The King's Speech is winning all the important late awards and The Social Network is being shut out. This will make Oscar night a fast 30 minute DVR-fest. Christian Bale's speech was ruined by the real Dicky Eklund. Natalie Portman's speech improved on her awkward laughing from the Golden Globes. They gave the award to the wrong supporting actress from The Fighter. I couldn't sit through the last 2 speeches. I'm starting to hate Shine now for some reason. I need some therapy. Full list of "winners" after the jump.
Male Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Female Actor in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture: The King’s Speech
Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack
Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Male Actor in a Drama Series: Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Female Actor in a Drama Series: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Ensemble in a Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire
Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Modern Family
Sunday, January 30, 2011
SAG Awards
Weekend Box Office: 1/28/11-1/30/11
Title/Gross/%Change/Total
1. The Rite: 15 mil / NEW
2. No Strings Attached: 13.7 mil / -30% / 40 mil
3. Green Hornet: 11.5 mil / -35% / 79 mil
4. The Mechanic: 11.5 mil / NEW
5. King's Speech: 11 mil / +41% / 72 mil
6. True Grit: 7.6 mil / +4% / 148 mil
7. The Dilemma: 5.5 mil / -40% / 41 mil
8. Black Swan: 5.1 mil / -13% / 91 mil
9. The Fighter: 4 mil / -3% / 78 mil
10. Yogi Bear: 3.2 mil / -17% / 93 mil
11. Tron Legacy: 2.5 / -30% / 167 mil
12. Tangled: 2.5 mil / -18% / 190 mil
13. Little Fockers: 2.5 mil / -42% / 147 mil
Tom Hooper wins DGA
My weapons-grade contempt for The King's Speech is completely unfair since I haven't seen the film yet. Since The Social Network had won every award for the past 3 months, I was reticent and cautiously optimistic. It looked like David Fincher would finally get his overdue Oscar, but it turns out he's the new Scorsese and will have to wait another 15 years. I plan to see The King's Speech this week, but unless it somehow tricks me, my review will probably end like this: "Well 70-80 million of people died in WWII, but at least that entitled, rich d- d- d- douche learned to t- t- t- talk."
My disdain for Harvey Weinstein is irrevocable given his inexplicable ability to get his mediocre films (The Reader, Chocolat) Oscar nominations and his OK films (Chicago, Shakespeare in Love) Oscar wins.
Mr. Hooper will win the Oscar over Fincher, the Coens, Darren Aronofsky, and David O. Russell. This looks eerily similar to 2001 when Ron Howard won over Ridley Scott, David Lynch, Robert Altman, and Peter Jackson. The frustrating thing is that after Crash won, the Oscars had actually gone to great directors - Martin Scorsese, the Coens, Danny Boyle, and Kathryn Bigelow. This year reverted to the 90s this year when a critical darling (like Pulp Fiction or Goodfellas or LA Confidential) ultimately loses in the last stage of the race.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Song of the Day - By Your Side
By Beachwood Sparks
Another one from Scott Pilgrim has an interesting fusion of Neil Young and The Flaming Lips - all from a Sade song.
You think I'd leave your side baby
You know me better than that
You think I'd leave you down when you're down on your knees
I wouldn't do that
I'll tell you you're right when you want
And if only you could see into me
Oh when you're cold, I'll be there
Hold you tight to me
When you're on the outside baby and you can't get in
I will show you, you're so much better than you know
When you're lost and you're alone and you cant get back again
I will find you darling and I will bring you home
And if you want to cry
I am here to dry your eyes
And in no time, you'll be fine
You think I'd leave your side baby
You know me better than that
You think id leave you down when you're down on your knees
I wouldn't do that
I'll tell you you're right when you want
And if only you could see into me
Oh when you're cold, I'll be there
Hold you tight to me
Oh when you're low
I'll be there by your side baby
Oh when you're cold, I'll be there
Hold you tight to me
Oh when you're low
I'll be there by your side baby
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
DVD and Blu-ray Releases 1/25/11
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
Dogtooth
Enter the Void - #
Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - #
Nowhere Boy - #
Open Season 3 - #
Red - #
Santa Sangre - #
Saw: The Final Chapter - #
Secretariat - #
Click below for this week's Blu-ray releases
A Beautiful Mind
Broadcast News (Criterion) - *
The Color Purple
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - *
# - also on Blu-ray
* - Doctor approved
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
2011 Oscar Nominations
Best Picture
"Black Swan," Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
"The Fighter" David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
"Inception," Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
"The Kids Are All Right," Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
"The King's Speech," Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
"127 Hours," Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
"The Social Network," Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceàn Chaffin, Producers "Toy Story 3" Darla K. Anderson, Producer
"True Grit" Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers
[remaining categories after the jump]
Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges in "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network"
Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"
James Franco in "127 Hours"
Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in "The Fighter"
John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner in "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine"
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"
Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"
Animated Feature Film
"How to Train Your Dragon" Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
"The Illusionist" Sylvain Chomet
"Toy Story 3" Lee Unkrich
Art Direction
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"True Grit"
Cinematography
"Black Swan," Matthew Libatique
"Inception," Wally Pfister
"The King's Speech," Danny Cohen
"The Social Network," Jeff Cronenweth
"True Grit," Roger Deakins
Costume Design
"Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood
"I Am Love," Antonella Cannarozzi
"The King's Speech," Jenny Beavan
"The Tempest," Sandy Powell
"True Grit" Mary Zophres
Directing
"Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky
"The Fighter," David O. Russell
"The King's Speech," Tom Hooper
"The Social Network," David Fincher
"True Grit," Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Documentary (Feature)
"Exit through the Gift Shop," Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
"Gasland," Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
"Inside Job," Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Restrepo," Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
"Waste Land," Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley
Documentary (Short Subject)
"Killing in the Name"
"Poster Girl"
"Strangers No More"
"Sun Come Up"
"The Warriors of Qiugang"
Film Editing
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The King's Speech"
"127 Hours"
"The Social Network"
Foreign Language Film
"Biutiful," Mexico
"Dogtooth," Greece
"In a Better World," Denmark
"Incendies," Canada
"Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)," Algeria
Makeup
"Barney's Version," Adrien Morot
"The Way Back," Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
"The Wolfman," Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
Music (Original Score)
"How to Train Your Dragon," John Powell
"Inception," Hans Zimmer
"The King's Speech," Alexandre Desplat
"127 Hours," A.R. Rahman
"The Social Network," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Music (Original Song)
"Coming Home" from "Country Strong," Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
"I See the Light" from "Tangled," Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
"If I Rise" from "127 Hours," Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
"We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3," Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Short Film (Animated)
"Day & Night," Teddy Newton
"The Gruffalo," Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
"Let's Pollute," Geefwee Boedoe
"The Lost Thing," Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
"Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)" Bastien Dubois
Short Film (Live Action)
"The Confession," Tanel Toom
"The Crush," Michael Creagh
"God of Love," Luke Matheny
"Na Wewe," Ivan Goldschmidt
"Wish 143," Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite
Sound Editing
"Inception," Richard King
"Toy Story 3," Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
"Tron: Legacy," Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
"Unstoppable," Mark P. Stoeckinger
Sound Mixing
"Inception," Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
"The King's Speech," Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
"Salt," Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
"The Social Network," Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
Visual Effects
"Alice in Wonderland," Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
"Hereafter," Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
"Inception," Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
"Iron Man 2," Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"127 Hours," Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
"The Social Network," Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
"Toy Story 3," Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
"True Grit," Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Winter's Bone," Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini
Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Another Year," Written by Mike Leigh
"The Fighter," Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
"Inception," Written by Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right," Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
"The King's Speech," Screenplay by David Seidler
Monday, January 24, 2011
Oscar Nominations Tomorrow
Hope they find room for both Mr. Garfield and Mr. Hawkes.
Priest's Top Ten
1. Social Network
2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
3. Inception
4. True Grit
5. The Fighter
6. Let Me In
7. Toy Story 3
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
9. The American
10. Exit Through the Gift Shop
2, 3, and 4 are pretty much interchangeable. I haven't seen Winter's Bone, 127 Hours, Blue Valentine, or The King's Speech. I did see Black Swan, but just can't get behind it. Maybe another viewing. It was an odd year for movies, to be sure, but I did really enjoy every film on this list, so the year was by no means bereft of good movies. Also, while I don't normally compose a list of favorite performances, Jon Malkovich in Red is my favorite of this year.
And here is the rest of it.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Weekend Box Office: 1/21/11-1/23/11
Peter Weir's latest dies ignominiously. Natalie Portman risks her Oscar for Ashton Kutcher. Ron Howard directs Kevin James.
Title/Gross/%Change/Total
1. No Strings Attached: 20.3 mil / NEW
2. Green Hornet: 18 mil / -46% / 63 mil
3. Dilemma: 9.7 mil / -45% / 33 mil
4. King's Speech: 9.1 mil / -0% / 59 mil
5. True Grit: 8 mil / -27% / 139 mil
6. Black Swan: 6.2 mil / -26% / 84 mil
7. The Fighter: 4.5 mil / -12% / 73 mil
8. Little Fockers: 4.4 mil / -39% / 141 mil
9. Yogi Bear: 4 mil / -24% / 89 mil
10. Tron Legacy: 3.7 / -35% / 163 mil
11. Tangled: 3 mil / -25% / 186 mil
12. Country Strong: 2.2 mil / -40% / 17 mil
13. Season of Witch: 2.2 mil / -53% / 22 mil
14. The Way Back: 1.5 mil / NEW
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The Company Men - B+
In theaters. Rated R, 113 minutes. Trailer.
Writer/Director John Wells brings us a straightforward story of corporate downsizing, focusing on 3 employees at 3 different levels. The film hit the demographic and lifestyle bullseye for me as it focused on a white-collar upper middle class father's burdens of providing for his family while his wife stays home and takes care of the kids. Ben Affleck is Bobby Walker, a 37 year old up and comer at GTX, a global transportation company struggling with a sliding stock price during the economic tsunami of 2008. In order to get a jump in the stock, they fire thousands, including Walker and upper manager Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper). Click below for more on Company Men:
Tommy Lee Jones is in the executive suite and is shown as the executive with a conscience. As Walker and Woodward work through the implications and psychological issues of losing their jobs, the director touches on male ego, responsibility, work ethic and self-worth. Jones shows the self-loathing and excess that can become necessity as things and lifestyle perks are acquired.
I haven't seen any other film that delves into the impact of a lost job on this segment of the population and its specific impact on the breadwinner. Cooper is the most tragic because of his age and obligations (tuition, mortgage, lifestyle), and Affleck shows the reaction with denial. Rosemary Dewitt provides a great, naturalistic performance as Affleck's practical and loving wife - this and her performance in Rachel Getting Married have solidified her as a great actress in my book.
The film could've been a classic but is a little to over simplified to achieve greatness. The scenes with Affleck's blue collar homebuilder brother-in-law Jack (Kevin Costner) have a great message and quality to them, but they verge into cliche too often. The Maria Bello storyline was useless and should've been cut in favor of more of Cooper.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins provides several interesting frames, most notably several silhouette shots and effective stratification shots of the levels of wealth of the 3 families.
One hole in the film is that Affleck's character is supposedly making $120,000 and they live in a $850,000 house and go skiing and vacationing all the time and he has a porsche - to do all that he'd need a salary of more like $250,000 minimum.
This was really, really good and an absolute must for any male breadwinner.
Roger Deakins
Friday, January 21, 2011
CSPAN TIVO Alert
Christopher Hitchens will be the guest on C-Span's Q&A show this Sunday from 7-10pm (central). Likely to be one of his last interviews. More information here.
Continue reading this postThursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Updated Best of 2010 List
1. Black Swan
1. The Social Network
3. The Fighter
4. Inception
5. The King's Speech
6. True Grit
7. Winter's Bone
8. Ghost Writer
9. Exit Through the Gift Shop
10. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
11. Blue Valentine
12. 127 Hours
13. The American
14. The Town
15. Shutter Island
Still to come: Restrepo, Inside Job, Let Me In, Biutiful, Conviction, and Carlos.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - B+
22 year old Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) has a new high school girlfriend, but he's still obsessed with his ex-girlfriend who's now in a successful rock band. Scott's own band (where he plays bass) constantly struggles to get a gig. He meets Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) at a party and becomes instantly smitten, but unfortunately, if he's to become her boyfriend, he has to physically fight her 7 evil exes video-game style . . .
The premise is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. The film turning into a video game (complete with wire-fu stunts) several times works better than you'd expect. In the extras on the Blu-ray, director Edgar Wright compares the "fights" to musicals where the emotion is so strong, people break into song without ever acknowledging it. The "fights" are made fun of while they're happening and benefit from Wright's knowing tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. The last fight with Jason Schwartmann goes on way too long and the first fight (with "Matthew Patel") gets entirely too wacky. But the Chris Evans and Brandon Routh fights were funny and inventive.
The stuff between the fights us consistently challenging and hilarious with Wright's strong, clear vision bursting through every performance. Cera's straight-faced, deadpan delivery is perfect; he's the best he's been since Arrested Development. Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza are terrific in small roles. Kieran Culkin steals every scene he's in as Pilgrim's gay roommate. All of the unknown actors are great which points back to the director. The film is fast with unique transitions and and an unrelenting jokey atmosphere.
But the film successfully navigates away from too smug and ironic with the character of Ramona. Amid all the silliness, Pilgrim's longing for her is so honest and sincere, you can't help but root for him. Winstead plays into Wright's style, but her eyes draw you in and gives the film much-needed depth. Beck's music perfectly captures what young love feels like. Indeed, the alt-indie soundtrack is perfectly chosen and placed throughout the film. As a bonus, the film wisely and subtly shows the effect people have on others (whether they know it or not).
Based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel, the film would have been disastrous in another man's hands, but Wright's sensibility aligns perfectly with the ridiculous plot by keeping a playful atmosphere. The effects go overboard from time to time, but as a whole, it works like gangbusters. B+
Updated 2010 Top Ten List
1. The Social Network
2. Inception
3. Black Swan
4. The Ghost Writer
5. The Fighter
5 1/2. The Secret in Their Eyes
6. Toy Story 3
7. Let Me In
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
9. True Grit
10. Shutter Island
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
DVD and Blu-ray Releases 1/18/11
Animal Kingdom - #
Army of Crime - #
Buried - #
Death Race 2 - #
Freakonomics
Jack Goes Boating - #
Lebanon - #
Paper Man
Stone
Takers - #
Click below for this week's Blu-ray releases
The Naked Kiss - (Criterion)
Shock Corridor - (Criterion)
# - also on Blu-ray
Monday, January 17, 2011
Somewhere - C
In theaters. Rated R, 98 minutes. Trailer.
This one is really, and I mean really, boring. This is a "mood film" about a hollywood star named Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) and his vacuous celebrity existence and its interruption by a brief stint spending time with his 11 year old. Written and directed by the hit or miss Sofia Coppola, this one works every once in a while, but mostly is just an overly boring series of set pieces.
The film takes place almost exclusively at Chateau Marmont, the legendary Hollywood mansion that has served as the hotel to the stars for decades. Coppola herself is said to have spent much of her youth hanging out there. The film opens with 5 minutes worth of Marco driving in a loop in the desert, and then we get into a series of scenes showing Marco as a celebrity living as a recluse and bored with the decadence that comes with his station in life. These scenes (the erotic dancing twins) go on too long, although some (the party in his room) are somewhat effective. His daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) gets dropped off to stay with him for awhile because her mom "needs some time off". The positive experience of actually connecting with a human makes him realize that he "is nothing" and he has an existential realization/crisis.
That description and the trailer makes the film sound really good (at least to me). But this really is like watching paint dry, and I like moody movies without much plot. Coppola seems to be really pleased with the concept of an overly long linger on a marginally interesting shot. There are some decent visuals in the film, and some dry humor (constant "you're an asshole" texts on Johnny's phone). Oddly, Jackass star Chris Pontius is in the film and provides a little bit of much needed humor.
Decent soundtrack from Phoenix. Skip it.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Weekend Box Office: 1/14/11-1/16/11
Title/Gross/%Change/Total
1. The Green Hornet: 34 mil / NEW
2. The Dilemma: 17.4 mil / NEW
3. True Grit: 11.2 mil / -23% / 126 mil
4. King's Speech 9 mil / +41 % / 45 mil
5. Black Swan: 8.1 mil / +0% / 73 mil
6. Little Fockers: 7.1 mil / -47% / 134 mil
7. Tron Legacy: 5.7 / -44% / 157 mil
8. Yogi Bear: 5.3 / -20% / 82 mil
9. The Fighter: 5.1 mil / -27% / 66 mil
10. Season of Witch: 4.5 mil / -58% / 18 mil
11. Tangled: 3.9 mil / -23% / 181 mil
12. Country Strong: 3.7 mil / -50% / 13 mil
13. Narnia 3: 2.3 mil / -50% / 98 mil
14. Gulliver's Travels: 2 mil / -55% / 38 mil
15. The Tourist: 1.7 mil / -56% / 64 mil
16. Blue Valentine: 1.4 mil / +95% / 2.8 mil
17. Harry Potter 7: 1.3 mil / -45% / 290 mil
Pee Wee on SNL
Worlds collided in a good way on last night's SNL when noted Lawyer fave Pee Wee Herman showed up in a digital short.
Continue reading this postFriday, January 14, 2011
Cyrus - C-
A divorced, depressed John (John C. Reilly) hits it off with Molly (Marisa Tomei) at a party, but complications arise when he meets her jealous son Cyrus (Jonah Hill). Cyrus still lives at home and can easily manipulate his mom. The guys verbally, then physically fight behind Molly's back. John also has an ongoing relationship with his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) who is getting remarried. Their relationship is completely implausible (as are all of them in the film) . . .
Written and directed by Mark and Jay Duplass, the lack of a plot, senseless shaky camera, pointless zoom-ins, and cheap settings become tedious early on. The sparse music sounds like every other indie low budget film ever. The acting is OK, but the A- and B-listers can only do so much with the unlikable, unrealistic characters inherent in the script and the stilted dialogue. The Brothers Duplass are NYC "mumblecore" members and I think I've seen enough not to pursue any more of that movement's films.
The film works for about 5 minutes after Cyrus moves out and the couple tries to start a relationship. Their isolated loneliness and sadness is evoked well by Reilly and Tomei. But that ends abruptly when Cyrus reenters the film. Hill is funnier when he's very expressive (like in Superbad) or throwing in one-liners into a conversation (as in Judd Apatow's films). One of the best bits in The Other Guys is very hot women after Will Ferrell, played very well for laughs. Ferrell's Step Brothers co-star Reilly has 2 hot women after him here, but it's played straight and not acknowledged. There's no way either lady would choose this schlubby loser. Save for the aforementioned 5 minutes, there's not one honest moment in the film. C-
Thursday, January 13, 2011
This Week's Home Viewings
Major spoilers for The Town start immediately. Lawyer's review is here.
The Town works well the majority of the running time but drops the ball big-time during the closing 20 minutes - where smart crooks (like Pete Postlethwaite) make dumb mistakes and smarter cops (including John Hamm) make even dumber mistakes. All of it forced to get to a pre-ordained unsatisfying conclusion rather than naturally and logically following the progression of the story and the characters. For all of its homages to Heat, it should have used one more and allowed Hamm to take Ben Affleck out . . .
When Val Kilmer is turned away by Ashley Judd in Heat, you can feel the weight of their marriage. When Rebecca Hall turns away Ben Affleck, it's done clumsily. First, the cops would stay away from the windows. Second, they would have picked up on the code words "sunny days" right away. The incredulous relationship just started and he's responsible for one of the worst days of her life - I didn't buy the couple for one second despite the good acting.
And why go all Andy Dufresne by leaving some buried money behind? This makes Hall an accomplice. In contrast, the great thing about Amy Brenneman in Heat is her purity and how it changes Robert De Niro. After killing a bunch of cops, are we really supposed to sympathize with Affleck just because his junkie mother killed herself?
The frustrating thing is that the first 90 minutes is the best crime drama in a long while which evokes an incredible sense of location. The acting is frequently superb and Affleck's direction creates terrific tension and suspense. B
Life's too short and hard not to enjoy films like The Other Guys. Since I like even lesser Will Ferrell outings like this and this, it shouldn't surprise that this one goes in my win column. I laughed a lot, frequently out loud - the biggest one being Rob Riggle talking about his weekend at a bar mitzvah. But the improvisations by Ferrell are genius and as Lawyer pointed out, there's just enough craft here (specifically the bar scene) to warrant a B+.
A second look at The Social Network confirms its status as my favorite film since 2007. Each scene is rich with humor, intelligence, and skill. Even scenes that seemed out of place initially worked better - most notably the Winkelvi's conversation with Harvard's president. This scene brilliantly shows the twins on the butt-end of the social hierarchy they rule everywhere else. Their losing of the rowing competition is a changing of the guard - the old hierarchy is about to be flattened by Zuckerberg's website.
Those comparing Zuckerberg to Ben Stiller's Greenberg are way off base. Zuckerberg is not sympathetic, but he's smart and witty and one of the hardest-working students at Harvard. Greenberg is a lazy, pathetic, whiny douche loser who bitches to the airlines about trivial events. In a film about connecting through computers and the loss of actual friendships and human touch, a touchy-feely main character wouldn't be genuine. A
The Town - B
The Other Guys - B+
The Social Network - A