The Reel Deal

Analog This: Archer

2012-03-06T11:10:00.000-05:00

Analog This is a new segment where I shift the spotlight away from movies to focus on a TV show, old or new, that is worthy of your attention.

With the glut of great comedy currently being shown on both network and cable television, I find myself wavering day-to-day on which one I can currently pin as my favorite. "Community" (which I can include because it is indeed coming back) is the most sophisticated and thought provoking. "Parks and Recreation" is the warmest and most consistently funny. "Louie" is the most daring and unique, like "Seinfeld" as a documentary shot by Woody Allen. Then, there is "Archer," the most surprisingly witty of them all.

"Archer" is "Arrested Development," "Mad Men," and an Adult Swim show all rolled into one. The "Arrested Development" comparison is not one that should be used lightly, even though I am guilty of using it too often. However, if any show could objectively receive this honor, it should be "Archer." Adam Reed, the show's creator, has himself remarked on the show's influence. Indeed, Jessica Walter voices Malory Archer, the aging, alcoholic head of the ISIS spy agency. Like her previous performance as Lucille Bluth, she also has a troubled relationship with her son(s), whom she always manages to both smother and distance herself from. Judy Greer once again plays a sometimes ditzy, but always unhinged secretary, while Jeffrey Tambor has a role in a few episodes here and there.

"Archer" deserves the comparison much more because it takes the essence of what made "Arrested Development" so smart and so funny, and uses it perfectly. It is full of references ranging from literature to Burt Reynolds movies. Its constant use of wordplay and skewing of the English language is worthy of multiple viewings. Who knew an ongoing joke about idioms, seen in "Heart of Archness," could be that funny? Go back to the very first episode, and see if you can understand that joke about "being into Greek" now.

No matter how elaborate the jokes and references in "Archer" are, they can be within anyone's range of understanding. They often just involve the kind of time and effort that a lot of shows don't demand of their audience. Even if a reference does go over your head (it will happen), it doesn't detract from the humor of an episode in any sense. "Archer" should truly be commended for being possibly the first show in history to reference "Hud." And you can make fun of me all you want for actually getting that reference. Watching "Archer" can be like hanging out with a bunch of culturally aware kids who aren't pretentious and are willing to clue you in on the reference, without specifically clueing you in on the joke.

"Archer" also has one of the finest arrays of characters currently seen on television. The show made a major shift from season one to two, when it began to delve deeper into backstories. After finding out that Pam (Amber Nash) was a skilled street fighter in order to pay for college, she is no longer just the hilariously inappropriate HR lady. While Pam's actions are almost always repellent, her strength and hidden intelligence make her a standout. Same can be said for Woodhouse, who in one episode reveals himself to be much more than just the Archer family's longtime "slave."

And of course there's Mr. Sterling Archer himself, the alcoholic, mommy-issue riddled center of the universe (and the show). Sterling has the capacity to be both the dumbest and one of the smartest members of ISIS. What seems to get him in trouble most is not his intelligence but rather his ego and his inability to stop talking. "Archer" is an experiment of how long a character can talk, and how long a joke can go on, before it becomes hard to watch.

"Archer," now in its third season, has made some serious breakthroughs in its characters, and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Recent episodes have explored Sterling's dangerously addictive personality in ways that are both funny and tragic. The most recent episode saw him inadvertently causing the death of the man who might have been his father. It was a moment clarity and sadness that could bring the show in a new direction. But hopefully not too new: there can be no true "Archer" without a lewd, boozed up Sterling.

"Archer" is atypical in many ways. Many episodes are left unresolved, and each usually ends not with a revelation, but with a character saying something ridiculous, before cutting to credits. "Archer" is less a show about plot, and more a show about characters. They are the reason I come back to "Archer" every single week. To make a show where watching the characters is more enticing than story arcs is a rare feat. It is what makes "Archer" television's best animated show since the start of "South Park."*

*Sorry, but "Family Guy" was ruined for me after a certain point.

Things That Should Never Happen: An Animal House Musical

2012-03-05T23:02:00.003-05:00

Because even Broadway is afraid of green-lighting an original concept, Universal Pictures Stage Productions announced today that "Animal House: The Musical" is currently in development. At times like these, I look around to make sure reality isn't actually some giant artistic social experiment by Banksy.

If this didn't sound cruel enough already to the "Animal House devotees of the world, the news was announced today on the 30th anniversary of John Belushi's death. So instead of talking about how Belushi transformed comedic acting in such a short amount of time, everyone is talking about "Animal House: The Musical" (yes, I am guilty of this too). Turning "Animal House" into a musical would be a disservice to everything the brothers of the Delta House stood for. "The Lion King" lent itself to a successful musical because it already was one, and "Hairspray" lent itself well to the format (even if it sacrificed some of John Waters's best black humor). And for every "Saturday Night Fever," there is a "Carrie."

"Animal House" is the kind of story that wouldn't function as well in today's world, as so many knockoffs immediately followed it. But instead of discussing this, honor Belushi (and "Animal House") with these great clips after the jump:

Belushi amazingly steals this entire scene with one brief yelp.

AND he can impersonate Brando.

How to Deal with Losing: Steven Spielberg

2012-03-01T12:19:00.000-05:00

After this past Sunday's ceremony ended, I promised everyone I was done with the Oscars for at least the next few months. But as they say in just about every action movie ever made: "just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in." What I have today is a great clip I was sent this morning of Steven Spielberg reacting to the Oscar nominations in 1976. In the previous year, "Jaws" took audiences by storm. In this clip, Spielberg is none too pleased to find out that despite a Best Picture nomination for "Jaws", the Academy failed to recognize his directing.

Spielberg blames his snub on commercial backlash. That is a possibility, as most of the nominations in the past few years have been for lower grossing movies. But then again, no one is going to nominate "Transformers" or "Breaking Dawn" for Best Picture. I am guessing the real case is that Spielberg just missed the shortlist, given that the nominated directors were Milos Forman, Sidney Lumet, Stanley Kubrick, Robertrt Altman, and Federico Fellini. That's a hard group to compete with.

Anyway, this is a great video to give you some insight on what filmmakers think of the Oscars. It will also give you a hint of what the 1970s was like. Its an especially different Spielberg than we were used to, a man who was fighting the system before he ultimately became it.

Watch the video after the jump:

Credit to Ben Silverberg for sending me the video.

Leap Day: One Extra Day, One Extra Post

2012-02-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

This year is the one in every four years that's a leap year, meaning February gets one extra day. I don't remember the last Leap Day very well, but apparently its a new national holiday. It would be next in line for a movie with the caliber of "New Year's Eve" and "Valentine's Day," but "30 Rock" already beat Hollywood to the chase. Don't forget to wear blue and yellow and thank Leap Dave Williams today.

While a lot of people are deciding to use this extra day to do something spontaneous and unpredictable (I smell a rom-com!), I've just decided to write an extra blog post. This Leap Day, you will be treated to a new clip promoting Ridley Scott's upcoming "Alien" prequel, "Prometheus." It shows Guy Pearce, Australia's new national treasure, in character at the recent TED Conference. I am not one to be sucked in to Hollywood's obsession with sequels and prequels but when I do, it's for "Prometheus."

Happy Leap Day to all, and happy fifth birthday to all of my friends turning 20 today. Watch the "Prometheus" clip below, so you can feel educated about Greek Mythology today:

Now That The Oscars Are Over...

2012-02-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

...I can finally start talking about important things again, such as the return of "Mad Men" on March 25. The show has been on hiatus for almost two years ago, and that unbearably long time almost made me forget how great this show is. "Breaking Bad" has taken over the spotlight as AMC's best show, but one does not simply forget about "Mad Men."

I bring this up because today, a very provocative teaser poster was revealed for the next season. Usually, teasers don't mean much to me, but "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner can brilliantly tell the story of the entire upcoming season in just one image. From what I can tell, we will be entering a much less sheltered era. Things will become much more exposed, including Don Draper (Jon Hamm) himself. Weiner ambiguously says that by the end of this season, we will know what the show is really about. This fifth season could be the show's best one yet. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves yet. For now, take a look at the new poster. Discuss:

Oscars 2012 Wrap Up: Let the Dog Speak

2012-02-27T00:34:00.000-05:00

And now, I conclude my incessant takeover of your Social Media newsfeeds with my very last blog post of awards season. As predicted, "The Artist" took home the top prize and a few more. Most surprisingly, Meryl Streep beat out Viola Davis for Best Actress, because apparently people were outraged that she only won two. Most disappointingly, George Clooney lost Best Actor to Jean Dujardin. I have respect for Mr. Dujardin and he gave a great performance, but his transformation was nothing like Clooney's.

For now, Clooney will just have to live with the fact that he's George Clooney.

The Oscars can be called many things: lavish, glorious, and a waste of time and money. It would be great if it could be called entertaining, hasty, and innovative instead. To be fair to Billy Crystal, he is not the world's worst host, but a very safe choice. However, he has already stirred up some controversy for putting on black face in order to play Sammy Davis Jr. during the show's introduction. The highlight though was when he tried to read people's thoughts. It was a simple idea that was pulled off with perfect execution.

Like the host, this year's ceremony certainly wasn't terrible. It was something that could be considered even worse than terrible: it was meh. Nothing very memorable happened, and many of the winners and nominees will not stand the test of time. How is it that both "50/50" and "Young Adult" were totally shut out? How is it that "War Horse" walked home empty handed? The real Oscar winners are the ones that stand the test of time, and I have a feeling that some years down the road, "The Artist" will feel artificial. This is not to say that I didn't like "The Artist," as my review will show. I just feel that its achievements will seem less impressive in the future. It will just be another silent movie. A very entertaining one at that, and one that manages to fall apart towards its ending.

Should we stop valuing movies just because they win awards? Probably. Awards don't mean everything, especially when they are only voted on by a small group of old white men who probably ask their grandchildren if they should open every email in their spam folders. However, no matter how little the Oscars mean, I will never stop watching them. They unite everyone, from all walks of life, to come together and root for movies that they may or may not have seen. If they tune in, they could actually learn something. The most moving part of tonight's ceremony for me was the Best Editing category, in which each editor got to speak about the methods behind their madness. If the Oscars want to win everyone back, this is what they should be like: less of a night of politically driven competition, and more of a night of film education and enlightenment. With a good host. I vote for Zach Galifianakis.

Three More Things:
1) After last year's Oscars, I declared Natalie Portman as my future wife. Now, that honor will have to go to Emma Stone.
2) Next time I watch "Community," I will smile, knowing that Dean Pelton is an Oscar winner.
3) For anyone who tried out my Oscars Drinking Game, I hope you are still alive.

It is also important to know that the guy in this image is the cinematographer of "Hugo":

Thank you as always to FilmDrunk, the source of just about every funny image I get.

The Oscars: The Drinking Game

2012-02-26T13:28:00.000-05:00

Given my age, I cannot officially endorse any drinking of any sort. So I will say that this game is for the 21+ readers out there (or if you are overseas, 12+ most likely). If you're underage, then I guess you'll just have to have a fun night with grape juice or something. Use your imagination. Many people have made Oscar drinking games in the past, but I would like to think that mine is at least slightly original. Here are the cues to drink. Feel free to add in any of your own:

Billy Crystal makes a joke about how old Christopher Plummer is.
Sean Penn addresses a humanitarian crisis.
A montage honoring old movies.
A montage honoring a bunch of movies that came out in the past year that nobody liked but still get a mention at the Oscars anyway.
In their acceptance speech, an award winner tells their kids watching at home to "go to bed."
Someone makes a joke about George Clooney.
George Clooney says something really funny and charming.
George Clooney makes a reference to a humanitarian crisis or a political cause in his acceptance speech.
Someone makes a joke about Meryl Streep.
Someone appears on stage in a "War Horse" costume.
A dance number dedicated to silent movies.
Someone makes a joke about how many movies Ryan Gosling has been in this year.
Sean Penn goes on stage saying the previous joke about Ryan Gosling wasn't funny, and that he is a talented and valued actor.
A nominee mouths something at the camera, or makes a Jim Halpert face.
Two talented actors get on stage and perform a terrible bit of scripted publicity for their upcoming movie.
Someone makes a joke about the amount of Jews in the room.
Someone makes a joke about Republicans, to which the entire audience cheers.
Fox News runs a new story about liberal bias in Hollywood the next day (this one is for the morning after).

The Oscars: Who Will Win

2012-02-25T13:48:00.000-05:00

Best Picture: The Artist

Thanks to a strange new voting system, there are nine Best Picture nominees this year. “War Horse” might have won in a different year, and “Hugo” merits much consideration for transforming 3D into a viable art form. This year, the nostalgia of “The Artist” has been contagious in various awards ceremonies. Look for it to be the second silent movie ever to win Best Picture.

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

With just a few rare exceptions, the Best Picture and Best Director choices go to the same movie. Hazanavicius will be victorious along with his movie for bringing the art of silence to typically noisy 21^st century movie theaters. Plus, he already picked up the Directors Guild of America Award. So far, only 6 directors who have this honor have not gone on to win the Oscar. Hazanavicius will not be a part of this statistic.

Best Actor: George Clooney (The Descendants)

Jean Dujardin could capitalize off of the success of “The Artist” and the SAG Award he won. However, George Clooney shed his A-list persona for the most vulnerable and human performance of his career. For that, he will pick up his first ever Best Actor trophy.

Best Actress: Viola Davis (The Help)

Meryl Streep seems like the obvious pick here. She has already won two Oscars, but some claim that isn’t enough. The weak reception of “The Iron Lady” overall will hurt her chances of winning. Instead, Viola Davis, who has swept the precursors, will pick up her first Oscar.

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

Christopher Plummer has an iconic acting career that has lasted over 60 years. It is perplexing that he has not won an Oscar to this day. Consider his win for “Beginners” to be a long overdue Lifetime Achievement Award.

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer (The Help)

She has won just about every other award she was nominated for her performance in “The Help.” This win is basically a shoo-in.

And the Rest:

Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris

Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants

Editing: The Artist

Cinematography: The Tree of Life

Costume Design: The Artist

Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Art Direction: Hugo

Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Foreign Film: A Seperation

Animated Feature: Rango

Makeup: Albert Nobbs

Original Score: The Artist

Original Song: Man or Muppet

Sound Editing: Hugo

Sound Mixing: Hugo

Animated Short Film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Live Action Short Film: The Shore

Documentary Short Subject: Saving Face

Horrible Decisions: The Ten Best Movies That Weren't Nominated For Best Picture

2012-02-24T16:00:00.004-05:00

As I get older, I feel that I get more and more pessimistic about award ceremonies, especially the Oscars. Unlike sports-related competitions, the Oscars are not about which movie is best, but rather which movie had the most lavish ad campaign. The recent revelation that Academy voters are none too diverse certainly did not help. To think that some of the most revered movies of all time weren't even nominated. They are the bold outsiders. Some were completely overlooked, others were just too damn "hip." Many on the proceeding list would be chosen by many, and a few I exclusively would have chosen had I been a voter. I present with you the ten best movies that deserved a Best Picture nomination, arranged by year of release:

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

"Singin' in the Rain" is more than just an old-fashioned Hollywood musical: it is about the movies themselves. Think of it as "The Artist" without the Act Three problems. As someone who puts musical just slightly above romantic comedies starring Ashton Kutcher, it is hard not to fall under the spell of "Singin' in the Rain," from "Good Morning" to the titular musical number. "Singin' in the Rain" is about why movies needed sound, and it's also about why we need the movies in general. The Oscars have a reputation for awarding musicals that became stale with time, so why didn't it nominate one that has become an everlasting part of popular culture?

Rear Window (1954)

Most of Hitchcock's best movies were dissed by the Oscars. Even "Psycho" and "Vertigo" didn't make the Best Picture shortlist. His "Rear Window" is his most entertaining, most satisfying movie. "Rear Window" is the master in his absolute element. It crams as many stories as it can into one movie without actually cramming them in. "Rear Window" is suspenseful in any scene, even if it is just a couple seen fighting through a window, and not Grace Kelly running from the murderer. On top of that, it displays Hitchcock's genius black comedy. In the scene in which a husband and wife have difficulty moving a mattress into their apartment, Hitchcock switched the headsets feeding instructions to the two actors, so they would move in the wrong directions, and create a brief sigh of slapstick relief. Oscar winners should be influential in any year, and I can't even count the amount of sitcoms who have knocked off this plot.

The Searchers (1956)

It seems unbelievable that John Ford's greatest movie didn't get a single Oscar nomination, and the winner for Best Picture that year was "Around the World in 80 Days" (which was later remade into a movie with Jackie Chan). For the time, "The Searchers" was a change of pace from the typical Western, and Oscars are all about tradition and stability rather than change. Monument Valley has never looked this stunning, and John Wayne never felt as racist and as human in any other role of his career. "The Searchers" would not only fo on to inspire future westerns. Without it, there would be no "Taxi Driver," "Saving Private Ryan," or even "Star Wars." "The Searchers" figured out that the western hero (or in this case, anti-hero) can exist in anytime, in any place, but will always remain an outsider.

Touch of Evil (1958)

Yet another masterpiece that went totally unnoticed by the Academy. "Touch of Evil" will leave you in a speechless state of thrill from the moment the camera first pans through a busy street, to a bomb going off. You know it's going to happen, but the best part is that you don't know when. "Touch of Evil" contains some of Orson Welles's best work as both an actor and a director, and it was the last truly great film noir of the classic era. Its greatness cannot be dampened by the fact that it includes Charlton Heston playing a Mexican.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

It is actually understandable why "Once Upon a Time in the West" was a flop when it first came out. Paramount chopped down its epic running time for its US release, and American audiences were not treated to the masterpiece they deserved to see. I will argue that "Once Upon a Time in the West" is better than any western either John Ford or Howard Hawks ever made. Its opening conveys so much without saying a single word. For its regard for silence, sweeping score, and the pure scope of it all, "Once Upon a Time in the West" will be one of the greatest movie viewing experiences you'll ever have. It even has Henry Fonda, doing a flawless job going against-type, ruthlessly shooting a child in the face. Tom Joad, no more.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Oscar voters had no interest in taking a trip into another dimension. Their loss. "2001: A Space Odyssey" is essential viewing not just for any film buff, but for any human being. Stanley Kubrick probably knew that this movie wouldn't answer the question of what the meaning of life is in one simple word. I like to think that Kubrick truly knew and hid it in any frame of this movie, and after a certain number of viewings, maybe it can be found. But until that happens, let the jaw dropping visuals unfold before you. After the credits roll and the star baby has faded, you might cry, you might throw a fit, or you could do anything else in between. Best Picture seems to be about the movies with mass appeal. It's about time to pick a nominee that not everyone can get behind.

Easy Rider (1969)

Understandably, the Academy wasn't too pleased with a movie about hippies taking over. The motorcycle riding outlaws of "Easy Rider" was the New Wave coming in to save Hollywood from a crumbling studio system. The rednecks, meanwhile, were the cranky old voters, minus the shotguns. "Easy Rider" proved that filmmakers no longer needed the system; all they needed was a story, a camera, and maybe a good weed hookup. This movie broke ground in so many ways, perhaps most memorably for its soundtrack, which started off with Steppenwolf's attention-grabbing "Born to Be Wild." The messy, handheld camerawork actually adds to the movie. Never has imperfection seemed so perfect. But most importantly of all, "Easy Rider" includes a very high Jack Nicholson talking about aliens. It is just as good as it sounds.

Animal House (1978)

This might not be the pick you were expecting, but "Animal House" really deserved the love. Unfortunately, Best Picture is never kind to comedy but had this one been nominated, it would have set a great precedent. Think of some of the funniest things in the movie. Could you ever watch them and not laugh? The most important question here may be as to why John Belushi himself didn't get a nomination. The dining hall scene, in which he takes at least one of every food item (and takes bites of some, and leaves them behind), is the model for quiet, subtle comic brilliance. Comedies suffer when they are over-analyzed, so just watch this clip and you'll understand:

Do the Right Thing (1989)

Hollywood loves message movies, but for some reason they only enjoy the preachy ones. "Crash" won in 2005 for informing the world that racism is bad, and it makes a few rich white people living in L.A. feel sad. Sixteen years earlier, Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" was released amidst a storm of controversy. It earned ecstatic praise from critics, but it barely made a ripple at the Oscars. To this day, it remains the most provocative, daring, and funny movie about racism that I have ever seen. The best part about it is that it is not necessarily about racism, but a movie about situations in which race may or may not have been the ultimate cause of them. Of course, the Oscars want definitive answers, not ambiguous ones. And especially not ones with this much energy pumping through them.

Children of Men (2006)

Some movies that earn respect over time might take over two decades to do so. "Children of Men" elevated itself in just a few years. "Children of Men" is the most realistic portrayal of a dystopian future ever to be put on film. It strikes so many emotional chords and in the end, it is a movie about life, not death. It also has some cinematography that is downright groundbreaking, with the camera moving at the nonstop and unpredictable pace that mankind's fate is headed in. The world may very likely be approaching the future "Children of Men." But until now "Children of Men" is your's for the darkest futuristic road movie you'll get to see.

And a Few More: Night of the Hunter, Pan's Labyrinth, Kill Bill (1&2), Rosemary's Baby, The Wild Bunch, Being John Malkovich, Fight Club, Magnolia, Blade Runner

Horrible Decisions: The Ten Best Movies That Didn't Win Best Picture

2012-02-21T14:14:00.002-05:00

Every once in a while, I ponder why the Oscars even exist, and why I should care. Sure, they have no monumental impact on the world, but for me, the Oscars are a little like Super Bowl, just a little less dramatic. Voters have a bad habit of picking the wrong winner, year after year. Sometimes, the real winner is obvious. Other times, people won't realize it until 50 years later. Click after the jump for my list of the ten best movies that should have won Best Picture (sorted by year of release):

Citizen Kane (1941)

"Citizen Kane" may not be my favorite movie of all time. However, the claim that it is the greatest movie ever made is completely warranted. There is something about revolutionary movies that causes the Academy to not reward them Best Picture. Instead, "How Green Was My Valley" won that year, giving people the only possible reason to ever hate John Ford. To this day, Orson Welles's experiments with the camera, and his radically non-linear story-telling, are as fresh today as they were in 1941. Without "Citizen Kane," the most revered filmmakers of our time would not have made some of their best work. The snub of "Citizen Kane" set the unfortunate precedent for voters to choose safe, comfortable stories over those that actually had an impact on the artform or were actually, well, good. It really is time for the Academy to stop letting old white people choose all of the winners.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

"I don't have to show you any stinking badges." It's hard to believe this classic was passed over for Best Picture, especially when John Huston took the Best Director trophy for this film. "Hamlet" ended up being the winner in 1948. No disrespect to the Bard or Laurence Olivier, but "Hamlet" adaptations seem to come and go every few years. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is something that could never be repeated. Sure, that beheading at the end looks really fake, but Humphrey Bogart gave one of the best, most despicable performances of his career. Maybe the Academy just couldn't deal with a protagonist this reprehensible.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

"The French Connection" took home the gold in 1971. It was certainly a daring choice back then, and the car chase scene still goes pretty unmatched. However, that movie has lost some of its luster in the sea of cop thrillers that have been made ever since. Over 40 years later, "A Clockwork Orange" is as intriguing and audacious as it was the day it first came out. It would still create a stir if it was released today. The Academy never honors movies like "A Clockwork Orange," but they would be a lot cooler if they did.

Taxi Driver/All the Presiden't Men/Network (1976)

Some people called 1939 the banner year for movies. The real banner year was 1976. That year's Best Picture winner, "Rocky," is a classic in many ways. It's a nice movie, it's about the underdog overcoming the odds. I like that idea, I always root for the underdog. However, when the Best Picture category also includes Martin Scorsese's unflinching masterpiece "Taxi Driver," the seamless political thriller "All the President's Men," and the still relevant to this day satire of "Network," you'll realize that you were rooting for the wrong underdog.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

1979 was the rare year that the Academy chose a small, socially aware drama over a big epic for Best Picture. "Kramer vs. Kramer" was the first movie to handle divorce so honestly. The big catch is that it beat "Apocalypse Now." "Kramer vs. Kramer" is a very good movie, but "Apocalypse Now" is the kind of magnum opus that only comes around every once in a while. Upon its initial release, Francis Ford Coppola's meditative take on Vietnam was not regarded as the masterpiece it is today. The film was likely still recovering from all of the bad press revolving around its infamously disastrous shoot. Claims of the film's greatness are undisputed today. With the passing of time always changing perception, perhaps an award like Best Picture is pretty useless. How do we know what will be the true Best Picture years down the road?

Raging Bull (1980)

Hailed by many as one of the greatest movies of all time, "Raging Bull" probably suffered from boxing movie fatigue at the time (thanks for that one, "Rocky"). There is no way that anyone could not admire this movie. Everything from its boxing sequences, which are as violent as they are beautiful, and the performance by Robert De Niro, a monster in everyman's clothes, is a cinematic achievement. "Ordinary People" might have won the gold, but only "Raging Bull" would end up on most critics' lists of the best movies ever made.

Goodfellas (1990)

I have not seen "Dances With Wolves," so I cannot make fun of it as much as I would like to. One day, my cousin described a movie starring Kevin Costner as "reeking of Costner." I'd like to think "Dances With Wolves" is the same way. But I digress. 1990 saw a safe, politically correct big frontier movie sweep the Oscars while Martin Scorsese's shocking, hilarious, and radically different "Goodfellas" took a backseat. Scorsese's mob classic got the last laugh though: when's the last time you saw someone incessantly quoting "Dances With Wolves"?

Pulp Fiction (1994)

1994 was the year that "Forrest Gump" won basically every award in its path. It is certainly a hard movie to dislike. However, that year also included "Pulp Fiction." One movie was a heartwarming story about a mentally challenged man overcoming the odds and finding love. The other revived the career of John Travolta, re-wrote every rule of writing a screenplay, and inspired a million knockoffs that could never match it. The battle between "Forrest Gump" and "Pulp Fiction" is the classic battle between the safety of traditional Hollywood, and the radical change of New Hollywood. "Forrest Gump" might have won the Oscar, but more people have a "Pulp Fiction" poster hung up on their wall.

Choosing one scene to represent this movie is nearly impossible. This one makes me happiest.

Fargo (1996)

There is no way a movie like "Fargo" could ever win Best Picture. Yet, it could. Sure, its totally snarky. Sure, its intensely violent. Sure, a guy ends up in a wood chipper. But in the end, it has one of the most moving and affirming touches of life you'll get to see in a movie, shared in such a brief moment. Movies like this should be winning Best Picture more often.

The Social Network (2010)

And the final, most recent, perhaps most infuriating case of Old Hollywood pretending they can stop New Hollywood with a naked golden man. "The King's Speech" is a fantastic movie that tells a moving story and has some pitch perfect performances. But it wasn't "The Social Network," which became the first movie to so accurately pin the Internet Age. "The Social Network" itself is about a group of guys who fought the system and toar down age-old institutions. That is probably what the Academy was so afraid of, and why they passed up another movie that is already being hailed as a modern masterpiece. Hell, many other choices would have been better than "The King's Speech" that year. Might I remind you that "Black Swan" was also nominated.

And a Few More: L.A. Confidential (beaten by "Titanic"), "Inglourious Basterds" (beaten by "The Hurt Locker"), "Saving Private Ryan" (beaten by "Shakespeare in Love")

Morning Madness: Nicolas Cage's 100 Greatest Movie Quotes

2012-02-17T11:36:00.001-05:00

I took this video, like most of the videos I post, from FilmDrunk. The first thing I can think is, I guess this video had to get made? It is the 100 greatest movie quotes from Nicolas Cage.

Cage is known sometimes for being a great actor who takes great rolls ("Adaptation," "Raising Arizona") and other times the complete opposite ("The Wicker Man"). He also seems to belong to the acting camp that believes that shouting a line will make it better. For whatever reason, my favorite quote here is, "What's in the bag? A shark or something?"

No more words are necessary, time to watch for yourself:

The Reel Deal Interviews: Sarah Koskoff

2012-02-15T16:50:00.000-05:00

Sarah Koskoff (far left) with the rest of the cast and crew of "Hello I Must Be Going" during opening night at Sundance.

Movies set in a filmmaker's hometown can evoke feelings of pain, longing, or joyful nostalgia. Perhaps it all started when George Lucas set "American Graffiti" in Modesto, California at the end of the summer of 1962. All of the people, places, and music felt so heartfelt and familiar that it only could have come out of one's memory. Richard Linklater did the same thing to 1976 with "Dazed & Confused." Even the fictional town of David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" is based off the small town in Washington that he grew up in.

Months ago, I heard the news that a movie would be filming in my hometown of Westport. That movie was called "Hello I Must Be Going" and months later, it became a hit of the Sundance Film Festival. "Hello I Must Be Going" is directed by Todd Louiso, based on a script by his wife Sarah Koskoff.

Koskoff grew up in Westport and is an alumni of Staples High School. This is her debut feature length script, after years as an actress in various productions. I caught up with Sarah, and got some insight into her motivations as a writer, growing up in Westport, and the many challenges that went into getting this movie made. Yes, one of them was a natural disaster:

1. Congratulations for the success at Sundance. How would you sum up the entire experience?

Thanks! It was really thrilling to share the film with audiences and to be a part of such a vital community. At times it was also overwhelming and chaotic, honestly. But overall, it was inspiring and invigorating.

2. Tell us a little about your background. Where did you go to college? What got you into movies in the first place?

I studied Literature and Anthropology at Sarah Lawrence College. After that, I moved to LA and started working as an actor in film and television. I got lucky early on with jobs and an agent, and the sporadic well-paying work gave me a lot of free time. I started writing plays. I had no interest in screen writing at the time, but I got to the end of what I felt I could do in Los Angeles as a playwright. I wrote Hello I Must Be Going just to try out the form. And I loved it. It felt very natural.

3. Hello I Must Be Going is your debut feature film screenplay. What inspired you to tell this story? Have you written any other screenplays in the past?

My husband is a film director. I thought it would be fun to do something on a small scale, together, to get back to the heart of the work -- to remember what we both loved about it. I had the intention of writing about a relationship between an older woman and a younger guy. But I wanted it to be from her perspective, and I wanted it to start out as a sexual relationship and really grow into something more. I didn’t have any grandiose intentions in writing it. I just wanted to tell a story about personal transformation, and to see if I could track that transformation moment-to-moment.

4. This film was shot in your hometown of Westport, CT [all of it, I'm guessing?]. How do you feel the town reflected your story and characters? Do you think it could've taken place anywhere else?

It didn’t have to take place in Westport, but I wanted to film it there, so I set it there! It was really a very practical thing. I know the town so well, and I know so many people, I just felt it would be so much easier than going to a new place. We ended up shooting a lot of it in South Norwalk and Fairfield. But everyone was incredibly helpful. In terms of the story -- the characters are very defined by their status in a specific way, that Westport lends itself to. They’re trapped by it, really. They’re so identified with appearance that they can’t access a deeper level of happiness -- an experiential happiness. At this point the film and Westport are really inextricably linked.

5. How did growing up in Westport impact you as a writer?

I actually went to elementary school in Wilton, and those long, long walks in the woods, they definitely gave me space to think. I still call on that space to write.

6. Your husband, Todd Louiso, directed the movie. What was it like collaborating with him? Did it make it easier for the entirety of your original vision to make it into the final product?

It was great collaborating with Todd. We actually met on an acting job -- we were both acting in a television pilot. And we’ve worked together a lot over the years. This was the first time I was the writer and he was the director, but it was an easy transition. And, yes, I have a lot of say with him, and I had a LOT of say with the project. It’s uncommon as a screenwriter to have a say.

7. Did any movies in particular inspire you when writing Hello I Must Be Going? If so, how?

Originally I was thinking about the films of Eric Rohmer, the French director. His films are about the smallest events, so much subtlety and character detail. But as I got more invested, and after going through the Sundance Screenwriting Lab, I wanted to challenge myself to make bigger choices. So, I went back to films I love by Woody Allen and Mike Leigh and even Bergman’s films -- simple stories with a lot of vulnerability and humor. And, yes, there is humor in Bergman’s films!

8. What was the most challenging part of getting this movie made?

The most challenging part was the shoot itself. We had 20 days! It was extremely hard on the actors, especially Melanie Lynskey.

The character she plays is in every singly scene and has to go through so many emotional ups and downs--a real challenge for an actor in any circumstances. But in 20 days it really pushes the limits. She was a amazing about it, (and she is amazing in the film) but it was really hard to see her go through all that--and to feel responsible for it. On top of that Hurricane Irene hit Westport toward the end of the shoot. We lost locations and a day of filming...it was a lot. But I have to say it really gave the whole experience a kind of urgency and reality that I think shows up on screen. We all had to stay very awake!

9. Where do you do your best writing? In other words, what place gives you the most inspiration and motivation as a writer?

I live in Los Angeles, and I’ve found it to be a great place to write. But mostly for me it’s about time and quiet.

10. Do you have any future projects in mind? What lies ahead for you?

I have quite a few scripts I’m working on at once. I’m looking for some time. And some quiet.

A still image from "Hello I Must Be Going" taken from the Sundance catalogue.

Valentine's Day: The Best Romantic Romance Movies

2012-02-14T19:56:00.000-05:00

1. Harold and Maude

A person committing suicide is never funny. A person who keeps trying to kill themselves in the most elaborate ways (hanging, burning, etc.) is dark comedy gold. "Harold and Maude" has always been a cult classic, and it was once called "the greatest love story of our time" in "There's Something About Mary." This may be the only time that won't feel at all creeped out by two people 70 years apart falling in love. This is one of the few movies about romance that doesn't feel shallow. "Harold and Maude" is that good, and you can never go wrong with a soundtrack filled with Cat Stevens.

2. When Harry Met Sally...

We can thank Rob Reiner for setting the bar high, and then setting the template for 20 years of horrible romantic comedies. "When Harry Met Sally..." does it right for so many reasons. Maybe that's because it turned a rom-com hater into a believer, at least for its 96 minute running time. Maybe it's because it never tries to create some implausible, cosmic true love to bring the characters together. Rather, it shows love as something that takes time. Mainly, "When Harry Met Sally..." hasn't aged a day. Any references involving the 80s have only become funnier.

3. Punch-Drunk Love

Finally, a movie about love that isn't about people who need to be together, but rather people who make each other happy. As deeply troubled and neurotic Barry Egan, Adam Sandler gives the best performance of his career. Despite shying away from all of the romantic cliches that typically define this holiday, this is a model story about love. Perhaps love isn't about a card, a box of chocolates, and a lavish dinner. Maybe it's just about playing the harmonium for your lover and telling them the truth, even if the truth involves you getting into trouble with a phone sex hotline.

Valentine's Day: The Best Anti-Romantic Romance Movies

2012-02-14T12:14:00.001-05:00

SPOILER ALERT: This post vaguely reveals the endings to the movies listed below. This is not to discourage you from reading, but I advise that you proceed with cautions. Although at this point, it's hard not to know the ending of "The Graduate."

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Some common themes on this list are couples who act cutesy and people making big decisions without putting much thought into them. After breaking up, Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) get the memories of their relationship erased, only to realize there was something there that was worth remembering. It's peculiar that movies about love going wrong have the most to say about love in general. Being treated to Joel and Clementine's relationship crumbling from the top to bottom is just as devastating as it sounds.The ending leaves a bittersweet feeling: they are finally getting back together again, but they are also subject to hate each other again as in their previous relationships. The question of whether or not the two of them are meant to be together, or if they constantly breakup because they truly hate each other, haunts me to this day.

2. Annie Hall

Sure, Alvy (Woody Allen) and Annie (Diane Keaton) have fun together and they both enjoy playing with live lobsters and making fun of Truman Capote lookalikes, but they are far from soul mates. Alvy is New York (close-minded, uptight) and Annie is Los Angeles (free-spirited, unpredictable). "Annie Hall" contains some of the grandest romantic moments in the movies (Alvy and Annie in front of the Brooklyn Bridge), yet in its ending, it reduces relationships to a need, and not a desire. Nonetheless, this is one of the most enjoyable instances of a failed relationship you'll ever be a part of.

3. The Graduate

Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) sweeps in and saves Elaine (Katharine Ross) on the day of her wedding to tall, blonde, and handsome Carl. The shot of them sitting on the back of the bus together, laughing and smiling over what they have just done, could bring the hopeless romantic in all of us to tears. But then, reality, unhappiness, and ambiguity quickly set in. Maybe these two were acting on impulse and not calls of fate. Maybe they are making the same mistakes their parents once made, which they both wanted to escape from. The uncertainty of the future lies ahead for them, one likely filled with Vietnam War protests and occasional acid flashbacks.

4. (500) Days of Summer

Sure, Tom's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) belief in true love is reaffirmed in the end when he meets Autumn, but the path to getting there is filled with doubt. Watching Tom be misled into a relationship with Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is as painful as it is funny. While Tom goes on a tirade against greeting cards and pop music, there is no need to start protesting Hallmark or plan a mass burning of Smiths records. Rather, try not to fall in love with someone because they also think "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" is a good song. A lot of people like The Smiths.

5. Blue Valentine

Most of these movies end with the main character meeting someone who they at least think they will spend the rest of their lives with. If you were looking for a movie that could diagnose you with chronic depression, than look no further. "Blue Valentine" is about a marriage completely falling apart in grueling detail. Any movie that could make you want to punch Ryan Gosling in the face must be well made because seriously, nobody hates Ryan Gosling.* "Blue Valentine" is ultimately a cautionary tale, and its greatest lesson is that you should never marry anyone just because they can play your favorite song on the ukulele.

Other People's Songs are Lame

Blue Valentine

— MOVIECLIPS.com

*This is not an assumption
Thanks to friend of The Reel Deal Josh Fisher for the "Blue Valentine" suggestion.

Another Wes Anderson Montage to Brighten Your Day

2012-02-12T17:59:00.000-05:00

Here I am, after a long day of Rush recruitment, trapped in the "dungeon" of Bird Library. This is supposed to be a distraction free zone, that is until you find a new video like this one.

A little while back, I posted a supercut of Wes Anderson closeups. Now, someone has gone to the trouble of compiling another one of the director's trademarks: the slow-motion shot. The makers of this video (Slacktory) took an unconventional approach and set this montage to Ja Rule music. While Anderson's movies typically consist of 60s pop music, this music choice works surprisingly well, and synchs almost perfectly against most of the shots.

This is what I love about YouTube: it allows users to not only analyze movies they like, but retell them in a way that even the best filmmaker might never have thought of. Here's hoping this video is not breaking too many copyright laws. Watch it below:

I found out about this video on Filmdrunk.

The Oscars: Who Should Win

2012-02-11T14:57:00.000-05:00

Best Picture: War Horse
Not because it feels like a Best Picture winner, because movies made solely for the purpose of winning Best Picture are just as bad as movies made solely for profit. "War Horse" simply struck a cord that no other movie this year did. Its combination of sight and sound is unparalleled; its story is the stuff that makes a classic possible. Few movies can come with a large set of flaws, yet still come out as my favorite movie of the year. Spielberg realizes, like few others do, the power of moments of pure cinema.

Best Director: Terrence Malick
If you put Terrence Malick's name into just about any search engine, only one picture will consistently pop up of him.* In it, he looks more like a guy who has gone bird watching for two decades (which he actually did). Make no mistake, this is one of the greatest living directors. Part of the intrigue of a Terrence Malick movie has always been the director's intensely private life. However, he always intended that so the viewer would focus on the movie itself, so that is exactly what we are going to do right now. I still don't totally understand "The Tree of Life," but it is the kind of movie that is intended to be as dumbfounding as life itself so often is. The movie brings a sense of wonder to the creation of the universe, and an intimacy in its portrayal of family. And of course, it looks stunning too; as if each frame is another painting.

Best Actor: George Clooney
I have always liked Clooney's acting. However, he never really stuck out to me until recently. In "The Descendants," he didn't go through the physical change that he did in his Oscar winning turn in "Syriana," but he discovered new emotional range as an actor. In "The Descendants," he looked less like a movie star and more like an ordinary working family man who has been warn out by both. He continues to impress me with his wide range of performances, and he truly earns the comparisons he receives as a modern day Cary Grant. Like Grant, despite having a huge public persona to live up to, he would still do anything to make a role as funny or dramatic as possible.^

Best Actress: Rooney Mara
Nice girl Erica Albright took a turn for her role in "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." She created both the strongest, and most vulnerable, character onscreen this year. Lisabeth Salander was already a popular character, but Mara cemented her as one of the great feminine heros of our time. She took a physical and emotional transformation that is nothing short of brave. Bravery is usually the last thing that comes to mind when I think of actors, but Mara truly understands what it means to embody a character, and take a walk in their shoes for a day.

Best Supporting Actor: Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill has been a favorite of mine since his brief scene-stealing performance in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." His comedic chops transferred over well this year in "Moneyball." He gives such a great dramatic turn because, in a way, he still acted as if he was a comedy. Peter Brand might have just been a more grown up version of himself in "Superbad." I hope Jonah Hill continues to take comedic roles, but his newfound dramatic talents are worth continuing to explore.

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy
Maybe I'm biased because this is the only performance I've seen in this category. Screw that, Melissa McCarthy should win an Oscar. Megan may be too sexually overt and a little bit crazy, but its the confidence that McCarthy instills in her performance is what makes her such a funny and memorable character. She is not someone we ridicule for her antics, but rather someone we commend for being who she is. Many critics hailed "Bridesmaids" as the most groundbreaking thing for women since they gained the right to vote. That is a gross overstatement; but comedies that can't figure out to make a good female character should just look right here.

Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris
"Midnight in Paris" was not merely Woody Allen's best movie in years, it was one of his best movies, period. I don't normally believe in fate, but I believe this is the role that Owen Wilson was put on this Earth to play, because he delivered each line of brilliant dialogue with the same neurotic sarcasm that Allen would have, but with his own unique twist. The script also included a plot that broke the space time continuum, and so rightfully didn't explain why or how this could happen. What "Midnight in Paris" realizes that few other movies do is that oftentimes the more you try and explain the unexplainable, the less sense it will make. Allen understands in this kind of movie that it is more important why the characters are there, not why it exists in the first place. Blending fantasy and reality has never been this funny.

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants
I thought "The Descendants" was a tad overrated. A very good movie, but not the masterpiece many have hailed it as. Also, it will be hard for another Alexander Payne movie (yes, even "Sideways") to hold a candle to "Election" in my eyes. Nonetheless, "The Descendants" had one of the year's best written movies, and it certainly is the most mature of all of Payne's works. It is just as good as any Coen Brothers movie in its close attention to the beauty and humor of regional colloquialisms. The poster image for this movie has been Clooney running down the street in nothing but boat shoes. But truly the most unforgettable image from this movie comes at the end, as Matt King and his two daughters sit on the couch and watch TV, just trying to be a normal family again. I can picture that scene being written out on a script so eloquently, and so quietly moving.

*Malick can also be seen in a brief cameo in "Badlands."
^I would especially check out Grant's performances in "North By Northwest" and "Arsenic and Old Lace."

For Groundhog Day: Watch Groundhog Day

2012-02-02T15:43:00.000-05:00

If I'm doing something really wrong with my life, then this post will be gone tomorrow and I will be doomed to rewrite it every single day for the rest of my life. Today, is Groundhog Day, a silly little holiday that got a whole new meaning with the release of "Groundhog Day" in 1993.

Just about every person who has brought up today's holiday has also included some reference to this movie. That is because "Groundhog Day" has officially moved into the spectrum of cinematic classic. When a ten-year-old version of me watched "Groundhog Day" for the first time, little did I know that this Bill Murray comedy would be named by some as one of the best movies ever made, and used by our military as a codeword in Iraq. "Groundhog Day" was not maligned upon its initial release, but it was certainly undervalued. Rarely does a movie such a universally likable quality: movie buffs will admire the model character development, comedy junkies will marvel at Bill Murray's ingenious deadpan, and those with philosophical minds will admire its attempt to answer age-old quandaries about fate and the possibility of living the same life over and over again.

Phil Connors (Murray) didn't want to spend February 2 in Punxsutawney for the rest of his life (though he eventually learned to think otherwise). However, "Groundhog Day" is a movie I could watch on repeat and still find something new to appreciate, and something old to continue to enjoy. "Groundhog Day" is not something that should be thought about on Groundhog Day alone; it is a movie for everyday and any day of the year.

Supercut of the Day: Wes Anderson From Above

2012-02-01T12:15:00.001-05:00

If you're one of those people who likes to place Wes Anderson in the category of pretentious, overly artistic filmmakers, then watch this supercut and think again. In its succinct running time, it shows Anderson's painstaking attention to every detail within a given frame. This is what sets him apart as a filmmaker.

Wes Anderson // FROM ABOVE from kogonada on Vimeo.

Supercuts are one of the Internet's finest contributions to the world of art. What are some of your favorite supercuts? Share them in the comments.

Movie Review: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

2012-01-31T15:16:00.000-05:00

That I had not seen "Walk Hard" up to this point is a mystery even to me. This is the kind of comedy that throws everything at the wall to see what sticks and for the most part, it all does.

"Walk Hard" is somewhere between "Walk the Line" and "Ray" with a dab of every other musician's life story that has ever been made into a movie. Even The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" can be seen in the mix.

"Walk Hard" is basically the typical biopic movie structure in simplest form. It begins as Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly) prepares to go on stage, his face bathed in spotlight. But he can't go on yet, because according to Sam (Tim Meadows, with some great deadpan delivery), Dewey Cox, "has to think about his entire life before he goes on stage." Flash to years earlier, when Dewey was just a young boy on a southern farm faced with the childhood tragedy of accidentally slicing his brother in half with a machete. Haunted by accidental murder and his father's disapproval, Dewey decides to become a musician.

Dewey becomes a sensation with his provocative country jams, which cause some to dance and others to punch priests in the face. He marries Edith (Kristen Wiig), who keeps telling him he won't be a famous musician even when he actually becomes one. Soon, Dewey will fall for June Carter stand-in Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer), and leave Edith for her. Dewey's marriage ends in a reveal that manages to be uncomfortable and hilarious.

One thing I have never really expressed here is my deep admiration for Johnny Cash, and my deep discontent for some of the ways in which Cash's life is portrayed in "Walk the Line." The biggest problem I've always had with "Walk the Line" is the way in which they demonized Cash's first wife, and totally abandons her character in favor of Cash's relationship with June Carter. "Walk Hard" actually does a much better job in judging its character, mainly in what an oblivious idiot he is and how someone like him really can't function in society.

Knowledge of the history of American music is not required to enjoy this movie, but it would certainly help. When the end of the 1960s rolls around, Cox's music begins to resembles that of Bob Dylan, prompting the film to briefly mimic "I'm Not There." After hanging out with The Beatles in India (with uncanny impressions of the Fab Four), he turns into an LSD addict and tries hopelessly to create his opus. The over-the-top orchestra, which includes a few animals, is funnier when you realize that Cox has turned into Brian Wilson when he was making "Pet Sounds."

"Walk Hard" does to the biopics of the 2000s what "Spinal Tap" did to the "Behind the Music" documentaries of the 1980s: it skews them by becoming one of them. "Walk Hard" proves what is wrong with the format by following its formula and then reducing each trope to its most basic terms. For example, Meadows's Sam is the character who is always introducing Dewey to a new drug, first by telling him that he shouldn't try it, then by telling him how much it will benefit his life to a degree that he can't say no. Biopics consist of a lot of characters who serve as nothing more than plot points in order to introduce the subject to the next thing that will ruin their life.

Another part of what makes "Walk Hard" work is that it not only talks like a biopic, but walks like one as well. The sets and costume choices all match each time period they are a part of consistently. The Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony seen later in the film looks and feels exactly like a real lifetime tribute to a musician. This goes to show that the only people who can satirize the life of a musician the right way are those who truly admire music. Therefore, it comes off as more truthful than mean-spirited.

The movie sometimes loses its satirical edge when it veers into more crass, over-the-top comedy. Now, I am not against crass, over-the-top comedy when it isn't just thrown in for the sake of being there. Here, it is thrown in for the sake of being there.

While watching "Walk Hard," I was frequently reminded of "MacGruber" (released after "Walk Hard"), another genre-mocking genre entry. That movie also went over-the-top at times. However, as seen most prominently in its sex scenes, it served more as a way to knock down everything we hold near and dear in movies. In "Walk Hard," perhaps the penis that suddenly appears on the side of the scene was meant to make fun of unnecessary gratuitous humor, but in the end, it came off as exactly that. The movie also loses a little steam following Dewey's LSD rampage.

Despite this, "Walk Hard" delivers the kind of laughs you rarely get, the kind that forces you to stop and recompose yourself. Imitation is supposedly the sincerest form of flattery, and the pseudo-Cash ballads resemble many songs from the Man in Black in ways that only someone who deeply admired his work would know. And if Jack White wants to make a cameo in your movie, then something must be going right.

Oscars 2012: For Every Great Nomination, There is a Terrible Snub

2012-01-26T11:14:00.001-05:00

For every one satisfying Oscar nomination, there are endless movies, directors, and actors that could have filled that spot as well. This year, a surprising amount of suspected shoo-ins were snubbed, along with many that may never have had a chance. This year, who will join the ranks of "The Searchers," "Touch of Evil," and "Do the Right Thing" for most egregious snubs of all time? It is time to celebrate those who didn’t make the cut.

Best Picture: 50/50

Usually, Best Picture is associated with large scale, historical spectacles. What the Oscars really love, however, are stories of triumph in the face of adversity. No other movie could have better fit that label than “50/50,” Will Reiser’s funny and moving autobiographical story of coping with cancer. It deals with both the dire and the mundane in ways that few movies about cancer before this ever have. It might not have caught the Academy’s eye, but the impact of its naturalistic writing and effortless performances will long outlast the February 26 ceremony.

Best Director: Steven Spielberg (War Horse)

Spielberg is known at times for letting his emotions get the best of his movies. However, his sentimentality toward movies and re-creating history are at their best here. This is perhaps the most detailed depiction of World War I in film, and the ending, evoking John Ford’s most famous westerns, could make even the most hardened movie buff cry.

Best Actor: Ryan Gosling (Drive)

Gosling pulled a hat trick this year with memorable performances in “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “The Ides of March,” and “Drive.” His against-type performance in “Drive” was the best of these. Conveying so much with so little dialogue, his transformation from a stellar getaway driver to a psychotic killer in the film’s final act is shocking in its subtle believability. Gosling helps elevate a flawed movie by turning The Driver into one of the most unforgettable movie characters in years.

Best Actress: Charlize Theron (Young Adult)

It may be tough to make the bitchy former high school prom queen likable, but in “Young Adult,” Charlize Theron shows that it is at least possible to make her relatable. Theron so perfectly disappears into Mavis Gary’s self-denial that sometimes, it is hard to even tell whether it is really self-denial. “Young Adult” doesn’t give Mavis the fairy tale redemption ending that a lesser movie would have resorted to. While she doesn’t deserve our sympathy or attention, giving it to her doesn’t seem like such a crime.

Best Supporting Actor: Patton Oswalt (Young Adult)

Awards season is usually kind to comedians who take a stab at dramatic acting. However, Patton Oswalt, who had not one, but two, fantastic dramatic turns, first in 2009’s “Big Fan,” and this year in “Young Adult,” has yet to be nominated. Oswalt’s performance is much more toned down than anything usually seen from him. He serves as a perfect foil to Theron, wallowing in self-pity, but also displaying a great deal of self-awareness. While his life has fallen apart, he never seems disturbed by it. An actor’s job is to make an unlikable character likable, and Oswalt takes a loser and turns him into something much more unique.

Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)

This breakout performance from the 20-year-old Shailene Woodley has been inexplicably left out of the race. Woodley delivers one of the most devastating moments of the year: after hearing that her mother is in a coma, she goes underwater to cry. Making the leap from an ABC Family melodrama to holding your own against George Clooney in an Alexander Payne movie is the mark of a promising movie star in the works.

Honorable Mentions:

Brendan Gleeson (The Guard): For the ten of you out there who actually saw this movie, you'll know that Brendan Gleeson is the only person who could make a bumbling and racist Irish cop hilarious and a bit of a sneaky genius.

David Fincher (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo): Fincher turned a pulpy story into a haunting Swedish noir. Seriously, after this, "The Social Network," and the various other movies he hasn't even been nominated for ("Se7en," "Fight Club") how has this guy not won an Oscar yet? Perhaps Fincher is the Academy's new Scorsese.

And a few more: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50), Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March), Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris), Diablo Cody (Young Adult)

You can also check this article out at The Daily Orange. It is also available in print. Yes, print still exists.

Oscars 2012 Nominations: Initial Reaction

2012-01-24T12:15:00.000-05:00

The Oscar Nominations were announced today, and there was less surprises in the movies included and more in those that were excluded. Those snubs are for another post entirely.

After a late release date and tepid reviews, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" pulled off a surprise Best Picture nomination, as well as a Supporting Actor nod for Max von Sydow. Like Christopher Plummer, he is another veteran actor who has yet to take an Oscar home. Plummer, thought to be the guarenteed winner, now has some competition. Things just got interesting.

Meanwhile, "Hugo" received the most nominations of any movie this year, with a whopping total of 11. Frontrunner "The Artist" follows close behind with 10. The amount of nominations a movie receives usually doesn't usually equal a win, but "Hugo" definitely became a much more serious contender than it was prior to today.

The most satisfying part of the nominations is the prominent presence of pure comedies in the major categories. Woody Allen deservedly returned to the Best Picture and Best Director race with "Midnight in Paris." Meanwhile, "Bridesmaids" scored nominations for Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo in the Original Screenplay category, and for Melissa McCarthy as a supporting actress. This will mark the first time in Oscar history that a mainstream R-rated comedy with a combined puke and diarrhea joke gets to be nominated. It looks like comedies are finally starting to be taken more seriously. Maybe if "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up," and "Superbad" had come out this year, they could've been contenders, too.

Full list of nominations here. My annual list of snubs will be published tomorrow.

Speaking of comedies, Jim Rash is one of the writers who is nominated for "The Descendants." Yes, this guy.

Movie Review: Me and You and Everyone We Know

2012-01-17T01:04:00.000-05:00

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible to ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."
-Dr. Seuss

Few movies could be as polarizing, yet as undeniably well made, as Miranda July's "Me and You and Everyone We Know." Some will angrily walk out of it believing they have just seen the typical, nonsensical Sundance entry. Others will take a queue from the opening credits, which are placed against a man setting his own hand on fire, and be prepared for the totally unexpected.

"Me and You and Everyone We Know" is told in a series vignettes that sometimes overlap, and sometimes don't. July plays Christine Jersperson, the perky and awkward performance artist who has a day job as a driver for Elder Cab. She struggles to sell her art, which consists of videos of her acting out various dialogues, usually concerning people in love.

Richard Swersey (John Hawkes), who had set his hand on fire in the first scene, foolishly thinking he could pull off a magic trick, is recently separated from his wife and he tries his best to bring his two sons up right. His two young boys take to the Internet and form a twisted relationship in a chat room, while two neighboring and insecure teenage girls vie for the attention of a creepy man who lives next door. They may all vary in age, but they are all dumbfounded by the seemingly meaningless direction of life.

July, a former Portland based performance artist in real life, has created a movie that is itself a piece of performance art: every scene depends on an audience reaction in order to get it going to its intended effect. There are so many different scenes that push it to a limit, whether it be the hand burning or the goldfish scene. In the memorable yet perplexing goldfish scene, a goldfish in a water-filled plastic bag is tossed from car to car on the highway. In a way, it shows how helpless each character in the ensemble is to the unfolding of their own story and in the way that the fish's survival depends on the movement of each car, so does each character depend on the actions of one another.

July is just as good of an actress as she is a writer and director. She displays a delicate emotional vulnerability that is funny and sometimes sad. While her speaking manner is awkward and timid, her presence is always inviting. When her and Hawkes are on screen together, they share an uncomfortable chemistry that makes it seem as if each of them was a puzzle piece that was meant to be together. Creating this can be tough, but these two actors rose to the occasion and succeeded.

Watching "Me and You and Everyone We Know" made me think of Todd Solondz's "Happiness." Just as that movie was about the many eccentric lengths people go to in order to find happiness, this movie is about the crazy lengths people will go in order to find what they think is love. In the end, love is not some universally known feeling. It is something that can only be shared amongst a select group, it is what connects me and you and everyone we know.

"Me and You and Everyone We Know" is filled with many deep and powerful images that might not hold as much significance on a first viewing. I began to appreciate the film more during round two. You will begin to notice little things, such as one image at the beginnings that mirrors a painting shown at the end, and the combination of those two is rather remarkable. I would not call this a nice little movie, as some of the characters do things that wouldn't necessarily make them likable. However, it is a movie that is very quiet and mature throughout all of its humorous instances. It is not a concluding resolution, but rather a concluding feeling, that defines everything. Movies don't do that often enough.

Golden Globes 2012: My Predictions

2012-01-15T13:46:00.000-05:00

Since the Golden Globes don't mean much towards the Oscars, and they are actually kind of a sham (last year, "Burlesque" was nominated after some actions that most people would consider to be corrupt), I will not spend too much time analyzing who will win and why. The Globes are a fun night to watch everyone in Hollywood get drunk and compliment each other. However, with Ricky Gervais hosting again, another large scale takedown seems possible.

Since you probably don't care much anyway, without much further adieu, here are my predicted winners for tonight's Golden Globes in all of the major film categories*:

Best Picture (Drama): The Descendants Upset: The Help

Best Picture (Musical or Comedy^): The Artist Upset: Midnight in Paris

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) Upset: Alexander Payne (The Descendants)

Best Actor (Drama): George Clooney (The Descendants) Upset: Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Best Actress (Drama): Viola Davis (The Help) Upset: Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy): Jean Dujardin (The Artist) Upset: Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris)

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy): Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) Upset: Charlize Theron (Young Adult)

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners) Upset: Jonah Hill (Moneyball)

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer (The Help) Upset: Berenice Bejo (The Artist)

Best Screenplay: The Descendants

*I have neglected to include the TV nominees, as the absence of "Breaking Bad," "Community," and "Parks & Recreation" lead me to believe that those categories don't even exist this year.
^This is among the dumbest pairings of all time.

Attention Everyone: The New Wes Anderson Trailer Has Arrived

2012-01-12T18:13:00.002-05:00

Lately, I've been complaining a lot about terrible, no good, misleading trailers for movies. That temporarily ends today, as the trailer for Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" has arrived. Not only does it make this movie look fantastic, but it is most likely showing exactly what we will get, maybe that's simply because Anderson has a very distinct style of filmmaking. It almost looks like a series of children's drawings.

I love everything about this trailer. I love the outdated look of it. I love the French soundtrack. I love that it includes a clip of Edward Norton saying the phrase "Jiminy Cricket," which brings back the use of the phrase "cuss" in "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," Anderson's last movie (and one of my favorite movies of the last decade). I love that the rest of the cast includes Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, and Bill Murray. Seriously can Bill Murray win an Oscar for this role? Just because he's Bill Murray?

But I digress. Watch the trailer below. Then re-watch it a few more times like I did:

Movie Review: The Purple Rose of Cairo

2012-01-12T16:13:00.000-05:00

Warning: The following review contains some content that many would consider to be spoilers, mainly because it is hard to discuss this film without giving a lot of the story away (especially the ending). So if you haven't seen this movie, just go rent it right now based on this sentence alone.

When I was younger, I was one of those kids who thought I could free the miniature people trapped inside the TV set. Luckily, my parents never let me play with a hammer.

Woody Allen probably never had a hammer either, but he did have the ability to write a superb script. "The Purple Rose of Cairo" combines Allen's gift for realistic fantasy story telling with chaos theory. The result is one of his finest films.

Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is a wishful thinker and a bit of a dreamer. That might be because she lives in Depression era New Jersey (any era New Jersey would probably be bad enough), has an abusive husband (Danny Aiello), and works a dead end job as a waitress which she is eventually fired from. Things like this would want to make anyone want to escape into the comfort of a good movie every single day.

Cecilia frequents the action-adventure-romance picture "The Purple Rose of Cairo." Enough is seen of this movie's story that "The Purple Rose of Cairo" becomes a movie-within-a-movie with the movie within it also being called "The Purple Rose of Cairo." Hope your head doesn't hurt too much yet, because the main character of the movie within a movie, the explorer Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels) literally walks off the screen and into Cecilia's life.

Tom is the kind of man that could only exist in Cecilia's dreams: he's strong, brave, and romantic. Meanwhile, she's used to a weak-willed alcoholic. The best part of this whole act is that there is absolutely no explanation for it. It is similar to the way that Allen goes to no length to explain Gil's ability to travel back in time in "Midnight in Paris." Save the science behind it for a J.J. Abrams movie. All that matters to Allen is the ensuing reactions if seemingly impossible situations such as a movie character coming to life were to happen to an ordinary person.

In accordance to Chaos Theory (sorry, there has to be at least a little background philosophizing here), the movie-within-a-movie's story cannot go on without the presence of even a minor character such as Tom. This leaves the characters in the movie within to partake in much philosophical kvetching. Meanwhile the actor playing Tom, Gil Shepherd (Daniels, again), is left to ponder his next career move after this debacle occurs, and he eventually, like his own character, finds himself falling for Cecilia after they meet.

"The Purple Rose of Cairo" might be Allen's saddest movie. Well, almost every one of his movies ends on some sort of note of melancholy. However, this is one of the few that leaves its protagonist with too many problems and too little hope. Maybe the funniest thing about this movie is that even though it tells us that movies provide the best form of escape, the bigger movie itself is as far from escapism as possible.

This is a movie that tends to also be really funny at times. I love the way the characters attending the screening of "The Purple Rose of Cairo" interact with the characters on the screen. Everyone is so surprised as to what as happened, but no reacts in any over-the-top way. Reacting as little as possible to a situation that requires a more emotional reaction is always funny. Escapism is okay as long as we know that we are escaping into a realm of fiction, and not into a realm of reality.

"The Purple Rose of Cairo" is a great black comedy about the absurdity of reality. Every one of its characters, even the minor ones, are memorable in some way. Farrow steals the show as the abused mess of a woman, and she is absent of the high-pitched shriek voice that she would have to take on two years later in "Radio Days." She also owned the ukulele before Zooey Deschanel and her army of hipsters decided to take it over. Daniels also gives my favorite performance I have ever seen him in ("Dumb & Dumber") in two different roles, one being the overly confident pseudo-intellectual that Allen so frequently mocks.

The scene in which Tom Baxter first jumps off the screen, even by today's standard of special effects, still feels magical and jarring. Maybe it is the way he so suddenly changes from black and white into color.

The conclusion of "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is one that is beautiful even in its sadness. Cecilia seems to have become more self-aware, yet she remains just as sheltered by the cinema. After Gil leaves town without telling her and she realizes her husband won't change, she returns to the theater and watches Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing with a sense of both desolation and wonderment. Perhaps it was at that moment she understood that that was the best her life would ever get: to sit inside a theater and watch two people who don't exist feel a sense of happiness that she would never get to feel. Maybe every once in a while, being drawn in by the flashing light of film from a projector can be a good thing. It can heal wounds and make the pains of life feel just a little bit better.