That VoDo That You Do So Well

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How does James Cameron do it?

In a world where 40-60% drop-off’s from your films first to second week of release is common and expected, Avatar bucks the trend. Not only did Avatar not have a steep decline in its second week of release, it’s numbers actually rose by 1.8%.

It’s going to be insanely hard for Cameron’s masterpiece to make money. I heard an absurd figure like $750 million was needed before it would break even at the box office, but with two weeks under his belt and a rise in box office charts it just might be possible. Domestically Avatar has already made over $200 million dollars – in two weekends.

Cameron’s Titanic spent at least ten weeks in the number one slot of the box office charts and went on to garner a record breaking amount of Oscars. While I don’t think Avatar will walk away with top nods at the Oscars this February, I won’t be surprised if Cameron breaks box office records once again.

Whatever mojo Cameron is using, I’d like to have a little of it myself. I just hope he doesn’t take another 12 years to release his next film.

Don't Forget About These! (The Decade Edition)

My compatriots have been making lists of their favorite films of the decade and I could do the same thing but I figured why bother since there would be a massive amount of repeats. The best part of all this reminiscing is it makes people think about these movies and in some cases causes them to seek out and discover some of the ones they might have missed. As such I decided to compose a completely different kind of list. What follows is my list of some of the best, unheralded, unsung gems of the past 10 years. Very few of these movies ever won any kind of awards but they’re still great movies none-the-less, some just as good if not better than what’s been touched upon by my colleagues and it’d be a shame for them to slip through the cracks of these never-ending retrospectives. So without any further ado let’s jump right in shall we?

BELOW: David Twohy followed up the brilliant PITCH BLACK with this equally brilliant supernatural / WWII thriller set on a submarine. I refuse to spoil too much but the film is every kind of intense you can think of. Not only are there all kinds of possibly supernatural shenanigans going on aboard the sub but up on the surface they are being doggedly pursued by a pack of relentless German U-Boats. The danger and suspense is inescapable and this film will stick with you long after it’s over. This is one of those films that almost no one saw and it’s an outright crime because it is pure genius.

BUBBA HO-TEP: John F. Kennedy Jr. had his mind put into the body of a black man. Elvis never really died it was one of his impersonators and now black JFK and Elvis (Played by Bruce Campbell) are living out their twilight years in a convalescent home when a cursed mummy thing starts feeding on the souls of their elderly neighbors. It’s up to the King and the ex-President to stop him. If that description doesn’t make you want to instantly rush out and find this movie then I’m not sure I want to know you.

THE HOST: The Korean equivalent of JAWS? Maybe. Not only is this a spectacular monster movie but it’s also a deep, satisfying, truly engrossing family saga as well. Like JAWS you’re more invested in the characters than you ever are in the monster (And it’s a pretty darn cool monster) and that’s why it all works so well. If you consider yourself a fan of M. Night Shyamalan or Steven Spielberg you owe it to yourself to seek out this film.

NINE QUEENS: The best way to sum up this wickedly ingenious con film is to simply give you an excerpt from the review emblazoned across the theatrical one-sheet that drove my sister and me into the theatre. “Fabián Bielinski's trickster of a film, ''Nine Queens,'' is the kind of movie that seduces you into becoming putty in its manipulative card-sharking hands and making you enjoy being taken in by its shameless contrivance… The Argentine movie is the directorial debut of a filmmaker who appears to have steeped himself so thoroughly in Alfred Hitchcock and David Mamet that it's hard to imagine ''Nine Queens'' having been made without them leering metaphorically over his shoulder. The movie… combines Hitchcock's winking tongue-in-cheek vision of a paranoid universe where everyone may or may not be part of an elaborate conspiracy with Mr. Mamet's obsession with the finer points of gamesmanship and con artistry. “ If that doesn’t get your juices flowing then I don’t know what will.

OLD BOY: I can’t guarantee this film is everyone’s cup of tea because it is absolutely BRUTAL, violence, story wise – you name it. That however doesn’t make the film any less brilliant. Hands down this is one of the most visceral pieces of cinema you will EVER see. There’s a reason guys like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Will Smith fell so in love with this movie that they wanted to remake it. OLD BOY is one of the single most twisted, brutal revenge tales ever crafted and it is worth at least one viewing for the hallway / hammer fight alone.

PAYBACK STRAIGHT UP: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT: PAYBACK, starring Mel Gibson was released in 1999 and it was a pretty entertaining little movie. What very few people knew at the time was that the film was ripped out of the hands of writer / director Brian Helgeland (The genius screenwriter behind A KNIGHT’S TALE, L.A. CONFIDENTAL, etc.) re-edited, recolored (No joke they gave the whole film a blue tone) and a completely new third act was filmed and tacked on. For reasons that still defy every sort of Hollywood logic in 2006 the suits at Paramount and Mel Gibson allowed Helgeland to finish the movie the way he originally envisioned it and they released it on DVD. As strange a series of events as that is let me tell you that if they had released this version of PAYBACK the first time around it would have easily wound up on my top 10 list for any year it was released. In fact despite the fact it was originally released in 1999 I would have a hard time keeping this new version off my top 10 list of maybe even this decade. PAYBACK was originally a more faithful telling of Richard Stark’s brilliant novel The Hunter which was made once before into a pretty kick-ass Lee Marvin film called POINT BLANK. There are quite a few people that hold POINT BLANK as a classic, but in my humble opinion the director’s cut of PAYBACK has it beat in every single way. If you like hard-edged, big-balled, crime fiction, neo-noir then it is imperative you seek this sucker out on DVD. If you do you’ll see one of the better revenge / crime films I’ve ever seen. If there were only one movie on this list that you try to discover, I’d make it this one!

THE SALTON SEA: Another great piece of neo-noir / crime fiction. My sister turned me on to this film and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. This is D.J. Caruso’s feature film directorial debut and while I’ve liked pretty much everything the guy has done I don’t think any of them hold a candle to this flick. Check this one out and you’ll also see Val Kilmer turn in one of the absolute best performances of his career.

SLITHER: This is perfect, B-Movie bliss. If you like stuff like ARMY OF DARKNESS, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA and the works of Bruce Campbell then this movie is right up your alley. If you’re also a fan of Joss Whedon’s FIREFLY and Captain Malcolm Reynolds portrayer Nathan Fillion then I can’t imagine you not loving this movie. This is an awesome, fun, funny B-Movie throwback filled with huge laughs and lots of creepy blood, guts and gore. This is the kind of movie they make midnight screenings for, a total cult classic that if you’re of the right mind set you’ll fall in love with the moment you see it. This is one of those movies that I pop in anytime I just want to have fun, feel happy and have a ball.

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA: This is perhaps the best dark, political satire about the military, war and the men that wage it since DR. STRANGELOVE. This film is wickedly dark, scathing and funny as hell. If the topsy-turvy, hysterically frightening plot weren’t enough you have Pierce Brosnan turning in easily my favorite performance of his career. For all intents and purposes he plays a very “R” rated version of James Bond that has simply stopped caring about queen and country and only wants money, booze and women. After seeing this movie you’ll never look at his turn as James Bond quite the same way again.

WAY OF THE GUN: Christopher McQuarrie followed up on his Oscar winning screenplay for THE USUAL SUSPECTS with this harsh, slick, gritty bit of ass-kicking. In an interview McQuarrie referred to the film as a “Western with cell phones” and if you give this film a whirl you’ll see what he means. Guaranteed you’ll look at Ryan Phillipe in a whole new light after this film and Benecio Del Toro used this film to prove he was for sure the real deal. This is one of those films that’s been practically forgotten and that’s a shame because it’s anything but forgettable.

Oh and just to really wrap up all this “Best of the Decade” nonsense I realize I forgot to mention Darren Aronofsky, Neil Marshall and the brain trust of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost behind the instant classics SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ, because seriously my list isn’t complete without mentioning them. Also I know I never really listed my favorite individual movies but after much thought and consideration I realized that if I did THE DARK KNIGHT, THE INCREDIBLES, UNBREAKABLE and ALMOST FAMOUS would have probably been at the very top so there you go. And with that other than my “Best of 2009” I’m done with this decade. Here’s hoping the next one brings us so much to talk about as well.

A Cinematic Public Service Announcement

In the 17 months that we’ve written about the movies for this blog, the four of us have seen countless films, arguing over many, partly seeing eye-to-eye over some, and agreeing unequivocally on a few.

This is one of those few.

The hype over James Cameron’s Avatar has been building up steadily over the past several years, reaching fever pitch over the past few months. Avatar has been touted as an event movie of epic proportions, and the “one” that will change the way that films are made in the future. Now that we’ve all had a chance to see it, we wanted to share our excitement with you as a group, because the four of us feel so strongly about Avatar that we feel that it’s one of THOSE movies that anyone who considers himself/herself a fan of the movies really ought to go see.

Below, you’ll find our individual comments on the film.

“Twelve years is a long time to wait for anything, but James Cameron has made it more than worth the wait. AVATAR is unlike anything you have ever seen before. It’ll dazzle your senses, melt your eyeballs and pin you to your seat. It immerses you in a world up until now you only thought you could see in your dreams. In short, AVATAR is the reason they make movie theatres. If you want to see the future of film making converge with the best that modern story telling has to offer, get your butt to a theatre NOW!”
--Chris W.

“My girlfriend didn't want to see it. This isn't anything new when it comes to her feelings on movies involving fantasy. But she was adamant that it looked stupid. Fortunately, I had a coupon that was a gift from her, stating she'd go to a movie she didn't want to see. I knew we were in for a treat, and wanted her to experience it too. By the end of the movie, she was on the edge of her seat, gripping my arm with suspense and enjoyment all in one. I simply ate my popcorn, grinned with satisfaction, and enjoyed the rest of my Christmas present.

James Cameron consistently delivers fascinating stories, classic characters, amazing worlds, and he does it while raising the standard for not only the technology that he's using, but also how those effects should be used. You are emotionally involved with the world and characters you are introduced to, as if you are in an Avatar yourself. It's Dances with Wolves with a little bit of The Matrix, and the hottest and most badass version of Pocahontas you will ever see. This movie has heart, and I love it. If you haven't seen it, you are crazy. If you haven't seen it twice, sell something so you can see it again. And if you haven't seen it in IMAX 3D, then you don't know Pandora. For those of you that have done all of the above, ‘I see you.’"
--FilmNinja

“Avatar is something not seen very often – a film that delivers on concept, story and craftsmanship. James Cameron promised that with Avatar we’d be visiting another planet and, while watching the film, we are. The astounding thing is that, in 2D, you are invested in the story of Jake Sully & the Na’vi people, but, in 3D, you are walking on Pandora with them. Avatar is a film that cannot be missed on the big screen, and, no matter what exhibition format you see it in, Cameron will take you into a story that you will cheer for.”
--Megan
“It’s no surprise that I’ve been somewhat skeptical about Avatar for the past several months. The first trailer was somewhat unimpressive, and while the second was better, my doubts still remained as I sat in the theater last weekend. Over the course of the next 2 hours and 40 minutes, my cinematic mind was blown. Sure, the script could have used another pass, but I found myself in a strange place. I just didn’t care. Cameron’s use of visual effects is second to none and Pandora is one of the most distinctive (and beautiful) environments I’ve ever seen in a movie. Look, I’ll just say it: if you miss seeing Avatar on the big screen, you might regret it for the rest of your life.”
--Adam

If you go to see only one movie the rest of the year, let that movie be Avatar.
-Chris W, FilmNinja, Megan, & Adam

FotM: So, ya coming?

With each passing year, we travel farther and farther away from that time in our life when “grown-up” was an evil word we could put off thinking about, each moment was filled with promise, and stories had an extra tangible quality to them as though they might leap out to snatch us away.

Christmas has a unique power over many of us. It’s the one time each year when we just might have a communal moment with all of the Christmases of our other years. I remember the year I got a guitar for Christmas, and the year I selfishly thought I hadn’t gotten enough gifts. In a way, they all stack up, and on this one special day, we have a chance to see them all dangling in front of us again.

Five years ago, I was a very different person. I was a first-year college student navigating through the “big switch” from one institution to a markedly different animal. If only I’d known how strange the transition from life as a college student to life as a graduate would be. . . I might have had a few words for myself.

In 2004, I remember first seeing an advertisement for The Polar Express. I’d never read the famous book the film would be based on, but I had an inkling that it’d be one I wanted to see. So, before Christmas rolled around that year, I took my 12-year old brother and set out to see the film.

The first theater we went to had sold out, so we, resolute and undeterred, set out to find another. On our second attempt, we were successful, and we sat down and watched the film together in a crowded theater.

The Polar Express is a ground-breaking film that marked the first time that “performance capture” had been used to create an entire animated feature film. Previously, the technique of putting sensors on an actor’s body to put their movements into a computer for digital recreation had been used to a lesser degree by filmmakers like Peter Jackson and George Lucas. However, this film marks one of the first times time that performance capture was used to this degree, allowing Tom Hanks to play 5 different characters with a remarkable degree of realism.

Additionally, The Polar Express marks Robert Zemeckis’ first experiment with performance capture, an experience that has proved to be a major turning point for him as an artist. Since 2004, Zemeckis has made two other films, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol, both of which are animated films using performance capture.

With all this talk of matters of technicality and precedent, I don’t wish to make The Polar Express sound like it’s a history lesson of a film. It’s not.

The Polar Express is a magical movie, the kind that makes your heart swell, puts a big smile on your face, and makes you wish that you could be a child again. For a symbol, the story uses kids in that strange in-between of knowing that the world is bigger and more complicated than they’d imagined but wanting things to stay simple to tell a tale of faith. Not religious faith, or the belief that a specialized way of living is somehow more correct or appropriate than another, but the kind of faith that encourages, uplifts, and reminds one to look for the magic present in the everyday.

And it’s wonderfully exciting. The journey to the North Pole is one filled with danger and excitement. I still remember sitting in the theater as the train careened like a roller coaster, feeling like I was, in some weird way, on it myself. The best stuff in the movie, for my money, takes place when they get to their destination. This version of the North Pole is highly industrial, a corporation, if you will, with Santa Claus as a benevolent version of Bill Gates, albeit one without a voice like Kermit the Frog’s. The elves have terrific personalities, and the scene where the kids listen in on the decision process as to what exactly constitutes a spot on the “naughty” list just might be my favorite.

As I look back over the five years that have passed since that day, a lot has changed. I’ve grown older. My life is very different in certain ways and exactly the same in others. But every year, around Christmas, I put on The Polar Express and am reminded of the magnificent years of youth and the promise present in a moment. In this time of uncertainty and a markedly existential angst, a movie about a train bound for the top of the world on Christmas Eve goes a long way.

FOTM: "Now I have a machine gun. Ho-ho-ho."

‘Twas the week before Christmas and that could mean only one thing, time to give my favorite holiday movie a quick fling.

Loaded with mayhem, action, explosions and holiday cheer, it’s just not Christmas if I don’t watch DIE HARD this time of year.

While many might snort and chuckle and call me a fool, to me there is no better film for this season of Yule.

On this grand action opus an exhaustive book I could write, but that is not what brings you to this blog this December night.

Confused and perplexed I’m sure your head you do scratch, how could this film be part of a holiday batch?

It’s quite simple you see, like two plus one is three.

The Christmas setting for the plot is essential, sans it you have a tree with nothing but tinsel.

From the terrorist plot to the way Willis hides his gun, all of it is for not if not for the holiday fun.

Christmas is laced through each part of the film, forged, mixed and joined in the creative kilm.

Tis Christmas that brings John McClane to the party, and makes the actions of the cops so fool-hardy.

With the city quiet and peaceful in a Christmas nap, the time is ripe and right for the terrorist trap to snap.

Being Christmas Eve all are caught off-guard and unaware, allowing Hans and his men to try a heist of such dare.

Enter an everyman - a hero for the ages, and for two hours plus through terrorists he rages.

The cops and the feds try to help but just get in the way, to that our lone hero would only say yippee-ki-yay.

McClane adorns dead terrorists in Santa hats and Christmas messages, twere not for the party alcohol would so docile be the hostages.

The action and tension raises and mounts, blood and led fly in copious amounts.


In the midst of it all a tale of a man yearning to regain his wife, all the while in a frantic, high-octane battle for his very life.

Forty stories of adventure hold us in awe; by the end from the floor must we remove our jaw.

From beginning to end it’s a white-knuckle ride, packed to the brim with subtext of blue collar pride

The film is genius, brilliant, pure action perfection, voted by many the greatest action selection.

At the time of its release a huge gamble and roll of the dice, it is now synonymous with all that makes action movies nice.

Its lead was a TV star as of then untested, its villain so dapper in a suit double-breasted.

In one shining moment a new movie star was made, guaranteed from your memory this movie won’t fade.

Even Michael Kamen’s score is filled with Christmas cheer, the only thing missing are Santa’s eight tiny reindeer.

While most holiday movies have peace on earth and good will towards men, this one has Twinkies, explosions, machine guns and Alan Rickman amen!

You can keep your stockings, holly sleigh bells and missile toe, I get my holiday cheer watching McClane jump off the roof as it does blow.

Smart, ground breaking, original and fun in all ways, you just don’t see many films like DIE HARD now-a-days.

So in closing I think you’ll find no Christmas movie to be rougher or tougher, and if you find you don’t agree with me well then Yippee-ki-yay mother…

Feature: Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays is not a Christmas movie, it’s a Thanksgiving movie. With the exception of some Peanuts films I can’t think of too many things right off the top of my head that center around that holiday. However, Home for the Holidays has quickly risen on the list of my favorite holiday films.

My best friend once said that Home for the Holidays made her feel better about her holidays because nothing could be worse than what the Larson family goes through in this film, and with the exception of knife pulling, or acts of horrendous violence that is basically true. Home for the Holidays isn’t your typical holiday film, in fact the Larson family in the film is incredibly dysfunctional, each of the family members tend to keep to themselves, and they all dread getting together but like any good American family every Thanksgiving and Christmas they do it anyway.

The central lead of this ensemble piece is Claudia Larson played by Holly Hunter. Claudia is down and out depressed by the loss of her job and her personal life and having to go to her parents without even the security blanket of her daughter is tough. We soon uncover why as her parents Adele & Henry Larson are overbearing and pushy; what I love is that I am guessing most of the audience can identify with this as the Larson’s aren’t really horrific parents, but their children’s reaction to them is much the same as we’ve all felt towards out parents at least once in our lives – we just want to be allowed to run our own lives without interference and commentary.

The most outstanding member of the family is Tommy Larson played by Robert Downey Jr. Tommy is gay, but doesn’t make an issue of it. It’s part of who he is and it completely fits his already over the top personality; he is the member of the family that usually starts or aids in any of the chaos that is occurring. Tommy and Claudia are the closest of the two siblings, and it’s their bond that helps to carry the movie, turning it from a cynical holiday tale to a heartwarming film.

The Larson family has issues, issues that tend to come out when you wouldn’t want them to – in this case at Thanksgiving. Tommy & Claudia’s sister Joanne looks down on her siblings and tries to control her parents and her own family so tightly that she manages to suck the joy out of the celebration. She can’t handle the chaos that her family seems to thrive off of and her way of handling the situation is to make Tommy & Claudia the brunt of her insults and barbs to elevate herself.

Even though I’ve painted this film as a bleak picture of a holiday and a family I assure you that it’s not. The entire reason I love Home for the Holidays is that behind the chaos, the family craziness, and even the aggravating sibling is a heart. That heart is Tommy & Claudia.

Tommy & Claudia are the members of the Larson family that care about each other and their lives the most. They care about each other’s relationships, their hardships and are there for the other when it’s asked and even when it’s unspoken; their lives couldn’t be more different but Tommy & Claudia have reached through the muck and mire of family drama and found each other on the other side.

Home for the Holidays also works because the Larson family is easily relatable, but like any good filmic representation they are just a little larger than life. Mom walks & smokes while worrying about her wig, Dad has become over affectionate with his wife, even around his children and sneaks pie but then admits it, Joanne raises children concerned with aerobics and white meat vs. dark, Tommy talks incessantly about anything and everything, and Claudia frets constantly about the daughter she left hundreds of miles away. All of these characters together create a dynamic that is wonderful to watch and much more heartfelt than a printed blurb about the film can ever capture.

Jodie Foster made Home for the Holidays as her second directorial effort and she chose her story, cast and setting very well. One of the most wonderful things about watching talented actor-turned-directors is that they tend to have actors that deliver phenomenal performances and the interplay between characters is always astounding. This film is no exception. As an actor herself, Jodie Foster was able to bring out the nuances in the performance of not just one actor but all of them and this is what helps the film be so dang entertaining to watch. The actors have a genuine, familial chemistry on screen and disappear into their roles leaving you wondering what will happen next, or what childhood shadow will come out to play.

I highly recommend Home for the Holidays but I am very aware it is not everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to holiday films. However, if you’re looking for something different this Holiday season I think this might be the film for you, and if not, well I also recommend a few others that run the spectrum of Holiday goodness.



Megan’s Holiday Viewing:
Elf
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original)
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Scrooged
Muppet Christmas Carol
When Harry Met Sally

Megan's Decade: 2009

My list for 2009 is in flux, but as we’re still in 2009 it’s a little early to tell exactly what films will stick with me. I even think that perhaps, a few of the films that I haven’t seen yet this year will be the ones that stick with me for years to come.

Avatar: I am a 3D hater. I think it's a fad just like it was 50 years ago and it will die. However, what James Cameron has done with 3D in Avatar is unlike anything I have ever seen. He uses 3D not as a gimmick but for what I think it was originally envisioned as - a tool to pull you into the world you are watching. In Avatar this works so effectively that you literally feel like you are walking on Pandora with everyone else. This would be a wonderful achievement on it's own, but after taking 12 years to make another movie Avatar totally delivers the complete pacakge, and is an utterly amazing movie.

The Soloist: I was moved by this film. So moved that I bought the book after seeing it and picked up and watched the DVD the day it came out. This is a beautiful film that reminds me there is something we can do to make our cities and our world a better place.

Star Trek: JJ’s Trek is going to stay with me. Never in my life did I think it would be cool to like Star Trek or that it would be referenced in a favorable way by pop culture or the masses. As if that weren’t enough, this is just a dang good movie; a franchise piece that remembered it wasn’t just one in a chain of mythology, but had to be a movie, and a good one at that, on it’s own merit.

Up In The Air: I'm a member of the statistic. I was laid off in 2009. Watching Ryan Bingham travel company to company to get rid of employees should have been a horrible thing for me to experience, but it wasn't. This movie touched me in a way I never expected - it understood what my year had been like and treated it with respect. As if that weren't enough it's another Jason Reitman home run, and is an incredible movie with a master craftsmans touch.

Through these posts I hope I’ve clued you into a few films that perhaps you haven’t seen and that you’re thinking about the films that have stuck with you through the years.

With that said I am going to leave you with the closing lines from one of my favorite films of the past decade, and if you don't know what movie it is...then maybe you should see a few more films on my list.

“Thanks for coming, please stay for the end credits, if you're wondering who the best boy is, it's somebody's nephew, um, don't forget to validate your parking, and to all you good people in the Midwest, sorry we said f--k so much.”

Megan's Decade: 2008

2008 is a year that was filled with the most imporant personal goal of my life so far - I shot my first feature film. I scrapped, saved, cheated and assembled a great tem but I proved to myself that I can make a movie...now I just need people to see it.

Bottle Shock: This movie is just happy and it makes me happy. You watch it and you’re inspired to follow your passion. It’s a little film, slightly fictionalized, about a real winery in Napa that took part in a wine competition in France in 1976. I get a bit choked up every time Jim Barrett runs through the law office screaming in celebration.

Charlie Bartlett: This movie is the best high school comedy since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and no one saw it. Charlie Bartlett is the odd ball high schooler that just wants to fit in, but in reality he does anything but; instead he offers counseling to all students in the boys bathroom and becomes the hero of the school. See it and fall in love with Anton Yelchin.

Iron Man: It’s no secret that I love this movie. If I could make a Superman film that does what this film did for its namesake I would die a happy director. I love Jon Favreau for making this movie and giving us back Robert Downey Jr. on an epic scale again.

Tropic Thunder: I know I am obsessed with movies about movies, but Tropic Thunder is one of the best Hollywood satires of the past century. Ironically, by playing a racially confused, pig-headed actor Robert Downey Jr. earned his first Oscar nomination since Chaplin.