2009 in Film: The Honorable Mentions

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER (Marc Webb, 2009)

Life and love are rarely as tidy as art's simplified representations and the romantic's self-deluded perceptions. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER takes a hammer to romantic comedy tropes that distort the interpersonal dynamics between men and women into childish knight-in-shining-armor and princess fantasies. As the commitment-seeking emotional mess and the nonchalant pragmatist, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are a delight to watch as they reverse gender stereotypes. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER doesn't reach the rarefied level of Woody Allen's masterpiece ANNIE HALL, a clear influence, but the film's bruised yet clear-eyed romanticism is refreshing to find in a genre that often settles for something less than truthful or passionate.

ADVENTURELAND (Greg Mottola, 2009)

Warm and genuine, the nostalgic romance ADVENTURELAND fondly remembers the exciting and painful time in life that comes after college graduation but before one's life is sorted out. Writer-director Greg Mottola knows that while this period may feel like the end, it's actually a beginning. The characters come across as the pretentious but self-deprecating older siblings to the teens in the director's previous film SUPERBAD. Having a more mature but still insecure protagonist and supporting cast means ADVENTURELAND is filled with many modest charms rather than sidesplitting laughs, but it's an equally well-observed and funny slice of life.

BLACK DYNAMITE (Scott Sanders, 2009)

The blaxploitation parody BLACK DYNAMITE looks as though it could be a hilarious, forgotten film from the 1970s. Director Scott Sanders and co-writer/star Michael Jai White lovingly and convincingly recreate the cheap, junky, and freewheeling aesthetics of the genre, but this is more than just a skilled mimicking of another era's filmmaking style.

THE BOX (Richard Kelly, 2009)

DONNIE DARKO writer-director Richard Kelly takes another exceedingly strange and haunting look at the consequences of our decisions and how we rationalize them in THE BOX. As the plot developments become crazier, what Kelly's aiming for isn't always clear. Still, this Stanley Kubrick meets long-form TWILIGHT ZONE episode is an invigorating science fiction film with plenty to ponder.

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (Phil Lord and Chris Miller, 2009)

Among 2009's rich yield of animated films is the clever, character-based comedy of CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS. This lighthearted look at conspicuous consumption soft pedals its message in favor of a lot of sly visual and verbal jokes. For me this beautifully computer-animated film with depth-enhancing 3-D was one of the year's biggest surprises.

AN EDUCATION (Lone Scherfig, 2009)

In the hands of director Lone Scherfig and screenwriter Nick Hornby, Lynn Barber's memoir is treated with a youthful innocence rather than an adult's experience and perhaps jadedness. It's a critical distinction because taking an older view of this story would taint how it is observed and reconciled. AN EDUCATION showcases several fine performances in this story about the dangers of youthful cleverness. In her first major role Carey Mulligan does keen and sensitive acting to peel back the effects of the schooling the character gets in prizing her own intelligence to a fault. Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, and Rosamund Pike do excellent work in adding more seasoned, yet not always wiser perspectives in this coming-of-age tale.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX (Wes Anderson, 2009)

FANTASTIC MR. FOX is ostensibly a Roald Dahl adaptation, but more than anything it's a different canvas for director Wes Anderson for expressing his fixations. Anderson's films have always felt handcrafted, so going into the stop-motion animated realm for the funny and bittersweet tale of a restless, middle-aged fox is a natural, if unexpected, extension of his way of doing things.

GOODBYE SOLO (Rahmin Bahrani, 2008)

Ramin Bahrani spotlights people and places who exist in the background or who aren't given much consideration. With GOODBYE SOLO, his third neorealism-steeped feature film, he again proves his ability to suss out meaningful stories about the invisible in American society. The developing relationship between a Senegalese immigrant taxi driver in North Carolina and his likely suicidal customer gains quiet power as Bahrani illuminates their lives and attitudes. Souleymane Sy Savane's charismatic performance as the amiable cabbie Solo adds deeply human and heartfelt qualities in the face of a stranger's immense sadness.

GOOD HAIR (Jeff Stilson, 2009)

Chris Rock leads the way in this highly entertaining, funny, informative, and surprising documentary about African-American women and their hair. The humor and discussion about beauty standards and self-image make GOOD HAIR plenty worthwhile even for those for whom it isn't the cultural eye-opener like it is for me.

LORNA'S SILENCE (LE SILENCE DE LORNA) (Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, 2008)

The social consciousness of the Dardenne brothers probably gets in the way of their work being conventionally considered as thrillers, but these masters of economical storytelling invest their films with a strong degree of nail-biting suspense and genuinely uncertain outcomes. LORNA'S SILENCE follows an Albanian woman in a short-term marriage of convenience to attain Belgian citizenship and enough cash to start her own restaurant. Finalizing the end of the deal proves to be pretty distasteful, even for the complicated and highly compromised Lorna. The Dardennes tell the character's tough and heartwrenching story to make points about immigration and human trafficking, but viewed merely as a straightforward thriller, it's pretty harrowing stuff.

MOON (Duncan Jones, 2009)

MOON is practically a one man show for star Sam Rockwell, who plays a solitary worker on a lunar mining base nearing the end of his assignment. His stellar performance and the striking visual sense of first-time feature director Duncan Jones give this science fiction mindbender to explore as it floats along in a most peculiar way.

MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE (Werner Herzog, 2009)

2009 was a good year for fans of director Werner Herzog. The deranged THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL - NEW ORLEANS and its out there Nicolas Cage performance stirred online buzz, but the less talked about MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE was the slightly better and more consistent effort. Loosely based on a real incident, this hypnotic, disturbing, and yet weirdly funny film about a San Diego man who kills his mother with a sword features a compelling lead performance by Michael Shannon. As usual Herzog's interests are not in understanding or explaining the behavior but in studying the bizarre lengths people will go to in trying to achieve their self-identified purposes.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (Oren Peli, 2007)

The makers of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY understand that the most frightening things are what we imagine but can't see. Writer-director Oren Peli uses the limitations of a single location and low budget to his supreme advantage. The mental wear and tear of living in a stressful place and an increasingly tense relationship is played beautifully by Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat. Since we observe everything through their eyes, the believable, lived in performances build the fear factor in things that go bump in the night and their fraying interpersonal connection.

THE ROAD (John Hillcoat, 2009)

Adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel, THE ROAD is a haunting portrait of what it means to be a parent. Clearly the stakes are exaggerated and raised in this nightmarish, post-apocalyptic world, but the underlying sentiment holds true. Keeping one's child safe in a world full of harm can be the most terrifying endeavor for any adult. Viggo Mortensen delivers a fierce (and practically feral) performance, and director John Hillcoat evokes a hostile atmosphere whose stern, gray beauty makes common kindness stand out in sharp relief.

SITA SINGS THE BLUES (Nina Paley, 2008)

The dazzling SITA SINGS THE BLUES finds animator Nina Paley turning to an ancient Hindu text for assistance and insight into her current romantic troubles. Paley's study of how old religious parables are shaped and can be applied in contemporary life is invigorating and playful in its intellectual wrestling and creative solutions. Reinterpreting a story thousands of years old through Annette Hanshaw's jazz recordings from the 1920s and the filmmaker's autobiographical struggles ties together how vexing love can be no matter the time.

STAR TREK (J.J. Abrams, 2009)

Rebooting a decades-old franchise doesn't get more pleasurable than J.J. Abrams' rejuvenation of STAR TREK. Abrams accomplishes what might have seemed practically impossible: making an affectionate and knowing tribute that satisfies and flatters longtime, hardcore fans while putting a fresh spin on the mythology that is an easily accessible gateway for newcomers and casual viewers. This version of STAR TREK may not be as contemplative as its predecessors, but the 2009 entry is a funny and exciting piece of cinema that shows what summer event movies can be when at their best.

SUGAR (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, 2008)

SUGAR provides an absorbing look at the Dominican Republic's baseball pipeline, a system that significantly impacts the game yet is largely unfamiliar to fans. The film delivers a potent reminder of off-the-field challenges that affect performance on the field. Athletes aren't robots, and this humanizing examination of one immigrant's quest grants greater appreciation for what must be overcome to even have a chance to succeed.

UP IN THE AIR (Jason Reitman, 2009)

UP IN THE AIR has been lauded for being very of the moment in its treatment of massive corporate layoffs, but where it truly shines--and what will give it more staying power through the years--is how it details the importance of a personal touch over more convenient but impersonal technological solutions. Director and co-writer Jason Reitman demonstrates these values and does his best work to date with a solidly crafted film whose greatest resource is its actors. George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, and Vera Farmiga are terrific playing characters confronted with the choices they've made regarding how to lead their lives.

YOU, THE LIVING (DU LEVANDE) (Roy Andersson, 2007)

Swedish director Roy Andersson follows up his 2000 surrealist comedy SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR (SÅNGER FRÅN ANDRA VÅNINGEN) with more darkly humorous sketches about the dilemmas of human existence. Laughs catch in the throat, although this time a bit more optimism underlies the drollness and Scandinavian emotional coolness. Andersson favors gorgeous, deep focus compositions that establish scenes in which the jokes trickle out in unbroken shots. The meticulous craftsmanship and impeccable timing in YOU, THE LIVING show an artist in full command of his distinctive voice.

Big Fan

BIG FAN (Robert Siegel, 2009)

BIG FAN's Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt) gets little joy out of life except for passionately following and cheering on his beloved New York Giants.  36-years-old and still living with his mother in her thin-walled home, Paul occupies a cramped bedroom that doubles as a cluttered shrine to his favorite football team.

Paul's occupation as a parking garage attendant offers him little respect from his customers and family.  It's hardly the most fulfilling employment.  Tuning in to the local sports talk radio station eases the isolating drudgery of his job.  Paul's not merely a listener, though.  During work he writes and rewrites his pro-Giants opinions.  Late at night he calls the station to deliver these monologues straight from his spiral-bound notebook.  As a frequent caller he's easily identifiable as Paul from Staten Island and has developed an arch-enemy in Eagles fan Philadelphia Phil (Michael Rapaport).

Paul shares his Giants fanaticism with his best (and only) friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan).  They aren't able to afford tickets to see the G-men on the gridiron, but they're serious enough about the team that they watch the televised home games from the stadium parking lot so they can soak up the atmosphere.

One night Paul and Sal spot five-time Pro Bowl defensive player and Giants star Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) in their neck of the woods.  Seeing him turns them into giddy little boys, Paul especially.  Bishop is his favorite player.  A poster of Bishop adorns Paul's wall, and he owns an NFL replica jersey with the punishing defender's name and number.

Paul and Sal decide to follow Bishop around their neighborhood and eventually into a Manhattan strip club.  There they muster up the courage to approach the player and express that they are big fans, but the encounter takes an ugly turn when a misunderstanding leads to Bishop assaulting Paul and putting him in the hospital for several days.  Paul's family, his lawyer brother Jeff (Gino Cafarelli) in particular, want him to press charges, but a lawsuit is the last thing Paul wishes to file.  After all, the incident has resulted in Bishop's suspension on a game-by-game basis, which is hurting the Giants.

Fans are quick to condemn athletes who admit to steroid use or get into legal scrapes but are suddenly compassionate and willing to turn a blind eye when the offenders play for their teams.  When it comes to the squads they cheer for, even the most levelheaded sports fans can be irrational.  BIG FAN's Paul does not rank among those supporters with a healthy perspective.  As an obsessive fan, he's invested his identity and happiness in a professional football team.  He's willing to put his well-being in the short- and long-term on the line rather than risk depriving the Giants a key player during their playoff push.

To the regular person, especially a non-sports fan, this is madness.  Nevertheless, Paul's decision makes sense when filtered through Oswalt's uncompromising performance.  His hangdog expression and defeated posture improve when he's engaged in his single passion, even if it's just discussing football.  Paul's family thinks he is in a dead end job and has no personal life, and from what we see, they're right.  Paul is an unlikable character.  He tends to think he knows better than everyone about everything and exhibits little patience.  Yet he's a relatable character in that his love for the Giants allows him to blow off steam about all of his dissatisfaction with the life he has.  Paul's biggest dilemma isn't whether to help himself or not.  If sues Bishop for assault, he's hurting the team, but he's also hurting himself.  Paul may not feel like he wins on a day to day basis, but he can win by proxy if the Giants are victorious on Sunday afternoons.

Writer-director Robert Siegel nailed a lot of the details in his screenplay for THE WRESTLER, and with BIG FAN he proves equally astute at observing the behaviors and mindset of the fan who sees no distinction between himself and the team.  The film's version of a Jim Rome-like radio call-in show is hilariously spot-on, with stale put-downs elevated to the likes of poetry  Oswalt has the antsy, stilted nature of the regular caller down pat as he waits for his turn to deliver his sometimes awkward reading of prepared taunts and predictions.  It's funnier still when he tells his deeply impressed friend that he improvises it all.  Siegel understands the silly things fans will do, whether it's flipping off the radio when hearing a member of the opposition's provocations or tailgating outside the stadium of a game one doesn't have tickets for.

Catholic symbolism abounds in BIG FAN and for good reason.  For Paul, following his favorite team requires constant faith and devotion and takes on the air of religious study and ritual.  He is a true believer in his team, so a clash between his worldview and personal needs produces a genuine crisis of faith.  It may sound absurd for something as inconsequential as a sporting event to have such a profound affect on the character's outlook, but plenty of fan bases and cities draw self-image from the performance of their hometown heroes.


Grade: B-

Up in the Air

UP IN THE AIR (Jason Reitman, 2009)

In UP IN THE AIR George Clooney's Ryan Bingham is one of the guys companies call in when they're going to fire many employees but don't want to handle the delicate process internally. Ryan's job is to transition people from their stable existences to uncertain futures, which he promises them is an opportunity to springboard to better times. Is that true? Does he mean it? It doesn't matter. His purpose is to break the news, not to break their falls after he's left town.

Although his employer is based out of Omaha, Ryan's home is flying the friendly skies and sleeping in whatever nice hotel his expense report provides for. The single, perpetually traveling Ryan has virtually no commitments, and that's how he likes it.

When ambitious up-and-comer Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) convinces Ryan's boss that they could be more efficient and save enormous amounts of money by conducting firings remotely over webcam chats, Ryan finds his way of life threatened. He is charged with showing Natalie how things work in the field but with the understanding that this is the last time he'll be hitting the road.

With THANK YOU FOR SMOKING and JUNO, writer-director Jason Reitman demonstrated an ability to craft solid films anchored by compelling performances. Reitman isn't a director who relies on flashy technique. Rather, he's a skilled storyteller with a knack for entertaining. He's done it again with UP IN THE AIR, his best film to date.

The film has been lauded for being very of the moment in its treatment of massive corporate layoffs, but where it truly shines--and what will give it more staying power through the years--is how it details the importance of a personal touch. Dismissal by internet teleconference or a relationship break-up via text message may be more efficient and easier on those severing ties, but such methods deny the humanity of those being cut off.

Clooney's character may be delivering harsh news and telling a beautiful lie about what awaits on the other side of losing a job, but simply being in the same room and treating each person as an individual, even when following a template, gives them dignity.

UP IN THE AIR features a heartbreaking scene in which Natalie tests the technology to can a man sitting in the next room. The difference in empathy provided in a serious face-to-face encounter versus this chilly axing is palpable. While this may appear to be a fine line of etiquette that society is still defining, it's one that merits genuine consideration.

In retrospect it's somewhat astonishing how appealing Clooney is as an unlikable character in UP IN THE AIR. Ryan Bingham values a life unattached to any people or place and selfishly guards what he withdraws from others so effortlessly. Before this lone wolf awakens to the reality of the life he has built and becomes more sympathetic, Clooney turns on the old Hollywood charm that makes the character so effective and him one of the most persuasive actors currently working.

Although Kendrick's character looks to implement the cold technological solution, she serves as the film's conscience. Full of unbridled energy and youthful naїveté, Kendrick's performance unlocks the central question of how to live. As Clooney's lover and female reflection, Vera Farmiga brings a sense of accepted resignation to the choices she's made. Despite the sad heart beating underneath UP IN THE AIR, it's a funny and ultimately warm film.

Grade: B+

The Messenger

THE MESSENGER (Oren Moverman, 2009)

In THE MESSENGER Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) returns home from Iraq as a wounded but recovering war hero. To complete his remaining service time Will is assigned to the casualty notification team and placed under the command of Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). Together they are the bearers of bad news that must be delivered in a timely manner to killed soldiers' next of kin.

Tony approaches the work as a high risk military mission. Park up the street so as not to tip off those they're visiting. Do not go off script. Do not touch or console the next of kin. Get in, deliver the message, get out. The casualty assistance team is for dealing with the family members in a personal manner, not them.

Three years sober and thrice divorced, Tony is a hardened man performing a hard job. Will also has his share of emotional injuries that keep him up at night, most notably his frustration with former girlfriend Kelly (Jena Malone). Although she may travel to welcome him home with a conjugal visit, she mostly seems to be moving on with someone else.

Will shows he may be willing to get on with his life when he takes an interest in Olivia (Samantha Morton), a mother who has an unusual reaction to being told her husband is dead, but such a relationship is fraught with complications, not the least of which comes from Tony's sharp disapproval.

THE MESSENGER opens promisingly as we observe two emotionally damaged men do the delicate work that no one wants to do, least of all those soldiers who have served in combat and survived. Their mere presence reminds the next of kin that their loved ones were not as fortunate. Family members try to keep Will and Tony from even saying the words, as though what happened isn't real or true unless verbalized. These painful scenes are not new to war movies, but THE MESSENGER sees them from the unconsidered perspective of those giving, rather than receiving, the news.

Foster and Harrelson are uniformly good at conveying the torment these Army men have internalized and accept as their crosses to bear. Harrelson virtually manages to clench his entire body, even when he's supposedly letting down his guard. Foster burns with a quiet intensity that makes the intention of his actions all the more inscrutable.

THE MESSENGER examines the challenges of being on the casualty notification team, especially now as they must race against the instant spread of information, but eventually it stops seeing the men and just the job. THE MESSENGER grinds to a stop when it becomes clear that Oren Moverman, who directed and co-wrote the screenplay, isn't leading the plot anywhere but toward a pat message about the price of war on the military and unenlisted.

Instead of telling one or both of these characters' stories or illuminating their crises, THE MESSENGER falls into a repetitive pattern of witnessing aggrieved reactions to the awful news and the messengers' struggles to cope. Casualty statistics don't account for the scars war leaves on everyone touched by it, yet THE MESSENGER'S clipped insight that war is hell is just the sort of line straight from the manual that the film strenuously cautions against.

Grade: C+

The Book of Eli

THE BOOK OF ELI (Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes, 2010)

In the futuristic parable THE BOOK OF ELI Denzel Washington's title character appears to be one of the last righteous men remaining thirty-one years after the apocalypse. Food and water are scarce. Small luxuries, such as wetnaps and shampoo, have high trade value. This lone wanderer travels under what seems to be divine protection as he continues across the desolate landscape on a long, slow journey west.

Among Eli's few possessions is a latched, leather-bound Bible that he wraps in a cloth and is willing to guard at all costs. To his knowledge, he may possess the last copy of the Good Book and is looking to deliver it to those he deems worthy.

Eli's path leads him into the town ruled by Carnegie (Gary Oldman), who has his men ceaselessly searching for a Bible. Carnegie wishes to use the religious text as a weapon for controlling the town's population and taking over other communities. When he learns that Eli may have a Bible, he stops at nothing to obtain it.

Drawing upon the tradition of post-apocalyptic films, directors Albert and Allen Hughes don't deliver much in the way of novelty or surprises in THE BOOK OF ELI. The brothers use familiar cinematic language to strive for and achieve a mytho-poetic vision of a future in desperate need of a savior. Conjuring images of the Wild West via the Old Testament, the directors and cinematographer Don Burgess find stark beauty in the American wasteland's dusty, bleached landscape and blown out sky.

Remarkably little happens in THE BOOK OF ELI, but the Hughes brothers inflate and sustain the tone so that the confrontation feels like nothing less than the battle for humanity's salvation is at stake. Armed with charisma, Washington gives Eli the purpose and certainty of a prophet. It's the kind of resolute performance expected of the charismatic star, and he does not disappoint. Despite an unimposing stature, Oldman's oily antagonist derives power and intimidation through his capacity for wicked intelligence.

As a testament to the importance of the written word in its lowercase and uppercase meanings, THE BOOK OF ELI makes for an odd but compelling action film in defense of literacy and Christian faith. Both can be distorted and employed for nefarious reasons, but when utilized properly, they have the ability to inspire and elevate.

Grade: B

(Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Worst Films of 2009

Bad films? I've seen a few. Out of everything I saw in 2009, the following list represents the films that lie at or below approximately the fifth percentile. Tread carefully.

1. NEXT DAY AIR (Benny Boom, 2009)

Benny Boom's extraordinarily tedious crime comedy NEXT DAY AIR doesn't even reach the benchmark of a cut-rate Guy Ritchie movie. There's not much to this story of improperly delivered drugs and the violent, supposedly hilarious hijinks that result. The shifts between stoner comedy and blood-spattered action are difficult to reconcile, particularly in the grim finale.

2. MISS MARCH (Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore, 2009)

It isn't news that movies are often generated as product rather than art, but even by the lowest of standards MISS MARCH is a pathetic example of a film as corporate brand extender. In the sex comedy a high school square on the verge of losing his virginity awakens years later from a coma to find his former classmate and dream girl is a Playboy centerfold. MISS MARCH is a comedic dead zone, which is bad enough. Worse yet, it exists as little more than a feature-length pitch for Playboy's brand of softcore erotica and lifestyle aspirations.

3. SURVEILLANCE (Jennifer Lynch, 2008)

Even if there were no blood connection between SURVEILLANCE writer-director Jennifer Lynch and her father David Lynch, the film would play like a pale imitation of her parent's work. The comparisons are hard to avoid when the younger Lynch evokes the same hyperreal atmosphere and tone, uses similar stylistic flourishes in sound design and visual strategies, and casts actors familiar from her father's films. Although SURVEILLANCE is gory and transgressive, which would presumably maintain marginal levels of interest, it's boring to a fault.

4. OLD DOGS (Walt Becker, 2009)

The old dogs of the title may refer to the not quite senior citizen leads, but it's a more apt description of the shopworn and laughless jokes occupying this woofer of a comedy. The threadbare screenplay is stitched together from the worst and most clichéd ideas to emerge from--and should be discarded during--a brainstorming session. OLD DOGS' embarrassingly broad performances, including but not limited to Robin Williams and John Travolta, contain more ham than a grocery's meat department at Easter. It's one thing to make an attempt and not succeed, but OLD DOGS doesn't muster genuine enthusiasm to give its best shot. OLD DOGS needed to be put down before a frame was shot, especially when letting it linger on and become this product is thoroughly humiliating for everyone involved.

5. Horror schlock: THE COLLECTOR (Marcus Dunstan, 2009), THE FINAL DESTINATION (David R. Ellis, 2009), FRIDAY THE 13TH (Marcus Nispel, 2009), HALLOWEEN II (Rob Zombie, 2009)

Deficiencies in storytelling and formulaic execution plague any number of horror films, especially the seemingly endless stream of sequels and franchise reboots. The first FRIDAY THE 13TH is not a masterwork by any stretch of the imagination, but the 2009 edition completely lacks one thing the 1980 film had going for it: the element of surprise. This version tries to drum up scares through cranked up noises on the soundtrack but rarely utilizes the hockey-masked killer's presence in such unexpected ways. HALLOWEEN II continues Rob Zombie's defiling of a franchise already with its share of low points. THE FINAL DESTINATION is essentially scraps and rehashes of the first three films with the waning novelty of 3-D. Although THE COLLECTOR isn't based on preexisting films, its paucity of plot--the entirety is practically all first act--hardly qualifies it for being called original. Perhaps the biggest problem with all of these horror films is a simple one: they aren't scary.

6. AMELIA (Mira Nair, 2009)

AMELIA fails on almost every level, but at least star Hilary Swank resembles Amelia Earhart. OK, the production design is nice too. An unflattering portrait of the famous aviator intended as tribute, AMELIA is a prime example of the biographical film as a wiki movie and all the negative connotations that brings. The superficial journey skips through history as a series of bullet points. Although the film takes a potentially interesting angle on Earhart as something of a public relations creation, it winds up getting bogged down in a romance whose complexity is also underdeveloped. Of all the films among my worsts of the year, this is the biggest missed opportunity, especially since AMELIA has the seeds of being a far more fascinating film than it is.

7. ALL ABOUT STEVE (Phil Traill, 2009)

Sandra Bullock's tireless, stalker-like behavior as the main character in ALL ABOUT STEVE suggests that it ought to be a horror film rather than the dreadfully unfunny romantic comedy and anti-mass media screed it is. The inability of Bullock's Mary to decode social cues and her ceaseless cheer are intended as cute quirks, as though she's an innocent venturing into the world for the first time. Bullock plays Mary as a sweet savant with no concept of how demented she is. Twinkly tics and all, Bullock's performance is an irritating one, to say the least. It's as if Poppy, the optimistic main character of HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, wandered into this movie and lost all self-awareness.

8. I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER (Chris Columbus, 2009)

I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER hopes to combine the sweet underpinnings of '80s John Hughes comedies and SUPERBAD'S zany and provocative ways, but the resulting mess is a film with unlikable characters in a go-nowhere storyline. The ugly and unfunny teen romp leaves me wondering if anyone involved with the production ever was or has ever known adolescents. I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER plays like a hysterical response to lurid news reports of sexting and the like than an emotionally genuine portrayal of teenage hopes and fears.

9. NEW IN TOWN (Jonas Elmer, 2009)

Ditzy city slicker Renée Zellweger gets a tedious education in small town virtues in NEW IN TOWN. Hollywood (and politicians) favor the traditional depiction of tiny communities as pristine oases of enlightenment even if the tired idea is not necessarily true. The hoary trope is doubly worse in its employment in NEW IN TOWN. The doltish portrayal of the folksy Minnesota population, who represent the bootstrapping Midwest in general, would be insulting if the brainless romantic comedy weren't so dopey.

10. DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION (James Wong, 2009)

The shoddy DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION is no different or bigger than the sort of junk kids plop down to watch on TV after school. This live action version of the manga/anime DRAGONBALL universe is too bland and convoluted for new viewers to recognize what all the fuss is about and, I suspect, too simplified and disrespectful of the source material for the fan base. The basic story is as old as time, so this sturdy construct needs compelling heroes and villains to distinguish itself from others of this ilk. The characters don't evolve but merely complete tasks on a to-do list. The cheap effects and bargain backlot action wouldn't have wowed anyone twenty years ago, let alone today, proving that going from animation to live action isn't an advancement for DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION.

8th annual Central Ohio Film Critics Association awards

Spreading the news:

Up in the Air soars to top prize, Basterds claim four in 8th annual Central Ohio Film Critics Association awards

(Columbus, January 7, 2010) Jason Reitman's Up in the Air was named Best Film in the Central Ohio Film Critics Association’s 8th annual awards, which recognize excellence in the film industry for 2009. The film also won three other awards, including Best Director (Reitman), Best Adapted Screenplay (Reitman and Sheldon Turner), and Best Actor (George Clooney). Clooney was also honored as Actor of the Year for his exemplary work in Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and Up in the Air.

Inglourious Basterds, which finished fifth on the Best Film list, was also awarded four prizes: Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz), Best Ensemble, Best Original Screenplay (Quentin Tarantino), and Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson).

Up in the Air and Inglourious Basterds’ four wins match No Country for Old Men’s tally in 2007 for the most awards given to an individual film in the eight years the Columbus-area critics organization has been in existence.

Other films winning multiple awards include Up and An Education. Best Film runner-up Up received awards for Best Score (Michael Giacchino) and Best Animated Film. An Education’s lead performer Carey Mulligan won Best Actress and Breakthrough Film Artist for the coming-of-age film, which placed third on the Best Films List.

Other individual winners include Best Supporting Actress Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.

Other honored films include: Anvil! The Story of Anvil for Best Documentary; Waltz with Bashir (Valz Im Bashir) for Best Foreign Language Film; and Goodbye Solo for Best Overlooked Film.

Founded in 2002, the Central Ohio Film Critics Association is comprised of film critics based in Columbus, Ohio and the surrounding areas. Its membership consists of more than 20 print, radio, television, and new media critics. COFCA's official website at www.cofca.org contains links to member reviews and past award winners.

Winners were announced at a private party on January 7.

Complete list of awards:

Best Films
1. Up in the Air
2. Up
3. An Education
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
5. Inglourious Basterds
6. The Hurt Locker
7. In the Loop
8. (500) Days of Summer
9. A Serious Man
10. A Single Man

Best Director
-Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
-Runner-up: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Actor
-George Clooney, Up in the Air
-Runner-up: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Actress
-Carey Mulligan, An Education
-Runner-up: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Antichrist

Best Supporting Actor
-Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
-Runner-up: Peter Capaldi, In the Loop

Best Supporting Actress
-Mo’Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
-Runner-up: Mélanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds

Best Ensemble
-Inglourious Basterds
-Runner-up: Up in the Air

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
-George Clooney, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and Up in the Air
-Runner-up: Woody Harrelson, The Messenger and Zombieland

Breakthrough Film Artist
-Carey Mulligan, An Education (for acting)
-Runner-up: Neill Blomkamp, District 9 (for directing and screenwriting)

Best Cinematography
-Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds
-Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, Antichrist

Best Adapted Screenplay
-Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
-Runner-up: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Original Screenplay
-Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
-Runner-up: Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, Up

Best Score
-Michael Giacchino, Up
-Runner-up: Carter Burwell and Karen O., Where the Wild Things Are

Best Documentary
-Anvil! The Story of Anvil
-Runner-up: The Cove

Best Foreign Language Film
-Waltz with Bashir (Vals Im Bashir)
-Runner-up: Summer Hours (L’heure d’été)

Best Animated Film
-Up
-Runner-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Overlooked Film
-Goodbye Solo
-Runner-up: Moon

COFCA offers its congratulations to the winners.

Previous Best Film winners:

2002: Punch-Drunk Love
2003: Lost in Translation
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2005: A History of Violence
2006: Children of Men
2007: No Country for Old Men
2008: WALL•E

Leap Year

LEAP YEAR (Anand Tucker, 2010)

Amy Adams tries to get the ultimate commitment from her longtime boyfriend in the romantic comedy LEAP YEAR. As hyper-organized Anna Brady, Adams gets her hopes up that her cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) will finally propose, but rather than getting an engagement ring, the tiny box he gives her contains just earrings.

Soon after Jeremy departs for a work conference in Dublin, Ireland. Luckily for Anna, the Irish have a tradition that reverses commonly accepted gender roles. On February 29, women can ask the men they love to marry them. There's even precedent for a woman in her own family to propose to a man in such a fashion.

Impetuously Anna takes off for the Emerald Isle with plans to ask Jeremy to be her husband, but the weather interferes with reaching her destination. Anna only gets to the small town of Dingle. There she meets Declan (Matthew Goode), a young, grouchy inn owner who agrees to drive her to Dublin for a princely sum. While neither intend for the arrangement to lead to anything beyond a business agreement, their bumpy Irish adventure draws them closer than either expects.

Although LEAP YEAR is contrived like mad, its mechanisms for putting love in motion are a little less artificially manufactured than what comes as standard equipment in most romantic comedies. The characters are bound in outlandish circumstances, but at least writers Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont attempt to make the set-ups seem organic according to movie logic. Nevertheless, the screenwriters paint themselves into a corner and concoct a badly flubbed ending that brings matters to a conventionally satisfactory conclusion but wholly unbelievable one.

Yet the charming performances of and chemistry between Adams and Goode help LEAP YEAR overcome all the forced narrative devices and blarney about whimsical Irish townsfolk and their customs. Adams exudes pluck and cheerful sincerity, and it's often funny to see her enthusiasm rub against the scruffy Goode's negative outlook. The tension between the characters is well-earned, and the understanding and affection that grows between them seems like a natural, if quick, offshoot of their time together.

For all their squabbling, there's a mutual respect underlining this relationship borne from necessity. Plus, as far as romantic comedies are concerned, if two people can disagree with the kind of electricity surging between Adams and Goode, they're destined for each other. LEAP YEAR is not constructed from the finest materials, but its two appealing lead actors make the most with what they're given to provide a sweet, breezy escape.

Grade: B-

2010 Film List

Ye olde blog has seen quite a bit of erosion due to the need for the transition and expansion of text written for television to the web. A new year marks a time for starting over, so perhaps the regular updating of my 2010 film list will pave the way for more attention given to this site.

This year I am going to experiment with film evaluations on the 100 point scale. Grades will remain my official ratings. The numerical values will just be additional flavoring. (The numerically ranked list can be found here.)

Last update: March 18, 2010

2010 Releases

1. Leap Year (Anand Tucker, 2010) B-/60, (1/5/10, 35mm)

2. Youth in Revolt (Miguel Arteta, 2009) B-/61, (1/8/10, 35mm)

3. Daybreakers (Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig, 2009) B/66, (1/9/10, 35mm)

4. The Book of Eli (Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes, 2010) B/68, (1/14/10, 35mm)

5. The Spy Next Door (Brian Levant, 2010) D+/38, (1/15/10, 35mm)

6. Extraordinary Measures (Tom Vaughan, 2010) C-/45, (1/19/10, 35mm)

7. Legion (Scott Stewart, 2010) D/28, (1/23/10, 35mm)

8. Tooth Fairy (Michael Lembeck, 2010) C-/42, (1/24/10, 35mm)

9. When in Rome (Mark Steven Johnson, 2010) B-/63 (previously B-/60), (1/29/10, 35mm), (2/7/10, 35mm)

10. Edge of Darkness (Martin Campbell, 2010) C/49, (1/30/10, 35mm)

11. From Paris with Love (Pierre Morel, 2010) C/47, (2/5/10, 35mm)

12. Dear John (Lasse Hallstrom, 2010) C+/59, (2/5/10, 35mm)

13. Valentine's Day (Garry Marshall, 2010) D+/36, (2/12/10, 35mm)

14. The Wolfman (Joe Johnston, 2010) C-/45 (2/12/10, 35mm)

15. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Chris Columbus, 2010) C+/58, (2/13/10, 35mm)

16. The Oscar Nominated Shorts 2010 - Animated (Various, 2010) B+/76, (2/19/10, projected DVD)

17. Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010) B+/78, (2/19/10, 35mm)

18. The Crazies (Breck Eisner, 2010) C+/59, (2/26/10, 35mm)

19. Frozen (Adam Green, 2010) C/50, (2/27/10, 35mm)

20. Cop Out (Kevin Smith, 2010) C-/41, (2/27/10, 35mm)

21. Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton, 2010) C/49, (3/2/10, 35mm 3-D)

22. Brooklyn's Finest (Antoine Fuqua, 2009) C/46, (3/5/10, 35mm)

23. Green Zone (Paul Greengrass, 2010) B-/63, (3/12/10, 35mm)

24. The Ghost Writer (Roman Polanski, 2010) B+/74, (3/12/10, 35mm)

25. Remember Me (Allen Coulter, 2010) D+/34, (3/13/10, 35mm)

26. She's Out of My League (Jim Field Smith, 2010) B-/61, (3/14/10, 35mm)

Older Films

1. The Girlfriend Experience (Steven Soderbergh, 2009) B/69, (1/1/10, DVD)

2. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009) A/90 (previously B+), (1/1/10, Blu-ray) (2nd viewing)

3. Police, Adjective (Politist, adj.) (Corneliu Porumboiu, 2009) B-/65, (1/2/10, DVD)

4. Still Walking (Aruitemo aruitemo) (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2008) A/93, (1/3/10, Netflix stream), (2/5/10, 35mm)

5. The Young Victoria (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2009) C/46, (1/3/10, DVD)

6. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Terry Gilliam, 2009) C+/58, (1/8/10, 35mm)

7. The Horse Boy (Michel O. Scott, 2009) B-/60, (1/8/10, 35mm)

8. 3 Idiots (Rajkumar Hirani, 2009), B/66, (1/10/10, 35mm)

9. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (Werner Herzog, 2009) B+/73, (1/15/10, 35mm)

10. Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos) (Pedro Almodóvar, 2009) B/66, (1/15/10, 35mm)

11. The Messenger (Oren Moverman, 2009) C+/56, (1/18/10, DVD)

12. Séraphine (Martin Provost, 2008) B-/63, (1/22/10, 35mm)

13. Red Cliff (Chi bi) (U.S. cut) (John Woo, 2008) B-/61, (1/22/10, 35mm)

14. The Maid (La nana) (Sébastian Silva, 2009) C/48, (1/29/10, 35mm)

15. Crazy Heart (Scott Cooper, 2009) B/68, (2/1/10, DVD)

16. Big Fan (Robert Siegel, 2009) B-/62, (2/1/10, DVD) (2nd viewing)

17. A Town Called Panic (Panic au village) (Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, 2009) B/71, (2/12/10, 35mm)

18. The Sun (Solntse) (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2005) B+/74, (2/12/10, 35mm)

19. Homicide (David Mamet, 1991) B+/75, (2/18/10, DVD)

20. Ricky (François Ozon, 2009) B-/60, (2/26/10, 35mm)

21. Strongman (Zachary Levy, 2009) B-/60, (2/28/10, DVD)

22. The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, 2009) B+/73, (3/5/10, 35mm)

23. Face/Off (John Woo, 1997) B/70 (previously A-), (3/5/10, Blu-ray)

24. The Last Station (Michael Hoffman, 2009) C-/42, (3/6/10, 35mm)

25. Plastic Bag (Ramin Bahrani, 2009) (short film) A/90, (3/10/10, streaming video)

26. The Thief of Baghdad (Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, and Tim Whelan, 1940) B+/76, (3/13/10, DVD)

It's Complicated

IT'S COMPLICATED (Nancy Meyers, 2009)

In IT'S COMPLICATED former husband and wife Jake and Jane (Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep) find that there are still some sparks between them ten years after their divorce. Jane has been wrapped up in her career and kids since the marriage ended, but as she watches their youngest child leave her home, the lack of a personal life becomes more apparent. Meanwhile, Jake went on to marry the much younger woman who had been his mistress.

While in New York for their son's graduation, Jane and Jake share an impromptu dinner that leads to the hotel room and a mess of a morning after. Jane has now become the other woman yet entertains the idea of getting back together with Jake. She knows it's probably a terrible mistake but can't help but reveling in what it is like to feel desirable again. The problematic nature of Jane and Jake's arrangement gets compounded when her architect Adam (Steve Martin) begins competing for her affections as well.

IT'S COMPLICATED is a triumph of casting. Streep, Baldwin, and Martin are having so much fun in this romantic comedy-drama that it's impossible not to get swept up in the good time they're having as well. As a bakery owner, Jane makes and sells sweet indulgences but has denied herself the same relationship-wise. Streep cuts loose in the role, and it's a pleasure to watch her dithered and delighted as the character rediscovers her attractiveness and worth.

The rascally Baldwin stirs up laughs with the confident satisfaction he exudes in seducing his ex-wife and juvenile jealousy he exhibits when another man comes across Jane's radar. Martin shows fragility, comfortable resoluteness, and good humor in how his character deals with post-divorce life and the love triangle he's unwittingly wandered into.

Writer-director Nancy Meyers keeps the complications in IT'S COMPLICATED more in the scenarios than in the emotions, which holds back what is otherwise an often funny film. It's a pleasant surprise that Jake's second wife Agness (Lake Bell) isn't portrayed as a shrew, yet Meyers evades thorny questions of the primary ethical dilemma Jane faces if she is to continue seeing Jake on such enraptured terms.

The oh-so-French set-up is managed as consequence-free wish fulfillment rather than the existential examination a more serious-minded filmmaker might give it. Meyers also infantilizes Jane's adult children to a weird degree, but such shortcomings can't undermine a good film with three actors having a blast.

Grade: B-

Nine

NINE (Rob Marshall, 2009)

Set in the free-wheeling '60s, the musical NINE follows film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he struggles to get his next movie off the ground. The famous Italian filmmaker has a title for his next opus but that's it. As he searches for a creative breakthrough, his thoughts turn to the women in his life.

NINE boasts a who's who of international actresses, with Penélope Cruz as his mistress, Nicole Kidman as his leading lady, Sophia Loren as his mother, and Marion Cotillard as his long-suffering wife Luisa.

NINE doesn't remake Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 so much as it pillages the classic film for the purposes of Broadway vamping. (NINE'S first life was as a stage production.) Director Rob Marshall and crew do a bang-up job of recreating the look of Fellini's films and stars, but for a movie that is supposed to be bursting with brio and passion, it comes off more like the soulless, uninspired product the director character within it might have scratched out to get a nagging producer off his back.

NINE deals with what is supposed to be intensely personal material, but Marshall brings no personality or verve to the tortured dreams of a stifled artist. It's a superficial affair that even lacks the decency of featuring good songs. While this is a lovely film to look at, it's a deadly situation when a musical would be best appreciated with the sound off.

As the prostitute who expedites a young Guido's carnal awakening, the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie growls and stomps through "Be Italian", the only halfway memorable tune in the songbook. In a fantasy sequence Kate Hudson's vapid reporter performs "Cinema Italiano", a song written specifically for the film. This wretched number about the virtues of Italian filmmaking is easily NINE'S low point.

Day-Lewis is always interesting to watch, but this role is thinly written and, to be generous, his singing voice leaves something to be desired. Cotillard fares best out of anyone in the talented but mostly squandered cast. In a film that is otherwise all surface, she reveals the emotional undercurrents in Luisa's stormy relationship with a creative genius and brings the only true feeling to NINE. The stunning Italian scenery, beautiful sets, and sexy ladies can't hide the fact that Marshall's film is basically all facade, and one barely propped up at that.

Grade: C-

The Road

THE ROAD (John Hillcoat, 2009)

The post-apocalyptic American landscape in THE ROAD is cold, barren, and inhospitable to life. For survivors such as the unnamed father and son played by Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee, scavenging for canned goods is their means of maintaining strength during the long journey on foot to the warmer climate and fertile land rumored in the south.

Others have turned to cannibalism, which makes any encounter with strangers fraught with danger. The man and boy try to avoid anyone and everyone lest they cross the wrong company. They promise to kill themselves rather than be taken by these savages.

Adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel, THE ROAD is a haunting portrait of what it means to be a parent. Clearly the stakes are exaggerated and raised in this nightmarish scenario, but the underlying sentiment holds true. Keeping one's child safe in a world full of harm can be the most terrifying endeavor for any adult.

Mortensen plays the father with a fierce protectiveness that borders on the feral, yet the performance is riven with doubt and despair, not only at what he fears may come but as he remembers what transpired with the boy's mother (Charlize Theron). Mortensen acts not like a hero but as an ordinary man determined to guard his son even if he does not feel fully capable of the task. Surely any parent can relate.

THE ROAD is also a study of how it's easy to conduct a good, upright life during times of prosperity and happiness and less so when everything goes to hell. Yet the kicker is that it's at times of devastation when behaving with moral conviction may be most important.

THE ROAD is a bleak film visually and emotionally. The ashy gloom pervading the air on screen chokes the viewer's lungs, and the cold the characters dwell in chills one's bones. Director John Hillcoat evokes a hostile atmosphere whose stern, gray beauty makes common kindness stand out in sharp relief. What else can one wish to find when the worst is upon us?

Grade: B+

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? (Marc Lawrence, 2009)

Witness relocation could be the cure for a wounded marriage in the romantic comedy DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker star as the separated New York City power couple Paul and Meryl Morgan. Paul's infidelity fractured the relationship, but after months apart he is eager to patch things up. Meryl still isn't convinced the marriage is worth saving.

During a post-dinner walk the two see one of her clients murdered. The dead man was an international arms dealer bumped off by a professional killer now seeking to eliminate those who can identify him. With their lives in jeopardy, Paul and Meryl have no choice but to accept an offer to go into witness protection and be shuttled to the sleepy burg of Ray, Wyoming.

The folksy sheriff Clay Wheeler (Sam Elliott) and his deputy wife Emma (Mary Steenburgen) welcome the displaced duo into their home and function as a model couple for the Morgans. Removed from the bustling careers and personal lives they know, Paul and Meryl can now figure out if love remains between them.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? deploys the familiar and unfortunate strategy of making its New Yorkers outlandishly insular and heartland characters simple and virtuous. Such stereotyping is offered in a prostrate appeal to a perceived lumpen middle America that wants to see city slickers taken down several pegs.

In fairness, the overdone exaggerations eventually become less of a factor in the film's humor and are not condescending, unlike the 2009 Renée Zellweger film NEW IN TOWN, which bordered on the offensive in portraying common folks. Still, Hollywood's broad conceptualizing of urban and rural areas seems stuck in the 1930s.

On the plus side for DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?, writer-director Marc Lawrence works toward reconciling the main characters rather than having them at each others' throats before the inevitable eleventh hour change of heart. Romantic comedy filmmakers have become so focused on using jokes to tear lovers apart that they lose sight of the mushy sentiment that comprises half of the genre's name.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? strives to reignite the extinguished flame between the separated husband and wife and achieves flickers of success. The mediocre material gets a boost from a hardworking Grant, who uses his trademark bumbling formality to deliver dry commentary and wring out the most laughs possible. DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? shows the strain of its screenplay shortcomings and buckles under them, but at least that's preferable to the romantic comedies full of spite.

Grade: C

Invictus

INVICTUS (Clint Eastwood, 2009)

In INVICTUS a newly elected Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) turns to an unlikely group to help heal the racial divide in post-apartheid South Africa. After spending 27 years behind bars, Mandela is freed from Robben Island Prison in 1990 and continues working toward his goal of making the country a multi-racial democracy.

Four years later Mandela is the president of a nation still deeply split along racial lines. While black South Africans look forward to benefiting from having one of their own as the country's leader, the Afrikaners fear what they might face as a minority population under the rule of a black man.

At a rugby match Mandela observes that old tensions still thrive. Blacks in attendance cheer against South Africa's national team, the Springboks. To them, the Springboks represent the prejudice and oppression they were subjected to under apartheid.

With South Africa hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Mandela sees a unique opportunity for blacks and whites to rally around the team and perhaps build national harmony. Springboks captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) is tasked with the duty of making the team an inspiration for all South Africans.

Sports can breed deep and ugly rivalries, but they also have a way of unifying people from uncommon backgrounds and interests, whether it's the players or those cheering them on. This is especially true in international competitions, even if the sports themselves may not be ones that viewers are concerned with except every four years.

In INVICTUS director Clint Eastwood does a sharp job of showing Mandela's political genius in utilizing a team that symbolized the old white establishment--and which had only one black player--to demonstrate how South Africa's present and future could unify former opponents.

It was a risky maneuver and not one encouraged by his advisers, but just as Mandela understood that he needed to integrate his personal security team behind a common purpose, he also knew that the nation needed something to strive for collectively.

Carrying over the wise, fatherly influence he brings to other roles, Freeman applies a firm but calming presence to his portrayal of Mandela. It's a persuasive performance that leads one to see how this man could overcome the enormous odds of bridging the gap in South Africa's racial relations.

While INVICTUS fits into the biographical and inspirational sports movie traditions, Eastwood resists sanctifying Mandela or giving in to unabashed emotionalism on the pitch. The director references Mandela's shortcomings as a man bearing a heavy weight and allows the actions to say more than speeches.

Although INVICTUS is not strictly a Mandela biopic, this particular accomplishment of his cuts to the essence of who the South African is and what he fought for. INVICTUS could do a better job of explaining the basic rules to rugby neophytes, especially with so much of the final act devoted to the big match, but that's a minor quibble when the gist of gameplay can be picked up by observing.

INVICTUS draws its title from the name of a William Ernest Henley poem that inspired Mandela during his incarceration. Likewise, the film serves as a reminder that no matter how dire the circumstances, truly remarkable change is possible.

Grade: B

(Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

Antichrist

ANTICHRIST (Lars von Trier, 2009)

In ANTICHRIST the couple played by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, simply dubbed He and She in the credits, mourn the accidental death of their son. He processes and deals with his grief, but her method of coping with the tragedy produces emotional paralysis and a path toward madness.

As a therapist, he has his own ideas about what's best for his wife and chooses to oversee her recovery rather than let her lay medicated in the hospital. He uncovers that the seeds of her depression and fear come from nature, so off they go to a remote cabin in the woods in a place they refer to as Eden in an attempt to cure her.

There's a lot to unpack from ANTICHRIST, a head-spinning achievement and nightmarish hallucination of a film. Purely as a visual and visceral experience, puckish writer-diretor Lars von Trier produces an enormously powerful phantasmagoria that deals with and reproduces the effects of fear and depression.

On a technical level ANTICHRIST is superb at casting an unsettling dream-like atmosphere. The camera lens slowly but gradually distorts the lush yet hostile landscape of the woods and garden from which she once ran and to which they return. Falling acorns clatter on the roof of the cabin as though hell itself is raining down. Even as a viewer, nowhere and nothing feels safe in this movie. ANTICHRIST is, in a way, the ultimate horror film, one in which the natural world offers evil instead of salvation.

A major point for discussion is the rampant misogyny that von Trier offers up seriously, although who's to say whether the presentation is to be read as authorial agreement. After all, von Trier is a provocateur of the highest order. He goes so far as to replace the title's last letter with the T-like symbol of Venus. Coupled with Gainsbourg's fierce, uncompromising performance, the link of the female with evil is established, but in my mind von Trier is using gender archetypes rather than saying something about womankind.

Biblical allusions to Adam and Eve are mostly implicit in ANTICHRIST, but therein lies what may be the key to the film. Nature or mother nature (in female terms) or human nature (in general) is sinful. Eden is no longer a hospitable place. The title conjures images of a devilish figure in opposition to God, but for von Trier the Antichrist of the film's name is human frailty.

At least on the first time around ANTICHRIST seems beyond an evaluation. Whatever the grade, it's a film that demands to be seen, at least by those select viewers who can handle the extreme nature of the material.

Grade: B-

Armored

ARMORED (Nimród Antal, 2009)

Six armored truck guards scheme to steal $42 million dollars from the very vehicles they're protecting in ARMORED. Ty (Columbus Short) is the newest hire at the security company. The former Marine badly needs the job as he has returned home to caring for his truant younger brother and trying to keep the bank from taking the house he inherited.

Ty's co-worker and family friend Mike (Matt Damon) promises to look out for him. The night before the planned heist Mike clues Ty in to what he and the other armored guards have cooking for their next work day. Initially Ty refuses to take part, but his financial needs win out over his moral objections. When the heist goes awry, Ty is forced to outwit the other guards to survive.

ARMORED has the components of a tight little genre movie, something director Nimrod Antal turned out two years ago with the motel thriller VACANCY. A significant amount of ARMORED takes place in a single, relatively confined location. The cast features seasoned pros, with Laurence Fishburne and Jean Reno as guards and Fred Ward as the tough boss who wouldn't be happy to know what some of his employees are up to. A ticking clock looms over the proceedings, as the trucks are due back at headquarters in less than an hour. The hero must outsmart his antagonists while locked in an armored truck.

The screenplay and Antal's direction are executed with workmanlike efficiency. With all of these things in place, ARMORED should crackle with nervous energy; however, the bland characters don't get much of interest to do and are virtually interchangeable as they take whacks at the pin they're trying to remove from an armored truck's door hinge. Dillon gets a couple chances to menace and preen as the villain, but the role remains something of a missed opportunity. Since ARMORED focuses on monotonous work under pressure, the dialogue needs some sizzle but mostly fizzles.

Grade: C

Old Dogs

OLD DOGS (Walt Becker, 2009)

In OLD DOGS longtime best friends and sports marketing partners Charlie (John Travolta) and Dan (Robin Williams) end up with unfamiliar seven-year-old twins in their temporary custody. Zach and Emily (Conner Rayburn and Ella Bleu Travolta) are the product of Charlie's persuasive plan of getting Dan to spend a single night out of town indulging in heavy drinking and other divorce-forgetting behavior. Seven years later, when Dan tries to rekindle something with his old one night stand (Kelly Preston), he learns that he's a dad.

Through an incredibly convoluted series of events, including the kids' mother having to do a short stint in prison and their hand model intended caretaker (Rita Wilson) being incapacitated, Dan offers to watch them while his firm deals with winning its biggest potential contract ever. Surely nothing can go wrong when two hopelessly unqualified guys try to babysit two unknown children while attempting to broker a deal with Japanese businessmen, right?

The old dogs of the title may refer to the not quite senior citizen leads, but it's a more apt description of the shopworn and laughless jokes occupying this woofer of a comedy. The threadbare screenplay is stitched together from the worst and most clichéd ideas to emerge from--and should be discarded during--a brainstorming session.

The immediacy with which the telegraphed punchline for each joke and scene arrives is enough to make Samuel Morse envious. The embarrassingly broad performances in OLD DOGS contain more ham than a grocery's meat department at Easter.

It's one thing to make an attempt and not succeed, but OLD DOGS doesn't muster genuine enthusiasm to give its best shot. Rather, director Walt Becker and the cast take the musty material and lack of a through line and play it to the rafters in the hope that no one will notice how vacant the film truly is.

OLD DOGS unspools like MRS. DOUBTFIRE in reverse. Extraordinary means are used to put the kids in close proximity to Williams' character. He is then supposed to bond with the lovable tykes, but the clanging and incomplete mechanical structure can't even support this feeble story. OLD DOGS needed to be put down before a frame was shot, especially when letting it linger on and become this product is thoroughly humiliating for everyone involved.

Grade: D-

An Education

AN EDUCATION (Lone Scherfig, 2009)

AN EDUCATION'S sixteen year-old Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a very clever girl and she knows it. Jenny peppers her conversations with French phrases and imagines what awaits her beyond the suburban London home of her working class parents in 1961.

One rainy afternoon after orchestra practice Jenny meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), a friendly man driving a maroon sports car. He offers to give her cello a ride home so as to protect the instrument from the elements. Easily charmed and flattered by this handsome older fellow, Jenny eventually hops in the car beside him and quickly bonds with the stranger.

Despite their age difference, David persuades Jenny's parents that spending time with her, such as taking her to a concert in the West End or to Oxford overnight, is all about broadening her knowledge and making important connections.

AN EDUCATION showcases several fine performances in this story about the dangers of youthful cleverness. Jenny isn't as worldly as she feels she is, and Mulligan, in her first major role, does keen and sensitive acting to peel back the effects of the schooling the character gets in prizing her own intelligence to a fault.

Jenny may think too highly of herself, but what teenager, especially a smart and studious one, doesn't think she has everything figured out? The naive confidence with which Mulligan plays the part is what makes Jenny's awakening to reality so heartbreaking and what makes her so attractive to David.

Sarsgaard excels as a smooth operator whose words and behavior around Jenny and her family misrepresent his true intentions. One's sixth sense suggests there is something creepy about him, yet he appears perfectly respectable.

While the title of AN EDUCATION refers to the instruction Jenny receives, it applies just as well to the lesson given to her father Jack (Alfred Molina). While suspicious, Jack permits himself to be persuaded by the elegantly enticing David because he believes the stranger can give his daughter social and economic advantages. Molina exudes love for his on-screen daughter and misguidedly acts in what he thinks are her best interests.

In the hands of director Lone Scherfig and screenwriter Nick Hornby, Lynn Barber's memoir is treated with a youthful innocence rather than an adult's experience and perhaps jadedness. It's a critical distinction because taking an older view of this story would taint how it is observed and reconciled. AN EDUCATION has sort of an abrupt climax to resolve the question at its center, but overall the cast and crew are graceful in telling this coming-of-age story.

Grade: B+

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE (Lee Daniels, 2009)

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE features newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as sixteen year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones. Precious is obese, illiterate, and still in junior high school. The Harlem teen is also the single mother of a mongoloid daughter cared for by her grandmother and carrying another child. Both pregnancies are the result of being raped by her father.

As if those aren't enough hardships, Precious' welfare-scamming mother Mary (Mo'Nique) abuses her. Precious catches a break when her expulsion from the public school leads her to an alternative school, where she the teacher Ms. Rain (Paula Patton) takes an interest in her. Also concerned with Precious' toxic home life is a deglamorized Mariah Carey as social worker Mrs. Weiss.

Although PRECIOUS is not as mawkish or dreary as the plot description makes it sound, director Lee Daniels and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher have a bad habit of smacking the protagonist and, by extension, the audience upside the head with more punishment than is necessary. The film is at odds to tell an inspiring story and confirm the hopelessness of the situation.

Precious' turbulent life presents ample problems for her to overcome, yet the film keeps finding new ways to extract pain from her circumstances. PRECIOUS isn't poverty tourism, but in the effort to evoke gritty realism, the filmmakers overdo it.

PRECIOUS also suffers from the shifts between the main character's internal monologue and the film's desire to initiate a larger conversation about girls like her and the portrayed community. This inconsistent character study succeeds when conveying Precious' self-image, how she views her dire conditions, and what she dreams of. Sidibe's naturalistic performance and the intermittent fantasy sequences reveal the humanity in the sort of character and person who is usually overlooked, if not purposefully ignored, but attempts to extrapolate this individual experience to a general group lack support.

Daniels employs a throw everything at the wall to see what sticks directorial style that makes PRECIOUS compelling viewing, but predictably, his shotgun approach lacks focus. Most critically, PRECIOUS veers off track at the end when Mo'Nique gets a showcase scene with Precious and the social worker. The scene is emotionally loaded, but upon inspection it makes no dramatic sense and doesn't end with the sort of uplift it pretends to have.

PRECIOUS can be funny and deeply felt. Unfortunately, like those people surrounding the character, it loses sight of the character.

Grade: C

2012

2012 (Roland Emmerich, 2009)

With Earth on the eve of destruction in 2012, we can't stop the impending apocalypse; we can only hope to contain it. Conspiracy theorists, such as Woody Harrelson as the film's resident nutjob, believe that the Mayan calendar foretells the end of the world on December 21, 2012. Scientists may not put any stock in the predictive power of an ancient civilization, but they notice that the planet is heating from the inside at an alarming rate, which may cause the crust to crack.

Of course, the powers that be don't bother informing the public about the forthcoming catastrophe. Rather, they plan for how to save their own skins and ensure the future of humanity. Failed author turned limousine driver Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) happens to be in the right place at the right time when hell on earth arrives. Armed with knowledge of a long shot survival option, Jackson scrambles to save his former wife Kate (Amanda Peet), kids, and their stepdad.

As INDEPENDENCE DAY and THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW demonstrated, 2012 director Roland Emmerich was already proficient at destroying the world's landmarks and land masses for vicarious thrills. In wiping out most of Earth's population in 2012 he takes his filmmaking as ant colony stomping approach to a new level. Fortunately the faceless nature of the mass casualties keeps this from being the most depressing movie ever.

Alternately serious and goofy, 2012 is intended to be a breathless action picture with some sobering moments and a hoot of a comedy. Emmerich would be better off losing the pretense of respectability and embracing the B-movie showmanship that is clearly his strength. Emmerich and 2012 don't do heartfelt emotion and character so well.

The film is padded with a few little stories and one primary tale of the fight for survival, but these lumbering scenes of dialogue and plot generate about as much feeling as reading the names on a company's emergency phone tree. 2012 perks up when catastrophe befalls the planet, but after awhile the repetition of CGI destruction becomes numbing.

Harrelson's pickle munching, paranoid radio talk show host brings some over-the-top humor that this preposterous movie desperately needs, but in terms of tone 2012 follows the lead of its solemn survivors more often than not. Then again, maybe Emmerich is slier than he's given credit for. Punctuating 2012 is the discovery that enduring the possible end of the world cures a little girl's bed-wetting.

Grade: D+