In the middle of the christmas hoopla, I found a surprisingly large amount of time for movies. At 30 films seen, December is probably my most intense month of the year cinematically speaking. Surprising indeed. There was a lot of good stuff, and little that was outright bad, so it’s a good slew of movies to close out the year with.
American Reunion (Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg, 2012)
Well, it’s better than the last four straight-to-DVD American Pie films. Not that that’s saying much. The nostalgia factor is what makes American Reunion work, in two ways. First, by having the audience remember the first parts of the series, and then by having a fondness for the old times be a centerpiece of the plot as well. It’s a good thing this is handled effectively, because the actual humor is often derivative, and while there are certainly some laughs to be had here, they don’t always hit the mark. If this is the end of the series, it’s a respectable way to close the doors, at least. Except there’s reportedly another film being planned, so I guess not. God damn it.
3/5
The Grey (Joe Carnahan, 2011)
What a terrific survival film. All the visceral elements were extraordinarily well done. I felt the plane crash. I felt the snow. I felt the cold water. And then there’s the wolves, who are as menacing as any movie monster I’ve seen in recent memory (except maybe the shark in Jaws.) Add in the spiritual elements of the story, and you have one great awesome package of a film. I mean, hell, it made me spontaneously applaud in my couch. That never happens.
5/5
Silent Night (Steven C. Miller, 2012)
Malcolm McDowell is really funny here in an Alan Rickman Sheriff of Nottingham way, where it seems like he’s not even part of the same movie as everyone else. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is weak humdrum slasher stuff. Skip this one.
2/5
Harry Brown (Daniel Barber, 2009)
Gran Torino‘s story in Attack the Block‘s setting, only with the violence ramped way up and with Michael Caine in the lead. This is certainly to oversimplify things, obviously, but it should give you some idea of what the film’s about. While the subject of a retiree turning vigilante is a field ripe for social commentary, there’s nothing done along these lines. No, this is a bloody revenge thriller through and through, and as such, it works really well. Caine is great, and it’s a treat to see him in a lead role these days.
4/5
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Tags: A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, Alex Gregory, Alexandre Rockwell, Allison Anders, American Beauty, American Reunion, Andy Serkis, Ashley Judd, Attack the Block, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, Big Trouble in Little China, Blues Brothers 2000, Bug, Constance Marks, Dan Aykroyd, Daniel Barber, Daniel Espinosa, Deadgirl, Easy Money, Eli Craig, Emily Browning, Espen Sandberg, Fast Five, First Snow, Four Rooms, Franck Khalfoun, Gadi Harel, Garrett Hedlund, Good Will Hunting, Gran Torino, Grosse Pointe Blank, Guy Pearce, Harry Brown, Hayden Schlossberg, Heckler, Indie Game: The Movie, James Swirsky, Jamie Kennedy, Jaws, Jeff Nichols, Jessica Chastain, Joachim Rønning, Joan Cusack, Joe Carnahan, John Belushi, John Carpenter, John Cusack, John Goodman, John Landis, Jon Hurwitz, Julia Leigh, Justin Lin, Kevin Clash, Kon-Tiki, Kristen Stewart, Lauren Greenfield, Lisanne Pajot, Malcolm McDowell, Manhattan, Marcel Sarmiento, Mark Fergus, Michael Addis, Michael Caine, Michael Channon, Michael Winterbottom, Midnight in Paris, Minni Driver, On the Road, P2, Peter Huyck, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, Rachel Nichols, Rob Brydon, Robert Rodriguez, Robin Williams, Sam Riley, Sarah Polley, Senna, Seth Rogen, Silent Night, Sleeping Beauty, Snabba cash, Son of the Mask, Steve Coogan, Steven C Miller, Take Shelter, Take This Waltz, The Blues Brothers, The Grey, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Queen of Versailles, The Rock, The Thing, The Trip, Tim Roth, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Vin Diesel, Walter Salles, War Inc, Wes Bentley, Willian Friedkin, Woody Allen
The title for this blog post should be fairly self-explanatory, but to clarify, I’m talking specifically about directors and actors that (to the best of my knowledge) haven’t worked with one another before on film. I’m also limiting myself to pairings that could happen today, i.e. no dead or retired persons.
Woody Allen + Rosario Dawson
Considering the sheer volume of Allen’s cinematic output, it’s no surprise that he has crossed paths with tons of actors over the years. But not Rosario Dawson, which is a shame. Allen’s trademark humor would be a good fit for the actress. Remember Clerks II, another talky comedy? She was so great and charming in that one! Allen could get something even better out of her, I’m sure.
David Fincher + Viola Davis
I believe it was In Contention‘s Kristopher Tapley who mentioned in a podcast that he would love to see Viola Davis as the star of an action franchise. I can only agree. Fincher may lean closer to the thriller-side of things in general, but he has a good track record with female characters, from Alien 3 to Panic Room and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (not that I love all those films, but at least the protagonists are strong). This needs to happen sooner rather than later, as Davis’ star is currently brighter than ever.
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Tags: Aaron Eckhart, Al Pacino, Alien 3, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Beyond the Sea, Björk, Clerks II, David Fincher, Emily Watson, Ethan Hawke, Fast Food Nation, George Clooney, Happiness, Jason Reitman, Jason Statham, John Woo, Juno, Kevin Spacey, Klaus Kinski, Lars von Trier, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mike Leigh, Nicolas Cage, Nine, Panic Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Richard Linklater, Rob Marshall, Rosario Dawson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Seth Rogen, Thank You For Smoking, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Todd Solondz, Up in the Air, Viola Davis, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Werner Herzog, Woody Allen
Just as the 2006 list featured plenty of comedies, this one has a surprisingly high amount of another genre: documentaries. Four of them appear on this list of ten, which, while not dominating, is certainly disproportionate if one looks at the amount of fictional and nonfictional movies I’ve seen from that year. Does this mean that 2005 was a weak year for “normal” movies? No, not really. The documentaries that made this list are all excellent and would have had a good shot of making the top 10 no matter what year they’d been released in. It just so happens that they all got clumped together in 2005. The ten films here are all 5/5 in my book, which is more than I can say for most other years.
I’m perfectly fine with this. Documentary films are often overshadowed by their fictional brethren, and I know some people who don’t even consider them movies at all. Which is ridiculous. Of course they are movies. They have the same power to move us, thrill us, shock us and make us laugh and think as any other genre of film. They deserve as much attention as anything, so I’m happy that four of them have found their way onto this list of mine.
As usual, this is 2005 as listed on IMDB.
10 – MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (LA MARCHE DE L’EMPEREUR, Luc Jacquet)
“There are few places harder to get to in this world. But there aren’t any where it’s harder to live.”
What always strikes me about this documentary is how much work it must have taken to shoot it. Showing the remarkable mating cycle of the emperor penguins of Antarctica, a lot of time was spent to capture every phase of the long process in a truly inhospitable climate. The result of the crew’s labor is a wonderful documentary that’s both informative and charming. The English-language version also plays the trump card of having Morgan Freeman as its narrator (though the Swedish one with veteran comedian Gösta Ekman behind the microphone is nothing to sneeze at either).
9 – THE WEATHER MAN (Gore Verbinski)
“Nothing that has meaning is easy. ‘Easy’ doesn’t enter into grown-up life.”
Here’s an oft undervalued film that Gore Verbinski put out inbetween the two first Pirates of the Caribbean films. Nicolas Cage plays a Chicago weatherman who’s unhappy with his life. His flaws are twofold: he takes no pleasure in his work, and he tries too hard to patch things up with his family. He can’t get over his ex-wife (Hope Davis), his kids struggle with weight issues and drugs, and his father (masterfully played by Michael Caine) is quietly disappointed by his son. It’s a comedy of the glum kind, where the laughs have to fight hard to break through the clouds but feel well-earned when they do. One of Cage’s best and most overlooked performances of the decade.
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Tags: A History of Violence, best films of 2005, Dana Adam Shapiro, David Cronenberg, Doug Bruce, Gösta Ekman, Gore Verbinski, Grizzly Man, Henry Alex Rubin, Hope Davis, Hustle & Flow, Jeff Daniels, Jesse Eisenberg, Joe Soares, Judd Apatow, La marche de l'empereur, Laura Linney, Luc Jacquet, March of the Penguins, Michael Caine, Mickey Rourke, Morgan Freeman, Murderball, Nicolas Cage, Noah Baumbach, Owen Kline, Paul Rudd, Robert Rodriguez, Romany Malco, Rupert Murray, Seth Rogen, Sin City, Steve Carell, Terrence Howard, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, The Squid and the Whale, The Weather Man, Timothy Treadwell, Unknown White Male, Viggo Mortensen, Werner Herzog