January Release Doldrums: Reaching back again to 2007

With the weather so bad it’s the perfect time to catch a flick at home, but the releases this month just bite. As the Golden Globes and Oscars happily cherry-pick quality theatrical releases from the past year, the new DVDs are lame. Bad Horror flicks, grade-D college humor and the low-budget sci-fi make you wonder if all is lost in this great new year. I will try to help because public service is what I’m all about. Here are 30 more four shaker suggestions from the past year - one for each gray day since New Year's day. So pop that corn and salt it baby! Oh yeah!

1. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
2. Bill Maher: The Decider
3. Cloverfield
4. The Counterfeiters
5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
6. The Edge of Heaven
7. Encounters at the End of the World
8. Grace Is Gone
9. Hot Fuzz
10. I Am Legend
11. In Bruges (2008)
12. Iron Man (2008)
13. I Think I Love My Wife
14. In the Shadow of the Moon
15. John Adams (Series) (2008)
16. Knocked Up
17. Letters from Iwo Jima
18. Liberty Kid
19. The Lookout
20. Michael Clayton
21. Mr. Untouchable
22. The Orphanage
23. Paranoid Park
24. Sicko
25. Superbad
26. Taxi to the Dark Side
27. There Will Be Blood
28. The Wackness (2008)
29. The Wave (2008)
30. Young @ Heart

SAG Awards Picks: More Best of '08

Ah....so I'm not going to run out and rent "Towelheads" after Tim's blistering review. But here's my gift to Tim, and everyone else reading this:

More of the BEST of '08
As the deadline approaches for completing the actual SAG Awards ballot, here are my top picks. I think you'll probably like them as much as I did, so check 'em out:

Best Male Actor in the Lead
Why must I pick between Richard Jenkins, Sean Penn, and Mickey Rourke? Why?? Let's take a look, shall we?

"The Visitor"
For anyone who thinks Bill Murray has cornered the market on the underplayed, tormented middle aged man, take a gander at Richard Jenkins' suppressed college professor in "The Visitor." Where Murray sometimes becomes a style, Jenkins is nothing but real here. This heart-breaking story follows Jenkins as he reluctantly heads to a conference in New York City. When he arrives at his urban pied a terre, he discovers a young foreign couple already living there. What they share is tender and thought-provoking. Loved this. Want more films like this. Please?

"Milk"
At this point, do we really ever expect anything less than Oscar-worthy performances from Sean Penn? But even this performance was a stunning surprise. Yes, he's really that good. The love scenes were G-rated but steamy and real with Penn's committed passion and James Franco's beauty. A wrenching reminder of prejudice, human rights and that vile orange juice woman.

"The Wrestler"
It's driving me nuts that every film reviewer just can't help mention the correlation between Rourke's return and his character's return. Screw that, thank you very much. Forget about his past---this performance stands on it's own. Longing to reach through the digital ether and give him a hug, Mickey Rourke's "still hangin' in there" professional wrestler is layered with longing, regrets, determination and ultimately, honor. A hero and a gentleman. A loser and winner. More films needed like this one, too.

In an ideal world....this is a three-way tie. Since this isn't an ideal world, I'm going to have to pick one.

Best Female Actor in a Lead
Once again, I'm torn. This is a two way tie between Meryl Streep in "Doubt" and Melissa Leo in "Frozen River." Since I've previously reviewed both films, I'll just say that once again, I'll be torn between two stellar performances that leave their competition in the dust.

Best Supporting Male
Oh for the love of all that is good...there is not one nominee here who doesn't deserve this award.
Josh Brolin in "Milk": this guy is so good, I can't even recognize him from one role to the next. A twistedly vile politician here. Come to think of it....I loved him in W, too. Where he was a simplistically twisted and vile politician.
Robert Downey, Jr. in "Tropic Thunder": it takes a lot to stir the powers that be enough to recognize comedy in awards shows. And Downey's got more than enough. See this film, please.
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt": yes, yes, yes. If you've read my posts before, you know that Hoffman is in that Sean Penn category of "actors who are incapable of anything less than greatness" in my opinion. Here, no exception. Did he? Didn't he? Why did this movie have to end?
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight": I'm one of the few that detested this film. However, Heath Ledger did deliver a mind-blowing, creepy joker and we are all the better for the brief time we had to savor his talent.
Dev Patel in "Slumdog Millionaire": This is a role of a lifetime for any actor, with a sweeping story from a brutal youth to utter degradation as an adult. Dev Patel soared in this role. Bravo, bravo.

Best Supporting Female
Look, you don't get to this level without being phenomenal (and, let's face it, lucky, but that's another story). So here, we have a strong cast of contenders (Amy Adams for "Doubt," Penelope Cruz for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," Viola Davis for "Doubt," Taraji P. Henson for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and Kate Winslet for "The Reader").

But my vote will go to:
Kate Winslet in "The Reader": I knew nothing about this film prior to seeing it, and I hope you can approach it the same way. The less I say, the better. But Winslet reveals...oh, nevermind. This is a disturbing, intense and brilliant film very much worth seeing.

Outstanding Cast
Another tough category to pick a winner. But my top picks are:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Like an old-fashioned, epic sweeping saga, this tale takes you through time and space, places and situations that delve deep. A big story, well-told, beautifully done.
Doubt
In graphic design, the epitome of great design is the ability to boil an idea down to the fewest visual marks you can make that will tell the story. Here, we have the epitome of film. A small cast, no excess, nothing exists without it's absolute necessity. Brilliant on every level.
Slumdog Millionaire
Another epic saga that can only achieve this level of greatness by every single piece being in its perfect place. And it was. And they were. And it is.

How can this not be a three-way tie?

For teeth-gnashing, told-you-so, popcorn chewing fun, check out the SAG Awards on Sunday, January 25th on TNT and TBS at 8 pm ET/PT, 7 CT and 6 MT.

“Towelhead”- Coming of age is horrifically gross - let's shoot that in close-up!

Isn’t the world horrible? Jesus what a way to start a new year! I see and usually rate the “look I’m provocative for the sake of provocation” school of films a banal average rating. (“Welcome to the Dollhouse”, “Happiness”, “Kids”, “Spanking the Monkey”, etc) They remind me of the ‘torture porn’ flicks that have to desperately go over the top in the name of attempted coolness. (Cough- Tarantino!) Excess only works in the context of an already strong film (“Thirteen”, ”Trainspotting”, “Eating Raoul”, “Boogie Nights”, “City of God” and in theaters “Slumdog Millionaire”).

Since Alan Ball wrote the fun “American Beauty” (and “Six Feet Under”) and was making his directorial debut with “Towelhead”, I thought this would be decent. Somewhere between the low angle shot of menstruated panties and the -well: the dead pet in the freezer, the casual sex between young children, the pedophilia, bigotry, abuse and other such horrors presented in a matter of fact fashion, my mind just switched off. Our shell shocked teen (who in fact acts appropriately like a zombie compared to thirteen year olds I’ve met) moves from one abuse to another while some critics cheer. Set in Texas against the backdrop of the first Gulf War our broken Middle Eastern family comments on – blah- blah-blah…not one of these characters seemed real to me but were more like caricatures in a morality play. The DVD has extras that include discussions on prejudice in a desperate attempt to cast this film as non-exploitive. It is in the “Funny Games” camp of filmmaking to manipulate the audience to teach it about itself. I get enough condescension in real life guys, get into documentaries and stop exploiting the same wrongs that you preach to be against. It’s ‘Theaters’ not “The Haters" , so please stop hating the audience. Like your main charactor we are shell shocked and in need of love or at the very least meaningful entertainment that touches us without that sledgehammer.

Single shaker of shame: The worst DVDs of 2008

“Why did I rent this?” These words echo across America every night. If you have to hit fast forward, it’s not a good sign. Here are 20 from this year that I wish I skipped.

1. Be Kind Rewind (2008) – Previously reviewed on this blog. Not so kind...

2. Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious - Comedians shouldn’t be assholes. Seriously.

3. The Game Plan- “The Rock” tries to emulate family-friendly Schwarzeneggers' career path, mugging embarrassingly with a child actor who should have hit him with a folding chair.

4. Get Smart (2008) - Previously reviewed on this blog. Back to your office Steve!

5. Grindhouse: Planet Terror – Rodiguez and Tarantino think that making deliberately bad, violent films is cool. It’s not and put out that doobie!

6. The Happening (2008)- M. Night Shyamalan has Marky Mark and friends trying to outrun the suicide-inducing wind. Say hi to your mother for me.

7. Heckler – Jamie Kennedy fakes us out; Instead of talking about heckling he quickly equates them with critics and then cries that they didn’t like his shitty films.

8. I'm Not There - Bob Dylan is played by a whole bunch of different actors in an attempt to capture his essence. My channels - they are a changing.

9. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) – Looky it's 3-D! Brendan Fraser is in danger of becoming the next Nicholas Cage making bad big budget junk for a paycheck.

10. Lust, Caution –The Asian cinema cliché that really slow-moving films are more meaningful. I needed more lust less caution.

11. Married Life – Supposedly a murder-mystery that has neither.

12. Momma's Man (2008) – Like the “Step Brothers” but trying to take itself seriously. Grow up!

13. Ocean's Thirteen- The last two of this franchise milk the originality of the first with lame-ass pretty boy smugness.

14. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End – Sequel-itis again hits as big money trumps the fun with a ridiculously confusing plot and over-the-top nonsense action.

15. Redacted – Brian DePalma goes ‘Clockwork Orange’ on us and it’s an experiment in bad. War is horrific and so is this film.

16. Slacker Uprising – Michael Moore shows us how his “Slacker Nation” failed to get Kerry elected in 04. Is this relevant?

17. Sleuth – A two-man show with Michael Caine and Jude Law trading wits while boring us senseless.

18. Snow Angels - David Green makes good actors do bad things. Depressing filmmaking is not serious filmmaking.

19. Vantage Point – The"aren't we clever?" point of view can't save this conceited thriller that twists and turns into mediocrity.

20. Zoo – Bestiality attempted to be explained artistically. Yuck!

Let's have a happy new year and hope for more multi-shaker films in 09!

Four shaker roundup: The best DVDs of the year

I have no affiliation with SAG or any other organization for that matter, but much luck to Jessi as she frantically screens; I look forward to more verdicts.

Since it’s that time of year, I’ve rounded up my top 20. Of course a majority of these DVDs were released theatrically in 2007 (unless noted as a 2008 release); Like Jessi, I may have slipped a few theatrical releases in there -so sue us bitches!

You know, I saw a higher number of films this year than normal but it always amazes me how it seems constant that 75% of films made are just average or below, no matter how selective you are. Hopefully this list will help you weed out some bad ones:

1. American Gangster - Russell Crow and Denzel Washington have a lot of fun in a good old fashioned gangster flick.

2. The Dark Knight (2008) - I know Jessi heartily disagrees and it has its' bloated moments- but this was the best comic book film of the year, helped by the late Heath Ledger’s eerie Joker.

3. Eastern Promises - A knife fight in a sauna? Cool! Viggo Mortensen totally nails the Eastern European character in this great little mob film.

4. Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale - Ricky Gervais who gave us the original, succinct and far superior “The Office”, does it again by finishing his second series with a comic swipe at celebrity culture.

5. Frozen River (2008) - I second Jessi's opinion. Atmospheric and real, this look at poverty, human trafficking and cultural divide is an unbelievable indie with Melissa Leo really shining in the lead.

6. Kabluey - Previously reviewed on this blog. The funniest blue man since David Cross on "Arrested Development".

7. The King of Kong - Who knew a documentary on Donkey Kong competitors would be so compelling? The villain in this is unintentionally hilarious!

8. The Lives of Others – Humanity trumps conservative and oppressive bureaucracy in this timely German film on government vs. privacy.

9. No Country for Old Men - The sound design alone makes you want to see this film again. True the ending is unexpected and bizarre, but this film is a classic.

10. No End in Sight - This year gave us many fine documentaries on the Iraqi war, but this one is just a simple, straightforward presentation of facts as many high-level insiders openly condemn the action.

11. Persepolis - A rebellious Iranian girl comes of age in the political turmoil following the fall of the Shah. Amazing with original animation.

12. Ratatouille - The second of three animated films I’ve selected, is a great family film about a foodie vermin finding his inner chef. Brad Bird is a great storyteller.

13. The Savages – Previously reviewed on this blog. Yay dysfunction!

14. Starting Out in the Evening - Frank Langella rules as an old school intellect and author who’s become a recluse. Sort of a “Lost in Translation” for the literati.

15. Step Brothers (2008) - Will Ferrell’s best film to date and the best comedy of the year. John C. Reilly and he are man-boys who sleepwalk, fight and improvise the absurd fantastic!

16. Up the Yangtze. - Young employees on a tourist excursion boat face uncertain futures in a changing China. A unique documentary of the disruptive Three Gorges dam project as seen through their eyes.

17. The Visitor - Richard Jenkins who was the comic father in “Step Brothers”, shows his dramatic range playing a widowed, unpopular professor dealing with a crowded apartment and an empty life.

18. Waitress - Sweet as pie! A small film of dreams and the compromises of life. The tragic murder of the director and co-star Adrienne Shelly make it even more poignant.

19. WALL-E (2008) - A strange film since it is a Disney animation that would no doubt bore and depress children. If you believe in dystopia clap your hands!

20. Zodiac - I love true-life crime thrillers and this one just rocks! I am psyched that there will be a deluxe edition coming out. Plus it inspired Dirty Harry Callahan. See it punk!

(Oh- I didn't award any '5 shakers' except for "No Country.." this year and even that one's 'shakey')

Not to be Missed...Part One

Okay, so I'm in full swing on watching films in anticipation of having to vote for the SAG awards.
Here's a quick run-down of some of the best I've seen so far. Pass the salt and dig in.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
So far, this film rises far above the pack in Cinematography. A beautiful, heart wrenching, cinematic masterpiece. The story and direction are outstanding. Really, there are some films one sees that define the medium, and this is one of them. It's why we see films...and love them.

I've Loved You So Long (Il ya longtemps que je t'aime) (2008)
I'll admit that I'm biased when it comes to Kristin Scott Thomas---she is a remarkable beauty and talent. Compelling to watch. And here, in this moody, unraveling story, she is superb. For personal family reasons, this film probably affected me more than most. And the success in this French drama lies in the hands of Ms. Thomas. I loved it, tears and all.

WALL-E (2008)
A sweet, thought-provoking and engrossing tale about an animated robot? Yep. Score another big win for the talent pool at Pixar. I expect to be swept up in emotion by films with animated animals, but I didn't expect this reaction from WALL-E. An adorable, brave little...robot...and a future of obese, couch potato humans who've lost the ability to move? Sign me up. A smart tale, sweet story, and great film.

Frozen River (2008)
While Slumdog Millionaire gets my vote as a cinematic masterpiece, Frozen River shines as a gritty masterpiece. Melissa Leo 's performance is stellar. I can still feel the cold, hear the crunching of packed snow and ice, and anguish over "Ray Eddy's" life in a trailer in upstate New York. Bravo.

Doubt (2008)
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep in the same film? Truly, I must have died and gone to heaven. If you love film as much as I do, you must see Doubt. This is what all filmmakers aspire to. On every level, in every category, one of the best films ever made, in my ever so humble opinion. Streep and Hoffman are beyond brilliant. I couldn't believe that the film was over when it was...it felt like only ten minutes had gone by.

Too much gushing for you? Tired of hearing "one of the best films ever?" Well, stay tuned...more to come. Including a palette-clearing summary of some not-so-wonderful movies.

Buried in DVDs...Stay Tuned

So this year, I was randomly selected to be part of the Screen Actors Guild nominating committee for the SAG Awards. That means I've been seeing a lot (yeah, a LOT) of films. I'm bleary-eyed but determined to see every one. Stay tuned as I share the good, the bad, and ...the mediocre.