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Cinema Enthusiast - by Catherine Stebbins

Cinema Enthusiast

Oscar Predictions/Dream Ballot 2010




It is that time of year again; time for Oscar predictions. The Oscars will always be the award show that I simultaneously don't care about and yet follow very closely and obsess over every year. It's something to do plus it motivate me to see more things, more often than not, films that are not even being considered for awards, many times the best films of the year. While there are still some biggies and not so biggies that I have not seen (Crazy Heart, Bright Star, The Blind Side, The White Ribbon, A Prophet, Broken Embraces, It's Complicated, Nine, The Lovely Bones, The Informant! and others) I feel like I have an decent (unfortunately not exceptional) group of films to pick from for my dream ballot. I am not going to explain my choices for either, although I will list the nominees in my predictions that I am taking a chance on (banking on it being a surprise nominee). For the more technical categories of which I am probably not suited to judge what the best of the categories are (although neither are most of the Academy voters) I tried my best based on what I know about those aspects of filmmaking. I have also included an Alternate for each category and a Long Shot.


Oscar Nominations Predictions/Dream Ballot 2010:

Best Picture:
Predictions:
1. An Education
2. Avatar
3. The Hangover
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Inglorious Basterds
6. Precious
7. A Serious Man
8. Star Trek
9. Up
10. Up in the Air


Alternate: Swap: An Education for The Messenger
Dark Horse: Where the Wild Things Are

Dream Ballot:
1. The Hurt Locker
2. In the Loop
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. Mary and Max
5. The Messenger
6. A Serious Man
7. A Single Man
8. Star Trek
9. Up
10. Where the Wild Things Are

Best Director:
Predictions:
1. Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
2. James Cameron – Avatar
3. Lee Daniels – Precious
4. Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
5. Quentin Tarentino – Inglorious Basterds

Alternate: Swap Daniels for The Coen Brothers – A Serious Man
Dark Horse: Neill Blomkamp - District 9

Dream Ballot:
1. Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
2. Joel and Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
3. Spike Jonze – Where the Wild Things Are
4. Tom Ford – A Single Man
5. Pete Docter - Up

Best Actor:
1. Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
2. George Clooney – Up in the Air
3. Colin Firth – A Single Man
4. Morgan Freeman – Invictus
5. Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

Alternate: Swap Jeremy Renner for Ben Foster – The Messenger
Dark Horse – Matt Damon – The Informant!

Dream Ballot:
1. Colin Firth – A Single Man
2. Ben Foster – The Messenger
3. Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker
4. Adam Sandler – Funny People
5. Souleymane Sy Savane – Goodbye Solo

Best Actress:
1. Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
2. Melanie Laurent – Inglorious Basterds
3. Carey Mulligan – An Education
4. Gabourey Sidibe – Precious
5. Meryl Streep – Julie and Julia

Alternate: Swap Laurent for Emily Blunt – The Young Victoria
Dark Horse – Tilda Swinton – Julia

Dream Ballot:
1. Ok-Bin Kim - Thirst
2. Melanie Laurent – Inglorious Basterds
3. Carey Mulligan – An Education
4. Robin Wright Penn – The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
5. Gabourey Sidibe – Precious

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Matt Damon – Invictus
2. Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
3. Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
4. Stanley Tucci – Julie and Julia
5. Christoph Waltz – Inglorious Basterds

Alternate: Swap Stanley Tucci for Stanley Tucci The Lovely Bones
Dark Horse – Peter Capaldi – In the Loop

Dream Ballot:
1. Peter Capaldi – In the Loop
2. Red West – Goodbye Solo
3. Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
4. Fred Melamed – A Serious Man
5. Christoph Waltz – Inglorious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
2. Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
3. Diane Kruger – Inglorious Basterds
4. Monique – Precious
5. Samantha Morton – The Messenger

Alternate – Swap Laurent with Kruger
Dark Horse – Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart

Dream Ballot:
1. Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
2. Diane Kruger – Inglorious Basterds
3. Monique – Precious
4. Samantha Morton – The Messenger
5. Paula Patton - Precious

Foreign Film:
1. The White Ribbon
2. A Prophet
3. Adjani
4. Samson and Delilah
5. El Secreto de sus Ojos

Alternate: Swap Adjani for Milk of Sorrow

Best Original Screenplay:
1. Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker
2. Quentin Tarentino – Inglorious Basterds
3. Joel and Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
4. (500) Days of Summer
5. Bob Petersen and Pete Docter – Up

Alternate: Swap 500 Days for Avatar
Dark Horse: The White Ribbon

Dream Ballot:
1. Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker
2. Joel and Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
3. Oren Movermen – The Messenger
4. Bob Petersen and Pete Docter – Up
5. Quentin Tarentino – Inglorious Basterds

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. Neill Blomkamp and Terri Thatcher - District 9
2. Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach - Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious
4. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air
5. Scott Cooper – Crazy Heart

Alternate: Swap Fantastic for An Education
Dark Horse: Where the Wild Things Are

Dream Ballot:
1. Neill Blomkamp and Terri Thatcher – District 9
2. Tom Ford – A Single Man
3. Armando Iannucci – In the Loop
4. Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers – Where the Wild Things Are
5. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner – Up in the Air

Animated Film:
1. Coraline
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
4. Princess and the Frog
5. Up

Alternate: Swap Cloudy for Ponyo
Dark Horse: Mary and Max

Dream Ballot:
1. Coraline
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Mary and Max
4. Ponyo
5. Up

Best Art Direction:
1. Avatar
2. Bright Star
3. District 9
4. Inglorious Basterds
5. Where the Wild Things Are

Alternate: Swap out Wild Things for Lovely Bones
Dark Horse: A Single Man

Dream Ballot:
1. Avatar
2. District 9
3. A Single Man
4. Star Trek
5. Where the Wild Things Are

Best Cinematography:
1. Avatar
2. The White Ribbon
3. The Hurt Locker
4. Nine
5. Inglorious Basterds

Alternate: Swap Nine for Bright Star
Dark Horse: A Single Man

Dream Ballot:
1. Inglorious Basterds
2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
3. The Hurt Locker
4. A Single Man
5. Where the Wild Things Are

Best Costume Design:
1. Bright Star
2. Coco Avant Chanel
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. Public Enemies
5. The Young Victoria

Alternate: Swap Public Enemies for Nine
Dark Horse: Julie and Julia

Dream Ballot:
1. An Education
2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. Public Enemies
5. A Serious Man

Best Editing:
1. Avatar
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. Star Trek
5. Up in the Air

Alternate: Swap Star Trek for District 9
Dark Horse: A Serious Man

Dream Ballot:
1. A Single Man
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. A Serious Man
5. Star Trek

Best Makeup:
1. Star Trek
2. District 9
3. The Road

Best Sound Mixing:
1. Avatar
2. District 9
3. The Hurt Locker
4. Star Trek
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Sound Editing:
1. Avatar
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Star Trek
4. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
5. Up

Best Documentary:
1. The Beaches of Agnes
2. Burma VJ
3. The Cove
4. Every Little Step
5. Food Inc.

Best Original Score:
1. Alexandre Desplat – Coco Avant Chanel
2. Michael Hamlisch – The Informant!
3. James Horner - Avatar
4. Michael Giacchino – Up
5. Randy Newman – The Princess and the Frog

Dream Ballot:
1. Carter Burwell – A Serious Man
2. Alexandre Desplat – Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Michael Giacchino – Star Trek
4. Michael Giacchino – Up
5. Abel Korzeniowski – A Single Man

Best Original Song:
1. Almost There – The Princess and the Frog
2. I See You - Avatar
3. I Want to Come Home – Everybody’s Fine
4. The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart
5. Winter – Brothers

Best Visual Effects:
1. Avatar
2. Star Trek
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Dream Ballot:
1. Avatar
2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
3. Star Trek

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February 1st 2010 @ 22:44

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


Review: Big Fan (2009)

Big Fan (2009): 7.3/10



Most films, in some capacity, are about change. Films are filled with characters that change, for better or worse, due to the events taking place within the story. Big Fan, written and directed by The Wrestler screenwriter Robert D. Siegel, is captivating because it is about a man who outright refuses to change.

Paul (Patton Oswalt) is a 36 year old man who works as a parking garage attendant, still living with his mother who resentfully does everything for him. He is also a big New York Giants fan. In fact, everything and anything not having to do with the New York Giants means nothing to Paul. He has ostracized himself from his family who tolerates him and he in return tolerates them. His best friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan) is the only person who Paul connects with, not surprisingly because he is too, a huge Giants fan.

The plot of Big Fan involves Paul’s unfortunate run in with Giants player Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) who also happens to be Paul’s hero. The encounter ends very badly and Paul ends up in the hospital. From there the film depicts Paul’s incessant need to maintain his loyalty to his team and the toll his refusal takes on him.

The screenplay, while rife with realist observation is also sprinkled with moments of black comedy during the scenes involving Paul’s family. The film never invites us to laugh at Paul, as much as it asks us to look upon him with pity. As for his family, while they are unmistakably seen as more sensible people, they are shown to us in the way that Paul sees them; as pitiful creatures in their own right.

Make no mistake that while this is a film worth seeing because of its character study of sports fanaticism, the reason to see this film is for Patton Oswalt’s performance. The actor dives into Paul, not afraid to be as selfish and as child like as he can be and never afraid of losing his audience. Oswalt understands that characters like this simply do not exist in most films and he uses that opportunity to depict Paul as truthfully as he can. He portrays Paul as someone who never second guesses his life choices but as someone who does understand that he has made those choices. It is a great performance and one not to be missed.

Big Fan is not a perfect film. The last act heavily depends on manipulation and Siegel’s overall direction is unfortunately so bland that it is noticeable. Perhaps if another director had taken over from his own script, the film would have been truly great. In other words, Siegel the director is a deterrence to Siegel the writer.

Despite this, Siegel has created a nicely loose character study that deals with the psychology of one particular sports fan and the voids that a certain level of fanaticism can fill in someone’s life when they need it. Paul is someone who uses football to escape and it alone makes him so happy that the rest of his life remains at a standstill causing Paul to still be a child in his immaturity, lack of responsibility, self support and perception. His screenplay is not addled with insightful moments or attempts at connection or change. Paul has fused his life’s meaning with a football team and that kind of loyalty is not about to be challenged by a cliched script; in a way, Siegel stays loyal to Paul.

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January 9th 2010 @ 23:55

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


Quick Review Update

Reviews will be back on track in a couple of weeks but for now, while my laptop is unavailable to me, I will just have to give a quick update on the films I have seen recently. I'm simply not willing to deal with this computer long enough to give full length reviews of the films I have seen.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009): 6/10 - Great performance by Robin Wright Penn and an enjoyable film that falters in the last half hour and wraps up things in too conventional a manner to be good. It indulges in its light and fluffy tone which matches the title characters' calm, quiet and pleasant demeanor which some considered a major flaw but not I. However, the Winona Ryder character seemed like a big joke which threw off the rest of the slightly comic tone making way for outright goofiness. Blake Lively does a nice job as young Pippa and the two actresses do seem like they were playing the same character. It is unfortunate that awards suck and will not recognize Robin Wright Penn's performance, adding this to a long list of upcoming snubs to take place in the narrow minded Oscars. All in all though, the film is nice, then dissapointing and ultimately forgettable.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): 7.4/10

To get into the mind of Precious is to experience how this girl lives, functions and goes on with the trauma and hate surrounding her. For this reason and for the performances Precious is indeed an emotional and fulfilling experience. The film allows the audience to sink into her and her thoughts and it tries throughout to show us what life for her is like and the different ways she escapes and finally how she takes control of her situation out of the fundamental need for survival. The performances are something else. Gabourey Sidibe plays all of the characters' notes beautifully and brings a natural quality to a character who has so fully sheilded herself from everything that her voice has been forced into a low mumble (although not all the time). Monique is terrifying and gut wrenching to say the least. Her final scene is a whopper, bringing heaps of inner turmoil to the viewer as we try to work out what we are seeing. Paula Patton as Miss Rain is a bright light, giving a performance just as worthy of an Oscar nomination as Monique. Lee Daniels' direction is certainly important to the success of the film but it also holds the biggest flaw. Daniels is indulging a bit where it is not needed and instead of keeping the fantasy and reality elements distinct, at times he brings little experiments to the table in the raw and real scenes of the film which are the vast bulk of it, distracting from the scene instead of enhancing it. Precious is not an amazing film but it is a good one and one that many people out there might need.

OK; my mouth is hurting from the wisdom teeth again so I am going to go lie down. Here are the grades for the other films I have seen.

A Christmas Carol (2009): 2.5/10
Mary and Max (2009): 9/10
House of the Devil (2009): 8/10
The Messenger (2009): 9.2/10
The Box (2009): 5.5/10
Invictus (2009): 6/10
Public Enemies (2009): 4/10
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January 3rd 2010 @ 21:32

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


Review: Jennifer's Body

Sorry it has been so long. Haven't had time to type during the final days before Christmas and my computer is unavailable to me due to a broken power cord. So I am waiting on that. I am typing from my mother's computer which is pretty slow and does not motivate me to write full length reviews for each film I have seen but slowly I will attempt to over the next several days. I still have most of the Oscar films to see. I am not sure when I will do that since I am getting my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow and will be in recovery for the next few days. Fun fun fun.


Jennifer's Body (2009) 5/10



On a subjective level, Jennifer's Body is entertaining through and through. However, the film suffers from many flaws, big ones I might add, which force the black comedy horror flick to be categorized as one of lost potential.

First and foremost Jennifer's Body should have played it straight. By having screenwriter Diablo Cody's dialogue overshadow everything, it eventually becomes distracting. This screenplay is nowhere near as strong as Juno and without the strong story and director Jason Reitman controlling everything, this Cody screenplay comes off as something trying too hard to become a cult hit. Playing it straight would have cancelled out any Heathers comparisons with the dark comedy element being more subdued and it would have allowed for a much more challenging horror film that explores the different kinds of relationships and friendships between females. This is not to say the film does not take itself seriously; it does. Cody mentioned in an interview once that her intention was to make Jennifer's Body a serious film but she could not resist putting her own touch onto everything and then it became what it is. This accounts for the mish mash of elements the audience are supposed to take seriously and elements the audience are not supposed to take seriously.

Another problem with the film is that as a horror film, it fails. It is simply not scary and while there are a few suspenseful moments, overall it fails to create any kind of terror within the viewer. The scenes in which Jennifer seduces her victims are all essentially the same scene except there is no payoff because the moment that the gross out moments are supposed to take place, the film cuts away despite the film's R rating which can be attributed almost solely for the use of swearing.

The supposed 'feminist' message of the film gets completely lost with the character of Jennifer. Another major change that should have been made within the screenplay is that the film should have been equally focused on Jennifer as a character as it is with the Needy character. Megan Fox as Jennifer ends up becoming just as much of an object as she is in the Transformers series. The film should have been told equally from both points of view because this would have allowed for Fox to actually be playing a character instead of someone who, while close to being a character (there are hints of development which never pay off), is never given the development or space to become anything more than another objectification to the viewer.

The soundtrack adds an immature and very uncool vibe to the proceedings. I would have hoped that Cody could have pulled off something better than this in the music choice. I sincerely hope this was not her decision. To make it even worse, the film ends with "Violet" by Hole, a great song which led to the realization that Jennifer's Body should have been filled with 90's alt rock similar to that of Hole. A wasted oppurtunity to be sure.



The film's major success though is in the character of Needy both in development and in performance by Amanda Seyfried. Seyfried does take herself and the character very seriously and it does pay off because anything involving Needy is the only completely stable element of the film. This is the one area in Cody and director Karyn Kursama's feminist approach get right. They give us a female protagonist in a horror film who functions as a relatable and most importantly developed character who is recognizable as a girl that could actually exist. Seyfried lends her remarkable talents and single handedly holds this film together and actually makes it worth seeing. Her relationship with her boyfriend Chip is refreshing and done with a lot of care. If only they had a film to support them.

It does not seem like Jennifer's Body should garner the rating I have given it. There are elements that work though. The film is entertaining which is admirable enough and it does get the tone right quite a bit despite the many times it does not. Cody's dialgogue also works often and the first half hour shows the most potential in the film and could be its strongest section.

Jennifer's Body is a thoroughly entertaining but ultimately misguided attempt to create a feminist horror film despite the elements it succeeds in such as the character of Needy, her development, Seyfried's performance and the depiction of her relationship with Chip. Instead of making a black comedy desperate to be a cult hit, Cody and Kursama should have focused on creating a serious horror film that challenged our perceptions and explored female friendships. By taking itself more seriously and focusing on Jennifer, her struggle and submission to her transformation into a succubus as much as the film focuses on Needy, the film could have been great instead of having Megan Fox function as being an object almost as much as she is in Transformers. This failure needs to be attributed to Cody's screenplay and not to Fox who actually does a decent job as Jennifer despite the insults everyone else hurled at her in reference to this performance. All in all Jennifer's Body should be looked at this way; a film with lost potential is better than a film with no potential at all even if the former situation is much more upsetting and disappointing.
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December 29th 2009 @ 18:33

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


Top 30 Film Performances of the Decade

While there are a lot of obvious choices here I do hope that this list is a nice and well rounded representation of the film performances that impressed me the most. A lot of the ones that happen to be considered the best of the decade really truly are. I am not going to give reasons for most of these; I just think they are all incredible performances. Thigns might change a bit when I see more of the films from this year but for now only one performance from this year made my list. I had to cut this down from 100 performances so these 30 are indeed special to me.

30. Cate Blanchett - Sheba Hart - Notes on a Scandal



I chose this performance over a few of her more noted performance. Even though she is amazing in The Aviator, I have always preferred this performance over any other. It is a very tough role to play and she does it beautifully. I also think she looks more stunning in this than in anything else she has done.

29. Gary Oldman - Shelly Runyon - The Contender



28. Kate Winslet - Clementine Kruczynski - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind



Very close to picking her performance in Little Children but ended up not.

27. Sam Rockwell - Glenn Marchand - Snow Angels



26. Mark Wahlberg - Tommy Corn - I Heart Huckabees



The only comedic performance on my list. For my money its the best comedic performance of the past ten years. I think he is brilliant in this.

25. Nicolas Cage - Charlie Kaufman/Donald Kaufman - Adaptation



24. Sean Penn - Harvey Milk - Milk



23. Sibel Kikelli - Sibel - Gegen die Wand (Head-On)



22. Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Neil - Mysterious Skin



21. Sean Penn - Sam Bicke - The Assassination of Richard Nixon



20. Ulrich Muhe - Captain Gerd Weisler - Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)



19. Brad Pitt - Jesse James - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford



18. Laura Linney - Wendy Savage - The Savages



17. Christoph Waltz - Colonel Hans Landa - Inglourious Basterds



16. Ryan Gosling - Dan Dunne - Half Nelson



15. Naomi Watts - Betty Elms/Diane Selwyn - Mulholland Dr.





I figured I would put up a picture of each character. The first is Diane's idealized version of herself. The way she once was perhaps. She gives herself talent, innocence and optimism and even the woman of her dreams in a situation where both parties are inexperienced, curious and vulnerable. In her own dream, she disturbingly does not give herself the name Diane but in fact renames herself. Then we have the real thing; Diane. Essentially the opposite of Betty. As we see how Diane's life and Betty's life do not match up, we can see how tragic Diane is and it is Watts' performance that really gets under your skin in the way that she juxtaposes the two characters.

14. Philip Seymour Hoffman - Truman Capote - Capote



Almost went with Owning Mahoney or Before the Devil Knows You're Dead but in the end I could not pick anything else but this.

13. Jeff Daniels - Bernard Berkman - The Squid and the Whale



12. Jackie Earle Haley - Ronnie J. McGorvey - Little Children



11. Casey Affleck - Robert Ford - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford



10. Mickey Rourke - Randy - The Wrestler



9. Anne Hathaway - Kym - Rachel Getting Married



8. Julie Delpy - Celine - Before Sunset



7. Sally Hawkins - Poppy - Happy-Go-Lucky



6. Marion Cotillard - Edith Piaf - La Vie En Rose



5. Bruno Ganz - Adolf Hitler - Der Untergang (Downfall)



4. Heath Ledger - Ennis Del Mar - Brokeback Mountain



3. Charlize Theron - Aileen Wuornos - Monster



2. Daniel Day-Lewis - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood



1. Ellen Burstyn - Sara Goldfarb - Requiem for a Dream


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December 18th 2009 @ 23:16

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


Top 30 Worst Film Performances of the Decade (2000's)

There are a lot of bad films I have not seen. But I have seen a nice chunk of them. So here we go. No reasons; just pictures. I actually made a conscious decision not to add Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me. To be sure, it is a bad performance; however I actually think she does a lot more with the material (the none that there is) than any of these actors do with theirs and she was working with worse material than most on the list so I am going to slightly defend the bad performance. Slightly. Enjoy and once again feel free to join in and post your worst performances of the decade!

30. Cameron Diaz - Jenny - Gangs of New York



29. Alison Lohman - Karen - Where the Truth Lies



28. Jim Carrey - Walter Sparrow/Fingerling - The Number 23



27. James Franco - Harry Osborne - Spider Man 3



26. Jensen Ackles - Tom Hanniger - My Bloody Valentine



25. Hayden Christensen - Musician - Factory Girl



Congrats Hayden for being the only actor with TWO performances on this list. What a joke of a Bob Dylan impression.

24. Britney Spears - Lucy Wagner - Crossroads



23. Paris Hilton - Paige Edwards - House of Wax



22. Gwen Stefani - Jean Harlow - The Aviator



I feel like I need to explain this one. First of all her casting was a gimmick which I do not like at all. Second, casting Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow is blasphemous. Third, she has two lines...and fucks them BOTH up. Case closed.

21. Christian Slater - Edward Carnby - Alone in the Dark



20. Ali Larter - Lisa Sheridan - Obsessed



19. Larry the Cable Guy - Deputy Larry Stadler - Witless Protection



18. Barry Pepper - Johnnie Goodboy Tyler - Battlefield Earth



17. Ben Barnes - Prince Caspian - Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian



16. John Travolta - Terl - Battlefield Earth



15. Mark Wahlberg - Elliot Moore - The Happening



14. Tara Reid - Aline Cedrac - Alone in the Dark



13. Halle Berry - Patience Phillips/Catwoman - Catwoman



12. Travis van Winkle - Trent - Friday the 13th



11. Kate Beckinsale - Anna Valerious - Van Helsing



10. Scarlett Johannson - Silken Floss - The Spirit



9. Robert Pattinson - Edward Cullen - Twilight



Look at that face. So funny.

8. Richard Roxburgh - Count Dracula - Van Helsing



7. Hayden Christensen - Anakin Skywalker - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones



6. Kelly Clarkson - Kelly - From Justin to Kelly



5. Tyra Banks - Nora - Halloween: Resurrection



4. Justin Guarini - Justin - From Justin to Kelly



3. Busta Rhymes - Freddie Harris - Halloween: Resurrection



2. Ryan Starr - Stacy - Ring of Darkness



There you have it; the third of three American Idol contestants to make the list.

1. Mike Myers - Cat in the Hat - The Cat in the Hat

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December 17th 2009 @ 03:22

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


A nonsensical post



I am sitting in the editing room of my college. My boyfriend is transferring over a couple of family videos as I finish my absurd mockumentary which makes no sense whatsoever. I am working on a Mac right now which confuses the hell out of me. The keyboards are indeed nice but how anyone spends their life working on one is beyond me. I forgot to bring my stuff with me so one and only resource is this computer. So I am blogging. What am I blogging about? I have no idea.

I am done with classes on Wednesday at 3:30. I am done with the most stressful part of the semester but I still have a decent amount of work ahead of me. Thankfully I only have two finals. I just finished my documentary so I am finished for that particular class. The one class that is destroying me is the art class. All it has done is remind me why I do not draw. It may relax some people but few activities get me into such a stressful and rage filled funk than the act of drawing. For my final project I am recreating 5 specific shots from L'Avventura with charcoal and it is so much harder that I thought. Nothing looks real; it all looks representational. I basically lost my mind last night and literally smeared shit loads of black over the left side of the drawing. You know what? I am going with it. I'll do a bit more work on it but basically I am going to explain that I lost it and felt like keeping the result as it showed the unpredictability of the art making process or some bullshit like that. None of my drawings look good. I spent as much time on them as my homework assignments throughout the semester but I know she will only see a drop in quality and thus a drop in time spent on them. I have one more to go and I'm a bit nervous about the turnout.

Other than that I have to do a presentation tomorrow for my Terror of the Gothic class. Our group will be comparing Dracula and Twilight and Let the Right One In. Basically it will be about how the vampire genre has evolved and how it is used for many different things. It is a pointless assignment; worth only 5% of our grade and put in place simply to give us yet another fucking pointless thing to do. And I'm not sure we are making any points with this presentation. At first I was excited because I thought that our presentation was essentially going to be a shit fest on Twilight and how it has taken any interesting aspects of the genre and castrated it for Mormon infused morals. But the more i think about it the more I think our presentation is going to be a simple comparison which means that there is a possibility that I could come off as a Twilight fan. How do I convey in my minute of speaking that I am not a Twilight fan and am simply a fascinated observer from the cultural perspective? I don't want to just be a prick and put a disclaimer out there for the class before I speak. I have, after probably a half an hour of thinking about this, some up with a solution....Here it is; my section is going to be on the settings of each and basically what they signify. I plan on mentioning Edward's trip to Italy to seek out the Volturi in the second book; and I am planning on mispronouncing Volturi. There you have it; my master plan. I am hoping for it to play out something like this. "And in the second novel, New Moon, Edward goes to Italy to seek out the..Vol-turi? Volturi? Is that how you pronounce it? Okay good..." Genius no? I think so. I figure this will at least indicate that I am not all that familiar with the stories and am thus a passive member of the group in that I did not come up with the subject directly.

I am putting together some really fun end of the decade lists for this blog and for myself for I would be making these with or without said outlet. Right now I am doing my performances list. It will consist of Top 30 Performances of the Decade, Top 30 Underrated Performances of the Decade and Top 30 Worst Performances of the Decade. The Worst one is done. I am pretty happy with it I guess. It was the hardest of the 3 because these are mostly shitty films that I have only seen once and to remember a performance years afterward with no intention of seeing them again is hard. I am sure there are performances I am forgetting. I just picked the ones that stuck out to me. Underrated and Top 30 were slightly easier and actually extremely satisfying. I tried to only have 1 performance from each person. It was not a rule but simply a preference and luckily I really only ran into 2 problems with that. I also decided not to put any performances on the Underrated list that made my Top 30. My only issue with Underrated is that it was difficult once again to recognize any foreign performances since they are well recieved in their own country. For example nobody talks about Mathieu Amalric in A Christmas Tale but reviewers did acknowledge the performance and it was massive in France. So what do I do? I leave it out. The girl from Thirst would have made it but the film was huge in South Korea. So I leave it out. It is so difficult to gauge which performances are underrated in the foreign category. Basically they have to be underrated in this country to an insane degree. Because of this I believe I only have 1 performance from another country and I feel like an asshole. The same thing happened with my Top 30 list. I have not seen a ton of foreign films this decade and I had to cut 70 performances off of my brainstorm list to get down to 30; the chances for a performance from another country to make the cut is so much slimmer. I think I have maybe 3 that made it. Its very depressing and American heavy. Ugh. Oh well. I stand by my choices. Hopefully they will be posted within the next week.

The Lovely Bones is getting a ton of flack for not depicting the character is Susie's murder/rape and furthermore by not even acknowledging the rape as a part of the story. I figured I would give my stance on this before I see the film and then figure out where I stand after I see it. I do hope to reread the novel before I see the film. I laugh at my pathetic ambitions. Anyways though, this was something I had spoken about with someone (who that someone was I cannot remember) a few days before Entertainment Weekly had a short article which was labeled something to the effect of "Peter Jackson being attacked for not showing us a girl's rape and murder". Way to be objective. For the record I do not have a problem with Jackson and Fran Walsh deciding not to depict the rape or murder. I'm actually pretty happy about it. They understand that film is a visual medium, that this film is being made for mass consumption and that there are ways to convey events and have them be effective without showing them. Having said that (sorry Larry David but the phrase is necessary here) I take major issue with the film omitting the fact that she is raped. From my understanding it is never mentioned or acknowledged that Susie was raped by Mr. Harvey. Essentially the film conveys that she is murdered and nothing else. Perfectly okay with it not being shown; happy in fact. Really really not okay with the event not being acknowledged. It is such an important factor to take out and to me it does change things a bit. The entire tone is set with this knowledge. It is not even how it changes things; it is simply a much too important fact to cut out. If we add this with the fact that Jackson went back in later and filmed additional scenes of Mr. Harvey's fate because the audience wanted to see him suffer more than we have an interesting dilemma. Basically everything has been switched to make the audience more comfortable. The person that audience members do not want to see suffer do not have to and furthermore the characters final moments are changed dramatically and then we have the character that everyone wants to see suffer is allowed that extra pain. So basically none of it is challenging and this has been made into a very comfortable and cathartic film about a girl's murder. And apparently the rest of the film fails pretty badly as well. Do not get me wrong; I am still excited about this film. Extremely excited. I have been waiting for it for years. I just hope that if changes of this size were going to be made that they hopefully have a film that still retains the emotional exploration of the book.

What else to talk about? Nothing really. I think that it all for now!
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December 13th 2009 @ 22:55

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


Film Review Update

Hello everyone! I have time for a quick update of what I have seen before I have to do some more work so here you go! Here are some very informal reviews.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): 9/10




I am not sure the last time I have had this much unadulterated fun at the movies. Whether or not you are a Wes Anderson fan, his take on Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox is impossible to hate. Its charm exudes from the screen and it perfectly captures the spirit of the author and the sparse story. The visuals are astounding and that is an understatement. Anderson and crew decided to go for a more old school style of claymation, almost the opposite of Coraline’s pristine and beautiful work. The result is perfection in imperfection with every frame feeling hand crafted but no less beautiful. I’ve never been this taken aback by the animation in any film. Every shot is a wonder with sights to take in on all sorts of planes. I actually missed a lot of dialogue in the first part of the film because I was so blindsided by the visuals. The film racks up a ton of re-watch potential from that standpoint alone.

Anderson and fellow director and colleague Noah Baumbach have done something special with this script, creating a variety of characters that interact in a realistic manner and have depth without any noticeable efforts to give them any. This film could be the physical representation of joy. It never hits a dull note and it simply lets scenes play out instead of adding a bunch of plot complications.

Something I love about this is that it feels in every way shape and form like a Wes Anderson film; but animated. His style is present in every scene. Every frame in fact oozes his aesthetic. The film is complete with his trademark overhead shots, tracking shots, diagrams, insane detailing, color scheme, etc. It is all there; especially the soundtrack which is typically great. Anderson uses the underrated “Heroes and Villians” to open in a stroke of genius and has what is possibly the least talked about Disney song of all time, “Love” from Robin Hood subtly playing in the background of one scene. He favors The Beach Boys and Burl Ives giving each multiple songs which enhance the specificity of the world and film, a little like what he did with Seu Jorge in Life Aquatic. Alexandre Desplat’s score is also infused with the director’s style taking cues from Mark Mothersbaugh’s brilliant Rushmore score which I would guess has a lot to do with what Anderson himself wanted. Topping the music fixation off is the much welcome presence of Jarvis Cocker, front man of seminal BritPop band Pulp who plays Petey whose song is a sort of centerpiece to the film. All in all while this film will gain a cult status in the years to come and it is already making critics top ten lists this is an unfortunately under seen gem from Anderson that represents pure joy and should be seen by anyone who has an immense love for animation or filmmaking in general.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009): 8/10



What a trashy blast. Herzog has done the seemingly impossible here. Films that have a tone like this confound me when they are successful. The film gives us reasons not to take it seriously and yet it wants us to and it works. Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage have combined to create a psychotic miracle. Cage has been using his eccentricities to apparently giving some of the worst performances in recent memory (I have not seen said films but have seen scenes and yeah…). I don’t think anyone can pin Cage down if they try. I think a lot of it has to do with his performances taking more of the fall than it should probably as the piece of shit films themselves fall by the wayside in comparison. I think some of it is his inability to create performances that work within shit movies even if he gives a valiant effort. Maybe some of it is not taking himself seriously and giving into massive heaps of self parody. I’m not sure what it is but here he takes all of that whacked out energy and gives one of the weirdest, self-parodic (in a good way) apeshit performances I have ever seen. The genius of Herzog though is that he simultaneously creates a fascinating character study that works as serious drama amidst the insanity of Cage’s work. Despite Cage’s incomprehensible accent switch midway through the film where he begins to sound like Jimmy Stewart this is a performance of freedom and pathos being shown from the inside out. Cage’s stance and walk is different, his essence is fused with the character to create it; his eyes burn with hate and longing. It is an endlessly fascinating performance that will never get Oscar recognition for its level of insanity but at least it is getting the critical acclaim.

With the rest of the film Herzog uses a crime drama background for the basis of a character study. The plot is never really important because its purpose is to enhance the character. The director is using the genre to experiment essentially with its possibilities and we can see him testing the waters in several scenes. I honestly would need to see the film again to comment on what Herzog is doing with it because the film really is all about Cage and how the character functions with others and in the world. He is surrounded by an incredible ensemble cast including the great Brad Dourif, Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes (actually quite good here), Shawn Hatosy, Fairuza Balk, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael Shannon and Xzibit.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is a hypnotic film that is a different take on a familiar genre as seen through the eyes of Herzog led on by an endlessly entertaining, bat-shit crazy performance by Nicolas Cage that also functions as an intense character study.


Goodbye Solo (2009): 8/10



In a world where things were fair, this would be getting Oscar attention. But I should know better than to expect anything fair to happen when talking about the Oscars. At least the Indie Spirit Awards recognized it to some extent. This film directed by Ramin Bahrani of Man Push Cart and Chop Shop fame (been meaning to see both) takes the familiar plot of two unlikely people who connect through strange circumstances and injects life and meaning into it. Solo is a Senegalese immigrant who works as a cab driver. He picks up an elderly man who offers him a sum of money to take him to a place called Blowing Rock in two weeks. Solo learns that this man whose name is William, is going to kill himself. Through circumstances, the two end up being near each other a lot in the time between their initial conversation and the fateful day of William’s trip and their interactions lead into an examination of Solo’s life in particular as he has to reevaluate himself through his experience.

Souleymane Sy Savane is incredible here and should be in serious consideration for the big awards. He is endlessly enthusiastic and uncommonly natural on screen. Red West as William is standout here as well looking eerily like Richard Farnsworth. The film is short and penetrating in its observations which don’t go into sentimental territory but clearly has a love for the characters. You would be a fool to miss this one.

Food Inc. (2009): 7.7



An important and effective look at the food industry from all angles and addressing all sorts of issues including some I have never even thought about. While the film feels a little crowded it is necessary because the film serves as a brief overview of all of the issues of the food industry and since there are a ton of them, the film has to be split up into many parts. The films purpose is simply to make the viewer aware of what is going on and hopes to provoke more interest to that others will continue to explore these issues. The film does a great job of letting the viewer know that what brought on the film was this idea that somehow a barrier was set up between the consumer and the companies and our blind acceptance of the ignorance is natural because it has always been that way. The film suggests that this is an odd relationship and they want to figure out how this has happened and what is taking place beyond the barrier. While I still prefer Anvil: The Story of Anvil, this is a great and informative introduction to the problems of the food industry and should be seen by everyone.

Julie and Julia (2009): 7/10




I did not want to like Julie and Julia but so help me I did. I really did. Ok so there is not a lot of conflict. Okay so the Amy Adams character is annoying. I don’t care. People are annoying. We may hate her but most of us are like her. I think we just don’t want to admit it. What I like about this is that it is a film made for women that does not function as a romance. Films for women are all about the romance because apparently that is all we care about; we just want to see films about women who are “incomplete” until that perfect dude comes along. Fuck that. Both Julia Child and Julie Powell are both married at the start of this film and in stable marriages’ at that. Their stories are driven by a need for purpose and self identity and each finds it in their own way, both involving food of course. The film is sumptuous and really puts anyone who watches it in the mood to cook all the time. Sure the film can be unsubtle but honestly I found this refreshing and purely charming. Meryl Streep is of course incredible but I would actually say Stanley Tucci is the standout. Between this and The Lovely Bones he should be around during awards season. Overall this is a refreshing and delightful film that serves as pleasant entertainment.

The Girlfriend Experience (2009): 6/10



First of all I am pro Sasha Grey. Everyone is split on this issue but I am unwavering in my approval of her. Yes she degrades herself in hard core pornography. Yes she enjoys it and yes she is outspoken about it and yes she has changed the porn industry at 21. Yes it’s unfortunate that she enjoys doing these things for mass consumption. It has nothing to do with what she enjoys doing that I have a problem with, just the idea of doing it for millions to see. However am I going to bash her? No. I find it fascinating that people take such offense to a woman who actually enjoys doing porn. Porn is going to exist until the world explodes people so we might as well have people doing these things that actually want to be doing it. People are more offended by her enjoyment than they are about the women that are desperate enough to degrade themselves to make a living who despise it. There is something wrong with that. Richard Roeper spends his entire review of this film attacking the woman. It’s hilarious; seriously Roeper? Apparently women are not supposed to feel this way. I wasn’t aware. It’s fine for all the men who love doing hard core porn because they are men but a woman enjoying it? No, of course the answer is that she is just deluding herself. Poor unfortunate girl everyone thinks. Oh God people are hilarious. If you aren’t watching then who cares what she does? Her uninhibited sexual agency makes people understandably uncomfortable but does she have to take the shit for it? I had no idea that people took such issue with women admitting their deep desires and being that comfortable with them. Granted, the circumstance through which she releases these desires is unfortunate but the people who are offended because of their own repression need to seriously find something else to complain about.

So that is out of the way and we can talk about the film which I actually have less to say about than that lovely rant. Soderbergh cast Sasha Grey to play a high class escort woman who offers what is called The Girlfriend Experience, which is something that does exist in which the escort provides more than just sex; she provides well…the feigned experience of having a girlfriend. Chelsea, Grey’s character is seen in a number of scenarios which jumps around in time. These include her interactions with her boyfriend, her interview with a journalist, her efforts to expand her clientele and so on. Overall the film is slight but never boring like others find it. Anyone who has seen any of Soderbergh’s independent stuff knows what they are in for here. The present economy is a huge presence here as most of Chelsea’s clients complain about it and we see taped footage of Chelsea’s boyfriend and his friends discussing the situation. Overall the film explores issues of connection and desire, questioning what is authentic and inauthentic. Even though Soderbergh is unsubtle in some of the stuff he is doing here, he does a nice job with it. Grey is adequate; not great. A lot of people thought she was very good and some thought she was dreadful. I stand in the middle. The last scene is by far the best moment in the film so thankfully it ends on a good note. All in all an interesting watch even if it ends up being a bit forgettable.

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984): 3/10



A fascinating piece of shit. This film jumps all over the place from being hilarious to being geniuenly creepy to being really messed up to being hilarious again and so on and so forth. It made for a very enjoyable ride and one of the most fascinating horror films I have seen simply n the basis of having never seen anything quite like it. The pacing s very different as is its tone. There was a lot of potential here but I do not think the film ever really decides what it wants to be.

A Christmas Tale (2008): 8.6/10



A melodrama with no melodrama; that is how I describe this two and a half hour French film which received the Criterion treatment this past week. Arnaud Desplachin’s film from last year stars a bevy of French actors including Catherine Deneuve and Mathieu Amalric. This film could not have been made in this country in that the director steers clear of every single direction that a Hollywood film would have gone in. He decides to give us moments and few arcs to follow. We are given questions and only some answers and few resolutions. He uses everything imaginable; a fake puppet show, irises up the wazoo, split screens, breaking the fourth wall; all of the cinema tricks that could never work together. They do though because it never feels like a gimmick; it flows with the film an we never question any of it. The techniques somehow fuse with the disjointed narrative to make for a wholly enjoyable treat. All of the actors work together beautifully and the genius in the film lies in the fact that characters reactions are at times completely the opposite of what you would expect. The director knows that every single person in the world will not react that same exact way as we have seen in so many films before. We are more puzzling and complex than that and the fascination lies with the way it complicates character and makes for less predictable viewing. A Christmas Tale is a treat and a joy from start to finish; a different sort of Christmas film indeed.
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December 13th 2009 @ 03:39

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


Top 30 Worst Films of the 2000's

Ok worst films of the decade. Here we are provided with terrible taglines and all. Keep in mind that there is a lot of shit that I did not see so this is based on what I've seen obviously. Among the films that did not make the cut; Darkness Falls, Alexander, Freddy vs. Jason, Cabin Fever, Wolverine, The Edge of Love, Obsessed, Friday the 13th, Aeon Flux, Mirrors, Ultraviolet, The Happening, Cursed, The Vertical Limit, Failure to Launch, Saving Silverman, Gooby, Driven, Eye of the Beholder

Let me know what you think were the worst films you saw this decade! I'd love to hear them!

30. Whatever Works (2009)
A new comedy

29. Hanging Up (2000)
Every family has a few hang-ups.

28. Mission Impossible (2000)
Expect the Impossible Again

27. Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
All she wanted was a little credit...

26. The Number 23 (2007)
The truth will find you.

25. Black and White (2000)
What happens when you mix it up?

24. Spider Man 3 (2007)
How long can any man fight the darkness... before he finds it in himself?

23. Without a Paddle (2004)
The call of the wild, the thrill of adventure. The mistake of a lifetime.

22. Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)
Legends never Die.

21. Paparazzi (2004)
One good shot deserves another.

20. Bridget Jones' Diary: Edge of Reason (2004)
Same Bridget. Brand new diary.

19. Pulse (2006)
You are now infected

18. The In Crowd (2000)
What would you do to get in?

17. The Spirit (2008)
Down these mean streets a man must come. A hero born, murdered, and born again.

16. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
Action's future has arrived

15. Cat in the Hat (2004)
Don't mess with the Hat.

14. Ring of Darkness (2004)
Once you're in, the terror begins.

13. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
The New Dirty Dozen.........Time For A Change!

12. Alone in the Dark (2005)
Evil Awakens

11. Battlefield Earth (2000)
Prepare to go Psychlo

10. I Know who Killed Me (2007)
If you think you know the secret...Think Twice

9. License to Wed (2007)
First came love...then came Reverend Frank.

8. From Justin to Kelly (2003)
The tale of two American Idols

7. Witless Protection (2008)
Protecting America's assets.

6. Swept Away (2002)
No tagline

5. The Master of Disguise (2002)
He can get into any disguise...getting out is another story.

4. Catwoman (2004)
CATch Her in IMAX

3. Epic Movie (2007)
We know it's big. We measured.

2. Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Evil finds its way home.

1. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
Your most dangerous enemies are the friends you've double-crossed.

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December 9th 2009 @ 21:07

Posted By: Catherine Stebbins - Category: No Category
   


Top 20 Overrated Films of the Decade

Here we are. I actually have a little time to do this so here we go. Everyone has their own opinions on overrates/underrated. These are my personal opinions. This is not in the order of which I like these films. In fact my number 2 is my favorite on the list. Some of these movies I cannot stand, some are ok and some are quite good but all of them are overrated in my opinion.

20. Walk the Line (2005)



This could be the most uninteresting biopic I have ever seen. The other biopic on this list which is much higher is a much worse film but at least it was more interesting. Johnny Cash did not have a boring life but this film seems to think he did. I am not faulting the performances. Joaquin Pheonix is really great and Reese Witherspoon does a nice job here to (although not in the slightest sense Oscar worthy. I know it was a horrible year for actresses but seriously, this could be the most pointless acting Oscar ever to be given out).James Mangold did nothing with this story to make it original or interesting. It plays as a mediocre TV movie. And yet so many people loved it. I am a Johnny Cash fan but I was no more interested in whoc he was as a person after seeing this. It just made me want to take the time to read a biography.

19. The Rules of Attraction (2003)



I was pretty excited about seeing this based on its reputation and I loathed it. I will admit that the film nailed its tone down but there is nothing of interest going on within this film. It is trying way too hard to be something of cultural relevance and while I guess it succeeded in its undying quest to become a college age cult film, it did not succeed with me. Director Roger Avary tries way too hard with his camera techniques in a film which has absolutely no substance to support them which in turn draws even more attention to the gimmicky camerawork. I just hate this and don't get the college age appeal to it at all or the cult status it has attained.

18. Man on Wire (2008)



This is easily one of my favorites on the list. I do really like this documentary. But the greatest of its kind in the last 10 years like some claim? Absolutely not. Personally I think this unfairly dominated the documentary competition last year and shoved aside two films that I would pick any day of the week over this which are Dear Zachary and Encounters at the End of the World. If you want a tightly plotted documentary, The Thin Blue Line blows this out of the water. Man on Wire is expertly crafted and contains a really incredible and endlessly entertaining man at its center, but to me it is merely a good documentary and not the masterpiece others believe it to be.

17. Million Dollar Baby (2004)



I really like Million Dollar Baby. It may have permanently traumatized me and I'll never see it again but I enjoyed it all the same. I get that people love how classic it is. Eastwood's output this decade has been both remarkable and completely unprecedented. Who saw this coming? But for me, this is just too universally considered to be in like the Top 10 greatest films of the decade and I think too many people agree on this one. It is a great film, easily the best on this list but it is admittedly a bit too sentimental for me at times and it reveals itself to be manipulative which is pretty bad since every film you watch is manipulative. If you can feel it amidst the onslaught of film manipulation there is a problem. Its great but there are far too many films that do not get enough recognition and this is one of those that is eating up the spotlight for others.

16. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)



Here is another film I liked and do admire for a lot of reasons. However, when the awards circuit basically picked this film in like November to be the shut out contender for the Oscars last year we all had to deal with about 4 months of Slumdog hype and craze which culiminated in its Best Picture win. By month 2 I was Slumdogged out. Hell I'm still suffering from the Slumdog after effects. It just got to be so annoying. I hate when any film runs away with the Oscar season months ahead of time. Its not the films fault by any means. But by paying such close attention to the awards season every year, it meant I was attacked by this film on a daily basis. I actually think it is a better filim than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon (although the latter was my personal fav of the 5 last year) but neither of those films invaded my life so fully as this one. Very very few films deserve that much constant attention in the awards season and this was not one of them.

15. Spider Man 2 (2004)



I used to love Spider Man 2. And then Spider Man 3 came out and destroyed this entire franchise for me. Everything I hated about that film carried over to the previous two. It became like a friend that you have for a while and then they start to annoy you and pretty soon you cannot remember why you liked them and all you see are their flaws. That is exactly what happened with me and this film. I still really love the Doc Oc stuff. I do think it does its job well. But the film just annoys me now. I can't help it. The whole series is just whiny and the whole thing just feels so scripted. It does not help that Tobey Maguire just annoys the shit out of me now. Basically I just got sick of this and think its a bit overrated now although I do get the appeal. For me though...nah.

14. Transformers (2007)



I iknow that this is not considered to be good. It represents the overwhelming populist side of this list. Its popularity means it cannot be ignored. It sucks. Obviously. The effects are really incredible though. I will be the first one to say that I was pretty amazed by them at points. But still the film is completely overrated as something that the mass population has latched on to for whatever reason.

13. Twilight (2008)



Here we have the other end of the populist spectrum. I watched this with my best friend when we discovered that we each had a morbid curiosity about the pop culture phenomenon but refused to watch it alone. So we got together and watched it and laughed and had a great time. I won't go into all of the reasons it sucks. It has single handedly made vampires lame, it simply a bad film, with a bad story, with cardboard characters whose one emotion is to brood and the entire series acts as a horrible horrible horrible sexist and unhealthy story for young girls to be consuming on such a mass scale. So yeah...its overrated.

12. A Beautiful Mind (2001)



I don't hate this. Its just so forgettable though. The best thing about it is James Horner's score which is beautiful and has comforted me many times in the years since seeing the film. Its idiotic but not surprising that this won Best Picture. Basically it was the year of Mulholland Drive and the fact that this was the film named as the Best Picture of the Year is pretty upsetting to me. Mulholland Drive was not nominated for Best Picture (unsurprisingly) but the Academy could not ignore Lynch's masterful direction of the film and he was nominated for Best Director....and lost.....to Ron.....Howard.....for A Beautiful Mind....let us think about this, agree that this snub is the perfect representation of what the Oscars are, and now understand why this film is placed on the list.

11. Hero (2002)



I don't know if I need to see this again or what. But people are obsessed with this. Completely obsessed. A lot of people think this is in the tops for the decade. Did I miss something? Yes the visuals are great but I was completely underwhelmed by this film. I don't even know what to say about it but I just did not like it.

10. Super Size Me (2004)



Did you know that if you eat McDonald's for a month that it is bad for you? Because I had no idea. Note the sarcasm. I admit that this documentary is important for the changes it brought in the McDonalds' industry. It is a documantries greatest dream. However, I hate Morgan Spurlock, I hate his gimmicks, I hate his arrogance, I hate his self congratulatory nature and I hate his massive ego on display here in his insistence of being a part of a ridiculous gimmick all so he can be in the spotlight. And then he got his own show where he got to be in the spotlight. Good for you Morgan Spurlock; you let audiences know that McDonalds is evil; a hard feat indeed. To me this was as despicable as what reality show contestants do for money. Self torture in exchange for fame. Fuck this movie.

9. 300 (2007)



Visually very appealing, clearly an extremely creative film with a lot of care put into it and faithful to the source material. Why is it overrated then? Because nothing is going on in this movie. I almost think this should not have been adapted by anyone ever because it work within the graphic novel but it fails to have the substance to sustain itself on the big screen. All I saw was a lot of slow motion, lots of blood, lots of yelling and an occasional sex scene. Sorry but I need a little thing called substance in the films I watch. You can have all of these things as long as it means something. But all this did was make me want to go back to the source material.

8. Inside Man (2006)



A lot of film critics have a special place for this in their hearts. I feel like the respect people have for it has grown in the 3 years since its release. This film was insufferable. It was too heavy handed, I hated the free jazz score, I found myself actively disliking this and being utterly bored with it at the same time. The performances are fine and Jodie Foster was the only redeeming factor in this film. Other than that, this stunk and nobody else seems to think so.


7. Garden State (2004)



This picture captures perfectly why I hate this movie. I used to love Garden State. I was young and stupid back then. It has become this sort of indie fav to a ton of people, mostly (but not all) people who don’t watch good indie films. Nothing in this rings true. Its just a series of poorly constructed scenes that are trying too hard to crate awkward but oh so accurate moments. The Natalie Portman character is completely obnoxious and really is just a complete fabrication of the dream girl and has no substance. Zach Braff is probably my least favorite actor working today. I would rather watch 5 movies with Ryan Reynolds back to back than watch 1 episode of Scrubs. Basically the film is false indie. And it sucks. Oh and lets not forget about the soundtrack with its annoying Postal Service songs, a Simon and Garfunkel song that I unfortunately cannot listen to at all now (thanks a lot, used to be one of my favs) and for making Nick Drake popular to the mainstream which is ridiculous because people should have known who he was already. God do I hate this.


6. Ray (2004)



How was this nominated for Best Picture? Mediocre at best. AT BEST. Yeah there is a great performance smack dab in the middle of it all but honestly this was just pretty bad. I don’t even remember it that well but I remember saying to myself that it was pretty bad.

5. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)



This is probably my least favorite film on the list. I just fucking hate this movie with all my heart. But ironically I have slightly more respect for it than Garden State because at least this film nails down a specific tone that is kind of hard to define or place. Other than that everything it so caricatured and so dependent on the eccentricities of the world. I don’t so much mind that because other great films might function on that but I have two problems with the film. The first is that the film is very mean spirited. The entire film wants us to laugh AT this character and not with him and its cruel. No wonder this struck such a cord with people. The film just seems to be looking down on its protagonist and it felt awkward and condescending to me. My second complaint about the film has to do with the fact that it’s not funny at all. This type of humor is nauseatingly unfunny. The brother? Not funny. Pedro? Not funny. Uncle Rico? Not funny. Napoleon? Not funny. Let’s not even get into the fact that I had to listen to fucking people quote this film nonstop for years. Years. Old people, young people, it never ended. Can you tell I think this is an overwhelmingly terrible piece of shit? The only reason I have stuff above it is because very few people think that this is the greatest film of all time.


4. The Boondock Saints (2000)



Ok so I’m not a guy and I know this was not made for me but that’s not even the issue. The issue is that there are so many other films in this crime genre out there, undiscovered ones by popular audiences and this is the one that becomes a pop culture phenomenon? The saddest thing might be that I think there could be people who like this that think its obscure. If I have to see one more Boondock Saints poster on someone’s wall….This movie reeks of shit. Its dreadful. Willem Dafoe is fantastic in it and if the film were just him then I would legitimately like this but its not so I hate it. Good God is this what’s cool? This is overblown and overrated in every way.

3. Crash (2005)



We all know why this is on the list; the infamous snub. And just the fact that it won Best Picture to begin with. Seriously? It’s not a bad film by any means but it throws the issues in your face without even reaching for subtlety at any point. In one way I get it because most film goers actually NEED the issues thrown on their face and the issues are too important to risk people not getting it. But it’s a problem when all I see is me being preached at to the point where I cannot concentrate on the all around fantastic performances by the ensemble cast. I loved the story with the blacksmith. I really did. It moved me greatly. But the rest of this film is way too overblown, overstuffed and unsubtle to really make its point with dignity.

2. The Dark Knight (2008)



I really do like this film; easily my favorite on the list. I saw it on opening night at midnight and everything. Actually I did with my Number 1 as well. Huh. I admit that this is an important film in the standard it has set for others of its kind. There is a lot of really fantastic stuff going on in this. Not to mention Heath Ledger’s incredible performance. But the whole months long freak out going on here for this to be nominated for Best Picture and THEN the months long freak out when it wasn’t and THEN the claims that it was the best film of 2008 and THEN the claims that it is the best film of the decade and THEN those other fucking people who actually think this is one of the greatest films of all time. I’m getting so frustrated just writing this. A good film to be sure, even a great one in large chunks but frankly the last act was extremely mediocre and I hated the way they handled Two Face towards the end. I just cannot deal with the extreme claims from that this is the greatest film ever, both from people who don’t watch a lot of films or from the people who do because frankly it was coming from all directions. I did not even think this was in the Top 20 best films I saw LAST YEAR. Nolan’s best? No. His most important? Yes I will give the film that. It is important. It really is. But it’s just not the greatest thing ever committed to celluloid. It’s just not.

1. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)



The reason this is number 1 and not The Dark Knight is because while both have the same stupid status in the film world, I really like said film and I actually don’t like this. For the record I am obsessed (OBSESSED) with both Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. I have seen the extended cuts of them probably about 40 times put together. Everything interesting that was going on in the first two films, seemed not interesting anymore. The action scenes did not excite me, I did not care about the characters anymore and it seemed much more stretched out than the other two. I’m really not sure what happened here. Then there were the 20 endings. The parts that I felt worked were the beginning with Gollum, the climax at Mount Doom, the scene when Pippin sings and when Frodo leaves at the end with Gandalf and Bilbo. Not only this but I have seen it on top of Best Films of the Decade lists aplenty, even Greatest Films of all Time lists. Just like The Dark Knight, this is not one of the greatest films of all time. The most frustrating thing about this one is that the first two films in the series are vastly superior and are not ranked in the same way this one is (although their acclaim is still massive). Right now there is a poll going on for people who watch At the Movies in which they vote on their favorite films of the decade and we get to see what the top 10 are every week. Right now number 1 is Return of the King and number 2 is The Dark Knight. Top 2 films of the entire decade. The entire decade!!?? I’m sorry but no.
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