Looking Back at 2011

Well, there it is, another movie year over and done with. Looking back on the 2011 movie year, my feelings are somewhat mixed. On the one hand, there weren’t many movies that I felt were truly “great,” that really inspired passion in me. On the other hand, there were fewer movies that I flat out didn’t like – even the film that I would call the “worst” that I saw all year was one that I actually enjoyed quite a bit because it was so terrible that it was fun to watch. Essentially, it feels like it was kind of a middle of the road year – not great, but far from bad.

Review: The Artist (2011)

* * * *
Director: Michael Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo

In Preston Sturges' great Sullivan's Travels, the conclusion that the protagonist comes to is that "there's a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that that's all some people have? It isn't much, but it's better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan." Comedy very rarely gets the same level of respect as drama, perhaps because happiness seems somehow like a less profound emotion than sadness, but it takes just as much skill, if not more, to make someone laugh as it does to make them cry. To make a successful comedy requires talent; to make one that feels effortless is nothing short of a miracle. Michael Hazanavicius' The Artist is such a film, and it pulls it off (almost) without saying a word.

Friday's Top 5... My Most Anticipated Films of 2012

#5: Prometheus

There's been a bit of back and forth about whether or not Prometheus is part of the Alien franchise (official word is no, however the new film's tagline is "In space something can hear you scream," which, you know, if awfully reminiscent of Alien's tagline), but regardless of its cinematic affiliation, the trailer makes it look pretty awesome.

Awards Roundup

* Golden Globe nomination
+ Guild nomination
* Critics Choice nomination

The winners so far:

Best Picture

(11) The Artist**:
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle
Phoenix Film Critics
St. Louis Film Critics
Detroit Film Critics
San Diego Film Critics
Las Vegas Film Critics
Indiana Film Critics
New York Film Critics Circle
Washington D.C. Film Critics
New York Film Critics Online
Boston Film Critics

(5) The Descendants**:
Southeastern Film Critics
Florida Film Critics
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics
Houston Film Critics
Los Angeles Film Critics

(4) The Tree of Life*:
Chicago Film Critics
Toronto Film Critics
African-American Film Critics Association
San Fransisco Film Critics

(2) Hugo**:
Austin Film Critics
National Board of Review

(1) Drive:
Utah Film Critics

(1) The Help:
Black Film Critics Circle

Review: Young Adult (2011)

* * * 1/2
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson

Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) longs to return to her high school days because she believes that that was when she was at her best. What she fails to realize is that it wasn't so much that she was at her best in high school as that she still had people around to validate her awfulness. Reuniting writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman, Young Adult is a film as acid as Juno was sweet, replacing a naive but likeable protagonist with one almost dangerously delusional and misanthropic. It's the feel good movie of the holiday season!

Awards Roundup

* Golden Globe nomination
+ Guild nomination
* Critics Choice nomination

The winners so far:

Best Picture

(8) The Artist**:
Detroit Film Critics
San Diego Film Critics
Las Vegas Film Critics
Indiana Film Critics
New York Film Critics Circle
Washington D.C. Film Critics
New York Film Critics Online
Boston Film Critics

(3) The Descendants**:
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics
Houston Film Critics
Los Angeles Film Critics

(3) The Tree of Life*:
Toronto Film Critics
African-American Film Critics Association
San Fransisco Film Critics

(1) Hugo**:
National Board of Review

Friday's Top 5... Head Scratchers of the 2011 Awards Season (So Far)

#5: Melissa McCarthy is a Best Supporting Actress frontrunner

Look, I loved Bridesmaids and I loved Melissa McCarthy in it, but did she really give one of the best supporting performances of the year? Really, New York Film Critics? And Vegas? And Boston? Really?

Golden Globe Nominees

Nominations were announced first thing this morning - and once again, the HFPA and I disagree on what constitutes a "drama" and what constitutes a "comedy." Here are the nominees:

Best Picture (Drama)
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
The Artist
Bridesmaids
50/50
Midnight In Paris
My Week with Marilyn

Golden Globe Predicts

Nominations are announced tomorrow, here are my predictions:

Best Picture (Drama)
Drive
The Help
Hugo
Moneyball
War Horse

alt: The Girl with the Dragn Tattoo

Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descedants
Midnight In Paris
Young Adult

alt: Carnage

Screen Actors Guild Nominees

Here they are:

Best Ensemble
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
Midnight In Paris

Screen Actors Guild Predicts

The announcement will be made tomorrow morning, here are my predictions:

Best Ensemble
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Midnight In Paris

alt:Bridesmaids

Review: The Descendants (2011)

* * * 1/2
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney

Alexander Payne is an expert at finding comedy in unlikely places. His debut feature, Citizen Ruth, was about the battle over the legality of abortion, About Schmidt was about a recent widower and retiree who fears that life is meaningless and futile, Sideways is about a failed and alcoholic writer, and his masterpiece Election is about the epic battle between a frustrated high school teacher and a manipulative, over-achieving student. His latest, The Descendants is about, amongst other things, the process of grief and like his previous films mixes comedy and drama so seamlessly that he makes it look deceptively easy.

Awards Roundup

2011 Winners so far:

Best Picture

(4) The Artist:
New York Film Critics Circle
Washington D.C. Film Critics
New York Film Critics Online
Boston Film Critics

(1) The Descendants:
Los Angeles Film Critics

(1) Hugo:
National Board of Review

Best Director

(3) Martin Scorsese, Hugo:
Boston Film Critics
Washington D.C. Film Critics
National Board of Review

(2) Michael Hazanavicis, The Artist:
New York Film Critics Online
New York Film Critics Circle

(1) Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life:
Los Angeles Film Critics

Friday's Top 5... Actors Who Should Be Too Good To Be In New Year's Eve

#5: Abigail Breslin

Oh, Abigail. You were doing so good. You were nominated for an Oscar at the age of 10. You were in the little seen gem Definitely, Maybe and the much seen Zombieland. I promise you: you are better than this.

Great Last Scenes: Bon Cop, Bad Cop

Year: 2006
Director: Eric Canuel
Great Because...: It goes for it and it gets away with it. In film the line between the good guys and the bad guys is pretty distinctly drawn, particularly in action films. Heroes are supposed to get the bad guys, not kill them in cold blood. Bon Cop, Bad Cop not only manages to allow its heroes to brutally eliminate the villain, it does so with a smile on its face.

Review: Swimming Pool (2003)

* * *
Director: Francois Ozon
Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier

Francois Ozon's crime thriller Swimming Pool is one of those hypnotic, challenging films that you'll puzzle over and debate about long after seeing. It's a film that seems deceptively straight forward and then, in its final act, completely pulls the rug out from under you. This last act turnaround will be frustrating to some viewers, but for others it will simply add a new, rich dimension to what was already a first-rate thriller.

Review: My Week with Marilyn (2011)

* * *
Director: Simon Curtis
Starring: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh

Movies like My Week with Marilyn exist for one reason and one reason only, and that's as a showcase for a performance. All the eggs go into this particular basket and everything else becomes of secondary importance, which leaves little room for error with that central performance. Fortunately, Michelle Williams' turn as Marilyn Monroe is fantastic, the kind that goes beyond "impersonation" and firmly into "inhabitation." However, the caliber of her performance can't disguise how average the film itself is, as it does little to break away from the cliches of its genre, and does even less to offer any new insight into the woman who was, arguably, the greatest film star of all time.

Friday's Top 5... Spy Movies (non-James Bond edition)

#5: The Hunt for Red October

The best of the Jack Ryan films (starring, arguably, the best Jack Ryan). This Cold War submarine thriller is expertly directed and acted and remains greatly entertaining. Just try to ignore the fact that Sean Connery makes absolutely no attempt to sound like anything other than a Russian guy with a Scottish accent.