Who's excited for 2012? I said, Who's excited for 2012? Oh. Well, it's coming whether you want it or not, and Mayan doomsday predictions and a U.S. presidential election aside, there is stuff to look forward to. Get your calendars ready and read on for 20 dates worth saving at the movies alone.
Yeah, I can't get over Rooney Mara's Dragon Tattoo getup. It's so... dated? Swedish? Remarkably cliche? And yet entrancing? Anyway, it has alternative connotations, and that brings me to Movieline's Christmas indulgence of the day: alternative women covers of yuletide classics. I couldn't find an embed of Liz Phair's recent "Baby It's Cold Outside" cover with the band Wheat, please consider that the unofficial sixth entry on this list. Take us to the Grinch, Aimee Mann!
With all this laudatory talk of the best of the year and Nelson Muntz-style "HA hah"-ing at the worst, isn't it time to spare a thought for all the films in between, the ones that are neither remarkably good nor jaw-dropping awful? 2011 saw hundreds of films hit theaters, some only on offer for a week or two before being shunted off to other platforms, others providing an adequate or mildly disappointing few hours of entertainment at the multiplex. But just because a movie is middling doesn't mean it can't have some memorable, even exceptional scenes. Here are five from flicks that likely won't be on many year-end lists, but that still deserve a second look.
Truth be told, I don't enjoy ranking films -- especially at the end of a year that disappointingly lacked a single title that moved me to tears, gut-busting laughter or some kind of profound existential realization. (However there were quite a few films that inspired hopelessness for the future of cinema. See Just Go With It and Bucky Larson: Born To Be a Star. Actually, don't see them.) But there were some titles I'd recommend and even some I wouldn't immediately regift if they found their way under my Christmas tree/menorah this season. Behold, my fave films of 2011. As always, let me know how much you disagree with this list in the space below.
I realize I may have given away some of these choices with my utterly correct listing of the year's ten best performances, but no matter! 2011's finest cinema, specifically the top three choices on my list, gifted us with bleak, but comprehensive glimpses into personal isolation. I love when a movie is resolutely grim -- reminds me of home. Here are my top ten films of 2011.
If you're both a movie fan and a consummate statistician, it's easy to love and appreciate the Oscars for shoehorning the majority of film history into a manageable grading rubric. I'm an Oscar apologist myself, and I still have one bone to pick with the Academy -- and all award-spewing organizations: the unnecessary reliance on gender-based categories. Is it not more thrilling to pit all actors against each other? Is there such an objective difference between Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock? Meryl Streep and Robert Downey Jr.? "Actor" is a gender-neutral term, and I think we'd all better off -- and better entertained -- without the meaningless siphoning. Thus, I'm stacking up the best performances of 2011 without categorical regard for gender or role size. It's a winner-take-all affair, and this winner definitely wants it all. Here's my top 10:
Still reeling from this week's installment of Oscar index, Movieline's Institute for the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics has had a rare Thursday open for business. Blame the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the shadowy swag goblins behind today's predictably headscratching slate of snubs, surprises and subplots also known as the 69th Golden Globe nominations. So far the Institute has chosen 10 worth investigating, but feel free to weigh in with your own as well:
This red-band promo clip of Young Adult indicates that Mavis Gary's (Charlize Theron) confrontation with Beth Slade (Elizabeth Reaser) will be mean, profane and pretty embarrassing for both characters. According to my calculations, that's a level-four tantrum in the "angry lady" cinematic universe. Young Adult opens in limited release this week, and to celebrate, let's counting down 10 classic types of female conniptions in film. Everyone from Ellen Ripley to Joan Crawford is accounted for -- but who's the grande dame of femme freakouts?
Madonna's much-maligned W.E. opens in limited release in New York and L.A. this week, and I thought we'd wipe the taste of Venetian backlash and hydrangea topnotes out of our mouths and remember five occasions when Lourdes's mother kicked ass in films. Because she did, people. Let's strap on our bangles, writhe in our fishnets, and point our cone bras back at Madonna's sunnier moments at the cineplex.
It's the week after Thanksgiving which means that it's time to start firing up some holiday playlists. Here to help is Scarlett Johansson, whose virtual duet with Dean Martin hit the Internet today. Is their posthumous rendering of "I'll Be Home For Christmas" creepy? A little. A necessary addition to the holiday track canon? Not at all. But random? Completely! In honor of this Christmas-time cut, let's review five of the other most random celebrity holiday recordings to confound the masses.
It's been a while since the critical establishment really, really hated something enough for Movieline to feature a customary "Scathing Responses" round-up. But they have emptied their spleens today for Jack and Jill, the new Adam Sandler "comedy" that our own critic Alison Willmore described as "a film whose star often seems moments away from turning to the camera and yelling 'ARE YOU LAUGHING NOW?'"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a conundrum: He's an immensely likable actor, though he's also very self-serious. He's hammy, yet pretentious. He's always rousing crowds with spirited acoustic covers, yet he's always pimping that website of his. Bottom line: He's an interesting mix, and because he gave an amazing performance in Mysterious Skin, I grant him extra leeway -- and a tribute to his best moments as a viral singing sensation! Yesterday we watched him strum the bejesus out of R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)" and today let's tally up all his fun covers, sort out our favorites, and declare one favorite.
There are mere days left until Halloween, and you're still scrambling for a costume that reflects your savvy Movieline-reading film knowledge? The perfect outfit that screams, "Look at me, I watch more movies than you, plebian sexy fill-in-the-blank!" Movieline's staff have culled a litany of costume ideas for you, inspired by indie art films and big Hollywood hits alike, either from this year at the movies or from the future. Dive in to find the greatest relevant Halloween costume ideas of the year!
If The Ides of March has taught us anything before its release, it's that the political thriller is a fabulous forum to act well, build a surprising character and look amazing doing it. The genre of "political thriller" is an ill-defined one with many subgenres (including "supernatural political thriller"!), but it's always an opportunity for great characters to emerge through intriguing twists, red herrings and explosive climaxes. Movieline ranks the 10 best performances in the genre after the jump; please abort any nuclear wars you may have started before reading on.
Single-named phenomenon Cancer has a deservedly chilly reputation outside of Hollywood, but in films, the heterogeneous class of diseases inhabits a world all its own as a performer, provocateur and villain. In this week's 50/50, Cancer arrives with a harrumph and lingers like a noxious haze, making it the Joan Crawford of 2011. This begs the question: What are Cancer's five greatest performances in cinema? The answer will force you into a beautiful monologue.
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