You have to see the trailer for the film, The Beaver

I saw this trailer yesterday while waiting for Black Swan, and had to post it on my site.  I honestly can't believe that this is for real.  What was Mel Gibson and Jody Foster smoking when they said yes to this film?

Black Swan: An actual entertaining film about Ballerinas

Yesterday I got the chance to check out Darren Aronofsky’s new film Black Swan, which stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel. Aronofsky is best known for directing the 2008 film The Wrestler. I have to admit that going into the theater, I was as equally excited as I was cautious about this film, after all, it is a movie about ballerinas.

Black Swan (2010): is a psychological thriller set in New York City. Natalie Portman plays Nina, a dancer in a celebrated ballet company. After the lead ballerina (played by Wynona Ryder) is forced to retire, director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) begins searching for a new lead to star his upcoming production of Swan Lake. After some initial hesitation, Leroy decides to cast Nina as the Swan Queen. The strain and stress of this new role causes Nina to suffer from hallucinations which grow increasingly graphic. Adding to her stress, Nina also begins to suspect that her understudy Lily (Kunis) is trying to steal the lead role from her. Paranoid and unstable, Nina desperately tries to hang onto the role she’s fought so hard to get.

Black Swan is a fascinating and intense look into what a performer will do for greatness. Nerve racking and melodramatic, Black Swan is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Natalie Portman’s portrayal is chilling and impassioned. With a Golden Globe nomination already under her belt for this performance, I fully expect an Oscar nomination to follow as well. Innovatively original, Black Swan lives up to the hype, and is easily one of the best films of 2010. (*** ½ Stars)

My Favorite Holiday Films:

Merry Christmas to everyone out there, I hope you and yours are having a wonderful day. It was requested of me to post a top 5 holiday movie list, and I figured what better day then today to do so. I have to stipulate that I haven’t seen all of the holiday classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life & Miracle on 34^th Street, so perhaps this list will change come next holiday season.

5. Love Actually (2003): I’ve never been a huge British cinema fan, but they got it right with this feel good romantic comedy. Starring Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman and a whole slew of other talented British actors, Love Actually follows the interwoven story lines of 8 different couples during the holiday season.

4. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966): I know this movie wasn’t in the theaters, but how can you have Christmas movie list without the Grinch? An amazing soundtrack, beautiful animations and a wonderful message makes this movie a must see every holiday season.

3. The Santa Clause (1994): A surprisingly original re-telling of Santa Clause, Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin, an ad exec who is forced to take over Santa’s duties after Santa falls off Calvin’s roof. The greatness of this holiday film has been diminished a bit by the two pretty crappy sequels. But if you can forgive them, then I think you’ll find The Santa Clause extremely entertaining.

2. Bad Santa (2003): Everybody needs some humor during the holiday season, and no Christmas movie is funnier in my opinion then Bad Santa. Starring Billy Bob Thornton as a mall Santa/thief, this is one of the most rude, crude and hilarious holiday films you’ll ever lay eyes on. But don’t worry, like all holiday films, it has a happy ending and wonderful message of redemption for the children too, haha.

1. A Christmas Story (1983): When it comes to holiday movies, there is A Christmas Story…and there’s everything else. By far the best holiday film ever made. A holiday tradition for most, I’ll admit that I personally spend atleast 3-4 hours of every Christmas day watching this film during the 24 straight hours of A Christmas Story on TBS.

Honorable Mentions: Jack Frost (1998); Prancer (1989); Home Alone (1990);

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, I’m finally gonna get the chance to see True Grit and Black Swan later this week, so check back for my thoughts about those films, and others.

Jarrett L.

The Fighter: Don’t Believe the Hype

The Fighter (2010): I was kindly invited to join two friends last night for a viewing of the new boxing film The Fighter.  Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, The Fighter is the supposed inspirational story of former boxing champion Micky Ward.  Overcoming hardships and family despair, Ward (Wahlberg) makes an unlikely run at the Welterweight boxing title.  After hearing all the buzz surrounding this movie I was pretty eager to finally get the chance to see it.  However, by the end of the film, the only excitement I was feeling unfortunately was that the movie was finally over.

Why was this film made?  What is really inspirational about this story?  It appears that they were attempting to create a real-life Rocky Balboa story, but after the film was over, I honestly felt LESS about Micky Ward and his boxing skills.  To me it appeared that Ward got extremely lucky that he EVER got a title chance, and in the title match, he got the crap beat out of him and then got off a few lucky shots to somehow steal the victory.  To cap it all off, the film completely skips over the fights that Micky Ward is best known for, his 3 battles with Arturo Gatti.  The Fighter also has a bad identity crisis.  I couldn’t tell if it was trying to be a serious drama or a comedy.  For instance, I found the audience laughing at moments that I thought were supposed to be serious.  And who was this movie supposed to be about?  At times I thought I watching a movie that was more about Ward’s half brother Dickie (Bale) and his struggle with crack addiction more then I was watching a film about Micky Ward and boxing.

The script and writing was horrendous, and through out the movie I found characters talking over one another to the point of not understanding any of them.  There were also entire lines of dialogue that got lost because the actor was mumbling so bad you couldn’t understand what they were saying.  I also found myself scratching my head at some of the odd filming and camera choices from the Director of Photography on this film.  Weird camera angles, the occasional unexplained shaky camera, especially during the prison conversation between Wahlberg and Bale, and way too many super close-ups made this film feel amateurish and frustrating to watch.

The pre-Oscar hype machine has Christian Bale as the front runner for the Best Supporting Actor award.  I’ve enjoyed Christian Bale over the years, and believe he has been looked over in the past when it comes to being honored for his memorable portrayals.  This role for him however is one of his weakest, and I would feel disappointed if this was the performance he’s most remembered for.  As far as Mark Wahlberg’s performance in the Fighter, unfortunately he either shows no pulse, or is over-excitedly hamming it up for the camera, especially during his fight scenes.  The only star in this film that was able to overcome the shoddy script and give an intense and raw performance was the beautiful and alluring Amy Adams.  She easily stole every scene she was in, and made The Fighter watchable for me. 

Some critics have The Fighter as a Best Picture contender.  I have to say that if The Fighter actually wins the Oscar’s top prize, it will go down as one of the worst Best Picture films of all time.  However, seeing how bad this year has been overall, perhaps 2010 deserves to have The Fighter represent it as its Best Picture.  (** Stars)

Scorsese & De Niro teaming up again? Sweet!!!

For those of you (like myself) that have given up on the idea of Robert De Niro making a great film ever again, hope just might be around the corner.  It was brought to my attention today that Martin Scorsese has confirmed that his next project will be a film titled The Irishman and will star Robert De Niro.  Scorsese and De Niro have worked together previously on cinema classics such as Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Casino. 

Now the more exciting rumor surrounding The Irishman is that Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are also considering possibly accepting roles in the film as well.  De Niro, Pacino and Pesci together in a Scorsese film?  Yes please may I have another! :-)

Scott Pilgrim: A World Like No Other

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010): In this comic book adapted, video game crazed world we live in, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is one of the coolest romantic action comedy comic book adaptations ever made.  Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin & Ellen Wong, Scott Pilgrim uses high octane action, catchy Indie rock and geek-tastic fantasy scenes to create one of the most original films of 2010.

Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is a bass guitarist for a local Toronto band named Sex Bomb-omb.  Despite objections from his friends and fellow band members, Scott begins to date Knives Chau (Wong), an innocent naïve high school student who falls head over heels for Scott.  However, during a late night house party, Scott meets and falls in love with Ramona Flowers (Winstead), an eccentric young woman who just moved to Toronto from New York City.  As Scott begins to pursue Ramona, he discovers that dating her will not be as easy as originally thought.  He must first defeat the League of Evil Ex’s, which is made up of seven of Ramona’s ex’s who are trying to control her future love life. 

2010 has proven to be a pretty good year for Michael Cera, with two solid efforts in Scott Pilgrim and Youth in Revolt.  While admittedly not for everyone; Scott Pilgrim is definitely worth viewing for those looking for something fresh and unique.  Fast paced, offbeat and witty, the use of well-known pop culture and video game references adds a surprising extra layer of humor to an already amusing film.  (*** Stars)

When Will "We" Get The Chance to See The "Great" Movies of 2010?

 I was just on Yahoo Movies looking at this weekend’s box office numbers and noticed a horrible trend.

TITLE:                                     # Of Theaters
Black Swan                                  90
127 Hours                                  416
The King's Speech                    19
The Fighter                                   4

In a year that is in desperate need of some great movies, these four films have recently been released to critical acclaim.  However if you look at the last column listed above, they are currently being shown in a combined 529 theaters across the country.  Considering the newest Chronicles of Narnia film is being shown in 3,555 theaters, The Fighter being viewed in only 4 is ridiculous.  What happened to wanting to show off your supposed great film?

Being a movie enthusiast, I’d really love the opportunity to view these films and others like them.  But unfortunately it appears that the movie companies are currently much more concerned with putting their film in just the right place for an Oscar run, rather than letting normal people like you and I actually watch the movie.  I guess until they deem us worthy of viewing their supposed masterpieces, I’ll just have to keep picking from the crap like Due Date & The Tourist. 

Two 90’s Best Pictures, But Only One Deserving of the Title

Through some fortuitous luck I recently stumbled across some well named movies for a very inexpensive price.  Among these new additions to my personal collection were two Best Picture winners from the 1990s that I had surprisingly yet to view; the 1996 winner The English Patient and the 1998 winner Shakespeare in Love.  After watching them both over the last day and a half I can now say without a doubt that one definitely deserved its Oscar while the other did not.

The English Patient (1996): is set in the Sahara desert during the beginning of WWII and stars Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe and Kristin Scott Thomas.  At the beginning of the film, we find Count Laszlo Almasy (Fiennes) badly burned from a plane crash.  With not long to live, a Canadian nurse named Hana (Binoche) makes the decision to take Laszlo and look after him in an abandoned church.  Much of Almasy’s memories had been forgotten because of the accident, but through the use of flashbacks, we begin to see what has come to pass to cause Laszlo to be in his current state. 

Grand and ambitious, The English Patient is a film about love, longing, regret, and unforeseen consequences that come with decisions that are made from the heart.  The two hour and 40 minute viewing time could be difficult for some viewers.  But if you haven’t seen The English Patient, I hope it doesn’t scare you away.  Looking back at the films from 1996, the only one that could have given The English Patient a run for its money in regards to the Best Picture is the Coen Brothers critically acclaimed darling Fargo.  However, when you compare the two films, The English Patient was and is still deserving of the honor that was bestowed upon it by the Academy (although I have to admit my personal favorite for 1996 is still Jerry Maguire).  (*** ½ Stars)

Shakespeare in Love (1998): is a fictional comedy about a forbidden love affair between William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) during the time when Shakespeare was writing Romeo & Juliet.  Shakespeare, suffering from a bad case of writers block, was struggling to complete the comedy play he’d been paid to write, Romeo and Ethel, The Pirate’s Daughter.  During an audition for the play, an unknown actor by the name of Thomas Kent is cast as the lead role of Romeo.  Thomas Kent is actually Viola de Lesseps, who has to disguise her identity because women aren’t allowed to be on stage by law.  After Shakespeare discovers Thomas Kent’s real identity, he and Viola begin a secret love affair, despite the fact that Viola’s parents have agreed to an arranged marriage with another man.  Viola becomes Shakespeare’s muse and inspiration for the writing of the legendary play Romeo & Juliet. 

In 1998 the film that was as highly regarded as Shakespeare in Love was Steven Spielberg’s WWII opus Saving Private Ryan.  My hope before watching Shakespeare in Love was that I’d see some explanation as to why the Academy decided to pass over Private Ryan for Best Picture.  After finally seeing it however, I am unfortunately still left scratching my head.  While Shakespeare in Love is at times a whimsically entertaining film, I can’t in good faith put it ahead of Saving Private Ryan, or other great 1998 films such Rushmore, Life is Beautiful, American History X, Rounders or The Truman Show. Overall, Shakespeare in Love is a solid effort, but clearly not worthy of its Best Picture distinction (*** Stars)

Shutter Island: So Close to Greatness

Shutter Island (2010): is a psychological thriller set off the coast of Boston, 1954 starring Leonardo DiCaprio who plays U.S. Federal Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels.  Daniels is assigned to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a patient from the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane.   As the investigation begins to unfold, Daniels starts to suspect that the doctors and staff might be withholding information in an attempt to cover up more sinister motives for the existence of this mental institution.  Concerns turn to paranoia, as Daniels gets closer and closer to revealing the real truths behind the facilities on Shutter Island and the reasons why he was assigned to this case.

Leonardo DiCaprio gives a skillfully intense and powerful performance.  The biggest complaint I’ve heard from DiCaprio detractors is that too often, he plays the same character and uses a lot of the same expressions in many of his films.  I on the other hand believe that DiCaprio, like many of the great actors of the past (Pacino, DeNiro, etc...) has a knack for picking roles that best utilizes his acting talents and tendencies, and Shutter Island is no different. 

After missing Shutter Island in the theaters earlier this year, I had been hesitant for some time to rent it on DVD.  A recent conversation with a fellow movie fan helped to finally peak my interest in viewing it.  Overall, Shutter Island is suspenseful, gripping and does an entertainingly good job keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat.  However, I will say that in an attempt to make the ending a thrilling shocker, Scorsese has instead created a rather predictable finale.  Although the ending does make sense for the movie, it is also the one thing keeping Shutter Island from being truly great.  (*** Stars)

In Honor of Inception & Director Christopher Nolan...

 In honor of the December 7^th Blu-ray and DVD release of 2010 psychological action thriller Inception, I decided to rank the seven feature films that Christopher Nolan has created over his short 12 year Hollywood career. Known best as the director of the latest Batman films, Nolan has become one of the preeminent directors of the last decade. With the third Batman installment, The Dark Knight Rises scheduled for a 2012 release, Nolan is on the verge of creating one of the most critically and financially successful movie trilogies is Hollywood history. (At the bottom, I have also added the 1997 short film created by Nolan called Doodlebug).

1. Memento (2001): This contemporary classic still ranks for me as Christopher Nolan's greatest achievement. Memento tells the story of Leonard Shelby, a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, which causes him to be unable to store new memories. Through the use of tattoos and polaroids Leonard attempts to track down what he believes to be a second assailant in the fatal attack of his late wife. Memento uses Nolan's love for non-linear story telling as it presents the narrative in an innovative reverse chronological fashion, while interjecting a black and white chronologically filmed phone conversation where Shelby converses with an unknown phone caller. Brilliant and truly innovative, Memento is by far Christopher Nolan's masterwork.
2. Inception (2010): For as much as I enjoyed and was in awe of this film, I just couldn't get myself to rank it ahead of Memento. However with such a down year in movies, this is by far one of the biggest standout films of 2010. Inception is an extremely smart and impressive film that presents the idea of breaking into someone's mind, allowing for the stealing of secrets or implanting of ideas. Visually magnificent, Nolan has created one of the smartest psychologically thrilling science fiction films of the last 25 years.
3. The Dark Knight (2008): The Dark Knight did what many sequels fail to do, which is be better the then its predecessor. After the success of Batman Begins, this feat seemed pretty daunting, but The Dark Knight pulled it off with flying colors. Another visual treat, The Dark Knight became the 7^th highest grossing film in movie history, thanks largely to the extraordinary performance from the late Heath Ledger who portrayed the Joker.
4. Batman Begins (2005): The start of by far one of the most successful superhero franchises of recent times, Batman Begins offers a look at the origins of black caped crusader. While showing his fears, insecurities and ambitions, Batman Begins offers a unique, more human touch to story of this well known character. The true measurement of the success of this film is how it turned non-comic book fans like myself, into admirers of this film and franchise reboot.
5. The Prestige (2006): Originally looked over a bit by critics, this psychological thriller has gained a great deal of following and praise over the last 4 years. Starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, The Prestige tells the story of two rivaling 19^th century magicians who both become obsessed with creating the ultimate stage illusion. In their attempt to one up each other, they begin to lose touch with reality which leads to tragic results. The twists and turns keep you engaged all the way to the gut busting surprise finale.
6. 
   Following (1998): While only 70 minutes long, Following is an extremely engaging and entertaining first effort from Nolan. Classified as a Neo-Noir film, Following uses a non-linear storyline and flashbacks to keep the viewer on edge, as it tells the story of a peeping tom who's life gets turned upside down when one of the people he's been following confronts him.
7. Insomnia (2002): Unfortunately one of these films had to be listed 7^th, and for me Insomnia is that film. That's not an indictment about the Insomnia as much as it is praise for the overall quality of Nolan's film resume. Insomnia is a solid crime thriller staring 3 Academy Award winners in Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. I will say however, for a director who has built his career on psychological twists and turns, Insomnia is by far the most straight forward effort from Nolan.

Are You Speaking Bat?

This video is for Jamee, I was told you didn't like Christian Bale's voice in the Batman movies, so I thought you'd get a kick out of this video.  Thanks Josele for originally showing me this, it's pretty darn funny.