Welcome to this year’s female European trendsetter period origin bio-pic showdown! In the French corner we have Audrey Tatou as fashion pioneer Coco Chanel in director Anne Fontaine’s Coco before Chanel. And on the other side of the channel (no not Chanel), we have Emily Blunt playing a young Queen Victoria in Jean-Marc Valee’s aptly titled The Young Victoria. While neither film wins points on title originality, they both score blows for sticking to their genres. Strong female leads? Bam! Veiled sexual sentiment? Pow! Feminist empowerment? Wham-o! Getting involved with a seemingly charming suitor who turns out to be a bit of a bad guy but then ditching him in the end for the even more charming but potentially not as socially acceptable suitor? Knock-out punch!! While both our contestants are out cold, I’ll take this opportunity to say that while neither of these movies is terrible, neither of them are anything special – just a pretty retelling of the events that lead these women to their better known futures. Hey, it isn’t the worst way to learn. Now excuse me, I’m gonna go watch Amelia.

This seventy minute review of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace has been floating around the nets for a few weeks now… but I haven’t been so active on the ol blog so I’m just getting to posting it now. It really is pretty damned funny and infintely more entertaining than watching The Phantom Menace. Watch the first part and if you don’t agree then don’t bother with the other sixty (!!) minutes. I enjoyed it all.

Thx Greg.

All 6 other parts embedded for your viewing pleasure, after the jump.

I made my first foray into Cormac McCarthy’s work a few months back, reading The Road in anticipation of the film’s winter release. I was a bit luke warm on the book and found his style more annoying than impressive (I’ll say it again, post apocalyptic, post punctuation). What I did appreciate about the novel was how vividly he portrayed the world. It is a stark and frighteningly empty world. You can’t help feeling lost and a bit scared in the midst of it. Unfortunately, I felt almost no connection to the characters. I was therefore quite pleased to discover that it is in the audience’s connection with the characters that the film really shines.

I was a big fan of John Hillcoat’s last film The Propostion. Guy Pearce’s Charlie Burns was a complex and conflicted protagonist and Hillcoat’s close framing gave the viewer a personal connection to Burns. The strategy is the same and just as successful with Viggo’s unnamed “man.” The more appropriate moniker would have been “father,” as at its heart this is really a tale of a father’s bond with his son. Here we have the common parental emotion of a child’s importance taken to its literal extent. How far would you go to ensure your child’s survival? This is the territory mined in McCarthy’s novel – but it doesn’t really come to life until it plays out on Viggo’s face. I actually found myself experiencing the fear of losing a son – however I’m not a father.

This is the film’s incredible strength. You might be fooled into thinking this is a story about what happens after the world ends, but the post apocalyptic setting is just an unimportant backdrop. The story is what’s going on in the man’s head. This is what McCarthy was going for, but Hillcoat is better able to realize it in less than two hours of screen time.

Really I found very few missteps with the adaptation. The production design is executed perfectly. Joe Penhall’s script made the right concessions, cutting what felt repetitive and focusing on important scenes. Both Viggo and Robert Duvall are expectantly excellent and the boy, Kodi Smit-McPhee is only minimally annoying.

McCarthy’s world is a place not many would want to visit. But Hillcoat and company were able to take some pretty tough source material and create a subtle, emotional, and impressive experience – one that I enjoyed far more than the original.

I had made the comment a few times before watching The Fantastic Mr. Fox that Wes Anderson likely made this film to silence his critics’ complaints that all his films were exactly the same. Little did I know that the fantastic Mr. Anderson had actually been working on this film since before The Royal Tenenbaums. Upon watching the film, I was also quite surprised to discover just how similar this film is to his others – and that is a great thing! Anderson’s animated adaptation (co-written with Noah Baumbach) of the Roald Dahl children’s story is a whimsical and downright enjoyable experience. All of his films have an emphasis on family and again that dynamic takes center stage. The voice work by the likes of Clooney, Schwartzman, Streep, Murray, and Dafoe is top notch. A ton of credit should also go to the animators and production designers for creating such a uniquely Dahl-esque vision. But the real star is the story telling. This is pretty much the perfect union of a light kids tale with the wit and quirk of Wes Anderson – which turns out to be a really fantastic marriage. It is a great holiday movie and I highly recommend checking it out. If you enjoy it, then also check out Anderson’s interview on KCRW’s The Treatment.

Have you seen the trailer for the Coen Bros. new one A Serious Man? Go ahead and check it out, I’ll wait. Isn’t that great?! With the rhythm and the sound overlaps and that great Jefferson Airplane cue… Well if you appreciated that trailer, please go right out and skip this movie. It is just way too disappointing after such a great trailer. Instead of the fast paced irreverence of the trailer, the C.bros subject us to scene after scene of setup that leads to no real payoff. Pretty much all the story is right there in the trailer – and the trailer doesn’t even make sense. Sure there are a few funny moments (namely the photo above… that’s the funniest) but I wanted so much more. I would, however, be quite happy if whoever cut that trailer gets an Oscar (or at least an Indie Spirit).

It has been a rather good year for the gorgeous Penelope Cruz. She won an Oscar last Feb. for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and then followed that up with two more big awards movies (not to mention voicing a hamster in G-Force). Undoubtedly the better of this year’s two films is Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces. As evidenced by Volver, Almodovar loves to celebrate both Penelope’s beauty and talent. But while I found Volver quite pretty, I was ultimately let down by the rambling story. He is far more focused in Embraces‘ story of a blind filmmaker (played wonderfully by Lluís Homar) and his forbidden love. I consider this film on par with Almodovar’s excellent Bad Education, except instead of staring at a half naked Gael, you get to stare at a half naked Penelope.

Staring at half naked women is really about all that Rob Marshall’s Nine has going for it. But it does have a lot of that. Nine is also about a filmmaker, played here by a disappointing Daniel Day-Lewis. Sure Day-Lewis is great in everything he does, but what is up with that horrible accent? It is way more comrade than compagno. There are a few fun moments in this film – but inevitably the moment is ruined when it transitions into a song and dance number, some of which are downright horrid. Penelope is great and she manages to do about as much with her character as possible (her song and dance is pretty, hmm, suggestive). But the real shining star for me was Marion Cotillard. I gotta give Marshall credit – he was able to cast the one person out there that is maybe even more fun to look at than Penelope Cruz.

Peter Jackson steps to the plate with his first movie since King Kong (not LotR as I stated in my Fall Movie Review). And just as King Kong was pretty universally panned, so too is The Lovely Bones a bit of a swing and a miss. This film, based on Alice Sebold’s novel, is the story of a young murdered girl who watches the world go on without her. The problem with the film is that all the story happens in the first 30 minutes. Susie Salmon is a great character and while she is alive, things really move. But once the protagonist enters the afterlife, she basically just becomes a narrator. The characters that are left are boring and without a protagonist’s arc, the film just grinds to a halt. This is a fundamental structure problem that should have been addressed. That being said, I loved Saoirse Ronan as Susie and can see a serious career unfolding for this girl. Many have complained about the CG heavy visuals but they completely worked for me. It is the afterlife after all and the dreamy scenery reminded me of the wonderful alien-world-in-your-mind imagery in Contact. In the end, I can’t help feeling that while this might have worked well as a novel, as a film it suffers from some serious adaptation woes.

Mini-Reviews are back! With the run up to awards mania in full swing, I am going to try my best to bang out these short summaries of my thoughts on this season’s films as I catch them. I’m starting with one of the most talked about films of the season: Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. I finally caught this last night and my general impression is that it is pretty much exactly what I expected. It is an excellent film with particularly excellent performances. It is also extremely intense and quite bleak. As is quite awkwardly announced during the film’s most out of place scene, the protagonist’s circumstances are unrelenting. The hope of the filmmakers is that you are already aware of the film’s intensity and have prepared yourself prior to entering the theater. If that is the case, then you will certainly appreciate the film. The performances are superb. Mo’Nique is the hands down favorite for Best Supporting Actress and Gabourey Sidibe seems a lock for at least a Best Actress nom. There really isn’t a weak link amongst the cast. The film is also a shoe in for a Best Picture nomination (helped in part by the fact there will be 10 noms this year), but my early prediction is that it will not take the award. I think the real story here is that audiences are flocking to see the film. After 4 weeks, the film has expanded to 663 screens and has already cleared $32M. That is truly exceptional for a bummer film that a year or two ago might not have made $5M. More than anything else this year, Precious‘s box office success shows that audiences are again interested in quality.

The Fall film flurry is well underway – but the biggest of the big have yet to appear. The Academy chose an odd year to introduce their new 10 film Best Pic category as it seems this year’s crop is a bit leaner than years past. Here is my take on what’s headed our way (and a bit of what’s already out there). Click the title to peep the trailer and look for more mini-reviews as I check the flicks off my must see list.

OUT NOW

Coco Before Chanel
Audrey Tautou (Amelie) stars in this very pretty looking period biopic about Coco Chanel’s early years.
(Sony Pictures Classics 9/25)

Bright Star
This period drama from Jane Campion (The Piano ughh) is the awards films that I am least likely to see this season.
(Apparition 9/18)

The Burning Plain
Guillermo Arriaga’s (writer of Babel, 21 Grams, and Amores Perros) directorial debut starring Charlize Theron is still limping along – but don’t expect it to be around much longer.
(Magnolia 9/18)

Pandorum
I am a bit surprised that this film didn’t catch on. What isn’t to like about Ben Foster in an intense sci-fi actioner? I liked the script and hope to catch the film before it disappears. Whoops! Too late.
(Overture 9/25)

A Serious Man
I’ll post my full review in the next few days, but in the mean time you gotta watch the trailer for this Coen Bros Jewish period dramedy immediately. It is maybe the most original trailer I’ve ever seen (and is far better than the movie).
(Focus 10/2)

Whip It
I’m not sure if you would call Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut a failure – but it’s no hit. I guess not that many people want to see a movie about rollergirls.
(Fox Searchlight 10/2)

Afterschool
Antonio Campos’s indie high school psychological thriller hasn’t quite broken out yet, but it might find an audience on VOD.
(IFC 10/2)

An Education
This coming of age story of a girl in 1960s London is a run away fave for early awards consideration. I guarantee it gets a Best Pic nom and Carey Mulligan gets an Best Actress nom. Go see it!
(Sony Pictures Classics 10/9)

Adventures of Power
Ari Gold’s Sundance hit comedy about air drummers opened on two screens and then shrunk down to one. Is this one DOA?
(Variance 10/9)

The Damned United
Every time Peter Morgan writes a screenplay it becomes one of my favorites of the year (Last King of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and any time Michael Sheen stars in it his performance is one of my favorites as well. Well the duo is back this awards season with this film about SOCCER! As long as Tom Hooper (John Adams) stays away from the crazy camera angles, this film is bound to be one of my faves of the year.
(Sony Pictures Classics 10/9)

Trucker
There has been some buzz about Michelle Monaghan’s performance as a mother trucker. But with a crowded Best Actress field, will this ultra indie find enough votes?
(Monterey Media 10/16)

New York, I Love You
We’ve seen the format before. This city love letter sports shorts from Shunji Iwai, Mira Nair, and Brett Ratner.
(Vivendi 10/16)

Black Dynamite
Yeeah sucka! This blackspoitation martial arts send up is one of the funniest flicks of the season. I hope a few people go watch it. You betta aks somebody.
(Apparition 10/16)

Where the Wild Things Are
Look for my write-up of Spike Jonze’s impressive fantasy tale here soon. I liked the film a lot, even if it doesn’t fit the normal narrative formula.
(Warners 10/16)

Amelia
This year’s big awards biopic stars Hilary Swank as Ms. Earhart and is directed by Academy sweetheart Mira Nair (The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding).
(Fox Searchlight 10/23)

Antichrist
Chaos Reigns!! This divisive film from Lars Von Trier is certainly going to make people talk… But how many will go see it?
(IFC 10/23)

Untitled
Adam Goldberg and Marley Shelton star in this pretty silly looking send up of the New York art scene.
(Samuel Goldwyn 10/23)

Week of October 30

Gentlemen Broncos
Ho boy this wacky comedy from Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) is well worth seeing for Jemaine Clement’s performance alone. Plus it features a tiny role by Josh Pais. Josh Pais!
(Fox Searchlight)

Week of November 6

Precious
People have been talk talk talkin about this Harlem drama since it took every award at Sundance last January.
(Lionsgate)

The Box
I have very little in the way of hope for Richard Kelly’s (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales) new film starring Cameron Diaz. …or for his career while we are at it.
(Warners)

The Men Who Stare At Goats
Reviews have been a bit mixed for actor turned director Grant Heslov’s George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey and Ewan McGregor black comedy. But there’s no denying the trailer is great.
(Overture)

That Evening Sun
Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild) stars in the “Southern gothic” tale of an old man who just wants to see out his remaining years on his farm. The film did very well in the Southern festival circuit (heh).
(Freestyle Releasing)

Splinterheads
There is something that struck me as kinda charming about this little indie romantic comedy that no one is likely to see. I figured I would at least give it a shout.

The Other Side of Paradise
This is the first time I have heard of this ultra-indie comedy – but judging form the laurels flash at the beginning of the trailer it at least played at a bunch of fests. The trailer shows some promise from lead actress Arianne Martin.

Week of November 13

Fantastc Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson gets a lot of criticism for not trying anything new in his films. Well how about a stylistically animated film based on a Roald Dahl book? This will at least be something new.
(Fox Searchlight)

The Messenger
Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson star as Army officers charged with notifying family members – one played by Samantha Morton – when a soldier has been killed. This film is the directorial debut of Oren Moverman, who you probably know as the writer of the hit SKE film Married Life.
(Oscilloscope)

Pirate Radio
Phil Hoffman and Bill Nighy star in this film about 1960s radio DJ who broadcasted from a ship to bring Rock N Roll to England. This film is written and directed by Richard Curtis who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral and then went on to write every other film like it (Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’, Love Actually, etc.).
(Focus)

Uncertainty
I think this JGL starrer is about some sort of alternate realities, but the trailer is too schizophrenic to tell for sure. I did spot Olivia Thirlby though! Good enough.
(IFC)

Week of November 20

Red Cliff
Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro star in this year’s big Chinese costumer actioner from “Legendary” director John Woo (seriously you can’t find John Woo written anywhere without Legendary before it, jeez man). The sequel is already out in China.
(Magnolia)

Broken Embraces
Almodovar returns with a another celebration of the talent and beauty of Penelope Cruz.
(Sony Pictures Classics)

Week of November 25

Ninja Assassin
From director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), comes the craziest English language Ninja movie ever made. Could be cool. Could be quite lame.
(Warners)

The Road
Viggo stars in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic (and post punctuation) novel. The film is directed by John Hillcoat whose film The Proposition I was quite impressed by. The scenery is sure to be striking, but can the sparse and downer story sell the film?
(Weinstein Co.)

Week of December 4

Up In The Air
Jason Reitman follows up Juno with this George Clooney starrer. Apparently Jason Reitman is the real deal because anyone who has seen it is already talking Best Pic as well as Best Actor noms for Clooney and Supporting noms for Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga.
(Paramount)

Brothers
Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In America) directs Tobey, Jake and Natalie in this pretty awful looking family-war-romantic drama. It looks bad – but I can’t imagine it is as bad as that awful, awful trailer.
(Lionsgate)

Week of December 11

The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson returns with his first movie since Titanic… wait… no, since Lord of the Rings. The film stars Marky Mark and Rachel Weisz and I’m sure it is great, but I gotta say the trailer makes it look pretty pedestrian.

A Single Man
Julianne Moore and Colin Firth star in this film from fashion designer Tom Ford. After making a big splash at Venice, the film has people talking noms in all categories.
(Weinstein Co.)

Week of December 18

Avatar
James Cameron returns with his first film since Titanic and it stars blue people!
(20th C. Fox)

Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Now how is this for a premise: two New York city slickers (SJP and Hugh Grant) are having marital problems. But when they witness a murder they are forced to go into the witness protection program together and work out their differences on a ranch in Wyoming. The trailer was pretty funy… so I say Yee Haw!
(Sony)

The Young Victoria
Emily Blunt stars as Queen Victoria in this British costume drama. I caught an early screening of this pretty but rather average film and will post more thoughts in due time. You pretty much get the idea from the trailer (which ends by saying the film comes out in March 2009, heh).
(Momentum)

Week of December 25ish

Sherlock Holmes
Quite a lot to be excited about with Robert Downey Jr starring as the famed detective. Setting him next Jude Law and Rachel McAdams and then letting Guy Ritchie call the shots is just all the better.
(Warners)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Check out my Fantastic Fest write-up for my thoughts on Terry Gilliam’s Heath Ledger et al starrer.
(Sony)

It’s Complicated
With a cast of Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin, it really doesn’t matter that this is a middle aged romantic comedy. Plus no one knows middle aged romantic comedies better than director Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give).
(Universal)

Sometime before January

Nine
No one seems quite sure when this is coming out, but it will be a big awards film no matter when this musical unspools, just for sheer number of great actresses in it. Rob Marshall (Chicago) directs Daniel Day Lewis along side Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and (breathe) Judi Dench.
(Weinstein Co.)

Invictus
Here is what we know: Clint Eastwood directs Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman in a film about Nelson Mandela and rugby. Cool.
(Warners)

The White Ribbon
Michael Haneke’s (Cache, Funny Games) stylish period Palme d’Or winner will surely make it out in time for a potential Oscar nom.
(Sony Pictures Classics)

Get Low
Robert Duvall and Bill Murray star in this tale of a man who wants to attend his own funeral. There is Buzz around a possible nom for Duvall (it would be his seventh) – if it can make it out this year.
(Sony Pictures Classics)

That’s it for this Fall’s films – but there are a few holdovers that have a shot at getting Oscar noms – namely: The Hurt Locker, The Informant, Inglorious Basterds, and Up.

Looking forward there are a couple flicks coming out in January that have me pretty excited. I have already talked quite a bit about Youth in Revolt. The other January film with a lot of promise is the Hughes Brothers’ The Book of Eli. I loved this post-apocalyptic script which should provide a lot more ass kicking than The Road. And the casting of Denzel, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis gets an A Plus from me.

This list doesn’t cover much in the way of docus or foreign films. I’ll have more on this year’s crop Oscar contenders in those categories here soon.

I just spent five great days at Austin’s Fantastic Fest and the experience was awesome. Aside form the 17 films I watched, the festival had plenty of other cool events on offer. This year founder Tim has opened up a bowling alley/party space called The Highball next to his amazing Alamo Draft House Cinema which offered the perfect place for the late night hanging and unlimited free skee-ball! The Fantastic Fest Debates were especially hilarious as after each debate (or roast) the contestants literally duked it out.

The cinema itself is something to behold. A 6 screen stadium theater with seats and sound on par with Arclight. But the real innovation is the full service restaurant built in. They have figured out the perfect system to keep the wait staff unobtrusive – you just write down your order on a little flag and they come by and pick it up. There is a long narrow table in front of each row to set your beer or burger and a little aisle below each row where the wait staff walks. I don’t know why no one has tried this in LA, but the formula is a winner.

All things considered it was a real blast. A world of thanks to Dan for making it happen. We’ll definitely do it again next year.

Now on to the film round-up (in order viewed):

FIRST SQUAD – Rating: 4 out of 10

This Russian animated feature is by the Japanese team behind Animatrix. The animation is cool but the horribly implemented documentary device of bad actors pretending to be history experts totally ruined the movie. This isn’t Waltz with Bashir, it is an action cartoon. There were a few cool story elements, but overall they weren’t enough to keep me awake.

GENTLEMEN BRONCOS – Rating: 9 out of 10

This new film from Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) is as wacky as possible and genuinely HILARIOUS. Everything works, especially Jemaine Clement as one of the best characters of the year. It slowed down a tiny bit after the very strong opening, but the ridiculous fantasy sequences go a long way to smooth out the pace. This film certainly exceeded my already high expectations.

REC 2 – Rating: 6 out of 10

I was quite impressed by this horror-thriller’s clean look. The story works and there are some good thrills, but what is most remarkable is the first person narrative device that the filmmakers fully commit to with great success. More than any movie I’ve ever seen, this film feels like a videogame – and it is fun.

KAMOGAWA HARUMO – BATTLE LEAGUE IN KYOTO – Rating: 6 out of 10

This film is about college students who train little supernatural creatures to battle teams from other colleges. While it may have a pretty bizarre premise, it is actually a quite traditional story about a loser guy who falls for a girl who is out of his league. All things considered, the film works and is pretty fun.

HARD REVENGE MILLY – Rating: 5 out of 10

This is a super low budget Japanese blood and guts actioner. The skeleton of a story doesn’t provide much to chew on, but the film does succeed at finding new ways to splatter the camera with watery blood.

ZOMBIELAND – Rating: 8 out of 10

This flick is most definitely the top of the zombie movie heap. It is maybe not quite as hilarious as Shaun of the Dead, but it certainly provides a lot more zombie killing thrills. The film has some great set pieces, an amazing cameo, and Emma Stone is Bodacious.

VAMPIRE GIRL VS. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL – Rating: 8 out of 10

This is a really enjoyable wacky Japanese high school flick with some good acting and pretty decent effects. However, the real star of the film is the biting criticism leveled against fringe elements of Japanese society.

K-20: THE FIEND WITH 20 FACES – Rating: 3 out of 10

This big budget Japanese superhero film borrows heavily from every other superhero film you’ve ever seen. There may be some fun stunts and wire work, but the plot is just plain horrible. Worst of all, this film is sloooow and is far far too long.

UNDER THE MOUNTAIN – Rating: 3 out of 10

Two annoying kids save New Zealand from evil underground aliens whose story doesn’t make any sense.

YATTERMAN – Rating: 9 out of 10

Yet another genre mastered by Miike! This time it is the comic superhero comedy. The story is awesome with a lot of genuine emotion. The CG is top notch (as compared to the disappointingly low budget look of The Great Yokai War). The action sequences are fantastic and reminded me of playing the Dreamcast classic Powerstone. Overall this film in f*ing fun!

CLIVE BARKER’S DREAD – Rating: 5 out of 10

There wasn’t a whole lot wrong about this very indie thriller – but there wasn’t that much right either. I’d call it pretty damn mediocre and it is not helped by the generally unsatisfying ending.

VAN DIEMEN’S LAND – Rating: 7 out of 10

This story of a grueling prison camp escape in 18th century Tasmania is a bit slow and cerebral, but overall it is a well told story with some very nice cinematography.

MANDRILL – Rating: 8 out of 10

Mandrill is the Chilean James Bond and it is amazing! Ernesto Diaz-Espinoza follows up Mirageman by again directing the incredible Marko Zaror – who has got to become an action star around the world. The film is fun and funny and really does everything right. On top of that, the filmmakers and stars are very approachable and cool guys. Way to go.

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS – Rating: 6 out of 10

Terry Gilliam’s Heath Ledger swan song was the only “secret screening” I caught. I liked the performances and the way it all came together but was turned off by the very cheap CGI (where were the magic visual effects of Brazil?) and overall I was unconvinced by the plot.

DISTRICT B13 ULTIMATUM – Rating: 2 out of 10

This film was very disappointing after the awesome District B13. There with no semblance of a story and almost no parkour! What the hell?

LOVE EXPOSURE – Rating: 7 out of 10

While there is a very different 100 minute movie somewhere in there (remake?), the 237 minute version is certainly an ambitious and generally successful undertaking. Melding a coming of age story with many Japanese sexual elements and borrowing a lot of themes from A Clockwork Orange, this film goes all over the map but is quite satisfying in the end.

METROPIA – Rating: 7 out of 10

This is a pretty cool sci-fi tale about big brother, all very stylistically animated.

Steven Soderbergh’s latest feature distribution experiment The Girlfriend Experience has taken the non-traditional route of festival to video-on-demand to theaters. From my perspective, the buzz has all been around the distribution plan and the fact that the film features adult film star Sasha Grey in its lead role (check out her extensive and hilarious list of credits). I was a bit surprised to discover the film is actually quite excellent and has quickly joined my short list for best films of the year. Sasha does a very good job in the role of upscale call girl Chelsea, though the real credit quite obviously goes to the director. Soderbergh has crafted an emotionally honest character whose subtle insecurities paint a dynamic portrait. I was a big fan of the film’s unique style, which I would stop short of calling verite – yet employed a mixture of traditional and voyeuristic methods. There are a number of reasons that this style felt different (a big one is likely that it was shot on the RED camera which looks digital… yet beautifully digital), but what is most important is that all of the decisions WORK and actually add to the narrative instead of distracting from it. The same can be said for the choices made in mixing up the chronology in such a way that had me discovering elements of the plot until the very end. The film feels very relevant – like a snapshot of the times in the sense of topic (a lot about the economy, politics, etc.), but also definitely in its look and style. It will certainly be interesting to rewatch this film in ten years. Getting cohesive success from so many elements is quite a feat. Soderbergh should be commended – take a rich and dynamic character and put her in a simple yet topical story and then really nail a unique and appropriate style – and you end up with a great film.

Chalk it up to being out of the Sundance loop this year, but the amazing film Sin Nombre just about flew under my radar. This is an incredible story of loss and redemption set against a backdrop of gangland Mexico. Young actors Edgar Flores and Paulina Gaitan lead an excellent cast directed (and written) by up and commer Cary Fukunaga. It is easy to see how this film won both the directing and cinematography prizes at Sundance. It is still playing in LA (Laemmle’s Monica and Playhouse) and in Seattle (Egyptian) but with the big summer movies rolling in, don’t expect it to be around long. This one will surely end up on the end of year top 10.

Trailer – Showtimes

I came across this roundup of bars in Hollywood and east when I was looking for links in the MyLA post. It is a kinda fun read and covers most of the bases. Here is the review of 4100:

We went to this bar on like, Thursday. Maybe it was Wednesday or Tuesday. Anyways, the point is, is that there was an unusually high number of females there. The interior design is all “magic-carpet” style. All of a sudden, we were surrounded by intoxicated ladies. It was like our own harem. It was great.

It is, however, a bit outdated. I know at least Lava Lounge and Star Shoes have closed and where is Cha Cha? Anyway, have a look and post your score. I’ve been to 17 of 30.

Link

I wouldn’t say it has been an overwhelming year for music, but there have certainly been some highlights. Pretty mainstream, I know – but I’m not quite as on the ball as I’d like to be with new bands. Here is my top 10 with a few new discoveries on the list and a few albums from old faves. What do you think?

10. Fleet Foxes Just making it in under the wire, I have a feeling this album is going to continue to grow on me. At my live intro to them at Sasquatch last May I thought they were fine but didn’t fall in love. I’m glad to say their recording has some fever I didn’t catch at the vast open stage of the Gorge.

9. Duffy – Rockferry I like Adele and can get down with some Amy Winehouse, but when it comes to the British female vocalists, Duffy is just my speed and this album is a classic.

8. The Verve – Forth I continue to be impressed by this great band and it seems to me that this is their best album yet.

7. The Mars Volta – The Bedlam In Goliath Teh Volta is back and as strong as ever. The crashing cymbals and blaring guitar are still present but Cedric and co. take this album in a bit of a different direction from previous studio recordings. I was surprised by the new sound and very, very happy.

6. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III I’ve lost track of hip hop a bit in the last few years but I was immediately blown away when I heard what Lil Wayne was doing on this album and his abundant mix tapes. This guy is taking rap music in a whole new direction and, love it or hate it, it is simply incredible to witness.

5. The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely Performers of the year honors go to The Raconteurs whose show at the Greek last fall was a barn burner (maybe only equaled by MIA). Every track on this album rocks.

4. Santogold Twisting and turning, Santogold rips it in every direction with her dancehall/hip-hop/reggae/jazz/rock/fill-in-the-blank inspired beats and awesome vocal stylings.

3. Kings of Leon – Only By The Night This album would make my top 10 if it just had Sex On Fire on it 11 times – but instead we’re lucky enough to get 10 other great tracks. A bit more radio friendly than past albums, perhaps, but I think it adds up to one solid rock album.

2. TV On The Radio – Dear Science I don’t know what to say about these guys but whatever they are doing I just hope they keep doing it. I love their out there sounds and this album’s infusion of a bit more melody only makes it stronger.

1. The Killers – Day & Age I already know I am gonna get a boatload of shit for this pick. It seems this album really polarizes people. I can’t get enough of it and I keep finding tracks I like more than the last. Waaah, you don’t like the lyrics to Human. I don’t care. The song’s synthesis of current rock and 80s electronica equals one of the coolest sounds I’ve heard in a long time. You don’t think they rock? Listen to the power chords in the chorus of Losing Touch. Because of this album, The Killers have just jumped to the very top of my list of bands I need to see live soon!

I did the Top 10 a bit different this year and went ahead and ranked them in order from 10 to 1. Since I have written about most of these in more detail over the last year, I’m just going to say a few words about why the film made the list. I’d love to hear why anyone agrees or disagrees with the choices.

10. Milk – Truly stellar performances by Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Emile Hirsch set this film as one of Gus Van Sant’s very best. The pacing was great and production design made the film a joy to watch.

9. The Bank Job – I loved the classic style of filmmaking on display from director Roger Donaldson. The story was intense and the resolution really worked for me.

8. The Fall – Tarsem’s imagery is just incredible and the story is odd but fun. I wanted to spend a week immersed in the fantasy world he created.

7. Frost/Nixon – Peter Morgan’s script is certainly one of the best of the year and an all around great cast lead by Sheen and Langella make this a definite top film.

6. Sugar – Hopefully this fantastic story of a Dominican baseball player’s immigrant struggle will get a theatrical release sometime soon. It is a very worthy follow-up to Half Nelson from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, one of the best filmmaking teams working today.

5. The Wrestler – Mickey Rourke’s stellar performance and brilliant filmmaking by Darren Aronofsky should allow this film to find a place in just about everyone’s top 10.

4. Reprise – Joachim Trier’s touching Norwegian film about two friends has the perfect mixture of comedy and drama and above all else, narrative innovation.

3. Rachel Getting Married – Anne Hathaway’s performance is definitely her best and probably the year’s best. Jenny Lumet’s script is also great. But what really impressed me above all else was the flawless direction by Jonathan Demme.

2. The Wackness – Yes it is aimed squarely at me with its 90s coming-of-age theme and amazing hip hop soundtrack, but it works better than I ever would have thought a film like this could work. Jonathan Levine has set the personal story bar for our generation of filmmakers and Olivia Thirlby will forever be the girl that got away. It is a true shame that more people didn’t see this film in the theaters – but as a consolation prize, it has been near the top of the pirated movie charts for months.

1. Let The Right One In – Very rarely does a film come along that crosses genre lines so well – horror, drama, emotional angst, love. Give it to Swedish director Tomas Alfredson and writer John Ajvide Lindqvist for leaving us all stunned.

There you have it. There are some notable films that didn’t make my list. Flicks that didn’t quite make the cut: Slumdog Millionaire, The Dark Knight, The Visitor, Man On Wire, Benjamin Button, In Brouges, Iron Man, American Teen. I have yet to see Waltz With Bashir or The Reader. But all in all, with a bit of Scandinavian help, I feel like it was a rather solid year. More solid than last year? Here my 2007 Top 10. What do you think? 2007 or 2008?

A few years ago Tom McCarthy made a fantastic and touching movie called The Station Agent that, unfortunately, very few people saw. His follow up, The Visitor, is just as fantastic and touching, though this time much more topical. Richard Jenkins stars (what a year for him) as widower college professor whose life receives a much needed spark from the discovery of two wonderfully portrayed illegal immigrants living in his rarely visited Manhattan apartment. Just as he is coming out of his shell, one of the two is detained and a legal battle ensues. McCarthy has seriously got his shit down. The script is perfectly paced and every role is superbly acted. The world of secret detention centers and midnight deportations provides a terrifying backdrop, yet the story never loses its glimmer of light. The characters’ visions of America and its limitless possibilities juxtapose so well with legalities of post 9/11 reality. This juxtaposition creates a texture rich enough to be explored much further. But McCarthy should be applauded for reigning in the desire to serve up more than we can chew – instead giving us this compact and intensely personal story of how anyone can be touched by such events.

Italy’s entry for best foreign language feature is the modern day crime drama Gomorra. Writer/director Matteo Garrone jumped on the Italian film scene a few years back with a movie called The Embalmer, and this film is almost identical in tone. Garrone’s contemporary-realism employs long single handheld shots, sparse dialog, and virtually no score. This makes for an interesting, though not all that entertaining look at a town completely controlled by mafia. The Camorra (the title comes from a mixture of that and the biblical Gomorrah I imagine) is the oldest criminal org in Italy and the film portrays their world as pretty intense. We are talking like the favela of City of God or Elite Squad. This film has far less action than those, though, and jumps around a lot as it follows 5 pretty separate storylines. I would have liked to see a more central focus as I felt a bit alienated from the characters, never getting to know them all that well. The film is not without its flaws, but is certainly well put together for what it is.

Clint Eastwood’s second directorial foray this season is certainly a world away from the nicely polished Changeling. We are talking rough edges. Clint is fantastic as the grizzled old racist bastard – everyone else, not so much. The acting is truly atrocious. I have never been one for a movie being so bad it is good – but juxtaposing really amateur actors with a master like Clint was actually pretty entertaining. The script is one step better than awful, which kinda works with the super indie feel (I’d be shocked if the imdb budget number of a $35M is correct). I am interested in the way that the subjects of racism and specifically ethnic slurs are approached, but I’m not sure I totally agree with the basic message. Yes, I agree that it is dumb that taboos exist over certain words but that doesn’t make it okay to propagate stereotypes just because one disagrees with the taboos. Surprisingly, the tone of this film was pretty typical for Eastwood’s direction. I had hoped for a little more ass kicking and bit less morality. He is such a bad ass that you just want to see him let loose. But all in all I gotta admit I did enjoy it. Strange – but it is one of those rare cases where the whole is actually more than the sum of its parts.

The trailer and ad campaign for Gabriele Muccino’s Will Smith starrer is best described as enigmatic. The film is no different. Let this be a lesson in hierarchy of knowledge. If the characters know more than the audience, like in this case, then the film is a mystery. Mysteries need twists. If everything you expect to happen in a mystery happens exactly as you expect it to, you get an extremely disappointed audience. Consider me extremely disappointed. There is no reason to tell the story this way! It is actually a decent story with good acting and interesting characters. So why be so enigmatic? The decision to tell the story the way it is told in this film completely ruined the film. So ruined, in fact, that I would even go so far as to say this movie would have been better if it had been directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

What do you get when you spend 2 hours just kinda following around an especially happy preschool teacher? Meh, turns out you get a pretty boring movie. Writer/director Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy) seems to have just about completely forgotten to insert a plot. We just follow around the almost manically happy Poppy as she hangs with her friends, takes driving lessons, goes to the chiropractor, etc. etc. When the story is really in need of a love connection, whoop! a charming and handsome man appears. Wait we need an antagonist – okay make the driving instructor a real asshole. But WHY? What is the point of any of it? Polly’s character doesn’t change one iota from the beginning of the film to the end. Sure things happen to her, but the protagonist needs to grow. Sally Hawkins does a fine job as Polly but I couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone in this film is just doing their shtick. That’s pretty much all their is here – a bunch of random scenes of English actors doing their shticks. Enjoy!