What I Watched… (Vol. 8)

 So yeaaa… it’s been a while since I did one of these. Sufficed to say, the previous year was pretty hellish and posting these updates were the last thing on my mind. But that’s all in the past and onward we march into the future.

Kate returns to kick some serious ass!

Underworld Awakening IMAX 3D

I preceded watching this movie by revisiting the first two Underworld movies, just to refresh my memory. I had forgotten about the sun thing at the end of Evolution and minor plot points throughout the two movies. The following day, it was off to check out Kate in Awakening in fake IMAX 3D. (Fake because it wasn’t shot or covertted into the 70mm IMAX projection screen. That been said, the movie is LOUD, almost non-stop action cinegasm! And much more explicitly violent than the previous Underworlds. I really liked this although I still contend the blue filter does get a bit bland after a while. If you’re not a fan of the Underworld franchise or just happened to check this one out from pure curiosity, then you’ll probably get bored with it after a while.

Lori Singer is leaning on the future Hollow Man.

Footloose

To say it’s been a long time since I watched this movie is an understatement. We’re talking a good twenty years since I last saw this movie. Originally, I had this in my queue because I wanted to compare this classic with last year’s remake, but Netflix apparently only has one copy in their inventory because this disc stayed as “Long Wait” for a good four months before it updated to “Short Wait.” Stupid Netflix. That been said, I forgot what an awesome soundtrack this movie had and the whole final dance sequence is so much fun to watch.

Effff this movie.

Your Highness

When the first red band trailer arrived online a while back, this movie looked like it had the potential to be a gut-busting comedy filled with tons of juvenile humor. Sadly, it didn’t live up to that potential, not even with Natalie Portman stripping down to a thong. The sooner I forget about this movie, the better. Therefore, on to the next film…

In the sequel, they're not happy with the people who took over at the end of the first movie and decide to off them, this time soliciting advice from Method Man.

Horrible Bosses

Underestimated this movie and ended up really liking it. The chemistry between Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day was really good. Jamie Foxx was a bit annoying but thankfully he only appears briefly in a couple scenes. With news of a sequel floating around out there, I’m eager to see what they end up doing with it. Hopefully Jamie Foxx doesn’t need to kill an ex-boss. *eyeroll*

My Top Ten Movies of 2011

Every movie buff/critic/pundit/hack has one. These are my top ten movies of 2011. Granted, there are still movies that I wanted to see that I just didn’t have a chance to check out and short of going to a Redbox and emptying out 21 DVDs, I’ve capped it at what I’ve seen thus far.

So the 21 titles that I have not seen but will eventually in the new year are:

Bridesmaids, Crazy Stupid Love, Limitless, Water for Elephants, Jumping the Broom, Your Highness, The Big Year, Cedar Rapids, Beginners, My Week with Marilyn, Martha Marcy May Marlene, A Better Life, Attack the Block, The Artist, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, Circumstance, Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Happythankyoumoreplease, Ip Man 2, Being Elmo.

Those titles having been listed, I’m pretty confident in the titles I have listed below and I only see a few from the ones above that might bump a title below from the list.

Honorable Mentions: Fast Five, The Help, Unknown, Source Code, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Ides of March, The Debt, Everything Must Go, Take Shelter, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol IMAX and Hugo.

So with that in mind, here are my top ten movies of 2011 (in no particular order, until the very end).

Thanks for the memories guys. *sniff*

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – Sure it’s a bit of a sentimental pick, but it’s coupled with the sobering and devastating reality that there will be no more Potter movies. Spanning ten years and eight movies, the final stanza picked up and finished where Part 1 left off with grace and a bittersweet farewell.

Kung Fu Panda 2 – This movie didn’t earn 12 Annie nominations for nothing. Plus, I love Po. Though this movie does have its sticking points, it’s still entertaining throughout and that’s not something I can say for a lot of the other family animated films this year that kids were pretty much bored with midway through.

The Lincoln Lawyer – A pleasant surprise, I actually didn’t seek this movie out. I figured it would be just a smarmy Matthew McConaughey legal drama. William H. Macy is what makes this movie for me. His performance as McConaughey’s buddy Frank Levin (sounds like Frank Drebin from Naked Gun) sealed the deal  while Ryan Phillippe brooded innocence and Marisa Tomei cashed in another solid supporting performance.

Arthur Christmas – A shame more people didn’t seek this movie out. Trying to find a new take on the same old Christmas movie isn’t easy and Christmas managed to find a unique and thoroughly entertaining adventure. I wistfully await a Grandpa Santa spin-off!

Nick Nolte trains Tom Hardy just in case The Academy snubs him.

Warrior – Another movie that sort of fell off by the wayside. While Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton give strong performances, the real show-stealer here is Nick Nolte. Such a raw and heart-breaking performance.

Margin Call – As far as ensemble pieces go, this is sort of the anti-thesis of The Help. Where The Help gradually builds toward a happy ending via the virtually sitcom-ish chocolate pie gag, Margin Call ends on a down note. Fine performances from the first frame with Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley and Paul Bettany. Kevin Spacey is excellent as is Stanley Tucci and Simon Baker with Jeremy Irons playing such a deliciously smarmy villain.

Like Crazy – While Anton Yelchin is good and Jennifer Lawrence makes a commendable cameo, the real star/revelation here is Felicity Jones. She will break your heart several times over in this devastatingly emotional love story.

13 Assassins – Miike is already a legend. And then he goes and pieces together this little masterpiece. While the first hour or so is spent establishing what a bad guy Inagaki Goro’s Lord Naritsugu is and the formation of our renegade band of avengers, the final forty minute non-stop battle sequence is pure brilliance. The final showdown could have been better executed, but after watching forty minutes of action, I suppose Miike figured nothing could top that.

The Adventures of Tintin – First, let me say that I did not follow the Tintin book series and until this movie had no idea that it existed. Some people might have been bored with the overly-simple plot (Tintin is looking for treasure. That’s it.) but I appreciated watching what Spielberg did with the CGI and how the action flowed almost seamlessly from one sequence to another. And I loved Snowy.

Woody + Rachel + Paris = Win.

Midnight in Paris – Here’s where we get specific in this list. This movie, is hands down, my favorite movie of 2011. And oddly enough, it has nothing to do with Rachel McAdams’ name in the cast list. This is all Woody, with his trademark intellectual wit combined with dazzling cinematography and Corey Stoll stealing scenes as Ernest Hemingway. The praise may be going to The Descendants, The Artist and a host of other movies, but in my book (and this blog), my Best Picture of 2011 is Midnight in Paris.

And so it’s on to 2012. A few movies I’m already looking forward to: The Avengers, The Hobbit, Underworld: Awakening, a bit skeptical about Dark Knight Rises but In Nolan I Trust, curious to see if The Hunger Games lives up to it’s hype and how Skyfall turns out. Will Contraband, Total Recall, Django Unchained and American Reunion be worth the time to check out? I’m sure I’ll get sucked into seeing The Expendables 2, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Men in Black III, The Amazing Spider-Man, Snow White and the Huntsman, John Carter and Mr. Spielberg’s 2013 Academy Awards entry Lincoln. And yes, I will be there to see The Vow. It’s gonna be a busy year! Looking forward to it! Happy New Year everyone!

Favorite Performances of 2011

Originally, I was going to title this Top Ten Performances, but frankly, I’d want to limit those to the Best and Worsts lists. Instead, these are just a bunch of performances from actors that I really enjoyed. You’ll notice once I post my Top Ten list that some of the names and titles listed below are seen in the that list.

Honestly, how could you not fall in Like Crazy love with Felicity. Such a cutie.

Felicity Jones, Like Crazy – For my money, no actress dazzled and captivated me more than the 89 minutes I spent on a Sunday morning watching Jones in Like Crazy. It was one of those performances where you watch an actress take the jump to the next level and I’m eagerly anticipate seeing what’s next for her. Well, we know three projects are confirmed to have her on board, two currently in post-production – Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (a British dramedy) and an untitled Drake Doremus drama co-starring Guy Pearce. The third project is The Invisible Woman, currently in pre-production and slated for a 2013 release with Ralph Fiennes directing.

Nick Nolte, Warrior – Over the years, Nolte’s career and personal life slowly devolved into a series of punch lines. His performance, from the opening bell (pardon the pun) all the way throughout Warrior is one of the unsung supporting performances of the year. Granted, he’s earned a SAG nomination for the performance and fingers are crossed that the Academy recognizes this fine performance.

The cast of 13 Assassins – I can’t single anybody in particular out here. Part of the awesomeness of this movie is due to the direction from Takashi Miike, but if he were to swap the 13 assassins in this movie with a bunch of K and J-pop idols, it just wouldn’t have the same effect. In fact, it’d probably turn into a barely watchable comedy. While Miike builds up the tension in the first hour of this movie, the success and yes, awesomeness of the final 40 minutes of this movie rest in the performances from the ensemble cast of assassins as all hell breaks loose.

The Rock smells a bl-la-la-la-lockbuster!

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Fast Five – Yes, The Rock. The mere prospect of seeing Vin Diesel and The Rock face off on the big screen was reason enough for me to plant my butt in a screening. This was the first movie of the year where I just kicked back and let the over-the-top balls to the wall action sequences take me for a ride. Fast Five is nowhere near perfect and you won’t see it on my Top Ten list, but with The Rock delivering punchlines with bad-ass vigor, this franchise got the shot in the arm it so desperately needed.

The cast of Margin Call – Like with 13 Assassins, Margin Call is a superb ensemble effort. Take the actors in this movie and swap them with a bunch of no-names and it may be a decent but unmemorable indie hit. But with Spacey, Baker, Quinto and Beatty in the lead and Jeremy Irons in a fine supporting role, this becomes one of those unsung movies of the year. Nobody in this movie, aside from Stanley Tucci, is likeable and your gut instinct will be to root against these guy and cheer as they wallow in the mess that they created, but at the same time, you’ll futilely want Spacey to succeed and make the right decision. Does he? I’m not going to spoil that for you. Go watch the movie.

Movie rednecks, gotta love 'em.

Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil – Horror movies tend to be carbon copies of one another. Grisly violence here, some nudity there, add in a gruesome climax and release the thing on DVD. What’s often lacking in horror movies is any personality. A majority of the characters are often these bland, boring objects waiting to be dispatched in some bloody sequence. While an occasional bloody kill sequence is fun to watch, this movie has the added bonus of excellent comedy, led by Labine and Tudyk. These are two guys, especially Labine, who you’ve seen in countless movies and TV shows, but may not know their names. Trust me when I say that Tucker and Dale is worth the time to watch. And if all else fails at least you have Katrina Bowden in her underwear.

Jason Segel and Amy Adams (and Fozzie and Animal), The Muppets – The feel-good movie of the year. Oozing with so much nostaligia and sweetness it would make a diabetic baby boomer go into shock. Segel did a masterful job in bringing the franchise back to life and Amy Adams returns to that sweet charming young lady we saw in Enchanted. Admittedly, I’m not the biggest Muppet fan out there, but I can say that I enjoyed this movie from start to finish with its catchy songs, Fozzie jokes and Animal.

Paul Giamatti, The Ides of March – Sure, Ryan Gosling and George Clooney do a great job and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood give great supporting performances, but for my money, the stand out was Giamatti. I always love it when he plays these characters that are on the edge, where one misguided comment could send him postal. I love the delivery of his dialogue, that menacing bark of a tone that he uses. I can say this much, I ‘m not looking forward to see him in Rock of Ages though. Oy.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Source Code – I kind of debated on this one. Was it that I liked the movie overall and the masterful editing or was it Gyllenhaal’s performance? Because if I’m going to give props to Gyllenhaal, I have to also give mini-props to Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga for their supporting performances. In the end though, when you say Source Code, that image of Gyllenhaal trapped inside that metal sphere thing pops up in my mind. As well as the final scene where his mouth is moving. Yea, cryptic, but I can’t go into this performance without giving away a few spoilers.

Michael Shannon, Take Shelter – A simmer followed by a boil. I hated the ending of this movie, but everything leading up to it, spear-headed by Shannon’s fine performance, was a joy to watch. The ubiquitous Jessica Chastain dials in another fine performance as well, but frankly, she’s going to get her awards over the next couple of months. Shannon on the other hand has a good chance at being edged out by bigger names and bigger movies. Which is a shame really, because his performance in this movie makes it the must see indie that it is.

Accio pistol. Wait, wrong movie.

Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class, Shame – Overall, I wasn’t a fan of First Class. I know I’m in the minority as most people enjoyed that movie. I will say that the one thing I enjoyed about this movie (aside from watching Zoe Kravitz flirt with the camera in every damn scene) was Fassbender’s performance as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto. So good and pinpoint wonderful to watch. Then, on the flip side, there’s Shame. I didn’t know what to make of Shame when I first went in to watch it. I knew that there was going to be lots of nudity and sex but the comparisons to Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris had me somewhat uneasy. (I hated Tango) But that’s where Fassbender’s acting chops kick in and blend with Steve McQueen’s ambiently paced directing.

Johnny Depp, Rango - I could put Capt. Jack Sparrow in here but it isn’t 2003. Rango was a pleasant and refreshing surprise. Great humor and silly dialogue throughout, it could very easily land itself on my Top Ten list.

The Turtle from Turtle, The Incredible Journey – I’m a sucker for anything with a turtle in it. Honestly, that’s the only reason this movie is on this list. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to start a Harvey Weinstein-esque Oscar campaign for the turtle…. although the awards acceptance speech would be mercifully short. And awesome.

Top Ten Disappointments of 2011

I didn’t think I’d be posting back on here, but since I can’t post this kind of stuff on my Fandango blog feed, I’ve turned to this blog to get it out of my system. I’ll have the Top Ten list soon (a few more movies I need to catch up on) as well as Top Ten performances list. But enough of looking into the future, let’s get crackin’…

Every year is filled with them – movies that look amazing and great and, “Oh my gosh!! I can’t wait to see it!!” And then we plunk down out $15 (might be cheaper in your neck of the woods. Studios and theaters like to gouge us city folk) and settle in for two hours of cinematic bliss only to be awarded with a stale, boring and/or disappointing experience and that’s before the asshole sitting two rows in front of you starts fiddling with his smartphone.

As we head toward the end of the year, a flurry of lists are going to start appearing and before I unveil my Top Ten of 2011, I decided to unveil my Top Disappointments of the year. Put simply, these movies did not arrive as advertised and ultimately resulted in disappointment and me wishing I could get my money back.

X-Men: First Class – On paper, this sounds like a promising movie and I’m not taking anything away from Michael Fassbender, who played an excellent Erik Lehnsherr. The rest of the cast from January Jones’ cardboard acting to the presence of Havok, this movie is a mess. Interesting concept, but a misfire as far as I’m concerned.

Real Steel – I went in thinking I was going to be watching a kick-ass movie about robots beating the crap out of each other and Hugh Jackman punching out one-liners and romancing the ethereally beautiful Evangeline Lilly. Well, at least I got the Evangeline Lilly part. But I also got a boring cookie-cutter family story about an annoying punk kid and a less than likeable character in Jackman’s deadbeat father. But like I said, this is a cookie-cutter script rehashed by brilliant studio notes, so it all turns out well in the end. Out of all the movies listed here, this is the one that I was most hyped about and faced the biggest let-down.

No Strings Attached – Natalie Portman, in a comedy about friends who decide to escalate their friendship with empty a la carte sex. You would expect some kind of nudity in this, ratings board be damned! But more than the lack of skin is a story that starts off promising but ultimately becomes grating and annoying.

Hall Pass – The commercials made it look sooooo funny. That Jason Sudeikis, whatta character! Thankfully, I was subjected to only the disappointment of wasting a couple hours of my life watching this crap. The movie, especially the end, is a mess and fall apart faster than, well, me in front of Evangeline Lilly.

Sucker Punch – Five babes, including Jamie Chung and Vanessa Hudgens, badass CGI action sequences and those giant samurai robots things! F**k yes!! If I had known I was going to be subjected to a lazy two hour music video, I probably would have passed on this snooze-fest. On top of that, those giant badass samurai robot things are the first obstacle defeated! If I could, I would have virtually punched Zack Snyder in the nose right then and there.

J. Edgar – Leonardo digs into his bag of accents in this dry, bland story of J. Edgar Hoover. The story is all over the place, the pacing is really, REALLY dry and frankly, I hate to say this, but it’s time for Clint Eastwood to hang it up and enjoy his remaining years.

Drive – What I expected, judging from the trailers, commercials and clips – a pulsating, suspenseful action flick where Ryan Gosling goes around waxing bad guys with a hammer. What I got – about 50 minutes of stagnant, boring drama followed (finally) but bursts of action. On the plus side, at least Albert Brooks gives a great performance.

Miral – There’s only one reason I went to watch this movie – Freida Pinto. Still, I ended up really nauseous watching this and it has nothing to do with Freida. Rather, it’s the over-use of close-up shots combined with “shaky camera” that led to some serious motion sickness. I know one guy in the audience couldn’t stomach it and had to excuse himself midway through to upchuck his overpriced popcorn in the restroom. The things I will endure to watch Freida. I hope Black Gold isn’t like this movie.

Super – Rainn Wilson goes around whacking people on the head with a monkey wrench while Ellen Page slips into a skin tight superhero suit! Sweet! Um, so what’s up with the dark tentacle hentai anime sequence, the looooong stretches where nooothing happens and that incredibly uncomfortable seduction scene between Page and Wilson. This movie got compared to Kick-Ass, but I assure you, it’s nothing like that movie.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – Critics love it. Most British people like it too. Me, I love it too, but only if I need something to put me to sleep. First the positive, the opening sequence is excellent, but then from there it’s chat chat chatty chat chat. From the trailers, I expected Gary Oldman to be some senior level Jason Bourne setting out to expose corruption within the government. Instead, it’s a two hour conversation between a bunch of well-known British actors that fails to draw me into the intrigue established by the opening scene. Tom Hardy is pretty good in it though.

So what did I learn this year? Well, don’t trust trailers for spy/action movies, avoid future films shot by Eric Gautier and I have an enduring fascination with seeing Evangeline Lilly and Freida Pinto on the big screen. OK, well, the last part I already knew.

End of the Week Recap – ‘Twilight,’ ‘Hunger Games’ Pix Plus Leo DiCaprio, Frieda Pinto First Looks, ‘Angry Birds’ Superheroes and ‘Lebowski’ Monopoly?

Here we go with the End of the Week recap for the 8/8-8/12. It started off slow, but then the week picked up steam with Twilight and Hunger Games images as well as trailers for Coriolanus, Harold and Kumar 3D and added just today, anothe Footloose trailer. We also got first looks today of Leo DiCaprio as J. Edgar in Clint Eastwood’s biopic as well as Freida Pinto in Michael Winterbottom’s indie romantic drama, Trishna, which will screen at the Toronto Film Festival next month. But, in my opinion, the coolest thing from this past week is The Big Lebowski Monopoly game board. They seriously need to make this thing a reality! Here’s the link for the full recap on the week’s events. Have a great weekend everyone!

End of the Week Recap and Sleepers to See

First off, need to post the link here that will take you over to the massive End of the Week Recap post that I put up earlier today over on Fandango. All the major (and some minor) movie news, rumors, pics, trailers and videos that hit th next over the past week are bundled up there. It’ll be a regular on-going Friday feature going forward.

Also, check out this Sleepers to See post as well, another new post we’ll be running on the site. This week, we highlight Crazy, Stupid, Love and Attack the Block.

OK, now that we’ve gotten the house-keeping out of the way, I’ll cap this post and move on to a new feature for this blog – Top Threes, which after some thought, I’ve decided to post over on the brand spanking new Tumblr.

Twitter and Fandango Blog Feed Info

Wow, been a while since I lasted updated this sucker. I’m not even going to begin to attempt to try and consolidate all the movies that I’ve watched between the last post and this one. It would literally be a crazy long list.

Instead, I’ll direct you over to my Twitter feed which I update quite often with all kinds of movie news, features, pics and videos. Follow @DerrickDeane

You can also catch my daily blog feed over on Fandango (which is part of the reason I took an extended break from this site) by going here – http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/derrick+deane.html

That’s all for now. More later I’m sure. Hope all’s been well and thanks all for stopping by and checking up on this site. Thanks!

What I Watched… (Vol. 7)

It’s been a while since the last What I Watched entry, given the days leading up to the Oscars, the big day and then the fallout since then. Between the last post and this new one, I’ve managed to make it through quite a few movies, so let’s jump into this super-sized seventh volume!

The Disappearance of Alice Creed – A movie that skirts the line between being a pure exploitation movie and a tense thriller, Creed is for the people who saw Gemma Arterton in Clash of the Titans and wondered what she looked like naked (because, you know, the movie was sooo great). Granted I didn’t know about the Arterton nudity (or the amount) before watching this. I was on an exploitation cinema spree this past weekend and this was the second feature following the movie below. This movie breaks down into three very distinct parts – Act One – The kidnapping done in true exploitation cinema-style, Act Two contains a bunch of plot twists including one that made me go, “Waaaiiiit a minute. What the f**k?!” and then Act Three is actually pretty tense and well-executed. Certainly not for everybody and you have to stick with it, but the payoff is pretty nice.

From the opening kidnapping scene.

High-Kick Girl – This movie kicked off my exploitation cinema Saturday. Frankly I kinda wish I didn’t bother watching this movie. There are some B-level action movies out there that slo-mo repeat an action sequence. For example, High-Kick Girl would execute a nice combo and then there would be an immediate slo-mo replay of the combo, like we’re watching a live sporting event or something. It’s really annoying and one of my top editing pet peeves. I managed to somehow make it thru this movie. The final action sequence is OK I guess and if you’re curious, there is a sequel.

Hard to like a character who goes around kicking people unconscious. Even in a mini-skirt.

The Tillman Story – A sad tribute to the U.S. Government and military’s inability to admit error and continue to cover-up reality under buckets of lies. When you start thinking out it, this is just ONE family’s story. How many other military families faced the same sort of deception? We’ve known for quite some time that the government has secrets, I’m just glad the Tillman family had the bravery and courage to confront this massive machine with its B.S. “oversight committees.”

Brothers. Pat is on the right.

It’s not a perfect system by any means and the fact that an American citizen would volunteer to fight for his country, be killed in action and then used as a political propaganda puppet is sickening and just sad. EVERY American needs to see this movie, if only to open your eyes to the deception that is being played out before them everyday.

Knight and Day – This is one of those movies that I really, REALLY wanted to like, but in the end, it’s just too much of a mess to even bother with. Granted, the beginning and final action sequences are great, if not a bit cartoon-y, but the old film addage of “The 2nd Act is where movies go to die,” applies here. It’s a shame as this movie had a lot of potential. I did however enjoy seeing Tom Cruise back in the action genre. Cameron Diaz. Blah.

One of the many cartoonish action sequences.

Charlie St. Cloud – A ridiculously predicatable storyline that really detracts from how good this movie could have been. The acting is actually really good. Don’t be jaded about Zac Efron being from the High School Musical franchise and write him off because of that. Dude can act. Amanda Crew, Ray Liotta, Charlie Tahan, Donal Logue, all good performances. It’s the plot twist middway thru that really delivers the final blow on how mind-numbingly predictable this movie is.

Hey girl from "Sex Drive," smell my freshly washed pits.

Cyrus – A really well made indie movie where the chemistry between actors really shines. The tension between John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill is pitch perfect as is the complex love story between Reilly and Marisa Tomei. Usually, I throw up a yellow flag when traditionally comedic actors take a turn toward the dramatic turn, but this time it actually works. Definitely worth checking out.

The back-and-forth between these two is just a joy to watch.

Animal Kingdom – I checked this movie out because Jacki Weaver was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, so I figured that this should be a pretty decent movie. WRONG. This was one of the most boring movies I have seen in quite some time. I’d rather watch High-Kick Girl again then have to endure this film. Now I know, I know, most critics and audiences out there enjoyed this movie and heaped praise on it becuase of Weaver’s performance. So let’s start there. Weaver is good. I wouldn’t say great, but she’s definitely subtley callous. My biggest annoyance was Ben Mendelsohn’s Pope continuous telling James Frecheville’s J that he’s there for him, if he needs anything, he’s there for him. “You know that right? I’m here for you. So if you need to tell me anything, I’m here for you. You can tell me anything. You know that right? Right? You can tell me anything. OK? You know that right?” Annoyed yet? That’s when I said eff this movie, fast forwarded to the end and hit the eject button.

F this movie.

Hoodwinked – The animation is crude and it kind of threw me off for a bit. But I stuck with the movie because, A.) it’s only 80 minutes, B.) there’s enough cheeky humor (some of which is groan-inducing) to make it thru the 80 minutes and C.) the big reveal at the end is SO obvious you’d swear an elementary student wrote this script as a summer project. Plus the singing goat was pretty awesome.

If this were a real line-up, the frog shouldn't be in there. Just saying.

13 Assassins – It’s like The Seven Samurai meets The Dirty Dozen, only with Takashi Miike in the director’s chair. Granted it’s not the twisted, weird or grotesque horror mind-benders that Miike is used to churning out (Gozu, Ichi the Killer, Audition, Fudoh… I could go on and on here.) Instead, it’s a pretty traditional samurai movie for the first hour or so followed by an EPIC 40 minute samurai battle royale!! By far, one of the greatest non-stop battle sequences I’ve ever seen. The movie opens limited April 29 and is also available in Japan on Region 2 DVD. Also for SMAP fans, Goro Inagaki plays the main bad guy. No singing though. Haha

Somewhere around 20 minutes into this epic battle royale!!!

Hall Pass – Very crude humor throughout and a very hard R-rating. Initially, the movie starts out promising with Owen Wilson and Jason Sudekis having a tough time getting started with their “hall pass,” by hitting Applebys to pick up women, but the movie just never generates any momentum. Neither one of the guys actually cashes in on their pass and during the duration of the seven days they’re off from marriage, they continuously face rejection. The movie essentially plays out like a series of skits, the ending being particularly over-the-top ridiculous (and not in a good way). And then there is the plot twist, which seemed very unnecessary. In fact, one of the funniest sequences happens during the end credits.

This movie needed better plot development. And more J.B. Smoove. (That's the black dude in case the name wasn't an obvious hint.)

The Last Samurai – I remember the first time I watched this movie in the AMC theater at Rolling Hills. I didn’t know what I was getting into. I just knew that it had Tom Cruise in it and the word Samurai in the title. That was enough for me. I didn’t think I was going to be sitting there at the end with rogue tears escaping from my eyes as Tom Cruise held Ken Watanabe’s hand as he died a valiant death. The second time around, I still felt the emotional impact from that scene but no tears this time. Still one of my favorite movies from one of my favorite directors (Edward Zwick).

Ahhhhh!! Screw you, you Confederate white bastards!!!

Oscar Watch 2011: The Big Awards

And so we have arrived with less than 24 hours before Oscar Day, it’s time to unveil the winners for the big categories, you know, acting, directing, best pic. If you’re interested in my selections for the other categories, check ‘em out here. All right, enough pandering, let’s get to it.

Hey, isn't that guy one of the Just For Men hair models? Oh wait.

Adapted Screenplay:

127 Hours (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
True Grit (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

My Pick: The Social Network At a WGA Writers event, Sorkin revealed that Social was shot from one draft. One. That means whatever Sorkin wrote on down the first time was what Fincher ended up shooting (albeit with about 100 takes per scene). That is simply unheard of and if you’re a writer, you either have to sit in awe of that fact or feel the morsels of self-confidence crumble like dried oatmeal cookies…. Mmmm cookies.

I see Batman in the background! (Kidding)

Original Script:

Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
The Fighter (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
Inception (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler

My Pick: Inception This one seems like a lock for Nolan. Kind of like his substitute award for not getting nominated for director. Of course King’s Speech is in this category here and could unjustly steal this award away from Nolan. But I have faith.

If they don't win this award, they WILL use those guns.

Cinematography:

Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

My Pick : Inception Social and King’s are in the “happy to be nominated” category here, while Grit, while nicely shot, doesn’t have the visual impact of Inception and Swan. So while it’s a two-horse race, it really isn’t. Swan has a limited outside chance of winning this but against Inception, my money’s on Nolan’s mind-bender.

The Best Director award winner with the Best Actress award winner.

Directing:

Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky
The Fighter, David O. Russell
The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper
The Social Network, David Fincher
True Grit, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

My Pick: Darren Aronofsky The category that generated the most buzz on Nominations Morning with its omission of Chris Nolan. Frankly, this is Aronofsky’s to lose. The Coens and Fincher have an outside chance, but really, the mustached man should take home this trophy.

Teenage Academy Award winner.

Actress in a Supporting Role:

Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

My Pick: Hailee Steinfeld One could argue that Steinfeld doesn’t really belong in this category, which is true. But slotting her in the Leading Actress category vs. the likes of Portman and Bening would drop her awards chances drastically. Among the other nominees, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo cancel each other out. We’ve seen it time and again with multiple nominees for the same movie. Helena Bonham Cater could play spoiler if King’s picks up a wave of momentum, although I don’t see it happening here. And Jacki Weaver’s nomination I don’t really get and yes, I did watch Animal Kingdom and I was bored out of my mind. I’ll blog that in the next “What I Watched…” So, that been said, congratulations Ms. Steinfeld! (Video below of her leaving the set of ‘True Grit’)

Batman's on an apples only diet.

Actor in a Supporting Role:

Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

My Pick: Christian Bale Take Hawkes, Renner and Ruffalo and give them a handshake and a pat on the back because this is a showdown between Bale and Rush. The outcome all depends on how much momentum their respective films can pick up over the course of the night. Throughout the awards season, they’ve been more or less split down the middle in regards to accolades. But in this battle of Brit vs. Aussie, I’ll side with the Brit who’s simply mesmerizing as Dicky Eklund.

Academy Award winner, new mom and five movies in 2011. Not bad.

Actress in a Leading Role:

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

My Pick: Natalie Portman Portman is the safe pick and as much as I would like to go with Bening in the upset of the night, I can’t. Just can’t. Kids was a pretty good movie, but against Swan, fuhgetaboutit. Kidman, Lawrence, Williams, thanks for playing and wear something nice.

He's too much of a class act, but it would be hilarious if he did a little bit of the King's Speech schtick during his acceptance speech.

Actor in a Leading Role:

Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

My Pick: Colin Firth Again, a lock. Only Eisenberg and perhaps Bridges could play spoiler, but, no, no, not happening. This one is guaranteed.

The Academy could save about twenty minutes of airtime by just showing this YouTube video.

Best Picture:

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

My Pick: The King’s Speech If I ran the world, not only would I be worn out from all the stress and lack of sleep, but Inception would walk away with this award. But, thankfully, I don’t run the world and so what this category boils down to is The King’s Speech vs. The Social Network vs. True Grit. Social was the early favorite. Then King’s started to garner some momentum and Grit followed with an impressive performance at the box office. Taking my cue from what happened in the battle between Avatar and Hurt Locker, I’m going with King’s. It’s not the best movie of the bunch and I’m sure there are those that would argue that Black Swan or the best reviewed movie of 2010, Toy Story 3 should be in the conversation. But then that would be complicating things too much and the Academy voters like to keep things simple and go with the chic picks. Hence, King’s for the win.

What I Watched… (Vol. 6)

This is probably going to be one of the shorter entries considering, A., I watched two complete mini-series and B., my attention and time is geared more towards the Oscars at the moment. That been said, let’s dive into this sixth edition of “What I Watched…”

The Pacific – Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ companion piece to Band of Brothers follows the same harrowing tale of combat during World War II, this time, in the Pacific vs. Japan. I must first off state that I am half-Japanese, so WWII movies that take place in the Pacific always have an extra special meaning to me. That been said, it took until the fifth episode of this series before I really got into it. The first four episodes are so languid and slow-paced and while the cinematography is great and the musical composition by the legendary (and seemingly ubiquitous) Hans Zimmer ebbs and swells at the appropriate moments, I couldn’t like the first batch of soldiers as much as the latter half. This is significant because with Band of Brothers, I was rooting for that group of soldiers from the get-go. The battle sequences are still top-notch, and honestly, I would expect nothing less from Spielberg and Hanks’ with their resume featuring Brothers and Saving Private Ryan.

A still from one of the epic battle sequences in "The Pacific."

Hotaru no Hiakri (ホタルの光) I already knew I was going to like this Japanese romantic comedy series. Translated it means, “Glow of Fireflies,” and stars one of my favorites – Ayase Haruka in the lead role. There is a second part to this series which I will watch shortly and include in the 7th edition of this series, but in the meanwhile, you can get a general breakdown of the relationships and storyline in this manga-adapted comedy. As an added bonus, I found this compilation video set to Aaron Carter’s “When It Comes To You,” which is edited beautifully and makes me love this series even more.

A second "first kiss" in "Hotaru no Hikari."

The Last Song Contrived, yes. But Miley Cyrus and Greg Kinnear do a nice job with their characters. The ending seems a bit forced and the twist involving Kinnear’s character seemed a bit too fresh for me, having just experienced that. (Yea, I’m no gonna give it away) Maybe that’s what helped my empathize with Miley’s character. Overall, not as bad as the critics make it out to be.

Miley and Liam experiencing Nicolas Sparks' trademark summer fling syndrome.

The Kids Are All Right I can totally see why the critics loved this movie. The acting is excellent all around and while the story seems to meander around, it definitely has that hip indie vibe to it. Annette Bening is REALLY good, which is saying something cuz I don’t normally like her in movies. Julianne Moore gives a strong emotional performance as well. Mark Ruffalo, eh. I definitely saw more of his bare ass than I cared to see. The ending is very ho-hum. Kind of like, “OK, well, that’s all the story we have for ya. Thanks for watching.”

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in "The Kids Are All Right."

Drive Angry 3D Bullets, blood and boobs in 3D. An early review from a private screening. Consequently, this is the first movie I watched on an actual movie screen this year. I was a bit leary about watching this given that it’s directed by the guy who made My Bloody Valentine, but Drive Angry is a pretty kick-ass Grindhouse-type movie in pretty decent 3D. Granted it’s not great but it’s certainly not as bad as I thought it might be. Nicolas Cage plays it pretty even keel, kind of like The Bride from Kill Bill while Amber Heard, well, Amber Heard. William Fichtner is freakin’ hilarious as well and David Morse makes a nice cameo. Overall, an OK movie.

Amber Heard and Nic Cage set off to kick some ass. In 3D!

Hmmm, OK, I guess this didn’t end up being that short of an entry after all. Happy movie watching and see you all around at the next post!