matt that her mother was cheating on him. For the rest of the film, their relationship is easy like Sunday morning, with nothing to speak to the character details we were plainly and obtusely presented with. The Descendants is a textbook case of a film that avoids conflict, even when logic dictates that there's no other place to go. That, to me, is a hallmark of lazy, easy writing, which is almost never not shallow. I can take shallow when I'm being sold shallow. It's a little harder to swallow that pill when it's being presented as the great new story about the twenty-first century experience.

2. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a chauvinistic male fantasy cloaked in something that resembles feminism if you squint and turn your head to the right.

Okay, so the bit about feminism may not apply directly to The Descendants, but I smell a rat where sexism is concerned. Every female character in this film feels narratively neutered and is barely given a "character" to speak of. Say what you will about Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander (and plenty has been said), but at least she's dynamic and she also exists in a film that relies on a conceit of heightened, stylized reality. The women in The Descendants totally bend and conform to what the film needs them to do in any given moment and I would argue that they are just as much creations of male fantasy. The difference is that here they are being presented as realistic reflections of the human condition. Judy Greer's Julie Speer (the wife of the man Matt's wife cheated with) is at sea as well, being asked to play blissful and ignorant, then shrill and scorned with little modulation. I've already spoken of Shailene Woodley's Alex, who seems to totally evaporate as if she was lobotomized in a scene that was left on the cutting room floor. I also want to add that I have nothing against Woodley. In every interview I've seen with her, she seemed lovely, articulate, primed and genuinely excited about awards season, even though her nomination did not come to pass. Though the nominees are entitled to experience the distinction in their own way, on some selfish level, I have to admit that the season is more fun to watch with people who enjoy being there. In short, I welcome more Shailene Woodley levels of enthusiasm, with the caveat that they come with performances to match the acclaim. Sadly for her, when the pretty young things are just-misses for Oscar nominations, the opportunity rarely presents itself again. One can look at examples ranging from Scarlett Johansson to Cameron Diaz of young performers who, at one time or another, just missed nominations for baity parts only to have the world slowly but surely realize their apparent actorly limitations. Where Woodley is concerned, I'm more than happy to be proven wrong.

I'm not sure what accounts for the simplistic ways in which this film fails to humanize Matt's comatose, philandering wife. Yes, she is in a coma, but the film's desire to demonize this woman without any real context into the texture or dynamic of the marriage is rather glaring. Payne will try to have you believe that this is not the case in the scene where Matt tearfully kisses his wife goodbye while uttering niceties wrapped in thinly veiled hostility. Don't believe it! He might as well be saying "Well, you are a cheating slut. But we were married for a long time. And you are the mother of my two lovely daughters with whom I have no real relationship problems. And for that, I guess you're worth something. Goodbye, whore." I'm oversimplifying(?), but given the film's unwillingness to even entertain the idea that Matt King is not perfect (outside of him telling us that he's not perfect), I see some serious chauvinism afoot.

3. Young Adult...beyond the fact that the protagonist is completely unlikeable, am I supposed to believe this behavior? No one acts like this.

Okay, so I'm cheating a little. Young Adult is not technically in the Oscar race anymore (though, by all rights, it should be). I like Clooney. I think he's a talented actor. The Descendants clearly likes him too. I think he plays a big part in the aforementioned inability of the film to paint Matt King as a man with any real character flaws. We are left with a movie about a gorgeous father of two whose bitch of a wife has the gall to step out on him. Take likeable Clooney out of the equation and actually look at the sequence of events. Matt King comes out looking like a grade-A asshole. This may seem hypocritical to call his character an asshole and also say that he's not flawed. Not so. Why? Because the film deifies him and does not depict his bad behavior as bad behavior. What kind of man drags his daughters island hopping in search of the man who slept with his wife? Okay, it was also in the interest of a business deal that would make this already wealthy man even wealthier. Is that any better? Especially since his wife is in a coma and already on borrowed time, but a confrontation with the philandering Matthew Lillard can surely wait until after the funeral. And why, for the love of God, would he ever consent to his troubled teenage daughter bringing her cro magnon boyfriend along for the ride? The small, easy bits of comic relief that Nick Krause provides aren't worth the questions his presence in the film raise. When all is said and done, Matt King isn''t called to task for what I see as incredibly selfish, passive-aggressive transgressions. At least in Young Adult, Charlize Theron's Mavis Gary pays somewhat of a price. Matt King's actions could have easily been framed as a grief-stricken man on an ill-advised warpath. It's hard to say whether such a change would fix what's wrong with this film at its core, but that would have made for some much needed ass-handing by Shailene Woodley to break up the uneventful, even-keel of the film's last act. This is an unlikeable protagonist, coddled and protected by the writer/director and therefore made to look likeable. This is a protagonist whose motivations aren't logical, but are given a pass by the film. Am I supposed to believe/abide this behavior?

4. What's with The Ides of March nomination for adapted screenplay? Is it doing anything new in the cinematic landscape? Does it tell us anything about America that we don't already know?

Losing your wife really sucks. Especially if she's cheating on you. Living in Hawaii is not nearly the vacation you would think it is. But make no mistake. It's still Hawaii. And Hawaii's beautiful. And George Clooney is so handsome. Thank you, The Descendants.

5. The Help's ideas about race and ethnicity are indelicately handled in ways that make it at cross-purposes with its own message on one end and offensive on the other.

As a person of color, I found the hullabaloo surrounding The Help to be just a tad overstated. The talking points about that film are all in line, certainly. I feel its gravest sins are that it's not graceful, neither in pacing nor in the way it handles its subject matter, like a toddler holding china with oven mitts. But what about race as it relates to The Descendants?

Clooney's narration contains a brief, atonal sequence that goes into the King family lineage, bending over backwards to double as an explanation to the viewer about why we're not dealing with any non-white Hawaiian protagonists. I was flummoxed. It was the only part of the movie that made me genuinely curious to read the source material. Were the ethnic and cultural politics handled this clumsily in the novel? Before you come at me with torches and pitchforks, I don't think that The Descendants is a decidedly racist film. If anything, this strange subplot is likely a symptom of the film's larger problems. The narrative is a hastily gathered collection of half-formed ideas that don't seem to coalesce with one another in a meaningful or satisfying way. Among these are some very peculiar hypotheses about Hawaiian culture that suggest a certain level of unease on the part of the filmmakers about how white this movie is in contrast to pre-ordained ideas about its locale. And Matt's oddly worded "We're the true Hawaiians!" (or something) speech at the end certainly does this assertion no favors, nor do the twee music choices throughout the film. When it comes to whiteness vs. other, The Help is clumsy, but well-meaning. That's way more credit than I can give to The Descendants.

None of the films mentioned above are films that I no-holds-barred love, nor are they without their own unique flaws and shortcomings. I do at least understand why people love them. There's real craft and commitment to conceit in a lot of cases, even if I don't agree with the love.

I hold no ill-will against Alexander Payne. I love Election and Sideways (in that order). There are large portions of About Schmidt that really work for me. Citizen Ruth, while not without its limitations (there are definite moments in that movie where it's clear that we're watching a first-time director) is an interesting watch. That being said, The Descendants is unquestionably Payne's worst film to date, I'm sad to report. I sincerely ask anyone who loves The Descendants and thinks it deserves the pedigree it has received to point me to the article that explains why. If no such article exists, write it yourself. Refute my points one-by-one. I'm not being facetious. I'm genuinely looking for a level of discussion that I'm just not seeing from people who love The Descendants and are quick to point the finger at other movies as being bastions of mediocrity that brought AMPAS down a few notches in their estimations. I wrote this long piece, not to dump all over Payne or Clooney. I wrote it because it seems like the most misguided thing someone could say about The Descendants, even if they are cool on it, is that it's bland, but enjoyable. That is simply not the case.

Grade: D+

My First (and Final) Stab at 2011 Oscar Predictions (pt. 1)

2012-01-19T17:57:00.000-05:00

Although this year has many a pundit in a tizzy about not only which films will be nominated for the Best Picture prize, but how many. In the first year of a fluid number of Best Picture nominees, one would expect more excitement. For a while there, before The Artist's official frontrunner position was writ-large over the critics and many other voting bodies, it seemed like an open race. But the die, it appears, has been cast and things will go the way of The Artist, which is what many were saying in the first place before they had any "evidence" to support the notion. As I have stated before, I have no problems with The Artist, a film I enjoyed quite a bit. I guess my lack of enthusiasm stems from my lack of a real dog in the eventual Best Picture race. It wasn't a bad year for movies or even a bad year for Oscar movies, necessarily (save The Descendants...more on that later). It was certainly a middling year for the latter. As a cinema enthusiast, I admired Hugo well enough to grade it a "B" when I first saw it. As time passes and I consider Scorsese's latest offering, I do find myself somewhat baffled by its prominence in this year's awards race as it is not without its significant problems, both narratively and stylistically. At any rate, here are my predictions.

Best Picture
1. The Artist (lock)
2. The Descendants (lock)
3. Hugo (lock)
4. The Help (probable)
5. Midnight in Paris (probable)
6. Moneyball (shaky)
7. Bridesmaids (somewhat wildcard)

Likely to Spoil: War Horse, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Tree of Life, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

As my above predictions indicate, I think we're looking at seven best picture nominees. I am going out on a rather big limb and predicting Bridesmaids as the seventh nominee. Before you tell me how crazy I am, consider the guild support for Bridesmaids (PGA, WGA, SAG, ACE, ADG, CDG, plus probably a few more that I'm forgetting). It's considerably more than War Horse has gotten, so I suspect that it gets left off in a year where a film needs five percent number one votes to land a slot. Also, this isn't the 1980s. That's the last time Steven Spielberg was able to get into the Best Picture race without a corresponding nod for his direction. Despite claims that AMPAS loves him, they tend to be all or nothing where he's concerned. Regarding The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which has gotten guild nods from the big four (PGA, WGA, DGA and ACE), it's obviously a bigger threat than any of us thought. How much of this is residual guilt for last year's about-face that turned the tide from The King's Speech to The Social Network is up for debate. I do suspect that the guild love for Dragon Tattoo will help it, if not necessarily in Best Picture.

Best Director
1. Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist (lock)
2. Martin Scorsese - Hugo (lock)
3. Alexander Payne - The Descendants (lock)
4. Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris (probable)
5. Tate Taylor - The Help (wildcard)

Likely to Spoil: David Fincher (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Bennett Miller (Moneyball), Steven Spielberg (War Horse), Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)

Tate Taylor is the big question mark here, which gets to the question of how much will the Academy really love The Help? Call me crazy, but when a film has such solid guild support as The Help, it's silly to not consider it even a threat for Best Director. Lest we forget that Marc Forster, Bill Condon and Sean Penn all got up early on Oscar nomination morning (well, maybe not Sean Penn). Then it was Mike Leigh, Paul Greengrass and Jason Reitman who were awoken by phone calls from agents, cutting short what I'm sure they assumed would be a morning of uninterrupted sleeping in. My point is, there are always kinks to be seen and I do have a feeling about Tate Taylor. It may seem insane, but is there really an abundance of sound logic in instead predicting Steven Spielberg, whose film has been largely shut out by the key guilds? Or Terrence Malick, whose film I love and who certainly engenders respect in the directing branch, but at the end of the day, may have crafted something too self-consciously esoteric for the straight-laced Academy? Even when he somewhat surprisingly got in for The Thin Red Line, there was a corresponding DGA nod to predict it. Plus, it's not like Malick would show up if they nominated him anyway. Really, from where I'm sitting, David Fincher is the only one who you can justifiably put ahead of Tate Taylor in that he's in the club and has the guild support to boot. Yes, Tate Taylor is a newbie, but if they love the film (ie. Jason Reitman's suprise nod for Juno), anything can happen.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
1. George Clooney - The Descendants (lock)
2. Jean Du Jardin - The Artist (lock)
3. Brad Pitt - Moneyball (lock)
4. Michael Fassbender - Shame (probable)
5. Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (wildcard)

Likely to Spoil: Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar), Michael Shannon (Take Shelter), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Demian Bichir (A Better Life)

My reasons for omitting DiCaprio, but keeping Fassbender may seem contradictory. I'm chucking DiCaprio because his movie was so poorly reviewed and it seems so quiet right now for him. He's hit many of the precursors thus far, but where's the heat? Where's the passion? Michael Fassbender may seem quiet too and he did miss SAG, which might prove to be the death knell in hindsight should he miss at AMPAS. I think Fassbender's charm, his cinematic ubiquity in 2011 combined with the performance itself puts him in for a "We're happy you're getting famous" nomination that even Academy members who neglected to pop in their Shame screeners won't feel badly about. They already gave one of those nods to Michael Shannon back in 2008 and given the general lack of real buzz surrounding Take Shelter, I doubt they'll feel compelled to oblige him again, though many are predicting such an outcome. Ryan Gosling had a high-profile year as well, following up his career-best performance in Blue Valentine. In a weaker year, he'd have a shot for either Drive or The Ides of March. Let me rephrase. In a year where a weak performance like George Clooney's wasn't so solidly in the five, Gosling might have a chance. But, as it stands, the top three are looking good to go and your winner will likely come from that list of names. I'm just praying it's not Clooney. Not just to beat up on The Descendants, but because Brad Pitt is so good and so understated in Moneyball. And Du Jardin is so charismatic and committed in The Artist. And (back to beating up on The Descendants for just a moment), isn't Clooney's unremarkable, autopilot, death-rattle of a performance exactly the type of turn we should avoid rewarding to an actor of his considerable talents, lest we encourage more unimaginative and facile project choices for him in the future? Basically, I'm saying less The Descendants and Up in the Airs, more Michael Claytons, please.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
1. Viola Davis - The Help (lock)
2. Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady (lock)
3. Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn (lock)
4. Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin (probable)
5. Rooney Mara - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (shaky)

Likely to Spoil: Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Charlize Theron (Young Adult), Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids)

I'm very tempted to put Close in over Swinton, whose role is tricky and even fans of hers doubt that she really pulled it off. I could also see Close replacing Mara, who is a late surge in the race, is absent from much of her movie and (rumor has it) is anything but warm and fuzzy on the press circuit. But, Swinton stays because she's hit all the major precursors (Globes, SAG, BFCA, BAFTA and an NBR win to boot). Also, Tilda Swinton is uber-personable, despite her seemingly impenetrably "weird" persona and a lot of people like her, even if they aren't going to rush to pop in their Kevin screeners. If the guild support for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is going to help anyone, it's Rooney Mara. This category rarely lacks a PYT and if it can't be Elizabeth Olsen or Kirsten Dunst, I'll predict Mara and just be glad it's not Felicity Jones (Like Crazy). Given the at best tepid response to Albert Nobbs, I see no reason to put her in ahead of either of these women, though she could obviously get in there simply for the respect her name still commands. The win is likely down to Davis vs. Streep. For a while, it looked like a three woman race with Michelle Williams getting her fair share of critical citations. After her gracious, but hardly gushing or effusive Golden Globes speech last weekend, I don't think people are eager to hand her the win just yet. To that, I say fine. I haven't seen My Week With Marilyn, but for an actress as interesting and versatile as Williams to go down in the history books as winning an Oscar for a Marilyn Monroe biopic seems wrong somehow. After 2010's banner year in Best Actress (seriously, take a gander again. What a phenomenal list of performances and roles), it's a little hard to get truly excited about this lineup, however it happens to shake down. There are really two things keeping my favorite Oscar category salvageable in terms of my own overwhelming enthusiasm. Finally (knock on wood) seeing Swinton as a lead actress nominee without having sanded her edges to get there and that they may award Viola Davis the statue. Kristen Wiig would certainly be an exciting, if not necessarily worthy choice. But, since they are likely to give her a screenplay nod, that may have to suffice as her reward. Charlize Theron really should have been more solidly in there, not just because she's so good in Young Adult, but because she's campaigned so well. A perfect mixture of enthusiasm, gratitude and humor, without seeming desperate. I sincerely hope that Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia) and Elizabeth Olsen (Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene) don't take the awards season cold shoulder as a sign that they should stop challenging themselves with great performances in prickly, difficult parts. March on, ladies. I'm in your corner.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1. Christopher Plummer - Beginners (lock)
2. Albert Brooks - Drive (lock)
3. Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn (lock)
4. Jonah Hill - Moneyball (probable)
5. Brad Pitt - The Tree of Life (shaky)

Likely to Spoil: Nick Nolte (Warrior), Patton Oswalt (Young Adult), Viggo Mortensen (The Dangerous Method)

I think this is the lineup, honestly. Despite the fact that there has been relative fluidity in terms of the precursor rosters (give an Armie Hammer here or take an Andy Serkis there), there does seem to be lack of real spoilers who could jump into the race at this point. Although Brad Pitt hasn't been cited for The Tree of Life anywhere, I do believe that he's always been comfortably on the outside as a just miss in many of those cases. He is very beloved in Hollywood, as evidenced by how he always escapes unscathed in the tiredly retreaded Jolie vs. Aniston debate. He's excellent in both The Tree of Life and Moneyball (in that order) and I'm hoping what would be a relatively surprising double-nomination is what it takes to push him ahead of George Clooney in Best Actor. Plummer looks good on paper for a win that, despite my love for the performance and film, baffles me. In an expanded Best Picture field, Beginners has failed to catch fire in any other category and yet Plummer is solidly in there for the trophy? The math doesn't add up for me and I still think that Albert Brooks could upset at the end of the day.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1. Octavia Spencer - The Help (lock)
2. Berenice Bejo - The Artist (lock)
3. Jessica Chastain - The Help (lock)
4. Shailene Woodley - The Descendants (probable)
5. Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids (probable)

Likely to Spoil: Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) and...really, not much else. Sorry, Vanessa Redgrave.

Again, what once seemed like a wide-open race has firmed up nicely. Spencer is looking more and more like the frontrunner for the win and the other two are locks. Chastain hardly seems like a lock to many and I'm hearing pundits dusting off the old "vote splitting may hurt her" theory, which rarely happens in practice. I think she's in and she's a lock for two reasons. Firstly, despite being everywhere this year, the voting bodies have clearly rallied around The Help as the Chastain performance d'annee. Does anyone think her work in Take Shelter, The Debt or even The Tree of Life for that matter are really going to be pulling that many votes away from the machine that is The Help? Secondly, regarding vote-splitting with Octavia, I'm going to give you some years. 2000, 2001, 2002*, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010*. Those are the years where two people from the same film managed to get nominated in supporting actress. It's happened more often in the past ten years than it hasn't happened, with asterisks next to the years where one of the actresses won the trophy. Know your history, pundits. It's not that difficult. Shailene will likely ride The Descendants train to a nomination, though I'd gladly give her the boot. Would it be for Janet McTeer, whose film I haven't seen? I can't say at this point. Like Close, I think McTeer will suffer from the lack of enthusiasm surrounding Albert Nobbs and come up empty on nomination morning. Since I'm predicting Bridesmaids for a Best Picture nomination, it doesn't make sense to exclude Melissa McCarthy, who even managed a BAFTA nomination. On the outside of these six contenders are Vanessa Redgrave and Carey Mulligan, neither of which has any real shot, though I'd love to see Mulligan get in.

Coming Next: Screenplays and Other Below the Line Predictions...

A Break in Our Regulalry Scheduled Programming...Or Rather, Some Programming

2012-01-19T04:50:00.002-05:00

The Pretentious Know it All is alive and well. Rather than doing the usual apology about my long absence and how I fully intend to blog more regularly (which I do), let's discuss the game plan.

Firstly, I have every noble intention of completing my Best of the 2000s series. Expect to see that in the coming weeks, as I am not merely publishing the list (as you can tell if you've been reading it...to the one person out there who reads my blog). It is a painstaking, albeit reward task, not just to do a write-up of one of the films from every grouping of ten on my top 100 list, but deciding which film to cover? Oy vey. These are my favorite films of the decade, each one in its own complicated way very near and dear to my heart and I can't wait to share more.

Secondly, the fourth annual Pretentious Film Awards (Fourth!) are fully under way. The nominees have mostly been selected, though I still have a few films from 2011 left to watch. Full disclosure, my list of films seen in 2011 is slightly thinner than in previous years due to factors I won't bore you with here. I have not seen My Week With Marilyn, The Iron Lady, Carnage, Albert Nobbs, War Horse, J. Edgar or The Ides of March (though I did read the script for The Ides of March last summer). Though each of the previous films may factor into the Oscar race, though to what degree is being hotly contested on all counts, I no huge rush to see them in order for me to cite my personal favorites. As lazy and patently unadventurous as it sounds, nothing I've heard about any of these titles qualifies them as urgent viewing in my book, outside of their supposed awards potential.

Conversely, there are a lot of films from 2011 that I am genuinely sad to have missed in time for this year's Pretentious Film Awards, though I do plan on viewing them as soon as possible. For reasons, both complicated and uncomplicated, I was unable to see (in descending order of personal excitement/enthusiasm) Margaret, A Separation, Pariah, Poetry, Submarine, Attack the Block, Potiche, A Dangerous Method, Pina and Jane Eyre. As one of my resolutions for the new year is to write more, this blog included, I will surely make every effort to watch these films and any and every film I can get my hands on and write about them year round. You will be hearing from me. I can assure you of that.

Thirdly (and lastly) regarding my year end film awards, be prepared for what might be the most off-consensus year I've had yet in terms of the general landscape of film awards. Despite this blog's title, this is a rather dubious claim to fame and not one I was planning in the slightest. Consider 2010, where my top ten list included four of the eventual Best Picture nominees (and my feelings were generally warm about the entire ten). Regarding my list, I must reiterate again (not that film criticism should ever include "defense" of one's taste in the strictest sense of the word) that I am not, nor have I ever feinted left to go right in terms of my cinematic proclivities. For instance, although The Artist, our probably Best Picture winner at this point, does not appear on my top ten list, I have no real objections to its eventual victory in the Oscar race. I will delve more into these thoughts when I review most of the films I saw in 2011 over the next few days. You'll hear me weigh in on the heavily debated politics of The Help. You'll learn why I gave a "D+" to The Descendants, a film so seemingly innocuous that, even if it weren't your cup of tea, one wonders how anyone could ever possibly feel so passionately against it to award it such a low grade. All will be revealed.

So, as I often say, I look forward to sharing more of my thoughts here on this blog, which (though it has been sporadic) I'm happy to have kept up with for the past four years.

Peace, Love and Pretension.

The Best Films of the Aughts (60-69)

2011-08-27T16:52:00.007-04:00

69. Talk to Her - dir. Pedro Almodóvar (2002)

"A woman’s brain is a mystery, and in this state even more so. You have to pay attention to women, talk to them, be thoughtful occasionally. Caress them. Remember they exist, they’re alive and they matter to us. That’s the only therapy. I know from experience."

68. Sherrybaby - dir. Laurie Collyer (2006)

"Lord please please please please please hear my extra prayer tonight. Forgive me my weaknesses and my mistakes. Give me the strength to take life one day at a time and take care of my daughter again. Amen."

67. The Savages - dir. Tamra Jenkins (2007)

"People are dying, Wendy! Right inside that beautiful building. Right now! It’s a fucking horror show! And all this wellness propaganda and landscaping is just trying to obscure the miserable fact that people die and death is gaseous and gruesome and filled with piss and shit and rot and stink."

66. Lost in Translation - dir. Sofia Coppola (2003)

"Let's never come here again because it will never be as much fun."

Spotlight--65. Erin Brockovich - dir. Steven Soderbergh (2000)

"Well, um, seeing as how I have no brains or legal expertise, and Ed here was losing all faith in the system, am I right? I just went out there and performed sexual favors. Six hundred and thirty-four blow jobs in five days... I'm really quite tired."

It's a serendipitous and wonderful thing when a movie star is celebrated for a star turn, deserving of all accolades and hyperbole, that seems to steamroll through all awards season precursors all the way to the podium on Oscar night. So rarely does it happen this way, particularly in the Best Actress category. There often seems to be a finely tuned mix of people's actual response to said performance and another, hard to pinpoint x-factor of "something else" that leads to people winning the Best Actress trophy.

Why have I begun my write-up of 2000's Erin Brockovich by bringing up the Best Actress race? Because (and I may be misreading the climate) it seems to be a widely held view that Julia Roberts coasted to an easy victory that she didn't deserve, or at the very least should have been met with more resistance (out come the Ellen Burstyn fans, complete with their torches and pitchforks). Eleven years later, I am proud to throw my full, weighty support, not just behind Roberts's radiant and accomplished turn, but the film itself. I worry that even fans of Julia's work here may write off the film as a feel-good trifle/bloated whistle-blower picture, all the while completely ignoring how richly Roberts and the film serve each other.

We open with a wonderful sequence of finely spliced together monologues by Erin (Julia Roberts), who is on the painstakingly difficult hunt for a job. In those early moments, we learn nearly all we need to about Erin Brockovich to warrant serious investment in this character. A little self-effacing, but intelligent. Wry, yet totally aware of the seriousness of her circumstances. It's quiet, unfussy and consistently on-character work in these first minutes that allow for the big meaty moments later on where Erin lets her frustration/lack of practical training get the better of her. On paper, all of this could read incredibly obvious and facile, but Roberts layers all of the elements beautifully, never forgetting one, when the scene mostly calls for the other. She has never been better, before or since. I say that not to denigrate Julia Roberts, who I actually like. I think that for any performer, her turn in Erin Brockovich is a tough thing to top. Her string of roles after this stunner don't really seem to be utilizing her talents appropriately, though the missteps are certainly understandable (Closer aside, in which I actually think Mike Nichols got some very interesting notes out of her). Her post-Brockovich directors, even Steven Soderbergh himself, seem content to saddle her with either large, external affectation (Charlie Wilson's War) or attempt to play on her stardom and her public persona in ways that are transparent in how commercially minded they are (Eat, Pray, Love). What I love about what Steven Soderbergh gets out of Roberts here is that he enhances so much about what already works about her as a performer--her comedic undertones, her sassiness, her accessible beauty and her warmth--while still fashioning a fascinating character that feels neither cloying nor obtusely against type.

Erin Brockovich is predictable, make no mistake. Even without knowing the details of the "true story" of how a plucky legal secretary took down a major corporation, one can probably guess with great accuracy where the film is headed. What we have here is an example of how dedication/investment in the craft of filmmaking can elevate even the most simple and seemingly rote of stories. Take, for example the scene of Erin describing her past as a beauty queen to George (Aaron Eckhart) in a fun, yet character-deepening scene of post-coital conversation. Would one have read that scene on the page and seen the frisky, creative editing or how the camera knows exactly during which moments to get close to Erin and George?

Not to take anything away from Susannah Grant's script, which is accomplished and serviceable and filled with great one-liners to boot ("Bite my ass, Krispy Kreme!" It just rolls off the tongue...). But I can't help but feel that there a more pedestrian version of this film could have easily existed, perhaps made for television, perhaps directed theatrically by the likes of Ron Howard, Stephen Frears or Tom Hooper. If we must have biopics and straight-down-the-middle narratives (and from Hollywood's output, apparently we must) why can't they all be as specific and well-crafted as this?

64. The 40-Year-Old Virgin - dir. Judd Apatow (2005)

"You know when you, like...you grab a woman's breast and it's...and you feel it and...it feels like a bag of sand when you're touching it?"

63. Paranoid Park - dir. Gus Van Sant (2008)

"I just feel like there's something outside of normal life. Outside of teachers, breakups, girlfriends. Like, right out there, like outside - there's like different levels of... stuff."

62. The Class - dir. Laurent Cantet (2008)

"I'm Souleymane. I have nothing to say about me because no one knows me but me."ˆ

61. Once - dir. John Carney (2007)

"During the daytime people would want to hear songs that they know, just songs that they recognize. I play these song at night or I wouldn't make any money. People wouldn't listen."

60. The Bourne Ultimatum - dir. Paul Greengrass (2007)

"It was difficult for me...with you."

The Best Films of the Aughts (70-79)

2011-07-24T19:16:00.007-04:00

79. WALL-E - dir. Andrew Stanton (2008)

"Computer. Define 'dancing'."

78. Fish Tank - dir. Andrea Arnold (2009)

"You dance like a black. It's a compliment."

77. Reprise - dir. Joachim Trier (2008)

"We're supposed to write and read. And if we feel the urge we'll practice deviant, fetishistic sex with prostitutes."

76. Million Dollar Baby - dir. Clint Eastwood (2004)
"Mama, you take Mardell and JD and get home before I tell that lawyer there that you were so worried about your welfare you never signed those house papers like you were supposed to. So anytime I feel like it I can sell that house from under your fat, lazy, hillbilly ass. And if you ever come back, that's exactly what I'll do."

75. The Cell - dir. Tarsem Singh (2000)

"My World. My Rules."

Spotlight--74. Raising Victor Vargas - dir. Peter Sollett (2003)

"Listen. I'm a private person. What we do is between me and you. You still want this loving, right?"

Peter Sollett's jolting, vibrant and energetic tale of adolescent love and folly abounds with discovery nearly at every turn. Nearly every one of the principle players (with the exception of under-the-radar Indie queen Melonie Diaz) makes his or her feature film debut here. Peter Sollett announced himself as a powerful and interesting new cinematic voice. An aside: I have yet to watch his 2008 follow-up, the relatively high profile Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. Should I?

At first glance, this would appear to be exactly the type of cinematic outing designed to bore the shit out of movie-watcher who complains about what is perceived to be the current trend of meandering, navel-gazing independent cinema, heralded as brilliant and cutting-edge by the flannel clad temp at your office (stay with me). I sympathize with this frustration, often siding with it. In my brief write-up of Winter's Bone, I talked about an air of human truth that's sometimes hard to pinpoint, but adds such richness to a great movie. There wasn't a moment of Raising Victor Vargas that felt false or playing to my very contrary, untested perceptions of twenty-first century life in the Lower East Side for these characters.

Victor Vargas (a fabulous Victor Rasuk) speaks the line quoted above. It is one of the first lines uttered in this film and it lets you know that you are in capable hands. Victor Vargas drips with a confident, slightly insular teenage male bravado that permeates everything from his words to his gestures. But what, if anything, is it masking? And why is Judy (Judy Marte), the wise girl he chases after seem more put off by Victor than any of the other boys in her neighborhood? Especially given that one young man candidly offers Judy anal sex in a manner that can only be described as less than chivalrous. These are questions that are answered by last frame. Victor is confident, yes. But the confidence he wears is something akin to a fancy pair of shoes worn by a newborn baby. Shiny and new, certainly. But Victor is still forming, still growing, still becoming himself and he may discover one day soon that his own self-perceived greatness may not fit the person he ultimately becomes. And Judy, for all of her womanly wisdom, for all of her desire to be anything but just another notch in the bedpost of one of the many boys who wish to bed her, really does like Victor. Sounds like your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, doesn't it? Perhaps it does. But Raising Victor Vargas is anything but.

I spoke, very briefly, about Melonie Diaz. Like many of the actors in the film, she shares her character's first name. In a storyline that exists almost completely parallel to everything else in the film, Melonie (Judy's best friend) falls for one of Victor's chums, the sweet but somewhat cocky Harold (Kevin Rivera). Melonie and Harold's courtship is different than that of Victor and Judy. She is resistant and he is persistent, but not in the same ways and not for the same reasons. Melonie keeps what becomes a very deep, meaningful relationship with Harold a secret from Judy for most of the film. She is desperate to avoid Judy's judgmental stares and comments, not because they would influence her greatly, but because with a look in her eyes and a small gesture, Diaz lets you know that Melonie knows exactly how it's going to turn out and she's already kind of rolling her eyes. I've noticed this consistency in many of Melonie Diaz's performances. She seems naturally aplomb at playing that character who "gets it" just a little bit more than all the other characters around her, who are a a little slow on the uptake. It is a small performance that betrays how integral Diaz's watchfulness and knack for conveying teenage conflict is to the film.

While the Lower East Side of Manhattan has become somewhat of a gentrified hipster haven, that is not the Lower East Side presented in this film. That being the case, it's rife for poverty porn, but Peter Sollett wisely resists the urge to make this a story about a group of minority youths trapped by their circumstances. Or rather, he resists to urge to tell that tired story in the rote, pedestrian fashion that has become all too familiar. The neighborhood is replete with life and there is a youthful innocence and a playfulness that runs throughout Raising Victor Vargas. These are not wealthy people, but, like all young people, they live in and engage with their surroundings.

A key element that lets the viewer know that this is not a typical story of inner-city youths and strife is Victor's grandmother, Altagracia (played by Altagracia Guzman). She is hard on Victor, constantly demanding he set a good example for his younger brother and younger sister. She gifts the movie with soft, maternal humor that is steeped in obliviousness and a clinging to the old guard. At one point, she takes Victor down to social services, probably just to scare him, with the stated intention of turning him over to foster care as punishment for his wild ways and misbehavior. Why? Because she has caught Victor's brother Nino (Victor Rasuk's real life younger brother, Silvestre Rasuk) masturbating and she is almost certain he picked up this vile habit from Victor. Nino is far too sweet and innocent to have learned it elsewhere. Social services of course turns Altagracia away, stating that it is illegal to abandon children for no good reason. There is obviously a sweet humor in the sad ridiculousness of this situation. The subtext may also be that for all of his outlandish behavior, Victor is, at his core, a good kid. Furthermore, given the universe these characters inhabit, there are problems worse than masturbation where a teenage boy is concerned that Altagracia very well could be, but thankfully doesn't have to deal with.

In the end, Victor's conflicted relationship with his grandmother still remains, especially in a key scene near the end where the realities of his relationship with Judy are laid bare and everyone is forced to feel the way they feel. The last frame of the film doesn't offer an entirely tidy conclusion. But it's a lovely, subtle and graceful note to end on. One that doesn't lay out the paths of these characters for very long beyond the narrative, but also doesn't leave you unsatisfied. And in a film about teenage love and discovery (an honest one anyway) this is the truest way to leave it.

73. Zombieland - dir. Ruben Fleishcer (2009)

"You are like a like a giant cock-blocking robot. Like, developed in a secret fucking government lab."

72. Head-On - dir. Fatih Akin (2004)

"If you want to end your life, end it. You don't have to kill yourself to do that."

71. Inglourious Basterds - dir. Quentin Tarantino (2009)

"Not so fast, Willi. We only have a deal if we trust each other. A Mexican standoff ain't trust."

70. The Darjeeling Limited - dir. Wes Anderson (2007)

"I wonder if the three of us would have been friends in real life. Not as brothers, but as people."

Next: 60-69

The Best Films of the Aughts (80-89)

2011-07-19T23:37:00.007-04:00

89. Wendy and Lucy - dir. Kelly Reichardt (2008)
"You can't get an address without an address. You can't get a job without a job."

88. Morvern Callar - dir. Lynne Ramsay (2002)

"Fuck work, Lanna. We can go wherever you like."

87. Mystic River - dir. Clint Eastwood (2003)

"Their daddy's a king. And a king knows what to do and does it. Even when it's hard. And their daddy will do whatever he has to for those he loves. And that's all that matters. Because everyone is weak, Jimmy. Everyone but us. We will never be weak. And you, you could rule this town. And after Jimmy, let's take the girls down to the parade. Katie would like that."

86. Match Point - dir. Woody Allen (2005)

"I never got along with her, but this is just tragic."

85. Moulin Rouge! - dir. Baz Luhrmann (2001)
"What's his type? Wilting flower? Bright and bubbly? Or smoldering temptress?"

84. Stevie - dir. Steve James (2002)

"You expect me to say something when my fiancee's sitting right here? So I can get in trouble with her? I know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em."

83. Vera Drake - dir. Mike Leigh (2004)

"That's not what I do dear. That's what you call it. But they need help. Who else they got to turn to? No one. I help them out."

82. Prodigal Sons - dir. Kimberly Reed (2009)

"I've told people about myself. They've stood up and walked out of the room, never to talk to me again. There's one sentence I can tell people that can make them never want to talk to me again."

Spotlight--81. My Life Without Me - dir. Isabel Coixet (2003)

"Hey my buddy, Penny. I'm not going to be at your birthday party, but there's nothing I'd like more in the whole, wide world. I bet Grandma's made a special birthday cake just for you with your name on it in big chocolate letters. Penny, I want you to know that the day you were born, I held you in my arms and that was the happiest day in my whole life. I was so happy I couldn't even speak. I just stroked your little feet and cried with happiness. Without you, I could have never found out that lions eat pancakes or that the bed could be a raft. Try and look after Patsy, okay? I know it's hard 'cause sometimes she makes you mad and everything. I know it's not easy being the big sister, but I know you can do it. Mommy sends you millions and millions of kisses."

What a deplorable, unpleasant and implausible premise Isabel Coixet's My Life Without Me begins on. Ann, a young woman in her early twenties (a fantastic Sarah Polley) who lives in a trailer with her unemployed husband and two young daughters discovers that her days our numbered. Stricken with ovarian cancer, she has two months to live. Rather than disclosing this information to her family, Ann decides not to burden them and instead records audio tapes for her daughters for each of their remaining birthdays until they turn eighteen and tapes for her husband as well. As if this character couldn't seem any more detestable and selfish, she also finds it prudent to sleep with another man (she's only ever slept with her husband) just to see what it's like. She meets Lee (Mark Ruffalo) and the two begin an affair. What a horrible person! Who on Earth would want to spend 100 minutes with this woman, watching her playing the admittedly shitty hand she's been dealt, doing the wrong thing at every turn. I'm not being facetious. I'm simply marveling at how the way I reacted to the premise of My Life Without Me was wholly different from my reaction to the film itself.

Isabel Coixet has crafted a lovely, airy and evocative piece of filmmaking. As abhorrent as the logline seems, it can also read as a setup for something much more maudlin, sanguine and Lifetime Movie of the Week than the result we are given. The subject matter is prickly and unpleasant. The film does not pretend that what Ann is doing is commendable and based on some kind of all-knowing altruism. Sarah Polley is a pitch perfect as Ann. She seems to have such a knack for internal psychology, something that not all actors can claim. The scene in which Ann first learns of her illness is played very interestingly, and it's quite thrilling to watch the choices Polley makes. She doesn't underplay the moment which, given the sedate nature of the narrative, would have felt at once obvious and forced. Nor does she blow it up into a big exercise where she can chew the scenery. She starts off with humor, then goes in for the kill like a shark in the water. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" she asks the doctor, an abrupt shift after cracking wise for a beat. Her face registers the shock and she conveys a woman who is collapsing in on herself. Between her performances here, in The Sweet Hereafter, hell, even in Splice, a film's determined to strip a mildly interesting premise of its sheen in service of a telling an incredibly lame, by-the-numbers thriller, Polley seems to pack an actorly wallop. Even going back as far her days on Road to Avonlea, she always presents a very subtle, intriguing maturity. I understand, on the most basic level, why Polley's ratio of high-profile roles, even in smaller character pieces, seems disproportionate to her talents as an actress. She seems quite loyally stationed in the Canadian film scene, so in a way, that limits the number of projects we'll see her in. She's pretty, but not breathtaking and some might even say that she has an otherwordliness about her fact (much like Samantha Morton, Emily Watson and even Tilda Swinton) that limits the number of roles casting directors are willing to imagine her inhabiting. And lastly, and most intangibly, she always seems to read as very prickly and complicated. But the fact that she is always so interesting to watch still causes me to selfishly want more of her. I'm not so naive as to imagine a Katherine Heigl level of visibility, but I wouldn't mind a Michelle Williams-style career from Sarah Polley.

This is by no means a perfect film. It sometimes meanders, though never in ways that are not compelling. Mark Ruffalo, who I mentioned in my write-up of You Can Count On Me does seem best at playing the selfish manchild, but it doesn't always serve the narrative. While fine here, he does contribute (maybe adversely) to the film's misanthropic nature, but it doesn't sink the film and I'm still not convinced, after several viewings, that Ruffalo was miscast. He serves as the perfect foil for Ann's husband, Don (Scott Speedman). Don is sweet, stupid and satisfied. There aren't many notes to play, but Speedman seems to understand the character perfectly. Imagine Ryan Gosling's Dean in Blue Valentine, with better hair, less beer in the morning and more baffled than openly hostile about his wife's emotional wanderlust. Interesting side note: My Life Without Me and Blue Valentine would make for a fascinating (albeit very depressing) double bill. Despite all of the aforementioned limitations, I found myself enthralled with My Life Without Me. The characters are observant and flawed. The dialogue is unfussy and believable. The same, I suppose, could be said of Isabel Coixet's more heralded 2008 offering Elegy, which I enjoyed well enough and would hardly recommend passing over on one's Netflix watch instantly queue. But there was a certain artifice and sheen about that film that left me admiring much, but ultimately feeling little by the last frame. I felt My life Without Me and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

80. United 93 - dir. Paul Greengrass (2006)

"Hi mom, it's me... this really kind woman handed me the phone and told me to call you."

Next: 70-79

The Best Films of the Aughts (90-100)

2011-07-19T16:46:00.015-04:00

Better late than never. Here are the top 100 films of the 2000s as determined by yours truly. Just a little programming note, the way this is going to work is I'm going to do them in clusters of ten and I'm going to choose one film from each cluster to talk about at length. Without further ado, here goes nothing.

Spotlight---100. You Can Count on Me - dir. Kenneth Lonergan (2000)

"I cleaned the whole fucking house just so it would look nice for you! I had no idea you were just broke again! I wish you'd just send me an invoice!"

In many of the write-ups I've read about Kenneth Lonergan's delicate and perceptive character study, the one aspect that seems universally aligned is the believable sibling dynamic between Sammy (Laura Linney) and Terry Prescott (Mark Ruffalo). Neither the world I come from nor the my personal narrative thus far closely resemble much of the tangibles presented in this film. But watching Sammy and Terry's first face-to-face interactions, I thought "Yes! This is how brothers and sisters behave!" It's such a tricky thing to depict, and it's often done poorly. How does a writer/director effectively convey a relationship between two adults whose shared histories are such a constant, inescapable presence? It's a subtle tight-rope to walk.

Watch the way Sammy's excitement (love Laura Linney's erratic, double-wave) and her subsequent warm embrace of Terry after a long absence quickly gives way to all the shit (pardon my French, but there's really no other word that feels appropriate) that often rests between two siblings. I too have an older sister from whom I am separated by thousands of miles. The initial excitement of seeing one another always seems to morph into the juvenile simplicities of "You're weird" and "Oh yeah? Well, you're square." Full disclosure, another Laura Linney film about the two siblings also appears on this list.

Does Linney have a natural aplomb at believably and compellingly selling this relationship? Perhaps. I would wager that when considering Linney, what most think of (if they bother to think of her at all) would be supporting work in things like The Truman Show, Mystic River and Kinsey. Neither one of these turns are wholly uninteresting, but all seem to rest at least partially on very overt externalities (hyper-realism, geographically specific speech, and period, respectively). Then there's Linney's distinctive voice, which has such a unique range that can express deep, unsurprised disappointment and shrill moments of panicky actressing tailor-made for awards clips (I mean this in the best way possible). But all of these factors seem to betray what a watchful, reactive and interestingly modulated performer Linney truly is. In You Can Count on Me's restaurant scene, where several things are laid quite bare fairly early on (a risky move handled deftly), Linney builds to one of her trademark, unfussy and fascinating explosions, but it is in the moments where she's regarding Terry with a silence occasionally punctuated by loaded chuckles (her response to the perfect line "This is the haute-cuisine of garments" is so small and perfect) that Linney does her best acting. It's quite the balancing act to behold, as Linney simultaneously conveys Sammy's sizing up of Terry and her feeble attempts to disguise the fact that she's doing so before it all goes to hell and the older sister comes out, rife with judgment and apprehension.

She is matched evenly by Ruffalo, who seems to have such a sure hand at portraying selfish men, too aware of their own charms and too willing to state the awful truth of any given situation, but for all the wrong reasons. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo don't look at all like siblings. Linney reads so uppercrust New England (even in Mystic River) and Mark Ruffalo has a certain effortless, scruffy charm that seems to suggest anything but. In that respect the film starts off at a disadvantage. Lonergan seems to know this and puts in the work on both the script and direction level, making these characters lived-in and connected. The result could have easily read as very cynical, pointed and self-consciously clever. But, like even the most tumultuous of brother-sister relationships, there is a tough, honest but warm heart beating throughout this movie. Even the ancillary afterthoughts, from the poster to its title (wisely never uttered by either character, but rather running through the film like a constant, unwavering sentiment) seem to suggest a film that one can sit down and be enveloped in like a security blanket, especially if you have siblings. And the real treat? I never once, not for even a second, got the impression that Lonergan was consciously trying to make a warm or enjoyable film. It happened. And that feeling is birthed from well-observed truth.

99. Crank - dirs. Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (2006)

"Don't talk to him like that! My boyfriend kills people!"

98. The Maid - dir. Sebastian Silva (2009)

"I've things to tell her too! You're just the maid!"

97. American Psycho - dir. Mary Harron (2000)

"I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip."

96. Marie Antoinette - dir. Sofia Coppola (2006)

"Oh, you were not what was desired, but that makes you no less dear to me. A boy would have been the Son of France, but you, Marie Thérèse, shall be mine."

95. Kill Bill Vol. 1 - dir. Quentin Tarantino (2003)

"Your name is Buck. And you came here to fuck."

94. Gone Baby Gone - dir. Ben Affleck (2007)

"When I was young, I once asked my priest how you can get to heaven and still protect yourself from all the evil in the world. He told me what God told his children: 'You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves.' "

93. The Piano Teacher - dir. Michael Haneke (2002)

"Schubert's dynamics range from scream to whisper, not loud to soft. Anarchy hardly seems your forte. Why not stick to Clementi?"

92. A Mighty Heart - dir. Michael Winterbottom (2007)

"I just wanted to say something to everybody. I want to, I want to thank you for all of your work and all of your effort and your kindness and I know how much you wanted to find and bring Danny home. You did not fail, you know? Danny's dead, but the kidnappers, their point is to terrorize people, right? I am not terrorized. And you can't be terrorized. I am very grateful to all of you. Very, very grateful. So thank you. So, please, let's eat."

91. Long Night's Journey Into Day - dirs. Deborah Hoffmann and Frances Reid (2000)

*A documentary film about post-Apartheid South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Amy Biehl murder. This film is currently unavailable to rent on Netflix, nor is the DVD available for purchase on Netflix. I can't offer up any other useful advice other than to seek it out.

90. Sideways - dir. Alexander Payne (2004)

"I like to think about the life of wine. How it's a living thing. I like to think about what was going on the years the grapes were growing. How the sun was shining, if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes and if it's an old wine how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve. Like, if I opened a bottle of wine today, it would taste different than if I'd opened it on any other day. Because a bottle of wine is actually alive and it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is until it peaks--like your '61 and then it begins its steady, inevitable decline. And it tastes so fucking good."

Next: 89-80

New Best Picture Rules...Desperation is Not Becoming

2011-06-15T21:42:00.007-04:00

Two years after changing the rules so that ten rather than five films would be nominated for the coveted Best Picture Oscar, it would appear that the bastion of slightly elevated middlebrow establishment masquerading as top-drawer cinematic aesthetic--the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences--is at it again.

They have determined that in order to receive a Best Picture nomination, five percent of a film's votes have to be number one votes on the ranking weighted ballot. This means that the number of nominees will no longer be fixed. From year to year (as long as they keep this policy in place, mind you) the number of films nominated for Best Picture can now range anywhere from five to ten.

I'm not going to talk about how this diminishes the Academy's integrity as a distinguished voting body. That argument has been raised already, by people more eloquent than I with more of an inside baseball perspective. Also, I've long ceased getting all precious about the Academy and the choices they make. They are, after all, just a group of people weighing in on the matter. I do, however find myself wondering what exactly they think it is this move is going to accomplish. And I also wonder about the implementation of such a change following this past particular Oscar year.

What was it about last year that made the AMPAS panic? A year that boasted seven 100 million plus grossing Best Picture nominees and three modest financial successes when one takes relative scale and budget into account. Was it the fact that the Oscar telecast had lower ratings than the previous year, whose Best Picture roster included An Education, A Serious Man and District 9, a veritable "Who's Who" of films your Aunt Martha from Lansing, Kansas has never heard of?

I've already given my thoughts at length about the 83rd Annual Academy Awards telecast, but one thing I neglected to mention was how 2010's crop of nominees were practically gift-wrapped and placed on a silver platter for the Academy. Monster box office? Check. Audience interest? Check. No real stinkers, even by the most lenient, Gene Shalit-y of standards? Check. With so much goodwill going into the ceremony, the producers of the telecast really just had to make it not terrible. Easier said than done, I know. But it's my want, like all internet people, to pass judgment. Still, it should have been like taking an open notes test in school. If you've at least been halfway paying attention and have somewhat of a clue, there's only so much you can fuck it up. Yet everything about the ceremony, from the intriguing but ultimately disappointing choice of host(s) to the confoundedly perplexing/putrid production choices made it a real stinker.

I'm going off on a tangent, but my point is that many of these decisions regarding the tinkering of the Best Picture race are in some way or another related to the telecast. Even while having no real qualms about this particular tweak (more on that later), that simple fact leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. After The Dark Knight (and arguably WALL-E) were not nominated, the list was expanded to ten. Contact me personally if you still think this is a coincidence because I doubt whatever reality-altering medication you're on is over-the-counter and I do enjoy my fun.

With these new rules, we would have likely seen The Kids Are All Right and 127 Hours dropped from last year's roster, leaving us with eight films nominated for the top prize. Some have made the argument that Winter's Bone would have fallen by the wayside as well, but the way Martin Scorsese and Kathryn Bigelow were both thumping for it makes me think it still would have been there. Winter's Bone is precisely the type of film that gets into the race BECAUSE most of it's votes are number one votes. But back to my original question, which is what does this accomplish? Would having The Kids Are All Right or 127 Hours or even Winter's Bone absent from the lineup really have changed anything? Not really. Since October of 2010, the race had been framed as being between The King's Speech and The Social Network. And the producers did their darndest during the telecast to act as if Winter's Bone and The Kids Are All Right didn't exist anyway, so I'm not sure why this change was made. More often than not, we know who's going to win the top prize months before the race is done and no film that's seriously in contention is going to be affected by this switch.

One thing I hope this does accomplish is a return of the lone director nominee, which the ten Best Picture system was threatening to make extinct. I guarantee that although Fernando Meireilles, Pedro Almodovar and David Lynch each received lone Best Director nominations that neither City of God, Talk to Her nor Mulholland Drive would have had enough number one votes to make the Best Picture cut under this newly implemented system. The Academy probably hopes to wind up with a group of Best Picture nominees that people are genuinely excited about rather than six or seven passion projects and three or four ho-hum filler nominees. I can understand, at least on paper, how the decision makers thought that this new policy was the best way to accomplish that goal. But we don't have to look back too far in history, when the Academy nominated only five films, to find sore thumbs like Finding Neverland, Ray, Seabiscuit, Frost/Nixon, Chocolat and The Cider House Rules. These titles all share the dubious distinction of films I can't imagine anyone in a million years being passionate enough about to put at the top of their ballots for Best Picture nominations. And yet there they were...and in years of five, no less. My apologies to anyone who absolutely loves any of the aforementioned titles. I'm not making fun of you. I just didn't know you existed.

I'd be surprised to see this policy last beyond five years. It's nice to stretch and try new things, but reputable organizations, especially those as old as the Academy thrive on consistency. A rotating number of nominees in any category is so...Broadcast Film Critics Association. And I don't think the Academy wants to be the Broadcast Film Critics Association. While a fiscally naive sentiment, I think the Academy should simply embrace the fact that they have their tastes, which are sometimes anomalous and strange to lay outsiders like us. Moves like this almost always read as an apology to the public for the Academy's cinematic proclivities, which isn't what the Oscars are about. Or at least, it's not what they should be about. I've said it many times, but it bears repeating. It is a show, like the Tonys, which is about honoring something that a small segment of the viewing population is interested in/knowledgeable of. That's fine. But I hope the Academy never ceases to consider the people in the room who they're honoring, who the show is actually for. Most people can smell desperation and it's a scent that few are attracted to. So, to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences I say stop scrambling. Relax. Take a breather. And, most importantly, make it about the movies.

2010 Reviews Vault

2011-03-11T17:37:00.001-05:00

Fish Tank (A-...had I seen this in time, it would have factored into my year end awards)
Biutiful (C+)
The Illusionist (A-)
A Prophet (B+)
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (B+)
Restrepo (B+)
Another Year (A-)
I'm Still Here (C-)
For Colored Girls (B-)
True Grit (B)
Exit Through the Gift Shop (B)
Easy A (B-)
Toy Story 3 (B+)
Going the Distance (B-)
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (B-)
The Fighter (A-)
Rabbit Hole (B+)
Black Swan (A-)
The King's Speech (B-)
Blue Valentine (A)
127 Hours (B)
Fair Game (B-)
Animal Kingdom (A-)
Enter the Void (B)
Catfish (B+)
The Social Network (A)
It's Kind of a Funny Story (D-)
Dogtooth (A-)
The Town (B)
Never Let Me Go (A-)
Machete (C+)
Prodigal Sons (A-)
Inception (B)
The Kids Are All Right (B+...upgrade upon further analysis)
I Am Love (B+)
Winter's Bone (A)
Iron Man 2 (C+)
Mother and Child (B)
The Greatest (D+)
Date Night (C+)

Some Random Thoughts on the Academy Awards And My Final Thoughts on 2010 in Film...

2011-03-02T03:54:00.013-05:00

Warning: Extremely stream of conscious

The Superficial:
Regarding the presentation itself, I'll keep this brief, as the hosts, the rhythm, the writing, etc. have all been discussed ad nauseum. I'll just say the following: I'm not so naive as to be clueless that a lot of decisions (if not all) are driven by money. Yes, it's true there is a sizable chunk of the Academy Awards viewing audience who don't watch or care about movies and are simply tuning in for the spectacle. These people are real. I've met several of them. I'm sure they are perfectly decent people. But (and here's where the pretension kicks in) they are not an audience that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences should desire to please or even want anything to do with. The Oscars should take a cue from the Tony Awards, The Independent Spirit Awards and even your local industry specific trade show honoring the best in automotive and farm equipment. That is, actually make it about the people in the room you're honoring rather than desperately, transparently, unappealingly and unsuccessfully trying to cater to the lowest common denominator. That is all.

The Winners/Nominees:
An extremely scatter-shot year where the Academy seemed to spread the wealth. But I want to be effusive for a moment and talk about the acting winners. Reading various blogs and awards pundits, I understand there are varying opinions about the merits of Christian Bale, Colin Firth, Melissa Leo and Natalie Portman. For my money, this is the first year in a long time where each of the four acting categories were awarded to both good and iconic performances. I can easily see each of the four actors being remembered for their turns in their respective films. Let me elaborate. Even in years like 2008, which awarded four worthy performances, there were one or two that seem destined to become forgettable. Kate Winslet was fine in The Reader, but that will not be the performance she is remembered for in her career retrospective. If not for the fact that she won an Oscar for it, I bet The Reader might have joined Little Children as one of Winslet's roles people have a hard time remembering twenty-five years from now when sounding off each of her Oscar nominated performances. But Colin Firth's Bertie, Natalie Portman's Nina, Melissa Leo's Alice and Christian Bale's Dicky are all accomplished turns (to varying degrees) and memorable ones as well. What's more fantastic is that my vote would have only gone to one of these performers (Bale) if I actually had a ballot. It was gratifying to watch Natalie Portman, for instance--a limited actress who gave what was easily the weakest performance in her very strong category--win for a very accomplished, tricky turn, also her best to date.

Poor Tom Hooper. The guy is now saddled with winning a Best Director trophy on his first nomination and the backlash is brewing. It's analogous to Ron Howard beating Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, David Lynch and Robert Altman in 2001, which I hope the Academy looks back upon with the appropriate level of embarrassment. Luckily, Tom Hooper doesn't seem nearly as self-important and fatuous as Ron Howard, but I do wonder what his incentive is to try at this point, since he's been so hastily rewarded for such a pedestrian effort. Fincher, Aronofsky and Russell each created singular pieces of work, without the slightest hint of ambivalence to their direction. The dubious distinction of least deserving among the directing nominees is pretty much a toss-up between Tom Hooper and the Coens. I firmly believe that had No Country for Old Men not won three years ago, we may be have been looking at a True Grit love fest this year. Nonetheless, Hooper unseated some seriously visionary filmmakers to get the win and the look on his face during his acceptance speech (or am I imagining things?) tells me that he seems at least partially aware that the nomination without the win probably would have been better in the long run for his career. Ask Sam Mendes about that one. As the dust settles on 2010, Hooper's win won't smell so fresh, even more so than The King Speech's Best Picture win. He will join the ranks of Carol Reed, John G. Avildsen and Richard Attenborough as anomalous best director winners, regarded with some measure of head-scratching, given that at least two or three of the also-rans in their respective years would have made more interesting and historically resonant alternatives. None of this is to say that I think the guy is a bad filmmaker. He may well surprise in the years to come. I hope I'm wrong. Your move, Hooper.

Back to Best Actress for a moment. I adore Michelle Williams. I'm so glad she exists and I really like what she's giving cinema in terms of prickly, complicated performances in interesting, striking films that are neither commercial nor critical slam dunks on paper. Here she sits with her second Oscar nomination in five years, Busy Phillips still loyally at her side (love that friendship) and wearing it with a mix of clear affection for the work, but mild befuddlement for its recognition. I suspect that had Brokeback Mountain not been her debut nomination, she may have won. Not to take anything away from Rachel Weisz, but 2005's crowning of her lead work in The Constant Gardener as the Best Supporting Actress performance of the year reads as a clear example of what lack of consensus can breed. I suspect the reasoning that year went something like this. "Michelle Williams was great, but...giving an Oscar to a "Dawson's Creek" alum? Let's let her prove herself a little more. Amy Adams in Junebug? Who the hell is Amy Adams? And furthermore, what the hell is Junebug? Catherine Keener? I like her. She's nominated for The 40-Year-Old Virgin, right? Capote? Nah...not enough theatrics. Frances McDormand in North Country? Um...no thanks. Didn't see that movie. Rachel Weisz...she kind of looks like Kate Winslet. She's British, so I'm sure she's good. Plus, I heard the movie's really serious and world conscious. Tic." And scene. Watching the trailer for Meek's Cutoff earlier today, I'm convinced that Michelle Williams will be nominated again in the near future, if not necessarily for that film. She seems committed to making the kinds of films that cinephiles love, even if they leave audiences and most critics cold. I also suspect that she may never win, which is totally fine. Looking at her filmography, it seems that Brokeback Mountain may be as close to Oscar's wheelhouse as she's willing to get. I applaud her choices and it's nothing short of miraculous that her work in Blue Valentine got cited.

What about Jennifer Lawrence, who I've heard referred to as the Carey Mulligan of this year. I hope Lawrence secretly takes umbrage that comparison, given how slight An Education is when propped up against Winter's Bone as a film swept into a ten wide Best Picture field by its central performance. Despite having had no chance to get up on stage and deliver a gushing speech, I still think Lawrence, in the few interviews I saw has made the season work better for her than Mulligan did a year ago. I'm not sure if either will ever see a nomination again (a little over half of first time acting nominees don't), but Lawrence is in a good position right now. She's the acting nominee whose next move I'm most awaiting with bated breath, X-Men: First Class notwithstanding (I'm sorry, that movie just looks silly and I am a huge X-Men fan).

I am less curious about Natalie Portman's next career-move. I say this not to slight her. As I've stated, her performance in Black Swan is handily her best work. It's preferable by a mile to most of the recent Best Actress winners going back as far as Charlize Theron (easily the best of the 2000s winners). That being said, Portman's Oscar-winning turn in Black Swan feels less like a great actress finally getting her due (Kate Winslet) than it does a limited actress with clear strengths and weaknesses finally finding a director and a vehicle that plays to her assets as a performer (Hilary Swank, the first time). This idea that Natalie Portman is overdue for a win and that her laurels for Black Swan are the culmination of a great career is an idea I've heard floated all season from casual and literate movie-watchers alike. Being comfortably familiar with her filmography and looking at what she has coming down the pipe, this is a narrative that I just do not understand, even while having no real qualms about her winning Best Actress for this particular performance. Over at The Film Experience, on a recent podcast, the idea of which Oscar nominated performers could play which of the other Oscar nominated roles was discussed (a fun hypothetical to consider). Natalie Portman's possible inability to play something as naturalistic and stripped down as Michelle Williams's part in Blue Valentine was discussed. I agree wholeheartedly and I'll further submit that Williams, also capable of petite, frail and shrinking, could quite possibly have given us a completely different, but no less captivating Nina Sayers. Nicole Kidman, fabulous in Rabbit Hole (and in general) is an actress who I could also see bringing something interesting to the role, had the project been made fifteen years ago. And though Jennifer Lawrence remains relatively untested, the way she avoided all of the scenery-chewing cliches that could have made her turn in Winter's Bone more showy, sure, but less interesting makes me think we're bound to see a career with real range. I'm not sure Natalie Portman could convincingly play any of the other four Best Actress performances. I'm less sure that she'll ever top her turn in Black Swan and almost certain that she's not necessarily interested in doing so. She seems very content at shrinking away, not just from public life, but from acting in general, so in that way (and many others) it's good she was rewarded for this performance.

I've heard enough griping about The Social Network's wins in both editing and original score that I feel it prudent to address both. First of all, I take issue with the notion that elaborate editing is an automatic catch-all for good editing. In the tech categories, it often seems that best equals most, as evidenced by Alice in Wonderland's baffling Oscar for Best Costume Design and, even more infuriatingly, Best Art Direction. Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall did a marvelous job on The Social Network, juggling three or four different timelines. Flashback and parallel narrative structure i.s really hard to pull off well and The Social Network weaves it all seamlessly and in a way that serves the narrative. 127 Hours, which is much flashier fare, could have done with less cuts (and less obvious cuts), especially in the cave. And hats off to the Academy for recognizing Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's superb work in the original score category. It's kind of flabbergasting the number of people I've heard gripe about this win who I've never heard comment one way or the other on the a film's score. Atmospheric, minimalist, instantly recognizable and sure to become iconic. At once, everything that an Oscar winning score should be and the type of score they overlook too often.

How I wish I had stuck to my instinct that Roger Deakins wouldn't win for his work in True Grit. Even I fell prey to the groupthink that surrounded the notion that the overdue lenser would finally land a statue, though my gut told me Wally Pfister would get it. If I had my ballot to make over again, I'd probably replace Deakins (who I cited) with Yorick Le Saux for I Am Love or the evocative, unfussy work of Michael McDonough in Winter's Bone, a film which I loved (and love more each time I rewatch), but ultimately won no gold medals in my year-end rewards. Deakins work in True Grit, while tailor made for awards consideration on paper, isn't terribly exciting and I'm fine with his loss here.

In my review of The King's Speech, I stated that both the effusive response of the audience at the theater and the demographic of said audience told me that it would definitely give The Social Network a run for its money. Actually, what I knew in my heart, but probably didn't want to admit at the time, was that it was definitely going to win Best Picture. Ultimately, I'm surprised by how much the outcome didn't really upset me. This is, after all, quite similar to 2005 when Brokeback Moutain lost to Crash in that Best Picture was actually within grasp for my favorite film of the year, but was then given to my least favorite of the nominees. Maybe it's because I saw The Social Network's loss coming and was able to steel myself, whereas Crash's victory over Brokeback Mountain was out of nowhere and still remains unprecedented. And now, five years later, I do think that in a twisted way, appreciate Crash's Best Picture win, if only because of what it revealed about the Academy and what it said about the climate at the time. The King's Speech winning Best Picture for 2010 does not indicate a backslide, but rather says a lot about the cinematic landscape in 2010. Regardless of my misgivings about Bertie and his wacky pals, it was simply too successful in its modest goals and too comfortably within the Oscar wheelhouse to lose. The idea that The Departed, No Country for Old Men and The Hurt Locker represented some changing of the guard at the Academy is a falsehood. It's always about what's going on in each given year. And lest we forget that in 2008, Slumdog Millionaire, a very traditional film with traditional narrative tropes (albeit wrapped in a flashy package) won Best Picture, smack dab in the middle of this supposed new trending towards darker, more forward-thinking and visionary Best Picture winners. If we want to get reductive and talk about The King's Speech equivalent in the years of The Departed, No Country for Old Men and The Hurt Locker, you'd probably be looking at The Queen, Atonement and An Education, all of which were pre-ordained, sight-unseen Oscar bait of various quality and none of which were beloved enough by audiences or the Academy to do as well as The King's Speech did. Will history look kindly on a Best Picture win for The King's Speech? I'm almost certain that it won't. But one can't know for sure. Take The Hurt Locker, which I cited as my favorite (at the time) of the 2009 Best Picture nominees. Even though I'm happy it won, if pressed, I have to admit that I seldom think about the The Hurt Locker a year after the fact. If I had a ballot to cast today, Inglourious Basterds would probably get my vote as the more robust and resonating piece of cinema. It's anyone's guess which 2010 films will rise and fall in terms of my own esteem. I can already tell you that Black Swan and The Fighter, two films I loved in my initial viewings and still admire greatly, have started to experience the dreaded fade. Ungodly numbers of subsequent viewings of The Social Network and Winter's Bone have only made me love those titles more. But for 2010, the Academy has spoken. The King's Speech will be remembered as the film they loved and that, as they say, is that.

Closing Thoughts
Another Oscar year has come and gone and really...what is there left to say? Well, if you've been following my blog, there's plenty. I've been more terse about the Oscar race than I have in the previous two years that I've been operating this blog. Full disclosure (and I'm violating my own policy of not getting delving into my personal life on this blog), my personal aesthetic has gone through a sort of renaissance these past few years. I'm seeing more movies and really discovering, not so much what my tastes are (which has actually changed very little), but I'm developing my own language and vocabulary to communicate those tastes more effectively. I'm so glad I embarked on the Big Pretentious Movie Summer last year. Even if I didn't finish the list, which I ultimately plan to do, it was such a leap forward in my appreciation of filmwatching for its own sake, completely divorced from awards and box office. I watched movies like Interiors, Naked, Midnight Cowboy, Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom, Days of Heaven, Breakfast at Tiffany's, none of which I had seen before and now can't imagine what life was like before having seen them (all the while appreciating them on very different levels). And that being the case, I've learned that the Oscars really must be taken with a grain of salt. I'm not just talking about The King's Speech unseating my favorite film of the year, The Social Network in both Best Picture and Best Director, which I contended on this very blog was likely and very possible, respectively. It's a catch-all. Even when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences crowns one's favorite film or performance, they are still a just a group of people weighing in on things. Their opinion is not gospel. Never has been, never will be. And that's not a knock on them, because truth be told, no one's opinion is gospel. The Social Network remains, to me, the best film of 2010 as does Hunger the best film of 2009 and Rachel Getting Married of 2008. None of those films won Best Picture and two of the three weren't even nominated--a fact that diminishes none of the immense joy and cinematic discovery I've experienced on repeat viewings of each of these titles. And isn't that what movie watching is all about? As Nathaniel over at The Film Experience wisely states, "A great film is its own reward."

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - The Winners

2011-02-19T18:05:00.003-05:00

Here is my list of winners for the 3rd Annual Pretentious Film Awards. Here's hoping 2011 is another great year for movies!

*Denotes Winner
**Denotes Runner-Up
***Denotes Second Runner-Up

Best Picture

Black Swan
Blue Valentine**
Dogtooth***
The Social Network*
Winter's Bone

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
Derek Cianfrance - Blue Valentine**
Yorgos Lanthimos - Dogtooth
David O. Russell - The Fighter***
David Fincher - The Social Network*

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Aaron Eckhart - Rabbit Hole
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network**
James Franco - 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine*
Tahar Rahim - A Prophet***

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole***
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Lesley Manville - Another Year*
Tilda Swinton - I Am Love
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine**

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale - The Fighter*
Andrew Garfield - Never Let Me Go**
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right***
Miles Teller - Rabbit Hole

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Dale Dickey - Winter's Bone
Melissa Leo - The Fighter***
Mia Wasikowska - The Kids Are All Right
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom*
Dianne Wiest - Rabbit Hole**

Best Original Screenplay

Animal Kingdom - David Michôd***
Another Year - Mike Leigh**
The Fighter - Keith Dorrington, Eric Johnson, Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy
Blue Valentine - Derek Cianfrance*
Toy Story 3 - Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich

Best Adapted Screenplay

Never Let Me Go - Alex Garland
Rabbit Hole - David Lindsay-Abaire**
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright
The Social Network - Aaron Sorkin*
Winter's Bone - Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini***

Best Editing

127 Hours - Jon Harris
Black Swan - Andrew Weisbaum**
Blue Valentine - Jim Helton and Ron Patane***
Inception - Lee Smith
The Social Network - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall*

Best Cinematography

127 Hours - Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle**
Black Swan - Matthew Libatique*
Enter the Void - Benoît Debie
The Social Network - Jeff Cronenweth***
True Grit - Roger Deakins

Best Original Score

Inception - Hans Zimmer***
The Illusionist - Sylvain Chomet
The King's Speech - Alexandre Desplat
Never Let Me Go - Rachel Portman**
The Social Network - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross*

Best Original Song

For Colored Girls - "La Donna in Viola" (Performed by Andrea Jones-Sojola and Karen Slack)
The Illusionist - "Chanson Illusionist" (Performed by Sylvain Chomet)*
Never Let Me Go - "Never Let Me Go" (Performed by Rachel Portman)**
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - "Threshold" (Performed by Sex Bob-Omb)
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - "We Are Sex Bob-Omb" (Performed by Sex Bob-Omb)***

Best Costume Design

Black Swan - Amy Westcott**
The Fighter - Mark Bridges
I Am Love - Antonella Cannarozzi*
Inception - Jeffrey Curland
True Grit - Mary Zophres***

Best Achievement in Art Direction

Black Swan - Tora Peterson and David Stein**
Dogtooth - Elli Papageorgakopoulou
I Am Love - Nadine Herrmann*
Inception - Guy Hendrix Diaz, Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
The King's Speech - Judy Farr and Eve Stewart***

Best Visual Effects

Black Swan**
Inception*
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World***

Best Makeup/Hair

Black Swan*
A Prophet**
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World***

Best Sound Mixing

127 Hours**
The Fighter
The Illusionist
Inception***
The Social Network*

Best Sound Editing

Black Swan*
Inception
Toy Story 3**
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
The Social Network**

Top Ten Films of 2010

1. The Social Network
2. Blue Valentine
3. Dogtooth
4. Winter's Bone
5. Black Swan
6. The Fighter
7. Another Year
8. Animal Kingdom
9. The Illusionist
10. Never Let Me Go

Oscar Predictions - 2010 (pt. 2)

2011-02-17T00:11:00.003-05:00

Best Original Screenplay
While I'm on the record for not loving The King's Speech, I can't truly bemoan its inevitable win in this category. At the script level, it is everything it should be and my favorite original screenplay of the year isn't nominated anyway. Even The Kids Are All Right, which has structural problems and huge issues of POV (verboten in screenwriting 101) is rich with so many great moments that slightly overshadow the fact that its admirable in parts, rather than as a whole. Inception least deserves its place on the ballot, I'm afraid. If they were going to snub the movie anywhere, it should have been here rather than in Best Director.

Will Win: David Seidler for The King's Speech
Alternate: Christopher Nolan for Inception
Should Win: Um, duh...Mike Leigh for Another Year
Should Have Been Nominated: Derek Cianfrance, Joey Curtis and Cami Delavigne for Blue Valentine.

Best Adapted Screenplay
This is the where The Social Network is most assured to win its trophy. Some are predicting a potential upset because it's been a season of upset, but there's nothing that could feasibly usurp this spot.

Will Win/Should Win: Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network
Alternate: None, really.
Should Have Been Nominated: David Lindsay Abaire for Rabbit Hole

Best Animated Feature
Hmm...this is a tough one. I wonder. Okay...cease facetiousness now. Obviously it's Toy Story 3. I've got to say, I have a feeling that Pixar's mini-sweep (beginning with Ratatouille's win in this category in 2007) ends here, at least for now. Next on their slate are sequels to Cars and Monsters Inc. I suspect those titles will be to the Pixar golden age what Pocahontas was to the Disney Renaissance--the beginning of the end.

Will Win: Toy Story 3
Alternate: How to Train Your Dragon
Should Win: The Illusionist

Best Foreign Language Film
I've only seen one of the nominated films (Dogtooth), so my perspective is off. Even if one has seen all the films, this category is tough to predict. It seems like it's never the title that everyone has heard of nor is it the one that got all the festival buzz. The White Ribbon losing to The Secret in Their Eyes, Waltz With Bashir losing to Departures, Pan's Labyrinth losing to The Lives of Others and Amelie losing to No Man's Land are all examples to support this. With that in mind, I'm going with what sounds like (based on description), the most Oscar friendly choice with Susanne Bier's submission from Denmark, In a Better World. But, again, who knows? The fact that it's one of the few categories where Academy members have to see every nominee in order to vote, there are always surprises. Incidentally, how glorious would it be if all the categories implemented this rule?

Will Win: In a Better World
Alternate: Incendies
Should Win: Like I said, I've only seen Dogtooth, but it is one of my favorite films of the year, so...

Best Documentary Feature

I've only managed to see two of the films, but from what I gather, it's an impressive slate of nominees. The omission of Waiting For Superman, which I sat through a little more than half of and couldn't abide finishing speaks to the nominating committee's discernment. A win for Exit Through the Gift Shop would be exciting, but I've already expressed my lack of passion for that piece. And ultimately, I suspect that Inside Job will take it in the end.

Will Win: Inside Job
Alternate: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Should Win: Restrepo (pending my viewing of the other nominees)
Should Have Been Nominated: Prodigal Sons

Best Original Score

An impressive slate of nominees, even though people seem to be inexplicably down on Alexandre Desplat's score for The King's Speech. I quite liked it, actually. Yes, Desplat has done much much better work in (deep breath now) Lust, Caution, Birth, The Painted Veil and I'm sure his score for the upcoming Tree of Life will be great. My point is that if Desplat finally wins, it'll be a career prize. The 127 Hours nomination is the one that I'd probably substitute for something else. Here we could see the fruits of a King's Speech sweep, or The Social Network could repeat its Golden Globe win here. I'd be shocked if anything other film besides these two won, but I'm going with The King's Speech. The Golden Globe and Oscar rarely match up for Original Score. Plus, The Social Network dominated those awards, which makes the Globes seem rather irrelevant (even more so, I mean), given the way the tide has turned.

Will Win: Alexandre Desplat for The King's Speech
Alternate: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network
Should Win: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network. So unique and beautiful. I also enjoyed Hans Zimmer's Inception score and Desplat is on my personal ballot as well.
Should Have Been Nominated: Sylvain Chomet for The Illusionist

Best Sound Editing
I'm kind of shocked that Black Swan, a film with excellent sound design couldn't get a nomination in either of the sound categories. That being said, it's not a bad lineup. I say this one goes to Inception because the film's bound to win at least one of the categories (more on why I'm predicting it here later).

Will Win/Should Win: Inception
Alternate: Tron: Legacy as a consolation for the snub in visual effects (but they don't really think like that, do they?)
Should Have Been Nominated: Black Swan

Best Sound Mixing
Inception could easily pull off a win in both sound categories, but how does a voter (if they understand sound mixing) watch the night club scene in The Social Network and not give it this award? Right...most people don't know what sound mixing is. Gotcha. My advice is predict Inception for both because it's bound to win one of the sound categories.

Will Win: Inception
Alternate: The Social Network
Should Win: The Social Network
Should Have Been Nominated: 127 Hours

Best Art Direction

Will Win/Should Win: The King's Speech
Alternate: Inception
Should Have Been Nominated: I Am Love

Best Cinematography

Will Win: Roger Deakins for True Grit, but is it a done deal? Hardly. He's been denied so many times before, so why not this time? And really, my gut is telling me it's Wally Pfister.
Alternate: Wally Pfister for Inception.
Should Win: Matthew Libatique for Black Swan
Should Have Been Nominated: Benoit Debie for Enter the Void, though honestly, Libatique actually getting nominated for Black Swan feels like enough of a get for this category.

Best Editing

Will Win/Should Win: The Social Network
Alternate: The King's Speech
Should Have Been Nominated: Inception

Best Visual Effects

Will Win/Should Win: Inception
Alternate: Nothing.
Should Have Been Nominated: Black Swan

Best Original Song

Will Win: "If I Rise" from 127 Hours
Alternate: "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3
Should Win: Abstain (who even cares?)
Should Have Been Nominated: Anything other than these four songs.

Best Makeup

Will Win: The Wolfman
Alternate: The Way Back
Should Win: Abstain
Should Have Been Nominated: A Prophet

Best Costume

Will Win: Alice in Wonderland
Alternate: The King's Speech
Should Win: I Am Love
Should have Been Nominated: Black Swan

Best Documentary Short

Will Win: Strangers No More is too much in the Oscar wheelhouse not to win.
Alternate: But then again, so is The Warriors of Qiugang

Best Animated Short

Will Win: Day & Night
Alternate: The Gruffalo, simply because it has a (relatively) all-star cast for an animated short.

Best Live Action Short

Will Win: God of Love
Alternate: Na Wewe

Oscar Predictions - 2010

2011-02-12T16:27:00.002-05:00

Having now finally weighed in on my opinion of what's the best of the year, I thought I'd volunteer my own predictions on how the Oscars will shake down in a couple of weeks. I have to admit that I'm not as excited about the Academy Awards this year. Mostly because the overall starriness of and focus on (or maybe I'm just paying more attention to it this year) the behind the scenes drama is overshadowing the fact that we, once again, with the exception of a few categories, already know who's going to win. The only thing that's left is to hand out the awards, as far as I'm concerned. I'm also not so much invested in the actual race because this is a rare year in that (with the exception of one or two dings here and there) both the nominees AND the presumptive frontrunners in a record number of categories are actually deserving. The Academy did a miraculous job of not embarrassing themselves this year and I say kudos.

Best Picture
I've already stated my feelings about The King's Speech, deeming it high-minded, but finally unremarkable (but still enjoyable--gah, what a contradiction). However, you may be shocked to hear that upon further inspection, it's True Grit, not The King's Speech which I feel least deserves its spot on the ballot. Neither film is ultimately lacking enough to make me feel passionately against it and that speaks highly of the 2010 Best Picture roster, which boasts no truly putrid submissions (usually, even in a year of five nominees, there's at least one or two stinkers). I prefer The Social Network by about a mile, but I don't subscribe to the argument that it's the more timeless choice that will be looked upon fondly. One can't predict how a movie will age. In ten years time, The Social Network may well read how something like American Beauty reads now--a time capsule snapshot of the American ethos that, while important as a historical marker, feels dated. So, despite loving Fincher's film, I don't begrudge The King's Speech its victory, which after the DGA, PGA and SAG sweep seems likely. I don't think it's over, though.

Will Win: The King's Speech
Alternate: The Social Network
Should Win: The Social Network
Should Have Been Nominated: Their top ten is not necessarily my top ten, but it's respectable. I'm not even going to suggest that the Academy should totally overhaul their membership and/or way of thinking by including some of my favorites such as Dogtooth, Blue Valentine or The Illusionist.

Best Director
A hard race to call. My gut still says Fincher. And now that even the BAFTAs have gone with him, a split between picture and director seems all the more likely, in spite of Tom Hooper's DGA win.

Will Win: David Fincher for The Social Network
Alternate: Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
Should Win: I really respect David Fincher's work and I do think he should win. But a small part of me wants to see David O. Russell rewarded, who does the most heavy lifting of all five nominees to elevate his film.
Should Have Been Nominated: Christopher Nolan for Inception. He's nowhere near my personal ballot, so this seems like a strange citation, but I wish they would just reward the poor guy already and stop the fanboy whining. Especially since he landed yet another screenplay nomination and anyone who tells you that Nolan is a better writer than a director is insane.

Best Actor
Hmm...I suppose it could be...Oh, who am I kidding. There's no discussion at this point. Signed, sealed, delivered, it's h-h-h-his.

Will Win: Colin Firth for The King's Speech
Alternate: Hell freezing over.
Should Win: Given the absence of Ryan Gosling, I'm almost tempted to say "Who cares?" But that's sour grapes. This is actually a fine lineup, even if it's not mine. Of the five nominees, Jesse Eisenberg gets my vote.
Should Have Been Nominated: Have you not been paying attention? Ryan Gosling.

Best Actress
Again, a fine lineup. The fact that the neither of the two conceivable winners from this category are on my ballot, yet both give top form performances speaks to the quality of the work. I'm glad Best Actress is allowed to be good again, after two years in a row where it was kind of spotty. Natalie Portman has this locked up, I think. Not quite as locked as Firth in Best Actor, but anyone who's still trying to sell the narrative that it's a race between her and Bening is frankly grasping at straws.

Will Win: Natalie Portman for Black Swan.
Alternate: Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
Should Win: Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine. No question. Though either Jennifer Lawrence or Nicole Kidman would make almost equally fetching alternatives. And as I've stated, it's a lineup where it'd be difficult to be upset, no matter the outcome. These are five actresses working at the top of their form.
Should Have Been Nominated: Lesley Manville for Another Year, though (for the record), I never once believed that she would be.

Best Supporting Actor
What's with the acting categories this year? I can't remember the last time they were all this good. I'm most surprised by Best Supporting Actor, which is usually the worst of the four acting races by a mile. But I'm honestly not mad about any of these nominations. Even Geoffrey Rush, who's acting I usually don't respond to is more enjoyable in The King's Speech than I've ever found him. I don't think he'll be Christian Bale, as some are predicting. Unless they really like The King's Speech...

Will Win/Should Win: Christian Bale for The Fighter.
Alternate: Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
Should Have Been Nominated: Not to be down Jeremy Renner, who I think is fantastic in The Town, but I don't think this nomination really does anything for his career that wasn't already going on anyway (he's already taking over the world). So I'd swap him out for one of the lauded Andrew Garfield performances (The Social Network or Never Let Me Go), both of which I preferred to Renner's work. And while I do prefer Renner to Rush, I'm fully acknowledging that in no universe resembling this one was Geoffrey Rush NOT getting nominated.

Best Supporting Actress
Save Hailey Steinfeld, another great lineup. Not to diss Ms. Steinfeld. Her work in True Grit is quite accomplished, but the category fraud and the undeniable schism of quality between her work and the other nominees is insurmountable. Some think she'll win, but I personally don't think so. The Melissa Leo personal FYC ads debacle is (in my humble opinion) being really overstated. What I think this category really comes down to is how many voters watch Animal Kingdom. Because frankly, not to put too fine a point on it, but I don't see how Jacki Weaver doesn't pull of a Marcia Gay Harden-style upset if enough Academy members pop in their screeners.

Will Win: Melissa Leo for The Fighter, but it's by no means a sure thing.
Alternate: Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom
Should Win: Jackie Weaver for Animal Kingdom
Should Have Been Nominated: I'm mostly fine with this lineup. I would have liked to see Mia Wasikowska land a nod for her subtle, understated work in The Kids Are All Right. Especially in a year where she also made Alice in Wonderland. A nomination for the former may have been a subtle industry hint about the kind of movies she should continue making and the kind of movies she should steer clear of.

Predictions: Part 2 coming up...

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Motion Picture of the Year

2011-02-11T22:42:00.008-05:00

And the 2010 Pretentious Film Award Nominees for Best Motion Picture of the Year are...

(dir. Darren Aronofsky)

From my review: "The film teeters dangerously on the line between art and trash (and dips into the latter more than once). But I stopped to consider something. Were the world of New York ballet in this narrative to be replaced by the world of say...beauty pageants, the film would feel no less captivating, engrossing and thrilling. That is due to Darren Aronofsky...it is definitely his showiest and most sure-handed [work]...I was surprised by how controlled Black Swan was, both in terms of Portman's performance (which is actually more quiet, subdued and internal than one might expect) and the film itself, especially compared to Requiem for a Dream. Matthew Libatique deserves the Oscar for his cinematography, which deliciously captures the movement of the dancers in long, extended takes, rather than quick frenetic ones. I've never seen ballet shot this way in film and it serves the narrative beautifully."

(dir. Derek Cianfrance)

From my review: "Flashback structure is tricky and requires a certain control over storytelling that few filmmakers can boast. In films that value plot and situation over character, it involves making sure the audience finds out things at exactly the right time, so the flashbacks don't become redundant and the present-day narrative doesn't feel like a rehashing. In character studies such as this one, it involves controlling emotional reaction, getting the most potency out of each moment. Hats off to writer-director Derek Cianfrance and editors Jim Helton and Ron Patane (this is one of the best edited films of the year) on all counts. Watching Cianfrance in interviews, it's clear to see why the film manages to be so distinguishable. With his speech pattern, mannerisms, his appearance right down to the receding hairline, one can't help but wonder if Cianfrance is Dean (Gosling). Is there a Cindy (Williams)? Almost certainly. The film is filled with so many moments of specific, honest and unexpected characterization. A scene from the earlier part of Dean and Cindy's courtship, where he offers his unique perspective on couple's having their own song feels cut and paste from real-life, it rings so true."

'

(dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)

From my review: "One of two films I've seen this year that's truly unlike anything I've ever experienced, cinematically (Enter the Void also shares that distinction, though I've yet to wholly decide if it's to that film's credit or detriment). Greek director Lanthimos paints a horrifying, bare bones and often sickly humorous portrayal of a patriarch who keeps his three adult children (two daughters and a son, all non-actors), under strict lock and key. They never leave the large grounds of their house, which includes a pool and a tennis court, but is still confining and stifling. The children are completely arrested. They speak with a very basic intelligence that would, at first glance, betray how truly warped they are. But the first glimpses are startling." A wisely unintellectual portrayal of sadism. Take that, Passolini.

(dir. David Fincher)

From my review: "Any praises I offer up are going to seem redundant at this point. The Social Network is sweeping the year end critics awards and is poised to be one of the most honored films of 2010. Everything seems to be working in perfect synergy in this wildly exaggerated (to its benefit) account of Mark Zuckerberg's (a wonderful Jesse Eisenberg) creation of Facebook at Harvard and the legal and social drama that ensued. Aaron Sorkin's justifiably lauded, razor-sharp script has an amazing rhythm to it, sustaining a subject that could have easily ran out of steam in the wrong hands. And what is there to say at this point about Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's outstanding and unique score...A truly singular and unified vision, guided by David Fincher's sure hand. He is the true visionary of our generation."

(dir. Debra Granik)

From my review: " I can't really put my finger on all of the elements that I look for in a film I'm going to recommend. It's a personal and often nebulous thing, trying to saliently communicate one's cinematic sensibilities. I can say (don't worry, I'm going somewhere with this) that I have never enjoyed a film that felt dishonest. Winter's Bone is so lived-in and observant in terms of the world it occupies, and I'm not just talking about the Ozark mountain setting, about which I admittedly know little. I'm talking about the lives of these characters, which is established very clearly in the beginning, with every word uttered and every action taken speaking to that in a compelling way...This is an engrossing, arresting movie-going experience that completely blindsided me...and not in that bad "You threaten my son, you threaten me!" kind of way."

Winners in all categories will be announced next week.

Nominees in all categories

Best Picture
Black Swan
Blue Valentine
Dogtooth
The Social Network
Winter's Bone

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
Derek Cianfrance - Blue Valentine
Yorgos Lanthimos - Dogtooth
David O. Russell - The Fighter
David Fincher - The Social Network

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Aaron Eckhart - Rabbit Hole
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
James Franco - 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine
Tahar Rahim - A Prophet

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Lesley Manville - Another Year
Tilda Swinton - I Am Love
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale - The Fighter
Andrew Garfield - Never Let Me Go
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right
Miles Teller - Rabbit Hole

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Dale Dickey - Winter's Bone
Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Mia Wasikowska - The Kids Are All Right
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom
Dianne Wiest - Rabbit Hole

Best Original Screenplay
Animal Kingdom - David Michôd
Another Year - Mike Leigh
The Fighter - Keith Dorrington, Eric Johnson, Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy
Blue Valentine - Derek Cianfrance
Toy Story 3 - Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich

Best Adapted Screenplay
Never Let Me Go - Alex Garland
Rabbit Hole - David Lindsay-Abaire
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright
The Social Network - Aaron Sorkin
Winter's Bone - Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini

Best Editing
127 Hours - Jon Harris
Black Swan - Andrew Weisbaum
Blue Valentine - Jim Helton and Ron Patane
Inception - Lee Smith
The Social Network - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

Best Cinematography
127 Hours - Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle
Black Swan - Matthew Libatique
Enter the Void - Benoît Debie
The Social Network - Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit - Roger Deakins

Best Original Score
Inception - Hans Zimmer
The Illusionist - Sylvain Chomet
The King's Speech - Alexandre Desplat
Never Let Me Go - Rachel Portman
The Social Network - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Best Original Song
For Colored Girls - "La Donna in Viola" (Performed by Andrea Jones-Sojola and Karen Slack)
The Illusionist - "Chanson Illusionist" (Performed by Sylvain Chomet)
Never Let Me Go - "Never Let Me Go" (Performed by Rachel Portman)
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - "Threshold" (Performed by Sex Bob-Omb)
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - "We Are Sex Bob-Omb" (Performed by Sex Bob-Omb)

Best Costume Design
Black Swan - Amy Westcott
The Fighter - Mark Bridges
I Am Love - Antonella Cannarozzi
Inception - Jeffrey Curland
True Grit - Mary Zophres

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Black Swan - Tora Peterson and David Stein
Dogtooth - Elli Papageorgakopoulou
I Am Love - Nadine Herrmann
Inception - Guy Hendrix Diaz, Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
The King's Speech - Judy Farr and Eve Stewart

Best Visual Effects
Black Swan
Inception
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Best Makeup/Hair
Black Swan
A Prophet
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Best Sound Mixing
127 Hours
The Fighter
The Illusionist
Inception
The Social Network

Best Sound Editing
Black Swan
Inception
Toy Story 3
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
The Social Network

Nominations Tally
Black Swan - 9
The Social Network - 9
Inception - 7
Blue Valentine - 6
The Fighter - 6
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - 6
Rabbit Hole - 5
Winter's Bone - 5
127 Hours - 4
Never Let Me Go - 4
Dogtooth - 3
I Am Love - 3
The Illusionist - 3
Animal Kingdom - 2
Another Year - 2
The Kids Are All Right - 2
The King's Speech - 2
A Prophet - 2
Toy Story 3 - 2
True Grit - 2
Enter the Void - 1
For Colored Girls - 1

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Top Ten Films (10-6)

2011-02-11T22:04:00.012-05:00

Without further ado, here is the first part of my top ten list for 2010.

10. (dir. Mark Romanek)

From my review: "The adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel of the same name was, for my money, an incredibly effective and emotionally devastating film (take note of the word "devastating," a much harder and more lingering emotion to evoke than "depressing"). I was impressed up and down with this film... Yes, there is a conceit at the core of this story that hangs over the narrative, but the film is more concerned about matters of the heart than the soft sci-fi element." To expand, I'm aware that this is a controversial citation of a movie that so thoroughly disappointed a great number of people. But I could not ignored a film that swept me up and moved me so beautifully. Whether taken as a piece of soft science fiction, or a as a quiet meditation on life and death, it's ultimately a graceful and challenging piece of cinema.

9. (dir. Sylvain Chomet)

What's this? There's an animated film on my top ten list and it's not Toy Story 3? As I've stated many times, I believe these lists have to be honest. Honestly? I was deeply moved and effected by The Illusionist, which I caught just in time. I ventured out on a thirty-minute drive to a small theater on the outskirts of Los Angeles. How fitting. As I walked into this tiny theater and the movie began to roll, it was as if I was an audience member in magician's sparsely attended show. It's at once a heartbreaking portrayal of the need for human connection and a portrait of a dying profession in an increasingly modernized world. It's classically animated (there doesn't seem to be much place for that these days) and it's sparse, slow and stately, all to its credit. Who would think that the words "Magic isn't real" would bring tears to my eyes?

8. (dir. David Michôd)
From my review: "This tautly structured, well-paced Australian crime drama is more than meets the eye and rewards repeat viewings. Writer-director Michôd has constructed a film that is rife with character specificity that sucks you into this family of clumsy yet conniving and often loving Melbourne criminals...Animal Kingdom's ability to build tension to a fevered pitch, particularly in the much talked about scene that involves a car backing out of a garage, is something to marvel at and I'm amazed this is Michôd's first feature."

7. (dir. Mike Leigh)
From my review: "There's a moment towards the end of Another Year when Mary (Lesley Manville) tearfully tells her friend and co-worker Gerri (Ruth Sheen), "As long as we're friends, I'm all right." It's a sentiment that is at once incredibly sweet and incredibly sad, expressed with aching conviction...[The actors here have an extraordinary ability] off of each other. The don't just act, they react. It may seem like I'm speaking little of plot. Mike Leigh's films are not creatures of plot. This is, in many ways, his most observational film. And yet it never feels boring or stale. It's heartwarming, honest and refined. I literally didn't want it to end."

6. (dir. David O. Russell)

From my review "In spite of the presence of Black Swan and The Social Networks (splendid films in their own right, certainly), one can't help but wonder if The Fighter is the true directorial achievement of the year. David O. Russell takes one of the oldest and most hackneyed cinematic genres ("The Boxing Movie") and imbues it with so much life, specificity and directorial flourish that's true to his style...The actors here all play like their role is fully fleshed out and realized. Every inch of this film, from its performers, its director, its wonderful script ("She's an MTV girl"), Hoyte van Hoytema's unshowy cinematography--they all seem to be working in perfect synergy with one another."

Next:
My Best Picture Nominees for 2010

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Top Films (Honorable Mentions)

2011-02-11T20:37:00.005-05:00

First of all, let me just say that I don't personally subscribe to the belief that 2010 was a bad year for film, which seems to be the widely held view. I happen to believe that 2010 birthed some truly stunning achievements, with several projects exceeding my expectations. For the record, I very much enjoyed The Kids Are All Right, Restrepo, A Prophet and I Am Love. They are just misses, even for my honorable mentions section. In the tier below those films would be 127 Hours, Enter the Void and Inception (for sheer ingenuity, if not necessarily execution). When I look at the aforementioned films that didn't make my list, 2010 looks pretty darn good from where I'm sitting. And I'm just as surprised as you are that the following films didn't make my top ten list.

15. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (dir. Edgar Wright)
I went into this with incredibly cold expectations and was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. It dips so deliciously into so many childhood videogame memories. I know that some found this aspect to be incredibly twee and gimmicky, but it got me--hook, line and sinker. The visual effects were worked so organically into the plot and had a uniformity and a vision to them that I really responded to. Certainly more than Iron Man 2 (seriously...the Academy nominated THOSE visual effects but ignored Scott Pilgrim?). And as I mentioned in my adapted screenplay citation, the film is so wonderfully quotable. A truly enjoyable experience.

14. Catfish (dirs. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman)
From my review: "Despite its documentary format, it unfolds very much like a character study in a traditional narrative. When Nev, his brother and their friend (Henry Joost, the other director) go to see this family, the interactions, the situations all feel incredibly heartwrenching and fascinating..." Very resonant indeed. I fought tears several times throughout this film, and as I've stated, it serves as a very interesting companion piece to The Social Network.

13. Rabbit Hole (dir. John Cameron Mitchell)
Even while much more in line with my sensibilities than Scott Pilgrim (at least on paper), this is a film that I expected to respect and like rather than love. It isn't perfect and the subject matter isn't exactly new territory to be mined, but the actors and Mitchell's uncharacteristically restrained direction brought so much to this piece. Nicole Kidman is absolutely radiant and she is supported by a cast of performers who are not just faded into the background for her awards submission. Everyone here feels alive and purposeful. I've found myself advocating for this film a lot, as it has sadly had trouble finding an audience.

12. Toy Story 3 (dir. Lee Unkrich)
As I stated in my review, I'm just as shocked as you are to find that Toy Story 3 didn't end up making my top ten list. It works as both a heartfelt swan song to a beloved franchise (please, don't ruin this film's power by adding sequels, Pixar) and a beautiful narrative that stands on its own without its predecessors. From my review: "For sheer tearjerking and tugging at the emotional heartstrings, few films this year touched Toy Story 3. I enjoyed it immensely and, like many, was reduced to a mess of tears by last frame."

11. Prodigal Sons (dir. Kimberly Reed)
From my review: "). Prodigal Sons, a documentary about director Kimberly Reed's return to Montana for a high school reunion marries the piercing emotionality of Tarnation with the polished, formal elements of Steve James or even Errol Morris. It's a wonderful combination. We watch as she attempts to reconcile her relationship with her very troubled adopted brother Marc." Personal docs immediately put up a red flag for me, but when they're done this well, the work speaks for itself. And while I very much liked Restrepo and appreciated Exit Through the Gift Shop, I would have rather seen more praise heaped upon Reed's piece as an example of a true outsider making a great documentary.

Next Up:
My Top Ten List...finally.

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Miscellaneous Honors

2011-02-05T19:56:00.016-05:00

Breakthrough Performers
There has been much ballyhooing about Jennifer Lawrence and Hailee Steinfeld. I'm long on the record for loving Jennifer Lawrence's performance and I appreciate things about Steinfeld's turn in True Grit. However, I'm going to deviate a bit and give my breakthrough prizes to Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. I know the former (and arguably the latter) have been working long enough that "breakthrough" is a weird title to attach to them, but they both did excellent jobs this year in justifiably skyrocketing their cultural capital. By the way, this is in no way a plug for Spiderman: The Night Man Cometh (not the "official" title, but let's try things out).

Granted, neither performer made it all the way to the Oscars. Not that Emma Stone was ever really in contention, though I for one wouldn't have scoffed if her turn in Easy A had been cited. But I immensely watching both of them on the big screen. Every time I even think about thinking about (effusive much?) the way Garfield dances and sidles up to Eisenberg at the Caribbean party The Social Network--or the way Emma Stone gleefully croons Natasha Beningfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine," I'm filled with absolute glee. Both are up for "Best Rising Star" at the BAFTAs this year and my vote would happily go to either of them. I suspect they'll continue to work and make smart decisions (the Spiderman reboot notwithstanding, which I'm sorry to report I'm a little worried about). I'll even submit that missing that Oscar citation for your breakthrough is not always a bad thing. Talk to Keisha Castle-Hughes, Haley Joel Osment and Kate Hudson and find out how those lone Oscar nominations are helping their careers...Okay, so I suppose Kate Hudson does have a career post-Almost Famous, for reasons that confound and baffle me to this day.

And finally, I have to cite a Breakthrough Director Award for David Michôd, whose debut feature Animal Kingdom was incredibly potent, stripped down and intelligent. I can't wait to see what he does next. Which is a nice segue into...

Best Ensemble Cast of 2010
I appreciated the ensemble work in several films this year. The Social Network is alive with vibrant actors who (mostly) know how to work their way around Aaron Sorkin's rapid-fire dialogue. And there is incredible interplay going on between the performers. Ditto for The Fighter, where every character feels like a live wire (God, those sisters...). Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The Kids Are All Right are both blessed with performers who completely inhabit their film's respective universe. In descending order, those would be my runners-up. But the top prize for best ensemble cast goes, unquestionably to...

This cast of Animal Kingdom. The Cody family is played by each actor (even newcomer James Frecheville, whose performance has been slighted by some), with lived-in, believable performances. They play off of each other so vibrantly and there's a wonderful fluidity to the familial dynamic being depicted here. It feels very real, lending to how foreboding and creepy the movie often is. They've all done some terrible things, those Codys...

Coming Up Next:
Best Films of 2010 (Honorable Mentions)

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Director

2011-02-05T19:24:00.006-05:00

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
An ostentatious and often obvious cinematic exercise, but one executed with Aronofsky's singular and simple vision. It's hard to find fault with all the directorial flourishes and experiments when they're this controlled.

Derek Cianfrance for Blue Valentine
Every scene feels infused with humanity and authenticity. The actors are being guided by a sure and steady hand that gives them room to breathe, while knowing all the right emotional beats to hit. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Yorgos Lanthimos for Dogtooth
His sick little vacuum of a universe is expertly constructed and he seems to know exactly what he's doing. Every actor is on the same page and there is a magnificent control at work behind the scenes of this absurdist and arresting portrait of a disturbed family.

David O. Russell for The Fighter
If you walked into The Fighter expecting just another tired retread into the world of cinematic boxing, Russell assuages your fears from the first frame. It's clear that Russell isn't sanding his edges and his directorial stamp runs through this live wire of a film.

David Fincher for The Social Network
I truly believe that a lesser director (or certainly one not as inventive as Fincher) would have receded into the background and let the exercise become Sorkin's film. He does allow the script to do some heavy lifting at appropriate moments, but it is Fincher's direction that elevates The Social Network into a thing of visual splendor.

Finalists:
Debra Granik for Winter's Bone. The process of improvisation and long rehearsal has paid off once again for Mike Leigh in Another Year. David Michôd crafted a haunting debut with Animal Kingdom.

Semi-Finalists:
Danny Boyle for 127 Hours.
Lisa Cholodenko for The Kids Are All Right.

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Adapted Screenplay

2011-02-05T19:03:00.003-05:00

Alex Garland for Never Let Me Go
Flawed, certainly, but beautiful and dripping with so many great moments. It's a tricky source material to adapt and in a lot of ways, Garland accomplished much by what he chooses not to say.

David Lindsay-Abaire for Rabbit Hole
Gets its spot here for two reasons. Firstly, it's a great screenplay filled with wonderful moments that get to the core of its characters. Secondly, it's a great adaptation that never once feels like it was birthed from a stage play. The material feels tailored for the cinema in a way that few stage to film adaptations can boast.

Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Everything a great comedic script should be. Fun, well-paced, and ridiculously quotable. "I want to have his adopted babies." For sheer, unabashed comic enjoyment, I don't think think there was another film that matched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and it starts with the script.

Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network
Endlessly quotable, so deep and rich, and with a rhythm and pace that manages to feel lightning fast but never gimmicky. One of those rare scripts that's just so damn good you almost hate that you didn't write it yourself (for the writers out there). From its first scene, it hooks you and never lets go.

Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for Winter's Bone
As I said in my write-up of the film, I went in expecting a fast and loose festival breakout whose sole purpose is to house a great performance. I was pleasantly surprised by its taut structure and engrossing mystery. And the words are just so good, "I already told you once with my mouth." Brilliant.

Finalist:
Even though the best screenplay of the year is an adaptation, it actually wasn't a huge bellweather year for adapted screenplays, at least in terms of the films I actually saw. 127 Hours is enjoyable, certainly and warrants consideration.

Semi-Finalists:
The Town, while a film I enjoyed, never really had a shot here because of how it stumbles in its last act. The ending, particularly. Ditto for For Colored Girls, but I'm citing it because it's Perry's most interesting work to date and quite possibly one of the most misunderstood films of the year.

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Original Screenplay

2011-01-31T19:26:00.002-05:00

David Michôd for Animal Kingdom
Well-paced, gripping and intricate. The actors shine here because they're given a wonderful jumping off point from this debut writer. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Mike Leigh for Another Year
This nomination may garner sneers (he doesn't actually write scripts!) but the details, the nuances, the backstory birthed from the very notion that it's better to envision fully realized characters and giving them a situation rather than chaining stock characters to a rigid plot structure--they're all rich rewards of Leigh's process and yes, his writing.

Derek Cianfrance for Blue Valentine
Like Mike Leigh, he gives his actors room to breathe, but there's so much here that feels poached from genuine, real-life experience. Every character (no matter what time they exist in) has a distinct, believable and consistent voice.

Eric Johnson, Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy for The Fighter
Certain, Russell adds his directorial flair to what's already a tired genre. But the innovation doesn't start there. The film is on fire at the script level, creating a portrait of one of the most compelling cinematic families captured in recent memory. "She's an MTV girl!" So many great lines...

Michael Arndt for Toy Story 3
A beautiful swan song for one of Pixar's most beloved franchises and one of the few franchises in which each sequel has felt necessary, complete and lovely in its construction, starting with the well-structured script that both satisfies and subverts audience expectation. Balances tonal shift with aplomb. We all cried, certainly. But I'm not hearing enough talk about just how hilarious Spanish Buzz Lightyear was.

Finalists:
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for The Kids Are All Right. I certainly have reservations about the film, but it's screenplay still reads so well. Funny, sexy, touching. And that well-executed ending. Yorgos Lanthimos's Dogtooth gets points for creating its own universe, replete with strange rules and even an odd take on language itself.

Semi-Finalists:
Jacques Tati, Henri Marquet, and Sylvain Chomet create something beautiful and touching with The Illusionist, a better film than Toy Story 3, but clearly less reliant on its screenplay. David Seidler's screenplay for The King's Speech gets a shout out. Not that it would have ever made my list, but it hits its appropriate beats so well and is impeccably structured.

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Actress in a Leading Role

2011-01-29T05:09:00.004-05:00

And the great women are...

Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
She's back, y'all (not that she ever went anywhere). But for the first time in what seems like an eternity, public consensus seems to be behind one of Kidman's brilliant, fearless turns. I have paid much lip service to the wonderful actors surrounding her (Rabbit Hole is the only film to land nominations from me in all four acting categories), but make no mistake--Kidman's Becca, in all of her complex, funny, guarded and wounded glory, is the beating heart at the center.

Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone
A true breakout discovery for 2010 and the best kind in that she's actually deserving of all the acclaim. It's surprisingly restrained and unfussy work--the kind of work that usually doesn't get recognized as great when coming from such a young performer. She intelligently and believably sells the backstory of a young girl grown up too fast without the luxury of time for big showy moments. Bonus points for her breakdown in the rowboat. A great, slow burn performance.

Lesley Manville in Another Year
From my review: "Manville manages to play Mary's hostility as simultaneously brimming, immature, embarrassing and (miraculously) quiet." Mike Leigh has always gotten fascinating and accomplished work from his leading ladies. Manville is no exception. She makes a human being out of a what is essentially a walking, talking open wound. Brilliant work.

Tilda Swinton in I Am Love
She's a sight to marvel in I Am Love. Emma Recchi is tight-lipped and internal, so much of her struggle and arch taking place without the aid of dialogue. But when she does speak, boy does she make it count. Her line reading of "You no longer know who I am" (in Italian, of course), still breaks my heart. Consider Tilda's Julia--a character that you couldn't imagine existing in the same time zone as Emma Recchi. What a true chameleon Swinton is, proving once again that she's one of our most fearless and vital actresses working today.

Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine
Cindy is a tricky character to play. The narrative seems hellbent on positioning her as either an idea, rather than a character or the villain of the piece. But Williams's subtlety, attention to detail and ability to match in every way the fierce honesty of her screen partner goes a long way. This is her best work to date, which is very high praise indeed.

Finalists:
In such a banner year for leading female performances, this was the hardest list to compile. I immediately have to cite Natalie Portman in Black Swan, Julianne Moore and Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right (and yes, in that order). Two are our two Oscar frontrunners and all three are great turns, worthy of the many accolades being thrown their way. But lists are all about honesty and I honestly happened to like five performances better than these turns, which surprised me.

Semi-Finalists:
Emma Stone does some industrial strength heavy-lifting in Easy A and she'll have continued success while doing it her way. Carey Mulligan gains points in Never Let Me Go for doing such a thematically and narratively tricky follow-up to her soft-lob, breakout role.

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Actor in a Leading Role

2011-01-29T04:42:00.004-05:00

And the great leading men are...

Aaron Eckhart in Rabbit Hole
A great partner for Nicole Kidman's powerhouse. Eckhart's Howie drips with genuine emotion and not just during the loud notes of the performance. His portrayal of a civil, reasonable man crippled by grief may read as effortless, but his presence is so steady, reliable and subtle. He's never been better.

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
From my review: "[Eisenberg] plays [Zuckerberg] with a consistent, even tone of equal parts coldness, obliviousness and befuddlement at how off-putting people find him to be." And apparently, even I was being reductive. The awkward social graces are just one part of the performance, which is layered with distinct character details and real vulnerability that seeps through the facade. In many ways, the year's most difficult performance.

James Franco in 127 Hours
Completely disappears into Boyle's version of Aron Ralston and resists the film's impulse to lionize a real human being who may not be that likable. Franco smartly plays Raltson's charm and charisma as both an asset and a liability for the character and keeps interest in this one man show.

Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine
One of his generation's best actors working at the top of his form, not simply relying on what is actually very impressive aging work on his character. Every word uttered, every nuance, every gesture seems birthed from deep, internal motivation that's more than it seems and so different than his previous (and still impressive) work.

Tahar Rahim in A Prophet
Rahim serves as a great anchor for a film that often meanders. Malik's transformation builds gradually and you never see any easy or convenient switches. A tricky, well-played and fascinating turn by one to watch.

Finalists:
Colin Firth and Jeff Bridges turn in impressive turns in The King's Speech and True Grit, respectively that, were it a weaker year for leading male performances, they'd sure to make the list. While accomplished, there is something rather external and obvious about both turns that doesn't match the five honored performances. But good work all around.

Semi-Finalists:
Sean Penn dials it back and makes Joe Wilson a human being rather than a political mouthpiece in Fair Game. I was amazed by his restraint. Justin Long's ever reliable charisma doesn't exactly save Going the Distance, but it does the film so many favors and he's well-matched with Barrymore.

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Supporting Actress

2011-01-25T00:56:00.008-05:00

And the nominees are...

Dale Dickey in Winter's Bone
Merab is malicious and terrifying, but like many of the characters in Winter's Bone, she's more than she seems. Dickey plays all the notes wonderfully.

Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Full of feeling, life and bouncing delightfully off of Christian Bale's performance. She's electric, right down to the outfits. So lived-in and specific.

Mia Wasikowska in The Kids Are All Right
In many ways, she's the film's saving grace. It's Joni--her eyes, her ability to communicate so much nonverbally that makes the film's conclusion all the more effective and Wasikowska sells it all. Incredibly naturalistic, open and observant. A great turn.

Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom
Frightening from the start, though you don't find out why until the end. She plays her cards close to her vest and makes Smurf one of the year's most fascinating cinematic characters. Bonus points for the little details (the kisses on the mouth...so creepy).

Dianne Wiest in Rabbit Hole
Serves a big part in lightening what could have been a heavy film. Wiest's Nat can make you laugh and break your heart. "At some point it becomes bearable." God, that line reading...

Finalists:
Alba Rohrwacher in I Am Love. Sells the rapport with Tilda Swinton so well. Amy Adams in The Fighter plays rough edges and a loving core so well. Imelda Staunton in a great cameo in Another Year.

Semi-Finalists:
The ladies of Black Swan. Neither Barbara Hershey nor Mila Kunis have a whole lot to do, but they always keep it interesting and watchable. Keira Knightley in Never Let Me Go.

2010 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Supporting Actor

2011-01-25T00:29:00.009-05:00

I am happy to announce the nominees for the 3rd(!) Annual Pretentious Film Awards given by yours truly. The first category is Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. And the reliable men are...

Christian Bale in The Fighter
Showy and actorly, but not without purpose. He chews the scenery, yes, but he does so while imbuing Dicky Ecklund with humor, specificity and deep felt humanity.

Andrew Garfield in Never Let Me Go
In many ways, Garfield's Tommy is the center of what makes Never Let Me Go so devastating. Communicative, evocative and nuanced. Bonus points for the eyes, which seem intent on breaking your heart at nearly every turn. (Note: He's also fabulous in The Social Network).

John Hawkes in Winter's Bone
An underappreciated character actor, Hawkes is a best in show for Winter's Bone. He sells Teardrop's shift from a near caricature, to a deeply emotional fleshed out human with an integral backstory. The film's best lines ("I already told you once with my mouth") seem to roll off his tongue with shocking ease.

Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right
Seemingly effortless, but so funny and so controlled. Every movement, every verbal nuance speaks to the charm, the smarmy exterior and the self-satisfaction. Ruffalo proves his chops here as an underused and underrated comedian ("Let's just go for it. It's out there..."). He earns the film's biggest laughs.

Miles Teller in Rabbit Hole
A brief role, but a pivotal one played with aching realism. He gifts a movie filled with burned, jaded adults with untested and naive optimism. Nicole has Teller to thank for some of her best scenes in the film.

Finalists:
Matt Damon works wonders in True Grit. Vincent Cassell is delightful in Black Swan, but the turn feels slightly unrealized.

Semi-Finalists:
Jeremy Renner adds another great turn to his impressive resume with The Town. Ben Mendelsohn is subtle and frightening as "Pope" in Animal Kingdom.

2010 in Film (more reviews)

2011-01-24T23:40:00.003-05:00

True Grit (dirs. Ethan Coen and Joel Coen)
While the western is admittedly not my genre of choice, there are westerns I enjoy. I like Shane much more than I'm willing to admit. For my money, The Searchers is one of the best movies ever made (there, I said it). This is all to say that I didn't go into True Grit with a closed mind at all. The Coen Brothers are probably regarded as the great American filmmakers of their generation and justifiably so. But watching True Grit, I felt like I was trying to convince myself that I love the film rather than merely like it. The way it sticks its landing so beautifully and emotionally only served to exacerbate my need to convince myself that the film as a whole is a great one, which I'm sorry to report, this entrant goes in the lower tier of Coen Brothers work for me. I'm certainly not washing my hands of the movie altogether, as there is so much to admire here. Jeff Bridges does fine work as Cockburn, the aging gruff lawman hired by Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld, who is in every minute of the film except the last five, yet is maddeningly being campaigned as a "supporting actress."). Matt Damon's performance is the best in the film and packs a certain unexpected humor and warmth that varies the rather stolid tone. And what of Hailee Steinfeld? She may very well win that supporting actress Oscar. I thought she was fine. I've already stated my feelings about her bogus category classification and frankly I wouldn't put her in the top five of either actress category. While I think she was very good, there were definite moments (plural) in the film where you catch her acting. But overall, it's accomplished work for the young performer and should serve as a nice calling card piece to take her into the next phase of her career. It's expertly shot by Roger Deakins, who may finally have a shot at that cinematography Oscar which has criminally eluded him, despite years of great work. The crafting of this film is not its problem, but rather how often the narrative feels rather uninteresting. But as I've stated before, there's enough good here that it's an outright failure, and it's so stylistically fascinating that one could hardly call it arbitrary in the same manner as The King's Speech. So, with that being said...
Grade: B

For Colored Girls (dir. Tyler Perry)
I avoided watching this for some time. I studied Ntozake Shange's lyric poem in college and was loath to believe that a truly workable and coherent narrative film adaptation could ever be made. Certainly not by Perry, who I have always contended has his virtues as a filmmaker and should not be dismissed as he often is by mainstream press. But internal psychology and nuanced turmoil are both at the center of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf and neither of these things are Tyler Perry's strong suit. That all being said, I was pleasantly surprised by Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls. Does it work as a whole? Not quite. But it's definitely his most interesting work to date and shows that given the right material to match his aesthetic, Perry could very well be an artistic force to be reckoned with. The poems aren't woven organically into the script, but they are often beautiful and heartfelt. The performances are surprisingly solid for the most part (in any other year, in any other film, Kimberly Elise might have had a chance at a supporting actress nod). Thandie Newton is leagues below everyone else in the film, but I hardly blame Perry for that. She's an actress whose brand of thesping I just...don't get. It feels strange to compare the two films, and although Never Let Me Go is leagues better, in a way it's joined by For Colored Girls as two of the most misunderstood films of 2010 that critics may look back on and realize they judged harshly. Yes, I just said that.
Grade: B-

Another Year (dir. Mike Leigh)
There's a moment towards the end of Another Year when Mary (Lesley Manville) tearfully tells her friend and co-worker Gerri (Ruth Sheen), "As long as you're my friend, I'm all right." It's a sentiment that is at once incredibly sweet and incredibly sad, expressed with aching conviction. The film, which follows a year in the life of happily married (but not saccharine) Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri as they contend with family and friends. Mike Leigh's famous process of long rehearsal where the actors are able to find their characters has paid off once again. This is one of the year's best films and ranks up there with Leigh's best work. It was so rich with character detail and nuance, in true Leigh fashion. Lesley Manville's work here has been justifiably lauded. I love that Mary's alcoholism, while a problem for the character, is not the problem. While over at Gerri and Tom's house for dinner, Mary of course has too much wine, as is her way. But watch the way she steers every bit of conversation desperately back to herself--her failed marriage, her lack of a car, her need for a vacation. It's a rich performance that many respond to because I think we all have a Mary in our lives, unless of course we are her. That person whose desperation and need for your friendship makes it truly impossible for them to reciprocate and sort of good deeds in a constructive way. Manville understands Mary to the ground. When Gerri and Tom's thirty-year-old son Joe (Oliver Maltman), with whom Mary flirts shamelessly, brings his new girlfriend around, it's one of the best moments of screen acting you'll see this year. Manville manages to play Mary's hostility as simultaneously brimming, immature, embarrassing and (miraculously) quiet. She deserves to be nominated for an Oscar in whatever category she is placed (I can understand the argument for lead or supporting). Ruth Sheen and Jim Broadbent wonderfully play a couple who has settled into what they know are the late years of their marriage and their life. Are they madly, disgustingly, unrealistically in love? Not so. They simply know, respect, and love each other a great deal and they happen to enjoy each other's company. They are probably aware of how lucky they are, but they don't flaunt it and it does feel routine. They also are not perfect. Tom has a way of unconsciously goading and pressuring his son. While they love each other and get along quite well, one sense that there is mild hostility and frustration lurking underneath the surface, like in all father son relationships. This is due to the extraordinary ability these actors have to play off of each other. The don't just act, they react. It may seem like I'm speaking little of plot. Mike Leigh's films are not creatures of plot. This is, in many ways, his most observational film. And yet it never feels boring or stale. It's heartwarming, honest and refined. I literally didn't want it to end.
Grade: A-

2010 in Film (still more reviews...)

2011-01-24T23:16:00.003-05:00

Easy A (dir. Will Gluck)
Yes, it's often uneven and spotty, but wouldn't Easy A have made a better choice than any of the other films nominated for Best Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes (save The Kids Are All Right)? I don't begrudge Jennifer Lawrence the many breakthrough awards she's won this year for Winter's Bone, but I would have loved to see some love for Emma Stone, whose starmaking performance in Easy A elevates what could have been forgettable fare (which if often is) into something worth watching by virtue of her own comedic talents. Extra points to Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci who play Olive's (Stone) parents in delightful supporting performances. Despite its lack of true greatness, in many ways Easy A is everything a mainstream high school comedy should be--funny, sweet, quotable and helmed by a performer who makes you unable to imagine anyone else doing it better.
Grade: B-

Toy Story 3 (dir. Lee Unkrich)
For sheer tearjerking and tugging at the emotional heartstrings, few films this year touched Toy Story 3. I enjoyed it immensely and, like many, was reduced to a mess of tears by last frame. But if pressed, I have to confess a certain lack of true passion and enthusiasm about it. When I first saw the film a couple of months ago, I was convinced it would be in my year end top ten. And yet, it's a just miss. Ironic, considering that Up was on my top ten list last year and I seldom think about that film now. I found myself wondering if this film truly stands on its own as a narrative, without taking into account the previous chapters. Or should it, even? It is, despite its exceptional crafting, still a sequel. It does feel remarkably contained for the third installment of a franchise. Pixar has, after all, had very few missteps over the years (though they have misstepped) and in a lot of ways, the Toy Story series is the best thing they've ever done. There's so much to love here. The one-two punch of the ending (and I hope it's an ending. No sequels, please) is deeply felt and resonates deeply with the generation who were indeed kids when the first Toy Story was released in 1995. Furthermore, there's a universality to Toy Story 3 that I related to as an adult who came late to the franchise. I remember, almost distinctly, the day I, as a child, went to play with my large collection of action figures after a couple months' absence and realized I had outgrown this phase. And, like I said, I blubbered like a baby when Andy drove off contemplatively into the computer animated horizon at the end. So, in summation, it's a solid homerun for Pixar, but not on my top ten list. Call me heartless if you wish.
Grade: B+

Going the Distance (dir. Nanette Burstein)
Like Easy A, what Going the Distance lacks in true cinematic greatness or memorability, it more than makes up for with the charm and likability of its actors. Let it be known that Drew Barrymore and Justin Long have charm in spades, but I'm partial (I kind of love both of them, unashamedly). The film charts two thirty-somethings who meet cute and fall in love in New York shortly before one of them (Barrymore) has to move to San Francisco. What ensues is a formulaic, slightly uneven, clearly working with limitations, but nevertheless, sweet and endearing romantic comedy. If Hollywood must make tired retreads (and it's clear at this point that they must, for whatever reason), they could certainly do a lot worse than this one.
Grade: B-

2010 in Film: The Documentaries

2011-01-24T22:54:00.005-05:00

2010 was a year where I saw an unusually high number of documentaries. Though I missed Inside Job and most of Waiting for Superman (it's a long story), I did see four documentaries that seemed to seep into the mainstream consciousness. Although no documentary film ultimately made my final year end top ten list, Prodigal Sons came very close and is much better than any of the four films I'm about to discuss in very abbreviated form.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (dirs. Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg)
An enjoyable and often funny time at the movies, but hardly deeply probing and wildly unfocused. Joan Rivers does make for a fascinating subject, but one can't help but feel that the glimpses into her life are shallow and rehearsed.
Grade: B-

Exit Through the Gift Shop (dir. Banksy)
Fascinating, but ultimately unspectacular, especially given the acclaim it has received. It's portrait of a certain type of artistic counter culture feels very self-congratulatory and judgmental from where I'm sitting, but I certainly got a kick out of it. My enthusiasm rests slightly below the hype.
Grade: B

I'm Still Here (dir. Casey Affleck)
Vile, desperate and attempting to offend, none of which are qualities that have ever precluded me from liking a film. However, this mockumentary glimpse into the staged downfall of actor turned "rapper" and then actor again Joaquin Phoenix manages to contain all the aforementioned qualities while still also being boring and uninteresting, to the point of near-unwatchability. Affleck and Phoenix made the worst choice at every turn in service of very bare, transparent and facile intentions.
Grade: C-

Restrepo (dirs Tim Heatherington and Sebastian Junger)
Hearkening back to the days of true, war-embedded journalism, Restrepo follows the tour of duty of the 2nd platoon stationed in the Korengal Valley, the most dangerous region of Afghanistan. It's harrowing, emotional and rather moving (I fought tears more than once watching it). Ultimately, what makes the film suffer is its omniscient point of view and lack of structure (which some have argued is the film's strength, so take my very contrary opinion with a grain of salt). I certainly understand why it's being acclaimed and, like Exit Through the Gift Shop, it's refreshing to see true outsiders achieving success in the closed circle that is notable documentary filmmaking. But again, if you're looking for moving, emotional, outsider documentary filmmaking, subject matter aside, why not take a look at Prodigal Sons, which is all of these things and impeccably structured to boot. Just a thought.
Grade: B+

2010 in film (yet again...)

2011-01-24T21:44:00.004-05:00

Black Swan (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
This is a film that I loved, in spite of its flaws, which are legion. The film teeters dangerously on the line between art and trash (and dips into the latter more than once). But I stopped to consider something. Were the world of New York ballet in this narrative to be replaced by the world of say...beauty pageants, the film would feel no less captivating, engrossing and thrilling. That is due to Darren Aronofsky. After three viewings, I'm quite certain now that Black Swan is not his best work, but it is definitely his showiest and most sure-handed. Natalie Portman gives her best performance to date as prima ballerina Nina Sayers who's as fragile and delicate as porcelain, making it almost certain that by last frame she will have cracked. Though I do find Natalie Portman rather spotty as an actress, in terms of consistency, this is still high praise. An aside: I don't quite follow this narrative that going into the Oscar race, Natalie Portman's inevitable(?) best actress win will be the culmination of a great career filled with landmark performances. But her turn here is one for the ages and should she win the Oscar, it'll be looked upon fondly and will be preferable by a wide margin to the past five or six best actress winners. And the fact that she's not even my favorite of the probable nominees tells me that this category is going to be the best its been in years (I've been a little worried, full disclosure). I was surprised by how controlled Black Swan was, both in terms of Portman's performance (which is actually more quiet, subdued and internal than one might expect) and the film itself, especially compared to Requiem for a Dream. Matthew Libatique deserves the Oscar for his cinematography, which deliciously captures the movement of the dancers in long, extended takes, rather than quick frenetic ones. I've never seen ballet shot this way in film and it serves the narrative beautifully. The other players do quite well also, despite this being essentially a one-woman show. Even though she's essentially playing a cartoon character, Barbara Hershey is magnificently creepy as Erica, Nina's overbearing mother and former ballerina in her own right. Many will remember Hershey for her scenes of stern, unsettling mothering ("Take off your shirt!"), but for my money, Erica is never scarier than when she's being kind and playful. "Look how pink. Pretty," Nina childishly coos when Erica sets a grapefruit and a poached egg (Requiem for a Dream shout out?) in front of her. Then, in what is for my money just about the creepiest moment of the film, they both drone "Pre-tty" and laugh at their inside joke like school girls. It's a small detail that tells you something's not quite right here. Winona Ryder plays fading ballerina Beth Macintyre in a delicious cameo that works best in small doses, which is what we're given for maximum potency. Vincent Cassell's smarmy Thomas Leroy, the ballet instructor gives off the perfectly needed air of that rare gentleman that is as gross as he is alluring, women aren't sure if they want to blow him or sue him for sexual harassment. Lastly, there's Mila Kunis as Lily, the rival ballerina who smokes cigarettes, eats cheeseburgers and moves imprecisely but sensually. This is not a deep turn, but it's an interesting one and Kunis proves a great foil for Portman. In many ways, it's the film's most interesting performance and while I wouldn't call it Oscar-worthy, I'm forced to defend it because of the flack she's getting for kicking up buzz. It's certainly more interesting than Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech, for instance. When Black Swan finally reaches its conclusion, there is minor ambiguity as well as an unexpected feeling of exhilaration. Love it or hate it, there's no denying that Aronofsky is one of the most important directors working in film today and this is, in many ways, a culminating achievement.
Grade: A-

Rabbit Hole (dir. John Cameron Mitchell)
Hardly mines new territory, but lively acted by nearly every member of the cast. Based on the Pulitzer prize winning play, director John Cameron Mitchell, who is usually showy, recedes and adapts superbly to the story about a couple's lingering grief in the months following the death of their young son. Nicole Kidman, one of the most fearless and misunderstood actresses working today, turns in yet another great turn. She plays Becca as alternately frosty, emotional, angry, dubious and yes, funny. I was surprised by the light touches of humanity and humor that pepper the narrative, serving not to distract from the central emotional conflict, but making the film considerably less heavy than one would expect. Aaron Eckhart, in a sadly overlooked performance, is better than he's ever been. There are moments here and there where you see certain scenes running away from him, particularly in a moment involving a video Becca has erased from Howie's (Eckart) iPhone. But Eckhart's performance is incredibly moving and lived-in. Dianne Wiest plays Nat, Becca's mother with soft familiarity that, like a mother's love, is not always helpful. She seems aplomb at playing women who can't help but say the absolute wrong thing sometimes. But when Nat is right, she's deeply profound and moving. Lastly, I'll talk of newcomer Miles Teller. He plays Jason, the seventeen-year-old driver whose car struck and killed Becca and Howie's son, with amazing subtlety and warmth. He sells the moments without overselling them. A scene where he quietly confesses to Becca that he may have been going too fast (one or two miles over the speed limit) is heartbreaking, but never maudlin thanks to the great interplay between Teller and Kidman. Rabbit Hole is not rewriting the book on cinema, but it's worth a watch and I'm glad to recommend it, since it seems to be having a hard time finding an audience.
Grade: B+

The Fighter (dir. David O. Russell)
In spite of the presence of Black Swan and The Social Networks (splendid films in their own right, certainly), one can't help but wonder if The Fighter is the true directorial achievement of the year. David O. Russell takes one of the oldest and most hackneyed cinematic genres ("The Boxing Movie") and imbues it with so much life, specificity and directorial flourish that's true to his style. The tale of boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) feels incredibly personal as the Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson's script wisely takes the focus off the sport and puts it onto the widely fascinating array of family members and other characters in Ward's life. A lot of ink has been given to supporting actor frontrunner Christian Bale, whose performance as Mickey's brother Dicky Ecklund is a site to behold. The weight loss (Christian Bale seriously needs to stop doing this to himself. I'm worried), the mouth ravaged by crack cocaine use and the other externalities are just part of what makes Bale so mesmerizing. In a way, it's a performance that works in tandem with Melissa Leo, who plays Alice, Mickey's mother. Mark Wahlberg fades into the background and is unusually understated, but Bale and Leo are adept at convincingly selling familial bond, with the unspoken baggage, the secrets and the shared history. Amy Adams is different than you've ever seen her as Mickey's girlfriend, Charlene, stretching beyond the sweet naivete she's already sold us on. It's a great showcase of her talents and I'm glad she didn't go the stereotypical route of playing villain to show that she's not all nice. One of the year's best cinematic moments is watching Charlene take on Mickey's brood of over-bearing, over-coiffed and under-toothed sisters, each one more horrifying than the last. The actors here all play like their role is fully fleshed out and realized. Every inch of this film, from its performers, its director, its wonderful script ("She's an MTV girl"), Hoyte van Hoytema's unshowy cinematography--they all seem to be working in perfect synergy with one another. I'm not sure if The Fighter is the best film of 2010, but it's certainly one of the most enjoyable.
Grade: A-

2010 in Film (cont'd again)

2011-01-21T19:31:00.007-05:00

127 Hours (dir. Danny Boyle)
I certainly enjoyed this film more than Boyle's previous effort, Slumdog Millionaire, which I liked with significant reservation. As awful as this is going to sound, Boyle's use of pop music, split-screen and exuberant visuals is completely apropos to Aron Ralston's story and serves to enrich it thematically, whereas the same devices in Slumdog Millionaire, while also visually exciting, hinted at a certain white male myopia and fundamental misunderstanding of "the other." Am I saying that Danny Boyle should only make films about white males? Hardly. Both films have their virtues and neither one is perfect. But the message here (and both are clear "message" movies) seems less diluted, more to the point and more earnest than Slumdog Millionaire. That is due, in large part to James Franco's lived-in and naturalistic performance, which is at the center of what is essentially a one-man show, give or take Amber Tamblyn. It is Franco's charisma and understanding of the character that sustains a narrative that takes place largely in a chasm where Ralston was forced to amputate his own arm. The film has receded slightly in my memory since its initial viewing, as I accurately expected it would, but it's a solid piece of work that I hope moviewatchers won't shy away from. Being called a pussy by James Franco and his grandmother may persuade some people.
Grade: B

Blue Valentine (dir. Derek Cianfrance)
I initially pegged my initial effusive reaction to this film on the two central performances, fully prepared to talk about how Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are doing some industrial strength heavy lifting to elevate the film. But a second viewing gave me more insight into Derek Cianfrance's sure and steady hand, both as a writer and director. Even with splendid performances (and they are splendid), the same material and structural conceit of examining the birth and death of a marriage through interwoven flashbacks could have easily reeked of well-intentioned, unremarkable Mumblecore fare--the kind you see on tucked far away in the Netflix watch-instantly section. Flashback structure is tricky and requires a certain control over storytelling that few filmmakers can boast. In films that value plot and situation over character, it involves making sure the audience finds out things at exactly the right time, so the flashbacks don't become redundant and the present-day narrative doesn't feel like a rehashing. In character studies such as this one, it involves controlling emotional reaction, getting the most potency out of each moment. Hats off to writer-director Derek Cianfrance and editors Jim Helton and Ron Patane (this is one of the best edited films of the year) on all counts. Watching Cianfrance in interviews, it's clear to see why the film manages to be so distinguishable. With his speech pattern, mannerisms, his appearance right down to the receding hairline, one can't help but wonder if Cianfrance is Dean (Gosling). Is there a Cindy (Williams)? Almost certainly. The film is filled with so many moments of specific, honest and unexpected characterization. A scene from the earlier part of Dean and Cindy's courtship, where he offers his unique perspective on couple's having their own song feels cut and paste from real-life, it rings so true. Having Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams live together during the course of the film rewarded in spades. There is a sense of deep familiarity in the scenes that take place in the latter part of their relationship, proving that those who know us best can hurt us the most because they know where to cut. Ryan Gosling gives what might be his best performance to date. It's a difficult task as Dean doesn't change so much from when he first meets Cindy to when he's married to her for five years. What has changed is external (beyond his balding head and his growing paunch). He wants what he has always wanted--to be with Cindy. A present reality may not support that at Gosling is heartbreaking in his ability to portray a man whose world and his wife seem to be passing him by a little more each day. Williams's role is more prickly and she has the hard task of being the defacto villain in the death of their marriage. Her behavior throughout the film seems consistently selfish, due in large part to the way Cianfrance frames her in the story. But Williams's impresses largely, also eking out one her most impressive, deeply felt turns. Cindy says things which ought to be true, but which she doesn't believe, which is almost the flipside of Dean who says what he thinks and believes it, true or not. The implosion of the relationship is inevitable. Watch how Williams's Cindy tells Dean that he's not living up to his potential. It's another brutally honest moment that features some of William's best and quietest acting in the film. For she says it with a twinge of both guilt and realization. Guilt at expressing the sentiment and realization that if you are with someone who isn't living up to his potential, then you can't possibly be living up to yours. Blue Valentine succeeds so valiantly because nothing in the crafting, its lensing, its acting, even its use of music, feels arbitrary or generic. Seek it out, if you must. It's worth a long drive to a small theater, should it come to that.
Grade: A

The King's Speech (dir. Tom Hooper)
I go back and forth on this one. Is The King's Speech a bad film? Hardly. But it forces me to ask what's worse--a terrible film or a competently made one that's so bland, one can hardly recommend it? Director Tom Hooper recedes admirably into the background, allowing the actors to do the heavy lifting and never getting showy. That's a plus. There are few moments in this cinematic account of King George V(Colin Firth, your likely winner of the Best Actor Oscar come February) and his attempts to become an orator, despite his crippling stammer that makes one go "What? What were the filmmakers thinking?" And yet, in a story that's supposed to be all about personal triumph and overcoming adversity, I felt nothing. And I actually did go into this with expectations of something more than meets the eye, given the acclaim it was receiving. I'll explain further. In 2007, I was hesitant to watch Michael Clayton, not being wowed whatsoever by what I was seeing in the trailer. It looked like an easy miss and I was annoyed by the awards attention it was racking up even before I finally saw it (the combination of Clooney, Pollack, Wilkinson and the goddess herself, Tilda Swinton couldn't keep me away too long). I sat down on a quiet afternoon in a small Atlanta theater in December of '07 and was blown away by how the film seemingly recognized the limitations and expectations of its genre and compellingly subverted and sidestepped said expectations, almost at every turn. So, I figured maybe The King's Speech would surprise in a similar fashion, rising above and beyond the required seven "pieces of flair" necessary to make competent period awards bait. But alas, I was greeted with a film that I can only describe as well-made and certainly high-minded, but (it bears repeating) bland. The performances here are fine. Colin Firth's turn is technically accomplished enough to convincingly sell a stammer, though he hardly layers the personal history in ways that aren't painfully obvious. A fine performance, but not an excellent one. Geoffrey Rush is considerably more tolerable here than usual and his performance is what grounds the narrative, providing some desperately needed softness and humanity to sand the film's sharp, obvious edges. While I will concede that it's nice to see Helena Bonham Carter unencumbered by dark wigs, elaborate Gaga-esque frocks and pounds of cakey Gothic makeup, to call this performance great and awards worthy is more than a little generous. If this is a great Helena Bonham Carter performance, then what the hell was she doing in Fight Club, A Room with a View and Howards End? I made sure to include the last two films because I'm constantly hearing that Carter is being rewarded for finally doing something within the Academy's comfort zone (The Wings of the Dove, her sole nomination to date pending Tuesday's nomination announcement, notwithstanding). But A Room with a View and Howards End are utterly within the Academy's sweet spot and, despite loving both of those movies...nothing for Carter. Peculiar. And while we're on the topic of James Ivory, it's movies like The King's Speech that make me wish that he Ivory was still working at the top of his form. When he did costume and period, it felt (mostly) purposeful, resonant and deeply engrossing, rather than (I'm sorry to say) besides the point. With all this being said, I fully buy into the narrative that The King's Speech could very well give The Social Network a run for its money in the best picture race. I saw the film at Arclight Hollywood on a Thursday morning while having my car serviced. The audience, besides myself, was composed of about two and a half dozen sexagenarians and one gay couple in their fifties (a pretty accurate Academy cross-section). They ate The King's Speech up like a spoon. So, there you have it. There's one of these every year, it would seem. A movie that's being called "great" that makes me wonder what it is I'm not seeing.
Grade: B- (I don't even feel passionately enough about it to grade it any lower)

2010 in Film (cont'd)

2011-01-16T14:49:00.004-05:00

Enter the Void (dir. Gaspar Noé)
Certainly an unforgettable cinematic excursion, right from its incredible opening credits sequence (one of the best I've ever seen). Noé follows up his masterpiece, Irréversible with yet another truly unique exercise, but the details of the film are less memorable than the experience of seeing the film. The narrative (if you can call it that) mostly charts the journey of Oscar (Nathaniel Brown), a man who is shot dead by police during a drug raid at a Tokyo bar called the Void. After his spirit rises from his body, the viewer is taken in first-person shooter mode, seeing what he sees, which include varied and at times very emotionally felt (if aurally and visually distorted) reactions to his tragic demise, particularly from his sister Linda (Paz de la Huerta). We are also given multiple flashbacks of the car crash that killed Oscar and Linda's parents and left them orphans. The film is visually stunning, to say the least and features some of the showiest editing and cinematography I've seen all year. At 154 minutes, it never feels boring, but it does begin to feel repetitive, particularly during its close, which feels like one extended orgy where the audience is a voyeur. Cinematic nudity has never felt so tangentially related to the film itself. The performances range from naturalistic and deeply felt (particularly the child actors who portray young Nathaniel and Linda) to histrionic and over the top. Paz de la Huerta alternates between the two and though there's much to admire about her work here, she never seems to strike the right notes. The film's purposefully muggy, drug haze-like sound mix often can't even serve to drown out the sounds of her chewing the scenery. Nevertheless, Enter the Void is one of the films of 2010 that's a can't miss, regardless of one's reaction. Given its love it or hate it nature, it may seem strange to give it a "B," but at any rate...
Grade: B

Animal Kindgom (dir. David Michôd)
This tautly structured, well-paced Australian crime drama is more than meets the eye and rewards repeat viewings. Writer-director Michôd has constructed a film that is rife with character specificity that sucks you into this family of clumsy yet conniving and often loving Melbourne criminals told through the eyes of Joshua "J" Cody (newcomer James Frecheville). The green and fresh-faced teenager enters the fold after his mother dies of a drug overdose and he is taken in by his grandmother, Janeane "Smurf" Cody played by Jacki Weaver in a much ballyhooed (justifiably so) performance. The details underneath Weaver's turn are small and subtle, but richly consistent in a slow-burn kind of ways. One often looks for the "big scene" when watching a film with a critically lauded performance that people seem unable to shut up about, but the turning point for Weaver is beautifully understated. It's not a film of big moments, in terms of character reaction, but in how disgustingly, how easily the characters (particularly Smurf) turn on their ear and commit despicable acts. The rest of the ensemble is very good as well, even James Frecheville, who has received some criticism for what may appear to be a blank, vacant turn. His face seems aplomb at betraying any emotion and I'll admit that upon first viewing, I found him unremarkable. Watching the film a second time, I'm almost certain it was Michôd's intention that Joshua intentionally try to be faceless in the midst of very lively, volatile family members who he doesn't instantly trust and who certainly give him no reason to qualm his fears. The film is far from perfect. Michôd's script makes the small mistake of saddling the narrative with Joshua's voice over, which could serve to enrich and add perspective (I'm by no means coming down against voice over across the board as a narrative device), but it doesn't exactly take us deeper into the story or the characters. This is a small quibble, however. Animal Kingdom's ability to build tension to a fevered pitch, particularly in the much talked about scene that involves a car backing out of a garage, is something to marvel at and I'm amazed this is Michôd's first feature.
Grade: A-

Fair Game (dir. Doug Lyman)
Doug Lyman, who (let's face it) is a rather hit-or-miss director doesn't exactly miss here. But, his cinematic account of CIA Agent Valerie Plame Wilson (Naomi Watts) and how she was maliciously outed by the White House is a mixed bag that leans slightly more on the positive. I found myself wondering several things while watching Fair Game. Firstly, how is this story going to play to the section of the audience who are unfamiliar with the basics of the Valerie Plame scandal? I knew the very basic details of what happened in 2003, but I still felt as though the film took much too long to get into the nuts and bolts of the story I think it was trying to tell. When you only have 108 minutes to work with, this leaves the film feeling top-heavy, and the conclusion feeling rush. Lyman also serves as cinematographer on Fair Game. This is possibly a mistake--the film is peppered with some very baffling, arbitrary camerawork, particularly during a CIA briefing with Plame, other operatives and White House officials. I imagine this was an attempt to take a straight-down-the-middle narrative and make it more visually interesting, but it serves as more of a distraction than anything else. The film alternates between scenes such as these and scenes of Plame's domestic life with husband Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn). Here, there are real nuggets of great acting. Joe Wilson is a staunch liberal who of course took umbrage to what was done to his wife. I'm almost certain that Penn, given his own passionate political leanings, has lionized Joe Wilson in his mind. Yet, his performance here is surprisingly realistic and restrained, lacking the over-the-top, soapbox theatrics some may have expected. Naomi Watts is fine as well, playing Plame as alternately self-empowered and backed into a corner. She manages not to overact (21 Grams anyone?) but the performance still doesn't touch her best work. The problem is that Valerie and Joe's familial strife, though brought upon by the bigger storyline of the leak scandal is never married seamlessly with said storyline. As a result, it feels like the two plotlines exist in a vacuum and not enough time is spent on either. There's enough to recommend here, but Fair Game, while high-minded and well-intentioned, is ultimately unremarkable.
Grade: B-

The Top 25 Albums of the Aughts (5-1)

2011-01-08T20:02:00.005-05:00

5. Jay-Z - "The Black Album" (2003)
No, I didn't forget it. It's in the top five, right where it should be. Even the most casual listener of hip-hop would be hard-pressed to make a list of the greatest albums of the 2000s and exclude this one. Jay-Z is an artist who I don't adore across the board. I run quite hot and cold on him, but I loved this CD. It's so bold, well-produced and yes, self-aggrandizing (but to its credit). If only it had been his grand finale as planned (he was supposed to retire after this one). It would have been an amazing swan song to a very successful career.
Best Track: "December 4th"

4. M.I.A. - "Kala" (2007)
My first draft of this list also featured M.I.A.'s "Arular," but it was ultimately bumped to make way for superior fare. I like "Arular," don't get me wrong, But with "Kala," she reached new heights. She was truly a unique musical voice introduced in the 2000s because I can honestly say that no one else sounded like her. "Kala" is the perfect representation of this. And like many great albums, I had a hard time selecting a favorite song. But if pressed...
Best Track: "Boyz"

3. Madonna - "Music" (2000)
Nick Davis over at Nicks Flick Picks very shrewdly pointed out that Madonna's music career and acting career always seem to be at odds with each other. They're never simultaneously great, though if you ask me, her acting career has never been "great." The Next Best Thing came out around the same time "Music" was released. While the film sank like a stone, both commercially and critically, "Music" was and is a work of genius. I know she's divisive, but Madonna remains the quintessential pop star, through and through. Her ability to interestingly reinvent herself, the meticulous control she exercises over her own image...these are things to be admired.
Best Track: "Music"

2. Robin Thicke - "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" (2006)
Who knew that Dr. Seaver's son (yes, he is Alan Thicke's progeny) could produce such a soulful, beautiful sound? Just don't call it blue-eyed soul (he hates that term). His voice alternates between a deep, melodic presence and a soft airy falsetto with ease. He's a throwback to the golden age of R&B. Every track on this album (and I mean that without hyperbole) is amazing. I have listened to it start to finish more times than I can count. Even "Would That Make You Love Me," which has some nasty personal connotations involving the ringtone of a malicious ex wasn't ruined for me.
Best Track: "I Need Love" Hard to choose, but this song gives me chills.

1. Kanye West - "Graduation" (2007)
I didn't even have to think about it. I always knew it would be at the top of this list, no matter what the rest were. I didn't love "Late Registration" as much as "College Dropout," so I had my guard up about this one. But he absolutely killed it. And that contest with 50 Cent to see whose album would sell more? Pshaw...it was never a contest. 50 Cent's stuff is...cute. But he's no Kanye and I hope he realizes that now. While I'm at it, I'm also going to pronounce Kanye West as the artist of the decade. Between the Taylor Swift kerfuffle, the pronouncement that "George Bush doesn't care about black people," and every other bold/stupid move he made, he backed up the arrogance with impeccable and indelible music. So, I guess he's right. You really can't tell Kanye nothing.
Best Track: "Everything I Am" Kanye at his most honest and raw. This song brings tears to my eyes.

So, for the record, the top 25 albums of the 2000s are...

1. Kanye West - "Graduation" (2007)
2. Robin Thicke - "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" (2006)
3. Madonna - "Music" (2000)
4. M.I.A. - "Kala" (2007)
5. Jay-Z - "The Black Album" (2003)
6. Damien Rice - "O" (2002)
7. The Streets - "Original Pirate Material" (2002)
8. Ray LaMontagne - "Till the Sun Turns Black" (2006)
9. Coldplay - "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (2002)
10. Daft Punk - "Discovery" (2001)
11. Iron and Wine - "Our Endless Numbered Days" (2004)
12. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Fever to Tell" (2003)
13. John Legend - "Get Lifted" (2004)
14. Erykah Badu - "Mama's Gun" (2000)
15. Ciara - "Goodies" (2004)
16. Ray LaMontagne - "Trouble" (2004)
17. Scissor Sisters - "Scissor Sisters" (2004)
18. Feist - "The Reminder" (2007)
19. Green Day - "American Idiot" (2003)
20. Norah Jones - "Come Away With Me" (2002)
21. Kanye West - "College Dropout" (2004)
22. Lady Gaga - "The Fame Monster" (2009)
23. Missy Elliott - "Miss E...So Addictive" (2001)
24. Amos Lee - "Amos Lee" (2005)
25. Common - "Be" (2005)

My Best of the 2000s film list to be published soon...
Also, nominations for the 3rd Annual Pretentious Film Awards will be announced sometime next week.

As always...
Peace, love and pretension.

The Top 25 Albums of the Aughts (10-6)

2011-01-08T19:30:00.004-05:00

10. Daft Punk - "Discovery" (2001)
It's everything a pop album should be: fun, memorable, catchy and exciting. I also appreciate Daft Punk for continuing to make the music video a viable pop culture staple (it noticeably began to die in the 2000s as Music Television stopped featuring...music).
Best Track: "Digital Love" (Yes, this decision was partly influenced by the wonderful Gap commercial featuring the lovely Juliette Lewis).

9. Coldplay - "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (2002)
Their debut album "Parachutes," while very enjoyable, was never really in contention to be on this list. "A Rush of Blood to the Head," their great followup is their best album, through and through. Though my affection for Coldplay has cooled considerably (to say the least) since I first listened to this album back in 2002, this is a masterwork and has the distinction of being the only album on this list on which I can successfully cover every song (real talk). Does that speak to the simplicity of their music? My twelve years of piano lessons in no way have made me some musical genius, so it very well may, but there is such a noticeable drop off in quality between this album and their followup. They never made anything quite so brilliant. (For the record, I don't blame Gwyneth Paltrow, who married Chris Martin after this album was released, but before "X&Y" came out. People need to stop hating on Gwyneth Paltrow). Also check out their Live CD, which features many tracks off of this album and a few unreleased ones as well.
Best Track: "Amsterdam" Hard to choose, but man what a beautiful song.

8. Ray LaMontagne - "Till the Sun Turns Black" (2006)
His second appearance on this countdown, Ray LaMontagne surpassed his own greatness in every way with this one. Again, even if you're not familiar with this album, you may well have heard several of its tracks. "Be Here Now," has been appropriated to death in commercials, television and film (most notably and best in the trailer for 2006's Away From Her). While there are one or two duds on this album (songs I skip over every time they pop up on the iPod), the gems are exceptional.
Best Track: "Can I Stay."

7. The Streets - "Original Pirate Material" (2002)
This album holds such a dear place in my heart. I saw him live in Atlanta and it was a glorious show. This British rapper was such a unique find in the 2000s. His tracks are funny, honest, touching and delightfully grimy. His subsequent releases are worth a listen as well, but unfortunately don't hold a candle to this great debut.
Best Track: "Geezers Need Excitement"

6. Damien Rice - "O" (2002)
It's hard to think of Damien Rice without thinking of a lovely, pixie-haired Natalie Portman strolling confidently down the streets of London during the first frames of 2004's Closer (incidentally, one of the best films of the 2000s). Jude Law couldn't keep his eyes off of her, as the song "The Blower's Daughter" reiterated. The equally lovely track "Cold Water" is later used to underscore the film. Like Ray LaMontagne, Damien Rice's music had the benefit of being featured (almost ubiquitously) in film and television. He was everywhere, even if you didn't realize it and for good reason. This was an amazing, soulful and haunting debut from the Irish singer-songwriter.
Best Track: "Older Chests"

The top 5 to be featured in the next post (obviously)

The Top 25 Albums of the Aughts (15-11)

2010-12-30T18:01:00.003-05:00

15. Ciara - "Goodies" (2004)
Here's where I become a stereotypical Atlantan (or de-facto Atlanta, as is more accurate). Ciara is just about the most exciting female R&B artist to emerge from the 2000s. Her voice is good enough, but her music is just so melodic and perfectly produced. Jazze Pha's work on this album is stuff legends are made of. Her subsequent efforts, particularly "Ciara: The Evolution," which was just shy of making this list are also worth a listen. But her debut album is her most impressive to date, in a very impressive catalogue.
Best Track: "Oh" featuring Ludacris

14. Erykah Badu - "Mama's Gun" (2000)
I was but a lowly ninth grader when this album came out. I recently and randomly revisited it. It's great to rediscover just how amazing this album is (and I liked Badu already). Badu truly takes her place as the heir to Nina Simone in her follow up to 1997's "Baduizm" (if this countdown included the 90s, surely that album would also be on it). I don't love every song on "Mama's Gun," but when it's good, it's really really good and it's an album I love to revisit every so often.
Best Track: "Didn't Cha Know"

13. John Legend - "Get Lifted" (2004)
So much bad R&B came out of the 2000s (and continues to come out in the aught tens). It's definitely becoming more and more faceless, without true identity or distinction, which makes me sad because R&B is such a huge part of my musical narrative. But I'm at least encouraged by artists like John Legend, who infuses the genre with the old school flair of great vocals and instrumentation. His debut album is a thing of beauty and he continues to be one of the best R&B artists working today (check out his cover of U2's "Pride," not featured on this album, but definitely a great track).
Best Track: "So High"

12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Fever to Tell" (2003)
Like the Scissor Sisters, I have not really kept up with Yeah Yeah Yeahs beyond their debut album, save Karen O's fabulous work on the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack. The best music is evocative and takes you back to a time and place. For me, I turn on "Fever to Tell," almost entirely listenable, if a little repetitive, and I'm transported back to my senior year of high school. Karen O's voice is...an acquired taste. I've heard from many a people who liken it to a duet of Fran Drescher and nails on a chalkboard, but I was swept up in it right away. I love the wild, undisciplined feel of these songs and how they all feel as if they were performed in a dive bar.
Best Track: "Maps" (Here's where I get cliche...)

11. Iron & Wine - "Our Endless Numbered Days" (2004)
I love pretty much everything Iron & Wine came out with this past decade. I played around with the idea of placing "Woman King" on this list (mostly because of "Jezebel," which is unequivocally his best song), but with only six tracks it didn't really seem fair. Speaking of evocative music, I feel pulled back to the beautiful south whenever I turn on Iron & Wine, particularly this album. Like Ray LaMontagne, he's as artist who you've probably heard before, even if you don't know it. Featured in many a film and television shows, but used most effectively in Jonathan Caouette's 2003 personal documentary Tarnation.
Best Track: "Naked As We Came"

Top Ten Begins in the Next Post with (10-6)

The Top 25 Albums of the Aughts (20-16)

2010-12-30T16:22:00.004-05:00

20. Norah Jones - "Come Away With Me" (2002)
I wasn't crazy about her sophomore effort "Feels Like Home," even though it does contain an awesome duet with Dolly Parton. However, "Come Away With Me," remains utterly listenable more than eight years after I first heard it. Her marriage of jazz, country and folk music, combined with her sweet, whispery voice definitely made an impression.
Best Track: "Nightingale" I didn't even have to think twice.

19. Green Day - "American Idiot" (2004)
That's right, I like Green Day and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Say what you will about them, but they are often imitated (badly I might add...My Chemical Romance, I'm looking in your direction) and quite influential. After a four year hiatus, they returned with what remains their strongest album to date and one of the best of the 2000s.
Best Track: "Are We the Waiting"

18. Feist - "The Reminder" (2007)
A truly unique sound that emerged when her sophomore effort received mainstream commercial success. I loved this album to pieces and listened to it obsessively. "One, Two, Three, Four" was such a great introduction as an amazing first single (and it's not even the best song on the album). I'm happy to include Feist on this list with a little swell of Canadian pride.
Best Track: "Brandy Alexander"

17. Scissor Sisters - "Scissor Sisters" (2004)
A lot of great debuts in this section. Scissor Sisters are sadly a band I haven't been following since their amazing burst onto the scene in 2004 (note to self: must remedy this), but this album got a lot of play from me and I can't imagine this list without it. And I fell in love with it all over again during the third season of "Big Love" when Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) did her crazy dance to this song after her mom died (seriously, are the Scissor Sisters even legal in Utah? Brilliant...)
Best Track: "Take Your Mama"

16. Ray LaMontagne - "Trouble" (2004)
Rounding off this section of the countdown is yet another amazing 2004 debut. Ray LaMontagne will be featured on this list again, rest assured. This album just warms my heart every time I listen to it. And you've probably heard some of it, even if you don't know it. A lot of these tracks were featured on various television shows, movie trailers, etc. Remember that great scene in the second season of "Rescue Me" where Dennis Leary's five-year-old son is killed by the drunk driver? Yep, that's Ray LaMontagne's "All the Wild Horses" playing in the background (incidentally, I know someone who worked on that show and the story behind the decision to kill off the son is a hilarious one involving an annoying child actor and an unruly stage mom). Give it a listen when you have a chance and let LaMontagne's "Trouble" croon you to sleep.
Best Track: "Hold You in My Arms"

Countdown continues with 15-11...

The Top 25 Albums of the Aughts (25-21)

2010-12-30T14:55:00.013-05:00

A little break from our regular programming and part of my "Best of the Aughts" series (I thought it foolish to make such lists at the end of 2009 without a little bit of time and distance to let various dust settle). I realized that I rarely talk about music on this blog. The reason being that my taste in music is incredibly unpretentious. For me, these are without question the 25 albums that defined the 2000s for me.

25. Common - "Be" (2005)
So, let me say something first...I don't buy into the myth of Common. I don't fancy his music some sort of intellectual experience as some do. I've said it before and I'll say it again: being light-skinned with facial hair and a hat does not make one intellectual. Not to say that I don't have a great amount of respect for Common as an artist, but don't get it twisted...where was I going with this? It sounds like I don't like him at all. I loved his 2005 release "Be." It goes down incredibly smooth and relaxes you. If only Common's movies were as good as his music...
Best Track: "Be (Intro)" Not one bit ruined by its inclusion in the horrendous It's Kind of a Funny Story.

24. Amos Lee - "Amos Lee" (2005)
One of those artists who seems to perpetually be languishing in that "ones to watch" realm, even though he's been making music for a very long time. What a soulful, arresting debut this album was, reminiscent of the best of Otis Redding, Bobby Caldwell, with a twinge of something personal and unique rolled in. His subsequent releases (particularly "Supply and Demand") definitely offer something to recommend, but this is his best by a wide margin and one of the best of the decade.
Best Track: "Arms of a Woman"

23. Missy Elliott - "Miss E...So Addictive" (2001)
Deciding exactly which Missy Elliott album from the 2000s to include on this list was tough. I'm not a huge fan of "This is Not a Test!" and even less so of "The Cookbook," but it was a pretty tight race between this one and "Under Construction." Ultimately, I feel that "Miss E...So Addictive" is her magnum opus and is (as the title suggests) quite addictive and infectious. Make no mistake. A great lyricist, Missy Elliott is not. Her songs are rarely about anything at all. But for a great producer and assembler of producers, you can't do much better that Missy.
Best: Track: "For My People"

22. Lady Gaga - "The Fame Monster" (2009)
I've already expressed my feelings about Lady Gaga on this very blog. For the record, I don't buy into the Lady Gaga myth (the artifice, the interview comments, etc.) But I'm all about honesty and honestly...I loved this album. Lady Gaga seems to get pop music more than any other artist out there. Her music is incredibly infectious and not cerebral, which is everything that pop music should be. Love her or hate her (I fall somewhere in the middle), you can't discuss music of the 2000s and ignore her impact.
Best Track: "Telephone" featuring Beyonce' (I know a lot of people would say "Bad Romance," but I like what I like. Deal with it).

21. Kanye West - "College Dropout" (2004)
This is Kanye's first appearance on this list, but it will not be his last. An album that took nearly four years to make, it was well worth the wait. Kanye West remains the most interesting thing in hip-hop to emerge from the 2000s. This album resonated greatly with me as I was just entering university when it was released. I know he's hated by many (hallmark of a great artist, by the way). Even I think he's kind of a douche...okay, a complete douche, but this was one of the most audacious, well-produced debuts I've seen from a musician.
Best Track: Gah...how to even choose? If pressed, "School Spirit"

Continued in the next post with 20-16...

2010 in Film (part 4)

2010-12-17T18:10:00.005-05:00

It's Kind of a Funny Story (dirs. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck)
Ryan Fleck is credited as the sole director of 2006's Half Nelson, but apparently Anna Boden co-directed. What a wonderful, naturalistic, film it was. The actors hit the right notes. Every line of dialogue spoken seemed birth from meticulous human observation. It sits on my list of one of the 100 best films of the 2000s (I promise that list is coming soon). And their sophomore effort, Sugar? Sure, it falls short of the brilliance of their debut film, but Boden and Fleck crafted another realistic portrayal of (wait for it) human beings. I bring this up before I discuss their third feature, It's Kind of a Funny Story because I wanted to explain my bias towards these filmmakers up front, and it's always good to find something nice to say. From here on out, I will sound like Oscar the Grouch. It's Kind of a Funny Story, based on the novel of the same name, depicts a slice of life (less than two weeks, if I'm not mistaken) inside of a psychiatric hospital as told through the eyes of a teenage boy named Craig (played by Keir Gilchrist). The result is an incredibly and offensively facile look at mental illness, a very complicated issue. Craig is feeling suicidal, though (as stated plainly by the film) he has no real reason to, nor has he ever attempted suicide. While at the hospital, he meets a host of characters who all show him that his cushy, magnet school, New York life isn't all that bad. It all feels syrupy, patently false and packed to the rafters with paint-by-numbers quirk. I'm kind of floored that the people behind Half Nelson had anything to do with it. In my write-up of The Greatest, I spoke of the incredible liability that is Zoe Kravitz. I get the urge, at least on paper, to cast her in films. She's the daughter of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz, arguably two of the most beautiful people on the planet (and arguably artistic in their own right). But Zoe has a complete non-presence as a performer. Her eyes are dead, her line readings are cringe-worthy and she seems to be working against any given scene. Granted, she has the burden of playing characters that are the complete creation of male fantasy in both films, but is there any excuse for this when there was at least one female writer/director at the helm in both cases? The rest of the story is predictable. Craig falls for a fellow teenage psych patient (Emma Roberts) who's pretty, but damaged. Their courtship is played against a soundtrack of what I like to call "hey, it's that band!" That is, a particular brand of scruffy-boy rock by a bunch of Thom Yorke fetishists. These bands are also notable for their small, devoted pockets of fans who will inevitably abandon said band once the lure of obscurity is lost by having one of their songs played in a film like this or on an episode of "Grey's Anatomy." It's all incredibly trite and (I'm sorry to go here) incredibly white. Between this film and Up in the Air, I've completely lost patience for films that set their ordinary, retread narratives (in both cases, boy meets girl) against the backdrop of a larger issue (ie, unemployment or mental illness) in a transparent attempt at emotional gravitas (incidentally, I rated Up in the Air a "B" when I first saw it, but the longer I sit with it and one subsequent viewing has shown me that I can no longer stand by that).
Grade: D

The Social Network (dir. David Fincher)
Any praises I offer up are going to seem redundant at this point. The Social Network is sweeping the year end critics awards and is poised to be one of the most honored films of 2010. Everything seems to be working in perfect synergy in this wildly exaggerated (to its benefit) account of Mark Zuckerberg's (a wonderful Jesse Eisenberg) creation of Facebook at Harvard and the legal and social drama that ensued. Aaron Sorkin's justifiably lauded, razor-sharp script has an amazing rhythm to it, sustaining a subject that could have easily ran out of steam in the wrong hands. And what is there to say at this point about Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's outstanding and unique score. After 2008's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, (whose pedestrian leanings and meandering pace gall and bewilder upon subsequent viewings almost as much as the acclaim it received), David Fincher seems once again justified in his title of visionary director. His direction here elevates what could have been an average film into something singular, specific and richly engrossing. Almost every actor here seems to hit the right notes. There's Jesse Eisenberg, who I've admittedly not been a huge fan of in the past (though I did finally watch Zombieland, which I found immensely enjoyable). Here, he plays an embellished cinematic version of Mark Zuckerberg, forging his own creation (apart from similar curly mops, Eisenberg's Zuckerberg and the real Zuckerberg don't seem to be all that behaviorally similar). He plays him with a consistent, even tone of equal parts coldness, obliviousness and befuddlement at how off-putting people find him to be. It's a great turn that may read as effortless in some circles, but luckily seems to be getting a lot of year end accolades. I loved the performance when I saw the film, but awards season could have reacted either way (completely ignoring or fully embracing) and I would not have been surprised. More surprised am I by the myriad of nominations for Andrew Garfield, who plays co-founder Eduardo Saverin (though that SAG snub is telling). I much preferred him in Never Let Me Go, which is admittedly a much baitier performance in a film that I'll finally concede has totally bottomed out, both commercially and critically. This is in no way to imply that Garfield's work in The Social Network doesn't impress. The script gives him few actorly moments to sink his teeth into, but I do like a lot of the choices Garfield makes as an actor. His awards clip will probably be the now famous laptop smashing scene, but for my money, Garfield hits it out of the park in the quieter moments--the luau mixer, his initial reactions to Sean Parker at the restaurant. Reacting is such an important aspect of convincing acting and Garfield seems adept at being very communicative in this way. But it's rather low key and in no way the type of supporting turn that would ever be swept into awards season if it wasn't on the coattails of an inevitable best picture nominee. I would have much sooner expected Justin Timberlake, who plays Sean Parker of Napster fame, to be in the mix, though his is the weakest performance of the film. It is, however, a showy and in a lot of ways fun supporting turn. But it would seem that all the actors tried to dig deeper except Timberlake, who doesn't turn in a bad performance persay, but one that reeks of taking script and direction at face value without looking for subtext--the hallmark of an untrained actor. It's so heartening that such an amazing film seems to be the frontrunner going into awards season (and it's not even my favorite of the year).
Grade: A (after 2 viewings)

Catfish (dirs. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman)
How appropriate that I saw this film mere minutes after walking out of The Social Network. They serve as very interesting companion pieces. In many ways Catfish actually says more about the virtual social networking culture than David Fincher's film, though both are certainly arresting and resonant pieces of filmmaking. The documentary (though many inquests have been made into the film's legitimacy as a piece of bonafide nonfiction) follows Nev Schulman (director Ariel Schulman's younger brother), a New York photographer who strikes up an online friendship with who he thinks is an attractive girl. When he goes to meet her, things are not as they seem, to say the least. I went into the film virtually (no pun intended) with nothing except people's urging not to let it be "spoiled." Walking out, I was surprised by those admonishments for this was not a "spoiler" movie, at least not from where I was sitting. Despite its documentary format, it unfolds very much like a character study in a traditional narrative. When Nev, his brother and their friend (Henry Joost, the other director) go to see this family, the interactions, the situations all feel incredibly heartwrenching and fascinating in a way that was very akin to 2005's Junebug (one of the best films of the past ten years). No, the woman was not who she said she was. And yes, she lied to them every step of the way, even after being found out. But I was surprised by the conflicting emotions drummed up inside of me. Nev Schulman has the benefit of point of view and arguable physical attraction (at least in some circles) that cloud how he may not be so morally superior to this woman who conned him. He did worm his way into this family under false pretenses and he certainly dropped little white lies here and there. Perhaps if the documentary had been told from the point of view of the other family, we might have seen the Schulmans as interlopers, out on a campaign of gotcha journalism against an already down and out clan. My point is, this movie was incredibly provocative and deeply emotional, regardless of whether it's true documentary filmmaking or not. I took it at face value because most documentaries are scripted and choreographed to a certain extent and I feel this standard is being put on Catfish in a way that it's not being put on movies like Man on Wire, which was filled with unreliable reenactments (just my two cents).
Grade: B+

First Oscar Predictions of the Season - Best Picture

2010-11-07T01:31:00.003-04:00

The Oscar race this year will be a relaxed one, at least where I am concerned. I just came back from a screening of Blue Valentine, which I'll talk about later (knock on wood) and at greater length, but it ranks up there with Winter's Bone, Dogtooth, Never Let Me Go and The Social Network as indelible cinema experiences of 2010 that just won't let go (no pun intended). I suppose you could put 127 Hours in that category as well, although I can almost tell a film that's going to recede in my memory, even it if is one that I love.

That being said, here are my slapped together, haphazard predictions.

Best Picture

*Locked
**Probable
+Shaky
++Who Knows?

1. The Social Network*
2. The King's Speech*
3. 127 Hours**
4. Toy Story 3**
5. Inception+
6. Winter's Bone+
7. The Kids Are All Right+
8. The Way Back++
9. Never Let Me Go++
10. Black Swan++

Alternate: True Grit, The Fighter, Another Year, How to Train Your Dragon, Get Low

Okay. Several things to address. I think a lot of guns are being jumped at this point. In my mind, the only two true locks in this category are The King's Speech and The Social Network. 127 Hours is nearing lock status, but we have to see how people respond to it (God forbid). Toy Story 3...everyone is calling it a lock. I've yet to see it (I know, I know), but I don't think we can assume that Pixar is going to have a horse in the race every year just because there are now ten best picture nominees. Beyond those four very likely candidates, it's really anyone's game from where I'm sitting. Inception seems like a distant memory, doesn't it? And the reasoning that they'll nominate it as penance for snubbing The Dark Knight doesn't compute for me. First of all, Nolan already has an Oscar nod for writing, so it's not like they've ignored him completely. And if they loved The Dark Knight so freaking much, they would have nominated it. Fact. The Kids Are All Right read as very slight to me, but even ignoring my own feelings, there are plenty of ways (Bening aside) for them to screw up an Oscar campaign for this film. Ditto for Winter's Bone, which is in a better position than The Kids Are All Right. That film will be championed come year's end and I personally think that the people predicting Jennifer Lawrence to miss a best actress nod are crazy (I'm not naming names). My reasoning on Never Let Me Go, The Way Back and Black Swan. I can see each of these films having intense pockets of love. Never Let Me Go already does. The people who love that film (moi, for instance) really really love it. And we know Aronofsky is going to have his partisans. Basically, I had to fill ten slots and I don't feel comfortable predicting True Grit, which everyone seems high on for some reason even though no one has seen it. Exactly three of the Coen Bros' many films have been nominated for best picture. Three. Plus, are we forgetting that the original True Grit didn't even get a best picture nomination? Am I missing something here? I know I said the same thing about Avatar last year, but I don't see why people are automatically labeling True Grit a best picture contender. I will admit that the film looks spectacular, but the Coens are not overdue at this point, the Academy is not really hot on Westerns these days, shall I go on?

All I Ask...

2010-11-01T20:32:00.007-04:00

I'm usually very demanding and discriminating when it comes to evaluating movies...

Nevertheless, I will go see Burlesque when it opens later this month. Lord knows I've enjoyed a lot of films, even of late. This is not about enjoying and respecting a film. I can't for the life of me remember the last time I had fun at the movies. I'm talking me as an eight-year-old, watching Timon and Pumba sing "Hakuna Matata," honest-to-goodness fun. So for Burlesque, I have only one request. And it's a small one. I hope the filmmakers have obliged.

If (if?) Burlesque absolutely must be bad...at least have the good taste to make it very very bad. I'm talking Showgirls bad. I need this.

That is all.

2010 in Film (part 3)

2010-10-16T22:36:00.004-04:00

Never Let Me Go (dir. Mark Romanek)
None of the criticisms of this film feel off-base, except for maybe the widespread belief that the film is overscored (I'm happy to firmly plant my flag on the other side of the fence and say that Rachel Portman's score, while a little overzealous at times, is beautiful and quite complementary to the narrative). The adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel of the same name was, for my money, an incredibly effective and emotionally devastating film (take note of the word "devastating," a much harder and more lingering emotion to evoke than "depressing"). I was impressed up and down with this film, while recognizing its inherent flaws. The talks of over narration have been exhausted to death, but it's a fair criticism and one I agree with, particularly in the film's final moments. The film is bookended with a shot of Kathy (Carey Mulligan in a fantastic and understated turn that's more than what it seems) staring crestfallen at Tommy (Andrew Garfield). To open with the shot is unnecessary and sucks some of the emotional weight out of the final scene, though this is by no means a "spoiler" movie. Yes, there is a conceit at the core of this story that hangs over the narrative, but the film is more concerned about matters of the heart than the soft sci-fi elements. Every actor hits the right tone, particularly Keira Knightley as Ruth, who would have a shot at a supporting actress nomination had the film been better received. Andrew Garfield handles his role so deftly. The performance may seem easy--he has the actorly advantage that is his eyes, which seem determined to absolutely break your heart in this film. I can't think of anything more wrenching this year than watching Garfield's Tommy as his eyes register earth-shattering news and realities. Of his two trumpeted turns this year, I much preferred Garfield here (and for the record, I thought he was very good in The Social Network). I'm going to talk lastly about the film's awards prospects, which many people seem to believe are nonexistent at this point. They could be (read: probably are) correct. However, I'm not sure it's over. If I'm recalling correctly, Babel came out of its earliest festivals with similarly split response. The Reader was not without its very loud, vocal detractors who cried foul at its inclusion in the best picture roster, most likely at the expense of The Dark Knight. Never Let Me Go is not this year's The Lovely Bones--a rather easy and frankly lazy comparison I've heard more than once. Firstly, it's not based on source material whose literary merit was constantly in question, even before the release of the film. Never Let Me Go is prestige and (if you ask me) prestige done very well. There are people who are sticking by it. Roger Ebert's beautifully written rave review underline a possible generational divide. Could the older members of the Academy respond to this film in a way that could surprise? I'm not trying to break a story and I could be wrong, but again, I'm not sure that it's over for Never Let Me Go and for that I'm thrilled.
Grade: B+ (A-? I really feel like it's going to end up being the latter...I literally have thought about this film in some capacity every day since I've seen it)

The Town (dir. Ben Affleck)
In a completely schizophrenic moviegoing experience, I viewed The Town mere minutes within viewing Never Let Me Go. I should probably revisit it at some point, but right now it's being judged rather unfairly. It's a very well-crafted piece of work that marries commercial and artistic sensibilities very well. It's not a great leap forward stylistically from Affleck's freshman effort Gone Baby Gone, which has something new to behold upon each subsequent viewing and ranks among my favorite films of the 2000s. However, while I can think of about a dozen moments from Never Let Me Go that are burned into my memory, I'm finding it hard to latch on to any singular moments in The Town. It's impressive, but definitely a fast fade. Ben Affleck turns in a fine performance, though I've never subscribed to the belief that he's a terrible actor, despite the terrible projects that often seem to find him. He's fine, but ultimately a bit miscast and I wonder if sideman Jeremy Renner wouldn't have been a more interesting choice for the lead. Blake Lively...what can I say? Full disclosure: she was one of the driving influences behind my desire to see this film. It was probably one part morbid curiosity (who doesn't enjoy a hot ghetto mess of a performance?) and one part optimistic curiosity (can she carve out another Amy Ryan, scene-stealing characterization of a female Bostonian ne'er do well?) The result was kind of neither. Lively is not in the film nearly enough to make a real impression, and when she's on screen she kind of seems in over her head and really out of place with everything that's going on. Ditto, I'm sorry to say, for Jon Hamm, who's not nearly as hair-raisingly atonal as Lively, yet manages to radiate a certain air of standard-issue--not a good fit for such a prominent role in a major motion picture. Like I said, I appreciated it very much when I was watching it and Ben Affleck is mostly in very deft control as a director. I'm curious to see what he does next, especially if he moves away from the gritty white Boston crime milieu. But "forgettable" definitely is a word that comes to mind after some distance.
Grade: B

Dogtooth (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
One of two films I've seen this year that's truly unlike anything I've ever experienced, cinematically (Enter the Void also shares that distinction, though I've yet to wholly decide if it's to that film's credit or detriment). Greek director Lanthimos paints a horrifying, bare bones and often sickly humorous portrayal of a patriarch who keeps his three adult children (two daughters and a son, all non-actors), under strict lock and key. They never leave the large grounds of their house, which includes a pool and a tennis court, but is still confining and stifling. The children are completely arrested. They speak with a very basic intelligence that would, at first glance, betray how truly warped they are. But the first glimpses are startling. They have been taught the wrong words for things (they are told the word "pussy" means a "big light," which...not so much). An employee of the father is brought to the house blindfolded, presumably for money, so that she can fulfill the simple biological function of servicing the son's burgeoning sexual needs. That is all the plot that one needs (this is not a "plot" piece of cinema, at least not in the traditional sense). I likened it very much to Passolini's Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom, with the notable exception being that it widely strips away any artifice. Dogtooth presents more of a blank, unintellectualized portrayal of sadism, rather than a heavy-handed comment on sadism, to its credit. The most arresting scene in the film is not a violent one. It involves a dance performed by the daughters for their parents anniversary party. It's so interesting to watch the audience reaction to this moment--it's met with shocked silence, followed by uproarious laughter, and then more shocked silence. That is the film's lure. And love it or hate it, it's definitely one that stays with you long after the last frame.
Grade: A-

2010 in Film (part 2)

2010-09-27T17:12:00.002-04:00

Winter's Bone (dir. Debra Granik)
The critical narrative tethered to this title in its initial release had me entering fully prepared for a Frozen River or even an An Education experience. That is, a story containing an exceptional, star-making female lead performance practically crying out for a film deserving of such actorly talent. What I got was an engrossing, arresting movie-going experience that completely blindsided me. I can't really put my finger on all of the elements that I look for in a film I'm going to recommend. It's a personal and often nebulous thing, trying to saliently communicate one's cinematic sensibilities. I can say (don't worry, I'm going somewhere with this) that I have never enjoyed a film that felt dishonest. Winter's Bone is so lived-in and observant in terms of the world it occupies, and I'm not just talking about the Ozark mountain setting, about which I admittedly know little. I'm talking about the lives of these characters, which is established very clearly in the beginning, with every word uttered and every action taken speaking to that in a compelling way. Not to call Frozen River dishonest, but there was this lingering air of "let's evoke audience guilt" that hung heavy. Winter's Bone is stark and frank in a completely organic way. Much praise and ballyhoo has been heaped upon Jennifer Lawrence and (to a lesser extent) Dale Dickey, both turning in fabulous turns worthy of high accolade. The entire cast is in top form, as are the sound department (so atmospheric, yet not showily so), and Debra Granik's sure directorial hand. People seem to be cooling considerably, not on their reaction to the film, but about its award prospects (not to imply that a great film isn't its own reward, regardless of awards citation). I could be wrong, but I think the critics will take care of Winter's Bone come year's end. Look for Jennifer Lawrence to get a best actress nomination. Her name will be on the lips, (who is she even competing with for breakthrough citations at this point?). I wouldn't be surprised, especially in a field of ten, if Winter's Bone lands on the best picture list, though obviously it's not a slam dunk.
Grade: A

I Am Love (dir. Luca Guadagnino)
Here is a film about which my initial effusiveness is cooling. I enjoyed it slightly less on a second viewing, though Tilda Swinton's work is still searing, convincing, peculiar and specific (as always). It's almost epic in its scale and splendor. However, a scene can be largely without dialogue and still overstate many of its greater ideas. It's very easy to get swept up in I Am Love that one almost overlooks how many of the visual cues verge on the obtuse--for instance, the first time Emma (Swinton) tastes food made by Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini). This is not to say that it's not a lovely and in many ways accomplished film. It's very evocative, mostly when it's not trying so hard to be. The overwrought conclusion and the even more overwrought score (seriously, people are praising this score, but calling Never Let Me Go overscored? Both composers are a little wand-happy, but the latter, considerably less so...) keep this film from an A.
Grade: B+

The Kids Are All Right (dir. Lisa Cholodenko)
The ingredients for a great film (rather than the quite good, if far too tentative and easy result) are present. Great cast? Check. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore seem perfectly in their element here, as does Mark Ruffalo. The kids are great too. Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson are the unsung assets to The Kids Are All Right, gifting the film with aching, believable uncertainty and mortification at the behavior of the "adults" in their lives. Humor? Check. I laughed. I laughed quite a lot, actually. So, why does it seem like I like The Kids Are All Right slightly less than everyone seems to love it? Firstly, it's clear that screenwriters Cholodenko and Stuart Bloomberg love each of the characters they've created. That's evidenced by their need to protect them and their inability to put them into situations where they are required to make hard choices. Annette Bening navigates around the film's pussy-footing nature with aplomb. She will eke out a full-realized characterization and performance, even if it's not necessarily given to her on the page. Julianne Moore is given quieter notes to play, as is Ruffalo. Great performances often seem effortless and no one is phoning it in here. I'm always glad to see Moore breaking away from her impressive, yet morose "woman on the verge..." thesp-ing that often pigeonholes her and prevents her true versatility from shining through. However, the film's wispy keeps it from rising to true greatness or even memorability. Here is a story crying out for just a bit more shading, complexity and hardness than what is given.
Grade: B

Prodigal Sons (dir. Kimberly Reed)
Proof that I need to make more of a concerted effort to watch documentaries, and not just those that manage to creep into the larger consciousness, some based on merit and others based on accessible and timely (read: facile) subject matter. An aside: I've yet to watch Waiting for Superman, so I can't comment. However, the trailer, combined with reactions from those I trust, as well as Guggenheim's previous documentary (An Inconvenient Truth), which smugly masqueraded common knowledge as incendiary samizdat which "the man" doesn't want you to know about all have my expectations cold as ice (rant over). Prodigal Sons, a documentary about director Kimberly Reed's return to Montana for a high school reunion marries the piercing emotionality of Tarnation with the polished, formal elements of Steve James or even Errol Morris. It's a wonderful combination. We watch as she attempts to reconcile her relationship with her very troubled adopted brother Marc. I almost want to hold my feelings about this film close to my chest, as its such an arresting experience to watch the story unfold before you and become something completely different than what is promised, yet no less satisfying. It's strange...I tend to be repelled, at least on principle, by the prospect of personal documentaries. And yet, when done well, they are the most affecting.
Grade: A-

Machete (dir. Robert Rodriguez)
Whether being viewed simply as an exercise in B-movie cinematic excess, or as a mindless action film (or both), Machete fails to turn either trope on its head in a way that is memorable or interesting.
Grade: C+

2010 in film...so far (Part 1)

2010-09-24T20:57:00.004-04:00

I will be seeing Animal Kingdom sometime this weekend, along with Catfish. Looking at the sidebar of 2010 releases which I have viewed and graded, it might seem that I'm a little behind the 8-ball. And yet...I don't see it that way. Yes, I'm aware that there are still many films I need to see from the former part of they year. But looking at the films that popular sentiment seems to be telling me that I "missed," I feel no great need to rush out and see them. Nick Davis over at Nick's Flick Picks described it perfectly in a recent article where he described his grading system. He gives a letter grade, then a VOR (Values, Originality, and Risk) rating from 1-5. Brilliant. This is exactly why I'm not particularly compelled to rush out and see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Based on secondhand reports and my reaction to the trailers, I'm sure that it's a film I'm going to at the very least enjoy on the most basic level, no matter how underwhelmed I am. Why the hesitation? Well, what is a movie like Scott Pilgrim, How to Train Your Dragon or even Toy Story 3 really going to tell me about the current cinematic landscape that I don't already know? Michael Cera seems frozen in time with his shtick? Non-Pixar animated releases can still rake 'em in? Pixar's the cornerstone of animated cinema? These respective nuggets are not enough to make me rush out to see these films in theater, rather than waiting to catch them on DVD, even if I am sure to like the films. It may sound pompous or pretentious, but with my limited time, I need a little something more.

Date Night (dir. Shawn Levy)
Often funny, but memorably so. I'm flirting with the idea of being done with Steve Carrell and this film certainly didn't help matters much. Tina Fey is delightful, as always, and I was immediately led to think about how much I'd really love to see her in a better movie. Now that Sandra Bullock is no longer attached to The Abstinence Teacher...maybe Fey? It's been so long since I've seen this film and there are singular elements that stick out in my memory. I do specifically remember thinking Date Night was overlong, which is not exactly to the credit of a film with an 87 minute running time. I also remember being baffled both by Taraji P. Henson's suggestion of a character/performance/purpose and her Veronica Cartwright circa Alien haircut. Completely missable.
Grade at the time of viewing: B-
Now downgraded to a C+

The Greatest (dir. Shana Feste)
One of the most odious movie-watching experiences in recent memory, which is kind of shocking, given the film's tentative nature and modest goals. It features Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon as bereaved parents and Carey Mulligan as the young woman their son knocked up the night he died. These three actors turn in uneven, yet not completely disastrous turns that clearly suffered from a nebulous direction and an even murkier script. The rest of the cast, particularly Johnny Simmons who plays the left-behind younger brother, is less capable. Zoe Kravitz is also featured and is limited, certainly, but the least of this film's problems. (I'll talk more about her when I'm talking about It's Kind of a Funny Story). Narrative storytelling has to allow for suspension of disbelief and most audiences accept that. But there are plot contrivances in this film so glaring, so nonsensical, so completely asinine that even the most casual, twice-a-year movie watcher (the kind who thought that Saw was clever and Crash was poignant) would scoff that neither a parse of the script nor a snip in post-production prohibited these flubs from worming their way into the final cut. It's simply grief-porn--cinematic suffering for its own sake without a shred of emotional motivation or honesty.
Grade: C-/D+

Mother and Child (dir. Rodrigo Garcia)
Flawed, but poignant piece of moviemaking. It is a broken ensemble piece that examines adoption and its effect on three different women. It's experiencing somewhat of a fade in my memory, but I remember being moved by its very believable character specificity that's not merely paint-by-numbers quirk. The three stars are all very much within their element here and doing excellent work, particularly Annette Bening and Kerry Washington (Naomi Watts suffers from an unknowable and inconsistent character whose real emotions Garcia seems reluctant to mine).
Grade:B

Iron Man 2 (dir. Jon Favreau)
I think I was in a bad mood the day I saw this movie. Favreau brought it to my school and even did a lecture afterwards. Perhaps it was my disposition, but after watching Iron Man 2, I slipped out of the auditorium quietly before Favreau arrived on stage. I have still yet to see Iron Man (should I?), so maybe I'm not the target audience for this film. I just felt myself underwhelmed, deflated, verging on annoyance at the film's smug, smarmy tone (and I do actually enjoy Robert Downey Jr. quite a bit). No, my impatience was not with Downey, but more with Favreau--his presence in his own film, which particularly self-indulgent in this case. I'm sure Favreau is a perfectly nice guy, but when I look at his directorial filmography (Elf, Zathura and the Iron Man films, to name a few) I can't abide nor can I justify sitting down for a couple of hours and listening to him speak.
Grade: C+

More reviews to come...

The Big Pretentious Movie Summer -- Update

2010-09-12T02:47:00.003-04:00

So, an impromptu interruption (nearly two months worth) in my blogging. But, alas, it is not without reason. Without getting too personal, living in a residence for the past month and a half without a reliable internet connection threw a bit of a wrench into the Big Pretentious Movie summer. However, I'm in swanky new accommodations, with new internet service and a brand new school year in which the AFI library is open week round with decent hours. But, I cannot make up for the time I lost. Thus, I am extending my deadline to watch the remaining films on my list until November (or whenever I finish). The project has been renamed The Big Pretentious Movie Project (as it has extended past its initial summer projections). I've decided to take the pressure off...watching films has never been a chore for me and I've discovered many great films this in this wonderful process that I somehow missed or had forgotten over the years. I'm picking things up this week again by diving headlong into the Coen Brothers, starting with Blood Simple. I cannot wait.

Other programming notes: As promised, I will be listing my 100 favorite films of the 2000s sometime before year's end. No, this isn't me being a year behind the trend. I purposely waited until well into 2010 to make this list because I don't want to leave any gems from 2009 off said list and these things sometimes need a couple of months to marinate. It is an eclectic list of films on the list, ranging from big blockbusters, to mainstream hits to more obscure fare and in true Pretentious Know it All fashion, the film at the top of my list is one that will likely garner scoffs, head scratches and eye rolls. However, I'm a firm believer in honesty when compiling my "best-of" lists and no film resonated more than this one (ah, the suspense).

Happy to be back at it.

What's to Come

2010-07-27T18:44:00.002-04:00

So...The Big Pretentious Movie Summer is in full swing. I've added eleven films to the list. They are:

Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis (1995)*
Autumn Sonata - Ingmar Bergman (1978)
Before Sunrise - Richard Linklater (1995)*
Before Sunset - Richard Linklater (2004)
Birth - Jonathan Glazer (2004)+
Trouble the Water - Tia Lessin and Carl Deal (2008/2009)
The Class - Laurent Cantet (2008)
Toy Story 2 - John Lasseter (1999)
Blade Runner - Ridley Scott (1982)
Morvern Callar - Lynne Ramsay (2002)*
You Can Count on Me - Kenneth Lonergan (2000)

*Films I've already viewed, though they haven't been added to the official list.
+Films I need to re-watch

I've also omitted some films from the list, some for complicated reasons, others for logistical reasons, all of which will be viewed at some point. They are:

Life is Sweet - Mike Leigh (1993)*
Topsy Turvy - Mike Leigh (1999)*
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice - Paul Mazursky
The Last Detail - Hal Ashby (1973)
Deconstructing Harry - Woody Allen (1997)
Dangerous Liaisons - Stephen Frears (1988)
American Graffiti - George Lucas (1973)+
The Mission - Roland Joffé (1986)
Harvey - Henry Koster (1951)
Wonder Boys - Curtis Hanson (2000)

*I need to find copies of these films somewhere. I still have yet to find a copy of Safe - Todd Haynes (1995), but I think I'll purchase that one.

+One of the whitest people I've ever met with very middlebrow tastes in film and culture in general described this movie as "Kind of overly-nostalgic, dated and a bit too cute." I'll watch it someday, but the clock is ticking and that comment took my already tepid expectations and submerged them in a liquid nitrogen tank.

So, with the new total (adding 11, subtracting 10), that means the total is 156, rather than 155.

Also, towards the end of the year, sometime before the Third Annual Pretentious Movie Awards, I'll be completing my list of best 100 favorite films of the 2000s. I know it was the in-vogue thing to do it last year, when the aughts actually ended, but doing it at the end of 2010 has its advantages. Firstly, I have enough distance from 2009 that I know which films from that list will be in the best of the decade. I will also be doing a list of the top 20 performances in the four acting categories (leading/supporting for male and female) as well as my top five directors of the decade and (just because I can't avoid schaudenfraude) the top 10 overrated films of the decade.

Peace, Love and Pretension.

A Few Thoughts on Inception

2010-07-22T18:33:00.011-04:00

I interrupt the regular scheduled programming to give you a few brief thoughts about Inception, because it seems like this week, the world isn't allowed to talk about anything else.

First of all, I liked it, as I have most of Christopher Nolan's films. But I liked it with huge reservation. For better or for worse, I enter a film through the acting and the writing (in that order). The fact that more than half of the cast can boast the title "Academy Award nominee" and more than half of those people are actually deserving of the honor, there's no reason to expect phoned-in thesp-ing. And for the most part, the acting here is quite serviceable, with a few notable exceptions. Any accusations of thin performances are not solely the fault of the actors here, who do what they can to compensate for the fact that they are not playing characters, but rather ideas "projections of Christopher Nolan's subconscious," if you will. For a film that is all about the subconscious and levels thereof, it certainly states its ideas rather obtusely, and repeatedly.

This is especially true of the two women, one of whom (Marion Cotillard's "Mal") actually is a projection of the subconscious. Christopher Nolan has demonstrated that he cannot write female characters, from Natalie, Rachel Dawes, Olivia Wenscombe, to now Mal and Ariadne (Ellen Page). I know that Nolan's fanbase skews male, so I'll tread lightly here because they seem to think he's a great writer, director, producer, singer, dancer, impressionist painter, et. al. Actually, I won't tread lightly. A great writer is a keen observer of the world in which they live. Women are kind of everywhere. Why then the thin, flimsy characterizations? I love the choices that some of his actresses make, certainly. Carrie-Ann Moss, especially. The fact that Maggie Gyllenhaal improved tenfold upon Katie Holmes's Rachel Dawes while still sleepwalking (sorry, Maggie. I love you, but let's not rewrite history) through The Dark Knight is a testament to his ability to at least cast capable actresses. I'm sure you have it in you, Nolan. Ellen Page's Ariadne could have been replaced by some kind of talking computer and it wouldn't have made a difference. Her character is given no backstory, no motivation, no frame of reference, which would be fine if she weren't risking her mental dexterity through dream espionage (call me old fashioned, but I'd kind of like to know why).

Visually, I've heard a lot of arguments that the dreams in this film are not "dreamlike" enough. Joe Reid over at Low Resolution beat me to the punch by pointing out that the dreams in Inception are specifically designed by architects. Of the problems in this film (and there are several), wanting for a believable dreamscape was not one of them. A lot of the dream sequences were pretty damn breathtaking, actually. For the record, I found the falling van to be an incredible plot device. The film is not perfect, but let's give credit where its due, shall we? I (for the record) hate The Matrix with ever fiber of my being, but you can never say that movie lacks for...um...luridness.

Here's the bottom line (and feel free to disagree), but the people who are calling Inception a masterpiece AND the people calling it an utter disaster are two sides of the same coin. They're both wrong. They both need to get a grip. And they both (for the most part) are guilty of steeling themselves prior to viewing the film for how incredible or shitty they thought it was going to be. We can't pretend that we're immune to hype and advertising when it comes to new releases. Inception was already in the IMDb top 250 of all time before it even officially came out (sidebar: at any given time, the IMDb top 250 list looks like it was mostly devised by an afternoon tribunal featuring a five-year-old boy, a thirteen-year-old boy, an Octogenarian of any gender, Mel Gibson and one graduate film student with crowd anxiety). We can't pretend that hearing those kind of effusive reviews weren't tipping people in one direction or the other, whether they're susceptible to group think or contrarianism for its own sake (another form of group think). The Dark Knight was too fresh in people's memory as either an overblown fanboy annoyance, or the second coming for the reaction to Nolan's latest flick to be pure (if there is ever a pure reaction to any film). That's why I found so heartening about the reaction to a movie like Avatar. Love it or hate it (I liked it a whole lot), but you had people from all levels of tiers of film criticism (from the lowbrow to middle to high) having varied reactions to the film. You never got a sense from the Avatar fans that it wasn't okay to disagree, whereas the Inception fans are ready to make virginal sacrifices to Christopher Nolan.

Despite all of my misgivings, I did enjoy Inception. Hey, if you were in LA or New York that week, I would have recommended seeing The Kids Are All Right instead (another imperfect film, but a more satisfying one), but there are worse ways to wile away the summer hours. And before all the talk of "overrated, doesn't deserve it, blah blah blah" begins, I'm going to say now that I'm for Inception's best picture nomination, which everyone seems to think is inevitable (I have my doubts). I'm for it for several reasons. Firstly, it's a solid B-, which means it will almost assuredly not appear on my personal year-end top ten list. But that same grade also means that it will likely be preferable to at least 20% of the viable contenders gunning for a spot on the ten-wide list. Also, it can't hurt the Academy to expand its mind a little. The more years we have in a row where the best picture list embraces films like Avatar, District 9 and Inception (none of which are films I passionately love), the more likely it is that they'll continue to be adventurous when the rules revert the best picture list back to five nominees. Lastly, I want Inception to get nominated for best picture because I can remember the grousing and griping that went on when The Dark Knight got overlooked and...I just don't want to have to listen to it again.

Grade: B-