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Discuss: Movie Date Disasters
Filed under: Fan Rant
There are varying schools of thought on the movie date. Some think it seems silly to try and get to know someone in the dark of a movie theater -- I mean, get to know each other's personalities, you frisky whippets! I tend to agree with this when it comes to more formal first dates, but I think seeing a movie with someone you have already been on one or two dates with can be a good way to feel out the other person's taste, sense of humor, and temperament. And I definitely agree with Christopher Campbell that going to a movie with your steady is an awesome thing indeed.If going out to see Cannibal Holocaust at midnight is your dream date and you've found a guy or gal who's just as jazzed as you (or wants to hang out with you enough that s/he's willing to peek through their fingers when necessary), my magic eight ball says there could be a love connection there. But what if the other person, who before your movie date seemed pretty awesome, texts the whole time or gets shouty with nearby teens who won't stop talking or otherwise behaves in a way that makes you embarrassed to be seen with him/her? (Personal tolerance of other's behavior in public may vary. Also, similarly indicative behavior in other settings includes being rude to waiters, hocking loogies in public, drunken sobbing, etc.) Being stuck for two hours next to a person whose behavior makes you wanna crawl up your own you-know-what is a terrible way to spend the evening.
Fan Rant: Irritating Things About the Oscar Nominations
The first most irritating thing was James Horner's nomination for Avatar. I expected it, of course, but to actually see it in print yesterday morning set off a whole new wave of irritation. Horner has annoyed me for years. Whenever I see a movie in which the score is so loud and obvious and overwhelming that it draws you out of the movie (rather than doing its job and drawing you in), I check the credits to see who is to blame. And four times out of five, it's Horner. Not to mention that he has been associated with some of the most irritating movies of the past 30 years (although I forgive him a little for his work on The New World).
The second most irritating thing was Matt Damon's nomination for Invictus. It's not that Damon doesn't deserve a nomination; he's a terrific actor. And I like Invictus very much; it has some classically brilliant filmmaking by Clint Eastwood. But the movie was overreaching and Damon's character was underdeveloped. We only saw Francois Pienaar (Damon) in relation to Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman); we hardly come to know Francois on his own terms. Indeed, the movie could have been improved by narrowing the focus to the friendship between the two men, rather than trying to take the temperature of an entire nation. Not to mention that Damon's clever performance in The Informant! was a great deal more impressive. But the real reason I was irritated was that Damon's appearance here edged out Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles.
Fan Rant: Did "The Rock" Fumble the Passing of the Torch?
Filed under: Action, Family Films, Columns, Fan Rant
"Have fun."
I'd forgotten those two words of blessing passed on from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson during the first five minutes of 2003's The Rundown until I re-watched it last night. They pass each other in a nightclub, Schwarzenegger making a last-minute cinematic pit-stop on his way to the California Governor's office, and The Rock on his way out of the WWE's squared circle and into movie stardom.
It was obviously supposed to be a symbolic passing of the torch, from the last generation's action superstar to the young up-and-comer, but what went wrong? The Rock has only done two action films since then (Walking Tall and Doom, which he wasn't even the star of), and has instead spent most of his career in comedies (Be Cool, Get Smart) or family fare (Planet 51, Race to Witch Mountain, The Gameplan).
Right now, the former pro wrestler can be seen in the high-concept (and lukewarmly reviewed) comedy The Tooth Fairy as a hockey player who gains magical abilities and fairy wings to place quarters under the pillows of toothless children. His next film is Adam McKay's latest Will Farrell comedy The Other Guys. Where's the next generation Schwarzenegger we were hoping for?
What Performances Do You Think Were Overlooked In 2009?
Now that we're in the middle of the awards season, it's time to look back and praise the performances the world forgot -- and perhaps even complain that they did so. Everyone's going to be doing it. Variety's Timothy Gray did today, noting that he thought Paul Rudd and Gerard Butler turned in fine performances in I Love You, Man and Law Abiding Citizen, respectively. As he wisely puts it, "There are three types of good pics: awards front-runners, dark horses and the terrific work that, for whatever reason, does not seem to be considered a contender ... This isn't one of those 'what's wrong with the awards voters!' screeds. There are enough of those at this time of year, and they're almost always silly. (The subtext is usually 'Those voters are idiots because they didn't pick my favorites.') The point is that awards recognize terrific work, but they can't be expected to honor all terrific work." I don't want to launch into one of the aforementioned screeds, but two of my favorite performances of 2009 have completely fallen off the radar. I thought I'd praise them now, complain a little bit, and then open the floor to you.
The first on my list is Viggo Mortensen in The Road. For whatever reason, The Weinstein Company thought they could only champion one film this awards season, and it was Nine. The Road fell by the wayside. (Pun not intended.) Critical consensus seems to be divided on the film itself, and your opinion may vary, but I thought the film was bleakly brilliant. I thought Mortensen was outstanding -- haunting, starved, and desperate. It was all there. If anyone was able to actually watch him put a gun up to his own son's head and not shiver at the look behind his eyes, I'd be surprised. It was equal to anything Jeremy Renner did in The Hurt Locker, or any of George Clooney's frowns in Up in the Air. My personal opinion was that it surpassed it, but that's just my take.
Don't Let Documentaries Like 'The Cove' Die Away!
Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Sundance, Celebrities and Controversy, Politics, Fan Rant
Let me begin this post with a disclaimer -- Cinematical is a site about film first and foremost, and we try not to let politics or social agendas interfere that goal. But seeing as we're in the thick of awards season and the beginning of Sundance (a festival that often dictates our year to come -- be sure to check our 2010 coverage to see what that might be!), I thought I would take the opportunity to remind you not to forget about the documentaries or films that moved you into action. Back in September, Jenni Miller brought you the very good news that The Cove (which premiered at last year's Sundance -- you can still read Scott Weinberg's original review) had created enough awareness to stop the dolphin hunt in Taiji. It was one of those moments that proved the smallest film can make a difference. In an industry populated by so many disposable movies and marketing, it's nice to feel good about it all. But eventually, the publicity machine stops rolling. The awards are handed out (and The Cove has taken home a ton of them) and people are onto the next round of documentaries making the festival circuit. The media loses interest. Six days ago, The Cove's Ric O'Barry updated with some depressing news. Now that the initial shock and horror is off, people have lost interest and the dolphin hunt has resumed.
I feel strongly about stopping this hunt once and for all, as have many who have seen the film. We here at Cinematical have been fervent champions of The Cove , as we did with Dear Zachary. The ball continued to roll with Dear Zachary, which continues to fight to bring some real change to Canadian law. Obviously, I hope The Cove continues to snowball now that it's on DVD and receiving so many critical awards.
Discuss: How Do You See The Twist in 'The Book of Eli'?
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Fandom, New in Theaters, Fan Rant
I warn you now: spoilers will abound in this particular Discuss post, because spoilers are precisely what I want to talk about today. Before you read any further, just know that we'll be talking specifically about a twist that happens late in the game in the Hughes' brothers' post-apocalyptic sci-fi Western, The Book of Eli – so proceed with caution only if you've already seen it, already know the twist, or don't care if the surprise is spoiled for you.
Remember, SPOILERS ahead!
Seriously, I mean it!
Ok, here we go.
(Hit the jump to dive into the discussion.)
Fan Rant: Funny Globes
The Golden Globes are unveiled tonight, and no doubt everyone will be paying close attention to whatever wins "Best Picture," which is to say Best Drama, rather than Best Comedy or Musical. I have long been a proponent of awards bodies giving more attention to comedies, but the fact is that this attitude has remained unchanged since at least the beginning of the movies. Comedy has never been viewed as the opposite of drama, but rather as something beneath drama, something not as important or worthy, something not as lasting. Yet, as we all know, some of the most "important" dramas have faded away while the best comedies endure, creating laughter in new waves of viewers.
And so the Golden Globes have their two categories, five nominees for Best Drama and five nominees for Best Comedy or Musical. But if you look at the Best Director category, the nominees line up directly with the Drama category, which shows just where their allegiance is. (Directorial nominee Clint Eastwood is the only anomaly; his Invictus is not nominated in either Best Picture category.) Then if we look at the five films in the comedy category, they are, for the most part, the same films that were paraded in front of Academy voters, stamped with "For Your Consideration."
Cloudy with a Chance of Awesome!
Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Fan Rant
It happens every year: A few flicks fall through the cracks and I find myself wishing I'd seen them earlier. Lately I've been lucky in that most of my late arrivals have been good, not great, and certainly nothing likely to crack my Top 20 from a few weeks back. And then I rented the animated comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs -- and I wanted to kick myself. Now my Top 20 was incorrect, incomplete, and (in my mind) a complete shambles. But since going back and re-writing would be stupid, not to mention time-consuming, I thought I'd just write a little piece about this awesome little flick.
Easily one of the funniest animated features in years, Cloudy is about a well-meaning young inventor who (somehow, don't ask) causes food to rain from the sky. So while there's silly stuff for the tots and a (surprisingly subtle) bunch of morals for the impressionable youths, the plain truth is that the flick is drop-dead funny. Funny to look at, funny to listen to, and all-around pretty much adorable. (Kinda romantic, too!) The animation is truly lovely (the Jell-O mold sequence is just staggeringly cool), there's some really quick action, I believe I mentioned the funniness, and best of all ...
It's a satire of disaster movies. I'm not the first film geek to notice it, but co-creators Phil Lord and Chris Miller (working from the book by Judi & Ron Barrett) are poking a lot of fun at the Irwin Allens, Roland Emmerichs, and Michael Bays. And all of it works. So while I'm obviously a huge Pixar fan, and I often look forward to what Fox Animation and the DreamWorks dudes are up to, here's a tip of the hat to Sony's animation division. Trust me, you don't need to have kids around to enjoy this one ... although it certainly couldn't hurt.
Fan Rant: Career Killing Crushes
Filed under: Fan Rant
Last night I finished watching a new straight-to-video comedy called Falling Up. It was pretty mediocre, but I watched it mainly because it had a good cast: Annette O'Toole, Mimi Rogers, Joe Pantoliano and Snoop Dogg. OK. I didn't watch it for them, entirely, but because of Rachael Leigh Cook. I have had a movie crush on Rachael for years and this will be the fourth straight-to-video movie I have endured just for another glimpse of those amazing eyes. But the question is: why is she in all these straight-to-video movies? If my adoration for her has endured, why has her career not done the same thing? But the scariest thing of all is that Rachael is not the only movie crush of mine that has seen a marked dip in her career. Are my affections somehow cursed? Am I a career killer?
Rachael first made a splash as the young Jackie O in The House of Yes (1997), and then starred in a genuine hit, She's All That (1999), as the nerdy girl who gets the question: "do you really need to wear those glasses?" Following that was a flurry of five major films in two years, all of which landed with a giant, collective thud. There was Sylvester Stallone's remake of Get Carter, the lame comedy Blow Dry, and the tepid Western Texas Rangers. The paranoid thriller Antitrust may well qualify as a guilty pleasure, at least, and Josie and the Pussycats is definitely a guilty pleasure. I loved that film; I loved the punk/pop music and its cheerful parody of the music business. But of course, everyone else hated it.
Fan Rant: Is the Bar Lower for 'Avatar'?
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fan Rant
The consensus is in: James Cameron's Avatar is the greatest movie ever made, according to the fans. According to critics, it doesn't have much in the way of plot, characters, ideas or originality, but it's so dazzling that it's one of the best movies of the year! As one of the few who was underwhelmed by this new movie, I would like to know why Cameron was given such a low bar for excellence. It seems to me that to qualify as one of the greatest films of all time, or even one of the best movies of the year, some of the mandatory requirements ought to include strong plot, characters, ideas and/or originality, and not just visual effects alone.
In this business, spectacular visuals usually don't make up for a tired plot, half-baked characters and an obvious message. Just take a look back at Shane Acker's 9, which suffered from exactly the same problem: great design, little else. It earned a paltry $31 million (about the same as its budget) and scored a mediocre 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. Then look at Aristomenis Tsirbas' Battle for Terra, which came out last May and featured almost exactly the same plot as Avatar. It scored only 47% on Rotten Tomatoes and less than $2 million (though it was made for a much smaller budget and received a much smaller release). Both 9 and Battle for Terra showcased similar clunky storytelling and a similar obvious, heavy-handed attempt at sending messages. And no one even nibbled. Likewise, someone pointed out recently that the plot of Avatar is even closer to the 1992 animated film Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, which -- let's face it -- didn't exactly set the world on fire either. (Some have defended Cameron's "old" story based on the fact that he wrote it 15 years ago, but Ferngully came out 17 years ago.)
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