It’s Hard Out Here For a Wimp: “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is a Clever Look at Life in Middle School

I’m grown up. Sort of. I don’t have kids. But I was one. And “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” will appeal to anyone who was once a kid. So that’s pretty much everyone. So therefore if you think you’re too old to see “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” (which is based on a serious of books) you’re wrong. In fact it think you’ll get more out of it having been through middle school. Movies for kids don’t have to be stupid or dumbed down, and this movie is not. I imagine it’s sort of similar to what Woody Allen might come up with had he written a movie for ten year olds. And frankly, young Greg Heffley is sort of a young Alvy Singer, trying to get through life, a smart guy, who happens to be surrounded by complete morons. Sure I’m not sure most 12 year olds are this wise and observant about life, at least I don’t think I was, but most 12 year old characters in movies don’t really act their age do they?

Our hero is Greg (Zachary Gordon) and he’s about to enter dreaded middle school. A thing that he says is the dumbest thing invented. Everyone is awkward especially him and with his skinny, tiny frame. He’s yet to hit puberty, so worst is really yet to come. His best friend is Rowley, a sweet and charming rotund young boy who sort of coasts through life under Greg’s guidance. He helps Rowley learn to be “cool” and even though Greg himself isn’t very popular, he insists that he is. But oh as the saying goes, it’s hard out here for a wimp. And as this story progresses he will find himself lower and lower on the popularity echelon.

There are many things working against Greg so that we instantly find him sympathetic. He’s cursed with an older brother who constantly teases him and beats him up. Is this what having an older brother really is like? Perhaps I was blessed by only having sisters? Although I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be “beaten up” by a brother. His parents don’t just understand him and I think most kids sort of feel that way. He’s also cursed with an underdeveloped body. He’s surrounded by other boys with hair in places he’s yet to see develop and his skinny frame is forced be a “skin” in gym class. It’s hard not to sympathize with this youngin.

Although you soon realize what does he really have any right to complain about? He’s well provided by his parents, lives in a good home, and seems to have everything he could want, yet he still finds things to complain about. Like having to eat breakfast while his potty training brother goes to the bathroom next to him. And having to attend a Mother-Son Dance. But those are just standard things everyone goes through growing up. The point is he makes pretty funny wry observations about life as a kid. Of course there are silly things added in for the kiddies, like Dad (Steve Zahn) dumping water on unsuspecting trick-or-treaters and an odd subplot about a moldy piece of cheese on the playground. But overall the script is pretty tight and witty, sort of a watered down “Mean Girls” for young boys.

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” does prove something. That it’s possible to make a family friendly film that isn’t stupid and doesn’t treat kids like they’re stupid. You don’t need singing animals or constantly slapstick humor to get kids to laugh. After all, after seeing this film you realize kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. GRADE: B

Dragon the Line: “How to Train Your Dragon” is High Flying Fun

“How to Train Your Dragon” is the latest thrill-a-minute 3D spectacle. It may empty your wallet, but at least it’ll fill your heart. Sure it looks “cool” in 3D and some of the flying sequences are pretty breathtaking, but I’m pretty sure this is still another unnecessary use of 3D technology. Now there was a time just a few years back where I’d go see anything in 3D. it was a novelty then and now it seems to be the standard. And as shocking as this is, I think I prefer my 3D gimmicky. I want stuff being thrown at the audience and I want the characters to be in on the gag. Sometimes not enough things are being thrown at the screen it begs the question “why am I wearing these uncomfortable 3D glasses over my regular eyeglasses. Maybe having so much gear on my face is just annoying. In any case, 3D works for “How to Train Your Dragon” but much like “Alice in Wonderland” I don’t know how much it’s actually needed.

Having said all that, the latest animated adventure from the studio that brought you all those Shrek movies, is certainly a blast. It tells the story of a young Viking and his family who are constantly fending off evil, man-eating dragons. But could it be the dragons are just misunderstood, and like most “man-eating beasts” (ie Great White Sharks?) they are in fact just big creatures that are misinterpreted as monsters? (Although I don’t suggest swimming with Great Whites even if you are Anderson Cooper) Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) is a skinny little Viking. His father Stoick (Gerard Butler) insists that he go through “dragon hunting training” to make sure he grows up to be a fierce hunter. But Hiccup stumbles upon an injured dragon who can’t fly and after a few meetings realizes the beast isn’t as evil as all the Vikings make the dragons seem.

The animators and writers do probably the best thing possible my making this dragon, who Hiccup calls “Toothless” like a big dog or cat. He’s playful and has many domesticated animal traits that most animal lovers will recognize. And you instantly fall in love with him. I have to admit that the story is very simple, and not completely original (it sort of reminded me of E.T.) and yet it feels genuine and not forced at all. There is humor to be had here but it’s mostly comic relief in the form of various dragons and their quirky personalities as Hiccup’s fellow trainees learn the ropes of dragon hunting. There are characters voiced by Jonah Hill and McLovin himself Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera provides the voice of Astrid, whom Hiccup might have some feelings for.

“How to Train Your Dragon” features some really outstanding animation and a terrific look that fits nicely into the other recent outstanding animated adventures. It has some really funny and touching moments and one flying sequence which was pretty breathtaking. Overall I found this an adventure worth taking. Even if I had to wear two pairs of glasses to see it. GRADE: B+

Along Came Molly: “She’s Out of My League” is Only a 5 Compared to Apatow’s Comedy Classics

The 40 Year-Old Virgin. Knocked Up. Superbad. Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Walk Hard. Step Brothers. Pineapple Express. What do all of these films have in common? They are all produced and/or directed by Judd Apatow. He’s today’s go to guy for quality comedies. What else do they have in common? They are all significantly better than “She’s Out of My League.” If “Knocked Up” were the hot girl with a perfect bod, then “She’s Out of My League” is the nerdy guy with skinny arms and bad hair. That isn’t to say this film is horrendous, because it isn’t, but it’s easily not as good in quality or importance as any of the above films I’ve mentioned. Not surprisingly, Apatow had nothing to do with this one, so we can blissfully shrug this one off as an “Apatow wannabe.” Of course, not all Apatow wannabes are bad, just take a look at the terrific “I Love You, Man” for instance. And after all, “She’s Out of My League” is really the only pure comedy I’ve seen since Ricky Gervais’ “The Invention of Lying” from way back in October. So seeing as though there’s no real competition, you could do a lot worse than this movie.

We get “Knocked Up’s” Jay Baruchel in his first staring role as Kirk. Kirk is a goofy, scrawny guy who works as a security guard at a Pittsburgh airport. So do all his male buddies. Note to self: never get on a plane in this airport. These guys spend more time checking out girls than screening passengers. I’m surprised more terrorist attacks didn’t occur in this film. But I digress. A hot girl comes through security, accidentally leaves her iPhone, which Kirk holds onto until she can return to claim it. It turns out this hot girl named Molly (Alice Eve) is not only nice on the outside, she’s nice on the inside, and decides to give dating Kirk a try. Kirk’s goofball friends, not surprisingly, are shocked that someone like Molly (whom they dub a “hard 10”) would even consider going out with a guy like Kirk (whom they dub a “5”). I’m not really sure who made these classifications, but they seem to have a firm grasp on it. [that’s what she said]

It turns out Molly is actually interested in Kirk precisely because he is a 5. But she knows that he’s actually a 10 on the inside, and she’s only used to guys who are 10s on the outside but only 5s on the inside. This includes her ex-boyfriend/pilot Cam (Geoff Stults) who is as All-American as they come. Even Molly’s more traditional parents are sort of shocked by Molly’s new dating choice. Kirk’s family is very different from Molly’s parents in that they are the super weird parents we usually find in movies like this. Kirk’s dad’s eyes nearly bug out his head when he first sees Molly and Kirk’s mother squeals with delight because her son has snatched such a hottie. And it turns out that Kirk’s parents have taken a likening to Kirk’s ex-girlfriend Marnie and her new boyfriend. They hang out a lot and it’s certainly awkward. And Kirk’s douchey brother Dylan is everything obnoxious brothers are supposed to be.

I guess what seems to be the film’s biggest problem is a lack of extremely funny and witty writing. This is supposed to be comedy’s most important thing of course, because without funny writing there is no funny movie. I chuckled at parts and was entertained the whole way through, but some story elements just felt stale. It’s as if the writers (Sean Anders & John Morris) just got bored half way through writing the script. They come up with a few gross out situations, because movies like these need to have these moments, which include the removal of body hair and a certain bodily fluid. The film isn’t too shameless though and I’m glad to say and these scenes are decently brief.

I found myself rooting for Kirk, for some reason, even though I pretty much knew how things were going to play out. I enjoyed Molly’s droll best friend played by Krysten Ritter; I hope we get to see more of her at some point. Kirk’s three best buds are pretty forgettable and don’t add anything fresh or new to the proceedings. Although I’m glad Molly is as nice as she appears to be and you come to find out it’s not so shocking that she would go for someone like Kirk. “She’s Out of My League” is not a fantastic film, it certainly has its issues, and it’s nowhere near as good as some other comedies that have come out in the past few years, but you could do a lot worse. GRADE: C+

Insane in the Membrane: A Virus Turns the Local Townsfolk into “The Crazies”

If you go see “The Crazies” you should probably be forewarned that you’ve probably seen it before. Most likely you haven’t watched the little seen original film directed by George A. Romero. In fact, I had never even heard of it until this remake was scheduled for release. No, you’ve probably seen a lot of it before in other movies like “Dawn of the Dead,” “28 Days Later,” heck even “Zombieland.” The zombie film has sort of become an unfortunate retread in the horror genre as of late, because everyone seems to be making them. However, even though The Crazies doesn’t necessarily reinvent the genre, it certainly is one of the better ones and is worth seeking out.

“The Crazies” takes place in the little town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa. It’s a quite Midwest town where nothing much happens. It seems like the most exciting event is a local high school baseball game. An elderly man wanders into the outfield with a shot gun and the local sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) is forced to shoot, and kill, the man when he ignores his orders to put down his weapon. The man’s wife and son are devastated, but David insures him it was for his own protection as the man was acting very strangely. It turns out he’s not the only one as it’s soon discovered that several of the townspeople begin acting crazy and become extremely violent. It turns out the local water supply has been contaminated by a virus. The origins of it I will not expose here, but those conspiracy theorists will most likely be overjoyed.

Soon David is on the run with his pregnant wife Judy (Radha Mitchell) and his deputy Russell (Joe Anderson) from these “crazies.” While in most zombie films the infected are violent and mindless. Except here it seems like those infected know exactly what they’re doing even though they are pretty much insane. And yes they are extremely violent. One infected man even locks his wife and son in a closet and sets the whole thing ablaze.

I was actually genuinely surprised at how much I found myself caring for the characters. Olyphant and Mitchell actually have good chemistry and are well matched as young soon-to-be parents. The movie is pretty relentless, barely giving you much time to breath between several tension filled sequences. Look at one scene in which Judy is strapped to a gurney. She can’t move from the bed at all. An infected man slowly approaches her, dragging a bloody pitchfork on the floor behind him. It’s pretty suspenseful stuff as long as you don’t expect the main character to be killed off so soon.

There is some really good stuff to be found here and it’s all filmed in an appropriately dark and gritty tone. I can assume the original film, being a Romero movie, to have a very low budget quality, and while this remake is no slick piece of filmmaking, it is appropriately low budget looking and yet never ever feels cheap. It’s director who last made the big budge adventure film “Sahara” seems much more suited to this genre as is writer Scott Kosar who gave us The Machinist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake.

Like I said the film’s biggest drawback is the fact that there are dozens of films like it out there that you’ve probably already seen. “The Crazies” should please fans of the genre who aren’t already sick of it. I guess I’m sort of one of them, I think we should take a break from all these zombie movies; it’s enough to drive you crazy. GRADE: B

Oscar Forecast 2010: “Locker” with a Chance of “Avatar”

UPDATED: So The Hurt Locker cleaned up huh? It won a total of six Oscars (including first time female director winner Kathryn Bigelow) in a show that was rather predictable, save for a surprise Best Adapted Screenplay win for the deserving "Precious." For a moment, i thought Gabby might have a shot at Actress but the super lovable Sandra Bullock got it as planned. To think she won a Razzie (for All About Steve) and an Oscar in the same weekend is a pretty big feat. And she accepted both in person. I enjoyed this super long ceremony but somehow this supposedly streamlined show ended up ballooning into a show that had DVRs being cut off all over the country. My biggest question is how Avatar only managed 3 technical wins (just as many as Benjamin Button last year I might add). I got a total of 19 out of 24 predictions correct missing out on Adapted Screenplay, Sound Editing, Live & Animated Shorts and Documentary Short). See you at the movies. Winners listed in bold.

All I can say is finally. The Oscars are finally here. This has been the longest Oscar “season” yet. It feels like months since we watched the Golden Globes, oh wait it has been months. For some reason (could curling have anything to do with it?) the Academy Awards were pushed back to March which made things all the more difficult to predict this year. And yet for some reason some categories are locked up tighter than Charles Manson. There are some races that seem up in the air, if you’ll excuse the expression. Like for instance Best Picture. I wanna bet the farm on The Hurt Locker, but this whole 10 noms and preferential ballot thing is making me sort of nervous. I’m thinking anything could happen. Let’s break it down, shall we?

BEST PICTURE
Who Will Win: The Hurt Locker. I wanna say this is all locked up, but it’s not. If this were a normal voting year, I’d say sure. But no one really knows how this preferential ballot is going to affect who wins this award. And for as many reasons for this film winning (it’s a critical darling, it’s got the momentum, it’s won nearly every precursor award) there are reasons against it (it bombed at the box office and it’s recent “bad taste email” scandal doesn’t help). I’m still going with “The Hurt Locker,” but I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if “Avatar” were to win here. It’s certainly possible.
Who Should Win: Up in the Air. “Up in the Air” is the small film that works perfectly with the other recent best picture winners of the past few years. It’s topical and charming and will stand the test of time. It was my 3rd favorite film of the year. “The Hurt Locker” would certainly be deserving as would “Avatar,” but I’d have give my vote to “Air.”

BEST DIRECTOR
Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker. If you were to bet against her, you might as well just throw your Oscar pool money away. She is going to win, not because a woman has never wont before, but because she directed one of the most visceral movies of the year. If James Cameron hadn’t won before this would be more of a race. In the battle of the exes Bigelow takes it.
Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker. I didn’t really like The Hurt Locker when I saw it in theaters, and I’m much more of an Up in the Air fan, but, like last year, I’m willing to spread the wealth. You can’t deny that Bigelow made a film that is intense and chaotic and yet completely in control. Nice work.

BEST ACTOR
Will Win: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart. Duh. Snooze.
Should Win: Colin Firth, A Single Man. Based on sheer performance alone, he takes the cake. I didn’t see “Crazy Heart” or “Invictus,” but it’d definitely be between Firth, who gave a great emotionally draining performance and Jeremy Renner who stuck out in a film better remembered for its look than its performances.

BEST ACTRESS
Will Win: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side. I still can’t believe that Sandra Bullock is this close to winning an Oscar. I never thought it would happen. Ok, let’s be honest people. This is a weak year. In any other year, Bullock wouldn’t have a chance in hell. I’m honestly surprised she has the momentum. She was really good in her film, and was definitely the best part (I still can’t believe it’s nominated for Best Picture), but I think the Academy will probably vote for her more because they like her than because of her performance. That always happens, just deal with it. Meryl, you will have 16 more chances.
Should Win: Gabby Sidibe, Precious. She was simply sensational in that movie. You really think they plucked some poor teen from Harlem. But when you see her personality in real life, you simply can’t believe it. It’s like she’s Daniel Day-Lewis or something. For a first timer, she gave the most deserving performance. Her nomination is her reward. I am a big Streep fan and technically I really want to see her win again, but she’ll be back.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds. He stole every scene he was in. and that is a great supporting performance. He turned a cold-hearted Nazi into a cold-hearted and charming Nazi. Anyone who bets against him is a fool.
Should Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds. The only other actor I can comment on is Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones and he was certainly the best part of that movie, but nothing really compares to Waltz when it comes to super creepy psycho killers.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will Win: Mo’Nique, Precious. She’s had this thing in the bag since Sundance 2009. The Academy loves when someone not known for their acting ability (singers, rappers, comedians, magicians etc) wow them with their dramatic acting turns. And Mo’Nique has it down pat. She was so incredibly good as Precious’ wicked and yet human mother, you simply couldn’t take your eyes off her. Good show indeed.
Should Win: Mo’Nique, Precious. The Academy is actually going to do things right when it comes to the supporting races. Good for them!

And the rest…

Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker

Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air Precious

Animated Feature: Up

Foreign Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes

Documentary Feature: The Cove

Art Direction: Avatar

Cinematography: Avatar

Costume Design: The Young Victoria

Film Editing: The Hurt Locker

Make-Up: Star Trek

Original Score: Up

Original Song: The Weary Kind, Crazy Heart

Sound Editing: Avatar The Hurt Locker

Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker

Visual Effects: Avatar

Animated Short: A Matter of Loaf and Death Logorama

Live Action Short: The Door The New Tenants

Documentary Short: The Last Truck Closing of a GM Plant Music by Prudence

The Magic Kingdom: Tim Burton Brings Us Down the Rabbit Hole in the Uneven “Alice in Wonderland”

I am a big fan of Tim Burton’s movies. And for once, I finally understand why most critics have mixed feelings about his films. Many tend to lean towards the camp of Burton being a great visionary with wild and exotic locations, costumes with quirky and original characters. A lot of the time all of this stuff gets bogged down with weak story elements and unnecessary plot developments or characterizations. Sometimes when he makes a film with a character in the title, he spends more time on secondary characters (Batman Returns for instance). Which brings me to his version of “Alice in Wonderland.” It’s a beautiful film with outstanding production design (mostly computer generated but lovely nonetheless) and other simply scrumptious visuals. But there’s something about this story that sort of just didn’t work for me.

Being a film called “Alice in Wonderland” I expect this film to be about a young girl who wanders off into a magical land full of talking animals, smoking caterpillars and an evil queen whose idea of recreational activities include public beheadings. What we get in this new version is more of a sequel with Alice now being a 19 year old young woman who has already visited Wonderland but doesn’t remember actually having been there. Sort of lame if you ask me. The film is written by Linda Woolverton who worked her magic on the scripts for Disney’s “Beauty & the Beast” and “The Lion King.” I appreciate the attempt to rework what everyone already knows about Wonderland and turn it into a new story, but then rename the film something along the lines of “Return to Wonderland.”

Having put all of that aside, there are definitely elements I enjoyed here. We have newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice, who gives a good performance, however she’s upstaged by two of her other female actors. We have Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, who has a huge head and a tiny body which looks odd at first, but comes directly from Burton’s wonderfully warped mind. And the other is the White Queen played terrifically by Anne Hathaway. She has an Amy Adams in Enchanged quality which reminded me of a super angelic version of Glinda the Good Witch of the North. Lots of laughs to be had at watching Hathaway’s engaging performance.

There are other familiar characters we meet along the way, but because this is more like a sequel it’s feels like we should have already been introduced to these characters. This includes Johnny Depp’s hammy version the Mad Hatter, Alan Rickman as the toked-up Caterpillar, Steven Fry as the Cheshire Cat, and Matt Lucas as both Tweetledee and Tweetledum and Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit. In fact there are so many other characters, you don’t get much time to get to know much about them. And there is so much here plot wise about saving Wonderland from the Red Queen that to be quite honest, I didn’t find myself caring much about the fate of any of these beings.

I don’t have too much to say about seeing the film in 3D, but it didn’t really need it. I guess I like my 3D with extra cheese. Throw stuff at me and remind me that I’m watching a 3D film. 3D has the power to full engulf you in a movie experience (like the breathtaking “Avatar)” but here it just seems like a way for Disney to wring more money out of you.

I can’t really call myself an “Alice in Wonderland” purist because I haven’t read the books and my knowledge basically lies in what I’ve seen in the 1951 Disney cartoon, but something about Tim Burton’s version just was slightly off for me. It has some great performances and a majestic look with the usual Burton quirkiness and very good visual effects, but I’m not sure I’d want to stumble down this rabbit hole again anytime soon. GRADE: B-

One Flew Out of the Cuckoo’s Nest: Leonardo DiCaprio Just Might Lose His Sanity on “Shutter Island”

“Shutter Island” is not “Taxi Driver.” It is not “Raging Bull.” It’s not “Goodfellas.” And thank God for that. Shutter Island is Martin Scoreses like you’ve never really seen him. It’s a film that definitely fits more closely with his most recent works than it does with his gritty flicks from the 1970s. If you hate his later films and think movies like The Departed are a half-asses attempt at Scorsese trying to reclaim his former glory than you’ll probably despise “Shutter Island.” This is a genre-bending film (There’s mystery! There’s horror! There’s suspense!) that fits more along the lines of “Cape Fear.” Alfred Hitchcock would have loved this movie, mostly because if he were alive today, this is exactly the type of movie he’d be making. This movie also reminded me a lot of Kubrick’s “The Shining” with a little bit of the cult flick “Session 9” thrown in for good measure.

Like I said “Shutter Island” is a hodgepodge of what Martin Scorsese loves about the movies. You can tell that there’s an artist at work here and while this isn’t Oscar-caliber filmmaking, it’s proof that every person behind the camera is an expert in their field and have collaborated on making a truly rewarding, and creepy, film-going experience. Again Scorsese uses his new favorite muse Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels. He’s a US Marshal sent to an island to investigate the disappearance of a mental patient. Shutter Island is the home to Ashecliffe Hospital, a psychiatric hospital. The time is 1954 and you know instantly that this place might have treatment methods that are crazier than the patients there. Dr. Cawley (Gandhi himself Ben Kingsley) runs the hospital and has sent for Daniels to help find a patient named Rachel. None of the orderlies seem to know how she got out of her room which was locked from the inside. Like Crawley says, “It’s as if she evaporated through the walls.” Maybe she did and maybe she didn’t. Daniels is joined by his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) and the two begin their investigation and the soon realize the island has more secrets than the one from “Lost.”

I simply cannot tell you anymore about the film’s plot. It’s pretty dense but patient viewers will be handsomely rewarded once the third act rolls around. I refuse to tell any more about DiCaprio’s character who has harsh memories of his late wife (played by Michelle Williams). He also fought in World War II and has terrible flashbacks of murdering Nazi soldiers once the Americans were able to raid the Nazi death camps. Are these memories the only thing bothering our hero? Wait and find out. I really found it fascinating as Laeta Kalogridis’ script slowly revealed more and more of the puzzle. And luckily it’s never in a confusing way. And like I said you will ultimately feel rewarded.

Remember I said there were lots of talented people behind the camera all working together? It’s certainly true. Scorsese’s true and talented editor Thelma Schoonmaker is in full swing here with a great cutting techniques that add to the film’s suspenseful sequences. Some of the surreal images are just so beautifully put together and that’s certainly with the help of Robert Richardson’s handsome photography. DiCaprio’s flashbacks are imbued with deep, richly oversaturated colors that literally leap off the screen. I’m reminded of his astounding Oscar-winning work on “The Aviator.” Some shots are so delicious you want to eat them up.

“Shutter Island” is a great piece of genre-filmmaking from one of America’s greatest filmmakers. It’s not surprising that it holds up so well among his recent successes. Don’t let the odd-ball February release date fool you, this is a great and creepy movie that movie fans will just eat up. Sure it’s not “The Departed” but a lot of people thought that “The Departed” was no “Goodfellas.” “Shutter Island” displays an evolving director who is as consistent as he is talented. GRADE: A-

Shock & Claw: The New “Wolfman” is a Howl

Odds are if you liked Tim Burton’s gothic horror tale “Sleepy Hollow” you’re going to enjoy the equally gory “The Wolfman.” It’s been awhile since Universal has released one of their famous “monsters” from the cinematic vaults, unless you count the third “Mummy” film which I can’t say I ever had any interest in seeing. Although I’m a fan of the first one, so sue me. I can’t really even say why nearly every American critic has found this “Wolman” redo such a chore to sit though, what with it’s horrible CGI effects and odd tone, but those are thing that seem to have been embraced by the filmmakers so at least you can’t say they didn’t warn you.

“The Wolfman” takes place in 19th century England, and what a gloriously dark period piece this is. Had this been released in October I’m sure we’d be talking Oscars for it’s production design and costumes, but I’m sure the Academy will forget come next January. Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro in a fine performance) strolls into town when his brother goes missing and his future sister-in-law Gwen (Emily Blunt, love her) is worried sick. It turns out Lawrence has some skeletons in his closet which consists of a estranged relationship with his father John (a wily Anthony Hopkins). It seems Lawrence’s brother may have been the victim of a werewolf attack and soon enough it is Lawrence who will be bitten by the mysterious and scary beast prowling the foggy English moors.

As we’ve seen countless times in werewolf movies (still the best is “An American Werewolf in London”) the hero will realize that after being attacked by a werewolf, he himself will transform upon the next full moon. And like any good werewolf movie, it is the transformation scene which is key. And it mostly turns out right here. Pioneer/genius Rick Baker who won the very first Make-up Oscar back in ‘81 for “American Werewolf,” returns to the genre which made him famous. His make-up effects are good, although there are plenty of CGI touches which I can’t help but think diminish his fine work. I mean he didn’t use any computer effects in 1981 and just think how well this could be done with out computers nearly thirty years later? The contorting and shape-shifting here is well done and the final make-up job is certainly great. That is until Lawrence begins leaping and jumping from rooftops that looks like some leftover footage from “Spider-Man.” I can't believe that even if the filmmakers saw the camp value in the film, they would want silly computer effects. It’s a small complaint in a movie that isn’t really worth making too many complaints about. And I’m worried that the CGI in the transformation scenes will disqualify Baker from the Oscar running next year?

I firmly believe that this film is made as an homage to the classic Wolfman character and yet remains a campy tone with obviously over-the-top gory effects and a classically gothic period look. And it’s no wonder this film reminds me of “Sleepy Hollow” since Andrew Kevin Walker wrote both of them (And although Danny Elfman provides a competent score, it certainly was not one of my favorites). And while there are moments of tongue-in-cheek humor throughout, there are plenty of scares for the weaklings. The movie does however, rely too heavily on loud noises to scare its audience which was thrilling at first, but annoying after the tenth loud noise. The young men sitting behind me seemed nearly out of breath by the time the film ended, perhaps their first R-rated “sneak in?”

“The Wolfman” offers something for everyone in that if you like gore you’re gonna love it. I mean he rips out someone’s liver with his mouth for Pete’s sake. Those attracted to the more traditional horror period pieces like “Interview with the Vampire” will reveal in the lush set decoration and those who are into a fun mystery will enjoy the film’s twisty plot points. This was a movie made to be on a B level and in that regard it is a success. A bloody good time indeed. GRADE: B

Frost/Bitten: “Frozen” is a Disturbing and Intense Ski Lift Thriller

Having never gone skiing, I’ve never been on a ski lift. I can honestly say that the whole idea of a ski lift is sort of scary. I mean some cheap metal bar is the only thing keeping you “in” as your ascent a huge snowy mountain, aka a cold crag of death. So I can’t much imagine what it would be like to be stranded on a ski lift, at night in freezing temperatures during a snow storm with ravenous wolves circling below me. Of course if you were to see “Frozen” an “Open Water” type situational thriller then you would know exactly what it would be like.

I am a big fan of horror films that take place in one setting, usually in real time where the characters are stuck in a situation and must try to figure out how to survive. Something like “The Blair Witch Project” comes to mind which obviously was a big hit in its day and has seemed to be ignored by modern movie-goers as if it’s uncool to like it. Then came last year’s successful and scary “Paranormal Activity” which was “Blair Witch” for the Twitter generation. “Open Water,” which was a film festival hit and a modest mainstream crossover success, dealt with characters trapped in a situation much like those in the new film “Frozen.” Open Water dealt with two SCUBA divers left behind in the middle of the ocean with hungry sharks circling them. It’s gritty video photography and actual use of real sharks upped the fear factor and was simply gut wrenchingly awful (in a good way) to watch. “Frozen” is similar except for it’s more polished look, and whether you buy into its premise or not, your bound to find it disturbing in some capacity.

We’re introduced to Joe (Shawn Ashmore) and his best friend Dan (Kevin Zegers) and Dan’s girlfriend Parker (Emma Bell). Dan and Joe have been good friends since 1st grade and have always gone skiing together. Their friendship has been sort of waning as of late because Dan has been preoccupied with his girlfriend. Now Joe sort of feels like the third wheel and who hasn’t felt that before? So they decide to go skiing together with Emma of course who is a novice. Since they’re poor college students and or not so smart college students they bribe the ski lift operator to let all three of them on the lift since they don’t have money to buy three tickets. They seem to be having a fun day until they have to bribe the guy again to let them on one last time before the resort closes. Do to bad human judgment and a misunderstanding the chair lift is stopped and our three leads are trapped halfway up the mountain.

This is one of those “they’re just stuck in one spot” movies so if you didn’t like “Open Water” they you may not like this. But this film works because writer/director Adam Green makes the situation as realistic as he possible can. They don’t have their cell phones on them for instance. Why? Because who really skis with their cell phone? And since it’s Sunday night the resort won’t be open until the follow Friday, so that makes things significantly worse. So the three begin to think oh hey the chair lift is stuck, we’ll be going soon. And then the lights are turned off. They try having regular conversations about pop culture to lighten the mood, but soon things begin to get stressful. And then reality sets in. What is soon, “I have to go pee” becomes “I have frost bite on my face and my hand is frozen to the metal safety bar.” Oh and what about those hungry wolves circling below?

I’m not going to lie. There are some disturbing images in “Frozen” and there are things that happen that I would have never predicted. Green does a good job at making a movie about 3 people sitting in a chair suspenseful and intense. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little choked up when two characters must grief along with the stresses of the possibility of freezing to death. Sometimes it’s all hard to watch, and yet you really can’t look away. My eyes were fixed on the screen and whether you think the characters are annoying (I didn’t) you’ll probably gasp or close your eyes at least once. Either that or get a chill down your spine. This is a cool little thriller, in more ways than one. GRADE: B+

Mystery Men: Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are BFFs in the Updated “Sherlock Holmes”

Watching “Sherlock Holmes” made me want to watch Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige.” Maybe it was similarly elaborate production design or maybe it’s because I haven’t watched it in a while. Maybe I’ll make you want to go back and read Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories the film is based on. Either way you’re likely to get something out of this hip and cool retooling of the Sherlock Holmes stories. This film is filled with the typical masculinity pumped into every Guy Richie film. Heck it even has features a shirtless, bare-knuckle boxing scene. The film is carried mostly by the performance of one Robert Downey Jr., who is still riding high off the success of last year’s double whammy of “Iron Man” and “Tropic Thunder.”

I think one of “Sherlock Holmes’” main strengths is the chemistry between Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as his trusted friend/assistant/sometimes roommate Watson. Sure the film teases at the homoeroticism found within their friendship (when Holmes needs Watson’s belt in an emergency he says “don’t get too excited” when he quickly removes it) and it does work. Although Watson is with Mary Morstan but he can’t quite bring himself to ask her to marry him. Holmes meanwhile is sort of a loner, although you wouldn’t quite get that from the film’s marketing materials. You’d otherwise assume he’s some sort of 19th century “player.” He’s not. He’s mostly alone and depressed-looking. Even flirtations with the dangerous Irene Adler (the always lovable Racheal McAdams) are brief.

So what is the big mystery that Holmes and his BFF need to solve? Well it seems that the evil Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) who was hanged for the murder of five women and for practicing black magic isn’t actually dead! He comes back and is killing other people in increasingly supernatural and mysterious ways. Of course there is probably a simple explanation and it’s up to our heroes to figure it out. Blackwood is a pretty good villain and while the film has some moments of humor (I’m not sure I get Downey Jr’s Best Actor Golden Globe being in the musical or comedy category, but he’s obviously good) I’m glad they made villain serious and not some silly caricature. I was genuinely intrigued in what his plan was and how Holmes was attempting to figure things out.

And one can’t help but praise all of the film’s technical merits. The movie was just nominated for an Academy Award for Art Direction and its deserving. The period details seems to be spot on although I wasn’t alive in 1891 so I’m not so sure. But everything looks right. The costumes and sets and camera work are all pretty dazzling. And I really enjoyed Hans Zimmer’s Oscar-nominated score. It’s weird and catchy and perfectly suits the film. I was sort of impressed at how “audience friendly” Richie has made the film as it is about to cross $200 million dollars domestically. He uses a lot of his standard slow-motion action shots (you know like the ones they overused in “300”) but they sort of work and I appreciate all the modern filmmaking techniques to tell a story still set in the 1800s.

Overall “Sherlock Holmes” is a pretty entertaining time to be had. Whether you’ve read the original stories or not you’re bound to enjoy something. Fans of Downey Jr. will certainly be pleased as it’s one of his most appealing performances yet. And it’s good remember why Jude Law became such a famous guy in the first place. So see it if you haven’t, it’s anything but elementary. GRADE: B

5th Annual Golden Gallo Awards

Wow how time flies! I can't believe it's already time for the 5th annual Golden Gallo Awards. It seems like only yesterday I was awarding Tom Cruise the Best Performance by a Scientologist Award for "War of the Worlds." What about them Oscar noms huh? And what about those Razzies? I'm thinking Sandra Bullock can pull off 2 for 2. But while we ponder that take a look at this years list of Golden Gallo winners. Congrats to all!

Best Revamping of a Dying Franchise: STAR TREK

Worst Revamping of a Dying Franchise: TERMINATOR: SALVATION

Worst Performance by a Scientologist: John Travolta, OLD DOGS

Most Disturbing Domestic Quarrel: ANTICHRIST

The “What the Heck Were They Thinking” Award: HALLOWEEN II

Best Opening Title Sequence: WATCHMEN

Best Closing Credit Sequence: THE HANGOVER

Film Least Deserving of an Award, Even a Golden Gallo: GI JOE THE RISE OF COBRA

Scene Stealer Award: Christoph Waltz, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Movie Most Likely to Cause Nightmares (in a good way): PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Movie Most Likely to Cause Nightmares (in a bad way): TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

The Trailer is Better than the Movie Award: THE LOVELY BONES

Least Obnoxious Child Performance: Max Records, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Most Obnoxious Child Performance: Jae Head, THE BLIND SIDE

Most Gratuitous Use of Bathing Suits: A PERFECT GETAWAY

Best Film Most Likely to be Forgotten by the Academy: (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

The “Or How I Learned to Love a Bomb” Guilty Pleasure Award: THE BOX

The Grease 2 Unnecessary Sequel Award: HALLOWEEN II

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It Award: FRIDAY THE 13TH

The Jaws 3D “I Only Wanted to See It Cause it Was in 3-D” Award: MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D

Coolest Movie Poster Award: TERMINATOR: SALVATION

Best Gunshot to the Head in a Musical or Comedy: A SERIOUS MAN

Best Apartheid Metaphor in a Science-Fiction Film: DISTRICT 9

The Don’t You Forget About Me “This Came Out This Year??” Award: I LOVE YOU MAN

The Ishtar Big-Budget Stinker Award: NINE

Film Most Likely to Cause Insomnia: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Film Most Likely to Cause Narcolepsy: THE ROAD

Best Film with a Cast Member of TV’s ‘Lost:’ AVATAR

Worst Film with a Cast Member of TV’s ‘Lost:’ GI JOE THE RISE OF COBRA

Best Prop: The rusty scissors in ANTICHRIST

Worst Hairdo: Jonathan Groff, TAKING WOODSTOCK

Best Use of the McGuffin in a Hollywood Blockbuster – The anti-matter in ANGELS & DEMONS
Best Comeback from a Previously Horrid Attempt at Filmmaking – Zack Snyder, WATCHMEN

The “I Did Everything for this Movie” Award: James Cameron, AVATAR

The Michael Bay Total Destruction Honorary Special Achievement Award: 2012

The Golden Gallo Best Film of the Decade Award: ERIN BROCKOVICH

The Golden Gallo Worst Film of the Decade Award: LADY IN THE WATER

2010 Oscar Nomination Predictions UPDATED

So here you have it, one of, probably, the least shocking Oscar nomination announcements of recent memory. I guess the biggest shock would probably be The Blind Side being a Best Picture nominee, but the more one thinks about it the more it makes sense... it's a feel good movie that plays well on DVD, made gobs of cash, and it has a winning performance from one of America's favorite actresses. It had everything going for it that something like Star Trek didn't. Did we really think there would be room for 3 best picture nominees with aliens? I think not. What The Hangover didn't get nominated? How could that happen? Oh wait, THIS ISN'T THE MTV MOVIE AWARDS. I'm a tad disappointed that 500 Days of Summer failed to get a Screenplay nod, but it's a small film that I'm sure was a little ways off the Academy's radar. At least James Cameron didn't get one either. Up is now the 2nd animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. And Up in the Air's chances of winning best picture is zero to none now that it didnt score that all-important Best Editing nod. Avatar and The Hurt Locker tied with 9 nominations a piece. It's definitely between them, and I'd have to give the edge to The Hurt Locker. I mean it was nominated for Best Score for pete's sake. The Basterds are nipping at their heels with 8 nominations, Hans Landa is ready to exterminate any film that gets in his way, so watch out. See you March 7th. see all the nominees here: http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html

(from Monday) So here we have it, Oscar nominations are finally making themselves known on February 2nd. Anyone who’s anyone just simply can’t wait to hear the Academy announce their first list of ten Best Picture nominees since 1943. Will it be filled with Blockbusters (ie “Star Trek”)? Will it be filled with little movies no one’s seen (“The Messenger”)? No one knows how this is going to work out including me. How many shocks can we expect on nomination day? Can Zoe Saldana become the first CGI performance capture performance to get Oscar recognition? Will something like The Blind Side actually be nominated for Best Picture? Heck, will the “Star Trek” reboot actually compete for the top prize? Will “Up” be the first animated feature to be nominated since “Beauty & the Beast,” or will it be relegated back to the cartoon animated feature ghetto? And what’s with no one predicting “Ponyo” as a best animated feature nominee? I think the categories I’m most anxious to see (besides best picture) are the supporting acting races. How many surprises will we see? Anthony Mackie and no Stanley Tucci? How about neither? Will Penelope Cruz overcome “Nine’s” critical and box office drubbing and actually breakthrough? Will one of the female Basterds get recognition? Will the “King of the World” knock out 500 Days of Summer in the Original Screenplay category? Only time will tell. Here are my fearless predictions. See you Tuesday.

Best Picture
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Invictus”
“Precious”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

Best Director
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”
Or what about…Viggo Mortenson, “The Road”

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Meryl Streep, “Julia & Julia”
Or what about… Emily Blunt, “The Young Victoria”

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Or what about… Anthony Mackie, “The Hurt Locker”

Best Supporting Actress
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Samantha Morton, “The Messenger”
Julianne Moore, “A Single Man”
Or what about… Diane Kruger, “Inglourious Basterds”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“District 9”
“An Education”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Precious”
“Up in the Air”

Best Original Screenplay
“500 Days of Summer”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”

Best Art Direction
“Avatar”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Public Enemies”
“A Serious Man”

Best Cinematography
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Nine”
“The White Ribbon”

Best Costume Design
“Julie & Julia”
“Coco Before Chanel”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Nine”
“The Young Victoria”

Best Film Editing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Up in the Air”

Best Makeup
“District 9″
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Star Trek”

Best Original Score
“Avatar”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Informant!”
“Up”

Best Original Song
“I See You” from “Avatar”
“The Weary Kind” from “Crazy Heart”
“I Want To Come Home” from “Everybody’s Fine”
“Cinema Italiano” from “Nine”
“Almost There” from “The Princess & the Frog”

Best Sound Editing
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Star Trek”
“Up”

Best Sound Mixing
“Avatar”
“District 9″
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”

Best Visual Effects
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“Star Trek”

Best Animated Feature
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Ponyo”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“Up”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” (Israel)
“A Prophet” (France)
“Samson and Delilah” (Australia)
“The Secret in Their Eyes” (Argentina)
“The White Ribbon” (Germany)

Best Documentary Feature
“The Beaches of Agnès”
“Burma VJ”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“Under Our Skin”

Mr. Gilliam’s Wild Ride: “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Has Imagination to Spare But Not Much Else

I can pretty much say that movies like “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” are not exactly my cup of tea. I’d pretty much rather watch anything else, but it’s certainly something I can appreciate. This movie is super strange. I mean even the title is strange. Even Microsoft Word has no idea what an “imaginarium” is. So having said that I’m not sure I’m “qualified” to review such a think as I have very little to compare it too since this isn’t my favorite type of film. The one thing that stands out, and is the main reason I even watched it, is for the last screen performance of the late Heath Ledger. Ledger died in the middle of production and it was decided to have other actors (including Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell) fill in for the parts he was unable to film. It’s an interesting premise and if you’re a fan of any of the actors mentioned, you might enjoy yourself.

“Doctor Parnassus” takes place in modern England. A traveling theater company made up of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), young magician Anton (Andrew Garfield), and Mini-Me himself Verne Troyer as Percy. They put on a show for people and for a small fee people can step inside the “imaginarium” where they experience all kind of strange emotions and feelings. Apparently Parnassus is immortal cause he made some pact with the Devil years ago. He’s known here as Mr. Nick and he’s played by Tom Waits. They rescue a drifter hanging from a bridge named Tony (Ledger) and he joins their troupe. From there on it’s a mystery to me what is actually going on.

Whenever an audience member is sent into Parnassus’ imaginarium Tony changes form into whatever the person he’s with desires. For instance, Valentina has a picture from a magazine on her wall with a man who bares a striking resemblance to Colin Farrell, it simply makes sense that when she enters the imaginarium Tony looks like Colin Farrell. This, I will say, is probably something that makes this film truly unique. And in a way, the absence of Ledger doesn’t hurt the film one bit. It seems like this should feel gimmicky and yet it doesn’t. and I’m sort of surprised how much the make-up artists and costumers can make Depp, Law and Farrell resemble Ledger’s character.

Don’t even try to ask me what’s going on in the last third of the film. There’s some conflict involving the fact that Tony is a “bad guy.” He has some goons after him and it’s implied that he’s some sort of con artist or similar type criminal. And he just may in fact want his way with Parnassus’ daughter. I’m sure fantasy hounds will be all over this movie and it’s certainly a wildly original vision but like I said it’s not something I necessarily find entertaining. And just because a movie has to be weird doesn’t mean it has to be confusing. I mean can anyone really figure out what’s going on in the last half of this film?

I have to give credit to the filmmakers, including super weird director Terry Gilliam who made the equally imaginative, yet much more watchable “12 Monkeys.” He displays an interesting knack for wild CGI creations and imaginative sets and costumes (both of which just received Oscar nominations) but besides a creative imagination and good performances from some great actors, I can’t really say “Doctor Parnassus” offered me very much else. This is why I turn to Tim Burton when I need my fantasy fix. I can’t wait for “Alice in Wonderland.” GRADE: C+

Basterds, Balloons and Na’vi, Oh My! The Best Films of 2009

It’s been a rather odd year. I would say it’s a step above last year except to be honest, I had a little trouble coming up with my ten favorite movies. And that’s not because there were too many to choose from but rather too few. There are plenty of good films but not many outstanding ones. I will always remember 2009 as the year that gave us “500 Days of Summer” which went straight into my top 50 favorite films of all time. It’s simply magical filmmaking. I have a rather strange mix of films that range from romantic comedies to horror to animation. Some are Oscar hopefuls and others are… not. Here are my top ten favorite films of the year…

1) (500) Days of Summer

Probably best described as one of the most “delightful” films of the year, (500) Days of Summer happily takes one of the most clichéd-filled genres (rom-com) and turns it upside down. This is a wonderfully fresh tale of a guy who meets girl. Except this time it’s the guy who believes in fate while the girl who is the one who doesn’t believe in the existence of “love.” It’s all put together superbly by first time director Marc Webb who employs some fabulously witty cinematic tricky that never feels gimmicky but rather feels just right. You couldn’t hope for a better screen couple than Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel who simply sparkle together on screen and I’d be surprised if you weren’t as emotional attached to these people as I was. Simply charming!
FUN FACT! The film's blue-centric color scheme was done to bring out Zooey Deschanel's eyes.

2) I Love You, Man

If (500) Days of Summer is the best romantic comedy of the year, then “I Love You, Man” is the best bromantic comedy of the year. This film somehow spoke to me. I somehow identified so easily with Paul Rudd’s Peter Klaven. This story involves Peter getting engaged and realizing that he has no male friends to be a part of his wedding party. No best man! So he sets off on a quest to make friends and he finds one in Sydney Fife (Jason Segal) who is someone (almost) everyone would want to be friends with. He’s funny and charming yet rude and brutally honest. Peter and Sydney’s awkward courting consists of some of the warmest and funniest moments in movies this year. I love this movie.
FUN FACT! J.K. Simmons, who plays Paul Rudd's father, is only 14 years older than him.

3) Up in the Air
Up in the Air will stand the test of time. It is simply a movie for our time. A movie that will reflect our society 10 years down the line, 30 years down the line, 70 years down the line. It will be remembered. From Jason Reitman the guy who brought us Thank You For Smoking and 2007’s super hip hit Juno, Up in the Air is an anything but formulaic drama about a guy (George Clooney) who fires people for a living. He spends his life alone, although he thinks he’s “surrounded” and prefers a life up in the air traveling across the country living in and out of airports and hotels for his work. Of course, things change when a young employer (the fantastic Anna Kendrick) with the company devises a way to fire people over the internet. A subplot involving a sassy traveling businesswoman (Vera Farmiga) makes the whole film simply shine with outstanding performances and assured direction and storytelling.
FUN FACT! With the exception of the famous actors, every person we see fired in the film is not an actor but a real life recently laid off person.

4) Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Precious feels important because it feels real. It feels legitimate. The story takes place in the 80s in Harlem and an overweight teen named Precious is pregnant with her second child. Her father rapes her (and impregnates her). Her mother, played with monstrous authority by Mo’Nique, is abusive and careless. Precious is one of the most introverted characters on film this year and yet newcomer Gabby Sidibe plays her with the talent you’d expect from someone who’s been in the business for years. I was really shocked at how flashy and innovate Lee Daniels’ direction was. We really get into the mind of Precious and realize the only way out of her life is actually in. This is powerful filmmaking.
FUN FACT! Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe was cast a mere six weeks before the start of shooting after being forced to audition by friends.

5) Up
Surprise, surprise, Pixar has made yet another winning movie. Up is wonderful as all the others but reaches emotional depth that took me, and I’m sure most people, off guard. The relationship between a cranky old man and a young well-intentioned adventure scout isn’t something I would have necessarily pegged as “emotional” but somehow it works. Carl misses his late wife, who like him longed for adventure and fun, and yet they never really were able to take all the adventures they always hoped for. So he straps thousands of balloons to his house and accidentally takes little Russell with him. They find lots of other fun characters in South America where they encounter talking dogs and a colorful bird named Kevin. Up is a warm journey that can be loved by all and should be. Its theme of making the most out of life is universal. This is Pixar at its best (Although ‘Finding Nemo’ is still my favorite).
FUN FACT! Very first animated film, as well as the first 3D film, ever to open the Cannes Film Festival.

6) Drag Me to Hell
Sam Raimi returns to his horror roots with this odd horror tale about a lone officer who is cursed by an evil gypsy woman. Its too bad that this hysterical and horrifying movie sort of got lost in the busy summer schedule, but if you like gross-out gags and dark humor than Drag Me to Hell is right up your alley. If you were turned off by the PG-13 rating, which I was at first, don’t be. This film features plenty of gross shocks and disgusting images. Sure there may not be much actually bloodshed, but make no mistake this movie is actually pretty frightening. It’s utterly over-the-top in a way that only Sam Raimi could pull off. This is fun, flashy horror worth seeking out.
FUN FACT! The license plate of Sylvia Ganush's car is 99951. When it is turned upside-down, it reads IS666.

7) Avatar

Odds are you’ve hear of this little movie called “Avatar.” It’s from that guy who make that movie about the boat that hits the iceberg. Yeah you remember him? He declared himself ‘King of the World’ at the 1998 Oscar ceremony. Well his next film, which took him twelve long years to come to fruition, is worth the wait. Early advertisements toted “Avatar” as a film that would change movies forever and you’d never be the same after seeing it. I’m not sure about that, but this is a wonderfully imaginative film in the future about a tribe of alien people named the Na’vi who come under attack by humans who are after a precious mineral. They’ve come up with a way to use “avatar” bodies that are psychically linked with a human mind to infiltrate the indigenous race. James Cameron has done it again and delivered a rip roaring adventure in glorious 3D and state of the art motion capture special effects.
FUN FACT! In much of the movie, Sigourney Weaver's avatar is wearing a Stanford shirt. Weaver attended Stanford in the early 1970s.

8) Knowing
If you had asked me before I saw “Knowing” whether it would be any good, I don’t think I would have answered yes. I think I’ll award “Knowing” the ‘surprise’ movie of the year in that its marketers made it seem like a generic end of the world movie and yet it’s so much more. It’s a film that seems like any other movie at first and just grows and grows. Some may say it gets utterly ridiculous and unbelievable. Sure it’s unbelievable, it doesn’t make the movie any less entertaining or well-made. Nicholas Cage plays a college professor whose son participates in the unearthing of a school time capsule. His son receives an envelope that has a bunch of numbers scrawled on it and Cage soon figures out that all of the numbers are predictions of every major deadly disaster on the planet Earth. Sound ridiculous? It is and it’s fascinating to watch and just one example of great science fiction filmmaking in the year of 2009.
FUN FACT! The perceptual phenomenon of people looking for patterns in randomness (number strings, faces in trees, shapes in clouds etc.) is called Apophenia.

9) Inglourious Basterds
I certainly couldn’t predict that Quentin Tarantino’s Nazi-killing-epic would have garnered the amount of critical accolades it has received so far, especially since it's not nearly his best film. It seemed like, in a career as successful as his, he’s been bound to have a critical bomb at some point (He’s already had a financial bomb, that was his half [Death Proof] of the severely underrated “Grindhouse” double feature). Only Tarantino could rewrite history the way he does in “Inglourious Basterds.” And yes that title is intentionally spelled wrong, which have been wrecking havoc on computerized spellcheckers everywhere. “Basterds” takes place during World War II and instead of focusing solely on Jews getting slaughtered as part of Hitler’s grand scheme, the tables have turned and Nazi slaughtering is on the menu instead. Every bit of Tarantino’s trademarks are present and accounted for including long talky scenes with quotable dialogue, disturbing violence, and a mish-mashed narrative structure ala “Pulp Fiction.” Think “Kill Bill” with Nazis.
FUN FACT! Quentin Tarantino intended for this to be as much a war film as a spaghetti western, and considered titling the movie "Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France". He gave that title instead to the first chapter of the film.

10) Brüno
Ist ze tenth best of ze year! I was honestly dumbfounded when it came to rounding out my top ten. It could have been ‘The Princess and the Frog’ it could have been ‘A Single Man’ it could have been ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’ But something about ‘Brüno’ just makes sense to me. If you loved “Borat” you’re probably going to love this as well. Sacha Baron Cohen has never been funnier than he is portraying Bruno, a gay Austrian fashionista who’s blacklisted in his home country and comes to the United States looking for fame. Sure structure-wise it’s basically just like Borat, but you know what? When it’s funny once, it can be funny twice. And it is. You have to admit how amazing Cohen makes you believe the characters he portrays. Almost no one else is capable of that. You believe him as Brüno. His interactions in this hysterical mockumentary with stage moms, TV focus groups, talk show audiences, redneck hunters, and a religious “gay converter” are simply too priceless for words. It’s shocking and disturbing (whoa that ending!) and yet this film (as does “Borat”) simply reflects this strange society we live in. Wunderbar!
FUN FACT! The sequence where Bruno enrolled at the Alabama National Guard, filmed at the Alabama Military Academy, went undetected until a young cadet who recognized him from ‘Borat,’ notified elder officers who were unfamiliar with the actor.

Honorable Mentions:
A Single Man
Where the Wild Things Are
The Princess and the Frog
Ponyo
Fantastic Mr. Fox

Bad Judgment Call (on my behalf):
The Hurt Locker

Dishonorable Mentions:
Halloween II
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Nine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Monsters vs. Aliens

Too Cool for Shul: The Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man” is Seriously Strange

I am not Jewish. Therefore I feel like I can say that I don’t understand 90% of Joel and Ethan Coen’s film “A Serious Man.” Parts of the film are spoken in Hebrew and Yiddish and while there are subtitles it would have been nice to have subtitles that describe what the heck is going on. But I do sometimes get the Jewish jokes in other movies, after all I am a big Woody Allen fan, but for some reason too much of “A Serious Man” went seriously over my head. I am serious and don’t call me Shirley.

“A Serious Man” is loosely based on the Book of Job from that book known as the Bible. So automatically this stuff is over my head. Maybe I’m not the best person to review this movie. I think it’s cool that the Coens can find a way to use that text as inspiration for a completely original film. After all they are the ones who received a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination for “O, Brother Where Art Thou” which was based on Homer’s “The Odyssey.” “A Serious Man” follows Jewish family man Larry Gopnick (Michael Stuhlbarg) right as his light is falling apart. His wife wants a divorce and his brother has moved in with them and has been exceptionally annoying. Apparently his only hope is trying get help from various rabis.

Oy vey. I do remember laughing during this movie, but I’m not really sure I remember what exactly I laughed at. The Coens have a very specific sense of humor, which I understand for the most part. After all I really enjoyed that last comedic effort “Burn After Reading.” They do seem to get pleasure in creating dire situations for their protagonist. But then again that’s something that can be seen in all of their films. Knowing the original Book of Job text helps. I’m told it’s basically the story of this guy named Job who has everything and the Devil says to God that the only reason Job cares about God so much is because his life is so great. So God takes away all of Job’s good stuff (aka kills his children and animals) to prove that even though Job has nothing left he’ll still be faithful to the lord almighty. Or something like that.

“A Serious Man” while confusing and at times distancing works because of Stuhlbarg’s performance. Unfortunately I think he’s number 6 in the Best Actor rankings, which is unfortunate but he’s very good here. I enjoyed the 1960s period design that actually seems pretty legit. And Carter Burwell adds another interesting score to his repertoire.

I guess I just want to say that I’m not exactly the target audience for this film. I really know nothing of the Jewish culture and there are other people who will appreciate it a lot more than me. And like any good Coen brothers movie the film just ends without any explana GRADE: B-

Good Grief: Colin Firth is Terrific as “A Single Man”

My knowledge of fashion designers is limited to what I was able to glean from the movie “The Devil Wears Prada.” I know that Tom Ford is a fashion designer. At least he was now that he’s taken on producing, writing and directing his first feature length film “A Single Man” which is adapted from the novel of the same name. I guess knowing that the film is an art-house flick with lots of symbolism and odd color schemes one can make sense that a man from the fashion world created this film. This is Tom Ford splashed up onscreen. And he fills his screen with beautiful and haunting images. Every person looks like they walked out of a photo spread. Everyone is impeccably dressed and made up. This guy could have invented mise-en-scene. And for all the flashy images being poured out before our eyes, Ford remarkably manages (along with co-screenwriter David Scearce) to never lose sight of the story being told.

“A Single Man” tells the story of a man named George (played here wonderfully by Colin Firth) who is completely grief-stricken. His male lover Jim (played in flashbacks by Matthew Goode) has been killed in a car accident. And since the film takes place in the early 1960s the funeral is for “family only.” In fact a cousin of Jim calls George to tell him what happened more than a day since the accident much against Jim’s family’s wishes. Although at first we don’t know much about George and Jim’s relationship, we learn so much from Firth’s tremendous performance. We literally see George’s heart ripped out of his chest once he realizes his life is practically over. And it is practically, because we see him with a gun and we think that George might be dead by the time the film ends.

The film takes place pretty much during one long day in George’s life. We’re not exactly sure how long it has been since Jim was killed, but we can imagine even if it was a long time ago, it’s something he has not been able to get over. George goes about his day at his job as an English professor where one of his male students flirts with him. This is Kenny (About a Boy’s Nicholas Hoult) and we notice that during one of their early conversations, Kenny’s face literally lights up the screen. You see Ford has insisted his cinematography shoot the film as if it were black and white. Everyone looks pale and colorless. This certainly reflects George’s depressing state. But sometimes a simple conversation with another human being literally brightens up George’s day. It is a startling and effective stylistic choice.

Another person who George has a connection with is his best friend Charley. Charley is played by Julianne Moore who simply shines. She makes the most of her small part and employs a convincing British accent. She’s so extravagant and done up here I’d love to see her as one of Austin Power’s British leading ladies. It seems Charley and George have a past and Charley harbors feelings for George that he just can reciprocate. Their scenes together are magnificent.

“A Single Man” is definitely not a film for everyone. I’m counting on a few Oscar nominations come February, with Colin Firth with his memorable performance certainly a lock for a nomination. Those with art-house sensibilities and an open-mind will find a lot in the film to enjoy. But mostly it is an engaging and beautiful movie about lose and love. GRADE: A-