This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2009

Because it's futile to try and wait until the beginning of December anymore.

Previous instalments:
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2004
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2005
end-of-2006 film stuff (detrius 2, the Richard Donner Cut)
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2007

iow STFU STFU STFU

you missed a year.

You forgot to link 2008.

Of course, might as well use this thread now to celebrate Mo'Nique's win at Sundance! Slim 'n' sexy! Love her!

im shilling for 'in the loop'

well, boasting about having seen it.

What is "detrius"? Is it like "detritus"?

sgsmb = gabbneb of detrius

What is "detrius"? Is it like "detritus"?

good work

with a lot of work and a little bit of luck this can be the most aggressively contrarian film thread on ilx yet--best wishes

what's the gold standard of '09 'contrarianism' max?

Detrius sounds like a Greek chick.

sgsmb = gabbneb of detrius

― Dr Morbius, Monday, January 26, 2009 4:15 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

you're still this morbius of this bitch.

Wait, who is sgsmb?

It wouldn't be detrius without questioning of "detrius."

Wait, who is sgsmb?

me

Oh that explains why I don't know you.

This thread already has almost as many responses as the 2004 edition.

In retrospect, this year's Sundance, wow...

Precious, (500) Days of Summer, Paper Heart, Adventureland, Big River Man

I'm actually looking forward to seeing 500 Days of Summer but I'm a Grodon-Levitt stan (and I'm quite fond of Deschanel in the right role.)

My top 10 the first 5 months of this year kicks 2008's ass.

(and none of those are on it)

My top 10 the first 5 months of this year kicks 2008's ass.

And the 10 are...?

lay it on us, Morbs!

I have soooo much to see. My top three is fucking awesome, though!

1. Adventureland
2. Because We Were Born
3. Star Trek

I like pictures:

http://screencrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/adventurelan08-11-23.jpg
Adventureland

http://www.ridm.qc.ca/assets/images/event_image/420wide/puisque_nous_sommes.jpg
Because We Were Born

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/garinungkadol/screencap/movies2/star-trek-2009-sample-003.jpg
Star Trek

smart move not revealing your top 10, morbs. Now I have no clue which movies I'm supposed to avoid.

oh man, i'm curious!

geez, TS, I am not gonna trust you on made-up-story films.

I don't have a list ready this sec, maybe I can improvise one quickly for Formal Interest Smartypants.

There's your next ILE screename.

Hunger
Cargo 200
35 Rhums
The Hurt Locker
American Casino
Two Lovers
In the Loop
Summer Hours
Serbis
Vegas: Based on a True Story

Hunger
The Hurt Locker
Two Lovers

I concur w/ these, all at least very good, though I actually saw the first two last year.

35 Rhums

goddamn i wish i hadn't thought this was may instead of march

xxxetc-post

I do have to say, as much as I thought Adventureland was a piece of shit, it was really, really beautiful to look at.

seeing hunger tonight, i think

oh, and my number three is now lymelife, i think? also really enjoyed terminator salvation

am i going to regret bringing ice cream into the hunger screening?

p.s. no one ever saw forbidden lie$, i'm guessing? it has cred now that it's in the metacritic top five, right?

Silent Light nearly as great as rumored.

Black Dynamite

HUNGER was pretty incredible, but the first half could have been cut down a bit.

also it inspired me to go on a diet

http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009/06/24/academy_ups_best_pic_category_to_10/

Precious will obv be nominee

so PAPER HEART is the best film of the year so far and CONVENTION is also really fucking incredible

guys, you know i was v v much looking forward to (500) Days of Summer? It kinda sucks.

I mean, it's not the worst film of the year or anything, but it's like...the sort of film that indulges in all the standard tropes of modern day romantic comedy and yet claims to serve as an alternative?

1. Paper Heart
2. Adventureland
3. Because We Were Born
4. glastonburykids
5. October Country
6. Loot
7. West of Pluto
8. Convention
9. Hunger
10. Star Trek

Paper Heart, though, that's next-level filmmaking. Unbelievable craft. Very meta but in a fresh way. I was starting to quote one of my favorite Cera lines, but I just realized that his humor doesn't translate to paper very well.

oh, not to continue ripping on (500) days, but when Zooey called it postmodern, i wanted to gag

I sort of want to make The Room count as a 2009 film, even though it's been on the midnight circuit for a few years now.

"Silent Light nearly as great as rumored."

yup

hell no. (I liked it)

I love Michael Cera, but I don't know about this Paper Heart nonsense.

I don't love him and shied away from going to a screening. Sounds yuck. I'd wait for Youth in Revolt.

Wasn't that the movie found in Michael Jackson's bedroom by the fuzz?

I'll be intrigued to see which of that novel's South Park-like incidents make it to the screen. I'm guessing not the one where Cera's character and his best friend give each other head for stress relief.

silent light so boring

I sort of want to make The Room count as a 2009 film, even though it's been on the midnight circuit for a few years now.

Friends are going to this tonight -- is it worth seeing?

It's horrible. Just horrible. 100 percent worth seeing with friends.

never understood that kinda thing

A truly horrible film is as rare and precious as a truly great one. Cherish both.

"baloney"

"silent light so boring"

srsly?

i don't think I could ever listen to anyone who doesn't recognize how incredibly well-crafted and refreshing PAPER HEART is.

Btw, get it straight, Yi owns PAPER HEART (though Cera is great, too).

never understood that kinda thing

Yeah, I was invited, but their "You HAVE to see this! It's so BAD!" exhortations sort of put me off. (I didn't go.) (Although truth be told, my unease probably had less to do with issues of taste or irony or whatever and more with the fact that I felt bullied into adopting their opinion.)

I have seen The Room eight times now, I think.

oh, and just to clarify, PAPER HEART is, like, 75 percent real documentary, 25 percent fake documentary (and sometimes it's not easy to distinguish, but you don't really have to think about it because the film is so enjoyable)

Armond's half-year list -- Takem, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, Crank 2, Serbis, Next Day Air...

http://www.nypress.com/article-20034-love-in-the-time-of-cinema.html

Anyone seen Two Lovers? James Gray's liveliest movie, totally reliant on we're-crazy-in-love cliches. Joaquin Phoenix's best screen performance though.

yes, liked. "You're crazy." "That's what they told me!"

i probably know Armond White more through what other people have written about him, but goddamn, fuck that dude.

no, fuck the Eberts and their love for everything.

Really liked Two Lovers too. Had such a weird retro tone to it that modern life (cellphones, the internet) felt like avant garde deliberate anachronisms.

Isabella Rossellini = maybe her best work too?

The movie was better directed than written.

no, fuck the Eberts and their love for everything.

actually, it is White's love for Transformers. I don't mind the hate, and Ebert tends to love a lot he probably shouldn't, but saying there is anything positive about Transformers 2 is being a contrarian for the sake of it. I can understand his Bay-not-worth-it argument for the first one, but this one is just too wretched to excuse, much less declare it one of the better films of the year. I remember Peter Bradshaw doing the same thing with the Fantastic Four. 4 stars because it wasn't hampered down in dark, character study psychobabble. I can appreciate the idea, but he overlooks the fact that the film was dull, completely flat, cheap-looking, and devoid of any of the supposed 'fun' missing in Batman Begins et al.

Transformers 2 did NOT revive the 'awe of movie watching'.

also don't like the 'moral beauty' of Taken bit either.

armond white seems to have crazy issues w/r/t other people in general, maybe simple misanthropy, maybe something more. he assumes the worst in other peoples' motives for liking something he doesn't or disliking something he does, he has no empathy for filmmakers unless he completely adores them (which he does in the manner some kid would adore their favorite american idol), and his opinions are completely dishonest and disingenuous. i think he's probably, irl, a lonely piece of shit. but he's not as bad as np thompson.

1. Paper Heart
2. Middle of Nowhere
3. Adventureland
4. Because We Were Born
5. Lymelife
6. glastonburykids
7. October Country
8. Loot
9. Moon
10. West of Pluto

^^^this is a fucking dope list, btw, the top 4 would all be good #1's

more lists, plz, i'm so bored i made a collage:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b361/tapestore/toptenasofjuly.jpg

Surely I'm not the only person here who sees movies...

The next tier, fwiw, includes:

(500) Days of Summer (this review otm)
Convention
Hunger
Observe and Report
Wendy and Lucy

Surely I'm not the only person here who sees movies...

You may be. I have a top two so far and it's 24 City and The Beaches of Agnes and I'm not wholly enthusiastic about either.

I have yet to see a new movie this year that I'd recommend to anyone.

i see lots of movies! but not very many that were made this year, sorry. (up is my favorite of what i have seen)

ALRIGHT - btw i basically only see movies that are wide releases, except "lymelife" obv and a few others maybe later - i like all of these movies pretty much, tho i'm a sucker for anything with twists and violence and shit ("taken" is the exception from this year - hated that)

1 lymelife
2 public enemies
3 observe & report
4 i love you, man
5 bruno
6 the hangover
7 adventureland
8 the international
9 state of play
10 wolverine

no joke about wolverine, my expectations for that were like 1 star out of 4 and i'd probably give it a 2.5 or a 3

xp to me uh not to be all PFFT 2009 IS NO 1939 or whatever but i'm really just lazy about keeping up w/ newer stuff sometimes

go j0rdan!

boring mainstream list ahoy

1. drag me to hell
2. up
3. adventureland
4. bruno
5. hangover
6. watchmen
7. star trek

2009 has been awesome for movies imo

oh, damn, i forgot about star trek! and sadly, i missed drag me to hell and the hangover :/

and obv agree w/ 2009 = awesome sentiment

my top five in length-of-title order:

public enemies
the hangover
in the loop
duplicity
il divo

the UK has a different release schedule, so I feel behind the times.

(no particular order)
Public Enemies (I am a MannStann, so forgive me)
In the Loop
Everlasting Moments (wasn't too thrilled until some hours after I watched it)
Drag Me to Hell (srsly, more fun than I've had at the cinema in a long while)

Uh...trying to think of other films I've actually liked at the cinema this year...

Of the big summer movies so far:

Public Enemies > Up > Bruno

OK, I've finally fallen for something this year: Coppola's Tetro, in spite of it's many, many, MANY problems.

1. it doesn't feature cgi robot balls

(j/k)

(it totally does)

i should put 45365 at #5

I'm putting Gran Torino and The Wrestler in my 2009 movies because they did not recieve wide released until 2009 and they're both def in my top 10.

^^^this is totally fair thinking

except for the fact that 'gran torino' is awful

isn't it a car racing movie?

oh, never mind

Paper Heart is amusing but not v. memorable

the film year runs feb/march to feb/march. if a film was in contention for this year's oscars i don't put it in 2009, even if it came out in january 2009.

adventureland...?

REALLY?

you have to love his enthusiasm

except for the fact that 'gran torino' is awful

Oh, well I liked it and it's in my top 10 for 2009.

how the fuck do you people afford to see so many fuckin movies?

i've seen ONE movie in theaters this year-- "Rembrandt's J'accuse," by Peter Greenaway.

I've only seen Coraline in theaters this year. I finally saw Watchmen on DvD tho. Eh.

how the fuck do you people afford to see so many fuckin movies?

I download lots of movies and netflix is priced reasonably.

Just saw Adventureland and loved it.. soundtrack of the year, no doubt. Is it better than Black Dynamite? Yeah, prolly.

how the fuck do you people afford to see so many fuckin movies?

― gonna be a long hot summer for the MS Word paperclip (the table is the table), Friday, July 24, 2009 8:28 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

it cost like $7 to go to the movies

in Britain, you can pay £11 a month to see as many movies as you want.

The nearest theater to me is a second-run establishment that has maybe the best projection, comfiest seats and tastiest popcorn in the city. It pays to wait.

Also, it won't be long before I'm using this thread to draft decade-end top 10s.

Orphan is hilarious and awesome.

I feel like wasting time. Draft one of decade top 25:
1. Donnie Darko (2001)
2. INLAND EMPIRE (2006)
3. Me and You and Everyone We Know (2004)
4. Paper Heart (2009)
5. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)
6. Children of Men (2006)
7. Almost Famous (2000)
8. Iraq In Fragments (2006)
9. Rachel Getting Married (2008)
10. Forbidden Lie$ (2008)
11. Adventureland (2009)
12. My Winnipeg (2008)
13. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
14. Lost in Translation (2003)
15. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)
16. Because We Were Born (2009)
17. The Mother (2008)
18. Middle of Nowhere (2009)
19. Brick (2006)
20. Mysterious Skin (2005)
21. Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) (2006)
22. Mulholland Drive (2001)
23. Mean Girls (2004)
24. Alpha Dog (2006)
25. The Brown Bunny (2004)

imo your taste in movies is real bad.

Damn, forgot Zodiac!

also not all dramatic movies are made in the United States.

Thx, jim, though in my credit, it did get me a job

oh, i'm such a fuckhead for not including anything from romania, any dardenne bros, any y tu mama-related flicks, any zhang, any haneke, etc. right?

Let me predict Jim's v. cultured list
1. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
2. Yi Yi
3. Amores Perros
4. Cache
5. The Son
6. Russian Ark
7. Mulholland Dr.
8. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
9. Token Documentary
10. The New World

my end-of-decade list would have about six or seven from tape store's actual list and two or three from this above imaginary list

My end-of-decade has 2-3 from Tape Store's actual list -- but seriously, Donnie Darko as best film of the decade? Have you written a defense of it anywhere, because it seems totally indefensible to me.

DD hardly needs defending, though I wouldn't put it at #1.

i would need to rewatch DD to form a definitive opinion on it - i liked it fine when i was 17

I mean, it's a film about a time warp with a kid and four elements of the universe and these bubbles that pull out of your stomach, and a man in a bunny rabbit costume that talks to donnie darko -- and none of it makes any sense unless you ALSO read the director's associated handguide to super nerdy gameworld. It's really the film equivalent of a tabletop roleplaying game. I was super annoyed the moment I learned that the film only made sense if you read the director's fan-fic about it. Something totally wacky and out there could make for a good, entertaining film, even if the ideas are sorta trite and valueless (ie: Southland Tales which I actually enjoyed). But Donnie Darko was just inane. And anytime someone claims it's one of the best films ever (or even in a given year/decade) I just feel like some fraud is being perpetrated. But you seem like a smart guy, Tape Store, so I'm curious what you got out of the film. I'm willing to accept that someone got something from it that I totally missed. But as is, I'd rather surf DeviantArt for a few hours than watch that piece of shit fan fiction garbage ever again.

Donnie: How can you do that?
Frank: I can do anything I want. And so can you.

WOW HOW DEEP VOMIT.

Just paragraphs here and there scattered over the internet. I've been working on reviews for some of the above, which will presumably end up on, uh, my facebook page?

But if you're still curious, this piece explains my love PERFECTLY, so perfectly that i've been afraid for years to even attempt a fleshed-out essay on Darko: http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/the_new_cult_canon_donnie_darko

Also, I forgot to include W;t (2001).

And yeah, I do love a lot of the films I listed in that fake top ten (most of them have made my top ten lists for each year), but I don't feel bad about not including them on the rough draft of my top 25. Maybe, jim, you could start a conversation about one of the films on my list and we can actually have a discussion about whether or not it sucks? I'm up for it if you are.

Mordy, the key to Darko is a) not watching the director's cut and b) not turning it into a sci-fi film, even if the director for some fucked up reason wants you to...

(spoilers)
No need to even think about the logistics of time travel, point is that donnie travels back in time to sacrifice his life for the girl he loves...and she never knows about it.

Ok, I just read the review. I think I get what the reviewer is responding to (this dystopian, horrific suburban life), and he makes comparisons (to Blue Velvet - one of my favorite films ever - Fight Club, and Catcher in the Rye) to films that have similar themes; reality under the cover of domesticity. My problem is that Blue Velvet does it better, in fact so much better that I can't read DD as this kind of film without it measuring up. (Of course, I also loved Revolutionary Road so much, so *I* may be looking for a different kind of spin here.) And if that's what you're responding to, that motif, then I can buy it even if I feel DD ultimately does a very poor and shallow job of relating that. Like when titular character DD burns down the dude's house and there's all the kiddie porn (or whatever it was?) I didn't think that sleazy motivational speaker turning out to be a sleaze was particularly brilliant.

And then these science fiction elements that you want me to ignore seem to totally undermine this narrative in the film. If this is, in fact, a film about domesticity as this bankrupt object, then DD turns out to be a Christ-figure in the ending moments. And titular DD is no Christ-figure in the film. He's a creepy, kinda weird, socially inept subject. I don't buy his martyrdom, and moreso, I don't think his death was a great loss for the world. Possibly if I had related a bit more to him as a socially inept genius, I would feel differently.

For what it's worth, w/r/t your list:

1. Donnie Darko (2001): Already explained why I hate it, but I'd be thrilled to discuss it more with you. It's been a film that's bothered me in terms of the cultural cache it's gotten for awhile. Maybe revive the DD thread?
2. INLAND EMPIRE (2006): Love it. On my list.
3. Me and You and Everyone We Know (2004): Didn't like it, but it was enjoyable. I definitely wouldn't stack it at 3. I thought it was needlessly precious/quirky/strange, and the "pooping back and forth" bit was so LOL-tastic ridiculous awful that it made the film into some kind of strange joke. That said, I've enjoyed some of Miranda July's fiction.
6. Children of Men (2006): Love it. One of my faves of the decade and almost definitely in my top 10. No question.
7. Almost Famous (2000): Love this one too! This film made me want to be a music critic, tho I'm going to pretend that it's a great film, it's kinda a personal cult film. Possibly indefensible, but I still love watching it.
13. Punch-Drunk Love (2002): Generally love Adam Sandler (one of those stans who'll watch any crap he does) and I even enjoyed this when I saw it, but in hindsight it seems like a real trifle of quirky nothing.
14. Lost in Translation (2003): I can get why this is on someone's list, even if I'd pick Virgin Suicides or MT as the superior Sofia films. But great film, no dispute.
15. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008): More quirky nothing. I was even prepped to like it since it's about Jews, but eh. Didn't do anything for me.
19. Brick (2006): I mean, as entertaining as this film was (I've seen it at least 3-4 times), it's not a GOOD film. It reaches for nothing beyond the aesthetics, and tho the concept is clever (high school + noir), that does not a good film make. I need my films to reach for something a bit more than itself. Tho if you think it's better than that, I'd be interested in hearing an argument.
22. Mulholland Drive (2001): Great movie. No question. (I'm a Lynch-stan)
23. Mean Girls (2004): This is the kind of movie I really enjoyed but can't justify putting on a list (and this coming from someone who put Aly+AJ on his top 10 albums of the year list). It didn't touch me or move me in any particular way, and it is (except for that moment where Adam Lambert watches Danny Gokie get hit by the bus) almost completely unmemorable to me. Another film I'd love to hear an argument about why it's one of the 25 BEST FILMS OF A DECADE.

Re: Almost Famous, I'm not going to pretend it's a great film.

I think it's more of a mood thing than a theme thing...I feel like Kelly builds an undeniable atmosphere in DONNIE DARKO, a surreal, dark but alluring atmosphere that I love to get lost in. And yeah, I think Donnie is totally a Christ-figure throughout the film. Remember, the idea is that, like CLUELESS or CRUEL INTENTIONS, Darko is basically a modern adaptation of THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, where high school takes the place of the promised land. And in the bullshit land of high school, Donnie is very much a Christ-like figure. He's a dark, mysterious, misunderstood guy. He stands up against the hypocrisy of his christian school, stands up for cherita, performs miracles (um, gets everyone a day off of school), suffers through the same visions (Frank = the devil), etc. I don't know what you mean when you say that you "don't buy his martyrdom." I mean, he sacrifices himself, you didn't find that powerful?

If you don't like Donnie Darko the character, I don't think you'll like this film. And I guess that's a fair point. I relate to him quite a bit (oops, i'm starting to get to an age where I should, at the very least, stop admitting to that), I want to be like him (i mean, in a 'standing up against the bullshit in school' sort of way, i'm setting myself up for lots of jokes uhhhh)

Hmm, lots of stuff to respond to there...The first thing I want to say, though, is that I don't think I'd describe NICK AND NORAH as 'quirky.' It's more like a teenage version of BEFORE SUNSET. Also my favorite NY movie since, like, THE DAYTRIPPERS.

Yeah, I guess that I find that boy-against-the-system works best when the character is being taken to task for being that way (Catcher in the Rye) and not when the film is sincere about his Christdom. Esp for someone like Donnie Darko who, tbh, is kinda a freak? I had the same experiences of loneliness, disaffection and alienation as anyone in high school, but I wasn't some kind of dark mysterious misunderstood, blah blah blah. Also, I find that dark, mysterious, misunderstood trope (and you see it a lot in high school reminiscences) a bit problematic. No one is happy in high school, and I don't buy that you (not you, Tape Store, but whoever is using that narrative) had some special misery/claim to the alienation of high school. And DD, I feel, is trying to use that kind of claim. Donnie Darko wasn't anything special, outside of the fact that he was clearly struggling through mental issues and it's kinda a tragedy that they couldn't find him a psychoanalysis to really help.

And no, I didn't find his sacrifice powerful.

psychoanalyst*

I want to be like him (i mean, in a 'standing up against the bullshit in school' sort of way, i'm setting myself up for lots of jokes uhhhh)

See, I don't see DD as particularly noble. I felt this way when I saw Waterfront, though. I wanted to be like Brando, or when I read Arthur Miller/Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People." DD's struggle, but comparison, seems pretty trite.

IMO DD succeeds because it creates an environment that feels completely shaped by Donnie's angst in every possible way - right down to its sci-fi geekery, martyrdom, suburban cosiness, oppressive political atmosphere, and hypocritical authority types - but then, it also includes fairly generous portraits of many of its secondary characters, fleshing out the universe and making sure something's at stake in the final reels other than Donnie's sex life.

In other words, it succeeds in presenting a Teen Angst Wonderland, but isn't quite content to leave it as such.

No one is happy in high school, and I don't buy that you (not you, Tape Store, but whoever is using that narrative) had some special misery/claim to the alienation of high school.
Yeah, but speaking for myself, I know I selfishly thought of myself as that person, the alienated one who was above all my peers and the school system. And seeing as the film pretty much completely takes place in Donnie's head, I think that makes this "claim to alienation" pretty fitting.

DD's struggle, but comparison, seems pretty trite.
haha, no shit?

I'll be responding to this later but thought i'd bump in case anyone wants to join in...

Not really. I just want to see more preliminary decade lists. (Apparently, they're driving Morbs nuts.)

Yes, I want more lists, toooooooo

at the rate i see things i won't be able to make a 2000-2009 list until 2035 probably

by which point movie studios will be able to upload digital content directly into my brain :D

Here's 25 in no order:

Mulholland Drive
The Best of Youth
Capturing The Friedmans
The House of Mirth
Together
George Washington
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
Rachel Getting Married
Knocked Up
Yi Yi (A One and a Two)
Pan's Labyrinth
Erin Brockovich
L'Enfant
Before Sunset
Y Tu Mama Tambien
The Witnesses
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
No End in Sight
2046
Happy Go Lucky
Mysterious Skin
Clean

I predict by Dec. 31, 2009 I will know exactly what the ten best movies of the decade were as well as I or anyone else will know what they were on Dec. 31, 2099.

here's my list. yall can yuck it up. i can take it. my taste in film is pretty obvious and probably uninteresting. i did 15. in alphabetical order obv.

A History of Violence
American Psycho
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Darjeeling Limited
The Departed
Gangs of New York
Kill Bill Vol. 1/2
Lost in Translation
No Country For Old Men
Pineapple Express
Rachel Getting Married
Superbad
Taxi to the Dark Side
Zodiac

Yay, that's a v good list. Definitely not a fan of PAN'S, but nice call on MYSTERIOUS SKIN! Also, I think 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS and probably a Dardennes film will make my final list, fwiw.

Some others I've been considering:
BATTLE ROYALE
THE MONASTERY
TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE
CACHE
THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD
BEFORE SUNSET
THE DESCENT
BILLY THE KID
THE STRANGERS
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE
THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM AND OTHER STORIES
GOSFORD PARK

Mean Girls - This is the kind of movie I really enjoyed but can't justify putting on a list (and this coming from someone who put Aly+AJ on his top 10 albums of the year list). It didn't touch me or move me in any particular way, and it is (except for that moment where Adam Lambert watches Danny Gokie get hit by the bus) almost completely unmemorable to me. Another film I'd love to hear an argument about why it's one of the 25 BEST FILMS OF A DECADE.

I'm going to rewatch this soon, but this feels sort of...uh, oh..."rockist."

Re:

Naw, dig your list j0rdan, I totally forgot PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and SUPERBAD

These are the new films I've seen since 2007, which is when I started keeping a diary with ratins, that I gave 5/5 to:

There Will Be Blood
Michael Clayton
Elephant
No Country for Old Men
Master and Commander

Would have to think properly to come up with a decade list. Would probably include Children of Men, Eternal Sunshine, an Apatow, maybe Bad Santa, In Bruges, some other from the first half of the decade that I can't think of right now.

I took back the 5/5 rating for TWBB the second time I saw it.

I took back the 5/5 rating for TWBBNCFOM the second time I saw it.

Fuck, Miami Vice. That's the best 00's film I've seen in the last couple of months.

And I forgot Zodiac.

OK, ignore me, I need to think about this more.

NCFOM went up in my estimation the second time around. Would much rather watch that again than TWBB.

Here are the films I gave 1/5 since Jan 1, 2007

Son of Rambow
The Oxford Murders
Persepolis
The Happening
Last Days (not really sure this was deserved, I think I'd had a bad week)
Futurama: Bender's Game
Apaloosa
Zack and Miri
Terminator Resurrection

Haven't seen PERSEPOLIS, but I'm pretty sure that's a major challop!

And if you mean TERMINATOR SALVATION, then I think you're very wrong! At the very least, it features a brilliant performance from Anton!

I think NCFOM is well-crated, but I downgraded it a bit after I realized how much it relied on suspense, which for some reason I never felt again after the first viewing (unlike, say, THE STRANGERS or THE DESCENT, where I still feel it).

well-crafted, too

well crated is more otm. boxed up and ready to go to the oscars.

zack and miri is easily one of the three least enjoyable movies ive seen this decade

i kinda don't like movies but fwiw donnie darko is my movie of the decade too and this:

IMO DD succeeds because it creates an environment that feels completely shaped by Donnie's angst in every possible way - right down to its sci-fi geekery, martyrdom, suburban cosiness, oppressive political atmosphere, and hypocritical authority types - but then, it also includes fairly generous portraits of many of its secondary characters, fleshing out the universe and making sure something's at stake in the final reels other than Donnie's sex life.

In other words, it succeeds in presenting a Teen Angst Wonderland, but isn't quite content to leave it as such.

― Simon H., Sunday, July 26, 2009 4:16 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

is brutally otm

Persepolis is a completely trivial film. It's a moving comic book that makes no use of the canvas, and a spectacularly vain and pretentious one at that. Bullshit in the formal sense.

Terminator (Salvation, yes) was terrible. Probably not the worst film I saw this decade, but easily the one that made me angriest (probably because T2 is one of my favourite films).

This pre-dates my diary, but I walked out of My Summer of Love it was so bad.

I also walked out of Dancer in the Dark.

Oh yes, major props to Simon, that was beautifully stated

other good ones that have been mentioned:

2046
children of men
zodiac
m. clayton
there will be blood

miami vice obvs

i want to be a miami vice stan but some of the acting is so bad

hahaa like who?

I like Donnie Darko. I feel weird about it in retrospect, because I can't really tell how much of that is due to atmosphere and music (which are important in itself, but I feel like they can mislead). Same goes for Lost in Translation.

(Director's Cut of DD is awful of course.)

btw if anyone wants to have a boring conversation about how miami vice is a brilliant subversive zen antimovie i am your guy

what's wrong w/atmosphere and music? darko succeeds because it's one of the most immersive and fully realized films i've ever seen.

nothing wrong with them of course. i'm just saying they create this short term rush that can be misleading, and they are particularly intense in DD and LIT.

hahaa like who?

― call all destroyer, Monday, July 27, 2009 8:20 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

it stars colin farrell and jamie foxx

they are antiacting

farrell is amazing in it!

random list of 25, not a definitive list since i'm forgetting dozens and dozens of films i might normally mention.

zodiac
eastern promises
the departed
2046
inside
no country for old men
pusher II
4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
election
the hurt locker
gomorrah
time out
persepolis
sunshine
shaun of the dead
black book
the good thief
terror firmer
joint security area
wall-e
gone baby gone
the three burials of melquiades estrada
infernal affairs II
miami vice
dark knight

bonus:

lotr trilogy

election was 1998

1999 actually

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51sNCMqpBzL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

ah

i mean look i think miami vice is very good and i honestly think about the movie kind of frequently, but like how much of it is "michael mann shoots in tropical locales" and how much of it is "it's actually a great movie" - farrell and foxx are pretty vapid and i can't help but wonder what the movie would be like with a few more dynamic leads

gone baby gone

^^^yesss

i forgive the dumb story and bad dialogue in miami vice on account of it all being pretext for the movie's cars, airplanes, naked bodies and amazing skies. (the same way i think some people forgive terence malick's insipidity in deference to his "visual poetry". but as visual poets go, i'll take '00s mann over '00s malick, by a long shot.)

'00s election >>> '98 or '99 election

i'll take '00s mann over '00s malick, by a long shot

<3 <3 <3

haha that reminds me, New World. xxp

the vapidness is the point. the secret of the movie is that nothing actually happens.

the acting in miami vice is totally fine. some of the dialogue might seem clunky but i dunno, it never bothered me at all. the only negative part, as i said elsewhere i think, is that the main antagonist sucks as a character.

that's not a good secret

i don't want to align myself against miami vice in anyway just i'd give it 4/5 not 5/5

I gave it 4/5 too.

thing abt vice is this: there are no innocent bystanders, everyone in the movie is cop or criminal, they're fighting this bizarre secret war that no one in miami or anywhere else has much awareness of; at the end of the day cops basically win and their reward is to continue being cops.

Not to be a dick, but "I like this stupid-ass movie" /= "This is a great movie." That's what the Miami Vice defenses sound like. I mean, the more flaws a movie (or anything) has got, the less great it is.

as far as the viewer is concerned the whole thing may as well not have happened, and i find a lot of beauty in that idea.

what's wrong w/atmosphere and music? darko succeeds because it's one of the most immersive and fully realized films i've ever seen.

Yeah, tbh, for me, atmosphere is probably my favorite thing about film. Which is why INLAND EMPIRE ranks so high on my list.

Also: surprised by the recurrence of Oscar bait like No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, The Departed, Michael Clayton (I have a few of those too).

i was so lost in Inland Empire's atmosphere that i nearly choked, and had to put myself to sleep instead.

what is "oscar bait"

some of those are strange bait for ol' oscar

A lot of those are perfectly ok movies that Oscar loves.

thing abt vice is this: there are no innocent bystanders, everyone in the movie is cop or criminal, they're fighting this bizarre secret war that no one in miami or anywhere else has much awareness of; at the end of the day cops basically win and their reward is to continue being cops.

― call all destroyer, Monday, July 27, 2009 8:34 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

i sympathize with this def and i think the idea of this is alluring but i also think alfred is otm

oscar bait has become a catchall for dramas with studio, directorial, or cast-related weight--sign of how far we have fallen imo

not sure what alfred was saying abt vice--i think it has very few flaws.

it is not a stupid-ass movie i know that much

i think he was referring to you saying "it's good because it's vapid" which doesn't normally equate

Here are my 4/5's (released post 2000, screened since Jan 1, 2007). Most of these are awful in retrospect and I feel like a pretty easy lay now, but this might jog some memories.

Be Kind Rewind
40 Year Old Virgin
Lars and the Real Girl
Knocked Up
The Visitor
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Dark Knight
In Bruges
Baby Mama
Burn After Reading
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Young@Heart
Bad Santa
Milk
The Wrestler
Rachel Getting Married
Hot Wet American Summer
Erin Brockovich
Idiocracy
Old Joy
Kill Bill 1/2
Drag Me To Hell
The Hangover
Public Enemies
Miami Vice

oscar bait has become a catchall for dramas with studio, directorial, or cast-related weight--sign of how far we have fallen imo

― call all destroyer, Tuesday, July 28, 2009 2:37 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

there is truth to this

We tend to forgive flaws in movies that we wouldn't excuse in albums: I'm often guilty of this too. It's hard to separate a perfectly good experience watching a movie from one's critical faculties. The more flaws you find in product, the less apt you should be to claim it deserves best-of-decade status. That's all I'm saying.

xp ok jordan that makes sense--i admit my defense of vice is unorthodox i wish we were all chillin in person and i would get into it.

I mean, tipsy went some ways towards defending Miami Vice, and I'm always up for reading an awesome defense of anything; but I tend to get impatient when people make excuses for less than stellar product.

My love for Miami Vice (still early days, saw it for the first time last week) is not "lol this movie is retarded fun" or anything like that. I found both it and Public Enemies really moving, but I haven't figured out why yet.

I am digging the "beauty of it may as well not have happened" defense.

i'm in the business of defending flaws, because flaws are a part of life, and a good defense of a flaw is worth more than a perfectly flawless film, imnho

xp yeah that's not what i'm trying to do. my whole thing w/vice started immediately when the lights went up in the theater and my friends were all like "that's it?" and i was like "yes that is the amazing thing--that is it"--no false notes, no pandering: you were not there and you never will be.

I am not good at explaining why I like things. I find it much easier to point out flaws. If "flawless imo" was my criterion for best of decade, I would not have had a best of decade since Terminator 2.

That's not at all what I'm saying, surm! I defend lots of flawed albums, movies, and books all the time -- I've written thousands of words defending pop music that Alex in NYC detests -- but I keep the superlatives in check.

i think there's something in there about people in completely dehumanizing professions both legal and illegal making a stab at trying to find something more and often failing.

it's cool alfred, i just wanted to stand up for flaws for a second

i just think the properties that make a good mann movie good aren't necessarily measured in plot and dialogue. which doesn't in itself excuse clunky plot or dialogue, but i just think in something like miami vice, collateral or public enemies, plot and dialogue and performance need to be thought about differently than in something like, i don't know, michael clayton.

Film is a different beat. In the list I posted, I'd dfend maybe four or five of the entries as great movies as opposed to "I had a good time" or "This has flaws that I gotta concede although it's still pretty wonderful."

a lot of it is stuff mann was doing in heat and while i really like heat vice hits the same things with about 15% of the dialogue.

i'll ask him these questions about his method next time he almost runs me over in the parking garage

what i wrote on noize board after i saw miami vice:

on further reflection i think the perfect michael mann movie would be just boats and planes and cars and sex, with lots of urban landscapes and synth-rock and no talking at all.

lol it would be called CSIMIAMISQAATSI

― El Tomboto, Tuesday, October 9, 2007 8:19 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark

i just think the properties that make a good mann movie good aren't necessarily measured in plot and dialogue. which doesn't in itself excuse clunky plot or dialogue, but i just think in something like miami vice, collateral or public enemies, plot and dialogue and performance need to be thought about differently than in something like, i don't know, michael clayton.

I'd say Tony Gilroy has affinities for Abraham Polonsky and Alan J. Pakula: filmmakers fascinated by capitalist power structures whose visuals depend on scripts.

xp tipsy there is truth to that but i think mann's skill is humanizing ppl in that world in a way that rings a little true.

Like a lot of interesting artists, Mann's strengths stem from his limitations. When his penchant for iconography, macho mythos, and fascination with characters negotiating in widescreen space works, it's inseparable from his disinterest or complete inability to understand how men and women talk or the small gesture.

The exception: the relationship between Diane Venora and Russell Crowe in The Insider felt totally believable.

xpost: i'm not sure about true exactly, but there is emotional warmth that acts against all that sleek gliding cool. i was surprised to actually react emotionally at the end of public enemies even though i felt deliberately distanced from the characters. i still haven't worked out exactly why, but i guess it has to do with his particular brand of romanticism. how much he loves cheesy music is sort of key to it all, i think.

i have to be honest that i thought Obsessed was a fantastic film, and the only flaw i saw in it was when Beyonce forgot her purse at home and had to go back, because no woman would ever forget a purse like that.

Not to be a dick, but "I like this stupid-ass movie" /= "This is a great movie." That's what the Miami Vice defenses sound like. I mean, the more flaws a movie (or anything) has got, the less great it is.

I do not tolerate perfection in my cinema.

lol surm

xpost

xxpost post very much in character btw

For whatever reason, I always end up leaning toward the flamboyantly flawed instead of the masterfully cohesive, which is why my decade-end list will most definitely include Inland Empire instead of Mulholland Drive and, yes, maybe even Miami Vice.

inland empire/mulholland drive is not an either/or choice for me.

and i'll go ahead and fall on the dogville grenade, since it's definitely one of my favorite movies of the decade. (i'll leave southland tales on the honorable mention list, so as not to be excessively challopy.) probably unknown pleasures. definitely goodbye dragon inn. maybe before sunset. maybe marie antoinette.

i'd love to put princess raccoon on some list, tho i'm not sure "best of" quite captures it. and i guess my hard call for perfect-vs-ambitiously-flawed is in the mood for love vs. 2046. (assuming in the mood counts as '00s.)

oh, and spirited away for sure.

The whole slew of Pixar flicks, for sure.

For whatever reason, I always end up leaning toward the flamboyantly flawed instead of the masterfully cohesive,

so do I, but I won't call those flamboyantly flawed films "great."

Then I don't see any value in pointing up the distinction at all unless you're consumed with guilt over your favorites.

Of course, I think something like L'enfant is neither nutritious nor delicious.

Because We Were Born >>> The Child, The Son

A decade-end top 10 I jotted down yesterday (chronological):

Pulse
Femme Fatale
Crimson Gold
The Case of the Grinning Cat
Kings & Queen
Light is Calling
Tropical Malady
Munich + War of the Worlds
Miami Vice
Inland Empire

Here's mine then :

Pusher II
Pusher III
Let the right One In
Dark Water (not the remake, obv)
Munich
Apocalypto
De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped)
Irreversible
American Splendor
The Host

Ooooh, i haven't seen Case of the Grinning Cat! I wonder what he's up to now...

It's absolutely not in the same league as Sans soleil or Grin without a Cat, but it's pretty much the only document I want to remember the Bush years by.

ok, see Jordan, here in San Francisco (and also most places in New York), going to movies is a $10 experience nearly every time. at this point, i prefer booze and food to watching a movie i'll probably hate.

that said, i do miss the Apollo in Oberlin-- $2 on Tuesdays & Thursdays, $3 every other day.

<3 midwest

It alternates between $6, $7 and free for me.

"paper heart" is weirdly getting a pretty big promo push - i saw a moving banner ad on last.fm last night and it's now got one of those full background ads on videogum

<3 <3 <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUlr4OI5y7w

Wow that clip just turned me off to ever wanting to see that film.

that's sad, but whatever, you probably wouldn't like it anyway

I think that I really really really dislike Charlyne Yi.

She's an amazing, funny, sweet person, but once again, "whatever."

Maybe I don't "get" her.

i have no horse in this race as i know next to nothing about charlyne, but chris you shouldn't be surprised that many people are averse to a girl who throws her quirks and her strong personality in people's faces. now obviously this is why you like her so much, but obviously other people are going to have the opposite reaction, and plenty of people are funny and sweet.

maybe it would help if you explained what it is about her comedic style that pulls you in

did i ever say i was surprised?

I just don't get... is she supposed to be funny? Is it some big ironic thing? Like I checked out some of her youtube clips... is the joke that she's not funny at all?

sorry, i should've said "you shouldn't get defensive"

i get the feeling she is maybe being a little disingenuous when she says doesn't know what those chords are. i'm assuming she knows the alphabet here.

I'm really serious btw, I'm not just mocking her. Is it some kind of super-ironic thing?

no

fwiw i used to live right next to michael cera and every so often i would see MC and CY having a goodbye conversation/kiss outside my window by her car. totally nice folks as far as i can tell, very unassuming.

Does she have a sketch or something I can watch that's funny? The joke in all the clips I've seen seem to be super unfunny. Like she did one impressions sketch where the impressions were just really awful and a waste of time. So I could get if her shtick was, "haha, this isn't very funny what i'm doing is it?" I mean, I wouldn't enjoy that, but I could see why people would like it maybe.

i would have died if i lived next to michael cera

felt kinda weird watching juno and then walking to the window and seeing him going to his car.

For some reason at the post screening q+a, she said that her and michael cera were "never" an item, which I found confusing. I'm assuming she was just dodging the personal questions? (totally fair IMO, though it kind of involuntarily impacts one's opinion of the movie.)

Yeah sorry, wild horses (and even moderately decent reviews) couldn't drag me to a screening of Paper Heart. It's already bad enough that I'm probably going to end up seeing (500) Days of Summer.

It's better than 500DOS, but not by much.

25 Ken Park (2002)
24 The Fall (2008)
23 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
22 No Country For Old Men (2007)
21 Crank (2006)
20 Half Nelson (2006)
19 Bully (2001)
18 Brick (2006)
17 Palindromes (2005)
16 The Dark Knight (2007)
15 Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
14 Lost In Translation (2003)
13 Children Of Men (2006)
12 Memento (2001)
11 Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
10 Wall-E (2008)
09 The Life Aquatic (2004)
08 Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000)
07 Superbad (2007)
06 Punch Drunk Love (2000)
05 Requiem For A Dream (2000)
04 The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters (2007)
03 There Will Be Blood (2007)
02 Mulholland Drive (2001)
01 City Of God (2002)

Lots of good choices, though I'm pretty sure I would hate Napoleon Dynamite today (haven't seen it since theaters).

Question for everyone: where is THE HURT LOCKER playing in yr town? I was shocked to see that the local multiplex grabbed it, assumed it would be in arthouses.

Anyone seen JULIA? With Tilda Swinton...

I've seen it. I actually worked on that movie, proposed some tracks and composers for the score, but none of these got selected in the end. Meh.

I don't know if it got re-edited, but in my memories, it was a lot too long. Tilda Swinton was very good in it, but the kid was awful. And Zonca's direction was very self-indulgent (but maybe I'm a bit bitter).

Ah, are people doing End of the Decade lists on here as well? I started jotting out my list yesterday. No particular order, but so far I've got:

The Science of Sleep
Hallam Foe
Speed Racer
Prestige
The Descent
Secretary
Y tu Mamá También
Bad Santa
Son Of Rambow
The Incredibles
Ghost World
Lost in Translation
Pan's Labyrinth
Children of Men
Munich
No Country For Old Men
Sean of the Dead
Casino Royale
Battle Royale
[.REC]
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Spirited Away
Serenity
Dogville
The Orphanage
The Fellowship of the Ring
Mulholland Dr
The Royal Tennenbaums
Hunger
City of God
A.I.
Star Trek

I can't believe I had forgotten Pan's Labyrinth in my list. Such a fantastic film.

Oh man, I can't stand THE ORPHANAGE! That's on my bottom 25 list, I think! I slammed it in the high school paper a few years back, as I recall.

I regret remembering that I wrote a review, "yeesh."

are you thinking of the same film? the orphanage that came out last year?

I'm referring to the boring, unoriginal, overhyped "horror" film that was backed by Guillermo Del Toro?

It sounds like you've got the wrong film then, because I mean the beautifully filmed take on traditional ghost story themes, with stunning sound editing and so on. Backed by Guillermo Del Toro.

uh huh, take that bullshit here: The Orphanage

it was a shitty film (i posted on that thread), but i wondered if you were confused ("a few years back")

Yeah, sorry, that feels like a long time ago.

what an apocalyptic disaster this misbegotten thread has become.

Tape Store, could you bail on that display name? El Tomboto, for one, though your posts were mine, and my critical rep can't absorb the hit.

<3

just what the doctor ordered

this thread was awesome, btw

how about getting "morbius" outta there altogether?

having a separate decade thread makes all kinds of better sense.

opening the end of year thread straight after the oscars, when their won't be anything decent out until september was crazy and this thread is proof. i note nrq has not stuck around to wallow.

Now that the Academy will henceforth nominate 24 films, prepare for more discussions about Michael Bay's use of deep focus.

NRQ did not start this thread to participate in it.

wait, seriously, i'd like to back to arguing about mean girls and donnie darko, that was fun and rewarding!

xpost I'm happy this thread opened at the beginning of the year.. It's been very useful for me personally.. and there are plenty of good Sundance movies that first get shown in January which are worth discussing as the year progresses.

I only posted my decade list because some other people did.

caek is ridiculously wrong. movies come out all the time, are we supposed to start threads for every single one? i found all the conversation upthread (about Mann, Darko, whatever) to be very refreshing. Way more interesting than, for instance, my documentary thread or the Movies! thread or the NYC film snob one

Then why not have a rolling general film thread instead of using this thread for it?

Or use the Movies! thread more.

i think this is the rolling film 2009 thread, right? if it bothers you that much, get the name changed!

(i proposed rolling film a while ago and didn't create it because this seemed like a fine place for that talk)

also Movies! is the worst thread on ilx, it's pretty much a list thread

good grief.

now let's talk about robert pattinson

I think using this as the rolling movies 2009 thread makes perfect sense, since it's here already.

lol the "movies!" thread is dope

So scratch Shutter Island off your obsessively annotated Oscar hopefuls lists.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE57L01M20090822

Arta Dobroshi on my actress short list for Lorna's Silence

The Dardenne lunatics are mostly underwhelmed by it, so I'm naturally intrigued.

u go girl

also add Maria Onetto in The Headless Woman

Still Walking may, indeed, be Hirokazu Kore-eda's best film. Opening slowly around the country over the next couple months. Plot has some resemblance to Tokyo Story and Assayas's Summer Hours, to name two, but has more touches of serious comedy.

(also IFC On Demand)

http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/still-walking

Encouraging! I haven't seen a Kore-ada since Maborosi.

I liked the last one, Nobody Knows, least. So I was pleased by his turn toward Renoir/Ozu.

psh, nobody knows was great up until the last 5 minutes.

Honorary Oscar winners ... more than one this year, but it's OK, since none of them get to accept on the main show.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g2rZbRNZurVSRsDIXRZJjwlgpOVwD9AKV07G0

wow, they're really throwing history under the bus as much as possible, eh? Jerry Lewis just barely made it onto the main show, I guess.

My top 10/12/20 list this year will probably be higher quality than it's been since 1999. (due mostly to the commercially invisible)

really, Godard forbid we'd get to hear Lauren Bacall and Gordon Willis instead of Joe Jonas and Lady Gaga, right?

"also add Maria Onetto in The Headless Woman"

Yeah she and this movie were great.

Joe Jonas and Lady Gaga

Does The Road have some end credits song I'm not yet aware of?

PRECIOUS will not win best picture. UP IN THE AIR will. duhhhhh

woohoo, year-end screeners have begun arriving. (not much I'm amped to see yet, alas)

REMIX!

1. drag me to hell
2. inglourious basterds
3. up
4. sugar
5. in the loop
6. hangover
7. adventureland
8. ponyo
9. watchmen
10. i love you man

stilll urgently need to see zombieland, a serious man, wild things, and the hurt locker

what in hell is Sugar?

I L U Man may be on my 10 worst list.

Is Sugar the baseball flick?

oh yeah! That's a good one, but it'd be in my second ten.

just saw and loves A Serious Man; catching The White Ribbon and Mother tomorrow!

*loved

is this a fest?

year-end screeners have begun arriving

?! I've seen none so far, but then again, I've been out of town for a few days.

Just got my first bunch today, akshully

yep morbz, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Mtl. (Basically Cannes / TO leftovers, except loads more accessible to c-list press schmoes like myself.)

So what shit are they pumping this year, Morbs?

M4gn0l1a: Soderbergh prostitute movie, Bronson, Food Inc.

(and among the crap i've seen, Humpday)

An admirably Quixotic slate

I don't think they are lookin' Oscar

Um, Simon are you from S0und 0n S1ght? If so I'm, um, listening to your podcast.

haven't seen enough to update list, though I should give props to BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO, WHIP IT, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and YOU, THE LIVING.

oh, and I assume Morbs hates it, but GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE is dope

yes, that's me! the quality of my commentary varies wildly from week to week. (on this week's show we are doing a ton of great stuff, though, so I should be on my game.)

hey, what rating would you give the doc short at the beginning of I WILL NOT BE YOU FRIEND? what's it like? would you be interested in the extended version? think i'm going to ask for it

I really liked it as a (7? 10?)-minute short and as a statement of intent of sorts for the feature, but I'm not so sure if a whole feature of it would be all that riveting. I'm known to be wrong, mind you.

(In its short form it was still about 10000x better than the "feature" itself, if you ask me. We saw it at TIFF based on my co-host's love for Taxidermia, which I still have not seen and apparently bares no resemblance to Friend).

err that may not have been v. helpful but I really hate ratings. also, confusing use of "feature" up there, all you need to know is I Am Not Your Friend blows IMO.

oh, i don't doubt it. taxidermia is dope, though...

i'm not talking feature-length 'extended,' i'm referring to a 20 (?) minute version.

basically, does it work on its own as a short in your opinion?

Definitely.

I haven't watched GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE yet. How can you assume what I'll like? I don't.

Well it stars a pr0n star. A straight pr0n star of the woman type.

so did Rabid

pr0n star balanced out by glenn kenny

Am I actually going to like Paper Heart or is it more of that Away We Go/500 Gays Of Summer bullshit?

haha, sore topic! i hated 500 days/refused to see away we go and i adore paper heart (i think the concept is fascinating and the craft is masterful, but others ignore both of those aspects just to bitch about charlyne)

morbius, i really can't think of a single person i know whose taste in film isn't predictable. i doubt you'll love a Sasha Grey film about vapidness but maybe?

fwiw i don't find morbs' taste predictable -- he often likes things that surprise me. but even though i haven't seen girlfriend experience, i do expect that he wouldn't like it -- because most people didn't like it very much, at least from what i've read, and the things about it that other people haven't liked sound like the kinds of things morbs won't like. but who knows?

i will say this: if for some reason morbs likes it, i might actually watch it...

intrstng

morbs gives props to american casino/sex positive and then disses order of myths/iraq in fragments so i don't think i trust his taste but whatevs

i don't necessarily trust his taste either (and lords knows he don't trust mine), but if he liked something like girlfriend experience, it would triangulate things in a way that might make me interested in seeing it.

My friends just got nominated for a Gotham! :D :D :D

Actually I would give thumbs-up to both Order of Myths and Iraq in Fragments, but find them considerably overpraised. (TS, don't tell me you saw American Casino.)

I've never been able to figure out what the scope of these Gotham Awards is.

(yes, i saw it)
(i don't really understand gothams, but my enthusiasm dropped when they fucking nominated PARADISE, which is just total bullshit (and i'm allll about celebrating progressive docs))

For purposes of this thread:

Best Feature: “Amreeka”; “Big Fan”; “The Hurt Locker"; “The Maid” and “A Serious Man”

Best Documentary: “Food, Inc.”; “Good Hair”; “My Neighbor My Killer”; “Paradise”; “Tyson”

Breakthrough Director: Cruz Angeles, “Don’t Let Me Down”; Frazer Bradshaw, Everything Strange and New”; Noah Buschel, “The Missing Person”; Derick Martini, “Lymelife”; and Robert Siegel, “Big Fan”

Breakthrough Actor: Ben Foster, “The Messenger”; Patton Oswalt, “Big Fan”; Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”; Catalina Saavedra, “The Maid” and Soulémane Sy Savané, “Goodbye Solo”

Best Ensemble Performance: “Adventureland”; “Cold Souls”; “The Hurt Locker, “A Serious Man” and “Sugar”

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You: “Everything Strange and New”; “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench”; “October Country”; “You Won’t Miss Me”; and “Zero Bridge”

I too can never figure out what these are exactly and why nominations are announced so damned early even by the standards of detrius.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=4534

i think it's called 'dicksucking'

' i didn't understand this indulgent, poorly shot random nothingness from a well-regarded director, so i'll call it brilliant!'

Kipp's taste doesn't align with mine often, I'll admit, but ... well ... neither does Tape Store's.

I don't think Kipp watches many experimental documentaries

Has he seen 45365 or Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo or O'er the Land? Those filmmakers actually have the chops to pull off random scenes

Why don't you ask the people handing out the Gothams the same question.

(I see they also shortlisted October Country, which raises my anticipation levels for it even more.)

Oh I saw Paradise at MoMA last month, didn't even recognize the title. It's not bad, but the titles called it a "work-in-progress." And like many of the "nonfiction" films discussed om this board, it is certainly not a documentary.

imho, documentary and non-fiction aren't 100 percent overlaps

no, but it's easier to have definitions.

What I imagine you say constitutes a documentary, then, amounts to an even smaller pool of films than the Academy considers for Best Animated Feature.

no (the Academy, now more than ever, be damned).

I don't think Kipp watches many experimental documentaries

With all respect to your youthful enthusiasm, who the hell would?

it's, um, my job, and i guarantee you there are much more exciting (not to mention accessible) experimental docs this year than paradise

also less tedious

jeeez, is Stan Brakhage doing 'docs' too? where did this kitchen-sink usage come from?

oh, and morbius, some of us are actually interested in the idea of film progressing :)

'experimental' doesn't have to be synonymous with 'difficult'

and 'topical' or 'linear' does not equal 'suck'.

Do you like Jenni Olson's The Joy of Life? (also not a doc for my money)

haven't seen it, but i'll rent and report back :)

i've CERTAINLY never implied that 'linear' sucked. I like many films that could be called 'topical,' but if that is a film's top merit (see also: 'informative'), yes, it sucks (who will find value in a. casino in 2040?)

see: http://tinyurl.com/yjlg9ou

value =/ pleasure

uh huh, who will find pleasure in a. casino in 2009

seriously, bitching about me championing films you haven't seen = really stupid

who will find value in a. casino in 2040?

People interested in how America became Thunderdome?

why not just read a well-written article?

(If I'm alive in '40, I fully expect to be eating pet food in an apocalyptic wasteland. Documentaries of any vintage probly not a big priority.)

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

^^ hey eric u dug this? a kid i went to high school w/ directed it

I haven't seen it. It's not playing at a theater near me.

America will begin eating people before it resorts to dog food.

lol

i wrote this about it and then the magazine i was writing for went "on hiatus":

With the exception of the name, there's nothing horrible about "mumblecore," the dormroom Cassavetes "movement" (if it can be called that) that focuses on rootless, immature twentysomethings and their vaguely unhealthy relationships. It just gets kind of boring, sometimes—if I really wanted to watch a movie about pathologically insecure people screwing up relationships, I'd just videotape myself starting fights with my girlfriend and save myself the ten bucks.

So smart wannabe Godards looking to inject a little bit of liveliness into their film school projects might want to take a page from Damien Chazelle's book (full disclosure: Chazelle was a high school classmate of mine). Chazelle's debut feature, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, is mumblecore in its subject matter (the fallings-in-and-out-of-love of a Guy, a Boston jazz trumpeter, played by real-deal musician Jason Palmer, and Madeline, a waitress/grad student played by Desiree Garcia) and its aesthetic sensibility (handheld digital camera, frequent close-ups, grainy black-and-white film). Where it is not mumblecore is in the half-dozen musical sequences, ranging from full-blown MGM-style song-and-dance numbers to quieter, more subdued songs in the manner of Jacques Demy, that provide the otherwise muted movie with no small amount of energy and exuberance. And as odd, and in certain ways contrived, as that sounds, it works. Trading in the no-expense-spared ostentation of musicals in the 1940s and 50s for a sense of sneaky we-shouldn't-be-doing-this fun, Chazelle's musical numbers are what we imagine independent movies to be all about—passionate, reckless, running-on-fumes encounters with film. In fact, the guerilla Stanley Donen scenes (all written by Justin Hurwitz and choreographed by Kelly Kaleta) tend to be so outstanding that you'd be forgiven for growing impatient with the rest of the film, which, while affecting, ends up suffering in comparison (Guy and Madeline break up, avoid each other, are sad, OK, buddy, where's my tap dancing).

Really, that might be the central tension of Guy and Madeline: semi-fantastical musical segments that feel far more free and natural than the strained, stilted conversations Guy and Madeline have, or don't have, with each other. When Guy confronts Madeline late in the film, the only thing he can say is that he's written a new piece, over and over; not only can he not muster the words to speak to her directly, but Madeline herself can barely listen until Guy plays his trumpet. In other movies, where this kind of social awkwardness is all that the audience is given, the characters' unrelenting passivity can be not only unbelievable but almost oppressive; in Guy and Madeline, these character scenes, tempered as they are by bursts of song and dance, are not only acceptable but actually sort of plausible as the semi-tragic interactions of people unfamiliar and uncomfortable with direct engagement. And though it's not as immediately pleasing as the sometimes astonishing musical sequences, making the passive-aggressive fumblings of mumblecore both credible and palatable is no less of an accomplishment.

Sounds as interesting as I could imagine a pseudo-mumblecore being.

well u can just imagine it since ull never see it

max, I can recommend some horrible mumblecore for you.

haha i didnt mean there were no horrible mumblecore movies, just that mumblecore as a movement isnt inherently horrible

There's always the off chance I get assigned to cover it. It really doesn't sound bad, max.

yeah its definitely not for everyone but the guy who made it is a good dude so the more bones i can throw his way as it were

Meanwhile ...

http://www.hitfix.com/articles/2009-10-20-hairspray-director-will-produce-the-oscars

Fitting for this, the first year of the 10-nominee-pat-on-head best picture slate.

imagine, if you will, a John Waters-produced Oscars

sooooo psyched for AN EDUCATION:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYkLgaQ27L8

what did everyone think?

won't go near that. Armond = "Merchant/Ivory = Juno"

Like you trust Armond.

I sense he may have nailed that one. When he hates something I usu agree.

It's better-than-average Oscarbait. But still Oscarbait.

ok, wtf does that mean

i seriously doubt that Nick Hornby was thinking 'Oscar' when he wrote it. don't get me wrong, I'm sure SPC is hoping for some nods (have they been advertising it very well nationally? I don't watch much TV), but i don't really buy it as a good criticism of the film

it's rarely a good criticism of a film

it's also rarely attached to good films, fairly or otherwise

Anyone seen Audiard's A Prophet? Watched a screener of it on the weekend. Pretty good i thought, it's kind of a weird mixture of grim and gritty realism with a few more fantastical moments. Possibly overlong, but very enjoyable none the less.

I didn't mean anyone was "thinking" Oscar when they were making it, it's just...pleasant, tasteful, etc. but not all that memorable. Aided by some nice perfs though.

"pleasant" being in ref. to the execution, not the slightly squeamish content.

When Armond loves something I usually disagree.

When Armond White says something I usually disagree.

When Armond White disagrees I usually agree.

With his judgments yes, but not his judgment.

Tape Store, as our local doc excavator, do you spot anything exceptional in this lineup?

http://ridm.qc.ca/en/programme-2009/moviesa-z.html

You know, that's on my list of things to do this week!

So proud of OCTOBER COUNTRY guys, I think the film is great, and I also think they've done a wonderful job navigating the circuit. LAST TRAIN HOME could be exciting, from same production company as UP THE YANGTZE (+ some other less notable films), and it's also in competition at IDFA. Also, RENE and CARMEN MEETS BORAT are notable (the latter is more 'Carmen comes of age' than it is 'Carmen Meets Borat,' which is all for the better obv).
On first glance, I'm very intrigued by CARNE VIDA. I have DVDs of a couple others that I need to watch this week, so if one of them is outstanding, I will message you (you're going, I gather?)

Oh, and OLD PARTNER!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-10-30-10oscars30_CV_N.htm

Damien Bona says expect Butch Cassidy to beat Midnight Cowboy from here on out.

thx Tape! I hope to attend a few films, yes. I haven't gotten to see many notable docs this year - it seems like so few of the ones people rave about ever make it here.

http://enchantedmitten.blogspot.com/2009/11/skandies-decade-recap.html

MD'A: "between Sundance, Cannes and Toronto (plus occasional jaunts to Berlin, Rotterdam and Thessaloniki, and of course NYFF), I saw a goodly percentage of the decade's most significant films at or at least adjacent to their world premiere. And of all those many films, Dogville was the only one that provoked the sort of frenzied, thunderous reaction from the audience that made it seem like an instant classic—the only time I felt like I was experiencing what it must have been like to see the first-ever screening of, say, Apocalypse Now or Last Year at Marienbad. I choose Marienbad—a movie I don't especially like, though I've only seen it once so far—because what I'm talking about transcends personal taste. It's more about knowing you've seen something truly visionary, unprecedented, sui generis."

sooooo psyched for AN EDUCATION:

what did everyone think?

Loved it -- and v. impressed with Carey Mulligan's perf. I'll be upset if she's not Oscar-nominated.

i was significantly underwhelmed

It has its limitations -- the final act struck me as a little implausible -- but I found it much more engaging than I'd expected, and for most of the film, it's refreshingly reserved in its judgment.

It wasn't particularly bad, save maybe that final act, but there wasn't anything that was great about it, save maybe the two leads and rosamund pike. I found myself unfavourably comparing it to Fish Tank (which had problems of its own), which I know isn't fair, but they're both coming-of-age/teenage girl + kinda creepy older dude = life lesson.

(save save save...will do better next time)

I prefer to see Nick Hornby movies where the creepy dudes are running record stores

At first I thought he seemed an odd choice to tackle the material, but there were interesting resonances: mostly the preoccupation with taste and with cultural objects as status symbols.

Oscar MCs: Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin.

http://www.thewrap.com/node/9602

Damn, no way in hell Oscars will come close to touching Cinema Eye this year: http://www.cinemaeyehonors2010.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ceh2010-pr.pdf

― goodbye indie, hello trendy. (Tape Store), Friday, November 6, 2009 3:53 AM (0 seconds ago) Bookmark

I have no idea what's eligible and what's not for this year's doc feature Oscar category, but I guess these would be the top 10 candidates...

- After the Storm, Hilla Medalia
- Anvil! The Story of Anvil, Sacha Gervasi
- Capitolism: A Love Story, Michael Moore
- The Cove, Louie Psihoyos
- Food, Inc., Robert Kenner
- Forbidden Lie$, Anna Broinowski
- October Country, Michael Palmieri & Donal Mosher
- Outrage, Kirby Dick
- The September Issue, RJ Cutler
- Tyson, James Toback

I don't think Forbidden Lie$ and October Country have any chance of making shortlist. I would probably cry if After the Storm made it, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised. My guess:

CAPITALISM
THE COVE
FOOD, INC.
THE WAY WE GET BY
EVERY LITTLE STEP

Also in the running:
GOOD HAIR
THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE (my favorite of these)
BURMA VJ
IT MIGHT GET LOUD
TYSON (will probably make short list, has pretty much no chance at nomination)
YOO HOO, MRS. GOLDBERG (will probably make shortlist, has pretty much no chance at nomination)
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD (will probably make shortlist, has no chance at nomination)

Oh yeah, forgot Good Hair has been delighting the mainstream the last few weeks.

Quite liked Every Little Step, I must say.

no American Casino, no cred (esp cuz TS hates it)

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD

is this subtitle of the Ellsberg doc? rlly, get yr facts str8 (tho nothing else)

uhhhh yeah, people tend to refer to it as THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD or THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN in conversation but the full title is DANIEL ELLSBERG: THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS OF DOOM or something

yer such a moron

thanks, dr. morbius

sorry, that was harsh... The Ellsberg is among the best of the recent lefty bios, but I've grown a bit fatigued w/ their similarity.

That kinda came out of nowhere, morbs.

Nowhere is my official residence.

So Peter Capaldi, best supporting actor for In the Loop? surely at least one critics group might do that.

With no Heath Ledger to stand in the way of other choices, maybe.

I haven't seen enough to start pushing candidates, but Charlotte Rampling (Life During Wartime) is certainly going to be up there for supporting actress.

have not seen Solondz

Heath Ledger has a movie coming out! Gilliam's.

oh, I might vote Richard Kind over Capaldi.

I might vote the goat from Drag Me To Hell over any human being.

Entertainment Weekly's latest handicap.

BEST PICTURE

Locks:
The Hurt Locker
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Precious
Up in the Air

Possibilities:
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
A Serious Man
Up

Long Shots:
An Education
It's Complicated
A Single Man
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST ACTOR

Locks:
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A SIngle Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictius

Possibilities:
Matt Damon, The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Robert De Niro, Everybody's Fine
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Michael Stuhlburg, A Serious Man

Long Shots:
Paul Bettany, Creation
Ben Foster, The Messenger
Viggo Mortensen, The Road
Clive Owen, The Boys Are Back
Michael Sheen, The Damned United

BEST ACTRESS

Locks:
Cary Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Possibilities:
Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
Marion Cottilard, Nine
Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones

Long Shots:
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Michelle Monaghan, Trucker
Hilary Swank, Amelia
Robin Wright, Pippa Lee

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Locks:
Alfred Molina, An Education
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Possibilities:
Alec Baldwin, It's Complicated
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station

Long Shots:
George Clooney, The Men Who Stare at Goats
Zach Galifiankis, The Hangover
Brian Geraghy, The Hurt Locker
Peter Saarsgard, An Education
Paul Schneider, Bright Star

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Locks:
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A SIngle Man

Possibilities:
Mariah Carey, Precious
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Judi Dench, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Susan Sarandon, The Lovely Bones

Long Shots:
Patricia Clarkson, Whatever Works
Malanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Samantha Morton, The Messenger
Paula Patton, Precious
Rachel Weisz, The Lovely Bones

BEST DIRECTOR

Locks:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Peter Jackson, The LOvely Bones
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Possibiities:
James Cameron, Avatar
Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Lee Daniels, Precious
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Rob Marshall, Nine

Long Shots:
J.J. Abrams, Star Trek
Jane Campion, Bright Star
Tom Ford, A Simple Man
Spike Jonze, Where the WIld Things Are
Quentin Taranbtino, Inglourius Basterds

i said "detrius" out loud the other day :/

It's just funner that way.

I agree with Indiewire:
Locks:
1. Up In The Air
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Precious

Good Bets:
4. An Education
5. Up

Seem Likely… But, No One Really Knows:
6. Invictus
7. Nine
8. The Lovely Bones

For The Last Two Slots:
9. The Last Station
10. A Serious Man
11. Inglourious Basterds
12. A Single Man
13. Bright Star
14. Crazy Heart

Seem Unlikely, But No One Really Knows:
15. Avatar
16. Brothers
17. It’s Complicated

Very Dark Horses:
18. The Road
19. Julie & Julia
20. Where The Wild Things Are

Seem Likely… But, No One Really Knows:
6. Invictus
7. Nine
8. The Lovely Bones

The boring-but-will-get-nominated-anyway category. The pedigree category.

Hilarious to think that Jason Reitman is now thought of in the same realm as Stephen Daldry.

Reading some of the early handicapping, I am starting to get behind this 10 nom. best picture thing. Best Director will become the category where the old school (2000-2009) middlebrow oscar bait best picture candidates get their dues, and i am fine with a "premium" forum for that stuff, but the speculation around best picture this year is fun so far.

The 10-nod experiment will obviously be called a "success" if Up gets nominated, but I'm hoping the speculation over how outre slots 8 through 10 doesn't end this year with a slate full of Invictuses and An Educations.

anyone seen The Messenger?

not I.

I would so love to keep the mutherfucking Oscars outta the detrius thread. However, if De Niro gets nominated for Everybody's Fine, we're back in Jack Lemmon Tribute territory.

(also, I think the ten BP nominations will ensure a Precious win.)

Um, what do you think detrius is?

AAs are a whole other level. One I am beyond bored with.

You're not bored with the rest of it?

I am much more interested in year- and decade-end picks of some critics -- even yours! -- than in Ernest Borgnine's and Diablo Cody's.

I read last week that the Artforum lists are published, but not yet online.

even yours!

Yeah, I deserve that "even" since I usually see about 4 dozen new movies in any given year. Not much of a list can be drawn up from those.

Don't be apologetic, of the 70 or so I see that you don't, 60 are eminently missable.

anyone seen The Messenger?

saw it this weekend and thought it was great. it's just a well made movie. Ben Foster deserves a best actor nom and Woody deserves one for supporting actor. i was very impressed by the first time director too. not a false note in the whole film.

dir is Oren Moverman, who cowrote I'm Not There (and was in the Israeli Defense Forces).

The Time Out New York list.

Kudos for including Femme Fatale, Friday Night, and several small Asian touchstones.

s/b posted @ Decadetrius of the Oughties: the thread for critical lists/musings of the best films of the 2000s

feel like posting something, Eric?

Nah, go ahead.

Artforum -- John Waters, Chrissie Iles:

http://www.artforum.com/inprint/id=24234

(I have the Goldthwait movie on my table)

Indie Spirit noms:

http://spiritawards.com/nominees

The Hurt Locker takes top Gotham Award:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009_gotham_award_winners_in_progress

That Woody Allen movie really IS that bad, for it to land all the way down at #9 on Waters' list.

will have to riffle thru a print copy for Amy Taubin's.

should I go to a screening of Nine? Can't imagine there's anything there.

am hoping i will be able to do one-word review of nine

("nein.")

there musta been a good Forbidden Broadway version of that "Be Italian" song ... they should have the cast sing "Not Italian" at the Oscars/

I felt like Jack Nicholson leaving the screening for Ferris Bueller after I watched Paper Hearts, guys.

This is my favorite movie year ever.

yes!

o_O

This is the SIGHT & SOUND Top Ten:

1. A PROPHET
=2. THE HURT LOCKER
=2. 35 SHOTS OF RUM
4. THE WHITE RIBBON
5. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
=6. UP
=7. WHITE MATERIAL
=8. BRIGHT STAR
=8. ANTICHRIST
10. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

This is my favorite movie year ever.

yes!

crazypants, both of you. or big Hangover fans?

to save me a lookup, what's A Prophet?

So have people seen The Messenger and just aren't that impressed or has everyone yet to see it? I thought it was great... surprised there's not more talk about it.

I asked about it last week.

did you see it yet? people should see this imo tho hopefully you won't have any dickheads in the theater w/ you who make jokes b/c they can't handle the serious shit. then again the stunned silence of the theater when the movie ended was pretty amazing to see.

National Board of Review: let the vomiting begin!!!

http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/

Best Film
UP IN THE AIR

Top Ten Films
(In alphabetical order) AN EDUCATION, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, THE HURT LOCKER, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, INVICTUS, THE MESSENGER, A SERIOUS MAN, STAR TREK, UP, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Best Foreign Language Film
A PROPHET

Top Five Foreign Films
(In alphabetical order) THE MAID, REVANCHE, SONG OF SPARROWS, THREE MONKEYS, THE WHITE RIBBON

Rene Rodriguez just gave Up in the Air the four-star treatment.

yes, all the slick shills will.

top ten from david denby

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/tny/2009/12/denby-top-films-2009.html

imo there should be a law that every time david denbys name is mentioned in relation to his activities as a movie critic the following quote should be reproduced:

“Crash is hyper-articulate and often breathtakingly intelligent and always brazenly alive. I think it’s easily the strongest American film since Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, though it is not for the fainthearted.”

Best Film
UP IN THE AIR

more like it

up in the air is kind of like this year's american beauty or crash... no one will cop to liking about 5 seconds after the oscar closing credits

wtf @ Denby's list. A movie that doesn't mesh well and has a boring final third is one of his top ten for the year? What, did he only see ten films this year?

funny people.. yuck

anyone seen Me and Orson Welles yet? Tony Scott and Michael Philips raved last week. Zac Efron looked rawr in it.

Glenn Kenny def gets Best Performance by a Film Critic in The Girlfriend Experience. It's mostly smart and pretty funny, and doesn't have to push the prostitution-capitalism link too hard.

Will Inglourious go all the way this year and give Morbs the rickets a la Slumdog last year? Starting to tilt that way.

The Washington DC Film Critics Noms

Best Film
The Hurt Locker | Summit Entertainment
Inglourious Basterds | Weinstein Company
Precious | Lionsgate
Up | Walt Disney
Up in the Air | Paramount

Best Actor
George Clooney | Up in the Air
Colin Firth | A Single Man
Morgan Freeman | Invictus
Viggo Mortensen | The Road
Jeremy Renner | The Hurt Locker

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock | The Blind Side
Carey Mulligan | An Education
Maya Rudolph | Away We Go
Gabourey Sidibe | Precious
Meryl Streep | Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
Woody Harrelson | The Messenger
Anthony Mackie | The Hurt Locker
Alfred Molina | An Education
Stanley Tucci | The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz | Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Vera Farmiga | Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick | Up in the Air
Mo’Nique | Precious
Julianne Moore | A Single Man
Samantha Morton | The Messenger

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow | The Hurt Locker
Lee Daniels | Precious
Clint Eastwood | Invictus
Jason Reitman | Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Best Screenplay, Adapted
The Blind Side | Warner Bros.
An Education | Sony Picture Classics
Precious | Lionsgate
The Road | Dimension
Up in the Air | Paramount

Best Screenplay, Original
(500) Days of Summer | Fox Searchlight
The Hurt Locker | Summit Entertainment
Inglourious Basterds | Weinstein Company
A Serious Man | Focus Features
Up | Walt Disney

Best Animated Film
Coraline | Focus Features
Fantastic Mr. Fox | Fox Searchlight
9 | Focus Features
Ponyo | Walt Disney
Up | Walt Disney

Best Foreign Film
Broken Embraces | Sony Picture Classics
Red Cliff | Magnet / Magnolia
Sin Nombre | Focus Features
Summer Hours | IFC Features
The White Ribbon | Sony Picture Classics

Best Documentary
Anvil! The Story of Anvil | Abramorama
Capitalism: A Love Story | Overture
The Cove | Lionsgate
Food, Inc. | Magnolia
Good Hair | Roadside Attractions

Best Breakthrough Performance
Anna Kendrick | Up in The Air
Christian McKay | Me and Orson Welles
Carey Mulligan | An Education
Jeremy Renner | The Hurt Locker
Gabourey Sidibe | Precious

Best Ensemble
The Hurt Locker | Summit Entertainment
Nine | The Weinstein Company
Precious | Lionsgate
Star Trek | Paramount
Up in the Air | Paramount

Best Art Direction
The Lovely Bones | Paramount
Nine | The Weinstein Company
Star Trek | Paramount
Where the Wild Things Are | Warner Bros.
The Young Victoria | Apparition

anyone seen Me and Orson Welles yet? Tony Scott and Michael Philips raved last week. Zac Efron looked rawr in it.

― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, December 6, 2009 8:16 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i will within the next 36 hours and report back

Plz to report on Efron rawrocity.

will do, in the form of some sort of graph or chart

this is my top 6 at the moment, having seen none of the oscarbait, and very little since the summer:

The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Drag Me To Hell
Public Enemies
In The Loop
Moon

up left me cold.

something like this might be a good model

http://s2.buzzfeed.com/static/imagebuzz/terminal01/2009/7/13/9/historical-rider-strong-hotness-chart-3844-1247491318-3.jpg

xp

That will do.

efron pretty rawr in the wide-eyed naive kid way in Welles. really enjoyed the film.

line chart or it didnt happen

Glad Jeremy Renner's starting to register in some year-end polls.

Was Hurt Locker his first lead? I didn't see 28 Weeks Later, Jesse James or Dogtown. Was he notable in any of those? Hope he gets a best actor nod. Seems like the only certain nominations in that category are DDL, Freeman and Clooney, unless I'm forgetting someone.

My main left-field hope is Peter Capaldi for In The Loop, although I may be mixing in some of his performances in the show, which is screening in the UK at the moment. He has been outstanding all season, especially the last couple of episodes, when he showed a bit more range.

(for supporting actor, of course)

would love to see the clip the academy show if he does get a nomination

Don't actually think DDL is in contention at all, but I'm seeing it tomorrow, so we'll see.

if IngloBasterds win the Best Picture Oscar, I would make out with enrique.

Nine didn't even, by my count, have nine beautiful ladies in it. Sad.

me & orson welles = very likeable kids' flick

btw

All the good movies this year are kids' flicks, it seems. Except Tetro.

and Hunger and The Headless Woman and A Serious Man and Cargo 200

no

oh don't worry TS, there'll be a new M Cera film in January

i trust there will be another pretentious, one-performance film about an important political event, too

? asks the Riddler

oh, and Passing Strange (which isn't even a FILM, it's a VIDEO of a Broadway MUSICAL and hence nearly a DOCUMENTARY)

whaaaa

i don't consider jonas brothers 3d a documentary, btw.

oh, and on the whole, this year sucks

i really, really like AN EDUCATION, but I'm totally baffled at its glowing reviews, did anyone else watch the last fifteen minutes?

If Passing Strange on DVD or something yet? I'm really anticipating it.

NEED TO SEE HEADLESS WOMAN.

if IngloBasterds win the Best Picture Oscar, I would make out with enrique.

― Feingold/Kaptur 2012 (Dr Morbius), Monday, December 7, 2009 2:03 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

pause

I think we're both safe.

i trust there will be another pretentious, one-performance film about an important political event, too

TS, is this a Hunger ref? cuz its most celebrated scene is a two-hander that doesn't cut for 20 minutes.

no love for bad lieutenant? would be in my top 5.

i really, really like AN EDUCATION, but I'm totally baffled at its glowing reviews, did anyone else watch the last fifteen minutes?

OTM. compares very unfavourably to Fish Tank, though that's a) a bit apples and oranges and b.) that ending is a bit shit too.

also this is the year of Michael Fassbender. my nu-mancrush.

A few crix lists roll in. Continue with meme of this being the year of the kiddie movies in my opinion.

Richard Corliss, TIME
01. The Princess and the Frog
02. Up
03. Fantastic Mr. Fox
04. The Hurt Locker
05. Up in the Air
06. The White Ribbon
07. A Single Man
08. Of Time and the City
09. District 9
10. Thirst

David Denby, THE NEW YORKER
* Adventureland
* Fantastic Mr. Fox
* Funny People
* The Hurt Locker
* The Last Station
* Me And Orson Welles
* The Messenger
* Up
* Up In The Air
* The White Ribbon

Anthony Lane, THE NEW YORKER
* Anvil
* Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
* Coraline
* Fantastic Mr. Fox
* Gommorrah
* Star Trek
* The White Ribbon
* Up
* Up In The Air

lol at the new yorker

Kael woulda loved Adventureland and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

i put adventureland in my top five, no looking back.

o_O

mottola is a really, really good director of actors. underrated attribute. also i am emo.

I liked it, and saw it again a couple of weeks ago, but it's too mild to make my list.

Ballots still appear to be filtering in, but those that have been submitted are live.

http://www.indiewire.com/critic/

Results are still obviously fluid, but fwiw:

http://www.indiewire.com/survey/annual_critics_survey_2009/best_film

nice to see Two Lovers doing so well.

well, Rosenbaum highly rates The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

Denby might as well be an ILXor with the token foreign-lang film.

Hey, LOOT is ranking!

ok, one person, misread that

http://www.indiewire.com/survey/annual_critics_survey_2009/best_documentary

some bad stuff in here, though it's nice to see FORBIDDEN LIE$ getting more props

and things that are not docs, like 24 City

Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE
01. Precious
02. Up in the Air
03. The Hurt Locker
04. An Education
05. Up
06. Where the Wild Things Are
07. A Serious Man
08. District 9
09. (500) Days of Summer
10. The Messenger

http://www.indiewire.com/survey/annual_critics_survey_2009/

Finalized, I guess.

Film: Summer Hours
Lead Perf: Tilda Swinton, Julia
Sup Perf: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds (an absolute runaway winner)
Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Doc: Anvil! The Story of Anvil, The Beaches of Agnes, and The Cove (3-way tie)
Screenplay: A Serious Man & Inglorious Basterds (tie)
Best First Feature: The Messenger
Best Undistributed Film: Trash Humpers

lol fuck the cove

I figured you'd say that. Good thing Varda's movie is really sweet.

yes, really really like boa, would love to see it somehow win an oscar

Was Trash Humpers running unopposed or something?

Summers Hours really isn't all that great.

at least it doesn't exemplify trendy suckitude a la demonlover

neither is The Beaches of Agnes all that great. Methinks people are overcompensating if they failed to realize how great The Gleaners & I was.

oh i like it fine. the first half is pretty great but, regrettably, the second half shows the film to be just what it is: a very extended advert for the Musée D'Orsay.

there are a lot of movies i love and a lot of movies i hate in the undistributed section

has anyone seen forbidden lies and not liked it?

It's gotta be better than that title. (and the iMdb has a $ for the final s.)

yes, i've always hated the dollar sign :/

oh i like it fine. the first half is pretty great but, regrettably, the second half shows the film to be just what it is: a very extended advert for the Musée D'Orsay.

― jed_, Saturday, December 12, 2009 10:09 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this is like the most obvious criticism of this movie i could imagine! and not really true imo

perhaps so. i wasn't even aware of the funding etc. behind the movie when i watched it but the Musée D'Orsay scenes seemed shoehorned in there in such a strange way. i still liked the film and thought the scenes with the old housekeeper esp. very moving.

imo the orsay scenes were sort of deliberately alienating! when you see the furniture there it just seems so cold and... wrong after the first half of the movie. didn't really seem to be communicating the awesomeness of the museum experience.

ok, i see. yr right ;)

Wait, am I supposed to be mad that the Musee d'Orsay is honoring Varda's legacy?

i'm at the whittling-down-to-just-10 phase of my listmaking and it is kind of agonizing tbh

Wait, am I supposed to be mad that the Musee d'Orsay is honoring Varda's legacy?

― really senile old crap shit (Eric H.), Saturday, December 12, 2009 12:47 PM (9 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i don't understand the question?

I don't get why that part of the movie is risible in any real way. If that's the whole reason the movie was funded, kudos to Varda for making it work within the context of the movie.

u keep saying varda is the problem here i think

I wasn't the one arguing against Varda.

Or that there is a problem at all

ya but i still can't see why (agnès?) varda has anything to do with summer hours

in other words, are we talking about the same movie here?

one movie that's gonna show up on no one's lists but that i'm tempted to put on mine is chung mong-hong's PARKING... anyone see it?

varda has a thing at the d'orsay? sweet, ima get tickets.

Jesus, I figured that was all about the Varda movie, which ends in a museum as well, but not in an ostentatious way, which is why I was confused.

haha, aren't there a whole bunch of French features tied in w/ the Musee d'Orsay? Some grant they gave out or somethin?

flight of the red balloon was another one, i think.

Boston crix using the New Yorkers' reveal-one-at-a-time gimmick, if anyone cares.

http://www.thebsfc.org/CurrWin.html

L.A. later today.

(Boston, for the record, handed out two ties last year.)

Jesus, I figured that was all about the Varda movie, which ends in a museum as well, but not in an ostentatious way, which is why I was confused.

― really senile old crap shit (Eric H.), Saturday, December 12, 2009 2:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i figured it was something like this hahah

OK this, from Boston, may be the most LOL award of the season:

Best Ensemble Cast
Tie between Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire and Star Trek

go anton!
http://images.buddytv.com/usrimages/usr3668966/3668966_1bb1a196-033e-44a9-982f-25eece8795d6-anton-yelchin.jpg

wd love to see the Precious cast on the Enterprise.

I can live with those top Boston awards, except I saw Up today and obviously it's not a wart on FMFox.

Wow. I haven't seen Precious yet, but I've got no trouble with the actors.

Anyone read the fawning Streep cover story in this month's Vanity Fair? It's about her newfound box office "clout."