Nick's Pix

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2012-01-27T04:14:00.000-08:00

I'll be seeing The Grey in theaters this weekend. Looks primal and amazing...

From Netflix is The Guard with Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson.

Via HD On Demand there's Margin Call and Perfect Sense, two movies I really wanna see...

IF I HAD AN OSCAR BALLOT

2012-01-24T06:22:00.000-08:00

Best Picture

The Tree of Life
Drive
Shame
Take Shelter
Moneyball
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Contagion
50/50
Young Adult
The Descendants

Best Director

Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Steve McQueen, Shame
Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter
Bennett Miller, Moneyball

Best Actor

Michael Fassbender, Shame
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Thomas Horn, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Brad Pitt, Moneyball/The Tree of Life
Joseph Gordon Levitt, 50/50
Demian Bechir, A Better Life
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Leonardo Di Caprio, J. Edgar

Best Actress

Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Debt, The Help
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Mia Wasikowska, Jane Eyre
Kiera Knightley, A Dangerous Method
Bernice Bejo, The Artist

Best Supporting Actor

Patton Oswalt, Young Adult
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Hunter McCracken, The Tree of Life
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Michael Fassbender, A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress

Carey Mulligan, Drive, Shame
Shailene Woodley, The Descandants
Saoirse Ronan, Hanna
Ellen Page, Super
Jennifer Ehle, Contagion
Anna Kendrick, 50/50
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Best Original Screenplay

Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Steve McQueen & Abi Morgan, Shame
Will Reiser, 50/50
Diablo Cody, Young Adult
Scott Z. Burns, Contagion
Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter
Christopher Hampton, A Dangerous Method

Best Adapted Screenplay

Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Steven Zaillian, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hossein Amini, Drive
Peter Straughan, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Alexander Payne & Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants
George Nolfi, The Adjustment Bureau

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezeki, The Tree of Life
Newton Thomas-Sigel, Drive
Sean Bobbit, Shame
Adriano Goldman, Jane Eyre
Robert Elswit, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Jeff Cronenweth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Adam Stone, Take Shelter
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse

Best Original Score

Cliff Martinez, Contagion/Drive
Mychael Danna, Moneyball
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Howard Shore, Hugo
Dario Marianelli, Jane Eyre

Best Film Editing

The Tree of Life
Drive
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Contagion
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Shame

Best Costumes

Immortals
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Artist
J. Edgar
Captain America

Best Visual Effects

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Captain America
Immortals
Battle: Los Angeles

Best Animated Film

Rango
Tin Tin

Best Art Direction

The Tree of Life
Immortals
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hanna
War Horse

Best Documentary

Forks Over Knives
Paradise Lost 3
Life In a Day
Bill Cunningham, New York
Tabloid
Page One: Inside the NY Times
Buck

TODAY'S BLU

2012-01-24T03:31:00.001-08:00

ONE SENTENCE THEATRICAL ROUND-UP

2012-01-23T20:19:00.000-08:00

David Fincher applies his customarily precise and icy style to the graphically violent and sexually depraved Swedish noir The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and gets a transformative, revelatory performance out of Rooney Mara, who burns up the screen with intrigue, sexual energy, and more attitude than you can shake a stick at.

The Sitter is mostly a waste of David Gordon Green’s talents but still delivers some deranged laughs courtesy of Jonah Hill’s impeccable comic timing and Sam Rockwell’s bizarre gay body-builder baddie.

Sherlock Holmes 2 is more of the same, so if you liked the first one (like me), you’ll likely enjoy this one (as I did); it’s nothing revolutionary, just a solid action programmer.

The Adventures of Tintin is a rip-roaring, can’t-catch-its-breath adventure that finds Steven Spielberg back (quite comfortably) in Indiana Jones mode and delivering the escapist thrills like a consummate pro (the edit-free chase through Morocco was brilliant).

The Artist is neither as good as its most ardent supporters claim it to be, nor as overrated as many of its detractors are conversely stating; simply put, it’s a nice little throwback to a simpler time and a true celebration of movies as a visual artform.

A Dangerous Method finds David Cronenberg going period for the first time in a while and tells the psychologically intriguing true story of Freud (Viggo Mortensen, sly as always) and Jung (Michael Fassbender, intense as always) and how the two men agreed and disagreed over their professions and personal lives; Keira Knightley is electrifying as the woman who challenges Jung’s beliefs.

War Horse is essentially Old Yeller with (fairly) epic WWI battle scenes and a horse instead of a dog, monumentally sentimental and over-the-top-Hollywood; the ravishing cinematography and the head-scratching horse logistics and stunts are the best aspects.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the most satisfying big-budget, pure action film of 2011, a triumphant live-action debut for director Brad Bird, and a further reminder that Tom Cruise (aka God) is the greatest movie star of the last 30 years.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a bold and powerful family drama that directly confronts the horrors of 9/11 head-on and contains a startling and highly effective debut performance from teenager Thomas Horn.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is probably the best spy film I’ve ever seen, so densely plotted and intricately assembled that even after two viewings I’m not 100% sure of all of the particulars; what I do know is that I can’t wait to see it again and that Gary Oldman was sublime.

Young Adult is as nasty and chilly as a dark comedy can get and features two of the best performances of the year (Charlize Theron as a monumental bitch and Patton Oswalt as a monumental sad-sack); we’re a long way from Juno territory (Cody is writer, Reitman the director), which is a good thing.

Shame is a riveting, epic exploration of sex and a fractured mind (Michael Fassbender in a towering performance as a man falling completely apart), with bravura direction from Steve McQueen, who is in full-on Kubrick mode here; this is a work of art -- pure cinema -- fully earning its NC-17 rating, and demanding the attention of any serious moviegoer.

BLU RAY IN ONE SENTENCE

2012-01-23T19:51:00.000-08:00

The Debt is a mostly solid thriller with yet another excellent performance from Jessica Chastain.

Another Earth was thought provoking and heady and has an ending that some people will likely find frustrating.

Exporting Raymond is a funny little documentary about how what’s funny in America isn’t necessarily fit for translation in Russia.

Take Falling Down and mix it with Kick-Ass and you’ve got Super, a bracingly violent vigilante superhero movie with two incredibly maniacal performances from Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page.

Trollhunter makes great use of a nifty premise and throws in some clever, on-a-shoe-string special effects; look out for a remake.

The Help was enjoyable and heartwarming if a bit long in the tooth and on the nose; great acting all around.

Point Blank is as ruthless and precision-tooled as an action-thriller can get; 85 minutes of pure forward momentum, plot twists and reversals, and bloody stand-offs.

The natural light cinematography in Jane Eyre is exquisite and a joy to behold, as are the performances from Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska; a moody, gothic version of the classic story.

Forks Over Knives is literally the most important documentary that you’ll ever see, a film that truly has the power to change the way you live your life.

BIG HEAD

2012-01-23T19:36:00.001-08:00

MY WIFE PICKS 'EM: 2011

2012-01-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

She doesn't like to pick a favorite, so here are her 10 favorites, in random order:

A Better Life
50/50
Tree of Life
The Artist
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Take Shelter
Young Adult
Bridesmaids
Forks Over Knives
Shame

Runner's Up:

Life in a Day
Contagion
The Descendants
In Time
The Adjustment Bureau
Sarah’s Key
Warrior
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Muppets
J. Edgar
The Ides of March
Source Code
Rango
The Debt
The Help
Bill Cunningham: New York
Midnight in Paris
Crazy, Stupid Love
Horrible Bosses
Trust
Water for Elephants
Friends with Benefits
Terri
The Lincoln Lawyer

REVISED FINAL BEST OF 2011

2012-01-22T17:03:00.000-08:00

The Tree of Life
Drive
Shame
Take Shelter
Moneyball
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Contagion
50/50
Young Adult
The Descendants

Runner's Up:

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Warrior
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Artist
Immortals
Hanna
Super 8
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Point Blank
Rango
The Adventures of Tin Tin
A Dangerous Method
Bridemaids
The Hangover: Part II
The Trip
Our Idiot Brother
War Horse
Hugo
Life in a Day
The Muppets
Jane Eyre
J. Edgar
Source Code
In Time
The Ides of March
A Better Life
Win Win
Another Earth
Super
The Adjustment Bureau
Captain America
Cowboys & Aliens
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
The Debt
The Help
The Devil’s Double
Sarah’s Key
Bill Cunningham: New York
Meek’s Cutoff
Midnight in Paris
Melancholia
Buck
Battle: Los Angeles
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Fast Five
Crazy, Stupid Love
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Horrible Bosses
Bad Teacher
Everything Must Go
30: Minutes or Less
Trust
Your Highness
Sucker Punch
Water for Elephants
Paul
Friends with Benefits
Terri
The Beaver
X-Men: First Class
Thor
The Lincoln Lawyer
No Strings Attached
Rubber
The Sitter
Hall Pass
The Green Hornet
Take Me Home Tonight
Unknown
Green Lantern

WILD FUN

2012-01-22T12:03:00.001-08:00

LOVE IT

2012-01-21T20:24:00.001-08:00

FOR SURE

2012-01-20T18:33:00.001-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2012-01-20T06:46:00.000-08:00

Weather permitting, I'm gonna check out Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close on Saturday. And then on Sunday, finally, I'll be seeing Shame with Fassbender.

From Netflix is Forks Over Knives.

Next Tuesday night I'll be checking out Soderbergh's Haywire, which looks killer...

NEED TO SEE 'EM

2012-01-18T18:35:00.001-08:00

APRIL?

2012-01-15T19:54:00.001-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2012-01-13T04:11:00.000-08:00

Not sure what I will see this weekend. Contraband looks like stylishly predictable entertainment, and I really want to see Tinker and Dragon again. So...we'll see...

Nothing from Netflix as I'm sending Jane Eyre back today (really good flick).

DOUBLE BLU TUESDAY

2012-01-10T04:04:00.000-08:00

CARNAHAN-STYLE MANLINESS

2012-01-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2012-01-06T04:05:00.000-08:00

I am planning on finally checking out A Dangerous Method at some point over the weekend.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy finally opened in my area, but I'm saving that for next weekend.

Sending Trollhunter (very clever, very amusing) back to Netflix today so nothing new for the weekend.

TONY-ESQUE

2012-01-04T19:14:00.001-08:00

TODAY'S BLU

2012-01-03T04:00:00.001-08:00

JANUARY 2012: SEEING BLU!

2012-01-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

1/3: Contagion

1/10: Moneyball

1/17: The Ides of March

1/24: 50/50

1/31: Drive

1/31: In Time

Other notable releases: Boardwalk Empire: Season 1, License to Drive, Texas Killing Fields (haven't seen it), Adaptation, Real Steel (haven't seen it), Traffic: Criterion, The Killer Elite (haven't seen it), An Idiot Abroad: Season 1, Babe (pre-ordered!), The Guard (haven't seen it).

FINAL: BEST OF 2011

2012-01-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

The Tree of Life
Drive
Take Shelter
Moneyball
The Descendants
Contagion
50/50
Young Adult
Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol
The Artist

The rest, in this order:

Warrior
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Immortals
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hanna
Super 8
The Adventures of Tin Tin
War Horse
Hugo
Life in a Day
The Muppets
J. Edgar
In Time
The Ides of March
The Trip
A Better Life
Win Win
Another Earth
Super
The Adjustment Bureau
Our Idiot Brother
Captain America
Cowboys & Aliens
Bridesmaids
The Hangover: Part II
Source Code
Rango
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
The Debt
The Help
The Devil’s Double
Sarah’s Key
Bill Cunningham: New York
Meek’s Cutoff
Midnight in Paris
Melancholia
Buck
Battle: Los Angeles
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Fast Five
Crazy, Stupid Love
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Horrible Bosses
Your Highness
Friends with Benefits
Bad Teacher
Everything Must Go
30: Minutes or Less
Trust
Sucker Punch
Water for Elephants
Paul
Terri
The Beaver
X-Men: First Class
Thor
The Lincoln Lawyer
No Strings Attached
Rubber
The Sitter
Hall Pass
The Green Hornet
Take Me Home Tonight
Unknown
Green Lantern

Key titles still to see: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, A Dangerous Method, In the Land of Blood and Honey, Tinkor Tailor Soldier Spy, Shame

LAST POST OF THE YEAR

2011-12-31T15:50:00.001-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE LONG WEEKEND

2011-12-30T03:59:00.000-08:00

The Artist on Sunday. Finally!

From Netflix is the 2011 French thriller Point Blank.

Lots of HD On Demand and new Blu Ray options to keep me busy...

Happy New Year!

TONIGHT

2011-12-29T04:09:00.000-08:00

EARLY 2012

2011-12-28T19:35:00.000-08:00

The begining of the year tends to be a dumping ground of weak efforts, however, there are always some great genre entries released in the dead of winter, so I'm hoping that there are a few small gems and minor pleasures to be had over the next few months. Here's a list of what I'm curious about between January and April:

Contraband
Haywire
The Grey
Chronicle
Safe House
This Means War
Act of Valor
Wanderlust
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Project X
John Carter
Butter
21 Jump Street
Wrath of the Titans
American Reunion
The Cold Light of Day
Bullet to the Head
Cabin in the Woods
The Wettest Country
The Five Year Engagement

IN THE QUEUE

2011-12-28T16:47:00.000-08:00

At home: Point Blank

Trollhunter
Bellflower
Forks Over Knives
The Guard
Jane Eyre
Revenge of the Electric Car
The Last Mountain
Helvetica
Objectified
Submarine
The Wildest Dream
Red Road
Dark Days
The People Vs. George Lucas
Two Days in April
Just Another Love Story
Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control
Man Push Cart
Black Book

WHAT I MISSED

2011-12-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, it’s always best to look back at the movies that I’ve missed, that way I can load up the Netflix queue. Theatrically, I still plan on seeing War Horse (tomorrow night), The Artist (this coming weekend), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and In the Land of Blood and Honey. Either because they were never released in my area or because I missed them when they were here, here’s a list of the movies from 2011 that snuck by me and that I plan to see via Netflix, HD On-Demand, or HBO HD:

Shame
A Dangerous Method
Margaret
Tyrannosaur
Outrage
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Texas Killing Fields
Puss in Boots
Paranormal Activity 3
Real Steel
Tower Heist
Happy Feet 2
Insidious
Arthur Christmas
Scream 4
The Change-Up
Columbiana
The Mechanic
The Killer Elite
Fright Night
Pirates 4
The Rum Diary
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilynn
The Guard
Margin Call
Like Crazy
The Skin I Live In
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Senna
The Double Hour
Red State
Attack the Block
Machine Gun Preacher
Project Nim
The Interrupters
Trollhunter
Brighton Rock
Into the Abyss
Being Elmo
Carnage
Blackthorn
Bellflower
Magic Trip
Revenge of the Electric Car
The Last Mountain
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within

ON ITS WAY FROM AMAZON

2011-12-28T06:31:00.001-08:00

X-MAS BLU HAUL

2011-12-27T15:26:00.001-08:00

PUMPED

2011-12-26T19:39:00.001-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE LONG HOLIDAY WEEKEND

2011-12-23T04:10:00.000-08:00

Tintin 3-D on Saturday morning -- looks like non-stop adventure and I cannot wait to see it...

War Horse on either Sunday or Monday, Tuesday night the latest.

From Netflix is Sarah's Key and Winnie the Pooh.

Happy Holidays!

LETTER GRADES

2011-12-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

I'll be writing up some reviews soon, but I've seen quite a bit lately, everything being good-to-great which is a real treat, so here's a scorecard of recent titles:

The Debt -- B
The Help -- B+
Another Earth -- A
Exporting Raymond -- B+
Super -- A
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows -- B+
The Sitter -- B-
Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol -- A+
Young Adult -- A+
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- A-

HAPPY CHANUKAH

2011-12-21T20:51:00.000-08:00

TONIGHT

2011-12-20T03:26:00.003-08:00

BUTT-KICKING BLU TUESDAY

2011-12-20T03:26:00.001-08:00

UPDATED TOP 10 OF 2011 THUS FAR...

2011-12-19T05:50:00.001-08:00

The Tree of Life
Drive
Take Shelter
Moneyball
The Descendants
Contagion
50/50
Young Adult
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Warrior

ENDLESS RE-WATCH

2011-12-17T13:30:00.001-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-12-16T04:16:00.000-08:00

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows tomorrow morning.

Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol Sunday morning.

Young Adult Sunday night.

From Netflix is the indie comedy Super and the foreign language drama Sarah's Key.

CAN'T WAIT

2011-12-15T12:43:00.001-08:00

FOAM FORMS AT THE CORNER OF MY MOUTH....

2011-12-15T04:13:00.001-08:00

1/31/12

GET HERE...

2011-12-14T19:45:00.001-08:00

TENTATIVE MOVIE SKED

2011-12-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

Sat 12/17 -- Sherlock 2
Sun 12/18 -- Mission 4
Sun 12/18 -- Young Adult
Tues 12/20 -- Dragon Tattoo
Xmas Eve -- Tintin
Day after Xmas -- War Horse

The Artist, Shame, and A Dangerous Method have all yet to open in my area and I'm now wondering if/when they ever will...

In the Land of Blood and Honey and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close both look like incredibly powerful January releases...

BLU APE TUESDAY

2011-12-13T04:17:00.001-08:00

FUCKING AMAZING

2011-12-10T18:47:00.001-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-12-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

Nothing in the theaters this weekend. There are plenty of titles I need to see -- The Artist, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Young Adult immediately come to mind -- but none of them are in my area. Fucking annoying if you ask me...

I'll catch The Sitter next Tuesday when my local theater does $6 Tuesday.

From Netflix is the indie doc Exporting Raymond.

Lots of HD On Demand options...

MINI MOVIE REVIEWS

2011-12-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

As promised by its visionary, ludicrously talented director Tarsem Singh, Immortals is Caravaggio meets Fight Club, a hyper-stylized, uber-bloody take on Greek God mythology, shot 100% green-screen/CGI-style ala 300. Henry Cavill is appropriately chiseled as the hero (he should make for a solid Superman) and Mickey Rourke sank his teeth into the main villain role with greasy, nasty gusto. But first and foremost, the film is an opportunity for Tarsem to let loose his wild, baroque visual sensibilities on his largest budget yet, which makes for some of the most striking imagery you’ll see all year on a big-screen.

Mike Mills’s Beginners is a wonderful little film filled with a lot of honesty and tears. Christopher Plummer delivers an excellent, heart-warming performance as a 75 year old father who decides to come out of the closet and take up with a muuuuch younger boyfriend, which has Best Supporting Actor written all over it. Great chemistry between Ewan McGreggor and Melanie Laurent (who delights with some casual, peek-a-boo nudity) meshes with a generous screenplay, while the quirky, stylish direction felt fresh at every moment.

Directed with his usual brand of cold, clinical detachment, Steven Soderbergh’s riveting virus thriller Contagion is a thinking person’s horror film, a genre piece that defies genre in more than a few ways, never giving into cheap Hollywood sensationalism or resorting to hackneyed plot twists. With basically everyone in Hollywood in a juicy supporting role, Soderbergh surgically races through Scott Z. Burns’s brilliant screenplay, never resting for a moment, aided immeasurably by Cliff Martinez’s pulsating electronic score. This is procedural cinema at its finest – no bloat, no bull-shit, just the facts – so if you’re into this sort of thing (Zodiac, All the President’s Men, Shattered Glass), it’ll knock you sideways and leave you wanting more.

Leave it to Martin Scorsese to show everyone how to truly utilize the 3-D format so that the medium actually feels pushed – Hugo is a technical masterpiece for all involved (Robert Richardson’s cinematography and Dante Ferretti’s production design are both Oscar worthy). I’ll admit to becoming slightly bored with Hugo’s plight at about the half-way point; had the film been a tight 90 minutes with some of the redundant bits cut out it would have been more successful. But what truly makes the film special is its final act, which is nothing short of an ode to cinema itself and a cry for film preservation, reminding us why movies are important and why they’ve been such an integral part of our collective society for the last 100 plus years.

If Andrew Niccol’s heady and entertaining sci-fi thriller In Time doesn’t entirely make good on it’s incredible premise (time has replaced cash as society’s currency; people are genetically engineered to stop aging at 25 and die when their “time” has run out) then that doesn’t stop it from being leagues above most genre entries. Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried generate sexy sparks as lovers on the run from thugs and corrupt cops in a dystopian near-future, with Cillian Murphy making for an excellent nemesis as a potentially sympathetic “Time Keeper” who thinks that Timberlake is guilty of a crime that he didn’t commit. The look of In Time is sleek and shiny (the endlessly sharp and stylish cinematography is from the legendary Roger Deakins), and it’s clear that Niccol, a clever writer who often feels too cool for school (The Truman Show, Gattaca, Lord of War), is progressing as a director of action and sensation.

Leonardo Dicaprio gives a customarily intense performance as J. Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood’s shadowy and mysterious biopic J. Edgar, a film that refuses to be something that many people clearly expected it to be. Less concerned with the formation of the FBI and more interested in the personal relationships that shaped Hoover’s bent and deeply troubled psyche, Dustin Lance Black’s info-packed screenplay effortlessly oscillates back and forth between young and old J. Edgar, showing how his mother (Judy Dench, terrific) and life-partner (the perfectly cast Armie Hammer) influenced everything that went on in his life. Tom Stern’s painterly, desaturated cinematography (the film almost feels like it’s in black and white) is elegant and restrained, while Eastwood’s gentle and surprisingly sensitive direction takes him in new directions as a filmmaker.

Simply put, if you can’t find time in your life to see and enjoy something like The Muppets, well, then there’s no helping you. A total blast from start to finish, Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller, and James Bobbin have taken all that you remember and love about the adorable gang of puppets and have brought them into a new generation, for old fans to fall in love with all over again, and for new fans to become familiar with and develop attachments. Filled to the brim with smiles, songs, self-reflexive humor, amusing celebrity cameos, and the effervescent Amy Adams, The Muppets will delight anyone who comes into contact with it, unless of course you’re a total ass-hole with zero sense of childlike wonder and fantasy.

Don’t be fooled by the sunny, chirpy exterior of Jesse Peretz’s dark comedy My Idiot Brother – this is a film that relishes in showcasing dysfunctional people. Paul Rudd is fantastic as Ned, a Jr. Lebowski sort of guy, blazed-out completely, totally naïve to all that’s around him, with the capacity to upset and annoy his three totally messed up sisters (Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks, and Zooey Deschanel) to the point where each one takes him in for a few days and then eventually throws him out. This is a smart and silly comedy, a film that has a lot of heart buried in its darkly layered fibers.

Take Shelter is a shattering, devastating work of American art, written and directed by the mega-talented Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories), and a film that I greatly anticipate re-watching as soon as it arrives on Blu Ray. Michael Shannon again demonstrates that he is one of the best actors currently living, delivering a performance of intense, sometimes overwhelming power and emotion, portraying a psychologically fractured man (or is he?) who is convinced that the storm to end all storms is brewing, and that life as we know it is coming to an end. Jessica Chastain is quietly fantastic as his skeptical but loving wife, and by the film’s poetic and haunting finale, you’ll be convinced that you just watched a masterpiece, the sort of film that could only come from a truly original place.

What’s so special about Alexander Payne’s wonderful but sad new dramedy The Descendants is how all of the humor and pathos comes from a real and honest place, and how nothing feels contrived, fake, or nonsensical. George Clooney is great as a father of two girls who is forced to actually be the parent he hasn’t been in years after his wife is critically injured in a boating accident. What follows between Clooney and his two daughters (the magnificent Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) is nothing short of phenomenal; genuine emotions are explored, old wounds are re-opened and examined, and life is shown for what is it – precious, unpredictable , and totally out of our control.

The Ides of March is a sharp-as-a-tack political thriller, the best John Grisham thriller that doesn’t bear the Grisham name, more concerned with being a ruthless piece of high-minded entertainment than an Oscar-winning expose on modern politics. Ryan Gosling continues his incredible run of engaging performances as an idealistic campaign strategist for George Clooney’s presidential candidate, who may or may not be swayed to the other side by the reptilian Paul Giamatti. Clooney’s direction gets better as the film progresses, culminating in one of the best scenes of the year, pitting Gosling against Clooney in the basement kitchen of a hotel – in this one scene you see just how good of a director that Clooney has become.

DOUBLE BLU TUESDAY

2011-12-06T03:20:00.001-08:00

A GOOD HOCKEY COMEDY WOULD BE NICE...

2011-12-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

I WONDER...

2011-12-04T19:20:00.001-08:00

BLU RAY REVIEWS

2011-12-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

A Better Life is a wonderful movie about an illegal Mexican immigrant (the Oscar worthy Demian Bechir in a heartbreaking performance) trying to provide for his teenage son. Writer/director Chris Weitz, in a riff on The Bicycle Thief, wisely steers clear of cheap Hollywood sentimentality and nonsensical situations (precisely one moment felt “movie-ish” to me) which added up to a narrative with honest emotions and a finale that felt real and true. This is one of the most underrated films of the year, a small gem that people will discover and wonder why they’ve never heard of it.

Bill Cunningham: New York is a great documentary because it reminds you never to lose sight of doing what it is that you love to do. Funny, sad, and uplifting in equal measure, it’s a movie about fashion, photography, and a man driven by his wild passion of documenting pretty people wearing outrageous outfits. Quick and to the point, it’s a doc that will not disappoint.

Another excellent documentary from this year, the horse-whisperer expose Buck, will totally delight equestrian fans and confound most everyone as it displays a man in tune with animals on a level that most people will never fathom. Buck, who served as the inspiration for Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer, is a man of intense values, and I found it amazing to see how he related to the horses and literally seemed to understand what they were thinking. This is a fascinating portrait of a mysterious and complex person, and a movie that animal lovers will flip out for.

Made in completely poor taste and without a subtle bone in its depraved body, Lee Tamahori’s giddily violent and nasty Uday Hussein biopic The Devil’s Double is a messy ode to Scarface with a bravura double performance by Dominic Cooper (Oscar better come calling...but it won’t…) as both Hussein and his real-life, look-alike body-double. Tamahori, a director who has never made good on his promise (Once Were Warriors is still one of the best debuts ever), is only as good as his script as he isn’t much of a visual auteur even though he’s got some nice flourishes, and the script here is a bit sloppy. But Cooper is so irresistible and magnetic in both roles that it doesn’t matter how outlandish or garish or gross the proceedings are – you’re transfixed by Cooper to the point where you can do nothing but applaud the Daniel Plainview-esque immersion into the characters.

Green Lantern is easily the worst movie that I’ve seen in 2011 – stupid, cheesy, unfocused, and feeling 100% synthetic, this is what happens when a director (Martin Campbell, hit or miss) has zero grasp of special effects/CGI filmmaking and when the script is rushed so that a release date can be met. As much as I like Ryan Reynolds, his inherent snarkiness didn’t mesh well with the Hal Jordan character; he’s blown off the screen by Peter Sarsgaard, who’s about the only good thing about the movie. Boring, cruddy-looking (the entire thing looks like a video game), and completely misguided, I’m glad I didn’t pay money to see it in the theater.

Steve McQueen’s brutal and unflinching Irish prison drama Hunger is the cinematic equivalent of 10 shots of whiskey and a swift kick to the groin. Michael Fassbender pulled a Christian Bale and lost half his body weight portraying striking inmate Bobby Sands, who refused to eat in order to make a personal and political statement. In all of its high-art, shit-smeared-wall glory, it’s the sort of movie that feels like punishment and homework, but it’s demanding viewing for demanding viewers, and announces McQueen as ruthless purveyor of cinematic misery (the upcoming Shame seems to confirm this…)

Life in A Day, aka “the Youtube movie,” is my favorite documentary from 2011, if for no other reason than it showed me things I’ve truly never seen before, which is getting harder and harder to do. Produced by Ridley and Tony Scott and directed by Kevin MacDonald, this is a Baraka-esque kaleidoscope of imagery from all around the world, shot (rather handsomely and artily) by regular joes who then uploaded the footage onto Youtube, and then a fleet of professional editors turned it into something transcendent. Unforgettable footage abounds in this breathtaking look at where we’re currently at in our world – ugly, beautiful, sad, exciting, heartbreaking, scary, and above all – real.

Page One: Inside the NY Times will fascinate those of us with an interest in journalism and bore the shit out of everyone else. Factual, dry, and wholly compelling (to me at least), this is a scholarly documentary that showcases what it’s like to work at the NY Times in this day and age of digital media and online news outlets. I’m a sucker for all movies about journalism and news papers so I was sucked into this immediately; for many others I think it might be like watching paint dry.

Small, simple, and tragic, Shotgun Stories demonstrated that writer/director Jeff Nichols is a true talent and someone to watch out for (his latest film, Take Shelter, is one of this year’s finest films). Michael Shannon burns up the screen in a customarily intense lead performance, and he’s matched by an ensemble of unknowns who up the authenticity levels. And even if the narrative doesn’t go anywhere revelatory, you’re able to appreciate the performances, direction, and atmosphere.

Errol Morris’s loony and extremely entertaining documentary Tabloid is a crazy look at a whacko-lady who kidnapped her former fiancée, tied him to a bed, and then “raped” him for a period of 4 days in a British country-side cottage. Those are the nominal details – the rest I will leave for you to discover. Make it a double feature with Crazy Love and you’ll never look at your significant other the same way again!

Win Win is another underrated, small movie from 2011 that didn’t truly find the audience it deserved – with Paul Giamatti front and center and delivering yet another fantastic performance, it’ll be a popular Netflix/Redbox/On Demand title. Writer/director Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, The Visitor) is becoming the go-to-guy for “smart adult dramedy,” not quite on the level of Alexander Payne, but certainly getting close. Don’t be fooled by the DVD cover-art – this isn’t a “high-school wrestling movie” – it’s a great little drama with equal doses of black comedy and layered pathos.

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-12-02T03:22:00.001-08:00

Sadly, nothing in the theaters this weekend as nothing opened wide or expanded into my area...annoying...

From Netflix is Beginners, which sounds excellent...

CURIOUSITY

2011-12-01T19:13:00.000-08:00

ALREADY IMPRESSED

2011-11-30T18:33:00.000-08:00

HUH...

2011-11-29T07:00:00.001-08:00

INTENSE

2011-11-27T16:38:00.001-08:00

IN THE QUEUE

2011-11-26T19:15:00.000-08:00

At home: Life in a Day (about to send it back -- best documentary of the year)

Sarah's Key
Bellflower
Point Blank (2011)
Beginners
Exporting Raymond
Forks Over Knives
Attack the Block
Super
The People Vs. George Lucas
Winnie the Pooh
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Submarine
Red Road
Just Another Love Story
Man Push Cart
Black Book
Chop Shop
Jane Eyre
Boy Wonder

WHAT I'M THANKFUL FOR -- CINEMATICALLY SPEAKING

2011-11-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

First off, and it goes without saying, I'm most thankful for my incredible, smart, beautiful, funny, and totally awesome wife; I could never imagine life without you. I've been blessed with a terrific and talented sister who also knows how to cook up a storm, and parents who have never, ever missed a beat in anything they've done for us or themselves. And much love and thanks for my incredible, ridiculous, crazy-ass cat, Gus Gorman (yes, he's named after Richard Pryor in Superman III), who has brought nothing but joy to our lives.

I am thankful that for some unknown reason, Terry Malick has decided to work on MULTIPLE projects at the same time, and will have a few years in a row with at least one theatrical release.

I am thankful for the fact that Werner Herzog, our most important documentarian, continues to get funding for anything that tickles his fancy.

I am thankful for Chris Nolan doing what he did to the Batman franchise, and that next summer will bring his final chapter, The Dark Knight Rises.

I'm thankful for the brilliant efforts of Steven Soderbergh, who movie after movie, continues to demonstrate that he's one of our most skilled and versatile filmmakers.

I'm thankful that HBO HD keeps showing The Informant!

I'm thankful that we still live in a climate where a movie like The Muppets could get made in the way that it did, and that Jason Segel took his money and clout and put it where his heart is.

I'm thankful for having seen a new Tarsem movie (Immortals), even if that means that his next movie (Mirror, Mirror) looks like dogshit. Come back to me, Tarsem...come back...take the cash you just got and make a sequel to The Fall...

I'm thankful that Zack Snyder is getting the chance to reboot Superman, even if Michael Bay is still the best guy for the job (at least it's not Brett Ratner or Len Wiseman!)

I'm thankful for the fact that the Coen brothers have a new movie coming out next year.

I'm thankful for the fact that Jessica Chastain is here to stay.

I'm thankful for the fact that Jeff Nicols is reuniting for a third time with Michael Shannon.

I'm thanful for the fact that Nicolas Refn and Ryan Gosling are apparent butt-buddies and plan on making one movie after another with each other.

I'm thankful for the fact that Michael Bay has apparently gotten the Transformers franchise out of his system and that he's now free to explore some new stuff to blow up real fucking good.

I'm thankful for the fact that Ridley Scott has a quasi-prequel to Alien coming out called Prometheus, and apparently, there will be some sort of "creation-of-the-universe" sequence.

I'm thankful that HBO has teamed up with Michael Mann and David Milch on a new crime/horseracing show called Luck, which looks like it's going to totally own everyone's ass.

I'm extremely thankful that Roger Ebert continues to review movies in print on a weekly basis.

I'm thankful for the fact that Joss Whedon is going to bring out my inner 7 year old next summer with The Avengers.

I'm thankful for getting a chance to see amazing work from guys like Emmanuel Lubezeki, Robert Richardson, Robert Elswit, Roger Deakins, Tom Sigel, and Matthew Libatique (just to name a few...)

I am thankful that Oliver Stone's next movie is an R-rated crime drama.

I am thankful that all of Tony Scott's next potential directing efforts all sound like four out of four, five out of five star masterpieces.

I'm thankful that Tom Cruise is still doing his Tom Cruise thing -- best movie star of all time (except for maybe Humphrey Bogart)

Even though I haven't seen it, I'm thankful that a movie like The Artist has gotten made; now let's just hope people go out and see it...

I'm thankful that Sony hired David Fincher and Steven Zaillian for their Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake, because you know with those two in charge, there won't be any wimping out with the material...

I'm thankful that 2012 will bring Kathryn Bigelow's "Kill Bin Laden" project.

I'm thankful that John Logan's paws are all over a half-dozen scripts that have either been shot, are about to be shot, or are nearing pre-production.

I'm thankful for the fact that my wife and I paid to see Warrior in the theater (2011's most underrated and ignored movie).

I'm thankful that despite Warrior tanking at the box office, both Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton will be all over movie screens over the next few years.

I'm thankful that Tony Gilroy got the job on the Bourne series.

I'm thankful for the works of Cliff Martinez -- the guy is brilliant.

And lastly, I'm thankful that the Rave Motion Pictures group has decided to make all 1st showings $6 at the stadium-digital theater located 1 mile from my house. I've got it pretty good.

MOVIES FOR THE LONG WEEKEND

2011-11-23T04:16:00.000-08:00

Gonna check out The Muppets after work today --- looks irresistible...

Hugo sounds utterly masterful...gotta see that soon...

The Descendants will be a post-Thanksgiving screening, probably this coming Sunday...

From Netflix is the Youtube doc Life in a Day from Ridley Scott and Kevin McDonald...

REMAINING THEATRICALS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

The Muppets
Hugo
My Week with Marilyn
The Descendants
A Dangerous Method
The Artist
War Horse
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Shame
The Sitter
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Young Adult
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
Rampart
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Carnage
Tin Tin
We Bought a Zoo
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
In the Land of Blood and Honey

21 movies over the next 12 weeks or so...it's gonna be fun...

TODAY'S BLU

2011-11-22T04:17:00.000-08:00

ANTICIPATION

2011-11-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-11-18T04:16:00.001-08:00

Nothing in the theaters this weekend. I'll see Happy Feet Two on Blu Ray.

From Netflix is the John C. Reilly indie dramedy Terri...Ebert loved it...

REALLY LIKE THIS ONE-SHEET

2011-11-16T19:13:00.001-08:00

CLASSIC BLU TUESDAY

2011-11-15T03:15:00.001-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-11-11T04:16:00.000-08:00

J. Edgar on Saturday.

Immortals (2-D) on Sunday.

From Netflix is the latest from Errol Morris, Tabloid.

EXTRA COOL

2011-11-08T07:10:00.001-08:00

TOP 20 OF 2011 SO FAR

2011-11-08T06:32:00.001-08:00

The Tree of Life
Drive
Take Shelter
Moneyball
Contagion
50/50
Warrior
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Hanna
Super 8
In Time
The Ides of March
A Better Life
Win Win
Our Idiot Brother
Captain America
Cowboys & Aliens
Bridesmaids
The Hangover: Part II
The Trip

SNEAK PREVIEW TONIGHT

2011-11-08T06:30:00.001-08:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-11-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Take Shelter and Martha Marcy May Marlene have both opened in my area. I need to see them both ASAP. Tower Heist is of zero interest. Still need to check out The Rum Diary.

From Netflix is Shotgun Stories.

The DVR is jam-packed with shows...

NEW HERZOG = A MUST SEE

2011-11-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-10-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Gonna definitely check out In Time over the weekend -- looks very slick and cool, and I'm a BIG fan of Andrew Niccol's previous efforts as both writer and director (Gattaca, The Truman Show, The Terminal, Lord of War)

From Netflix is Shotgun Stories (at least I think it ships today...) which I want to see before Take Shelter opens.

SICK

2011-10-25T06:05:00.001-07:00

TUESDAY BLU

2011-10-25T03:22:00.001-07:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-10-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

Nothing in the theaters -- yet again -- this weekend. A mighty DISTURBING trend if you ask me...

From Netflix is the indie dramedy Win Win with Paul Giamatti. Just sent back A Better Life -- excellent film. A simple, sad, very authentic feeling story with Demian Bichir just tearing it up in the lead role. If he's not nominated it's a joke. A longer review will appear over the weekend along with some others...

EXTRA CURIOUS

2011-10-20T17:53:00.001-07:00

LOOKING FORWARD

2011-10-19T19:44:00.001-07:00

AN IMMEDIATE PURCHASE

2011-10-16T18:00:00.001-07:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-10-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

Nothing in the theaters this weekend. Big-time bummer. But nothing but doodie is being released this weekend so whatever...

From Netflix is the critically acclaimed out the whazzoo indie Hunger, from Steve McQueen, starring Michael Fassbender.

Something tells me that The Tree of Life will be on constant rotation in my house this weekend...

THEY'RE ALMOST HERE...

2011-10-13T12:54:00.001-07:00

THIS MAKES ME HAPPY

2011-10-11T12:07:00.001-07:00

On the set of The Expendables 2. Chuck Norris and JCVD have been added to the cast.

FINALLY SHIPS TODAY

2011-10-11T03:31:00.002-07:00

BLU TUESDAY

2011-10-11T03:31:00.000-07:00

TUESDAY WILL BE EPIC

2011-10-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-10-07T05:32:00.000-07:00

As usual, I'm stoked to see what Clooney has come up with -- The Ides of March looks very strong and I plan to see it Sunday. It's so funny how guys like Clooney and Pitt and Gosling seem to make movies that I'm always interested in.

From Netflix is the rodeo-centric doc Buck, which got great reviews earlier this year.

SO EXCITED

2011-10-04T04:22:00.001-07:00

TARANTINO BLU TUESDAY MADNESS

2011-10-04T04:07:00.000-07:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-09-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

No planned trips to the theater this weekend. The excellent 50/50 opens today. I'd like to see it again at some point soon.

Just sent back the fantastic doc Bill Cunningham: New York to Netflix -- something ships today -- not sure what it is...

END OF THE WORLD

2011-09-29T19:25:00.001-07:00

Von Trier is a fucking maniac. Of course I'll be seeing this.

CRUNCH THOSE NUMBERS (AND PLAYERS)

2011-09-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

The great American movie Moneyball centers on our great American sport -- baseball -- but is less about the sport itself and more about the people behind the scenes, most of who constantly grapple with one constant feeling: disappointment. Baseball, after all, is a sport based on winning and losing, and Moneyball's lead character, Billy Beane (the wonderful Brad Pitt in full movie-star mode), the general manager of the Oakland A's, will stop and nothing in order to come out on top. But because baseball is a game, only one team can say that they’ve won the “final game of the season.” This is what Beane has been striving for his entire career, and the endless quest to win that final game will likely forever drive him as a competitor. In terms of bucking the standard conventions of your typical sports movie, the brilliance of Moneyball lies in how it doesn't take a rote approach to telling a story focused on a sport that we’re all familiar with. Much like last year's The Social Network (the two films share the invaluable Aaron Sorkin as writer) this is an "inside-the-machine" movie, looking at the sport of baseball from an analytical and statistical point of view. But rather than bogging down the narrative with numbers and esoteric jargon to the point of confusion and/or boredom, Sorkin, and his estimable co-screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Searching for Bobby Fisher) have shaped Michael Lewis's book into an emotional journey for Beane, as a coach, father, and friend.

Choosing to center your film on the notion of “sabremetrics” was a bold and unique decision. And considering the numerous starts and stops for Moneyball throughout its development, it’s remarkable that director Bennett Miller (Capote) was able to deliver such a clear cut vision (Steven Soderbergh was set to direct before the movie collapsed over “creative differences.”) Taking a niche subject and a somewhat unfilmable book and turning it into a quietly powerful film is no easy task, so much credit needs to be given to Sorkin and Zaillian. If you know their work, you’ll hear Sorkin’s witty, satiric voice in the rapid-fire dialogue, while the fluid structure, which deftly mixes flashbacks of Billy Beane’s subpar minor and major league career as a way of making correlations to what Beane as a manager was going through with his team, can be traced to Zaillian’s guiding hand in the organization department. And instead of giving you a saintly approach to the head-coach role, as written, Beane is a man of steadfast convictions, willing to ruffle feathers, and more than happy to berate and fire people who aren’t valuing his new found philosophy. Many of the film’s best scenes take place within the team’s closed-door strategy meetings with the scouts, all of whom were either phenomenally well cast or the real deal. What Sorkin and Zaillian have done so well is that you don’t need to be a baseball expert to understand the sometimes arcane, economics-based approach to the sport that is on display. Moneyball is an “inside-baseball” movie, something that really hasn’t been done before, and it sits right next to Field of Dreams, Eight Men Out, and Bull Durham as one of the best films to spotlight our national pastime.

But the key to Moneyball’s success is the rapport between Pitt and Hill, who both deliver Oscar worthy performances. Pitt hasn’t been this out-right-likable and charming in years, and it’s a treat watching him literally transforming into his generation’s Robert Redford right before our eyes. There’s an animal magnetism to Pitt as actor, and as he’s gotten older, the lines in his face and around his eyes have begun to express a vulnerability that was absent in his earlier work. Pitt plays Beane as a man trying to be a better father to a daughter that he doesn’t get to spend enough time with, and as such, no matter how much of a thorn-in-the-side he is to his teammates (he makes many selfish decisions in an effort to preserve his vision), you’re always on his side. Look at this performance and then contrast it to the tough-love-S.O.B. dad in The Tree of Life – this is a banner year for Pitt who has had a chance to stretch his range in ways that many people won’t really notice. And Hill, the Apatow class-clown who has been killing it in every raunchy comedy made over the last 10 years or so, is a perfect partner for Pitt. The two men couldn’t be any more different when it comes to performance style, personality, appearance, and expectation. Hill, playing a fictionalized version of real-life-stats-guru Paul De Podesta named Peter Brand, gets the lion’s share of the movie’s laughs, but also registers strongly as a dramatic presence. Without their bond, Moneyball wouldn’t be as powerful as it ultimately becomes; the two men teach each other about themselves and about the sport that they love. It’s great to see Hill get a chance to do something serious, and between his work here and in last year’s dark comedy gem Cyrus, my guess is we’ll be seeing lots more from him in the future. It should also be mentioned that Philip Seymour Hoffman is effortlessly good as Art Howe, the put-upon manager who has to deal with Beane’s unconventional methods.

Moneyball doesn't end in the last scene with the last play of the game on the final pitch in the bottom of the ninth. It's not that sort of movie and doesn't want to be; it couldn’t be less interested in final-pitch heroics if it tried. Wally Pfister’s intimate cinematography captures the sport in all of its glory when that sort of thing is called for, but instead takes a casual approach to the action, following Beane around relentlessly as he tries to figure out what his next move will be. Mychael Danna’s subtle yet highly effective musical score helps underline the big emotional beats without ever grandstanding or calling attention to itself. But what’s truly exceptional about the film is that it definitely does deliver a rousing, totally satisfying emotional release upon its conclusion, despite not bowing to the “final game” or “impassioned coach’s speech” cliché that we’ve seen a hundred times already. And when thought about at length, one realizes how the message of the film (echoed by Pitt’s daughter singing the lyric “You’re such a loser, dad” during the end credits) is that losing is part of our culture, and at the end of the day, it’s more about how you conduct yourself as a person than it is about how many games you’ve won. In that sense, it’s very similar to Peter Berg’s fantastic high school football movie Friday Night Lights; it’s not about winning or losing, but about how the game has been played.

EPIC CRITERION BLU TUESDAY

2011-09-27T03:31:00.001-07:00

LOVE & BLOOD & CARS

2011-09-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Drive is a masterpiece for many reasons, and represents a sort of cinematic trifecta for Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, who’s last two films were the brutally funny biopic Bronson and the trippy, dreamy, meditative Viking epic Valhalla Rising. Refn is a name that nobody outside of film criticism or film geekdom is aware of, but if there’s any luck, his subversive touch will be felt all over Hollywood in the years to come. He’s made recent claims of being a “fetishist filmmaker,” and that he’s interested in masochistic characters who feel the need to suffer for their redemption. That’s clearly true if you’ve seen his work. But what’s most interesting about Refn is how much of a sly stylist he is, and how he’s constantly looking to upend the conventions of the genre he’s working in. It’s no shock that Refn took home the Best Director award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival for Drive, as the film is essentially a European neo-noir set in Los Angeles, with numerous nods to the films of William Friedkin and Michael Mann (Thief and To Live and Die in L.A. are referenced numerous times), all of it spotlessly directed. That Drive functions, primarily, as a perfectly constructed slice of attitude and style, similar in somberness and tone to Mann’s brilliant digital-duo of Miami Vice and Collateral, isn’t to say that Refn and his gifted writer, Hossein Amini (The Wings of the Dove), have glossed over plot and characters. In fact, one of the best things about Drive is how much is conveyed with so little, in terms of actual dialogue. Refn is a visual filmmaker first and foremost, and Amini’s spare and exacting screenplay plays to Refn’s immense visual strengths. The “movie-movieness” of Drive is a major reason why the film is so exciting. While viewing, you’re always aware of the fact that you’re watching a movie, set within a definable and familiar genre, yet Refn is able to cleverly manipulate, engross, and surprise you to the point of near suffocation.

The plot of Drive is standard and sturdy, rounded out with character actors who let their faces explain most of their back-stories. Ryan Gosling, who at this point seems incapable of turning in anything less than a great performance, stars as the nameless Driver, a man who lets his actions do all the talking. Hollywood stunt driver by day and freelance getaway wheel-man by night, he’s the classic, silent type for this type of fare – think Alain Delon in Le Samourai or Ryan O’Neal in The Driver. He falls in love with his neighbor, a quietly effective Carey Mulligan, who is raising her young son and waiting for her criminal-type husband (a wiry Oscar Isaac) to get out of prison. Once released, he talks Driver into helping him out on a seemingly easy robbery, which predictably goes bad, thus forcing Driver to step in and figure out what’s what and who’s who. The hoods that stand in his way include the Oscar-baiting Albert Brooks who is deliciously nasty as the head-honcho-villain, Ron Perlman as a put-upon Jewish gangster, and Bryan Cranston as an allegiance-testing mentor figure who may not be all that he seems. Again, as mentioned, all of this is classic genre material, nothing out of the ordinary, but perfectly acceptable and intriguing. What makes Drive great is watching how Refn and Amini put their characters through their paces, subverting genre expectations almost the entire way, all the while tying up all loose ends by the finish, and yet still providing a denouement that leaves plenty of food for thought.

Based on a novel by James Sallis, Drive gets to play off the notions of reality and Hollywood trickery. Because Driver is a Hollywood stunt-man, so used to escaping near death situations and always performing the most dangerous of tasks on set, he’s a guy who has built up an artificial sense of indestructibility and importance. So, when confronted with immediate physical danger, he doesn’t blink an eye; he’s used to being ready to go that everything comes natural to him. There’s no overt stress. Cool as a cucumber as they’d say. This creates for a dangerous and edgy atmosphere; when you have a lead character who thinks that nothing can stop them it makes for an unpredictable time at the movies. Refn, no fool to the fact that Hollywood and reality oh-so-often imitate one another, draws parallels between the controlled environments of the movie-sets that Driver operates on, and the way Driver tells his perspective clients the rules of how he operates in his getaway car. He’s not there to help, not there to hold a gun – he’s there to drive. He’s a man built by discipline and order, following a specific set of codes, never sharing too much externally, but still emotional enough to understand how other people are feeling, and sympathetic enough for the audience to root for, no matter how nasty he can become. The duality of Gosling’s role is rich and deceptively complex.

Refn’s sound and visual fury must also be addressed. Utilizing a kitschy, catchy blend of semi-obscure 80’s pop and Mann/Friedkin-esque background synth, the score and musical selection in Drive amps up the events of every scene and instantly places the film in a hyper-realistic context. Then, when coupled with the indelible images of master cinematographer Newton-Thomas Sigel (Three Kings, The Usual Suspects) and the precision of Refn’s overall mise-en-scene, a perfect marriage between image and sound is firmly in place. Refn’s love of slow-motion creates instantly dreamy sequences in an otherwise starkly literal film. The way time and space slows down during key scenes (the elevator scene; when Driver pulls into his parking garage and observes the thugs who have just worked over Standard’s face) increases tension and creates forward momentum. And when Cliff Martinez’s ambient, extremely stylized score kicks in, you’re off to the races. As with his previous films and much like Quentin Tarantino, Refn demonstrates a clear understanding of how music supports images, and vice versa, and how the use of silence can be just as important as any loud sound effect or eclectic musical cue.

The violence in Drive is worth addressing, because, well, this is a viciously bloody and at times savage film that’s part of a genre that lives and breathes on new ways of killing people. Drive is set in a world populated by murderers and psychopaths, degenerate strip club owners, and mob bag-men. It’s not a nice world. People are mean. They carry knives and they like to use them; not since Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises have there been this many slit throats. The threat of physical violence hovers over every scene of Drive. This is a talent of Refn’s, as in both Bronson and Valhalla Rising, there was a palpable sense of dread in every scene. In Drive, people are shot, stabbed, head-stomped, finger-crushed, and drowned. Most of these deaths are bloody and messy, as they should be. But, nothing ever felt gratuitous or unnecessary, as everything that happens within the narrative is logically connected and holds up to scrutiny. If there are plot holes in this film, they were not outright and obvious. And, it must be said, like Tarantino and Stanley Kubrick, Refn has a distinct way of depicting movie violence, that both feeds off of the horrors of the situation, and the dangerous, slick way that violence can act as emotional catharsis for both the characters and the audience. One specific scene in Drive – let’s call it the “elevator scene“ – is an instant classic because of the way Refn plays with tone and expectation, the real and the fake, and sensual and the savage. Through the use of slow-motion cinematography and a dreamy, trance-inducing piece of music, Refn takes Gosling’s character from love to hate in a matter of moments, a tonal switch that is massively bold and visceral to the extreme. With the woman he loves on one side of the elevator and the man sent to kill them on the other, it’s a sequence that will put hair in places on your body where there isn’t any.

Drive is an exhilarating piece of pop art for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that Refn seems to be in such total command of his craft that it’s bracing to see a film of such strict exactitude. The last time a genre thriller felt this seamless from scene to scene was No Country for Old Men, and while Drive may not have anything as profound to say about man and the nature of violence within men as the Coen brothers’ film did, Drive feels as controlled and clock-work-precise as that Oscar winning masterwork. Drive exists mainly as an exercise in style, a film made by a filmmaker who was obsessed with finding the images that Mann, Hill, and Friedkin left on the cutting room floor back in the mid-80’s. It’s as tightly scripted as you could ask a movie to be, and the performances are all in perfect harmony with one another. And because of Refn’s artsy sensibilities and the fact that he got his movie made outside of the Hollywood system, Drive defies what you’ve come to expect from a “car-movie” or an “action-picture.” Just watch how the opening car-chase sequence is shot and edited and you’ll notice how things are subtly different in Drive. This is the sort of pure-cinema offering that filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, and Paul Thomas Anderson will adore, a movie steeped in genre-based tradition yet excited by the possibilities of the fresh and new.

THREE SENTENCE BLU RAY REVIEWS

2011-09-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Will Ferrell has never been as dark or as sad as he was in Everything Must Go, a very good but very depressing movie about a guy who is thrown out of his house by his wife and who drinks himself into oblivion while living on his front lawn, selling his personal possessions. There are many dark laughs in this little film, and Ferrell proves yet again that when asked to actually give a real performance, he’s more than up to the task. It’s just that the film feels slightly overbearing, and you get the sense while watching that everything in the end might not actually be OK, which, I guess, is what happens in real life.

Merantau is 100% ass-kicking thanks to writer/director/editor Gareth Edwards and Silat (an Indonesian form of martial arts) specialist Iko Uwais. The plot is simple – save the girl and fight like hell – and despite some questionable performances (the bad guys clearly got cast because of their fighting abilities…) the film succeeds thanks in no small part to Uwais’s amazing physical abilities and the fluid and coherent way the action was conceived by Edwards. The bittersweet ending was a nice touch, and there are more than a few wince-out-loud moments during the frequent, bone-crunching, blood-spewing fights, that were mainly shot in long, unbroken takes.

I’ve always liked Mel Gibson as both an actor and filmmaker (Apocalypto and Braveheart are masterpieces), and while he’s very good in The Beaver, the film suffers from never really knowing what it truly wanted to be. Director Jodie Foster has certainly made an interesting picture about mental illness but because of the tonally confused script, the movie never balances out in a truly satisfying way, despite many great individual scenes and moments. All of the performances are sharp, with Gibson perfectly cast as the puppet-wielding crazy-man, Anton Yelchin as his disapproving son, and Jessica Lawrence as Yelchin’s messed-up love interest.

It’s no surprise that Ed Norton and Robert De Niro are great actors, and as usual, they deliver the goods in Stone, a brooding and semi-successful psychological thriller with religious overtones and questionable morals. Milla Jovovich is pretty good as Norton’s slutty girlfriend who seduces De Niro into letting her man out of prison early, but the film never truly convinces when it comes to the various relationships between the characters. An interesting sound design was employed by director John Curran, but he should have worked out his script a bit more before shooting.

Mark Duplass gets a lot of laughs in the small, earnest, and very funny indie comedy True Adolescents, a minor work that isn’t really about anything tangible or plot-centric, but rather, a slice of slackerdom that shines a light on a character who needs to grow up extremely quick. I’d call it a coming-of-age story in more ways than one, and the greatest strength of Craig Johnson’s debut feature is how he blends three very different yet similar characters into a small story of understanding and misunderstanding. The rough and tumble vibe of the flick works well when you think about the type of people you’re observing.

GET YOUR WASTE ON

2011-09-25T15:56:00.001-07:00

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

2011-09-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

Moneyball again tomorrow. Can't wait to hear the dialogue again.

From Netflix is Merantau. It looks sweet. And it's the first film from the director of The Raid.

Killer Elite looks like cheesy, B-movie fun...I'll wait for the Blu Ray more than likely.

I need to go and see Drive again very, very soon...

NEED TO SEE THIS RIGHT NOW

2011-09-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

REVIEWS ON DECK

2011-09-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have a theatrical and a Blu Ray round up coming soon. Our Idiot Brother, Contagion, Moneyball, and Drive will be discussed in depth. At home I've caught up with Everything Must Go, Stone, The Beaver, and True Adolescents. Stay tuned...

BEST SOUNDTRACK OF THE YEAR

2011-09-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

Amazing score and fantastic 80's cuts. Cliff Martinez is an animal this year (his work on Contagion is equally brilliant). Can't wait to grab this CD.

TUESDAY BLU

2011-09-20T03:32:00.000-07:00

Funniest movie of the year.

TOP 10 OF THE YEAR SO FAR

2011-09-19T04:46:00.001-07:00

The Tree of Life
Drive
Moneyball
Contagion
50/50
Warrior
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Hanna
Super 8
Our Idiot Brother