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TEN The Brothers Bloom Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody play the title characters as a couple of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels who are "the last gentleman con men." (Obviously, the movie was made before the Obama Administration took over.) I've not always been fans of their work, but they're fine here--they just happen to be in a movie where Rachel Weisz is acting circles around them. She plays the delightfully neurotic ( and it's been a long time since we've seen a delightful neurotic on screen) New Jersey heiress and the brothers' latest mark. When asked what she likes to do, she says she "collects hobbies." Her knowledge of a little bit about lots of things make her a pleasure to watch on screen and a major impediment to the brothers' plans. It's funny, poignant and--well, it's mostly funny. NINE I HopeThey Serve Beer in Hell I'm guessing I'm in the minority on this one, but I loved this movie. Think of it as the Porky's of the 21st century. Unapologetic misogynist Tucker Max (think of him as Ferris Bueller crossed with Eliot Spitzer) talks his innocent best friend into letting him take him to a hands-on strip club in a town 250 miles away. Also along for the bachelor party is mutual friend Drew, who's recently been dumped (probably because he can't refer to the female gender in any kind of language that can be repeated in a family-friendly website). Sounds like The Hangover, doesn't it? Sure it does, but there are some key differences. For one thing, it's toned down considerably from and much grittier than The Hangover. In IHTSBIH, there are no circus animals, retired boxers or Asian criminals. One of the characters indeed goes to jail, but rather than being tasered by vindictive children, he just gets the crap beaten out of him. Instead of marrying a stripper, one of the characters finds a stripper who can match him verbal zinger for verbal zinger. Which leads me to the biggest surprise about this movie--and the key point of differentiation from The Hangover: in this movie women are real people, and they also get some of the best lines. Instead of the cliche of the left-at-home bride being a self-centered harpy, we get a woman with a few ideas in her head that move things along. I liked it a lot. EIGHT Prom Night in Mississippi was the featured film at the recently completed Crossroads Film Festival in Jackson and will be shown on HBO in June. The high school in the hometown of actor Morgan Freeman, Charleston, Mississippi, has been holding separate senior proms for white and black students since the school integrated in 1970. In an effort to do something to provide some racial healing in the school and the town, Freeman offered to pay for a prom, if it would be integrated. This movie is a record of the progress from idea to actualization of his offer. What a coincidence that I would see this movie less than a week after seeing The Class. Both movies are quite good and will appear on my list of favorite movies of 2009. I'm sorry to say that the 17- and 18-year-old Mississippi students come off very poorly compared to their 14- and 15-year-old French counterparts. In fairness, the French students were played by actors, and the Mississippi student were--for the most part--just trying to live their lives. But still, the Charleston students come off as much less verbal, much less interesting and much, much more obese than their Parisian counterparts. That's not really the point, but the comparison does kind of smack youi in the face. Check it out if you get the chance. (BTW, after the screening, I was asked to give one of the student actors a ride to Delta State whereshe's in her first year of elementary education. In the movie, she claimed that although she had the highest scholastic average in her class, she was denied being named as valedictorian. I meant to ask her how she knew that, but I forgot. She's a bright, articulate young lady who had the good sense not to be too impressed when she met Paris Hilton at Sundance. SEVEN The Hangover Don't hate me, but I loved this movie. Four average joes (OK, maybe three average joes and someone who may or may not be a registered sex offender) set out from Los Angeles for the proverbial bachelor party in Las Vegas. I don't want to spoil any surprises, but the night goes horribly and hilariously wrong from the opening toast on the roof at Caesar's Palace. Suffice to say that a live tiger, chickens, Heather Graham, Mike Tyson, Chinese crime lords and do-it-yourself dentistry are part of the plot. This is a story that could be told badly so many ways, but the writers, director and talented cast get it right on lots of level. It starts to lose steam toward the end, but it never loses its way. Don't even think about taking a child to see this movie, but do grab a friend or two and check it out. SIX L'heure d'ete (Summer Hours) Well, it's not Chekhov, althought the plot sounds a lot like The Cherry Orchard. The wonderful Juliette Binoche, the talented Charles Berling from Ridicule and Some Ofther Guy who's a good actor and will be a big star some day, play three French siblings who must come to grips with the passing of their mother and the disposal of her home filled with treasurefs from the Beaux Arts (I think) period. The Musee d'Orsay and Christie's are interested, but not everyone wants to let the house and its furnishings out of the family. What I loved most about the movie is that although the three do not agree on how the assets will be disposed of, they discuss it rationally, like three people who actually love each other and will continue to do so. If this were an American film, I suspect it would have to be punched up with some verbal or maybe even physical histrionics. As it is, it's perfect. See it. FIVE Up After a sour note with Wall-E last year, Disney's Pixar is back on its relentlessly perky track. I don't know what I was expecting (maybe something like an American version of Howl's Moving Castle, I guess), but what I saw was The Wizard of Oz Meets Gran Torino. The slow-moving but richly textured opening chronicled the loving but not particularly special lives shared by Karl and Ellie in a house that is in grave danger of: 1) falling in; and 2) being redeveloped. An unfortunate accident leaves Karl (voiced by Ed Asner) cranky, alone (he thinks), and with no prospects beyond being traumatized by his neighborhoods. But, when he decides to do something about it and thousands of balloons sprout from his chimney, picking up his house and carrying it to South America ("It's like America--but South!"), the movie takes off along with the house. The house doesn't land on a wicked witch, but it does land in close proximity to a nearly extinct bird, a pack of talking dogs, and Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). After a slow start, it's a great ride and a wonderful lesson about what constitutes a meaningful life. FOUR The Stoning of Soraya M "Its a man's world," says the husband of the title character of this stunning movie about an Iranian wife and mother of four who is savagely stoned to death after refusing her husband a divorce in order that he might move to the city and marry a fourteen-year-old girl "with shining eyes". Practically the entire town knows that the husband is a dangerous jerk, but no one stops this slow-motion tragedy before it moves to its ultimate conclusion. (To sweeten the pot for the two sons that the father wants to take with him when he leaves, he tells them, "You can be Republican Guards!") The best acting in the film comes from Shohreh Aghdashloo, a recent Academy Award nominee for The House of Sand and Fog. Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ plays the French journalist to whom she tells her story. It's a powerful and heartbreaking movie. Don't even think about taking a child to see it. THREE Invictus It's hard to know where to start talking about this movie. Has any director ever had a run of movies as good as the last six from Clint Eastwood (Invictus, Gran Torino, Changeling, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River--to say nothing of Pale Rider,Unforgiven or Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil)? Has there ever been an actor like Morgan Freeman, who can play God on three occasions, Satan on at least one, and still drive Miss Daisy? I don't think so. Invictus is long (too long); its's somewhat muddled in its early narrative; some of the art design is unfortunate (especially at the "White House"); and a big chunk of the music is just woeful--but almost everything else is very nearly perfect. Eastwood falls all over himself not to deify Mandela, and I think he succeeds. All of the performances are admirably understated, and the actors--especially Matt Damon-- do a good job of working with a tricky dialect. This is a special movie, and I recommend it to you highly. TWO The Blind Side is as good as everyone around Mississippi hoped it would be. Sandra Bullock shines as Leigh Anne Tuohy, the former Rebel cheerleader who--for whatever reason or motive--takes Michael Oher off the mean streets of Memphis and into her home and eventually into the NFL. Is it enough to say that I smiled at the screen for over two hours? There are a few nits to be picked--mostly having to do with disappoinment that locations in the film really didn't resemble their real life counterparts--but such complaints are picky indeed. If you want to go to a movie that will make you feel good about life in general--here's your ticket. ONE The Class is the best movie of the year. I said so when I saw it March, and I'm sticking to my guns now. It was made in 2006, and was not distributed until last year (when it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes). The movie stars Francoise Begaudeau, who wrote the book that the movie is based on, and a classroom-full of gifted young actors who play his 14- and 15-year-old students. It's shot in a documentary style, and as you're watching it, you can't imagine that this is scripted behavior. I don't know if this movie could be made in English to conform to American or British sensibilities. I think the fim makers would want the teacher to be more visibly noble than Mssr. Begaudeau appears to be here. He makes mistakes; he clearly doesn't connect with all of his students; and it's clear that he's not trying to save anybody. I've emailed a couple of teachers I know and encouraged them to check it out. I can just imagine them sitting in darkened theater somewhere and nodding their heads in recognition. |
| Matt's Top Ten Favorite Movies of 2009 100 Movies of the Decade |
| As if it weren't enough to ask someone who critiques movies to come up with a top ten list at the end of every year, it seems the world expecting a "Top 100" list at the end of the decade. Apparently, it's too much to ask to just go back and combine the ten "top ten" lists. (and actually, it's a better idea not to do it that way. This way, I get to atone for years like 2001, when the best movie I saw was a re-release of The Exorcist. (I always felt a little guilty about that one.) Anyway, here's my list. To give you some perspective (or at least a second opinion), I've provided the ranking that the movie received in the Top 100 Movies of the Decade list published in The Times of London in red.. 100. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 50 99. Monsters, Inc. (2001) NR 98. About Schmidt (2002) 78 97. Hotel Rwanda (2004) 84 96. Crash (2004) 98 95. East-West (2000) NR 94. Mulholland Drive (2001) 38 93. Sunshine State (2002) NR 92. The Painted Veil (2003) NR 91. Bon Voyage (2004) NR 90. Traffic (2000) 46 89. The Brothers Bloom (2009) NR 88. Sideways (2004) 27 87. The New World (2006) NR 86. Ghost World (2001) NR 85. Get Smart (2008) NR 84. Tropic Thunder (2008) NR 83. Breach (2007) NR 82. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2009) NR 81. Akeelah and the Bee (2006) NR 80. Caterina Goes to the City (2005) NR 79. Amelie (2001) NR 77. Valkyrie (2008) NR 76. Brokeback Mountain (2005) 17 75. Shattered Glass (2003) NR 74. Zodiac (2007) NR 73. Iron Man (2008) NR 72. Wedding Crashers (2005) 90 71. Pieces of April (2003) NR 70. From Hell (2001) NR 69. The Bank Job (2008) NR 68. Bright Young Things (2004) NR 67. Prom Night in Mississippi (2009) NR 66. The Italian (2007) NR 65. No Country for Old Men (2007) 3 64. Croupier (2000) NR 63. Changeling (2008) NR 62. Role Models (2008) NR 61. Good-bye, Lenin! (2004) NR 60. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 6 59. In Good Company (2005) NR 58. Concert for George (2003) NR 57. Juno (2007) NR 56. The Brothers Bloom (2009) NR 55. Master and Commander: Far Side of the World (2003) NR 54. The Hangover (2009) NR 53. Stardust (2007) NR 52. Lantana (2001) 91 51. Summer Hours (L'heure d'ete) (2009) NR 50. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) NR 49. Being John Malkovich (2000) 29 48. Wanted (2008) NR 47. In America (2003) NR 46. Shaun of the Dead (2004) 58 45. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) NR 44. Almost Famous (2000) NR 43. World Trade Center (2006) NR 42. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) 74 41. The Incredibles (2004) 42 40. Memento (2000) 68 39. The Squid and the Whale (2005) 60 38. The Bourne Supremacy (2004) tie 2 37. City of God (2002) 66 36. Far from Heaven (2002) 22 35. The Last King of Scotland (2006) 7 34. Finding Nemo (2003) 34 33. About a Boy (2002) NR 32. Casino Royale (2006) 8 31. The Dark Knight (2008) 43 30. Thank You for Smoking (2006) NR 29. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) tie 2 28. Gladiator (2000) 32 27. Up (2009) NR 26. Downfall (2004) 15 25. Howl's Moving Castle (2005)NR 24. Walk the Line (2005) NR 23. Moulin Rouge! (2001) NR 22. The Queen (2006) 9 21. Lost in Translation (2003) 39 20. Dirty Pretty Things (2002) 92 19. The Majestic NR 18. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 16 17. The Stoning of Soraya M (2009) NR 16. The Lives of Others (2007) 12 15. Children of Men (2006) 41 14. Invictus (2009) 13. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) 48 12. Eight Below (2006) NR 11. Spirited Away (2001) 61 10. The Blind Side (2009) NR 9. Gran Torino (2009) NR 8. The Passion of the Christ (2004) NR 7. Lilo and Stitch (2002) NR 6. The Class (2008) 70 5. Avenue Montaigne (Fauteuils d'Orchestre) (2007) NR 4. Hairspray (2007) NR 3. Spellbound NR 2. Gosford Park (2001) NR 1. United 93 (2006) NR |
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| Best Supporting Actress: Mariah Carey in Tennessee When I first wrote about this movie, I said that if I'd known Mariah Carey was in it, I might not have gone. But I didn't, and she was, and I have to admit I was kind of blown away by her performance as a waitress in a Texas diner. (I was similarly impressed with her small role in Precious.) While it's great that she toned down her persona for the serious scenes, it was especially nice that when she was asked to go on the stage and play a number, she dialed that back as well. Well done! |
| Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon in Invictus When you first see Matt Damon in this movie, he's sitting on a couch in his parents' house in South Africa, and you wonder, "Where did they find a teenager who looks like Matt Damon?" Later, seemingly without the benefit of make-up, he looks much older than he is in real life. He also sounds different, mastering a tricky Afrikaaner accent. He has great scenes with Morgan Freeman, and the play off each other beautfully. |
| Best Actress: Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia In my heart, I'm rooting for Sandra Bullock to win the Academy Award, but in reality, no one did a better job in a movie than Meryl Streep did in this movie. |
| Best Actor: Paul Giamatti in Cold Souls In this quirky film that will remind some of Being John Malkovich, Mr. Giamatti plays an actor named "Paul Giamatti" who needs help with the role of "Uncle Vanya". He "feels" the part too much, and he doesn't think he can make it through a Broadway run if he has to keep his soul in his body. Happily, there is an organization which removes souls from their bodies and stores them. Mr. Giamatti gives a very nuanced performance it what must be the most difficult role of his career. |
| Now, on with the countdown! |
| It's time again for the annual top ten list. As always, I don't believe in best movies--although paradoxically, I do believe in "worst movies." I should probably think about that. For reasons that aren't exactly clear to me, I feel obligated to state my preferences for major acting awards (as if anyone cared). Here they are: |
| Although I do try to stay away from movies I know I'm going to dislike, there are some movies that qualify for the list of the Worst Movies I've seen this year. They are (in the order I saw them): State of Play Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian Transformers 2 The Girl from Monaco All About Steve To all of you, I say, "Yuck!) Likewise, there were some movies that I thought were pretty terrific, but they just didn't make the cut. They include: The September Issue Eine Frau in Berlin Taking Woodstock Moon Tennessee Duplicity Sherlock Holmes To all of you, I say, "Well done!" |