Cool News
Moriarty’s Holiday Marathon Catch-Up Begins With A Report On The BNAT Premieres!!
It’s the most wonderful tiiiiime of the year.
And, in terms of personal pressure, one of the more stressful as well.
I like to be thorough when I write my personal list of favorite films for the year. I like to see as much as possible, but new parenthood is by far more rewarding at the moment and time-consuming as well, so I’ve seen a dramatic shift this year in terms of how I’ve spent my evenings when most screenings occur. I’ve also been working on a few projects that are coming to fruition this year, things I’m very excited by and pleased with.
So, as always, I am playing catch-up. I am now in the position of trying to see as many films as possible before the first week or so of January, when I have to start writing if I’m going to make a January 10th publication date.
I’m not in any rush to be first. And I’m not trying to sway anybody else’s opinion about anything. I just want to take the time to make proper sense of a film year that strikes me as one of the richest of this decade so far. Over the next week or ten days, as I see stuff, I’ll be posting my reactions. I keep a running list all year long that I maintain at the Zone.
Working from a list of 300 titles (give or take a dozen), I’ve seen 190 films so far, I have 29 in the house to watch, and I’m confident I’ll have another 30 or so in the house before I’m done with the process. That leaves about 40 films that it looks like I’ll just plain miss out on seeing this year.
If you are involved with any of these films and you feel it’s imperative I see the film before I finish my list, then please contact me at my e-mail address so I can give you shipping information or you can give me screening information in LA. Anything between now and January 10th would be great for:
SCOOP, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, DAYS OF GLORY, FAST FOOD NATION, 13 (TZAMETI), QUINCENERA, FUR, WE ARE MARSHALL, 49 UP, TIDELAND, HARSH TIMES, SLEEPING DOGS LIE, THE NATIVITY STORY, A GOOD YEAR, JUST MY LUCK, SEE NO EVIL, PEACEFUL WARRIOR, PUFFY CHAIR, SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS, MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND, ZOOM, EVERYONE STARES: THE POLICE INSIDE OUT, THE AMATEURS, TRUST THE MAN, THE QUIET, OLD JOY, LOOKING FOR KITTY, MUTUAL APPRECIATION, GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL, THE US VS JOHN LENNON, AL FRANKEN: GOD SPOKE, GRIDIRON GANG, AMERICAN HARDCORE, RENNAISANCE, BANDIDAS, ROMAN, ANGEL-A, THE GROUND TRUTH, KEEPING MUM, EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH, MY FIRST WEDDING, HOUSE OF SAND, RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES, THE GRUDGE 2, DRIVING LESSONS, DIXIE CHICKS: SHUT UP AND SING, DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE, THE BRIDGE, SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE, ERAGON, CHARLOTTE’S WEB, or BLACK CHRISTMAS.
If you send me the film, I promise I’ll make time for it before I finalize the list. I’ll give everything its shot if I get the opportunity.
BNAT was great fun as always this year, and it helped a lot since we had seven new films that night. I think it might be, pound for pound, the best line-up of premieres the festival has ever hosted, too.
BLACK SNAKE MOAN is a big leap forward for Craig Brewer, proving that HUSTLE & FLOW was no accident. His strong suit is character and heart, and BLACK SNAKE MOAN is every bit as moving and as involving, with two great leads and a rich supporting cast. Sam Jackson is one of those guys who works so much, in so many different kinds of films, that you sort of forget just how precise and powerful he can be with the right material. He absolutely transforms into this new person in this film, becoming this character in a specific physical way. The moment everyone will be talking about in the film takes place during a thunderstorm, and everything you see Sam do in the film, he’s really doing. That’s really him playing. That’s really him singing. It’s one of the most audacious moments in a film in recent memory, and it works. Christina Ricci takes a nearly-impossible role as written and finds the reality of it. She plays her character as bruised but somehow innocent, and the chemistry between the two of them pays off to surprising effect.
Even more surprising is the way Brewer uses Justin Timberlake in a key supporting role. When someone’s as famous for being themselves as Timberlake is, it’s hard to believe them in a genuinely demanding character role. Brewer makes you forget who Timberlake is, and as the love story between Timberlake and Ricci unfolds, it gains a surprising resonance. Even though the film starts with a crazy exploitation premise (and you’ve got to love those lurid, overheated one-sheets), the execution is anything but. It’s a film with real soul, and it marks Brewer as one of the most exciting emerging voices in film right now.
I’ve written at length about my affection for DREAMGIRLS, and I ended up seeing it four times in the theater if you count the BNAT screening. As much as I root for anything in an Oscar race, I’m rooting for Eddie Murphy for Best Supporting Actor. The film’s open in limited release right now, and I’ve been reading reactions from all over the country of audiences participating in the film. I have a theory about Bill Condon’s canny use of the audience in his film that has to do with how the film plays to a full house, but I’ll get into that more when I include the film in my list.
I mean, I’m pretty confident at this point, even if I see 30 or 40 or even 50 more films before I write my list. I’m fairly sure I know the general shape of things. After all, I keep my list broken up into five general categories, which seems more honest and quantifiable than anything like stars or thumbs: EXCELLENT, VERY GOOD, GOOD, NOT SO GOOD, and FUCKING AWFUL. I’ve got 22 films in the EXCELLENT category for the year so far, so my top ten is most likely coming out of that group.
So I admit... right now I’m sort of comparing everything I see to what I feel are the high watermarks of the year so far. The movies I’m watching are up against some really special experiences that I’ve had with cinema.
For example, seeing ROCKY BALBOA at BNAT. As I said in my review, I admire the film, but don’t think it’s perfect. No matter. It was a fantastic experience, and my wife (who was in Austin, but who did not come for all of BNAT because we had Toshi with us) came for just that one film.
She loves Rocky. She loves everything about the character, and every frame of film so far in the series. Yes... even part five. In fact, especially part five. And I finally understand why. She thought that was the last Rocky movie, and so she savored the things she liked about the movie, and she ignored the things she didn’t. She just enjoyed spending time with the character. Seeing this film with her at the Drafthouse, it was probably the best two hours we spent together in a theater all year long. When the crowd started to chant “ROCKY! ROCKY! ROCKY!” during the big fight, she had tears of joy in her eyes, and I have BNAT to thank for that, for that perfect audience for the perfect screening.
I’m also relatively sure that I’ll never see another screening of KNOCKED UP like the one we had. This was the last movie added to the BNAT line-up this year, and it was a real leap of faith for writer/director Judd Apatow and producer Shauna Robertson to let us have it in workprint form. The film’s reeeeeeally long right now, and at two-and-a-half hours, it’s basically an embarrassment of riches. Apatow gives his actors a lot of room in this film, and the whole cast delivers. Seth Rogen comes of age as a movie star with his performance here, fulfilling a promise made in 1999 with the premiere of FREAKS & GEEKS. He was part of that remarkable ensemble, and right away, he had such an original and natural sense of comic timing. Now, he’s just the right age to play this man-boy, Ben Stone. He lives with his friends, and Apatow’s cast a group of Rogen’s real friends, all great young comic actors who have worked with Apatow before. Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, and the great Martin Starr. All of them do a great job, but if I had to guess, it’ll be some of their material that hits the floor as Apatow trims the film up before its released. They serve as a mirror that Ben looks into of his own prolonged childhood. I lived with buddies my entire time in LA before I got married, and anyone who has ever had a group of roommates will recognize the dynamic between these friends.
The spine of the film is the relationship between Ben and Alison Scott, played by the formidable Katherine Heigl. Yes... that’s right. I said formidable. I’ve never really thought of her as such, but the work she does here is rich and funny and sexy and adult, and it suggests that she’s been sadly underutilized in films so far.
I also think this is a sort of celebration of all the funny that is Paul Rudd, and his performance in this in the version we saw is so revealing and so funny and unbelievably wincingly honest that I would start thinking about running a Best Supporting Actor campaign for him next year. He is to married men what Ricky Gervais was to mid-level managers in THE OFFICE. And he gets as good as he gives from Leslie Mann, Apatow’s real wife. She plays Alison’s older sister, who is married to Pete, played by Rudd. I am seriously afraid of her after seeing her argue with Rudd in this film, but I’m also sort of crushing on her all over again for the way she attacks her role. Her character, Debbie, knows she’s getting older, and the scenes where she confronts that are blisteringly funny. But she’s also a great foil for Rudd, and a nice obstacle for Rogen to have to overcome in the film.
There are a lot of little touches that really pay off. Apatow’s two daughters play Rudd and Mann’s daughters in the movie, and they give delightfully non-professional performances. They are just real little girls, and they serve as a sort of Ghost Of Christmas Future for Ben and Alison as they hang around with them during Alison’s pregnancy. I like what this film has to say about responsibility. It seems like a more centered message than the way Hollywood normally sells us the All Successful Fathers Are Shitty Fathers scenario, and Apatow’s comedy has a generous human side as always. In the days since THE BEN STILLER SHOW and THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW, Apatow has honed his sensibilities to the point now where I think he’s sort of running at peak on all fronts these days.
I’ll be curious to see how the final film looks, but it was a hick of a viewing of a work in progress, and the audience was really into it. They gave Seth Rogen a warm reception afterwards, too, and I think he was surprised by just how much they connected with it. He should get used to it, I’m guessing, because he’s in for a huge jump in visibility when the film is released in June.
I am shocked and amazed by how much I loved Paul Verhoeven’s BLACK BOOK, easily the best thing he’s made since ROBOCOP, and arguably a better film even than that. I’d written Verhoeven off a while ago, but with this film, he reasserts himself as one of the sharpest stylists in the business, and one of the most subversive.
There’s a scene in KNOCKED UP where all the buddies are hanging out and talking about how MUNICH is great because it shows Jews kicking ass, something that you don’t see in enough films. It’s a funny conversation, one I’m not doing justice to, but it because even stranger in hindsight based on how much ass the Jews in BLACK BOOK get to kick. Verhoeven brings all the slick of his Hollywood action movie work to bear on the story of the Dutch underground during WWII and one woman, Carice van Houten, and what she does to survive. Her work as Rachel Ellis is remarkable, and she is pushed to extremes in sequence after sequence.
It’s an audacious film, and it flirts with absurdity several times. Verhoeven is still the master of the simple shock, like a scene where van Houten prepares for a date with a Nazi by dyeing her pubic hair blonde. Van Houten plays the scene seated, facing a mirror, legs spread for the camera, just the sort of “holy cow” moment that Verhoeven loves to shoot with his actresses. But unlike Elizabeth Berkley or Sharon Stone, I doubt you’re ever going to hear van Houten complaining about how Verhoeven tricked her or bullied her or seduced her into such shocking behavior. Van Houten’s performance is strong, self-aware, unflinching. She’s got to play some crushingly heavy emotional material, and she does so with perfect pitch throughout the entire film. It’s impressively nuanced work from an actress I’ve never seen before. If there’s any justice, this is the start of a huge career for this gifted actress. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this film as Sony Pictures Classics rolls it out in the spring.
I don’t feel qualified to review the last two premieres of the evening. I was outside the Drafthouse, it was incredibly late... or early, I guess you’d say... and instead of eating the starch-heavy breakfast that is served each year, I opted to share the tail end of a joint with a reader. Seemed harmless enough until I sat down and the lights dimmed for Joe Carnahan’s hypercharged ode to cartoon mayhem, SMOKIN’ ACES. I am a boring old married man these days, kids, and I can’t be taking random drags off these supercharged cigarettes you youngsters are rolling. I’m not built for it, especially at the end of a 20 hour stretch being awake and loaded up with Sudafed. Carnahan’s film blasted by in one loud and crazy wall of color and carnage, and I had a great time watching it.
I couldn’t really describe it to you, though, and I can’t really tell you what happens in it, and that’s a problem if you’re going to try and review something.
And then there was 300.
Earlier this year, I was invited to meet Zack Snyder at his editing rooms near Warner Bros. In the hour I spent with him, I found myself won over completely by his approach to his craft and by his obvious love of both storytelling and image. Here’s one of those guys who was set up to fail with his first feature, taking on the unenviable task of remaking the beloved DAWN OF THE DEAD. To his credit, Snyder proved to be the right guy for the job, and I never got a sense in any of the press he did for that film that he thought he was reinventing the wheel. The first ten minutes of that film remains my favorite part, but it’s so confident and so well-built that it put Snyder on the map as a filmmaker to watch, in my opinion.
300 will launch him to a whole new level of creative power as a filmmaker, and it’s going to bring him the opportunity to do anything he wants next time out.
Which is exciting because 300 is not a typical studio movie in any way. This isn’t a safe bet. This isn’t the sort of film that the studio can make and just dump into theaters knowing it’ll make its money. 300 is a leap of faith, but I think it’s coming together in a really special way.
Snyder’s a guy who can really work a room, but it doesn’t seem calculated. He’s just got a forceful personality, and this infectious enthusiasm that’s constantly on a high simmer. He’s not slick, and that’s part of his charm. He just comes across as a guy who’s really happy with his new film, and who seems to take enormous pleasure in seeing someone else react to it. I get the impression that he is constantly bubbling with ideas, and a conversation with him is a sort of torrent of energy, with lots of ideas going on all at once.
However, 300 doesn’t appear to be the typical ADD-spastic pop culture junk version of this story that I was, quite frankly, expecting when I first heard the announcement that they were adapting Frank Miller’s book.
Remember... this announcement came before SIN CITY was finished. And at the time of the announcement, I had no idea what Zack Snyder had planned. This is a good case to remember when talking about how important it is not to jump to conclusions.
Because everything I’ve seen so far is far beyond my expectations. The first thing Zack showed me in the editing room was the style book that he created, based on Frank Miller’s artwork and the work of painters like Boris or Frank Frazetta, and I’ve seen stylebooks like this before. Filmmakers frequently start the development process by pulling together images that inspire them, things they can show to help evoke a tone when talking to costumers or production designers, and a lot of times, those initial collections of images are more visually striking and distinct than the final film.
Here, though, the images that Snyder pulled together are the images he’s creating onscreen. Using the stylistic freedom of completely creating his world, he has put together something painterly and surreal and emotional. This is definitely not meant to be a realistic vision of history, and that’s pretty clear from the very first frame.
I went to an event here in LA about two months ago where they showed us a half-hour or so of film. And even after all that, I was completely hyped up about actually laying eyes on 300 in its finished form.
So imagine my frustration at nodding in and out of it for the entire running time. My version of 300 was forty minutes long, and it seemed to consist almost entirely of very loud sounds that jarred me back into consciousness. What I saw, I loved just as much as I’ve loved everything I’d seen before BNAT, but just as I managed to wake myself up the rest of the way, the film was over, and there was my wife and Toshi and my mother-in-law, there to pick me up so they could take a look around the aftermath of BNAT.
I’ll end up seeing both SMOKIN’ ACES and 300 again before I write any sort of real review for either.
But you know what the very best part of BNAT was? Out of the entire 25 hours or so?
There was one moment in the middle of it... which film it was or what scene is beside the point... but I looked down from my seat to where Harry was sitting, and I saw him with Patricia, the two of them cuddled close, Harry laughing incredibly hard. And I can honestly say in the full nine years I’ve known Harry, I’ve never seen him that happy. Patricia is the Best Thing in a long line of best things that have happened to this improbably lucky friend of mine, and for him to celebrate his birthday party with this line-up of movies surrounded by friends and well-wishers and with his fiancée at his side... it warms my heart to see him like that.
I’ll be back tomorrow with reviews of more of the films I’m watching during this marathon. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, NOTES ON A SCANDAL, and CHILDREN OF MEN are up first, and I’m sure I’ll have more for you as well. For now, I hope you guys are enjoying the holidays as much as I am, and I hope you’re seeing good stuff every time you go out.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
-
+ Expand All
-
will suck more than anything that has ever sucked before.
-
Dude, you've gotta get high watching the Wizard of Oz and syncing it to Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. That's the best. That and the old Power Rangers TV show. Zordon the rangers are in trouble.
-
Yes it is. What's your point?
-
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah, I said it.
-
THE BEST MOVIE EVER
-
I wish people could shut up with the ADD culture bashing. Some of us actually honestly have ADD and it's not funny. Ok. It is funny... but don't dilute it by labeling it some cultural excuse for lack of depth and quality. People who actually have ADD have to work 10 times harder in life to get anywhere. You try reading something 5 times and realising you have no idea what you are reading and knowing it's gonna be 5 more times before you do. I don't mind people making fun of ADD, just please don't act like it's fake like the bullshit efforts done by recent pop culture media.
-
Best BNAT write up I've read. Keep up the good work, I can't wait fro Knocked up and Smokin' and 300. Good stuff. But, in a completely unrelated note, can someone tell me when the fuck CHILDREN OF MEN is playing in Austin? I walked through a horrible rainstorm yesterday to Alamo Drafthouse Lamar because the pamflet said it was playing, and it wasn't so I ended up in NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. Which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you haven't seen it, you should know that dick van dyke gives ben still a roundhouse kick to the face. Did you hear what I just said? DICK VAN DYKE ROUNDHOUSE KICKS BEN STILLER IN THE FACE. Go see it.
-
in BLACK BOOK. just kidding.
-
no you're not.
-
share?! tail end?!?! You smoked half that fatty yourself! Hell man, you outsmoked me, thus making YOU the pothead! Good shit tho', right? It's true people, I've lived all over this country of ours, but Northern Cali has the best bud.
Solid write up of Zwartboek. One major twist is easy to spot, the "shit scene" was a tad much (tad in the "Airplane" sense) but aside from that, I was entranced when I wasn't being visually assaulted. Those actions scenes are shocking, loud and impeccably timed. My second favorite film of the fest, after Black Snake Moan. -
I would also like to have films sent to my house, or screenings arranged here in Oakland. I, um, moderate The Zone, so there's a good chance 75 people may or may not read my musings.
To sweeten the pot (see what I did there?), if I like the film I can hire a crackhead to rant and rave about your film in public (note, you must supply the bullhorn, but trust me, those guys don't need one). Much like "branding" teenagers with a particular slogan, crackhead endorsements are the cutting edge of advertising, sure to reach a hip and urbane urban demographic. -
... hey, man, I was trying to be subtle. But, yeah, I guess it was a half a fatty, and you did pretty much lay me out.
You see why the Zone is a good thing, kids? It's the fine people you meet there.
And remember, Moriarty is not a role model. Only users lose drugs. -
Is but a blur to me too because of KC's fine cali bud but I was wide awake for the 300 asskickery, Drew you should have eaten the breakfast.
-
Been reading your stuff for years and you're the only one in this dump worth reading. Keep up the good work. Or die.
-
Holy shit, are those my only two choices?!
I'll get back to you after I've consulted my manager. Death might be better for tax purposes this year, so I want to keep both options open. -
I'm not saying that at all.
If you follow the link above to where I keep my running list, you'll see that there are 22 films in the excellent category right now. ROCKY BALBOA is not one of them. Any top ten list I make will come out of those 22 titles, plus any others that end up in that category.
What I said is what I meant. I think the film is good. I thought the screening was great. There's a difference, and that's what I was writing about. -
Drew we finished watching Freaks and Geeks this week. Would've loved to see it run for 2 seasons. But it felt right to end where it did. Anyway BNAT was the best one yet; and Knocked Up was possibly the best film shown. Judd Apatow we love you.
-
Just a fucking awesome year to be a film lover. Usually there's one or two movies a year that win me over completely and turn me into an excited, gushing kid instead of the cynical sack of shit I usually am. There wasn't just one or two movies like that in 2006. There were a dozen or so.
-
... you're not allowed to say that yet. I'm planning to say that in my year end article.
So ixnay on that talk, okay? You're gonna steal my thunder and look like it's your original thought, and I know you just stole it out of my brain, so cut it out.
And, yeah. Best year since '99. Easily. Which was the best since 1996. Spooky, eh? -
Great write-up, Drew. Dammit I knew I shoulda went outside. Still, I didn't pass out this year, and I can't wait for you to see 300 in its entirety. Awesome movie. DREW SMOKES A FATTY... that's an awesome movie title.
-
Don't know where you guys are coming from on that front. That's not to say that there haven't been quality films out this year, but nowhere near as many or as significant in impact as 1999. I actually thought 2005 was the closest we've had since 1999 - a statement I make on the basis that I had almost enough films for 2 top ten lists, whereas I'm genuinely struggling to single out ten at all this year. And I don't think I've missed much (need to see The Proposition, Almodovar's Volver and Little Miss Sunshine - it remains to be seen if they make that kind of impact on me). For me, the following stand out - United 93, Children of Men, The Departed, Pan's Labyrinth, Babel. I've seen a lot of other films that I've liked but are too flawed to compete with the best of 1999 (or 2005 for that matter) - Little Children, Miami Vice, Flags of Our Fathers, World Trade Centre, Breaking and Entering, Apocalypto to name but a few. All boasting considerable quality and yet all come up short one way or another. I would actually argue that it has been a couple of expertly produced genre pieces like Inside Man or Casino Royale that have provided the most satisfying experiences this year, compensating for a relatively weak summer of blockbusters. Which begs the following question - where is this year's equivalent of Being John Malkovich? Or Fight Club? Or Magnolia? Or a blockbuster as influential as The Matrix? A film as politically charged as Three Kings? The reason why 1999 was heralded is that these films and a number of others felt like true one-offs, which I don't think I can say I've seen this year. We saw something approaching that kind of ambition and diversity last year - Syriana, Munich, The Constant Gardener, Good Night and Good Luck, The New World, A History of Violence, Brokeback Mountain, Match Point... - I truly believe that was a hell of a good vintage. And after a particularly strong year, American film in particular has come up short this year - note that of the films I've singled out from 2006 (and yes, this is only my opinion, in no way do I deem this to be definitve), Scorsese is the only American director. It's really not like me to be cynical - I'm usually the optimist! - but I need 2007 to restore a little faith. Moriarty - I look forward to seeing your year-end list (it may direct me to some stuff I've missed). Godoffireinhell - I'd be really interested to hear which dozen films pushed your buttons this year. Happy new year everyone by the way!
-
and laughing is the highlight of your BNAT, then I feel sorry for you. Deeply.
-
Harrys back, that is
-
As Mori never finished his 1990s decade wrap up series of articles. :P *ducks and runs*
-
Are you serious? I'd have a hard time even coming up with 10 great films, let alone 20 or 30 like Capone. Never mind 1999, this year isn't even as good as last year. Where's the Lady Vengeance? Where's the Capote? When people are talking about a Lifetime movie of the week (The Queen) and a bastardization of a great Asian film (The Departed) as the best of the year, that year has got some problems.
-
What do you MEAN you've never seen Gridiron Gang? There's a moment in it where The Rock almost looks heterosexual. Trust me, Drew - if you're ever stuck on an airplane and this gem is the inflight, do yourself a solid and drop the five bucks. Hey, at least there will be a vomit bag nearby.
-
Hope all AICN staff and Talkbackers have a fantastic 2007, (and with the movies we've got to look forwards to it should be VERY good). Happy New Year fellow film fanatics.
-
(that, to me, will include Perfume & Children of Men...not playin' in my town yet,.)
-keeping the faith.
HAPPY NEW YEARS AND MUCJ HEALTH TO ALL! -
You fuckin' hippy, gimme drugs man
-
if you can get ahold of it. It'll probably beat Al Gore for the Oscar. And it's really good, actually.
-
You continue to be the best writer on this site. By far.
-
From one East Bay folk to another. (Now someone else understands how great the Bay Area is for getting the biggest variety of film choices within a very reasonable distance.)
-
Which is good, because someone mentions it in every other article.
-
why do you feel deeply sorry for a man who rejoices in seeing the happiness of his friends? which of you is the loser?i suggest you should smoke a fatty. peace.
-
I don't think I've seen that many movies in the last 15 years of my life.
-
"The film’s reeeeeeally long right now, and at two-and-a-half hours..."This isn't a good sign. All reports of this film seem confident that Apatow will edit it down into something brilliant. I beg to differ. On the evidence of The 40 Year Old Virgin, I wouldn't be so sure that he's capable of doing so.Sure, it was great fun, the best comedy of last year, but with a little trimming and fine-tuning it could have been the best comedy of the last ten years. Will Apatow show some restraint this time? Christ, I hope so.
-
... not at all. I think when you're choosing "Do I put this great hilarious scene in?" or "Do I put that great hilarious scene in?" there aren't too many losing scenarios for the audience.
It really is unrelentingly funny. The only reason I see him chopping it back is for people who have an allergic reaction to films longer than two hours. If I was him, I'd just lock the cut and be done with it, but that's just me. -
So what are the 20 worst films of the year?
-
Did you go back and watch Black Dahlia on video? I felt pretty much the say way you did about the film... but now that I know what its actually about (it was marketed as a murder mystery that focuses only on Short) I found that it played much better. There's still some flaws there (why only show that creepy, scarred man at the end?)... but it plays a lot better now...
-
ooops
-
I don't care if you watch it as a mystery, as a drama, or while standing on your head, that movie was a piece of crap. Aaron Eckhart should be ashamed of himself - he's a damn fine actor, but he looked like an idiot in that flick. And don't even get me started on Josh Hartnett. I think he greeted me the other day at Wal-Mart, if that tells you anything.
-
I didn't see Stranger Than Fiction on your list, even under the not-yet-watched section. Come to think of it, I haven't seen it on anybody's Best Of list this year. I can't believe this film snuck under the radar of so many people. Out of the 87 films I saw in theaters this year, Stranger Than Fiction is my favorite by a small but significant margin. The fact that the best film of 2006 was a Will Ferrell flick might be proof that the end times are upon us, though.
-
I noticed that Eddie Murphy's Delirious will finally be released on DVD the first week of Feb.
Remember the gay & AIDS jokes in that? I bet someone over at TMZ tries to stir up a shitstorm about that, and right when Oscar ballots are arriving to voters.
Yeah, it's tin foil hat stuff, but you just watch.
-
Mori, you and KC outside the Alamo on the cold, drizzly morning sharing that joint will always rank as one of my strangest memories. I was trying not to be sick and passed out shortly after. I would have rather been in your herbal boat, guys.
-
I hope seeing so many films at once doesn't dull you to this film. I found it to be the most moving film I can ever remember seeing. The 9 minute one shot would have had Altman in awe.
-
...thinking great one more disc to go as I put the fourth in to realise no I've watched them all and it's just a light extras disc. D'oh! No closure on Undeclared either. My wife hates me for making her watch these great shows she gets involved with only to have it end (we watched Wonderfalls a few months back), so she'll look forward to this flick. It looks like a reunion.
Must say though that the 'special edition' of 40 Year Old Virgin DVD sucked arse and why on earth couldn't they have put a seamless branching theatrical cut on there? The so-called extended cut actually looked just like a previous edit that was tightened to make the theatrical. Nothing really different just more bloated scenes. Boo.
Mori maybe your new year's rez should be not to promise us any deadlines whatsover. We appreciate your stuff but geez you're getting as bad as the guy from The Digital Bits! Just dump the stuff on us when you're done and we'll swallow it with delight. Uh, that didn't sound right but you get my drift. Thanks mate. -
Its not good - but a great way to pass the time when you are stranded away from home for the holidays. And Mary Elizabeth Winston is one of the hottest girls on the planet right now.
-
Downtown Oakland, equidistant from both Lake Merritt and the 14th St. library. I'll co-sign on the veritable cornucopia of films we get here in the Bay, almost, ALMOST makes the ridiculous cost of living worth it. "Children of Men" in 16 theaters across the country, we got 2 of 'em. Tideland played in Berkeley (for a week, but still...) and even with the demise of the Act I & Act II, we still get a fair amount of foreign fare. Come meet me in the Zone where we can Privately Menstruate back and forth without the rabble finding out even more details about my life...
-
Hence all the, you know, Oscar nominations last year and a win in a little category called Best Actor.
-
Jennifer Hudson got junk in the trunk. And that's all-right with me.
-
... STRANGER THAN FICTION should be under "good" on my list.
I liked it okay. I thought it was aimless, but amiable. -
I've just lost all desire to see it. The only thing that will get me in theaters now if Christina Ricci gets nekkid.
-
... she does.
And trust me... you'll feel differently about Timberlake after you see the film. If you can set aside your baggage about him as a pop star, he's very good. -
Just put that on your top ten ten times and call it year.
-
Top Ten is good. Top 50 films of the year, kinda meaningless.
-
... and I smiled even more than usual when I got to your aside about Harry and his ladyfriend. Always good to see cinephiles in the world who are, first and foremost, good folks, and good friends. Kudos, sir.
-
you're killin' me Moriarty, please tell me you were high as kite all four times you saw it?
-
:p
Wasn't nice bringing your cute baby to BNAT Mori...at the end of the fest...as I walked around in a happy daze, being reminded that I had *abandoned* my baby boy to go to Texas...was not kind! ;)
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 273 total posts 271 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 92 total posts 92 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 160 total posts 69 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 151 total posts 63 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 67 total posts 59 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 60 total posts 57 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 484 total posts 49 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 69 total posts 42 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 120 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 183 total posts 24 posts