Category Archives: movies
On Casablanca, Solo Moviegoing, and Time Travel
Last night I made my way to the cinema to see a special TCM screening of CASABLANCA in honor of its 70th anniversary. It was not meant to be a solo adventure, but plans fell through, and going alone was a small price to pay for seeing one of my favorite classic films on the big screen.
Going to movies alone is not something I mind, as there’s no pressure to make sure your moviegoing partner is entertained, no arguments over how to define prime seating inside the theatre (or sacrificing a preferred seat out of respect for a companion’s preferences), no awkward post-movie attempts at polite discussion when opinions don’t line up.
There is also the added benefit of being able to treat oneself to a three-course dinner of espresso, gelato and an entire container of curly fries, with no judgment except perhaps from nearby strangers who glimpse the solo wolfing down of said fries , but who cares about them?
Courses 1 & 2
The other perk of solo moviegoing is there’s no need to dress to impress anyone, to look cute or pretty or anything beyond socially presentable. You can go above and beyond, of course, and that can be fun, too. But last night I opted not to change out of my working-from-home uniform of jeans, sambas and an old, comfortable, combination hoodie/three-quarter-sleeved T. I was not alone in my wardrobe choices that night. The crowd was filled with Ts and sweatshirts, with a sprinkling of having-come-from-the-office button-downs and slacks.
Except for one couple.
I found myself trailing behind them as I walked into the theatre. His white hair matched his crisp suit, which looked like he might have stolen it right off Rick’s back. His shoulders were slightly stooped, but his steps were sure as he led the lady on his arm into the dark. She was wearing a dress, black with tiny white polka dots, the silhouette straight out of the 1940s, complete with back-seam stockings and hair styled into victory rolls. They could have walked right into Rick’s Café Américain and looked just right.
After a momentary wave of guilt for my own attire and casual treatment of the event, I began to wonder about their story. They were old, but not ancient, and they seemed too spry to have seen the film in its original release, but the way they whispered secrets and shared smiles suggested it was a special night.
The magic of the moment in the dark hallway was broken a little when we emerged into the crowded theatre. They found a couple of seats much too close for my tastes, and I hoped that they would have disagreed with me. For no logical reason, I wanted their night to be perfect. I entertained the fantasy of an alternate universe where the theatre had balcony seats, where the two could watch from above the dressed-down masses, focused only on the film that meant so much and each other.
The lights went down, and due to some glitch, they never came back up, even after the film had finished. I didn’t see them as I left, and they’d seemed so unlikely all along that I half began to wonder if I hadn’t imagined them. And since that’s less fun, I I reasoned that perhaps they were just time travelers, having a bit of fun on a day off or enjoying the perks of retirement, and had decided to skip the rush out in favor of other nostalgic adventures.
Before I knew it, I’d reached my car, and the threads of the little fantasy I’d been creating drifted away. But then again, we’d all time-traveled a little that night, hadn’t we? The silent gasps when Ilsa comes through the door and back into Rick’s life. The angst as the rain washes the words from Ilsa’s note. The chills as the Marseillaise overpowers the Deutschlandlied. The heartbreak of a reunion cut much too short for all the noblest reasons.
It’s a wonderful reminder that stories have sometimes-unfathomable power — to move us, to teach us, to break our hearts and mend them, and yes, to transport us to places we’ve been, places we’ll go, and places we’ll never even see.
Like Casablanca in the midst of World War II. Unless, perhaps, you’re a time traveler, enjoying a night out with your girl.
Ditty’s Favorite Movies of 2011
It’s that time of year! Once again, I’ll point out that these are not necessarily the movies that I’d say were the critical best, but they’re the movies that I enjoyed the most. Also, the order is roughly from favorite to most favorite, but it tends to vary pretty widely with my mood. So don’t read too much into it. In short, these are movies that got to me in some way, shape or form, and that’s why they’re on this list. So, with that disclaimer, here we go!
THE BEAVER
Writer: Kyle Killen / Director: Jody Foster
This film really seems to split audiences. I don’t know if I was helped going in by the fact that I’d read the screenplay, since it was being marketed as a dark comedy instead of the drama that it is. Some have argued that the puppet concept made the profile of a man with severe depression too outlandish to be taken seriously. For me, it put enough distance between real life and fiction that I was able to connect with it like a fable — I could immerse myself in the story in ways that might have been too uncomfortable otherwise. The truth is, people with depression all cope in different ways — many times destructively. The puppet was just that — a coping mechanism. I thought the film was an accurate and heartbreaking examination of depression, not only how it affects those who suffer from the condition but also how it might affect family and friends. For that reason, I for one am very grateful it exists.
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Writers: Keith Merryman & David A. Newman and Will Gluck / Director: Will Gluck
OK, let me preface this with the fact that I am a fan of the Romantic Comedy. I fully acknowledge that most of them are less than great. I still see most of them, because I’m always hoping for the next Great One. This year’s FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS was the best traditional romantic comedy I’ve seen in a long time, and by traditional, I mean it’s not cross-genre or an indie, and it hits all the beats you’ve seen before and expect. The difference here is that this one does it whilst poking fun at itself, focusing on character and heart, and with the incredibly important benefit of great chemistry between the leads. It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s sweet, and its characters are people I care about and root for.
BRIDESMAIDS
Writer: Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo / Director: Paul Feig
People seem to think this movie was unique because it was an R-rated comedy featuring a cast of mainly women. What really made it unique was that it was a female-driven comedy with loads of character development and heart. The fact that it was R-rated really had nothing to do with what made BRIDESMAIDS special. Kristen Wiig turns in a delightfully cringe-worthy and surprisingly heartfelt performance, Melissa McCarthy walks away with every scene she’s in, and Chris O’Dowd wins over not only Wiig’s Annie but the entire audience with his charming Irish brogue, dweebish sweetness & dry sense of humor. In a year filled with comedies that seemed to be more interested in raunch than anything else, this film went for heart first — and that made it the best of the bunch.
CRAZY STUPID LOVE
Writer: Dan Fogelman / Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
While the ensemble isn’t as large as, say, LOVE ACTUALLY, this here is an ensemble romantic comedy that really, really works — or at least it did for me. And I’m not just saying that because of Ryan Gosling. Or Emma Stone. (But let’s face it — they’re both fantastic.) While it veers a little wacky and even a little uncomfortably inappropriate at times, CRAZY STUPID LOVE still managed to tug my heart strings enough to make me break down in copious tears whilst sitting between two strangers in a theatre. Awkward. Seriously, though, you’ve got Steve Carrell doing what Steve Carrell does best — playing a socially awkward but totally sweet magoo. The supporting cast is excellent, featuring Julianne Moore and Marisa Tomei. And it has one of the best twists I saw all year — in a romantic comedy no less! So, if you’re a fan of the genre, or of Ryan Gosling’s abs, do check this one out.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Writer/Director: Woody Allen
I love Woody Allen. I love Paris. I love literature. I love bohemian philosophy. There’s pretty much no way I wasn’t going to love this film. Whimsical, dryly humorous, existential in a down-to-earth way, and sneakily hopeful… It’s what Woody Allen does best, in my opinion.
THE ARTIST
Writer/Director: Michel Hazanavicius
I knew I’d love this film from the moment I saw the trailer. A silent, black & white film about a silent film star who reaches the height of his career just as the silent film era is coming to an end, THE ARTIST is a gorgeous, clever exploration of a man’s downward spiral — and whether or not he can find redemption in a new medium and in life. It’s fascinating watching silent film acting, as everything must be said with expressions instead of with words. As a writer, it’s a good reminder that film is first and foremost a visual medium when it’s easy to be lazy with dialog. Show, don’t tell and all that jazz. Another thing it forces, though, is for the audience to really look at a character. You have a chance to become immersed in what’s happening, to fill in the silence with your own understanding, and that’s a really cool experience in this day and age. I’d love to see more silent films, to be honest, but the key (like 3D) is using it to serve the story rather than as a simple gag. THE ARTIST does it well.
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
Writer/Director: George Nolfi
This movie broke my heart and then put it back together. It is also the movie I discussed most for a good six months after it came out. The chemistry between Emily Blunt and Matt Damon is electric, and it’s the romance between their characters that really makes this movie memorable more than the sci-fi/fantasy elements — though I found the philosophy behind them really interesting as well.
ANOTHER EARTH
Writer: Brit Marling, Mike Cahill / Director: Mike Cahill
This microbudget film was one of the most compelling of the year. When another earth is discovered, a young woman who made a terrible mistake several years ago, ruining not only her life but several others, too, has a chance to see if her life on Earth 2 turned out differently. What follows is a heart-wrenching story of the search for redemption, forgiveness, and purpose. Also worth noting, this film has my favorite last shot of a film all year long, if not in the past several years.
HUGO
Writer: John Logan / Director: Martin Scorsese
There’s no doubt that this is a film for film-lovers, but there’s so much more to HUGO than just that. If you go in expecting the fare you get from most children’s films these days — bombastic, gag-filled, superficial “entertainment” — you’ll either be disappointed or thrilled depending on how you feel about such movies. Fair warning, not all kids are going to love this movie if that’s the sort of thing they’re used to seeing. But it’s the kind of movie all kids should be growing up on, in my opinion. In some ways, this film’s whimsy and wonder reminded me of AMÉLIE. It features rich characters and beautiful cinematography. It is the only film where I’ve ever thought the 3D was worthwhile. If you have the chance to see it in 3D, I highly, highly recommend it. Even if you don’t, movies like this deserve to be seen, and I highly encourage you to do so.
BEGINNERS
Writer/Director: Mike Mills
I talked about this movie in more detail over at the No-Name Movie Blog, but here’s a quick excerpt:
“Beginnings are always hard, because in each of them, we are always cast as beginners — inexperienced, unknowing, and even fearful. It’s entirely understandable that we want to avoid them. The idea of having to start over is often scarier than clinging to the vestiges of something long gone by. But it’s the beginning again (and again, and again) that really defines the act of living.
And this is the message BEGINNERS delivered to me, in its quirky and light-hearted way, at a time when I needed to hear it. It’s a good message no matter where you are or what you’re dealing with in life, because sooner or later, things do end, and it’s nice to remember there’s magic in beginning again.”
HONORABLE MENTIONS
(in no particular order)
Jeff, Who Lives At Home
(I’m almost positive this will make my Top 10 list next year. I didn’t include it this year since it technically doesn’t come out ’til 2012. I was lucky enough to see it at the Austin Film Festival.)
Like Crazy
The Muppets
50/50
We Bought a Zoo
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
Attack the Block
That’s the list! I still haven’t seen a couple of contenders, like THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and WAR HORSE, which I have a feeling will have a shot at at least being added to my honorable mentions. What about you all? Favorite movies of 2011, GO!
Make It the Same, Only Different! Actually, You Know What? Screw Different.
In the upcoming films portion of our most recent No-Name Movie Podcast, Matt mentioned that he was looking forward to BATTLE:LOS ANGELES. I was skeptical and delivered an anecdote about my sister and I seeing the trailer in theatres and not knowing whether to laugh or grip our armrests in trepidation. (We chose to laugh.)
However, a day or two later, I saw the trailer for BATTLE:LOS ANGELES and realized I’d been thinking of a different film, because the BATTLE:LOS ANGELES trailer actually does look pretty decent, if a little reminiscent of, say, INDEPENDENCE DAY, WAR OF THE WORLDS, and CLOVERFIELD.
Today I googled “alien movies in 2011″ and quickly found an article entitled, “Alien Invasion Movies are Taking Over Hollywood! 16 of Them!“ After a quick perusal of the list, I found the trailer I’d actually been thinking of was for SKYLINE. So, I decided to find it on youtube. Here’s what my search came up with.
One can forgive a girl for being confused.
Here are the trailers for the two films.
BATTLE:LOS ANGELES
SKYLINE
And hey, just for the heck of it, let’s look at the trailer for…
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Notice how many of the same beats these trailers hit? Now, of course, you can’t always judge a movie by its trailer, but, in essence, that’s exactly what the trailers ask you to do. To drive the concept home, check out the loglines below (via IMDB).
Can you tell to which films they belong? (Answers at the bottom of the post.)
- As Earth is invaded by alien tripod fighting machines, one family fights for survival.
- The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy. Fighting superior technology, Man’s best weapon is the will to survive.
- Strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, drawing people outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth.
- A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
- A Marine platoon faces off against an alien invasion in Los Angeles.
- An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.
Only one jumps out at me as truly different. The rest seem like they could all belong to the same movie. I’m not sure exactly what lessons there are to be learned from this, but it seems like it’s something worth thinking about.
Despite the proliferation of movies that at least appear to be incredibly similar via their marketing, I think it’s still important as a writer to do our best to provide the basis for differentiation from everything else out there.
It starts with the script, and finding that balance between a frame of recognition for an audience (that starts with a single reader and ultimately grows, one hopes, to a larger crowd) and a reason to shell out hard-earned money and valuable time/effort (to option, to produce, to buy a cinema ticket, to move it to the top of one’s Netflix queue) for something they haven’t seen before is the struggle we face. (Thank you, Professor Fred Lamer, for cementing this concept of Information Theory in my brain during my second year of college.)
I can only assume that there was something about each of the scripts for these films that grabbed the attention of a series of very important people. Even if they are fairly similar in premise and even execution, it doesn’t speak against the quality of the films (or the scripts on which they’re based). Frankly, that’s the problem I had with THE FIGHTER. It’s a very good film with excellent performances. But I essentially could have just watched ROCKY, which I already know and like and can see for less money.
And therein lies the problem: audience buy-in. As we hear complaint after complaint about box office problems and big-budget tentpoles flopping and people not going to the movies anymore, perhaps a big part of the problem is, regardless of the quality, we’ve seen so much of it before.
Logline answers: 1) War of the Worlds, 2) Independence Day, 3) Skyline, 4) Signs, 5) Battle:Los Angeles, 6) District 9.
The No-Name Movie Blog and Other Happenings
For those of you who enjoyed the Inaugural No-Name Movie Podcast, Matt and I did back in December, we’ve set up a new home for it over at The No-Name Movie Blog. Matt and I will both be doing some film-related posts over there, so, if you’re interested, hop on over and check it out. Of possible note:
In other news-ish type things, I’ve started working on my next short film, which is significantly more ambitious (as most “next short films” probably should be) and also, well, darker than LiaE. It’s based on a short story idea I had whilst in London, and it involves a human statue. That’s all I can reveal for now, as it’s still very, very, very early in the process, but I’m pretty excited about the possibilities for this one.
Also on the agenda for the next couple of weeks is doing one more pass on ‘TIL DEATH PARTS US to incorporate some stellar feedback from Lucy V, David and Stuart, and then it’ll be time to start [gasp!] querying. Scary stuff, but it’s doing no one any good sitting in a drawer — at least not me anyway.
So, that’s me in a nutshell at the moment. I’m planning on doing a full write-up of my Oscar picks, but can I just say how sad I am that TANGLED didn’t get nominated? Don’t get me wrong — I loved TOY STORY 3 and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, and I’ve heard lovely things about THE ILLUSIONIST, but come on! Boo. That’s what I have to say about that. How about you all? Any surprises, shocks or disappointments? Anything you want to see now that you didn’t before?
My Most Anticipated Movies of 2011
New year, new movies to look forward to. Last year I stuck to movies that were guaranteed a U.S. release, but this year I’m branching back out because, hey, that’s just how I feel like doing it in 2011. I also couldn’t narrow my list down to 10, so I’m giving you 12, which took enough effort in and of itself. (If you’re keeping track, they’re in order of U.S. release, and then alphabetical after that.)
RANGO
March 4
Writer: John Logan / Director: Gore Verbinski
If this film is half as fun as the behind-the-scenes featurette, I’ll be well-pleased. It’s a fish-out-of-water story about a chameleon with dreams of being a swashbuckling hero falling into a situation where he actually has to pretend to be one. The animation looks bright and unique, and the film feels like it has a little bit of a FIEVEL GOES WEST tone to the whole thing, which is a very good thing in my book.
PAUL
March 18
Writers: Nick Frost & Simon Pegg / Director: Greg Mottola
Honestly, if this weren’t Nick Frost & Simon Pegg, I’d probably be a lot less interested. The premise of two British comic-book geeks finding an alien outside Area 51 strikes me in about the same way as those for HOT FUZZ and SHAUN OF THE DEAD did. They didn’t sound particularly bad; they just didn’t really sound like something I wanted to run out and see. And then I saw them and learned that I was crazy, because both those movies are awesome. I’m hoping PAUL will prove much the same.
SCREAM 4
April 15
Writer: Kevin Williamson / Director: Wes Craven
The original SCREAM was one of the first horror movies to make a dent in my psyche, and it’s probably my favorite of the genre of all time because of its ability to balance satire and horror without becoming farce. The sequels didn’t fare so well in that endeavor. But it’s been 15 years since we first met Sydney Prescott, and there should be plenty of fresh material to mine. Here’s hoping anyway.
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
April 22
Writer: Richard LaGravenese / Director: Francis Lawrence
Based on Sara Gruen’s novel (which, interestingly, started out as a NaNoWriMo novel), this film looks like it’s got a bit of a BIG FISH feel to it. The trailer suggests it’ll be a visually stunning film, and it’ll be nice to see Robert Pattinson breaking out of his TWILIGHT role with something other than indie melodrama (not to mention Christopher Waltz getting the opportunity to chew some villainous scenery again).
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES
May 20
Writers: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio / Director: Rob Marshall
I seem to be in the minority who actually thought the third installment of the Pirates franchise was pretty decent. That being said, it seems like they’re getting back to the simpler, adventure-story roots of the first film, with Captains Jack and Barbossa on a quest for the fountain of youth. I’ll watch Johnny Depp in anything, and as a big fan of the franchise, I’m pretty optimistic about this one.
LARRY CROWNE
July 1
Writers: Tom Hanks & Nia Vardalos / Director: Tom Hanks
While the story itself (that of a man who loses his job and then reinvents himself by going back to college) feels fairly standard, it’s the people behind it that make this a movie I’m really looking forward to seeing. I always love seeing Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts on screen, and this feels like a good (if potentially predictable) choice for them to do what they do best: humorous and heartwarming.
HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2
July 15
Writer: Steve Kloves / Director: David Yates
First off, is this poster intense or what? Geez. Anyway, as a fan of both the books and movies, there’s no way this wasn’t going to be on my list. The franchise really is nothing less than a phenomenon, and seeing how both the films and actors have grown in maturity and talent has been fascinating. I’m almost sorry to see the franchise end, but I’m also excited to see what Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint do next.
THE MUPPETS
November 23
Writers: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller / Director: James Bobin
The puppet rock opera in FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL convinced me that Jason Segel was the perfect person to write the next Muppets movie. And then Hollywood read my mind, and all was well. There’s a very MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN feel to this story, which centers on the Muppets’ biggest fan convincing them to come out of retirement to save their old theatre. Feels perfect for their return to the big screen.
HUGO CABRET
December 9
Writer: John Logan / Director: Martin Scorcese
A film based on a whimsical children’s mystery novel about an orphan living inside the walls of a 1930s Paris train station is perhaps the very last project I would have guessed for Scorcese, and that makes me very excited about it.
A DANGEROUS METHOD
Writer: Christopher Hampton (play) / Director: David Cronenberg
Any reteaming of David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen’s going to catch my attention, and there’s no denying that Sigmund Freud is one of the more fascinating individuals in the history of the world. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with the story.
KILLING BONO
Writers: Ben Bond, Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Simon Maxwell / Director: Nick Hamm
Based on the true story of music journalist Neil McCormick, who dreamt of becoming a global rock star with his brother — problem being that they were competing directly with their schoolmates, who went on to become U2. This film looks almost like a mash-up of ALMOST FAMOUS meets SPINAL TAP. The costumes alone look hilarious and horrifying, and the snippets of music I’ve heard suggest this soundtrack will also get a fair amount of play on my iPod this year. Perhaps not quite what Mr. McCormick had in mind in his youth, but having your life made into a movie (even one that’s all about taking the piss out of you) can’t be all bad.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK
Writer: Jane Goldman / Director: James Watkins
I saw the stage adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel twice this past year — once on each of my trips to London. Having read the screenplay for the upcoming film, I can say that they are really two entirely different beasts. While it’s not really anything like the stage play I love so much, I think the film will shape up to be a good, solid mood-spooky-horror film, in the vein of THE OTHERS or THE ORPHANAGE.
That’s it for me. What movies are you all looking forward to in 2011?
Ditty’s Favorite Movies of 2010
As is tradition, here’s my year-end list of my favorite movies from 2010.
INCEPTION
Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan
While this film left a lot of people amazed but feeling cold, I think a compelling case could be made that this is really an epic love story wrapped up in an incredibly ambitious storytelling device that sometimes works and sometimes just makes you say, “What the hell?” Frankly, the rotating room fight scene with Joseph Gordon-Levitt is worth the price of admission alone. I won’t go on at length here, as I think this film has practically been talked to death and I don’t want to give anything away for folks who haven’t seen it yet, but I don’t think anyone can deny it’s a landmark film.
SHUTTER ISLAND
Writer: Laeta Kalogridis / Director: Martin Scorcese
This is another film you can’t really talk much about without giving too much away. Suffice to say, the performances were great, as expected from Leonardo Dicaprio and the perhaps under-appreciated Mark Ruffalo; the direction was excellent, never revealing too much but never letting the audience get more lost than they should have been; and the ending, in my opinion, was absolutely perfect.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Writer: Aaron Sorkin / Director: David Fincher
Seeing the evolution of a tool that has become so ubiquitous in our everyday lives was always bound to be interesting. Jesse Eisenberg portrays Mark Zuckerberg in such a fashion that you never really know if he’s an asshole, just incredibly socially inept, or perhaps borderline autistic — all while inspiring some sympathy, mind you. No small feat. Justin Timberlake is appropriately slimy, but also with an impressive handle on the brink-of-sanity aspects of Sean Parker’s personality in the movie. And I wanted to reach into the screen and give Eduardo a big hug the entire film, which made me incredibly interested to see what Andrew Garfield does with Spider-Man. The framing of the story inside the two depositions was a particularly intelligent way to tell the tale, as it allowed us to see the emotional effects of the events down the road essentially as they were happening on screen. With a writer like Aaron Sorkin, great writing isn’t much of a surprise, though.
TOY STORY 3
Writer: Michael Arndt / Director: Lee Unkrich
I’m admittedly a bit of a crier when it comes to television and movies. I routinely find myself dehydrating on a weekly basis thanks to Glee, The Biggest Loser, Modern Family, or even Chuck or Community. It just happens. I’ve given up feeling ashamed and invested in waterproof mascara. I own it. Despite that, I was feeling a bit silly because I was literally sobbing my poor little childlike heart out during this movie — until I realized that 90 percent of the theatre was just as torn up as I was. I think we all felt a bit ridiculous, but I think we all also probably went home afterward and found our old favorite toys, the ones with which we’ve never quite been able to part, and hugged them to bits. And any film that grab that many people in such an intense way deserves a place in the top films of the year.
THE KING’S SPEECH
Writer: David Seidler / Director: Tom Hooper
There a number of elements that will always get me to a movie theatre. One of them is Colin Firth. Another is the non-sports-related underdog historical drama genre (see FROST/NIXON, for example). And Geoffrey Rush will at least get me to look a movie’s way. So, this movie had a lot going for it to begin with, but that also means it’s saddled with high expectations. I put my go-see-this-non-mainstream-movie-with-me credibility on the line by convincing my family to see it on Christmas Day, and I was thrilled that the movie lived up not only to my own expectations but that my family enjoyed it, too. Even my dad, who falls asleep at nearly every movie he sees, stayed awake the entire film — which I think is saying a lot for a historical drama. The performances, as you’ve likely heard and would likely expect from the calibre of actors involved, are fantastic. The cinematography was interesting for a movie like this: the angles were just a little off-kilter, a little uncomfortable, as if to mirror what King George must have been feeling. The story itself is a rather amazing one, and it felt honestly told, not too sugary. At the end, you feel the triumph, but also the weight of what is yet to be endured. I’m hoping this film will be well-rewarded during the awards season.
BLACK SWAN
Writers: Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John J. McLaughlin / Director: Darren Aronofsky
Half psychological horror, half meditation on the line between artistic passion and insanity, this dark film ended up one of my favorite films of the year. It’s a bold film, trippy and sometimes difficult to watch. It’s really hard to sum up how I feel about it, to be honest. I was utterly compelled in moments by Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Nina Sayers. I found myself both captivated by and feeling intensely uncomfortable about Lily, portrayed by Mila Kunis. And I was equally drawn to and disgusted by Vincent Cassel’s Thomas Leroy, director of the ballet troupe. This is a movie that’s not going to hit for everyone, but when it does hit, it knocks the wind out of you.
TANGLED
Writer: Dan Fogelman / Directors: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Finally, Disney returns to form with a cheeky, romantic, gorgeous and musically memorable film to join its animated classics. TANGLED had echoes of some of my favorite Disney films, like THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME , SLEEPING BEAUTY, and CINDERELLA, but they all feel natural and original in this reimagining of Rapunzel. It also has a bit of the feel of films like STARDUST and THE PRINCESS BRIDE. The voice acting is pitch perfect. The part of Flynn Rider feels like it was written for Zachary Levi, and Donna Murphy is fantastic as Mother Gothel. Really, I can’t recommend this film highly enough, for anyone of any age.
AND THE REST…
It was going to be too difficult to expand my list to 10 or narrow it from about 17, so I said, “This is my list! Damn the man! Save the Empire!” The following 10 movies are films that didn’t quite measure up to the seven above in one aspect or another (either critically or on enjoyability) but are still worth your time.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: It was a strong year for animation; in another year, this might have made my Top 10. It’s from the same folks who did LILO & STITCH, one of my favorite Disney movies of all time, and they deliver another movie with the same sort of quirkiness, darkness and heart that made that film so great.
KNIGHT & DAY: You need to go into this movie knowing it’s a farce. They’re poking fun at the action and romantic comedy genres, and Tom Cruise is poking fun at himself. The film plays it straight, which makes it a kooky, super fun, summer popcorn movie.
FLIPPED: Sort of like The Wonder Years but not so depressing. While some critics took issue with the he said/she said storytelling device, I found it was used in a fresh manner int hat it did a nice job sparing the audience redundancies.
IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY: A sweet coming-of-age story about a kid who checks himself into a mental hospital. The real stand-out in this movie is Zach Galifiankis, who shows that he’s not just a goon making a career on his ability to be awkward. He acts in this movie, and he does it brilliantly.
THE TOWN: A gritty crime thriller with heart, with solid performances from the entire cast.
MORNING GLORY: I’m a sucker for journalism movies thanks to my education. Add the always-delightful-to-watch Rachel McAdams, and you’d have to do something really wrong to make me dislike something like this film. Luckily, the filmmakers did not try to make me dislike it; quite the opposite. The characters walk the balance between caricature and complete human being. It’s sweet; it’s funny; it’s feel-good. And that’s generally good enough for me.
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART ONE: More brooding character piece than we’ve seen before in the series, I found this to be one of the most interesting of the series. It’s lovely to see how the trio of actors have really come into their own; they handle this heavy material very well. Also worth noting, the animated sequence used to tell the story of the Deathly Hallows is absolutely brilliant.
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER: I’m on the fence as to whether this trumps PRINCE CASPIAN as my favorite Narnia film. It’s certainly the most beautiful of the three, and I think it does a nice job of re-capturing some of the magical elements of the first one while embracing the maturity of the second. I was incredibly impressed by Georgie Hensley, who plays Lucy. Not only is she growing up into a lovely young woman, but she showcased her growing acting talent here as well.
127 HOURS: Danny Boyle always delivers interesting movies, and Simon Beaufoy is one of my favorite screenwriters, as he knows make the heart of a character evident to the audience. And with this incredibly challenged premise, they once again deliver.
THE TOURIST: I found this to be a highly enjoyable comedic thriller in the vein of CHARADE, though admittedly not as good as CHARADE (but what is?). Like KNIGHT & DAY, it’s a movie that plays it straight on the surface but isn’t taking itself seriously at all underneath. Go in, turn off your brain, and just enjoy the ride (and Johnny Depp… and Angelina Jolie).
That sums it up. What were your favorite movies of 2010?
The Inaugural Episode of the No-Name Movie Podcast
Matt and I argue about movies a lot. After doing our little debate a while back about THE BICYCLE THIEF, we got to thinking that maybe a podcast would be a good forum for that sort of thing, too. And so, we figured, why not give it a shot? So we have.
Here’s what we cover in our first episode:
- 2D vs. 3D
- Movies out now worth seeing
- Movies coming out soon worth seeing
- 127 HOURS
- BLACK SWAN
- Netflix Picks (our non-current-release recommendations)
If you’ve got something to add to the conversation, suggestions, comments, criticism, etc., we’d love to hear from you in the comments. That is, after all, the point of us doing this whole thing. 
So, without further ado, here it is.
(Direct download here.)
As you may have noticed, we’re still looking for a name, as the one we had in mind is already taken. So, if you’ve got any ideas, share in the comments, or tweet at us (@ditty1013 and @litrock). If we use your idea, we’ll send you an Amazon gift card to say thanks!
15 Characters Who Struck a Chord
There’s a meme going around that encourages folks to think of 15 characters off the top of their heads who influenced them & will always stick with them, with the caveat that this task should take no more than 15 minutes.
I grabbed pen and paper, got to about five and then got stuck. The task ended up taking a bit longer than 15 minutes because I tend to overthink these things (as evidenced by the fact that I’ve chosen to add explanations as to why I’ve picked these characters, which is NOT part of the meme). But hey, that’s just how I do things. Anyway here’s my list.
- Dana Scully (from The X-Files) – Wanted to be her when I was a teen. Appreciated her paradox of science coupled with faith.
- Fox Mulder (from The X-Files) – While I idolized Scully in a lot of ways, Mulder’s insistence on the existence of the fantastical always hit home with me.
- Professor John Keating (from DEAD POETS SOCIETY) – “Carpe diem! Seize the day, boys! Make your lives extraordinary.” More on my love for Keating & this movie here.
- Monsieur Bienvenue (from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables) – The man who teaches Jean Valjean the meaning of grace, mercy & the purpose of faith. Worth noting that this character more or less ruined organized religion for me, as I’ve never been to a church that has Bienvenue’s heart for mankind, both as a whole and as individuals.
- Jean Valjean (from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables) – After his encounter with M. Bienvenue, he transforms his life and becomes “an upright man,” to the point that he’s willing to sacrifice himself for a petty criminal who isn’t even lucid enough to be aware of his punishment. What I learned from him: he values of determination and dedication to self and to those you love.
- Dorian Gray (from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray) – A brilliant study in the value of beauty, experience & the human soul. Few characters (especially outside of school) have inspired such in-depth analysis & meditation for me.
- Little Bee (from Chris Cleave’s Little Bee/The Other Hand) – Few modern literary characters have touched me in the way Little Bee did. Just one example of this character’s wisdom here.
- Elwood (from HARVEY) – In short, Elwood’s just plain cool with being himself, even though he knows everyone thinks he’s a little nutty. Doesn’t bother him. He’s happy, and he’s got no desire to be unpleasant to anyone else. Pretty good philosophy.
- The Unicorn (from THE LAST UNICORN) – It’s hard to wrap up how this character has influenced me, but it was probably the first time for me as a child that I experienced through a character the feelings of isolation and loneliness that come from being different. It’s about recognizing your own magic in a lot of ways, whatever consequences that might bring.
- Esmeralda (from Disney’s THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME) – Short of Pocahontas, she’s kind of the most kick-ass Disney heroine, isn’t she? She’s strong, confident, passionate, and compassionate. Love her. Kind of want to be her.
- Belle (from Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) – Belle’s pretty awesome, too. Another strong female who marches to the beat of her own drum and won’t back down for anyone, even if it would make things easier to sacrifice some of her dreams and values.
- Lilo (from LILO & STITCH) – I’m a lot like Lilo. Stubborn, weird, kooky, etc. Love her because she looks at the world a little differently, and she knows there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that at all.
- Larita (from EASY VIRTUE) – Larita, like all the characters in this movie, is flawed. She probably doesn’t try hard enough to get along with people, and she very often says the wrong thing. But she knows who she is, and she knows what she can and can’t deal with. In the end, she knows she has to choose between essentially sacrificing a part of herself or severing the ties that are holding her down, despite the pain it’ll cause. Her story resonated with me in a very personal way, and I imagine it always will.
- The Little Prince (from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince) – A constant reminder to always look for whimsy and to never grow up.
- Drew & Claire (from ELIZABETHTOWN) – I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to myself. When I set my mind to something, I almost always finish the job, and, on the rare occasion I’ve faced failure, it has, in short, been very difficult to deal with. Claire is a manic pixie dream girl for me just as much as for Drew, and seeing him learn from her, and also seeing her learn to give herself a little more credit, is something I benefit from every time I watch this movie.
So, there you have it. My 15 picks. I’d love to see what you have to say, too, so link up in the comments or, if you want, just leave your list there. Whatever works.
Haiku Review: 9 May 2010
If you haven’t checked out The List of Movies That Made Going to the Movies Suck over at Mike’s blog, there are some really interesting essays going up daily all month long. You can find my essay on IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, which kicked off The List, here. Now, onto the reviews.
The Back-Up Plan (2 stars): if you are aching /to see Alex O’Loughlin / watch Moonlight instead
Stuntmen (3 stars): an amusing look / at the stuntman industry / mockumentary style
Orange County (3½ stars): the transition from / high school to college is hard / but also funny
The Princess Bride (5 stars): truly a classic / epic comedic romance / with awesome swordfights
Singles (3½ stars): from Cameron Crowe / a film about single life / and finding the one
Shades of Ray (3½ stars): a sweet indie film / an identity crisis / both funny and real
Iron Man (3½ stars): excellent relaunch / to a franchise and career / more RDJ please
Iron Man 2 (3½ stars): the sequel lives up / to my expectations and / perhaps exceeds them
And last but not least, don’t forget to watch Chuck, (catch up online!) because I don’t want it to get cancelled, because then I’ll have nothing to live for on Mondays (8/7 Central on NBC, folks!).
[Movies That Made Going to the Movies Suck] #27: It Happened One Night
Hi everyone! I’m participating in a fun little film analysis list this month with the Desert Island DVDs crew, spearheaded by Mike over at You Talking to Me? The idea is to take a look at movies that brought forth a movement in film and inspired a bunch of generally lackluster copycats trying to cash in on the magic without creating any themselves. When Mike came to us with the idea, there was one film that immediately popped into my mind as something great that inspired a whole lot of films that, well, aren’t. Here’s my essay, and head on over to Mike’s blog all month long to see what other folks have designated as Movies That Made Going to the Movies Suck.
Ah, the romantic comedy. Once a person begins to self-identify as a film enthusiast or a cinephile, one is supposed to turn down his or her nose at the modern entries in the genre. And let’s face it: the romantic comedy of today is quite often a pale and weak imitation of the great romantic comedies of the past. Whether it’s Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, The Lady Eve, or any of the other stellar picks from the 1930s and 1940s, there’s one romantic comedy for everyone that more or less forever ruins the genre. The king of them all, the one that ushered in the screwball comedy and the modern romantic comedy, is It Happened One Night.
Starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, it follows the story of Ellie Andrews, a young, spoiled woman who, in a fit of rebellion, marries fortune hunter Westley King. Her father collects her before the marriage can be consummated only to have her run away once again. On board a bus to New York City, she happens upon one Mr. Peter Warne. Turns out he’s a down-on-his-luck reporter in need of a good story, so he blackmails her: either she gives him an exclusive, or he’ll rat her out to her father (and collect a handsome reward for it, too). Not a complete cad, he does offer to help reunite her with her beloved quasi-husband (readers love a happy ending).
Now, because the story arc of 90 percent of romantic comedies to follow used this one as a template, we can guess what happens. They hate each other at first, but she’s a little charmed by him, and he’s a little amused by her. Charm and amusement turn to affection, and all of a sudden it’s “Westley who?” Of course, there’s confusion and misunderstanding that leads to Boy Losing Girl, only to prove his worth and eventually get her back.
The difference between this film and the cookie-cutter romantic comedies that follow is that, even now, the film has a certain energy you can’t quite describe. It feels fresh, even though we’ve seen it hundreds of times over. Every once in a while, a romantic comedy captures some of that same spark, even if just for a moment. And I think that’s why we keep coming back, hoping for the best from the genre, even when we’re not supposed to. We’re waiting for that moment when the romantic comedy can prove its worth, regain its honor, and recapture those magical moments we experienced in the past together with films like It Happened One Night. The truth is, when romantic comedy is at its best, the genre contains some of the greatest films and film moments in history.
