2012 Preview!

With the Academy Awards in the rear view, lets look at what to expect from here on out in 2012. 

March:

2nd-Project X: Being compared to Superbad, trailers leave something to be desired, but why not take the suddenly popular shaky cam strategy to comedy?

9th-John Carter: Based off the popular book John Carter of Mars. Looks promising, lets hope the graphics are better in the actual film though.

16th-21 Jump Street: Remake of the Johnny Depp TV series stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. A great preview has me very excited for this. 

23rd-The Hunger Games: Fans of the book series are very excited for this, and it appears to be a likely box office juggernaut.

30th-Wrath of the Titans: Sam Worthington says he was terrible in the first one and is going to do better this time, the hair cut is not convincing me of that. The entire cast returns. 

30th- Mirror, Mirror: The first of the Snow White films of 2012, aimed at children, and looks terrible. 

April

4th- Titanic 3D: One of the greatest films of all time, now in 3D.

6th- American Reunion: The 4th theatrically released Pie film, focuses on the 10 year reunion, and the entire cast from the first film returns. 

13th-Cabin in the Woods: Long delayed Joss Whedon film. First preview showed this will not be your typical Cabin based horror film. 

13th- The Three Stooges: Movie based off the classic program, looks absolutely terrible. One of the most unfunny trailers for a comedy film I have ever seen. 

27th- The Raven: John Cusack stars as Edgar Allen Poe, helping to hunt a serial killer who is basing his victims on Poe's work. Looks very similar to From Hell, and that is a compliment. 

May

4th- The Avengers: Start the summer with a bang. Marvel only has this film this year, but its the big one. 

11th- Dark Shadows: Johnny Depp stars in this take on the television show about a supernatural family. Tim Burton is directing. 

11th- The Dictator: The next from Sasha Baren Cohen, hopefully more like Borat than Bruno. 

18th- Battleship: From Peter Berg comes this alien invasion movie based off the board game. Whether or not you will like this depends on if you think Rihanna will be believable as a naval officer. Really that's all it comes down to. I will not be liking this movie. 

25th- Men in Black 3: Preview looks depressing. Will Smith as J has to go back in time to save a young K from being killed. This looks like one of those series that should have just been a single film. 

June

1st- Snow White and the Huntsmen: Looks like the Gladiator version of Snow White, and looks much better than Mirror, Mirror. 

8th- Prometheus: The prequel to Alien that's not really a prequel, just another story in the same universe. Watch out for this movie being an Oscar sleeper (assuming the Oscar voters can remember that movies do come out before November).

15th- Rock of Ages: Based off the popular play, involving lots of great music, and a rock solid cast. 

15th- Jack the Giant Killer: Another fairy tale based film with a more adult feel. Bryan Singer brings the story of Jack to the big screen. 

22nd-Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: The first of two completely different Lincoln films, this one focuses on the 16th president's vampire killing spree. 

22nd-Brave: Yay! Pixar's back after a year off! (Cars 2 is not a real movie in my eyes).

29th- Gi Joe Retaliation: A sequel that seems to be trying to distance itself from its terrible predecessor. Channing Tatum returns, but they traded Marlon Wayans and Dennis Quaid for Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis. 

29th- Magic Mike: Also Channing Tatum, but also Matt Bomer and Matthew McConaughey, who play strippers.

July

3rd- The Amazing Spider Man: The director of the great (500) Days of Summer takes on the Spiderman Reboot. I hate the idea of rebooting a series already, but the newest trailer is warming me to the idea. 

20th- The Dark Knight Rises: The big one, an Oscar contender, and a contender to break Avatar's box office record, but lets just hope it overcomes the super hero trilogy curse. 

27th- Neighborhood Watch: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill in a movie about suburbanites keeping their neighborhood safe.

August

3rd- Total Recall: Another remake, this one stars Colin Farrel instead of Swarzenegger, and supposedly will stay closer to the source material.

17th- The Expendables 2: All the main guys are back, but with bigger roles for Willis and Swarzenegger, and the addition of Van Damme and Chuck Norris.

24th- Premium Rush: Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a bike messenger running from a corrupt cop (Michael Shannon). Looks promising.

31st- 7500: True Blood's Ryan Kwanten headlines this airplane ghost story.

31st- The Wettest County: Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Shia LeBeouf, and Guy Pearce in a prohibition era gangster movie, sold. And the Academy might be too. 

September

14th- Resident Evil 5: The next in the RE series, at this point you know what your getting. 

14th-Argo: Ah, the Oscar season starts here. Ben Affleck's 3rd film as a director, focuses on the Iranian hostage crisis. 

21st-Dredd: A remake of Judge Dredd starring Karl Urban, and supposedly stays closer to the source material. 

21st- Cogan's Trade: Brad Pitt plays a professional enforcer investigating a heist that went down during a high stakes poker game. Another Oscar contender. 

28th- Looper: The next from Rian Johnson (Brick), stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt. Story is a high concept piece of work about a killer (Bruce Willis) who disposes of his victims in the past. Until he notices one of his victims, is his past self. 

28th- Savages: From Oliver Stone, the story of two men (A very busy Taylor Klitsch, as well as Aaron Johnson) who go up against a Mexican drug Lord (Benicio Del Toro) to get their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) back. Oscar contender. 

October

TBA- Cloud Atlas: The next from Andy and Lana Wachowski, not much is known, but it stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. Oscar contender.

5th- Taken 2: Liam Neeson returns in the sequel to the hit Taken. Not much is known about the plot, but I am sure Neeson will look serious and kill people. 

12th- Gangster Squad: Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, and Sean Penn in a Gangster movie. Definite Oscar contender.

19th-Paranormal Activity 4: No idea if they will connect it to the original trilogy, or start a new family. 

26th- Halloween 3D: The next Halloween film. 

26th- Alex Cross: Tyler Perry takes over the detective from Morgan Freeman who played him in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.

26th- Of Men and Mavericks- A Gerard Butler surfing movie. Might be an Oscar contender, but I'll wait for a trailer before deciding that for sure. 

November

2nd-Red Dawn: Long delayed remake of the Charlie Sheen/Patrick Swayze cult classic.

9th- Skyfall: The next Bond, but this one is directed by Sam Raimi and costars Javier Bardem.

16th-Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2: The final Twilight film, who lives and who doesn't?

19th- The Silver Linings Playbook: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence star in this David O'Russell film about a man (Cooper) who is released from a mental institution. Oscar contender.

21st- Rise of the Guardians: A Christmas themed cartoon about a demon fighting Santa. Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, and Alec Baldwin lend their voices.

December

TBA- Lincoln: Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln biopic starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th presdent. Co-stars Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tommy Lee-Jones. Oscar contender. 

7th- Les Miserables: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Sasha Baron Cohen, and Anne Hathaway in Tom Hooper's take on the classic musical. Oscar contender. 

12th- World War Z: Brad Pitt and Matthew Fox in another zombie film. But this film appears to be more of a drama, and might be a zombie movie that gets Oscar consideration. 

14th- The Hobbit Part 1: Peter Jackson returns to tell the full tale of Bilbo Baggins. 

19th- Untitled Bin Laden Project: Katherine Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) directs the tale of how Bin Laden was killed. 

21st- Hunter Killer: Submarine thriller starring Gerard Butler and Sam Worthington.

21st- Life of PI: Ang Lee's film about a boy lost at see with only some captive zoo animals to keep him company. 

21st- This is 40: Spin off of Knocked Up, focusing on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's characters as they reach 40. 

25th- The Great Gatsby: Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire take on the classic. Leo may be fighting himself for the Best Actor...against...

25th- Django Unchained: Leo plays the villain to Jamie Foxx's freed slave and Christoph Waltz's bounty hunter in this Quentin Tarantion action film. 

This could be a great enough year to make up for how bad 2011 was. Several great Oscar contenders, and some high profile films should wash the Midnight in Paris stench off of us once and for all. Taylor Klitsch and Jennifer Lawrence seemed poised to be A list after this year, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt may finally be looked at as the elite actor he is. Did I miss any movies your excited for? Let me know in the comments. 

The top ten I am most excited for in 2012 is:

10. The Avengers

9. Cogan's Trade

8. World War Z

7. The Gangster Squad

6. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

5. Prometheus

4. Skyfall

3. The Hobbit Part 1

2. Django Unchained

1. The Dark Knight Rises

Check back later this week, when I will do my (very) early Oscar predictions for 2012. 

-Maximus

Movie Review- The Double

Where the hell did this movie come from? No theatrical release, but seemingly at the forefront of many rental place's new release marketing? Some big stars (Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen), a smart plot, twists and turns, this is the kind of movie that I do not understand how it gets left out when films like Your Highness somehow get released in theaters. Now that I have raised expectations past a reasonable point, let me just say that The Double is not amazing, just very solid. Richard Gere continues to be the actor that time forgot despite not really losing any of his marketability, and he turns in a solid performance here. The Double is about a young agent (Topher Grace) who is the expert on a presumed dead Russian assassin. However when that assassin surfaces again, he must team up with the man who hunted him (Gere) to bring him down. If you have seen the previews, the film makes no secret of its big twist about a third of the way through, but if you felt like that was the only twist it had coming, you are wrong. Worth seeing when you get a chance, I give The Double 7 Ninja stars out of 10.

The Double is directed by Michael Brandt and stars Topher Grace, Richard Gere, Martin Sheen, Odette Annable, and Stephen Moyer.

-Maximus

Oscar Recap!

Sometimes (most times) I don't understand the Oscars. Because surely if its insanely obvious to me that one film has better special effects or sound effects than another, the voting bodies must see that too right? So I ask you this, why would Hugo win the Visual Effects and Sound Editing awards following a single train crash...? Films like Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Harry Potter clearly had wall to wall better special effects than Hugo, and films like Transformers had the metal sounds of transformers transforming, and building collapsing, and vehicles exploding, and gun fire....and Hugo still had...a train crash. I feel better after getting that off my chest, now on to the recap.

Best Picture: The Artist. Not a shocker in any way, shape, or form. There was no drama in this category.
Best Director: Michael Hazanavicious, The Artist. Also not a surprise here. Anyone could see this win coming a mile away.
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist. A bit of a surprise for me as I thought Clooney had enough early momentum to get the win despite Dujardin's late surge. This was his weakest acceptance speech so far, not as witty or clever as his Globes or SAG speeches.
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady. Another minor surprise. Viola Davis was the favorite, but Streep was hot on her heels. Streep was engaging and funny as has come to be expected from her.
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners. Zero surprise.
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help. Zero surprise.
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris. The favorite, even though its a terrible screenplay.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, The Descendants. Would be the only Descendants win on the evening, but was a solid and deserved win.
Best Visual Effects: Hugo. Should have been any of the other 4 movies in the category. I incorrectly thought Rise of the Planet of the Apes would win. I was wrong.
Best Cinematography: Hugo. I incorrectly picked The Tree of Life. Tree of Life had swept every single pre Oscars cinematographers award, but the Academy again blindly loved the overrated Hugo.
Best Editing: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Incorrectly picked The Artist. Happy to see the GwtDT win here though as it was my pick for "Should Win".
Best Sound Editing: Hugo. I picked Transformers, and this was another award that should have gone to any other nominee.
Best Sound Mixing: Hugo. This one Hugo deserved.
Best Makeup: The Iron Lady. Should have gone to Harry Potter. Harry Potter had equal aging effects, plus they made goblins, wizards, witches, giants, trolls, and monsters.
Best Animated Feature Film: Rango. The right pick.
Best Art Direction: Hugo. Another one of the few that Hugo actually deserved.
Best Costume Design: The Artist. Not nearly as fantastic as fellow nominees Anonymous and Jane Eyre, and even Hugo seemed to have better costumes.
Best Original Score: The Artist. A film that was all score, so well deserved.
Best Song: Man or Muppet, The Muppets. 50/50 shot, and I picked correctly.
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation. The clear favorite due to the screenplay nomination.
Best Documentary: Undefeated. I thought the Hollywood baby Paradise Lost 3 would win, but the underdog sports film took it home.
Best Documentary Short: Saving Face. I incorrectly chose The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.
Best Animated Short: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore. When in doubt, bet on Pixar.
Best Live Action Short: The Shore. Correctly chose this one based off the presence of Ciaran Hinds.

So I was correct on 14 out of 24 categories. Not as strong a showing as usual, but it was a strange year with no great films. Hugo's dominance in the technical categories was really unexpected and ridiculous. Lets hope we have a better Oscar year next year with The Hobbit, Django Unchained, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Great Gatsby.

-Maximus

Movie Ninjas Oscar Preview!

This is the second annual massive Oscar Preview! Where we break down every category and tell you what should win, what will win, what could win, and what could be a dark horse. Remember while I do some research, many of these are just my opinion, if you lose your Oscar pool based off my predictions....well feel free to berate me in the comments. Lets get to it!

Best Original Screenplay
Should Win: Margin Call
Will Win: Midnight in Paris
Could Win: The Artist
Dark Horse: A Separation
-One of the only categories where The Artist is not the favorite, but unfortunately, people seem to think Midnight in Paris was not completely terrible. My favorite was the witty, terrific screenplay for Margin Call.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Should Win: Moneyball
Will Win: The Descendants
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: Moneyball
-Moneyball was this years Social Network, but doesn't quite have the support. Hugo is the favorite right now as it credits a single writer, which the Academy traditionally loves, but I think this one will go to The Descendants.

Best Visual Effects
Should Win: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Will Win: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Could Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Dark Horse: Transformers Dark of the Moon
-HP 7.2 should be a best picture nominee, and I think it may sneak in here as some members may see it as a consolation prize, but with the MoCap of RotPotA being all the rage, I see it deservedly winning.

Sound Mixing
Should Win: Hugo
Will Win: Hugo
Could Win: War Horse
Dark Horse: Moneyball
-Sound Mixing is the mixing of dialogue, background effects, and primary sound effects. That is why this is Hugo's to lose.

Sound Editing
Should Win: Transformers Dark of the Moon
Will Win: Transformers Dark of the Moon
Could Win: War Horse
Dark Horse: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
-The actual sound category, the Transformers franchise has used sound very well. War Horse may still get credit for the three and a half minutes of actual war in the film.

Short Film Live Action
Will Win: The Shore
Could Win: Raju
Dark Horse: Time Freak
-I tend to assume the Academy will go dark material here (Raju), but last year gave it to the funny, touching God of Love, Time Freak could be this years light, funny winner. I however go with The Shore as it starred real actors, not sure that gives it a huge edge, but I think the Academy will like it.

Short Film Animated
Will Win: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Could Win: La Luna
Dark Horse: A Morning Stroll
-Flying Books is Pixar, so I pick that, although the more technically impressive were La Luna and Wild Life, but the most French was Dimanche/Sunday. A Morning Stroll though is simple and engaging.

Music (Original Song)
Should Win: The Muppets
Will Win: The Muppets
Could Win: Rio
Dark Horse: They just forget the category exists this year.
-Only two nominees this year. The Muppets were more notable.

Music (Original Score)
Should Win: The Artist
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: War Horse
-Two John Williams scores in lesser movies will likely cancel each other out. No Hans Zimmer this year. Incumbent Trent Reznor was ignored for the terrific GwtDT score. So I'll say the film that was all score, The Artist, takes it home.

Makeup
Should Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Will Win: HP 7.2
Could Win: The Iron Lady
Dark Horse: Albert Nobbs
-A very close race, could go either way. But I'll say this goes to sci fi as it traditionally does. Albert Nobbs is the Dark Horse by default as its only a 3 nominee category, it will be one of the other two films.

Foreign Language Film
Should Win: A Separation
Will Win: A Separation
Could Win: In Darkness
Dark Horse: Bullhead
-A Separation got the screenplay nod, which makes it the favorite. But this train of thought has led me astray in other years. Out of 11 Foreign Language nominees nominated for a screenplay award, only 5 have actually won the Foreign Language film award. In Darkness received wide praise in the States.

Film Editing
Should Win: The Artist
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: Moneyball
-Technical category and Hugo is the technical darling of this years awards based off the number of nominations. But Editing many times goes to the eventual Best Picture winner. Moneyball had great editing between baseball/dialogue, but is a long shot.

Documentary Short
Should Win: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Will Win: The Barber of Birningham
Could Win: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Dark Horse: Saving Face
-Material usually wins out here, so civil rights movement vs devastating natural disaster vs woman whose husband threw acid on her face vs soldier who questions his motives in Iraq?

Documentary Feature
Should Win: Undefeated
Will Win: Paradise Lost 3
Could Win: Undefeated
Dark Horse: Pina
-Undefeated and Pina were the only ones with a theatrical release, so that helps them. But Paradise Lost 3 helped clear 3 men who has been in prison for a long time....and Johnny Depp supports it.

Costume Design:
Should Win: Jane Eyre
Will Win: Hugo
Could Win: The Artist
Dark Horse(s): Anonymous
-Wide open as you can tell. Anonymous was the early favorite but didn't even get nominated by the Designers guild. W.E. won the guild award over Hugo, The Artist, and Jane Eyre... But I think Hugo picks up another win. However don't sleep on Jane Eyre, because the CD award sometimes goes in an unsuspecting way, and Jane Eyre should win this award.

Art Direction
Should Win: Hugo
Will Win: Hugo
Could Win: The Artist
Dark Horse: War Horse
-The Paris train station should win this one. The Artist still may pull it out in blind sweep fashion, but I say Hugo.

Directing
Should Win: The Artist
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: The Tree of Life
-Should easily be The Artist's award. But directors love The Tree of Life. But once again, the smart money is on The Artist.

Cinematography
Should Win: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Will Win: The Tree of Life
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse(s): The Artist
-Once again you always have to watch out for the "big" films of the year to blindly sweep award they don't deserve, but The Tree of Life has swept every award in this category since the beginning, so likely it will win here.

Animated Feature Film
Should Win: Rango
Will Win: Rango
Could Win: Chico & Rita
Dark Horse: A Cat in Paris
-With Tintin getting shut out here, the award goes to Rango. The only chance it doesn't is if the Academy tries to impress people and awards the adult animated films A Cat in Paris or Chico & Rita.

Actress Supporting
Should Win: Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Will Win: Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Could Win: No
Dark Horse: No
-This is Spencer's to win. It would be a huge upset if anyone else won.

Actor Supporting
Should Win: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Will Win: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Could Win: No
Dark Horse: Max Von Sydow (ELIC)....barely
-Not much of a race either, would be a huge upset as well.

Actress Lead
Should Win: Viola Davis (The Help)
Will Win: Viola Davis (The Help)
Could Win: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Dark Horse: No, either Streep or Davis.
-Neck and neck, to say Streep is the dark horse is underrating her chances. This could go either way, I say it goes Davis'.

Actor Lead
Should Win: George Clooney (The Descendants)
Will Win: George Clooney (The Descendants)
Could Win: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Dark Horse: Demian Bichir has a lot of industry support, but this is Clooney or Dujardin's.
-Again, neck and neck. Could honestly go either way. Dujardin is the favorite right now, but I say Clooney takes it.

Best Picture
Should Win: Harry Potter....wait.. The Help
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: If there is one, Hugo
-Not much drama here. Its The Artist vs the field. And The Artist is the prohibitive favorite.

So what do we have? A lot of boring categories. 4 of the 6 biggest of the year (Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress) are all locks. Hopefully Actor and Actress are enough to keep us interested...well that and Billy Crystal. As a final count, I have The Artist with 4 awards, Hugo with 3, and The Help with 2.

Check back again right before showtime as there may be some corrections made in the short categories.

-Maximus

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Films of the Year

This is the last of six posts listing my top films, performances, and directing jobs of the year. In this post, we tackle the most important subject, the top films of the year.

10. Drive: Well directed, unique, and superbly acted. An action movie with very little action, a drama with very little dialogue, yet utterly engrossing from beginning to end.
9. Super 8: No other movie brought back childhood memories like Super 8, the joy of movies, and the joy of childhood, told against the backdrop of an alien invasion.
8. Beginners: What could of been a morbid or ridiculous movie about an elderly man coming out of the closet, then being diagnosed with cancer, turns into a quirky and unique film. One of the best screenplays of the year, and some great headlining performances.
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Made the Swedish version look like the B movie it was. Great performances, and director David Fincher embraced the dark instead of hiding from it.
6. Moneyball: A boring subject brought to great life by director Bennett Miller and stars Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. Miller ignored the obvious sports cliche's and made the sports films that behind the scenes sports enthusiasts wanted to see.
5. Margin Call: A tense, wall street thriller with great performances from Paul Bettany, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, and Simon Baker. This generation's Wall Street, and the best money film since it.
4. The Descendants: The perfect example of a dramedy, a film that has great drama and funny comedy without the two stepping on each other's toes. Great performances from George Clooney and Shailene Woodley.
3. The Artist: A silent film that uses the silence to its aid, not as a gimmick. Great silent performances and the perfect actors cast in their roles. The best directed film of the year and one that came out of nowhere to really make an impact.
2. The Help: Five great performances, tough subject mater, and the right touch of levity make the film one of the powerhouses of the year. The films few ridiculous moments don't get in the way of a touching, poignant, and memorable film.
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: A great film for more than just being the series capper, the actors hit their stride, and the material gave them the best chance to make a film that is absolutely a masterpiece. The film is a visual marvel, but is so much deeper than just that, and is the most re-watchable movie of the year.


So there it is, Maximus' top ten lists of the year. Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree.

-Maximus

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Best Director

This is the fifth in a series of six posts on what I felt were the best acting and directing performances, as well as films of 2011.

10. Tate Taylor-The Help: Directing actors is still directing, while The Help is not quite a directorial marvel, the way Taylor brought the huge cast together and still made semblance of it earns him a spot on this list.
9. Rupert Wyatt-Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Generally its hard to still have an element of surprise in prequels, but Wyatt made it happen in RotPofA. In addition, Wyatt masterfully mixed the motion capture with live action to make a visual masterpiece.
8. Bennett Miller-Moneyball: Same type of credit I have David Fincher last year, how do you make a boring subject into an entertaining movie? Like Fincher though, Miller nailed it. Miller earns a special place on this list for me as well for not trying to make the A's look like they actually won something that year, he acknowledged the fact they still only made it to the first round of the playoffs.
7. Alexander Payne-The Descendants: Great blend of drama and comedy, Payne never compromised the tragedy of the film for laughs, and never compromised the laughs to make it overly morbid.
6. JJ Abrams-Super 8: A monster movie that used the monster to set up a terrific story of young children and their bonds. You could tell it was a labor of love for Abrams and in a sense was a monster movie that was semi autobiographical.
5. JC Chandor-Margin Call: A film with no clear lead, a ton of great actors in small performances, and a story about the start of the market crash told over a 24 hour period? No problem for Chandor. He balances everything fantastically and the tension in the movie makes it seem more like a shoot out then a fire-sale.
4. Nicholas Winding Refn-Drive: Jumped up my list at the last minute, but from a directing standpoint, the film was a marvel. Refn used many amazing shots to tell his story, and as I stated in my review of the film, is one of the best shot films since Road to Perdition.
3. David Fincher-Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Right from the first ten minutes of the film you can tell how amazing Fincher is at his job, and it continues for the next two hours.
2. David Yates-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Yates had a steady hand and was chosen to direct the last few films, they could not have made a better choice. Deathly Hallows as a whole was a great film, and what was left for Part 2 was exciting, and extremely well put together.
1. Michael Hazanavious-The Artist: The Artist is a silent film, that uses the silence as a main story point. Hazanavious took what could simply be a gimmick, and made a terrific film that was extremely well directed. Hazanavious' direction made even the biggest skeptics (me) into believers in The Artist.

-Maximus

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Best Actor

This is the 4th in a 6 part series detailing what my favorite performances, films, and directing jobs were in 2011.

10. Michael Fassbender-Xmen First Class: The perfect Magneto, he was smooth and charming yet full of anger, and you could always see it bubbling beneath the surface.
9. Ryan Gosling-Drive: A quiet performance, Gosling had to basically act as the lead in a two hour movie saying less than 40 words.
8. Thomas Horn-Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: While the character was annoying and very unlikable, you can't dispute the job that Horn did acting as a child with some very serious mental issues.
7. Ewan McGregor-Beginners: Hasn't been talked about much due to Plummer's great supporting performance, but was very good as the lead. McGregor was both the star and the narrator, and it was an interesting film to narrate, to say the least.
6. Tom Hardy-Warrior: Didn't have as many words to say as his co-lead Joel Edgerton, but had to have the scenes with Nolte as his recovering alcoholic father, and had to show his disdain for him in every look.
5. Leonardo DiCaprio-J. Edgar: The film didn't do him any favors with some poor makeup, but from youth to senior citizenship, DiCaprio was great as the man with a million secrets.
4. Daniel Craig-Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Somewhat overshadowed by Mara's terrific performance, but was very good in his own right. The charming, brooding Blomvquist is not an easy part to play.
3. Brad Pitt-Moneyball: Moneyball in its own right was a bio of Billy Beane, and Pitt had to play it like that, but instead of a straight imitation, he made his own character, and showed his fear and vulnerability in every decision he made.
2. Jean Dujardin-The Artist: Never thought I would champion the cause of an actor in a completely silent film, but the way Dujardin used the silence and his facial expressions to show an incredibly funny, moving performance puts him at the number 2 spot.
1. George Clooney- The Descendants: Alexander Payne's films are interesting mix of funny and serious, and the Descendants was just that. Clooney had to be self aware, sad, grieving, strong, and funny, and he did it all.

Next will be Best Director.

-Maximus

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Best Actress

This is the 3rd in a 6 part series of my top performances, films, and directing jobs of the year. Today we look at Best Actress.

10. Emily Browning-Sucker Punch: A terrible movie no doubt, but in a weaker year for acting performances, hers stands out as the only bright spot in the film. Playing a woman who retreats into her own mind to get through horrendous situations at her mental institution, she has to wear many hats, and wears them well.
9. Carey Mulligan-Drive: On the borderline between actress and supporting actress, but as the emotional center of the film, I put here in this category. As a woman who falls in love with a good man just to have her husband get released from prison, then get murdered, she had no shortage of emotional scenes.
8. Paula Patton-MI4: Another one on the border between actress and supporting, but Patton is in more scenes then the previous MI ladies, and stands toe to toe with Tom Cruise more than any of them have in the past.
7. Emma Stone-The Help: Was left out of most awards conversation, but did a fantastic job centering the film.  As Christian Bale talked about a lot last year, every obvious performance requires a quiet one. And Stone's was the one that kept all the other craziness in check.
6. Saoirse Ronan-Hanna: Carried the entire movie on her back, and while Ronan's acting skills should no longer surprise us, seeing a young girl do what she does is amazing.
5. Kristen Wiig-Bridesmaids: Brought her manic awkwardness from SNL to the film, but instead of it turning into an overly long sketch, she showed that she can really bring it to a two hour film.
4. Emma Watson-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Hermione has always been the one that kept the gang together, and you felt that way with Watson's performances. She seemed like a pro from day one, and it really culminated in 7.2.
3. Berenice Bejo-The Artist: In my opinion, has been incorrectly put in the Supporting Actress category in most races. However in a film that goes from happy and light to dark and depressing, her smile kept the darker parts of the silent film from becoming convoluted or overly morbid.
2. Rooney Mara-Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Rape, torture, murder, mind games, Mara had to act in scenes involving all of it. In addition she had to play a really unique character who had to show so much without the typical explanation of the characters past.
1. Viola Davis-The Help: Not much else to say about Davis that hasn't already been said, but just to add to it, she was fantastic, great, and amazing. By far the best performance of the year in this category, and its not even really that close.

Next up will be Actor and Director.

-Maximus

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Best Supporting Actress

This is the second in a series of six posts discussing my top ten in acting, directing, and films of 2011.

10. Melissa McCarthy-Bridesmaids: I was late to the game on Bridesmaids, but even seeing it after all the hype, I could appreciate the over the top yet great performance McCarthy gave. Her character may have been the craziest, but in a weird way was also the easiest to believe.
9. Bryce Dallas Howard- The Help: The least heralded of all the performances in the film, Howard had the task of playing the only unlikable main character in the film, and did it very well.
8. Elle Fanning-Super 8: Sometimes acting just runs in the family, and if you doubted the little sister could act, your feelings were erased by the halfway mark of Super 8.
7. Evan Rachel Wood- Ides of March: A small but important roll in the film, she went from charming to scared and vulnerable with one revelation, and stood eye to eye with all the great actors she shared scenes with.
6. Sandra Bullock- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: A tough one to judge because her character was contrived, predictable, and had a very silly arc in the film. However despite the material, Bullock rose above it and delivered some very poignant scenes that proved to be the emotional core of the film.
5. Melanie Laurent-Beginners: A very solid performance as a woman with a rough past who is attempting to move on while helping her new boyfriend move on from his own demons.
4. Jessica Chastain-The Tree of Life: Same as my description of Pitt in the Supporting actor category, Pitt and Chastain were the only thing that kept The Tree of Life from not being a complete train wreck. Chastain left her happiness, misery, and fear all out on the table for us to watch.
3. Shailene Woodley-The Descendants: Had to play a troubled teen, a grieving daughter, a brave sister, and be the comedic foil all in the same film, and had to do it all opposite one of the best living actors. For a relative newcomer, that is a job well done.
2. Octavia Spencer-The Help: Most people's favorite performance in the film, funny, emotional, strong, and done by an actress not many people expected it from. If it wasn't for the over the top acting during the feces pie scenes, would probably be number one.
1. Jessica Chastain-The Help: Played the anti socialite who wanted to be one of the girls, but was a better person then those she wanted to be like. Chastain played the character amazingly during her highs, her lows, and all the crazy in betweens.

Next up will be Best Actress and Best Actor.

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Best Supporting Actor

This is the first in a series of 6 posts about what I thought were the best films, performances, and directing jobs of 2011. Lets start with Actors in supporting performances.

10. Jonah Hill-Moneyball: Who would have thought the chubby kid from Superbad would eventually turn into a real actor? I certainly did not see it coming, and despite seeing Moneyball after all the hype had already came out, I was still very impressed with the performance. Hill portrayed a nervous yet confident young executive, and went toe to toe with Brad Pitt in every scene they shared.
9. Albert Brooks-Drive: Another out of their comfort zone performance. Generally funny Brooks was tasked with playing a mob boss who at first seems to be weak and reluctant, but by the end shows he is a ruthless and skilled killer, and he nailed it.
8. Paul Giamatti-Ides of March: How do you pick one performance out of an entire movie of supporting performances? You pick the one that made the biggest impact on you in the smallest amount of screen time. Giamatti wasn't given the big scenes that Clooney, Gosling, and Hoffman were given, yet he out shown all of them in a smaller window.
7. Brad Pitt-The Tree of Life: Along with Jessica Chastain, they were the only constants in the disjointed, jumpy mess that was The Tree of Life. Pitt played a father who you feared, yet never doubted his love for his children.
6. Nick Nolte-Warrior: Another flawed father, yet with Nolte's character, you never knew why his kids hated him, but you also never doubted it. You also never doubted his remorse and vulnerability.
5. Max Von Sydow-Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: The only part of the film that I liked was the parts Von Sydow was in. Playing an elderly mute is not the typical opportunity to flex your acting skills, but Von Sydow expressed more with his looks and mannerisms than many could do with a long winded speech.
4. Armie Hammer-J. Edgar: Hammer had the task of standing toe to toe with Leonardo DiCaprio, and he did, even upstaging him in certain scenes. You never doubted how much his character loved Hoover, even without him ever saying it.
3. Paul Bettany-Margin Call: Another film with all supporting performances, and no main actor or actress. While Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons were solid, it was Bettany who stood out. Playing a company man who has serious doubts about his company, Bettany was terrific.
2. Alan Rickman-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Not necessarily a cumulative award, but the second half of the 7th film was the one where Rickman really got to flex his acting chops. He was able to finally show his emotion as opposed to just the stern dictator he played in the first 7 films, and he did it terrifically.
1. Christopher Plummer-Beginners: The most heralded performance of the year is the rightful one. Plummer is terrific playing an elderly man who recently came out of the closet, just to find out that he is dying. But the performance, while it could have been morbid and depressing, was joyful and expressive. Plummer showed grace and soul and took great material made it drastically better.

Runner ups were Andy Serkis in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Christopher Plummer in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Ides of March.

Next up will be Best Supporting Actress.

New DVD Review-Drive

Drive is a film from director Nicholas Winding Refn, whose only other known film is the overrated and convoluted Valhalla Rising. It stars Ryan Gosling who people seem to be just noticing, despite great performances in The Notebook, Fracture, Lars and the Real Girl, and my personal favorite, Half Nelson. The film was advertised as a Fast & the Furious style action film about a getaway driver. Drive is not an action film, nor are there any over the top chase sequences. However what Drive lacks in action, it makes up for in terrific directing and great performances. Refn directs like he has been doing this for forty years, and there are so many great shots, it reminded me very much of Road to Perdition. While its not quite on the level of Perdition, Refn uses Drive like his own playground, similar to how Mendes did with that film. In addition to Gosling, you also get great performances from Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, and Albert Brooks. Drive may not be the action film people hoped, but succeeds on many other levels. I give Drive 8 Ninja Stars out of 10 and recommend seeing it. Drive Co-stars Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman.

Is Julia Roberts....Overrated?

I know, I know, based off the title alone, I am being blasphemous, but hear me out. Recently I have been thinking of actors or actresses of this current generation who would be in the "Hall of Fame" of acting if there was one. This means actors under 65 and over 35 who have made a huge impact on people my age. So think Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, etc. Naturally when thinking of this (likely the topic of a future post) I had Julia Roberts in the actress list. However when I went through her filmography and thought more in to it, I couldn't help but be very underwhelmed. Now understand I am not talking about the quality of her films, she has made many very good movies, however her performances have been very....one note. She first showed her skills in Mystic Pizza, Steel Magnolias, and Pretty Woman. All three iconic movies with good Roberts' performances, especially Pretty Woman, which really defined her career. But after that, she took many roles that required the same exact performance from her. Would anyone notice if you replaced Julianne in My Best Friend's Wedding with Anna from Notting Hill? Or how about replacing Darby in The Pelican Brief with Alice from Conspiracy Theory? The bottom line is you would never notice. Is she a bad actress? Of course not, you would never watch a movie and feel she brought it down, however there are not many where she really leaves you in awe of her performance. Looking through her 39 film not animated or just voice acting credits, I counted 3 in which I felt her performance was what I would consider great. Those three would be Closer, Pretty Woman, and Erin Brockovich. The performance in Pretty Woman was the first of the bubbly, lovable Julia Roberts, so even though it has been duplicated 30 times, it still holds up. Erin Brockovich was different and nuanced, and Closer was a hardcore drama, where Roberts had to play a detestable, foul mouthed adulterer, definitely out of her wheel house. But outside of those three what else is there? She was asked to use a Southern accent in Charlie Wilson's War, and it came out the most stereotypical Southern Belle accent in the last ten years of movies, she was asked to play two roles including herself in Ocean's 12, and we just got double her normal performances. Runaway Bride, The Mexican, Mona Lisa Smile, America's Sweethearts, Duplicity....all the same. So again I am not saying she is a bad actress, I am just saying that there is no range there. Many would argue that its not her, these are just the characters she is asked to play, but I would counter that with the fact that the roles are still her choice and she decides whether or not to play the lovable, sweet lady for the 56th time, or to pass and look for more challenging roles. You cannot argue the fact that she has had a great, long, and distinguished career that has made studios billions of dollars, but you also cannot argue the low degree of difficulty factor. Think of Katherine Heigl's career so far, critically panned films that make a huge splash at the box office, with performances from Heigl that never ask her to go outside of the uptight, overly controlling, caricature of a career woman role. So why do critics and non fans despise Heigl's movies so much but still rave and smile over the 14th Garry Marshall/Julia Roberts film? I think the reason is likability, which is something that Heigl's characters have not displayed. Roberts career has seen her playing the wronged or love struck one in the romantic comedies, never the heart breaker or person who doesn't want love yet in favor of her career or past relationships. When she smiles it is almost impossible not to be rooting for Julia Roberts, however it feels like its that smile, and not acting skill, that has kept her career on top for nearly three decades. Let me know in the comments how wrong I am, and let us know what your favorite Julia Roberts performances are to back up your argument.

-Maximus

Movie Review- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Coming off its surprise nomination for Best Picture, EL&LC has been a hot topic lately as it was left off nearly every other critics award show so far. After seeing the film, I can safely say the Oscars got it absolutely wrong. EL&IC is predictable, cheap, frustrating, and way too long. The film follows a young boy afflicted by Aspberger's syndrome, whose father is killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks. The relationship with his father seemed to be the thing keeping his syndrome in check, however the boy becomes unbalanced after losing his father.When he finds a key in his fathers closet, he decides that this must have been a last mission his father left him, and he sets out to find the lock the key belongs to. The rest of the movie is the boy trying to solve this mystery, being mean to his mother, and reminiscing about his father. The movie does pick up about half way through when the boy meets the man who rents a room from the boys grandmother. The man is known simply as "the renter" and is an elderly mute man. The scenes between the two are funny and touching, but don't last long or do enough to pull the movie from the miserable tone it sets early. EL&IC tries hard to be touching and poignant, but instead relies on 9/11 for its backdrop and hopes that's enough for people to say the film made them cry. It steals its most emotional moments from Saving Private Ryan,  Big Fish, and......Mercury Rising? The saving grace of the film are some of the performances, while annoying and utterly unlikable, Thomas Horn plays the main child with a feat of acting some of the best actors could not accomplish. Sandra Bullock and Max Von Sydow also give great supporting performances. I give EL&IC 4 Ninja stars, and probably would have given it less if it wasn't better than Midnight in Paris.

-Maximus

New DVD Review - Moneyball

This movie made the cut for the Best Picture Nominations at the Oscars this year.  If I hadn't already wanted to see it, being a baseball movie and all, this tipped the scales to where I had to see it.  I was excited since Brad Pitt is also a very solid actor in my eyes and I had heard that Jonah Hill gave a great performance.  A cool aspect about the story is that it is true.  The Oakland A's have struggled for years with no payroll to put a good team together and have notoriously scouted and developed good talent just to watch the fruit of their labors get snatched up by a team like New York or Boston that have ridiculously high payrolls.  The story follows the General Manager Billy Beane, who is played by Brad Pitt, trying to follow up a season where they made the play-offs with a small payroll and lose all there good players from that season to high salary offers from other teams.  He is faced with once again having to make something from nothing with no support on the financial end.  He finds a "kid" who really sees what baseball should be all about and the type of players the A's would need to make a winning team.  There is a formula they use to get older players, recovering players, and players that have been given up on to create a cohesive unit that can contend with the high rollers.  As we all know the A's don't win the World Series but it is a cool story to follow anyways. 

After all that I still came away a little disappointed.  Maybe my expectations were too high.  I don't think it was bad but I can't say it was anywhere near great.  The performances that were highly regarded fell short in my mind.  Pitt and Hill did nothing spectacular.  The story, though true, just lacked excitement in the telling.  Also they ended it on a terrible note relating the A's strategy to how the Red Sox won their first World Series in almost 100 years.  The Red Sox completely bought their team with a huge payroll which is the exact opposite of how the A's strategy was successful.  That statement definitely got my temper up because I loathe Yankee-Red Sox type of teams that just buy everyone with gigantic payrolls.  Again it wasn't a bad movie so I think I will rate it with a high 6 Ninja Stars out of 10.  It may have reached 7 if it would have omitted that last comparison to the Red Sox.  Comments are welcome as I know a lot of people have seen this movie and really liked it.

-Diomedes




Second Opinion: Moneyball


Moneyball is this years Social Network, the film that is based off a relatively unfilmable concept that ends up being a very good movie. Moneyball is a baseball movie, but has about one total minute of the on the field action, other than that its all behind the scenes. Scouting, drafting, trading, releasing...all the things a veteran fantasy baseball player like myself loves to see interpreted on the big screen. People who do not follow baseball as close may not enjoy the intricacies, but I definitely did. One of the biggest things I was afraid of was that they would glorify the season the A's had that year due to Beane's unconventional approach, when in reality the A's were one and done in the playoffs. But director Bennett Miller did not ignore that and addresses it head on. A very good performance from Brad Pitt, and decent supporting performances from Jonah Hill and Phillip Seymour Hoffman help the movie along, as it is definitely a movie that focuses on conversation. I give Moneyball 8 Ninja Stars out of 10, and recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the behind the scenes world of baseball. 


-Maximus