Happy 69th birthday to David Cronenberg — a great Canadian and not a bad filmmaker, either. And because this has gone so well in the past, let's celebrate by asking: What's Cronenberg's best feature film? His worst? And where do the rest fall in between? The answers are obvious:
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Fully-certified flop Wanderlust might have sold a few more tickets if it had actually done anything remotely interesting with Jennifer Aniston and the rest of its talented female cast. It’s obviously not new that Hollywood doesn’t quite know what to do with comedic actresses (see also Faris, Anna). But it is a little sad in the wake of Bridesmaids’ commercial success – and its Oscars cameo over the weekend – that the rest of the film industry still. Doesn’t. Get It.
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Because it went so well the last time we tried this: What's David Lynch's best feature-length film? His worst? And where do the rest fall in between? The answers are obvious:
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As Sundance 2012 passed the halfway point, the celebs and hangers-on and people watchers started filtering out of Park City, leaving the sidewalks actually walkable and the shuttles downright spacious. I prepare to go home tomorrow, with many more interviews and reports to come, but the glorious peacefulness has me misty-eyed about the week that was; here's a quick rundown of highlights from the first week of the fest -- the movies I loved, the events that transpired, and yes, the time I met with Ice-T and Coco to talk hip-hop while they munched on pancakes.
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As we trudge into the fourth week of 2012 -- one of those all-too-rare years that influenced a movie title -- a question arises: What's the best film named after a year? The worst? Because it went so well the last time we tried something like this, let's give it another shot:
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Depending on your conspiracy theory of choice, the world may end 11 months and change from now, give or take a few days. And just in case all of those qualified real scientists are wrong about the 2012 doomsday being complete hooey, we’ve got filmmaker Roland Emmerich’s 2009 opus 2012 on hand to guide us for the potential cataclysm ahead. So grab a notepad and jot down the 18 or so essentials you’ll need to start stockpiling if you’re going to be ready to face down ultimate destruction, John Cusack-style.
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What's Martin Scorsese's best film? His worst? And where do the rest -- excluding his music video for "Bad," his episode of Amazing Stories and the collaborative documentary Street Scenes -- fall in between? The answers are obvious:
Not to be terribly negative at the start of the new year – because any year that gifted us the Fassboner had to be a pretty good year, amirite? – but there were a handful of recurring trends in the movies of 2011 that could stand a rest as we charge ahead through 2012. First let’s list the good ones, the motifs in otherwise disparate films, from a wide range of filmmakers indie and studio-backed, new and established, that were actually kind of awesome to marinate in this past year. (Goslingmania comin' atcha!)
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The year is drawing to a close, which means that it is time to start thinking about all the things you did not accomplish in 2011. (That Ghostbusters 3 script? Still unread. That copycat Wedding Crashers crime you committed in college? Still unresolved in court.) But before you do that, let's take a look back at some of my favorite Movieline stories that punctuated this remarkably unproductive calendar year.
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The quietly building popularity of Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist is good cause for becoming immersed in the great films from the silent era — marathon style, for the brave among us. Silent films are more accessible than ever thanks to the Internet and the fact that some are now in the public domain, but home video remains a better viewing experience for many of them.
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I'm going to assume none of us learned anything from Garry Marshall's New Year's Eve other than, "I was right to avoid New Year's Eve." Fortunately, there are real lessons to be gleaned from the best in New Year's cinema, and we've lined up five movies with tips for your bash this weekend. Whether you're ringing it in alone or spending it with the grimmest Vietnam vet on Earth, you'll learn something valuable here.
I honestly have no idea where 2011 went. I vaguely remember what follows here. There might have been more. You tell me.
2011 was a year of awful celebrity meltdowns and unimpressive Oscar bait, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a fabulous time for Movieline. After the jump, I'll revisit my 10 favorite stories of the year -- including the one that tainted hydrangeas for eternity.
And so my most-favorite, least-favorite task of the year rolls around again. I never call it a "10 best" list -- meaning the unequivocal 10 best films of the year -- because I'm fully aware of how subjective it is. Yet as frustrating as it usually is to pull together just the right 10, I found the job surprisingly pleasurable this year. So many movies to love! How could this have happened? Let's not even address the fact that two 3-D movies made it onto my list -- that surprises me as much as anyone. The remarkable thing is that year after year, no matter how much samey-sameness Hollywood (or even so-called indie cinema, for that matter) seems to give us, there are always pictures that resonate, movies that stand apart as if to do so were their God-given right.
I found 2011 to be a great, overstuffed year in film, though the sweeping trend of nostalgia that peaked during this awards season left me a little cold. Hugo, War Horse, The Artist, The Adventures of Tintin, The Help, even the self-aware looking back of Midnight in Paris -- when it's been such a turbulent 12 months beyond the movies, the comfort of evoking the past, especially the cinephilic past, is understandable, particularly with attendance down once again. But the features I really loved tended to be more prickly, vital affairs, about tragedy and life messily, stubbornly going on in its aftermath -- ones that reminded us that film can not only be a great escape, but can also engage and reflect the outside world.
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