On DVD and Blu-ray, Rated PG-13
If you were a teenager in the early 90s, then this reunion of former SNL stars (Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider) might just work for you - sort of. Kevin James - a Chris Farley substitute - rounds out the main 5 who were all childhood friends. They get together at a New England lakehouse after the death of their former childhood basketball coach. Most of the film seems ad libbed with the comics trying to outdo each other. Which works better than it should since you get genuine laughs from most of the actors. The message that getting in touch with nature is better than modern conveniences is easy to spot and juvenile humor abounds . . .
But there's something endearing about watching these guys "mature" as similarly as I have. Other SNL alums show up (Colin Quinn, Norm MacDonald, Tim Meadows) solidifying the notion that Sandler is using his clout to help some old friends get paid. This is not a good film and doesn't hold up with an ounce of scrutiny. The plot is almost non-existent, the ending is forced, and it's frequently embarrassing (especially for Maya Rudolph). But it never bores and is frequently funny. C+
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Grown Ups - C+
Weekend Box Office: 12/10-12/12/10
2 lackluster openings were overshadowed by Black Swan's 90 screen, 37K average. (For comparison, Unstoppable is still on almost 3000 screens.)
Title/Gross/%Change/Total
1. Chronicles of Narnia 3: 24.5 mil / NEW
2. The Tourist: 17 mil / NEW
3. Tangled: 14.6 mil / -33% / 116 mil
4. Harry Potter 7: 8.5 mil / -50% / 258 mil
5. Unstoppable: 3.8 mil / -37% / 74 mil
6. Black Swan: 3.3 mil / +131% / 5.6 mil
7. Burlesque: 3.2 mil / -48% / 33 mil
8. Love & Other Drugs: 3 mil / -47% / 28 mil
9. Due Date: 2.5 mil / -38% / 95 mil
10. Megamind: 2.5 mil / -49% / 140 mil
11. Faster: 1.7 mil / -56% / 21 mil
12. Next 3 Days: 1.1 mil / -57% / 20 mil
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Best Films of the 90s - 10-6
10. The Insider - (1999)
Michael Mann's best film benefits from an intelligent and complex Eric Roth script, Al Pacino's best performance since the mid-70s, and career best performances from Russell Crowe, Gina Gershon, and Christopher Plummer. The talky back room discussions are so smart and well-acted that they are the actual highpoint of the film. Mann's eclectic selection of songs hits each mood perfectly and the longish running time is justified with dozens of interesting secondary characters and a complicated plot expertly told. The whole point - a girl realizing the sacrifices her father makes for her - plays out perfectly in a late short scene.
9. JFK - (1991)
It's mostly rubbish: even the most devout conspiracy theorist admits the Jim Garrison case was a fiasco. But it makes for a fascinating film. Oliver Stone seamlessly combines the Garrison case with other sources (the spellbinding Donald Sutherland sequence is based on Fletcher Prouty) and humanizes the entire loquacious, informative endeavor by effectively showing Garrison relating to his family and colleagues. Kevin Costner is a little stiff but holds his own against the To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington references. The supporting cast is mesmerizing (a never better Kevin Bacon, the energetic Joe Pesci, the chameleonic Gary Oldman, the restrained Jack Lemmon, etc.). But it's Stone who's the star as he advances the cinematic language by a decade or more (for better or worse - it's not Stone's fault his imitators weren't as talented as him).
8. Unforgiven - (1992)
Clint Eastwood's last (and best) Western deconstructed most of his previous films (most notably The Outlaw Josey Wales) by portraying the Old West to be a much more complex and compromised place than previously shown. He also tackles myth-making and celebrity as well as man's unchangeable inner nature. Eastwood gives his best performance and Richard Harris, Morgan Freeman, Saul Rubinek, and Gene Hackman are equally excellent. Its pace is deliberate, but that gives you time to ruminate on the themes and the technical expertise of Eastwood the director.
7. LA Confidential - (1997)
2 stars were born (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce), many talents were confirmed (James Cromwell, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, David Straitharn), and one was validated (Kim Basinger). Based on James Ellroy's novel, the film has a magnificent plot where 3 cops with different methods join forces to solve a complex case. In the end, it questions who's happier - the cop with the heart-of-gold hooker or the cop with all the medals and promotions? Curtis Hanson has made some good movies, but this effort is far above everything else. It's like the creative and artistic part of his brain was on steroids. The action, drama, and humor are flawlessly amalgamated.
6. Boogie Nights - (1997)
Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus to porn, coke, and dysfunctional families is one of the decade's best comedies, one of the decade's best dramas, has one of its best redemption tales, and has one of the best soundtracks. Every frame is so full of energy and effort, it's as if every other writer-director isn't even trying. My favorite sequence is easily the montage where Dirk is accepted into the adult film industry with The Commodores' "Machine Gun" playing - a perfect 2 1/2 minutes. Which isn't to say the Rahad-Cosmo firecracker sequence isn't equally astonishing just not quite as exuberant. Every performance is genuine and perfect - but I'll single out Julianne Moore - the best female performance of the decade.
125. Exotica
124. Much Ado About Nothing
123. The Piano
122. Crying Game
121. Boyz N the Hood
120. Crumb
119. A Bug's Life
118. The Freshman
117. Shine
116. Bringing Out the Dead
115. City Slickers
114. Secrets and Lies
113. Spanish Prisoner
112. Homicide
111. The Lion King
110. Jurassic Park
109. Shadowlands
108. Tremors
107. The Double Life of Veronique
106. The Grifters
105. Lost Highway
104. Before Sunrise
103. Sling Blade
102. The Game
101. Bullets over Broadway
100. Glengarry Glen Ross
99. Dead Again
98. Ed Wood
97. True Romance
96. The Commitments
95. Bound
94. Die Hard 2
93. In the Line of Fire
92. Affliction
91. Shakespeare in Love
90. In the Company of Men
89. Short Cuts
88. Copland
87. The Hudsucker Proxy
86. The Last Seduction
85. The Apostle
84. Burnt by the Sun
83. The Godfather Part III
82. Good Will Hunting
81. Speed
80. Reversal of Fortune
79. Forest Gump
78. American Beauty
77. Dazed and Confused
76. True Lies
75. Nixon
74. Malcolm X
73. Red Rock West
72. Hearts of Darkness
71. Wag the Dog
70. Thelma and Louise
69. Hoop Dreams
68. Quiz Show
67. Reservoir Dogs
66. Total Recall
65. The Hunt for Red October
64. Babe
63. Braveheart
62. Searching for Bobby Fischer
61. Bottle Rocket
60. Jerry Maguire
59. Terminator 2
58. Toy Story
57. Toy Story 2
56. Elizabeth
55. Apollo 13
54. Casino
53. Rushmore
52. Get Shorty
51. Barton Fink
50. Swingers
49. The Matrix
48. 12 Monkeys
47. Out of Sight
46. The Sixth Sense
45. The Limey
44. Hamlet
43. Dark City
42. Leaving Las Vegas
41. Hard Eight
40. The Fugitive
39. Three Kings
38. Waiting for Guffman
37. Beauty and the Beast
36. Hard-Boiled
35. In the Name of the Father
34. Lone Star
33. Three Colors: Blue, White, Red
32. A River Runs Through It
31. Dead Man Walking
30. The Usual Suspects
29. Dances with Wolves
28. The Player
27. Groundhog Day
26. Truman Show
25. The Sweet Hereafter
24. Last of the Mohicans
23. Heat
22. Trainspotting
21. The Big Lebowski
20. Fearless
19. The Shawshank Redemption
18. Seven
17. Being John Malkovich
16. Fight Club
15. Saving Private Ryan
14. Miller's Crossing
13. Magnolia
12. The Silence of the Lambs
11. Eyes Wide Shut
Song of the Day - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
By Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
I used to enjoy hearing this song on the radio every year during the Christmas season. I once heard it the day after Thanksgiving and one year I didn't hear it until Christmas 24th. But I always heard it. With youtube, you can now choose when you hear it, which is good and bad at the same time.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Fascinating 2010 Information
Google has a year end video that summarizes world events, along with a cool "Zeitgeist" information package that shows what the most popular searches in 2010 were. Here's another google tool called Google Insight that lets you compare search popularity and about a billion other metrics.
Continue reading this postBest Films of the 90s - 15-11
15. Saving Private Ryan - (1998)
The devastating opening sequence is technically flawless and gut-wrenching. After some distracting cameo missteps (Ted Danson, Dennis Farina), the film settles down nicely into a soldier-level view of the war, filled with touching anecdotes and surprising insights. The action scenes are harrowing as Spielberg places us right in the thick of the battle. It's a little too coincidental toward the end and Gandhi would disagree with the message concerning the Jeremy Davies character. But the reliable skills of composer John Williams and Tom Hanks are at their peaks.
14. Miller's Crossing - (1990)
In 1930s Chicago, a gangster (Gabriel Byrne) navigates a gang war by playing both sides and smartly weighing all his options. A flawless plot by the Brothers Coen and some clever hyperreal dialogue are helped along by an impeccable recreation of the era. The performances are uniformly superb, most notably by John Turturro and Gabriel Byrne. They let their camera move too much during the later scenes and the climax is a little too pat. But Carter Burwell's score is classic and Byrne's character is an idol of mine - a non-violent intellectual who likes to stay several steps ahead of everyone else.
13. Magnolia - (1999)
Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus to cancer, child prodigies, and dysfunctional families is far from perfect with a few questionable choices (Robards's inclusion in the singalong, the Moore pharmacy scene, etc.) but the excellent parts (Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, PTA's magnificent, fluid camera) far outweigh the excesses. In his most personal film, PTA is way out there, at full throttle, and baring his entire soul. With some help from a masterful Michael Penn score, he mercilessly cranks up the drama for 3 hours, rarely allowing the audience to rest or release. And he recognizes there are many things unexplainable in life - and they shouldn't be feared or even understood, just acknowledged and embraced.
12. The Silence of the Lambs - (1991)
I love how it subtly indicts America as a serial killer creator. I love how it embraces a very male genre (cop, serial killer) and turns it into a female empowerment film. I love how the screenplay talks about lust and desire just as the actors and camera show them viscerally. I love how the title is never spoken, but implied. But most of all, I love the acting - the one-on-one cerebral battles between Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.
11. Eyes Wide Shut - (1999)
Stanley Kubrick's last film is far from his best, but Michael Jordan in a Wizards uniform is still the best player on the court. The symmetry of the film - a descent into hell followed by a slow return to the living is a rarity. The pacing and atmosphere are decidedly Kubrickian: slow dissolves, well pronounced sentences, and dread hanging over the troubled characters' heads. Audiences were expecting the sexiest movie ever and got a brilliant dissertation on marriage, dreams, reality, desire, fidelity, jealousy, and responsibility instead. The well placed blue and red hues (symbolizing home and desire, respectively, for starters) as well as other touches (the bald man following Cruise next to a stop sign silently telling Cruise to stop) are just icing on the rich cake.
125. Exotica
124. Much Ado About Nothing
123. The Piano
122. Crying Game
121. Boyz N the Hood
120. Crumb
119. A Bug's Life
118. The Freshman
117. Shine
116. Bringing Out the Dead
115. City Slickers
114. Secrets and Lies
113. Spanish Prisoner
112. Homicide
111. The Lion King
110. Jurassic Park
109. Shadowlands
108. Tremors
107. The Double Life of Veronique
106. The Grifters
105. Lost Highway
104. Before Sunrise
103. Sling Blade
102. The Game
101. Bullets over Broadway
100. Glengarry Glen Ross
99. Dead Again
98. Ed Wood
97. True Romance
96. The Commitments
95. Bound
94. Die Hard 2
93. In the Line of Fire
92. Affliction
91. Shakespeare in Love
90. In the Company of Men
89. Short Cuts
88. Copland
87. The Hudsucker Proxy
86. The Last Seduction
85. The Apostle
84. Burnt by the Sun
83. The Godfather Part III
82. Good Will Hunting
81. Speed
80. Reversal of Fortune
79. Forest Gump
78. American Beauty
77. Dazed and Confused
76. True Lies
75. Nixon
74. Malcolm X
73. Red Rock West
72. Hearts of Darkness
71. Wag the Dog
70. Thelma and Louise
69. Hoop Dreams
68. Quiz Show
67. Reservoir Dogs
66. Total Recall
65. The Hunt for Red October
64. Babe
63. Braveheart
62. Searching for Bobby Fischer
61. Bottle Rocket
60. Jerry Maguire
59. Terminator 2
58. Toy Story
57. Toy Story 2
56. Elizabeth
55. Apollo 13
54. Casino
53. Rushmore
52. Get Shorty
51. Barton Fink
50. Swingers
49. The Matrix
48. 12 Monkeys
47. Out of Sight
46. The Sixth Sense
45. The Limey
44. Hamlet
43. Dark City
42. Leaving Las Vegas
41. Hard Eight
40. The Fugitive
39. Three Kings
38. Waiting for Guffman
37. Beauty and the Beast
36. Hard-Boiled
35. In the Name of the Father
34. Lone Star
33. Three Colors: Blue, White, Red
32. A River Runs Through It
31. Dead Man Walking
30. The Usual Suspects
29. Dances with Wolves
28. The Player
27. Groundhog Day
26. Truman Show
25. The Sweet Hereafter
24. Last of the Mohicans
23. Heat
22. Trainspotting
21. The Big Lebowski
20. Fearless
19. The Shawshank Redemption
18. Seven
17. Being John Malkovich
16. Fight Club
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Top Films of 2010
I love this time of year. Lots of modifications to come, but thought I'd get the game started. I reserve the right to make significant changes as I re-watch the top 5 and get a better feel. Original reviews linked to below.
1. Black Swan
1. The Social Network
3. Inception
4. Winter's Bone
5. Temple Grandin
6. Exit Through the Gift Shop
7. Ghost Writer
8. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
9. 127 Hours
10. A Prophet
11. The Kids Are All Right
12. The Town
13. Shutter Island
14. The Other Guys
Still to come: Restrepo, Inside Job, The Fighter, True Grit, Let Me In, Biutiful, Conviction, King's Speech, Blue Valentine, Carlos, Somewhere.
DVD and Blu-ray Releases 12/7/10
A Dog Year
Inception - #, *
Letters to God - #
Restrepo - #
Shrek Forever After - #
24: Season 8
Law & Order: Season 8
Click below for this week's Blu-ray releases
About Last Night …
The Big Hit
Closer - *
Cronos (Criterion)
The Deep
Lost in Translation - *
Rush Hour
Videodrome (Criterion)
# - also on Blu-ray
* - Doctor approved
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Weekend Box Office: 12/3-12/5/10
Black Swan opened on only 18 screens and had a huge average. Everything else took a huge drop.
Title/Gross/%Change/Total
1. Tangled: 21.5 mil / -56% / 96 mil
2. Harry Potter 7: 16.7 mil / -66% / 244 mil
3. Unstoppable: 6.1 mil / -47% / 69 mil
4. Burlesque: 6.1 mil / -49% / 27 mil
5. Love & Other Drugs: 5.7 mil / -42% / 23 mil
6. Megamind: 5 mil / -60% / 137 mil
7. Due Date: 4.2 mil / -41% / 91 mil
8. Faster: 3.8 mil / -55% / 18 mil
9. Warrior's Way: 3 mil: NEW
10. Next 3 Days: 2.7 mil / -43% / 18 mil
11. Morning Glory: 1.8 mil / -55% / 29 mil
12. 127 Hours: 1.6 mil / -6% / 6.6 mil
13. Black Swan: 1.4 mil / NEW
14. Fair Game: 1 mil / -33% / 7.4 mil
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Black Swan - A
In theaters (limited). Rated R, 103 minutes. Trailer.
You really have to cherish those 3 or 4 times a year when you settle into your theater seat for a highly anticipated film. Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan had that feel last night with a buzzy audience at Angelika Plano. The film is an unrelenting psychological drama with one of the most intense and visceral final acts of the last several years. Natalie Portman gives herself over to her role as Nina, an ascendant ballerina obsessed with achieving perfection and guarantees herself an Oscar nomination (and likely win) in the process. Her performance is the centerpiece of a story that tells of Nina's training for her debut as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake and the night of her debut. Click below for more on BLACKSWAN:
To some extent, the film plays like a horror film with its tension, jumpy moments and occasional violence. As should be expected with any Aronofsky film, the film is frequently uncomfortable as he focuses on the explicit details of Nina's paranoia and the grueling nature of her ballet training. Nina is surrounded by weirdos, including a creepy Barbara Hershey as her smothering mother and a chauvinistic ballet director (Vincent Cassell). She is perfect and controlled, but lacks the flair and confidence that Cassell thinks she needs as the to be the black swan (a key to her performance as the Swan Queen). As she struggles to achieve the intended effect, she begins to transmogrify and loses track of reality. A further discussion of the plot would hurt the initial viewing of the film, so I'll stop there.
Aronofsky again relies heavily on handheld cameras that are almost too close...we feel Nina's anxiety and stress as she does. He places black and white motifs throughout the film providing clear visual cues. The film reminded me in certain ways of Fight Club, King of Comedy, Raging Bull and The Wrestler in different ways. His presentation of ballet is very unglamorous. He shows it as a marginal art form that does not have mass appeal; it provides a highbrow version of the wrestling in The Wrestler. All of the actors were superb, including Mila Kunis as the black swan type rival ballet dances oozing with all of the sexiness and recklessness that Nina lacks and a tragic Winona Ryder as the outgoing prima ballerina.
The music is powerful and its crescendos in the third act are amazing as they track the visual presentation and character progression of Nina. I can't wait to see this again in the theater.
I should note that this is not for the faint of heart. There are lesbian scenes, self-mutilation, and some blood and graphic violence.
My favorite critic, David Denby of the New Yorker, didn't have the same reaction...his summary sentence is: “Black Swan” is a pompous, self-glorifying, and generally unpleasant interpretation of an artist’s task." Even the great ones are wrong sometimes!
Tree of Life Trailer
Terrence Malick's new one seems to be focused on the duality of man and fathers and sons.....right up my alley.
Continue reading this postFriday, December 3, 2010
DVD and Blu-ray Releases Week of 11/30/10
Cairo Time - #
Floored - #
Going the Distance - #
Parks & Recreation: Season 2
Knight & Day - #
Sorcerer's Apprentice - #
The Special Relationship
Twilight Saga: Eclipse - #
Vampires Suck - #
Click below for this week's Blu-ray releases
Bee Movie
Fantasia/Fantasia 2000
Madagascar
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Meet the Fockers
Meet the Parents
The Wiz
# - also on Blu-ray
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Oscar Documentary Short List
Go here to see the list of documentaries being considered as nominees for the 2011 Best Documentary Oscar. I've seen several and have others on my list.
Continue reading this postKillers Christmas Single - Boots
Here's the new song and video directed by fellow mormon Jared Hess.
Continue reading this postExtra! Extra! New Paul Thomas Anderson Project
Since "The Master" has been shelved indefinitely, he is looking at adapting a Thomas Pynchon novel. Much more here.
Continue reading this postI'm Still Here - No Grade
On DVD (2010). Rated R, 100 minutes. Trailer.
What a waste. Knowing that Joaquin Phoenix' foray into rap and supposed mental breakdown on the Late Show with David Letterman were fake renders the film impossible to watch in earnest. Shot and directed by Joaquin's brother-in-law Casey Affleck, the film is trying to be a study of celebrity culture and a weird person, but morphs into a weird series of shots of guys crapping on each other, getting berated by Phoenix and flaccid male appendages. Hopefully that sentence will never be written again. Some of the scenes with Puff Daddy are funny as he rejects Joaquin's weird music. A stupid project and a screwy film - if it had been real, it might have worked.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 - B+
In IMAX, 146 minutes, PG-13.
David Yates’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the best Potter movie to date, finally taking that honor from Alfonso Cuaron’s third film in the series Prisoner of Azkaban. A warning for those that haven’t read the books: you’ll hardly recognize this as a Harry Potter movie. There’s no Hogwarts this time. No Dumbledore. No Quiditch. And tragically little of the exemplary ensemble of British stage actors who make up the Hogwarts faculty (and brought much needed acting chops to the first few films). What’s left? Harry, Ron, Hermione… and Voldemort. Come to find out, that’s all that’s needed.
For the uninitiated…. Well, there’s no place to start. You won’t understand a minute. For the rest, after an attack by death eaters at Ron’s brother’s wedding, our fearless threesome decide returning to Hogwarts is no longer an option. They set about to destroy the six remaining Horcruxes. Problem is, the one horcrux they’ve got they can’t scratch, and they’ve got no idea where the others are or where to start the search. Meanwhile, as you may recall, as long as Harry is alive, Voldemort is susceptible to death, so he and his ever-increasing minions are searching for Harry to kill him.
The beauty of this film is seeing how the young leads have matured. While the supporting adult cast were once leaned upon for gravitas and emotional depth, Emma Watson (Hermione), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) and Rupert Grint (Ron) now do the heavy lifting themselves. The opening scene in which Hermione erases herself from the memories, and photographs, of her parents in an attempt to keep them safe—leaving her functionally an orphan just like Harry—is particularly affective. Throughout Watson delivers, for the first time fully seeming the intellectual, studying force of the group. Likewise, Grint has matured into an excellent comic actor with surprising reserves of darkness and depth just below the clowning. Finally Radcliffe, whose take on Harry has often been maligned, pulls out the stops. Not the best planner, he’s the spiritual leader of the group—the one who’s cool under pressure- and Radcliffe pulls all that together beautifully in an inspired little dance scene when they find themselves at hopes end.
The supporting cast impresses as always. Ralph Fiennes brings an off-hand evil to Voldemort as he sometimes relishes death, and sometimes brings it callously, almost without thinking. I’d love to see a little more Alan Rickman’s Snape, my favorite character in the series, but when he’s here, he delivers. Helena Bohham Carter’s Bellatrix Lestrange, the most faithful servant of the Dark Lord is gleeful, evil over-the-top fun as she pines to get back in Voldemort’s good graces, tortures Hermione, and brings the most emotional death in the series thus far. Finally, Imelda Stanton as the epitome of a rule-follower gone bad in Dolores Umbridge is pure delight, wringing every drop of malice out of her sugary sweet smile and prose.
This is the first half of a two-part adaptation of the final book in the Potter series. The second half will have more fireworks, more death, and more resolution, all played out no doubt against a backdrop of showy CGI. But it will lean heavily on the emotional and quiet, often slow work of this half. It’s my favorite thus far and sets the table for a fittingly phenomenal ending to J.K. Rowling’s opus. For those interested, I reviewed the book here three years ago.
