Yes, it delivers. No, it's not one of the best movies of the year. In fact, considering some of the talent involved, it's disturbingly lacking. Nevertheless, a franchise has kicked off in high style, thanks to a girl called Katniss. Jennifer when the cameras aren't rolling.
As is always the case when a novel becomes a movie, I did not read the book first. I don't feel I can give the movie a fair judgment if my mind is constantly saying "Hey wait ..." By the same token, however, that gives me a newbie perspective that's helpful when considering a film adaptation. If I can feel like I'm not missing anything, the filmmakers have done their jobs. If you have to say "You'll understand it better if you read the book," then the film has failed on some level (cough Watchmen cough)
For the most part, I got through the exposition of The Hunger Games fine, but a few of the plot points were rather murky. I was a little unclear, for instance on exactly why the whole affair is called The Hunger Games based on what the movie told me - I had to pick it up by inference.
Also problematic is the fact that there's a lot of action in the movie. Director Gary Ross is not skilled in this arena, and it shows. He does well with clever concepts (Pleasantville) or old-fashioned entertainment, (Seabiscuit) but action is not his forte. The action becomes hard to follow sometimes because the editing is choppy and the camera is too close to the players. One scene involving a swarm of wasps works very well; I only wish the rest of the action had been that effective.
What truly puts the movie over, then, is the cast. Some roles are more thoroughly written than others, but the actors all do fine work. Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland are reliable as ever, and it's nice to see Wes Bentley (American Beauty) making a comeback as the rather sinister Seneca Crane. The undervalued Elizabeth Banks is terrific as Effie Trinket, and Woody Harrelson is ideally cast as the drunken but charismatic mentor Haymitch, Josh Hutcherson has long been one of those sturdy kid performers in movies like Bridge to Terabithia and The Kids are All Right, but here he truly shows he has leading man chops.
Outshining everyone, however, in front of and behind the camera is the luminous Jennifer Lawrence, who owns the part of Katniss from the very first scene. She's proven she has award-worthy chops (Winter's Bone) that she can handle big-budget action fare (X-Men First Class), and she elevates otherwise weak material (The Beaver). In The Hunger Games, she combines all three talents, navigating a huge production, giving it a strong emotional center and overcoming the weaknesses of the script. People who complained about her casting must be enjoying the taste of words right now.
Am I in love with the franchise? No. Am I eager to see more? Yes, especially with Lawrence on board. Here's hoping Catching Fire will be even better.
By now, poor John Carter has suffered a real shellacking. The weekend it came out, the vultures pounced, with the New York Times publishing an especially unkind article that all but hung writer-director Andrew Stanton from a tree. Then it prompted a bunch of new "greatest flops ever" lists like this one and this one.
But did it really deserve all that fuss?
That's what this new column, "Was it THAT Bad?" will tackle. Periodically, I will review movies that get bad reputations of one kind or another, and will determine if they really deserved so much mud-slinging. Mind you, I won't take on movies that are obvious dreck like Jack and Jill, or most any movie with Adam Sandler, for that matter. I'm going to take on movies that look like they MIGHT be good - and if they are, I'll happily debunk the majority. If they're not, I'll join the choir.
When it comes to John Carter, I'm neither delighted nor irritated. I'm really more frustrated than anything else - not just with the movie itself, but with many reviews of it. Almost every one I read mentioned John Carter's $250 million price tag. Astronomical, to be sure, but I don't really care about that in a movie review. I think too many critics reviewed the budget more than they did what was up there on the screen. That, in the end, is, was, and always will be, the most important factor.
I hadn't been all that interested in John Carter (the notoriously muddled ad campaign didn't help) but after writers horse-whipped it, I wanted to try to review the movie honestly. What I saw on screen was a sometimes imaginative, sometimes thrilling sci-fi adventure, that alas, was rarely focused.
I had been rooting for Stanton to succeed in live action, just like his Pixar compatriot Brad Bird did with the terrific Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. But Bird had the advantage of working with an existing template and putting his own spin on it, just as all the MI directors had done. Stanton had to start more or less from the ground up, and he bit off more than he could chew. The movie looks great, and the actors are game, but the bottom lime is this:
Stanton was in love with the John Carter stories - so much so
that he couldn't bear to cut sections he should have. The movie starts
with too many beginnings, has a fairly decent middle section, and ends
with too many endings.
It felt to me like Stanton got too caught up in trying to tackle all his favorite things. It's as if he were saying "Oh wow! I get to make an Indiana Jones movie! And a Star Wars movie! And a Tarzan movie! A Civil War epic, even! I have to include it ALL!"
And so he did. The beginning, in particular is a jumbled mess that folds back on itself at least twice, and the movie lost me within the first 20 minutes - always a fatal error. Then the movie settled down with a mid-section I kind of liked - then Stanton piled on ending after ending after ending, to the point that he made the endings of Return of the King look like a model of restraint.
Someone once told the Beatles that they should start their act like a
W - you start strong, dip a little, rise again, then fall again, but
come back for a great finish. That way, even if you do have dips in the
mid-section, the audience will stay with you.
Unfortunately Stanton
made his movie more like an M - he starts slow, builds a little, falls
again, then builds a little more, but finally falls flat in the end,
leaving me disappointed. It may have been too much too expect that John Carter would be as good as Stanton's Pixar hits, Finding Nemo and WALL-E. But it doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Heaven's Gate or Battlefield Earth.
Is John Carter that bad? No, but the problem is, it's not that good either.
Having finally unveiled my top 10, I now unveil my second 10 - those "almost" movies that are still each excellent in their own ways. This is presented strictly alphabetically, since ranking 20 is going too far, if you ask me. (All are available on disc)
Beginners- An utterly winning film, powered by Christopher Plummer's Oscar-winning performance. He didn't just get a career award - he's flat out wonderful as a man who comes out of the closet late in life. Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent are nearly as good.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II: Harry and his pals couldn't get one lousy Oscar, but they earn a spot on my list for delivering an excellent finale. I'm sure they must be so proud.
Horrible Bosses: I loved Bridesmaids too, but I laughed more at this movie.
Jane Eyre: Conventional wisdom says that modern movies can never match up to Hollywood golden age counterparts. Not this time. This version with Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska may be at least as good as the 1944 version with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine - if not better.
My Week with Marilyn: Too many people sold this movie short, saying Michelle Williams was great, but the film was only decent. I thought it was nearly as good as 2011's other movies about movies, The Artist, Hugo and Super 8.
Martha Marcy May Marlene: Some people complained about the movie's abrupt ending, which I will not spoil. But I will say that had the ending been more concrete, the movie would not have haunted me and made this list. Elizabeth Olsen proved her family has actual talent and not just marketing finesse.
The Muppets: I almost didn't put this here, and then thought, what am I doing? I don't think I smiled wider during any other movie last year.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil: One of the best moviegoing experiences I had last year was seeing this fiendishly clever horror spoof with a packed house that absolutely ate it up.
Win Win: Tom McCarthy makes films that are small in scale but big in emotions. Like The Station Agent and The Visitor, this movie subtly burrowed under my skin and stayed with me for a long time.
X-Men First Class: Like most people, I'm looking forward to seeing The Avengers this year. Unlike some people, I sort of doubt it'll top this terrifically retro prequel.
Would it be too cliched of me to preface this overdue list with "better late than never?"
It would? Well, OK. Think of it as me using the old Oscar timetable, back when they used to have the show in March. That's MY kind of March Madness. (Brackets? What brackets?)
Anyway, since I am running late and all, I decided to break the rules this year. Usually I restrict my list to films that played in the Dayton area in the calendar year. However, since I was such a slacker *cough* took so long, I decided to make my list conform to films actually released nationwide in the calendar year of 2011. That means that my list has to start with:
The Artist - C'mon, did you really expect this TCM nut to pick anything else? (OK, Hugo would have been an eminently reasonable guess, but more on that in a minute).
The Descendants: This movie took me on the most wide-ranging emotional journey of 2011; the screenplay is chock full of moments that are so exactly right.
Hugo: Here's Marty's magical masterpiece. Just when I think The Man can't surprise me anymore, he makes 3D more transcendent than ever before.
Midnight in Paris: A movie about living in the past? No, the guy who liked the Beatles when he was a teenager in the 80s can't relate to that at all, nooooo.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: The hypnotic visuals of this film grabbed me from the title sequence forward and they still haven't let go. Bravo to Rooney Mara for putting her own unique spin on Lisbeth Salander. Hers was the performance of the year.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol: For the pulse-pounding, jaw-clenching Burj Khalifa sequence alone, this was the action film of the year.
Young Adult: This movie fragmented audiences; some people couldn't stand the film or its lead character, but I found them all too relateable. This movie hit me hard personally, in that it brought to vivid life the ideas that some people can't help being train wrecks - and some people can't help but stay on the tracks in front of them.
A Separation: This movie won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this year, and its steeped in Iranian culture - yet it still offers a universal message about the perils of not truly attempting to understand one another.
Moneyball: Sports are usually an anathema to me, but what really makes this movie work is that it's not really a sports movie. It manages to find the human heart amid a stack of statistics.
Super 8: The best Steven Spielberg film of the year. In fact, it's better than either film Spielberg himself directed. I only wish Elle Fanning's terrific performance hadn't gotten lost in the shuffle.
Most of these are available on disc; save The Artist and A Separation, which are still in theaters. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo arrives on disc Tuesday, MI:4 arrives April 17.
My runners-up will follow in another post, along with my choices for the worst films of the year. Trying to spread the wealth, ya know!
Best Picture The Artist The Descendants Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball The Tree of Life War Horse
I was going to do a breakdown of a for and against for each picture, but what would be the point? The Artist is the heaviest favorite to win in some time. If it doesn't win, I'll be shocked. And even a little mad, since it's my favorite of the lot.
Will/should win: The Artist
Best Animated Film A Cat in Paris Chico & Rita Kung Fu Panda 2 Puss in Boots Rango
Barring an upset by the two small-studio films, I think this is pretty clearly Rango's. And I have a question for the Academy. Cars 2 is certainly not up to Pixar's high standards. But are the DreamWorks sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots REALLY better?
Will/should win: Rango.
Documentary Feature Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated
This one is a bit of a toss-up, as I can see any number of the contenders winning. I'm going to place my best with the case that received the most publicity - the freeing of the West Memphis Three, as chronicled in the Paradise Lost films.
Best Foreign Language Film Bullhead (Belgium) Monsieur Lazhar (Canada) A Separation (Iran) Footnote (Israel) In Darkness (Poland)
Praise for A Separation has been SO sky high, I think it's the likely victor.
I'll be posting on Facebook and maybe tweeting too live as the show goes on. Feel free to join me for random attempts at hilarity and insight!
Why he might win: He's delightful in the film, and he was allowed to show a light, comedic side we too seldom see.
Why he might not: The role may seem slight. He isn't Christopher Plummer.
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Why he might win: He pitched a terriffic change-up, playing a crucial role in the film and proving he has range beyond "lovable raunchy guy."
Why he might not: Some people may still struggle with the image change. And he isn't Christopher Plummer.
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Why he might win: He gave a typically solid performance in a film with a lot of emotional heft. Strangely, he hasn't won yet.
Why he might not: This is really the kind of role he could do in his sleep. And he isn't Christopher Plummer.
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Why he might win: He IS Christopher Plummer. He's won just about every kudo under the sun so far, and the nice thing is, he truly deserves it. This isn't just a career valedictory; he's wonderful in the film.
Why he might not: Because the cosmos has split in half. You can pretty well bet the ranch on this one.
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
Why he might win: He gave a showy performance, and for some reason, he's never nanaged to win this award. If anyone has even the slimmist chance of taking it from Plummer, it's him.
But ...
Why he might not: He isn't Christopher Plummer. While his movie managed to pull a surprise Best Picture nom, it has also sparked a lot of grumbling.
Will/should win: Plummer
BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
Why he might win: His supporters pushed for a nomination for a movie that flew under a lot of people's radar. Sometimes those types of performances win (see Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose.)
Why he might not: Not enough people saw the film.
George Clooney, The Descendants
Why he might win: He's had another good year, he's extremely well liked, and he got to display an edge we very rarely see from him (i.e. he cries).
Why he night not: He won only a few years ago, for Syriana.
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Why he might win: He's charmed all of Hollywood, and other viewers of The Artist, with his delightful guilelessness. Has won most of the precursors.
Why he might not: Voters might perfer Clooney's broader range of emotions.
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Why he might win: About time! After years of putting in strong performances, he's never managed a nod till now. He really should have been nominated for playing Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK.
Why he might not: It's an emotionally pinched performance, where he finds one note and holds it very well.
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Why he might win: He turned in one of his best performances in years as Billy Beane, and with The Tree of Life also under his belt, he has appeared in two Best Picture nominees. Only his Tree costar, Jessica Chastain, can also claim that.
Why he might not: The role's not quite as flashy as some of the competition.
Now for the analysis to get a little more in-depth.
Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Why she might win: It's Oscar bait (playing in drag), voters will admire this was a passion project for Close (she produced, co-wrote the screenplay and even wrote song lyrics) and rather remarkably, Close doesn't have an Oscar yet.
Why she might not: The film is a whole is generally regarded as underwhelming and not as well seen as the other films in the category.
Viola Davis, The Help
Why she might win: She's due. Overdue, one could argue. She's consistently great in everything she does, and she shone in a big box office hit. She has won most of the precursors.
Why she might not: There's a slim chance of there being an upswing of support for Streep, who has not won since the early 80s. But don't bank on it. This is Davis' to lose.
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Why she might win: She underwent a remarkable transformation. Just think: that's the same girl who dumped Zuckerberg in The Social Network? Even more impressively, she made the role her own, even in the long shadow of Noomi Rapace.
Why she might not: Too soon. If this role is any indication, she'll be back. And the competition is just too strong.
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Why she might win: She's only the greatest living American actress. And her transformation into the controversial and legendary prime minister is remarkable. Though she seems to be nominated every year, she hasn't actually won since Sophie's Choice some 30 years ago.
Why she might not: The film itself underwhelmed a lot of people and might not be cause enough for Streep to be back in the winner's circle just yet.
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Why she might win: She doesn't look or sound much like Marilyn in real life, but she absolutely nailed her portrayal of the legend. She's on her third nomination, so the Academy loves her.
Why she might not: The film is (wrongly) considered slight by some. As much as a roll she's on now, it's plainly evident she'll be back. Her time will come.
Should win: Mara
Will win: Davis
Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Why she might win: She could win on a sweep for The Artist. Voters might find it fun to pair her with Jean Dujardin, the likely Best Actor winner.
Why she might not: There really hasn't been much buzz about her in the ramp-up to the Oscars. She's a dark horse at best.
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Why she might win: She has had an absolutely fantastic and breakout year, having been excellent in all her other films of 2011, including Take Shelter, The Debt and the film she really should have been nominated for, The Tree of Life.
Why she might not: Her nominated co-stars in The Help have the most memorable moments in the movie. At the rate Chastain is going, we'll certainly see her nominated again soon.
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Why she might win: She was the scene-stealer of the year, and a hilarious one to boot.
Why she might not: Comedies aren't taken seriously enough.
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Why she might win: She had a nice little comeback after being nominated years ago for Tumbleweeds, but not gaining much attention since.
Why she might not: Neither her movie, nor her campaign, has much momentum.
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Why she might win: She has owned this role, even before the movie came out, playing Minny in the audio book. She's won most if not all percursors. And I think voters like the idea of making history by having Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress going to African-Americans.
Why she might not: Well, there was always the Juliette Binoche scenario ...
Will win: Spencer
Should win: Bejo, who's nearly as delightful as her co-star.
Continuing with the Oscar predictions, we move on to more prominent craft categories: namely writing and directing.
Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
Will/Should Win: Midnight in Paris.
This is a race between the favorite The Artist and Woody Allen's biggest hit in years. I could see it going to The Artist if the Academy wants to reward the ingenuity of the idea - but then again, the idea of the movie is that its beauty lies in the visuals and not so much in the words. Words, however, are a large part of the beauty of Midnight in Paris, and if it doesn't win this, it gets nothing.The film's hefty fanbase will see that doesn't happen.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Will/Should win: The Descendants
This race is between my pick for the best film of the year, The Descendants, and Moneyball, in which two of Hollywood's top writers took a very technical book and turned it into a very human story. However, The Descendants will win for one very simple reason: it's the emotional knockout of the bunch. Voters vote with their hearts, and that's all over The Descendants.
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Will win: Hazanavicus
Should win: Scoresese
This race is between the greatest living American director (Marty) and the very clever newcomer (Michel), both of whom wrote impassioned love letters to the movies themselves. It is entirely possible that they might reward Hazanavicus for his writing and give this one to Scorsese, not only for producing one of his most uplifting movies, but for being one of the few directors to show that 3D can be a vital and beautiful storytelling tool.
That said, Scorsese won fairly recently for The Departed. And Havanavicius just won the DGA award, which is a pretty strong indicator. Some people may see this as a repeat of 2003, when an auteur (Roman Polanksi) beat out a promising newcomer (Rob Marshall, who has not lived up to that promise since). The major difference? Polanski didn't have an Oscar already.
I liked the way the site In Contention put it: 'As much as people like to make parallels with the 2002 Rob
Marshall/Roman Polanski situation that vaguely make sense on paper, this
isn't looking like much of a race. Michel Hazanavicius has the DGA, the
BAFTA, the BFCA Award and even some major critics' prizes. Martin
Scorsese has a Golden Globe. Do the math. "The Artist" is too well-loved
-- and too much a product of directorial ingenuity -- not to win here."
Besides, if my prediction is correct, that makes me look wise. If my prediction is wrong, my favorite director gets the prize. Either way, I win!
And so we begin 2012's Oscar predictions with the "bathroom break" awards: In other words, for the technical category and short films awards that the average viewer doesn't care about. Most of my blog's readers aren't average viewers, but even if you are a more casual fan, you DO need these categories to help win your Oscar office pool. After all, the major categories are pretty well set; the techs are much more in flux.
Short Film (Animated) Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life
Will/should win: I've seen all the nominees this year. Maybe Pixar had an off year with Cars 2, but they're still firing on all cylinders with La Luna, which is typically ingenious work by them. However, A Morning Stroll is very clever, with its multiple styles of animation, and it's the funniest of the lot. So it's a possible spoiler. The overall field here is underwhelming.
Short Film (Live Action) Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic
Will/should win: This is a particularly strong group this year; with the possible exception of the slight but enjoyable, Pentecost, I could see any of these taking the Oscar. I'm going with the emotionalism of The Shore, a very affecting drama starring Ciaran Hinds and directed by Terry George, who made Hotel Rwanda. I would not rule out Time Freak, which, like last year's winner God of Love. is a very clever little comedy.
Documentary Short The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement God Is the Bigger Elvis Incident in New Baghdad Saving Face The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Will win: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom Should win: Saving Face
My personal favorite, Saving Face, an amazing story of Pakistani women prevailing over acid attacks, could very well win, but my gut tells me the better-known story of the tsunami that ravaged Japan will score more points.
Best Cinematography The Artist The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Hugo The Tree of Life War Horse
Will win: The Artist Should win: The Tree of Life
Logic would dictate that Tree of Life would win here; it won the ASC award, and it fulfills the "pretty!" prerequisite typical of many winners. I think it deserves to win, not only for its beauty, but for its well-executed hand-held camerawork.
HOWEVER - a lot of people HATE The Tree of Life, and as knowledgeable Oscar prognosticators have pointed out, you have to go back 62 years to find the last movie that won cinematography without any other techs. And sure, Emmanuel Lubezki is due, but tell that to Roger Deakins. Therefore, I'm thinking the overall love for The Aritst will carry the day.
Art Direction The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris War Horse
Will/Should win: The opening five minutes of Hugo should seal the deal for that film.
Costume Design Anonymous The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.
Will/should win: Hugo is the most opulent and it's a Best Picture nominee.
Film Editing The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius The Descendants, Kevin Tent The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen
Will win: The Artist Should win: Moneyball
I wouldn't rule out another win for Thelma Schoonmaker, but I'm guessing The Artist's overall ingenuity prevails here. Moneyball might seem like a surprising personal pick for me, but I really admire the way it jumped back and forth in time to tell the backstory of Billy Beane.
Makeup Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston, and Matthew W. Mungle Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, and Yolanda Toussieng The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Will/should win: Here's where Harry Potter finally wins something.
Music (Original Score) The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams The Artist, Ludovic Bource Hugo, Howard Shore Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias War Horse, John Williams
Will/Should win:The Artist's score is too delightful to ignore. And I actually think Kim Novak's ridiculous complaint about the use of the Vertigo music will help the film, not hurt it.
Music (Original Song) “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, and Siedah Garrett
Will/should win: The Muppets had BETTER win this one, or whatever screen I'm watching this on will have a big hole in it.
Sound Editing Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Sound Mixing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Monyeball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Will/should win:Hugo for both.
This category can be hard to be predict, and I'm inclined to think most voters who aren't in the sound branch don't know the difference. However, since the silent movie wasn't nominated here, I think voters will go for the Best Picture nominee that sounds great.
Visual Effects Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Will/should win: This will mark the third time that an Andy Serkis performance carries its film to Oscar, after The Two Towers and King Kong/
Most people who know me know I don't give a pigskin about the Super Bowl, although this year I did have kind of a tangential interest. You see, the Mara family owns the New York Giants, and I have crushes on both Kate (127 Hours) and Rooney (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). It's almost enough to make me wish I were into football.
Since I'm not, however, I shall resort merely to talking about the movie trailers that were on last night. CinemaBlend has them all on this page.
21 Jump Street
Color me unimpressed. I just don't find it that funny. Also, I have a question for the studio. Emma Stone is in your movie. Why haven't you made this evident in the trailers?
Act of Valor
Novel idea to cast active duty Navy SEALS in a movie. We all know the Seals are badasses. That does NOT necessarily mean the movie will be badass. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be, because I fear the filmmakers will assume the SEALS alone are good enough. A good story and director will help too.
The Avengers
OK, NOW I'm getting a little more excited for this thing!
Battleship
On the other hand, I still think this looks like Transformers: Wet of the Water. Yawn.
The Dictator
I thought Borat was overrated, and I thought Bruno was a mess, but I have to admit, this looks pretty funny. The bit where he shoots the other track runners made me laugh out loud.
GI Joe: Retaliation
No, I guess people don't have to like your first movie for there to be a sequel.
The Hunger Games
Now this I'm all over, even though I haven't read the books. But I'm a fan of Jennifer Lawrence!
John Carter
While I believe The Hunger Games will be the big hit of the spring, I sense this movie may be the big-budget disappointment. Something just seems off here. It looks -- ordinary. Kinda like the vibe I got from Prince of Persia. Oh, you don't remember that one either?
The Lorax
IMAX Tree-D? That's cute. Since it's by the folks who made Despicable Me. I'm hopeful.
On the whole, though, thought it was a rather unremarkable year for movie ads. Save for Avengers, none of the spots changed my opinion on a movie, for good or ill.
Big Miracle: Drew Barrymore saves the whales. Can't muster up a lot of interest for this, even though the reviews aren't half bad.
Chronicle: Initially, I rolled my eyes at yet another "found footage" movie, especially since the two most recent ones, Apollo 18 and The Devil Inside, are allegedly awful. But this one is pulling down some surprisingly strong reviews - strong enough that I may check it out.
The Woman in Black: Even though I was never a huge Potterphile, I am very curious to see how Daniel Radcliffe fares in his first big post-Potter movie role. The good news is, it's being released under the legendary Hammer films banner. The bad news is, CBS Films is selling it with cheesy Paranormal Activity-type ads showing people cowering in theaters. Audience participation ads tend to be a sign of iffy quality. We'll see.
Near the beginning of That's Entertainment, this fabulous number plays, and Frank Sinatra said "You know, you can wait around and hope, but I'll tell you, you'll never see the likes of this again."
The Artist has proven Frank wrong. We have seen the likes of that again, thanks to this enchanting film.
That's not to say The Artist ranks alongside the greatest films of Hollywood's golden age, or the silent era. Writer-director Michel Hazanavicius would be the first to admit that. But what his movie does do is illuminate the past brilliantly, while at the same time carving out a unique identity for itself.
Some people dismiss The Artist, claiming that it only works because it dares to be silent. Mel Brooks proved that untrue 36 years ago. His Silent Movie had some funny moments, but it was nowhere near what it aspired to be. It ended up as a mildly diverting lark. That was the film where the silence came off as a gimmick.
What elevates The Artist is that it doesn't merely shut up and pay homage to Douglas Fairbanks et al. It pays homage to the power of movies in general. Its plot borrows heavily from Singin' in the Rain (a talkie about the switch from silent to sound) and A Star is Born (grand old star's career fades while the fresh new face the old star found brightens). Now that's pedigree.
But the clearest evidence of how The Artist stands on its own is, interestingly, when it co-opts an existing piece of music. The movie has a delightful score of its own by Ludovic Bource, but one crucial scene plays to Bernard Herrmann's love theme from Vertigo. It shouldn't work - the scene in the Hitchcock movie is one of the most memorable in all of cinema, and that's my favorite score to boot. Yet somehow, Havanvicius takes Herrmann's music and makes it work in The Artist's context.
Deserving of just as much credit is the terrific cast. Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo are both wonderful, not merely resorting to pantomime, but creating full-bodied characters. John Goodman is perfectly cast as a cigar-puffing studio boss.
Such is my affection for The Artist, that reading some Facebook comments about the Oscar nominations made my blood boil, especially when once person said "Who cares about some silent movie that only 10 people saw?"
I was about to fire back with a sharp-tongued response, but I remained silent. Sadly, I know The Artist isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's never going to have the mass success of another throwback like Chicago. But like Sinatra, I'll tell you - if more people were into movies like The Aritst, movies as a whole would be a great deal better.
Can it be? Posts from Sir Critic three days in a row??
Well, yes, it can, because one thing I'm going to start doing again in this cyberspace is offering sharp but pithy thoughts on the new releases Friday. So that established ....
The title links go to Metacritic, which I find to be a more helpful barometer of critical opinion then Rotten Tomatoes (ducks fried green one).
A Dangerous Method: Cronenberg's latest hasn't gotten as much attention as one might guess, considering the subject matter (Jung v Freud) and the cast, but I'll check it out because Cronenberg has never bored me.
The Grey - No matter how good or bad it is, this will forever be known as the movie wherein Liam Neeson punches a werewolf - truly a strange turn in his late career as an action star. Reviews for this are actually pretty decent, but I'll probably still avoid it because I'm not a fan of director Joe Carnahan. I thought Narc was good but overrated, and the dreary, dull Smokin' Aces still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Man on a Ledge: At first I was kind of interested in seeing this, mainly because it had a decent trailer and Elizabeth Banks. Regrettably, the negative reviews are scaring me away. However, the lovely and witty Ms. Banks did a very amusing trailer commentary. If she could do this for the entire movie, I might actually check it out.
One for the Money: Katherine Heigl is in it. Sorry, but by now that's an automatic no.
Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
Clearly this is a two-film race between two odes to the past: The Artist and Midnight in Paris. I'm leaning toward The Artist because it has the ingenious factor going for it, and I think the overall affection for the film will carry the day. Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Here's another two-film race, between The Descendants and Moneyball. Moneyball has a good shot because it has two A-list writers adapting a book that people said couldn't be a movie. Still, The Desecendants seems to be better liked to me, and it's a more emotional piece. Emotionalism tends to carry the day.
Best Animated Film A Cat in Paris Chico & Rita Kung Fu Panda 2 Puss in Boots Rango
So Pixar gets snubbed for the first time in this category. but that wasn't a great surprise. Does Cars 2 deserve all the scorn it got? No. Does it merit an Oscar nomination? No. I'm willing to bet it's better than the two nominated DreamWorks sequels, but Rango's quirkiness gives it an edge. I'm at a disadvantage in this category because I haven't seen A Cat in Paris or Chico & Rita. Then again, few people have.
Best Foreign Language Film Bullhead (Belgium) Monsieur Lazhar (Canada) A Separation (Iran) Footnote (Israel) In Darkness (Poland)
A Separation has all kinds of acclaim, so that's my best guess.
Best Cinematography The Artist The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Hugo The Tree of Life War Horse
OK, OK, so A lot of people didn't "get" Tree of Life. But no matter how much that film makes you feel like saying "Derp," if you deny the cinematography, you are willfully blind. Hugo's lush 3D photography could take the prize, though.
Art Direction The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
War Horse
The Artist could win in a sweep. but I think Dante Ferretti's electorate, resplendent sets for Hugo will stick the most with viewers.
Costume Design Anonymous The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.
Hey, the film directed by Madonna got nominated! (rolls eyes). Most likely The Artist (again).
Documentary Feature Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated
I'm guessing the movie that helped free murder suspects from prison (Paradise Lost 3) gets the nod.
Film Editing The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius The Descendants, Kevin Tent The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen
Hugo or The Artist. I lean toward Hugo, which is flashier.
Makeup Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston, and Matthew W. Mungle Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, and Yolanda Toussieng The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Hey Harry. here's your Oscar!
Music (Original Score) The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams The Artist, Ludovic Bource Hugo, Howard Shore Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias War Horse, John Williams
Most likely The Artist (again), although I could see Hugo taking this too.
Music (Original Song) “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, and Siedah Garrett
Sheeeez. Sometimes I think this category ought to go the way of Best Dance Direction. Muppets easy.
Sound Editing Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse Sound Mixing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Monyeball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
These tend to be hard to predict. Hell, The Ghost and the Darkness won this award. I'll guess Hugo for both, since it's a Best Picture nominee. BTW, why couldn't Super 8 have been nominated instead of the robots?
Visual Effects Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
It took forever for the Academy to recognize an animated film could be a Best Picture nominee; I'm not sure why people seriously thought Andy Serkis would get a nomination for motion capture work. However, an Oscar for the people who helped turn him into an ape? It's been done before (King Kong), it can be done again.
Over the past couple of days I had been feeling rather guilty about never putting together an Oscar nominations predictions piece. This is the first time since the mid-90s I've not done it. As it has so often done in the recent past, life happened to me while I was busy making other plans.
Well, thanks a million, life! I'm kinda glad I didn't do a predictions piece this year, because it would contain several variations of "Whoops! Got THAT wrong!" So embarrassment spared, I will simply react to the nominees as presented Tuesday morning.
BEST PICTURE
Best Picture The Artist The Descendants Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball The Tree of Life War Horse
The only major surprise here was Extremely Loud getting tapped after all of the precursors had ignored it. Personally, I'm terrified of the film, since the trailer makes it look like precious schmaltz, and I loathe most of the movies by Stephen Daldry (The Hours, The Reader). No matter, however. The film has zero chance of winning, although I think The Artist has probably got it for turning a gimmick into something, well, artistic. More to the point, it's delightful. But The Descendants is probably a strong second, and Hugo a decent third.
BEST DIIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Malick took what some people said should have been Fincher's slot, and while I would have preferred Fincher myself, I understand the thinking. Among directors, Malick is a legend. Fincher isn't quite there yet. This is a race between another legend (Marty) and a newcomer (Michel), both of whom made loving homages to the early history of movies. Since he's Scorsese, and because he gave his picture such a wondrous 3D visual style, I tend to tap him for director, since Hazanavicius' movie will probably win picture and screenplay.
BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Some people favor Clooney, and while he ran an impressive emotional gamut, he won fairly recently, for Syriana. I favor the boundless charm of Dujardin, with Pitt as a possible spoiler. Finally, while I have great respect for Gary Oldman, I'm lukewarm on his Tinker Tailor perf. As a friend of mine facetiously said, "Gary
Oldmann should get an Oscar for being able to hold a completely emotionless look
on his face for 2.5 hours."
BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
I am absolutely DELIGHTED Ms. Mara made the cut here when many said she wouldn't - it made up for Dragon Tattoo not scoring any other major nominations. She would be my vote to win, but she won't - I think that honor will most likely go to Davis, who's an emotional powerhouse in The Help, and who has been so good in so many movies that it's well nigh time for her ship to come in.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Like many others, I was sorry, although not altogether surprised to see AMPAS snub Albert Brooks for his great work in Drive. As Mr. Brooks himself put it before the nominations, "Tomorrow I find out if I have to go to any more events that Christopher Plummer wins." This is Plummer in a walk. If someone is second, it ain't even close.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
I was very sad to see Shailene Woodley's sassy and touching performance in The Descendants get overlooked; my guess is McTeer took her slot, and as it happens, I think McTeer is the only one who's a long shot. I could see any of the other four getting it. AMPAS might pair up Spencer with Davis. Or they might pair Bejo with Duajardin. Or they might reward Chastain for being great not only in The Help but in 62 other movies last year. The toughest race to call. I'll get back to you on that one, and I'll get back to you soon on the other Oscar categories.
For now, for people lamenting the lack of nominations for Drive, Dragon Tattoo et al, it's important to remember that the Academy likes its films to be happy or tear-jerking, not in-your-face antisocial. As In Contention astutely observed,
"...no nominations for "Shame" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin" --
including snubs for two of the top performances of the year -- combined
with somewhat unexpected major nominations for "Extremely Loud &
Incredibly Close" and "War Horse" to go along with the expected
inclusions of "The Artist," "The Help" and "Midnight in Paris," as well
as a Best Picture miss for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," all adds
up to one thing: the Academy likes its collective heart warmed, not
disturbed. We already knew that, of course, so it's a point less learned
than solidified. And very important to keep in mind."
In other words, Oscar is many things, but on Hollywood Boulevard, he's not a grouch.
Choosing the best film of the year is no easy task. Sometimes the best film of the year can be sitting there staring you in the face, and yet you overlook it.
That's not to say that there was ever any doubt about The Descendants being a great film. As soon as I saw it, I knew it to be one of only a handful of movies to get an A+ grade.
And yet, I vacillated. Did I go with Midnight in Paris, which made me happier because I identified with being more into old things than new things? Did I go with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I found so hypnotic that I saw it three times in three weeks? More obviously, did I go with Martin Scorsese's Hugo, a joyous film from my favorite director about the formation of movies themselves?
Then I saw The Descendants a second time. And it surprised me. In some ways I shouldn't be able to relate to it. I tend to prefer visually driven films, and as smart as Alexander Payne is, he's not what you would call a visual stylist. I'm not a father, so I can't identify with struggling to raise two kids like George Clooney's character does. Heaven forbid I've never had to deal with a living will, as Clooney has to when his estranged wife clings to life support after a boating accident. And I'm certainly not an outdoorsman of any stripe, so Hawaii doesn't appeal as much to me as it does to many people.
Then Clooney's voice over started: "Paradise can go fuck itself."
And right away the movie grabbed me again, not because it slams the outdoors, but because more than any other movie in recent memory, The Descendants makes it plain that paradise is in the things you can't see. And paradise evidences itself over and over again in this film, filled with so many moments that feel exactly right. I could nitpick Midnight in Paris (some thin, abrasive characters) Hugo (too many subplots) or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (ending too long). I can't nitpick The Descendants. And it moved me even more than those great films did.
What I saw in The Descendants was a lot of what I saw in Young Adult. Both films show that people and situations are never what they seem at first glance. We make snap, superficial judgments all the time but such judgments never tell the whole story.
Clooney's Matt King is at heart a decent guy, but it could be said he gets a little too obsessed with tracking down the man who had an affair with Clooney's wife. One of the most revealing moments of the film comes when Matt rages at his unresponsive wife in the hospital - but reacts very interestingly when his older daughter (Shailene Woodley) does the same thing.
Among the supporting characters, many people have focused on Matt's daughters, but upon a second viewing, I found one of the most interesting characters to be Sid (Nick Krause), the daughter's stoner boyfriend. At first glance, he seems to be about as deep as a birdbath, but a heart-to-heart talk with the kid shows Matt that maybe the kid knows more than he lets on.
What I most strongly related to was Matt's conflicting feelings for his wife. As was the case in Young Adult, it's easy to rail against an unsympathetic character like the wife who cheated on Matt. But damn it all, Matt still has feelings for her, and it's not wrong for him to do so. Sometimes you can love someone in spite of the horrible things they do to you.
And it may not even be that simple. As one friend of mine astutely pointed out, Matt's feelings toward his dying wife probably aren't all forgiving. He told me: "On some level, he probably knows that he's not the love of (his wife's) life, and he's probably not the person she would've preferred to have been at her side when they pulled the plug. But Clooney's character on some level is saying, "You know what? Fuck you. It's not about you right now - *I* need this. *I* need a moment to tell you I love you and say goodbye and be there for you one last time, and after all you've done to me, I'm going to take that moment, whether you like it or not."
That's what makes The Descenedants so rewarding - that scenes can be read in more than one way, and both readings can be right. Howard Hawks once said a successful movie has three great scenes and no bad scenes. The Descendants outranks and transcends that rule.
Now that I've looked back at 2011's films, it's time to look forward to 2012's films, though truth be told, I'm not looking forward to ALL of them.
What I'll do here is look at all of this Friday's releases and then pick out highlights and maybe a few lowlights from the 2012 schedule. As ever, release dates are subject to change, so don't come cryin' to me if a movie comes out when I say it does.
FRIDAY
The Artist: This doesn't open in Dayton this weekend, but it does open in Columbus. I want to see this silent homage to yesteryear yesterday, so I'm going Saturday.
Beauty and the Beast: My absolute favorite film of the Disney renaissance, but I'm on the fence about whether to see it. I just don't think 2D animation renders well in 3D.
Contraband: I like Mark Wahlberg, but low-rent actioners like this one are really beneath him. Looks like a direct-to-video release that escaped into theaters.
The Iron Lady: What I keep hearing is, "Sure, Meryl's great. The film? Not so much."
Joyful Noise: Nice to see Dolly Parton on the big screen again, but like Contraband, this also looks like a low-grade movie that escaped to theaters. Only this one would be on Hallmark instead of Spike.
JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS (Yep, just one)
Haywire: How do you make a deadly female mixed martial arts flick and make it look classy and kick-ass? Hire Steven Soderbergh to direct.
FEBRUARY
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance: Nicolas Cage jokes that he has "personal problems" in this movie. I think it's more a matter of personal FINANCE problems, since the man seemingly never turns down any script, no matter how trashy.
Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace: I'm on the record as saying this movie isn't nearly as bad as most people say it is. However, because many people think it's bad, I foresee this reissue falling flat, even if it is in 3D. In fact, for some, that may be a deterrrent.
MARCH
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax: Dr. Seuss books have a very mixed track record at the box office, but this one actually holds some promise because it builds a story around the core of the book. Plus it's by the folks who made the vcry entertaining Despicable Me.
John Carter: This sci-fi action take on the Edgar Rice Burroughs' character baffles me. On the one hand, I'd like to see Pixar director Andrew Stanton succeed in live action features, just like his colleague Brad Bird did with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. But the more I see the trailer, the more it feels like a bloated mess. And can we PLEASE have a moratorium on Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" in movie trailers?
Mirror Mirror: The Snow White movie of 2012 I have no interest in seeing, since Julia Roberts' queen is looks to be a truly poisoned apple. Ptooey.
The Hunger Games: Haven't read a word of the books, but I even I can tell this is going to be the monster hit of the spring - partly because I'm a big fan of both Jennifer Lawrence and Elizabeth Banks. I'm also curious to see how Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit) handles a big action spectacle.
APRIL
The Three Stooges: I like the Stooges. I like the Farrelly brothers. But ye gods, this looks awful. And stick a finger in its eye for casting Snooki.
MAY
The Avengers: One would think that I would be all over this one, since I'm generally a fan of superhero movies, but here's the thing: Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America were all good movies, not great movies. And a big reason those movies aren't as good as they ought to be, is because they spent WAY too much time setting up The Avengers and not enough concentrating on their own stories. I smell overkill, but I hope I'm wrong.
Battleship: Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Hancock) is a talented director. So why is he serving up what looks like Michael Bay's sloppy seconds?
MIB 3: No one was too enthused about Men in Black 2, but introducing time travel looks like fun - and introudcing Josh Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones looks like even more fun.
JUNE
Rock of Ages: I really enjoyed Hairspray by the same director, but I'm wary of the heavy dose of 80s nostalgia. I'm not as enamored of the music of that decade as most of my generation, and this movie gets instant demerits for trying to use "We Built This City" as one of the numbers. That song's terrible in any decade.
Snow White and the Huntsman: Just as Julia Roberts is the downfall of Mirror, Mirror, Charlize Theron looks to be the best thing about this more action-oriented Snow White movie.
Prometheus: Ridley Scott's output of late has been extremely uneven, but I have a good feeling about this one. The trailer for this Alien prequel is drool-worthy.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: I've only read a little bit of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by the same author. If this is half as entertaining, it's going to be fun.
Brave: Pixar, so it's automatic, even if the trailer has more of a comedic bent than I hoped. PS - Please stop giving the studio a hard time for Cars 2. Not every movie the studio makes has to be transcendent.
GI Joe: Retaliation - Wait - don't you make a sequel only if people LIKED the first movie?
JULY
The Amazing Spider-Man: The decision to reboot this franchise still puzzles me. And yet the casting is solid from Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker to Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy.
The Dark Knight Rises: Duh.
AUGUST
The Bourne Legacy: A Bourne movie without Matt Damon may seem like sacrilege, but Jeremy Renner's no slouch, and neither is director Tony Gilroy, who had a had in writing all three movies.
Paranorman: From the folks who made the wonderful Coraline. The trailer looks delightfully trippy.
OCTOBER (Skipped September on purpose, since it looks dull for now)
Frankenweenie: Tim Burton is also making Dark Shadows this year, but honestly, I think he and Johnny Depp have grown stale. I'm much more interested in this animated take on his early film.
NOVEMBER
Wreck it Ralph: Disney makes a forary into 8-bit video game style animation. Now there's 80s nostalgia I can buy.
Skyfall: A Bond movie directed by an Oscar winner (Sam Mendes), shot by Roger Deakins and scored by Thomas Newman. How can it NOT be better than Quantum of Solace?
DECEMBER
Les Miserables: Yay for the casting of Anne Hathaway, meh on the casting of Taylor Swift. Still, I'm curious to see how Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) fares with a big, splashy musical.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: I remain suspicious of the need to split this story into two films, but one can only trust Peter Jackson.
The Great Gatsby: Shooting this story in 3D may seem like a fool's errand, but if anyone can make a fool's errand work, it's Baz Luhrmann.
Lincoln: If only we could see Spielberg's biopic as a double bill with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
Why do I say take 1? Well, because this list is far from finalized. Normally I would have published my 10 Best List by now, but in real life I've been adjusting to a new beat at the newspaper. In movie life, I've actually had a bit of a hard time narrowing the list down just to 20. As lackluster as 2011 was for movies, sifting through the very best is very tough. Usually is. By the time this list is done, I may go through as many takes as David Fincher usually does.
As things stand, here is my list of the 20 movies that have stayed with me the most in 2011. They are presented strictly in alphabetical order and without comment on each individual film. By the end of this month, I hope to finalize the list and say a little something about the best 10.
Until then, you can have fun guessing at my running order. In fact, when I'm done guessing, maybe you can tell me! Feel free to castigate/compliment me on what I did/did not include. Better yet, watch the movies.
Arthur Christmas Beginners Bridesmaids Blue Valentine The Descendants The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II Horrible Bosses Hugo Jane Eyre Martha Marcy May Marlene Midnight in Paris Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Moneyball My Week with Marilyn Super 8 The Tree of Life Tucker and Dale vs. Evil Win Win Young Adult
This year I'm going to try to treat this blog more like a film diary again, chronicling my near-daily movie-watching experiences. Before I do that, though, I'll catch you up quickly on movies I've seen since my last review of the underrated Young Adult.
The Adventures of Tintin: Steven Spielberg's first foray in directing animation is a fun thrill ride, but not much more than that. It has some great action sequence, including a breathtaking sequence done in one long shot that ups the ante of the "flying ticket" scene in The Polar Express. Unfortunately, the movie is missing an emotional underpinning because it doesn't spend enough time introducing us to the main character. GRADE: B
Arthur Christmas: Just because it's not Christmas anymore, don't let that stop you from seeing this wonderful film. I saw it after the holiday and was treated to the best animated film of the year, a delightful look at old school vs. new school Santa, in Aardman's inimitable style. GRADE: A-
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Some critics have complained that this is just the foreign film remade with more visual pizazz. I completely disagree. David Fincher's new film and the Swedish movie obviously have similar story beats. but Fincher's film makes a number of key changes that makes his picture a very different animal. The hypnotic visuals increase the sense of foreboding, but what really puts the film over the top is the amazing lead performance by Rooney Mara, who plays Lisbeth Salander with an intense fragility. Spellbinding, even if the ending goes on a bit too long. GRADE: A
My Week with Marilyn: Many people have said Michelle Williams' performance as Marilyn Monroe is great; the film not so much. Again, I disagree. Williams is excellent, turning in the best portrayal of MM I've ever seen. But the movie cuts deeper than a look at a fragile soul. It's also a Valentine to people intoxicated by movies just as the lead character is. GRADE: A
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows: I wasn't a fan of the 2009 film, finding it overly brash and frenetic. The sequel, too, is overly frenetic, but surpasses its predecessor with a cleverer script, and more importantly, a much improved villain in the person of Professor Moriarity (Jared Harris). I just with Guy Ritchie would dispense with the Matrix-y visuals which are 12 years out of date. GRADE: B
War Horse: Like Steven Spielberg's other 2011 film, the Adventures of Tintin, has some individual great moments, but they coalesce only into a good film. The picture certainly looks wonderful, thanks to the ever-lustrous images of Janusz Kaminski, but I could feel Spielberg straining for effect, particularly toward the end when he's trying too hard to be John Ford or Victor Fleming. It's a worthwhile film, but it left me wanting. GRADE: B
We Bought a Zoo: Cameron Crowe's first effort since the botch of Elizabethtown has the makings of a sleeper hit, and it's easy to see why. This story of a family trying to find itself after the loss of its wife/mother via the impulse purchase of a zoo is clearly heartfelt. It gets a little too cutesy at times, and the movie has way too many endings, but a winning cast puts it over. GRADE: B
Same rules apply as usual: Even if I saw a movie before, if I see it in a theater it goes on the list again once the year turns over. The same does not apply to small-screen viewing. Up to last year, I have not tracked repeat viewings on the small screen, unless it had been a very long time since I had seen a particular movie. To generate more activity on this dusty blog, I may start tracking them again.
I am an arts and entertainment reporter for Cox Newspapers in Southwest Ohio who loves movies. Have any comments, questions or concerns? Email sircritc@gmail.com
