This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2011

We're only a few days away from the NYFCC's new early awards announcements, so why not?

This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2010
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2009
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2008
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2007
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" -- 2005
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2004

Symmetry required you to start it.

The real reason I'm starting this is because Mark Harris started Oscar blogging, and his handful of columns thus far put all other Oscar blogging to shame.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/category/_/name/oscarmetrics

xpost and no one will allow themselves to misspell detritus on purpose

what in hell are the Hollywood Awards? They were given out last night.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/15th-annual-hollywood-film-awards-252837

And if you haven't heard, the NY crix have moved their prizes up to Nov 28. This is good news for Romney.

the Streep column is a real beaut, especially the stumping for Viola Davis.

I’m hammering the Streep prediction because aside from everything else, I think it’s bad guesswork. Meryl Streep is 2-and-14; in other words, she has lost more Academy Awards than any actor in history. She is zero-for-six playing real people. Phyllida Lloyd, The Iron Lady’s director, has made just one previous film, Mamma Mia!, which is not remembered for its acting (at least, not kindly). So overall, there’s little reason to believe Streep will win, especially since it’s now a near-annual ritual for prognosticators to claim that it’s her year — for Doubt, for Julie & Julia, for whatever — and then, when they find that narrative tedious, to start boosting an underdog. I guess it’s just too boring to assume that the best movie actress in the world is going to win another Oscar, which is probably why Streep has only two and not the five or six she deserves.

xpost Oy.

Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), a top contender for the best actress Oscar...
The cast of The Help, which is a top contender for the best picture Oscar...
Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), who is a top contender for the best actress Oscar...
It was uncertain how Christopher Plummer (Beginners), the 81-year-old who is widely considered to be the frontrunner for the best supporting actor Oscar...
Diablo Cody (Young Adult), who is a top contender for the best original screenplay Oscar...
Perennial honoree George Clooney (The Descendants), who is a top contender for the best actor Oscar...
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50), who is a possible contender for the best actor Oscar...
Alberto Iglesias (The Skin I Live In), who is a top contender for the best original score Oscar
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2, which is a possible contender for the best picture Oscar...

Based on the pattern, Carey Mulligan must have really sucky Oscar chances this year.

The real reason I'm starting this is because Mark Harris started Oscar blogging, and his handful of columns thus far put all other Oscar blogging to shame.

Yes, these have been a real treat to read, and a welcome respite from Sasha Stone's daily inanities.

tho I'm sure he's better than at least one guy who'll be AA-nominated, don't wanna see Bennett Miller get any prizes dor Dumbeddownball.

at least one guy who'll be AA-nominated

Wouldn't put Woody Allen's name in stone yet.

too bad Aronofsky doesn't have a new one, eh

Thx for the new screenname, btw.

hmmm

quality #1 and 2 on the Oughties horror list, knock me over w/ a feather!

I've no problems with the top 5 at all.

Burton's Sweeney Todd missing tho

any of you boys seen Margin Call yet?

Skipped it. My dad gave it a rave on Twitter, which means Armond probably hated it.

Britindie noms, whatever they are:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/shame_tyrannosaur_and_tinker_tailor_lead_british_independent_film_award_nom/

Shame, for shame.

I saw Margin Call. If that's one of the best of the year, we're fucked.

I like how the Britindie noms seem to include pretty much any British film.

Then there are the Gotham nominees:

http://gotham.ifp.org/

Margin Call was fun.

Is Beginners going to have weight in the awards season? Christopher Plummer I can see but anything else about it? Really?

It's probably the worst film I'll watch this year.

when I use anticipation, casting, script, and audience reaction as factors.

I liked Margin Call fine, but if it makes it into Year End Top 10 lists then it's been a pretty bad year.

Has anyone here seen The Descendants?

not yet.

NYC MoMA having their annual "Contenders" series w/ some Q&As after.

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1218

Will be seeing Descendents on Sunday. Missed the press screening yesterday. Expecting less than nothing.

It could be that I'm just not old and crusty enough yet to appreciate Payne when he's not dealing with over-zealous high school students.

pro-choice lesbians howling at moon ftw

Paris Je T'aime segment ftw. If The Descendants is longer than 6 minutes, I'm not so sure.

LOL, I keep forgetting he directed that segment because it was so good.

This seems by far the worst year for animated features since they had a category for them, but somehow they scraped together an eligibility list long enough to allow for 5 nominees. (Chico & Rita and Alois Nebel look promising.)

http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2011/11/5/18-animated-features-for-oscar-will-5-nominees-bring-diversi.html

The Adventures of Tintin
Alois Nebel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Gnomeo & Juliet
Happy Feet Two
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
Kung Fu Panda 2
Mars Needs Moms
Puss in Boots
Rango
Rio
The Smurfs
Winnie the Pooh
Wrinkles

I will always remember 2011 as the year detrius expended all its energy in the Pauline Kael thread.

Like a corpse belching what remains of its gas.

critics looooove critics

I've just come to find awards not hateable, just boring.

The Kael thread will float to the sea floor when everyone realizes how dull Brian Kellow's bio is.

I suspect about 10% of the partcipants will read it.

I'm not inclined to read it at this point. The blogasm has probably told me everything I "needed" to know.

The awesome, beautifully remodeled, $2 per ticket second-run theater I live near just started running The Help and Midnight in Paris (both of which I've avoided til now) this weekend. It may be a very detriusy weekend for me.

and possibly a wasted one.

Probably, but I have a cold and it's that or sleep. ("Or.")

Midnight is thoroughly enjoyable imo

It's nearly an hour shorter, so it has that going for it.

It needed to be a 20-minute short.

Euro Film Award noms, yay Le Havre and Essential Killing:

http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/european-film-award-nominations

Descendants OK-ish. Probably a soft favorite for NYFCC.

If best actor's gonna turn into Clooney vs. Pitt (who I can not for the life of me figure out why he's even in the running for a nod, much less being hyped for a win), I'll be in the former camp.

I'd be in the latter, in part because I love being proven wrong (i.e. Pitt's a more interesting screen presence this year than Clooney's been for a while).

Pitt's "in the running" for the wrong performance, as is fairly common with the AAs.

The "narrative" on this one is that he's gonna get a nod for being Brad Pitt for so long. Like they're atoning for never giving Cary Grant a competitive award for being Cary Grant.

is detrius even a word

detrius rides again

the Osc*rs are gonna redundantly swallow this thread again, right?

Oscars 2012: Let Anticipation Commence

http://www.supamovs.com/c/11774/11774_1.jpg

L to r: Morbs, Eric. I'm glowering in the middle.

Come now, Eric towers over me.

Not with that belt.

NRQ's hatred of the detrius threads knows know bounds.

The awesome, beautifully remodeled, $2 per ticket second-run theater I live near just started running The Help and Midnight in Paris (both of which I've avoided til now) this weekend. It may be a very detriusy weekend for me.

I tried to watch The Help on a plane last night, but my eyes glazed over after 5 minutes, so I turned to The Hangover 2 instead. (Which wasn't a particularly good movie, but at least it was diverting.)

Oh yeah, I totally skipped both those movies this weekend in order to sleep away some of this cold.

A.O. Scott's review of J. Edgar. Sorry I couldn't find the appropriate thread.

Without rushing — a slow hand, Mr. Eastwood likes to take his time inside a scene — the film efficiently condenses history, packing Hoover’s nearly 50 years with the bureau into 2 hours 17 minutes. By 1924, Hoover was its deputy; a few years later in real time, seemingly minutes in movie time, he meets Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer, the Winklevoss twins in “The Social Network”). Tall and impeccably groomed, Tolson is a golden boy who, here at least, physically recalls the 1920s tennis star Bill Tilden and quickly becomes Hoover’s deputy and constant, longtime companion. The men meet in a bar, introduced by a mutual acquaintance. Hoover blusters through the easygoing introductions, his eyes darting away from the friendly newcomer literally looming over him.

Later, Tolson applies for a job at the F.B.I. and is eagerly hired by Hoover, inaugurating a bond that became the subject of titters but that Mr. Eastwood conveys matter-of-factly, without either condescension or sentimentality. Before long Tolson is helping Hoover buy his suits and straightening his collar, and the two are dining, vacationing and policing in lock step. Tolson becomes the moon over Hoover’s shoulder, a source of light in the shadows. Even the ashcan colors and chiaroscuro lighting brighten. In these scenes Mr. Hammer gives Tolson a teasing smile and the naked face of a man in love. Mr. DiCaprio, by contrast, beautifully puts across the idea that the sexually inexperienced Hoover, while enlivened by the friendship, may not have initially grasped the meaning of its depth of feeling.

Speaking of J. Edgar, the MPAA strikes again:

Rated R (for brief strong language).

(but really, for being about gay people)

Brett Ratner: "R ratings are for fags."

Yep. Pretty sure there is only one f-bomb in the whole movie. Unless two instances of "cocksucker" did the job.

for future ref:

should we anticipate Clint Eastwood's J.Edgar?

The lack of a space after "J." fucks up searching.

EW's three "front-runners" in each category.

The Artist
The Descendents
War Horse

George Clooney, The Descendents
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brad Pitt, Moneyball*

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Kenneth Branaugh, My Week With Marilyn
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendents

* clearly going to be my bete noir this Oscar year

(Oops, they did director, too. Same three as they had for best picture.)

There looks like plenty of wiggle room in supporting actor, judging from their list (which omits Albert Brooks for some reason).

Maybe Christopher Plummer will die before the nominations are announced.

Is Brooks even well liked in Hollywood? Considering that his movies make no money?

Eric, perhaps you can vanquish your bete noire by accepting my word that Moneyball didn't villify the Twins.

xpost I almost two asterisks next to your bete noir this season.

My distaste for the "Pitt deserves this because we didn't give Cary Grant a nod for being Cary Grant" campaign has nothing to do with my disdain dor Dumbeddownball in general (which, actually, isn't very pronounced at all; I think I liked it more than you, at least).

which is what? I haven't seen any of that except Pitt. xp

wouldn't this be more "let's say Pitt deserves it for this because theaters had to put warnings on the b.o. window for The Tree of Life?"

oic, you mean Moneyball. meh, I understand why ppl who don't know the first thing about baseball like it.

I don't know what particularly you've got against Pitt's perf in Moneybagg$: it's as effective as his turn in The Tree of Life (and the latter's the worse movie).

Your values are confused.

I'm as much for awarding physical beauty as the next guy, but, well, this round goes to Clooney.

This is the detrius thread.

You can't praise physical beauty here -- this is the detrius thread.

no and no, Alfred

Haven't seen the Payne yet, I'd have given Clooney Best Actor for Intolerable Cruelty. Screwball revival!

Tree of Life didn't have any fucking tween with her fucking guitar

No. It had shots of nebulae accompanied by classical music and Sean Penn on a beach.

There looks like plenty of wiggle room in supporting actor, judging from their list (which omits Albert Brooks for some reason).

I'm pulling for Patton Oswalt.

shots of nebulae accompanied by classical music >>>>>>>>>> whatever that fucking song was

I thought Pitt in ToL was the best performance of a midcentury American dad in eons.

Agree!

have not made a list of supporting actors yet, but will consider Bruce Greenwood in Meek's Cutoff and that wisecracking kid in Attack the Block.

No problem with Brooks on that list.

Does Patton Oswalt get all anti-comedy in his movie? (or, as in the case of Jonah Hill, anti-performance?)

I know that no one from Mysteries of Lisbon or Extraordinary Stories is going anywhere even with the Indiewire critics poll.

and among supporting women, Jeannie Berlin and Edie Falco.

Um, which wisecracking kid in Assault the Block?

The one who was most like a comedy pro, or a Bowery Boy.

(u know, everything u h8)

The one who was also nerd-cute? That's not something I hate.

Alex Esmail -- he played Pest.

http://www.beyondhollywood.com/uploads/2011/07/attack-the-block10.jpg

Don't really remember him standing out that much tbh. My favorite kids were the two 6-year-olds.

No Sandusky.

(Link to my running top 10, fwiw.)

The Descendants, eh.

We share three of those ten.

Really, only the top 4 (maybe 5) of that list is what I'm "enthusiastic" about.

And they could have been listed in almost any order, too.

I have a running "top" list of about 30 so far, with no idea what order they go in. I need to see all of them again (which is not gonna happen by list turn-in time). And the themes of the films have gotten even grimmer since mid-year. (Also, zero Hollywood films so far, unless Margaret counts.)

Eric, edG would like your list more than mine, which is going to be absent Tree of Life.

I vaguely remember Applause opening in NYC, but it turns out it was in December 2010.

Is Crazy Stupid Love actually good? It looked like something I could avoid and miss nothing but it keeps popping up in discussion. Really, I'm just trying to avoid another (500) Days Of Summer.

I don't know that I'd put it in the top 10, but I'm glad to see it in someone's.

Is Crazy Stupid Love actually good?

It's a mess but I'm fond of it. I don't know where it would place on my list in January.

It is a mess, but with probably the best of Gosling's '11 perfs. Which is enough to top 10 it for me.

CSL might make my 'Worst 10 with Ambition' even tho the first half has some laughs. A naughty "life-affirming" sitcom. (ie, the ending made me wanna die)

Mysteries of Lisbon coming to DVD Dec 20! Film Socialisme in January! Those are all the hints you're getting for now.

Worst 10 with Ambition

Just embrace your inner Armond, already.

Not if he liked Jack & Jill.

I mean, it certainly wouldn't scrape the actual Worst 10, but why bother ranking putrid shit nobody saw?

I'd prefer "worst with ambition" was the standard on those lists i.e. Mommie Dearest-era Razzies >>>>> Lindsey Lohan-era Razzies

just let me know what month you want me to watch Mommie Dearest while you watch The King of Comedy. (learning, growing etc)

August 2049.

I'd prefer "worst with ambition" was the standard on those lists i.e. Mommie Dearest-era Razzies >>>>> Lindsey Lohan-era Razzies

― dor Dumbeddownball (Eric H.), Wednesday, November 16, 2011 12:13 PM (8 hours ago) Bookmark

Amen.

jeez EH, you're no fun.

OK, A Separation (Iranian melo-realism about a combustible clash of bourgeois and working-class families) is really good even though Jeff Wells likes it.

Everything I've read about A Separation makes me think it's so not great. Mostly because everyone's saying it's so great.

I think you're wearing your outer Armond.

So long as it's not The Visitor, I'll curb it.

(American History X style.)

http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/oscars-15-documentary-features-advance/

The Interrupters not on the shortlist.

Idiots.

Did Steve James ... murder every one of the Oscar doc committee members' babies?

That is unfortunate, but we know what to expect from that category: not much.

no Herzog or The Inheritors (which is likely ineligible/invisible) either.

I'm kind of shocked tbh.

Also Oscar/Detrius thread merging again.

Fuck the Oscars thread.

so....

http://strangewood.tumblr.com/tagged/Film

(takes a long while to load)

and for reference:

http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/awards-and-lists-2011-index

OFCS awards sort of sept by ToL -- except, of course, Pitt.

http://www.ofcs.org/2012/01/15th-annual-online-film-critics-society.html

swept

I'm fine with those lead acting results too, regardless of the quality of the movies surrounding them.

Happy w/ everything except original screenplay and the fact that they picked the wrong Herzog.

i can't remember where we were discussing tabloid, but i saw it yesterday & liked it enough. i thought calling it 'tabloid' insulated it from some of the criticisms you could level at it for its punchy, cartoonish design, because to some degree it's probably apt. but i do wish he'd tone it down on the glassy scores, &c. the whole thing had a kinda weirdly affecting undertone, to me, like it was a comedy but the place of joyce in talking honestly & in fact presciently about love ended up being like p distressing & heavy. & those were some of the parts that weren't scored into shape. i know that's my criticism of all movies on here but it did seem to slightly blunt or caricature some of the film's impact. its twists made it p enthralling, to the extent that i both understand & disagree with 'it's just like a first person ep', because it was sorta stealthily pretty heavy at the same time.

Slate Movie Club begins (Dan Kois included, ohhh this'll be... something):

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_movie_club/features/2012/movie_club_2011/best_movies_of_2011_melancholia_is_still_bugging_me.html

looking at that group im not sure i can stand to read any of it this year.

i think 2012 may be the year i give up on film criticism.

may remove "on" myself

Allow me to supply another nail in the coffin.

PGA nominations

THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann

BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green

HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese

THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

hey, they came up with 3 I haven't seen.

Naming ten w/ no Malick is pretty vicious.

i sincerely do not understand what people see in david fauxner

TynanDeLong Tynan DeLong
My year in film: 'The Future' was dope. 'Tree of Life' didn't do anything for me. Those were the only movies I saw this year.
30 Dec Favorite Retweet Reply

Ouchie.

tynan delong lives on in our hearts as a useless meme

― elmo, holy helper (allocryptic), Thursday, March 30, 2006

(sorry, no idea who this joker is)

It's here: http://cityarts.info/2012/01/04/the-2011-better-than-list/

Once again, I can't say he's consistently crazy. Pretty sure Real Steel is better than Moneyball.

man its kinda boring this year! this is classic though

Paul> Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Greg Mottola, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost grasp the depth of American pop culture while Apichatpong Weerasethakul peddles Asian obscurantism. Joyous vs. Spurious.

"asian obscurantism" yikes

Jack and Jill>The Descendants
Adam Sandler’s affectionate, very broad ethnic satire defies Alexander Payne’s smug denial of America’s ethnic history. Humility vs. Sanctimony

Rejoice and Shout>Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Don McGlynn’s gospel music history traces beginnings of art in faith while Werner Herzog’s loss of faith prompts his history of art. Heaven vs. Purgatory

Your Highness, The Sitter>Midnight in Paris
David Gordon Green indulges his love of fiction and adolescence while college dropout Woody Allen name drops and disrespects his literary betters. Humor vs. Hoax

armond white's use of "faith" as an imprimatur of all that is good in the world is hilarious.

I Love Everything affectionate, very broad ethnic satire

stupid as it was i can believe colombiana was better than the help

well, it is

xxp

David Cronenberg’s Freudian one-gunmanship and ethnic spite

huh?

asian obscurantism

WTF

No cineaste thread so I'll put this collection of old pieces by Gilbert Adair, who recently passed away, here.

The essay on Raul Ruiz was really good, but lots more besides.

AW would almost be a useful or even interesting critic if his contrarianism was based on some seemingly coherent world view, but i can't make heads or tails of it.

I guess he couldn't find a way to juxtapose Cars 2 & Drive.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes> The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rupert Wyatt reboots the original series as a fresh, wild vision of modern frustration, defying Fincher’s apathetic wallow in pathology and brutality. Emotion vs. Style.

Attack the Block> A Separation
Joe Cornish’s clever, good-humored exploration of sci-fi social conflict defies Asghar Farhadi’s obvious Iranian didacticism. Action vs. Talk.

Winnie the Pooh>Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Disney turns children’s literature into cinematic grace defying Stephen Daldry’s attempt to turn 9/11 tragedy into a fairy tale. Beauty vs. Shamelessness.

None of these (nor the RS / Moneyball one) are nuts to me at all! He's losing his touch.

they're still incredibly stupid comparisons though

3xchair armond white
Don't sit. Go see The Sitter cityarts.info/2011/12/07/adv…
9 Dec Favorite Retweet Reply

He's DGG's sole champion now, isn't he?

I guess you don't see Rotten Tomatoes much, almost everyone has champions

I don't. However it seems like you can't have a review of his latest films without including a wish he'd return to the style of his early, unfunny films.

as opposed to his current, unfunny films?

Yeah. I assume he won't be merging Malick visuals to semen and weed jokes as a happy compromise anytime soon.

guess this is more an 'nyc film snob' thing but hoberman's been sacked:

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2012/01/4888064/film-critic-j-hoberman-out-village-voice

well i kinda mean his contempt for films that dare to sully the good name of western religion is pretty hilar

or dare to question american moral righteousness or w/e

considering how shitty most of the rest of the vv media's writers are that's pretty grim

omar, spare us the pricky ooh-religion-sucks boring shit.

Hoberman news sucks.
otoh he liked Dogville.

I mean I realize you're more about idolizing fictional Baltimore drug dedalers, but still

really

we'd made so much progress

Awww man, I like Hoberman a lot.

dedalers

dedalwithit.gif

Omar Dedalus Little do the police in different voices

Morbs, have you written anything on the two Spielberg joints currently in theaters?

May watch War Horse tomorrow, after some hesitation. Speak up now.

Enjoy.

I just realized I had a dream about War Horse last night. And I haven't even seen it.

hang on after the first 30 mins of WH, it gets better.

Phil:

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-adventures-of-tintin/5947

Nice - as one of the resident Spielberg stans I was curious as to what you thought. Tintin was the first 3-D movie I've seen, and frankly I found it an enormous distraction. I was much more impressed by Spielberg's "You mean I can put the camera *anywhere*?" sense of screen space. He really took to mo-cap in a big way.

WH definitely picks up after that first cavalry scene. The GWTW-inspired crane-up at the end of the scene is like "Yikes."

Interesting read on Tintin. I was pretty disappointed by the film, and I entered with low expectations. The parts you highlighted – the front credits, the bird chase, and seaplane - were my favorites, but I didn't feel like they gelled into anything memorable enough to rate. The characters were a bit fan-servicey for my tastes, and a dearth of psychological/emotional realism put me off in the way I expected the mo-cap to do. As a stylistic exercise, I think it was immensely satisfying, but as storytelling it fell quite short of the mark.

It felt like the film moved along with compulsive breeziness to cover for the fact it was uncomfortable with quietness or slower, reactive scenes.

I'm not sure a 'reactive' Tintin would be anything a studio would pay for.

Not that "texture" is quantifable or even definable in any offhand way, but I usually feel like Spielberg is, at his strongest moments, the best in the game at creating an emotionally-charged sense of place/aesthetic representation of (some) psychological charge. Even in his more recent films, I find he uses reaction shots and scenes of aftermath to convey and color, and vary/slow down the pace of the picture. In Tintin, I felt the action was relentless, Tom-and-Jerry, and frankly a little overwhelming.

well, I think the interludes w/ the Thompsons (eg, in the pickpocket's lair) were about as much of a rest as was permissible. Not really a diff strategy than Temple of Doom.

fair enough. I'd definitely see another one, but not in 3D.

Writers Guild noms. zzzzzzzzzzz

http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1516

This isn't the thread for it, but man "Community" can't catch a break awards-wise.

maybe cause it's no good

lololololol

LexG says:
January 5, 2012 at 11:19 am

“Movie critic” isn’t a real job. Working in a depressing office is. Driving a bus is. Mechanic is. Doctor, dentist, lawyer, etc. That people make a living WATCHING MOVIES and INTERVIEWING CELEBRITIES is a HOBBY YOU LUCK INTO CONNING SOMEONE TO PAY YOU TO DO. The fact that I read 100 numbskulls on Twitter whose lives consist of sitting around watching BluRays and going to FREE SCREENINGS bears no resemblance to the actual existence of going to a florescent-hell buzzing-light fixture OFFICE SPACE existence of brutal mundanity and boredom and sameness that constitutes an ACTUAL JOB.

I don’t feel sorry for any fired critic; They should all be fired… If you wanna write about movies that bad, set up a goddamn Blogspot and go get a nice accounting job or taking dictation or copy-editing or something.

The idea of paying some old fuck or some beardo in an EMPIRE STRIKES BACK T-shirt to analyze FUCKING MOVIES is like a concept out of both 1967 and 1997. It’s over, Johnny. Go to work now.

http://moviecitynews.com/2012/01/one-critic-or-all-critics/#comment-611340

Read the movie blogs, all you hear about are the quick minds of Armond and AO and Manohla and the Oscar fanatics like Anne Thompson or Poland or whoever; How often does KENNETH TURAN get cited? Yet he probably makes 500k a year and almost surely lives in a white neighborhood, and he BARELY WORKS.

LexG, a person to whom attention must be paid

eh all those office space jobs are gonna go too

top 10 US grossers this year were all "franchise" potboilers. Enjoy your Happy Meal.

http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2011&p=.htm

on a happier nore, the Self-Styled Siren's best 20 old films she first saw last year:

http://selfstyledsiren.blogspot.com/2012/01/favorite-movies-viewed-in-2011.html

(Seen 6 of those, highly recommend Man's Castle and Hallelujah I'm a Bum)

You can kinda see how the press for Bridesmaids was so downright thankful.

Embarrassed to say I've never seen any of those twenty old movies. Even more embarrassed to admit that I've only ever *heard of* Hallelujah I'm a Bum (though most of the director's themselves are at least known to me).

a lot of them don't circulate heavily.

Man's Castle is excellent. My favorite Borzage is still Three Comrades though.

The last David Thomson column in The Guardian

He's so handsome, yet so cold and detached – not a million miles away from Magneto.

Finally saw Ken Jacobs' Seeking the Monkey King, a full-throated cry against the end of America with music by Jim "Foetus" Thirlwell.

...which was just cited as Best Experimental Film by the National Society of Film Critics, with their headline prizes going to Melancholia, Dunst and Pitt.

http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2012/1/8/melancholia-it-is-for-the-nsfc.html

So this year the big 4 split entirely...

NY: The Artist
LA: The Descendants
BOR: Hugo
SOC: Melancholia

(And not one of them went Tree of Life, despite it running the table with the critics' polls.)

on what fucking planet could anyone, let alone a majority of critics, think The Descendents is the BEST movie of the entire fucking year, even if you liked it?!

could be asked equally of The Artist and Hugo.

My pal "One-Star" Sch3nk3r reveals his Ten Worst: two 9/11 films and some regular prize winners.

http://aschenker.blogspot.com/2012/01/ten-worst-movies-of-2011-in.html

Amazed he's not on the anti-Kevin bandwagon. Thought I was very literally the only one within even three degrees of Slant that didn't actually want to assault Lynne Ramsay.

Gl3nn H3ath liked it.

I see he, like me, is registered in the Critics Protection Program.

art directors:

http://www.adg.org/?art=16_adg_awards_nominations

DGA nominates (in descending order of worthiness): Scorsese, Fincher, Allen, Hazanavicius, Payne

In much more interesting/better news, RT calls (or, rather, lets the math fall in place to call) Weekend the best romantic movie of the year: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/golden_tomatoes_awards_2011/genre/romance/

(The only romantic movie of the year, as far as I could see anyway.)

Interesting that DGA and WGA both nominated Dragon Tattoo where War Horse might have been expected.

Or The Tree of Life.

Think you can probably file Tree in the New World column w.r.t Oscar prospects now, not Thin Red Line.

W/out having seen Dragon Tattoo, I would not expend the effort to put those other 4 in a worthiness order. Blah.

I agree that Weekend is 'romantic' as in kinda bullshit.

BP probably: The Artist, The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, War Horse

Somewhere along the way, the directors' guild and AMPAS branch flipped to the other side of hip from the National Board of Review.

Fincher's direction of dreadful material might actually be better than Scorsese's. When the strongest candidate of the whole line-up is textbook for-hire work, eep.

BP probably: The Artist, The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, War Horse

Kris Tapley just replaced Moneyball with Dragon Tattoo.

Meanwhile Nathaniel has a net set of predictions:

http://thefilmexperience.net/best-actor/

I don't see Dragon Tattoo and Fincher making the final cut.

Wouldn't rule it out. I wouldn't rule anything out this year ... aside from good movies.

Both Shannon and Fassbender over DiCaprio seems waaaay wishful thinking.

^^ take it to the GOP candidates thread.

xpost

Both Shannon and Fassbender over DiCaprio seems waaaay wishful thinking.

yup

Btw, let me preemptively apologize to Morbius for sullying the detrius thread with Oscar talk.

The only detrius this time of year is Oscar talk.

Oscars are detrius and fmihd.

the help winning this year's sandra bullock vote for barmy race politics appreciated by people who wear leggings and uggs in public

and people who find shit sandwich jokes the best kind of kneeslappers.

And people who like Stephen Daldry movies. (Still not sure we won't get Reader'd again this year.)

Stephen Daldry made a pretty good movie, once. Would getting Readerd mean getting Artistd?

I would prefer to abandon the detrius thread once everything but the Oscars is dione, but alas that's not soon enough.

Also wdn't be surprised if A Separation is the only good movie to win an Oscar this year, or if none do.

The only detrius this time of year is Oscar talk.

what's gonna win the Film Comment readers' poll?

Reader'd to the extent that a late-arriving Daldry movie gets virtually no heat from all precursors and then somehow ends up with multiple Oscar nominations.

hey, at least it's still more significant than the presidential election.

― Dr Morbois de Bologne (Dr Morbius), Monday, January 9, 2012 1:38 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Suggested title?

― lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, January 9, 2012 1:39 PM (23 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

The Least Consequential in History

― gnome rocognise gnome (remy bean), Monday, January 9, 2012 1:40 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha – Morbs' post WAS the title.

― lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, January 9, 2012 1:43 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

btw I wdn't be surprised to see DiCaprio slide off the list, unless he's the new Jack Lemmon.

all the FilmExp pix are updated:

http://thefilmexperience.net/prediction-index/

― Dr Morbois de Bologne (Dr Morbius), Monday, January 9, 2012 1:45 PM (17 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

so dire

Woody Allen
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Michael Haznavicius
THE ARTIST
Terence Malick
THE TREE OF LIFE
Alexander Payne
DESCENDANTS
Martin Scorsese
HUGO

― gnome rocognise gnome (remy bean), Monday, January 9, 2012 1:48 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this year's theme: wistfulness

― gnome rocognise gnome (remy bean), Monday, January 9, 2012 1:49 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Haven't seen Hugo but, oy, the rest.

― lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, January 9, 2012 1:51 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i.e. I just removed my bookmark from the superfluous Oscar thread

bad day for back pain, eh

TSPDT updates their top 1000:

http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000.htm

bad day for back pain, eh

The little lower layer.

Margin Call has some speechifying, and a tendency sometimes to explain the same thing two or three times, but I did like it. What I liked most was that there were no dumb plot twists (stop reading if you need to)--nobody gets murdered, nobody double-crosses anybody, no dark secrets are revealed. I'm sure it will bother a lot of people as a whitewash--everyone's human, and ineptitude rather than malevolent forces drive the narrative.

Margin Call should be in the mix a lot more than it is during detrius season. I was kind of irate that Spacey's character was heroic but at least the filmmakers gave him the half-hearted "I need the money". And in the end the film covers enough ground to make up for its sympathy.

I liked MC too but Spacey's dog is an obstacle.

the dog would have been so much better as Simon Baker's pet, not Spacey's, since Baker is the only real one-note asshole. nb I didn't know who Simon Baker was before typing this.

He's been in a bunch of films and never making an impression beyond Heath-Ledger-with-a-smile.

He's also the title character on "The Mentalist", one of the bigger US tv crime dramas.

What I liked most was that there were no dumb plot twists

I don't think it needed plot twists but I do think it could have used a bit more plot - or at least more conflict. The resolution is too easy: "Oh, we've got a lot of worthless crap on our books. I know - let's sell it!" They try to turn this into some kind of moral crisis for the Spacey character, but it's never really very dramatic or convincing. At the end you kind of wonder what all the fuss was about.

more Film Comment year-end stuff is up, including 22 "unknown pleasures" from around the world, incl the Ken Jacobs I saw last weekend and new Shinji Aoyama:

http://www.filmlinc.com/film-comment/article/terra-incognita3

if you read one war horse review: http://thehairpin.com/2012/01/war-horse-an-illustrated-review

didnt realize Carnage was only 79 minutes? i mean theres still no way im gonna see it

it's not terrible. it might be if it was any longer.

ASC noms... between Richardson, Lubezki and Schiffman, I'd say.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/american-society-of-cinematographers-announce-2011-asc-awards

I think Schiffman will probably take the Oscar. Not the ASC tho.

seems sound

Oscars get everything wrong. Every time.

Really enjoyed Tintin. Went to see War Horse but the projection screwed up so got a refund plus two passes. Maybe I'll see it tomorrow.

Now that I've seen it, I'm really surprised Extremely Oscar and Incredibly Academy Award isn't more in the conversation.

That scene where Daldry cuts from a shot of the building collapsing to a shot of the kid collapsing? Oscar!

I continue to live a Daldry-free existence.

No wonder your calibration is off.

I've seen The Hours, but mostly b/c I liked the book. (The movie's no patch on it.)

S&S picks best DVDs of the year... a certain FoILX is OTM on the teo Tinker Tailors....

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/dvds-2011.php

i was v pleased w/ the 'deep end' dvd & the making-of doc on it was also great

http://www.tarantino.info/2012/01/14/exclusive-quentin-tarantinos-favorite-films-of-2011-more/

attack the block is fantastic but otherwise WHAT WRETCHED TASTE, WHAT A TERRIBLE DIRECTOR!

lol Drive got a "Nice Try" listing. Morbz will be conflicted.

QT's taste in new stuff < John Waters' taste in new stuff

that is a horrible list

My top ten.

Good list. Your entire Top 10 was in my Top 30.

Also thank you thank you thank you for qualifying your "worst of" as relative to Oscar Intentions.

The Descendants deserves every invective hurled at it though.

you need to cam the Oscars so we can watch you react to Clooney and Plummer's speeches.

I really loathed The Descendants, but I can't pretend it's worse than I Am Number Four. I just can't. The Artist looks like it will be my Angry Oscar movie this year. And I liked it!

I didn't see too many movies but Hugo was my favorite

plummer gave an ok/lite speech at the critics choice awards i happen to see

If Plummer has competition at this point, it ain't Albert Brooks.

(That's one category I'm damned if I know what's going to fill out slots 3, 4 and 5.)

in case you missed Reverse Shot's list of 11 stinkers (2nd straight year for a Dragon Tattoo!):

http://www.reverseshot.com/article/11_offenses_2011

also, some spectacularly entertaining catchall/novelty honors:

Most Retarded: Bellflower
End-of-world obsessed L.A.-hipster dude finds out his gf is sleeping around, gets so mad that he takes his homemade blowtorch and modified Road Warrior hot rod on a murderous blood-soaked rampage. Filmmaker blinks, winds back time to show that all the carnage was just an emotional apocalypse (!), not the coming of the real one. Sad dude’s friend convinces him the whole West Coast thing isn’t working out and they should just move back home to Wisconsin. FIN . . . du intellect.

http://www.reverseshot.com/article/reverse_shots_two_cents_2011

GGs confirmed this will be the worst Oscars ever

ugh the Descendants. And it's been such a good year.

Here's is my top 5. Can the film dudes tell me why I'm a horrible person?

1. The Artist
2. Drive
3. Martha Marcy May Marlene
4. The Skin I Live In
5. Rango

i wanna be down

basically if you like The Artist you want to fuck Stalin.

I just checked and Rango is the only film I've seen from the whole list of nominees.

xpost

better red than dead

Rango is almost as self-congratulatory as Drive.

better Ned than red

The Artist is middlebrow fluff.
Drive is shallow nonsense for geek fanboys who don't know any better.
Martha Marcy May Marlene is by-the-numbers American Indie that seeks to exploit trauma for plaudits by seeming 'significant' and 'deep'.
The Skin I Live In is over-the-top.
Rango is pop-culture referencing nonsense with nothing underneath.

middlebrow fluff shallow nonsense geek fanboys by the numbers over-the-top nonsense nothing underneath.

JFK
BLOWN AWAY
WHAT ELSE DO I HAVE TO SAAAY?

I worked out a top 30, but here's the top 10:

10. Poetry
9. Nostalgia for the Light
8. Weekend
7. Senna
6. Melancholia
5. Drive
4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
3. A Separation
2. Certified Copy
1. The Tree of Life

I liked all of Whiney's top 5 btw

In case you missed this from Reverse Shot above:

Best Thing Overheard at the Movies:
Older woman in concession line during the intermission of Mildred Pierce at Museum of the Moving Image's marathon screening: "I'm so glad Natalie Portman isn't in this."

she should host the GGs

what twitters should i follow if im gonna be down with the detrius crew

none, just read Winchell & Hedda Hopper

and ask yourself which actress you'd want to be in The Women.

Most Retarded: Bellflower

Most Retarded: having a 'most retarded' category

I suspect/hope they mean 'socially retarded'

BAFTA noms (Tree of Life & Melancholia: zilch)

http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/bafta-nominations-2012

Interesting that they went lead with Berenice Bejo.

The Tree of Life is soooooo dead.

Interesting that they went lead with Berenice Bejo.

And Viola Davis. (I know.)

Under what circumstances would Brits try to grasp an existential film about Texas?

They're closer to where dinosaurs roamed.

dinosaurs are universal man

dinosuars are plan b, and river road, man

johnny english reborn was universal

Editors:

http://ace-filmeditors.org/ace-eddie-awards/nominees-recipients/

http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/41431/oscarmetrics-george-brad-and-the-three-other-likely-best-actor-nominees

It's downright depressing to look at the list of names sure to get snubbed in favor of Pitt, Clooney, DiCaprio and the guy who looks like Gene Kelly in The Dueling Cavalier.

Another revival discoveries column, this one on Mubi. I've seen all of these, though not all this year, but Dead Birds was one of the revelations of 2011 for me.

http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/out-of-the-past-2011-revival-house-discoveries

It's downright depressing that Streep will win for a role and performance out of a "Family Guy" episode.

it's the goddamn Oscars, nothing about it is depressing when graded on the appropriate goddamn fucking curve

you sound downright depressed

you sound like your prescription ran out.

lock thread

world poll, Senses of Cinema:

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2012/feature-articles/2011-world-poll/

Pshhhh. They don't even tally the results.

i have a weird desire to tally the results myself, might do that if i get bored enough

David Ehrenstein... man, what is the deal w/ that guy.

he loves comment sections!

ultimate comments whore

lol i called him out once for saying something dumb bout trans ppl in the tlrd comments section and he got pissy about it

he even commented on one of my reviews once, neutrally

He comments on THND all the time.

what's tlrd and THND? do i even want to know?

http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/

The only D.E. book I have is Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1927-1997

Producers Guild award to yep, u know

Some downright fantastic vitriol here:

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2012/01/vulture-critics-poll-worst-movie-of-2011-ballots.html

1. Shame. Steve McQueen’s tale of pursuit-of-sexual-gratification-as-stations-of-the-cross punished its hollow shell of a protagonist (a too-game Michael Fassbender) as much as it flattered its audience by making them feel superior to him. Its acclaim isn’t mind-boggling only because it’s so clearly calibrated — in artful composition, self-serious score — to make you think you’re watching something of import. It’s actually childish, chastising, moralizing drivel so histrionic it has its main character literally wailing on his knees in front of the New York City skyline at the end. Nice dick, though.

Love when things like this happen:

Mark Kermode, BBC
1. New Year’s Eve
2. Film Socialisme

Nathan Lee and Chas Taylor very funny, but Armond's 1-2 most efficient:

We Need to Talk About Kevin. Must we?
The Help. A return to Jim Crow, now called "Viola Davis."

We Need to Talk About Kevin. Must we?

Wow. Yeah. Don't know how the movie will recover from that zingage.

I am looking fwd to the box-office sieges if Tilda gets nominated and this plays to reg'lar folks.

flattered its audience by making them feel superior to him.

Yet more evidence that I did not see the same movie as most of y'all.

we are v interested how you'd measure your superiority to Michael Fassbender, Simon.

4. A Dangerous Method. Respectable David Cronenberg makes me long for exploding heads and gash fucking.

I am looking fwd to the box-office sieges if Tilda gets nominated and this plays to reg'lar folks.

Horror always plays well to us neo-Cronenberg-hating plebes.

Gash-fucking Cronenberg and "respectable" Cronenberg equally permissible in my book.

Super 8. A movie only Spielberg-haters could love.

OTM, as the Slant DVD review proves to almost satirical degree.

After watching Super-8 I have more respect for The Goonies.

Hey now.

It's true!

I was disappointed by the number of people who seemed charmed by Super 8.

when did you see A Dangerous Method, Eric? cuz it's of a piece with his entire oeuvre.

No it's not.

what's your "neo-Cronenberg" dividing line?

Yeah I think Dangerous Method is very Cronenberg-material.

SAG gives best actor to Jean Dujardin's smile.

http://www.sag.org/screen-actors-guild-honors-outstanding-film-and-television-performances-18th-annual-screen-actors-gu

If this were to happen at the Oscars, I may grab a fork and go all Albert Brooks.

and both maids told "you is special..."

I think Dujardin winning the Oscar is a strong possibility. Pitt and Clooney split the movie-star vote; Dujardin charms everyone else and climbs over the seats like Roberto Benigni.

yes, he's the Benigni with sex apppeal instead of tastelessly misapplied comic talent

Dujardin would certainly be the first winner since Benigni whose performance was afflicted with a terminal case of the cutes.

Hazmatvicious won DGA if u missed it

(NON-OSCAR POST)

it's the AARP awards!

http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/making-a-play-for-older-voters-and-moviegoers/?ref=movies

hey, guess what swept the BAFTAs

http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/bafta-nominees-and-winners-2012

glad to see Senna take a prize for editing.

Lubezki won his guild award

nb: The Interrupters airs on PBS tonight

WGAs to Midnight in Paris, The Descendants

Oh, they have the cinema or cinephiles now?

http://icsfilm.org/index.php

PICTURE
01. A Separation
02. The Tree of Life
03. Mysteries of Lisbon
04. Certified Copy
05. Weekend
06. Margaret
07. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
08. Drive
09. Meek's Cutoff
10. Hugo
11. Melancholia

DIRECTOR
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life

ACTOR
Tom Cullen – Weekend

ACTRESS
Anna Paquin – Margaret

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brad Pitt – The Tree of Life

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
J. Smith-Cameron – Margaret

Mrs Lonergan's character was the weak link in Margaret.

Tom Cullen is the boring one in Weekend, right?

y

Lord God

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/indie-spirit-awards-winners-list-the-artist-294970

flattered its audience by making them feel superior to him.

Yet more evidence that I did not see the same movie as most of y'all.

― Simon H., Monday, 23 January 2012 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It was an OK film -- not as bad as that piece of vitriol suggests, nor as good as its supporters suggest?

Not sure how the audience is made to feel superior unless its 'he is utterly devoid of charm however that does not stop him sleeping with half of New York but IS HE HAPPY?' type thing. And even if it is you can always flip this around...

Yeah, I watched the Indie Spirit Awards. Oscars will be grim. Also, Plummer's acceptance speech will go on for an hour.

Xpost

FC readers' poll

http://www.filmlinc.com/film-comment/article/readers-poll-the-20-best-film-of-2011

I like to be out front on year-end lists, so here's mine for 2011:

1. Bobby Fischer Against the World
2. Project Nim
3. Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune
4. A Separation
5. Paul Goodman Changed My Life
6. Eames: The Architect & The Painter
7. A Dangerous Method
8. Bill Cunningham New York
9. Melancholia
10. Urbanized

At least a couple aren't technically 2011, but that's when they first played here. I was holding off on this until I saw A Separation, which I did today. In all honesty, I half dragged myself to it, expecting that it wasn't for me. But it kept going in directions I didn't anticipate, the two kids were great, and it had one of those final shots where you suddenly think "End it right here," and happily the director did.

I also more or less liked the following: Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, Moneyball, The Ides of March, American: The Bill Hicks Story, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I didn't share in the enthusiasm for The Tree of Life or The Interrupters, although I can see where they deeply affected people. So-so: Page One: Inside the New York Times, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Into the Abyss, Contagion, Jane Eyre, The Iron Lady, Gerhard Richter Painting (technical difficulties a factor). Didn't like: Meek's Cutoff (my biggest disappointment), J. Edgar, Tabloid, Sarah Palin: You Betcha!, The Artist. Bafflement: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (While I Can't Recall Much of Anything About Uncle Boonmee).

I see I began my list on last year's detritus thread with pretty much exactly the same joke. I'm officially entering the Henny Youngman phase of my life.

Can't find a separate thread for A Separation, or for Iranian film. (Did you know that if you do an ILX search on "Iranian film," at the top of the list is the "COMEDY POLL ANNEX--which film is more racist: Napoleon Dynamite or Ghostbusters?" thread? I'm not sure I get that.) The little girl is so good. I know she's not required to do a whole lot, but her face is so expressive--she's like the kids at the puppet show in The 400 Blows, or the young Apu in Pather Panchali. I didn't know anything about the Alzheimer's thread of the story going in. I never saw the Sarah Polley film about Alzheimer's, so this was easily the best treatment I've ever seen of that subject. I was trying to think of another one, and I thought that Julia Roberts' mother might have had it in Sleeping with the Enemy, but I guess not. There was some mainstream film I saw once where the mom had Alzheimer's, and the daughter would visit her in the hospital. There must be a few of them.