Friday Top Five - Most Anticipated

I know I have sort of been M.I.A. lately and that's mostly because there just aren't very many movies I am interested in playing right now. But all that is about to change. With September, comes the good movies, the awards hopefuls, the prestige pictures. So, here's a list of the top 5 films I'm looking forward to in the rest of 2014.
Note: I excluded This is Where I Leave You even though I am very excited to see it (loved the book, love the cast). However, it comes out in just a few short weeks so I thought I would clear the way for something that isn't coming for a while.

05. Unbroken
Stars: Jack O'Connell, Jai Courtney, Garrett Hedlund
Director: Angelina Jolie
Plot: The true story of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.
Thoughts: I honestly had no interest in this based on the few articles I've read. Then I saw the trailer before Boyhood (imo, the best part of Boyhood were the trailers!). And now it's one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Not only does it look like this man led an extraordinary life, but also virtual newcomer O'Connell looks like he gives a tour de force, star-making performance.
Release Date: December 25

04. Foxcatcher
Stars: Steve Carrel, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo
Director: Bennett Miller
Plot: Based on the true story of Mark Schultz, an Olympic wrestler whose relationship with sponsor John du Pont and brother Dave Schultz would lead to unlikely circumstances.
Thoughts: The buzz is unreal with people talking non-stop about the go-for-broke, fearless performances from the cast, all playing against type. I mean, Miller is kind of a genius. He's the guy who got us to look at Jonah Hill in a completely new and exciting way. Also, Miller's resume is short, but kind of perfect - Capote, Moneyball. I'm all in.
Release Date: November 14

03. Inherent Vice
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon, Jena Malone, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Eric Roberts.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Plot: In 1970s Los Angeles, a druggie cop investigates the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Thoughts: Honestly, who even cares about plot when you look at that thoroughly impressive cast? Anderson doesn't just direct movies, he directs masterpieces. Among his flawed masterpieces are There Will Be Blood and The Master. Both of this films aren't perfect, but are so close, it hurts. One of these times he is going to truly make a masterpiece and until then I will see everyone of his films.
Release Date: December 12

02. Birdman
Stars: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone.
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Plot: A washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory.
Thoughts: The trailer for this movie looks absolutely bonkers, but if any movie is poised to make Michael Keaton a legit star once again, I'm more than excited for that. I love Michael Keaton and all the buzz on this movie says it is his best performance ever. Plus, I love weird, unique movies. This is one I am definitely too excited for.
Release Date: October 17

01. Gone Girl
Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Neil Patrick Harris.
Director: David Fincher
Plot: Come on guys, we've all read the book, right??
Thoughts: First of all, Gillian Flynn has quickly become one of my favorite writers. Second of all, this book was pretty perfect with a main character so twisted and flawed and complex and fascinating. Third of all, and really, the only thing that even remotely matters, this is a David Fincher film, and David Fincher is perfect. If ever a book was made for a director, it's this book and this man. His movies are already twisted and dark, and he is just going to nail this... I can feel it. My anticipation has been growing ever since he signed on for the project and in less than a month, we'll finally be able to see his latest masterpiece.
Release Date: October 3

Top Ten List - Best Actress 2008

Honorable Mention - Johanna Day in August: Osage County - Not a film performance, but a riveting, intensely controlled (and some time delightfully out of control) stage performance. If August was a movie (which apparently it's going to be) and Day was in it (which hopefully she will be), she would be at the top of this list, for sure. She's in charge now, for sure.

10. Angelina Jolie in Changeling - We all know I'm not the biggest Angelina fan. Still, you can't deny talent and her performance, although often one note, is still extremely powerful at times. That one specific scene (you know, the one in all the previews, "I want MY son back") is even more intense once you see the context of it - she's yelling this at a 10 year old boy.

09. Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Cate has never looked more beautiful. And I am in the corner with people who think Cate can do no wrong. It's true here, as she makes a very flawed, very narcisstic and stubborn character so loveable. Benjamin Button falls in love with her and so do we.

08. Keira Knightley in The Duchess - Although the movie itself is highly flawed, the performances are nearly flawless. Ralph Fiennes just missed my Best Supporting Actor list for his skeevy Duke (and for his hilarious turn in the wonderful In Bruges), but Kiera makes the list for her witty, charming role as the lonely Duchess - forced to choose between love and her family.

07. Summer Bishil in Towelhead - An extremely interesting and well done performance for someone so young! She's truly impressive as a young actress dealing with very, very heavy subject matter. She pulls it off with grace, innocence and beauty.

06. Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Cruz may be getting all the buzz (and she is more than deserving) but Hall is spectacularly funny as well. She plays a cynical spitfire, about to marry a man she doesn't necessarily love while discovering her sexuality with a sexy artist.

05. Naomi Watts in Funny Games - Throughout the entire second half of the film, Watts is in a constant state of duress. Crying, screaming, desperately clinging to some kind of hope while nearly giving up on everything. Her performance is intensely moving.

04. Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road - Winslet's April is a dreamer, for sure. She dreams of a better life with her husband but she's surely not a happy character. There's all those intense screaming matches with DiCaprio. Then there's sexy love scenes. And, of course, my very favorite scene. DiCaprio has just confessed that he's cheated on her. She is very unemotional about the whole thing. He's screaming at her, asking her why, to which she responds, very quietly, very calmly with a slight smile, "Fuck who'd you like, dear." Perfect line reading.

03. Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married - Maybe the most revelatory performance of the year. I never liked Anne Hathaway, sure. I also never necessarily thought she was a good actress. But her performance as Kym here is so alive and so unlike anything she's ever done. It's impressive and welcomed.

02. Meryl Streep in Doubt - Doubt may be about the wonderful script and the great source material. Sure, there's Hoffman and Adams and Davis, but make no mistake - this is all about Meryl. As it should be. Her stubborn, hard headed, wickedly funny take on the nun is perfection.

01. Michelle Williams in Wendy and Lucy - Wendy and Lucy is a movie where not much happens. It's a movie without a lot of dialogue. It's a movie where, for much of the movie, Williams' Wendy is walking around a small unknown town searching for her dog. With very little to work with, Williams has given her best performance to date. Her quietly effective work will break your heart. There's been little as moving this year as the final ten minutes in this movie - and that's thanks to Michelle!

Porn, Angelina and a wedding...

Zack and Miri Make a Porno - Well, if you expect Zack and Miri to make a porno that's what you are going to get. Here's the thing: if you like Kevin Smith and his 'humor' then you will probably like this movie. If you don't, then you won't. Kevin Smith is very, very hit or miss for me. I liked Dogma and Chasing Amy and that's about it. Call me pretentious, but I like my comedy without dick and fart jokes (and that's just the tip of the iceberg in this movie). Still, it's not all bad. Smith manages to mix the sweetness in with the naughtiness and that actually works for the most part. It doesn't hurt that Seth Rogen (Zack) and Elizabeth Banks (Miri - trying not to look like the goddess bombshell that she is) have great comedic chemistry together. Their love story is actually borderline believable. Everyone knows the plot by now - Zack and Miri can't pay their bills so they decide to make a quick buck the old fashion way - making porn. They enlist help from Craig Robinson (the scenestealer best known as Daryl on The Office), Jason Mewes (Kevin Smith's muse who does full frontal) and a couple of actual porn stars. Then there's Justin Long who all but steals the show in his brief ten minute or so part. For me, Zack and Miri was hit and miss. At times it was very, very funny. At times it was very, very touching. At times it was just silly. And at times it went just a little too far.
Grade: C+

Changeling - About five years ago, Clint Eastwood directed the shit out of a movie called Mystic River. For my money, there were few films better directed than that film. After making something so near perfect (not to mention other great turns with Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters to Iwo Jima), how could Eastwood possibly make a film so... sloppy. Maybe sloppy isn't necessarily the word. The movie starts out like a Lifetime film (not necessarily a bad thing since I've been known to watch a Lifetime movie or two in my day) and eventually turns into a crime procedural. The beginning half works very well. Eastwood makes old school Los Angeles look and feel just right. It doesn't hurt that he's got a top notch performance from Angelina Jolie to work with. As a young mother searching for her son who has gone missing, she's phenominal. There is one particular scene - you've seen it in the trailer when she's yelling "I want MY son back" - that is particularly emotional once you see it in context (SPOILER ALERT - she's actually yelling this at the ten year old boy pretending to be her son). As no real fan of Angelina (I can't think of one thing I actually liked her in...), I'm a big enough person to admit she's stellar and worthy of that Oscar nomination. Still, the second half of the movie falls apart and it's mostly due to some poor editing. Make that very poor editing. There's a particular sequence that jumps between two courtroom scenes that is just jarringly bad. It's almost unthinkable that someone who is as much of a pro as Eastwood would let a sequence in his film. All in all, Changeling isn't necessarily bad... it's just mediocre.
Grade: C

Rachel Getting Married - First off, I love hand held camera work probably more than anything when it's done well. And in Rachel Getting Married, it's done very, very, very well. Jonathan Demme goes for a raw, emotional, intimate feel with his direction and it was a great decision. There's a lot to praise about Rachel Getting Married, starting with the great camera work, continuing on to the smart, clever and emotionally powerful script and finishing with a quartet of stellar performances (from best to even better - Bill Irwin as an overprotective father, Anne Hathaway as an emotionally stunted, volatile young woman recently released from rehab, Debra Winger as a passive/aggressive mother and RoseMarie DeWitt as the titular Rachel, struggling with a sister who constantly steals the spotlight, even on her big wedding day). Still, there's a little bit to dislike as well, starting with a rehearsal dinner that seems like it takes five days (do we really need to see EVERYONE'S toast? we can't just see one or two?), continuing on to a completely waste of space with a dishwasher scene that lasts way too long and finishing with a final act that does little to advance the plot. Nothing really happens in the last ten minutes or so. We spend too much time dancing at a wedding and not enough time dealing with this emotionally stunted dysfuntional family. Still, in the end, Rachel Getting Married is this powerful, viscious, cruel, dangerous film that is also pretty damn good.
Grade: B

Tomorrow - The hidden gem of 2008 and Bill Murray in a tree. Also, I may or may not confess my love for Emily Mortimer.

Behind the Mask, Evan Almighty, A Mighty Heart

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon - Guess what? The horror genre isn't completely dried up and dead and boring. It's not completely conventional and and it's definitely not completely predictable... thanks in part to the creative and unique Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. The tagline for the movie is, "Michael, Jason, Freddy... we all need someone to look up to." I was pretty much hooked from that alone. The story is presented as a documentary. Aspiring serial killer Leslie Vernon invites a few grad students to document his preparations for his big slaughter. What a unique way to present a horror film! We always see everything from the victim's point of view... never from the killers! We never really see all the preparation these guys have to go through: months of training, thinking of every possible escape route and coming up with alternate plans... even picking the perfect 'survivor girl.' She has to be a virgin with the potential to come out of her shell a better person, willing to fight for her life. But, here's the greatest thing of all: Leslie Vernon (played by newcomer Nathan Baesel) is a likeable guy! He's got a great sense of humor, a sharp wit and biting intellect. He's got tons of charm and charisma and Baesel is having the time of his life playing this soon-to-be serial killer. We also get to meet his mentor, the retired Eugene (Scott Wilson) and his 'ahab.' And, get this for the most perfect casting ever: the ahab (or... sort of good yin to his evil yang... think Dr. Loomis in Halloween) is none other than the one and only Robert Englund! I'm sorry but the fan girl in me can barely handle all the awesomeness of this movie. To top it all off, it's a really fun, really fresh, really great ride. This movie has a great idea and an amazing build up. It could be argued that it loses it's way with the ending (when it does become conventional slasher movie) but I was already having so much fun that it didn't matter too much to me. Make sure you watch all the way through the credits... and not just for Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads!
Grade: B+

Evan Almighty - What happens when you combine comedic geniuses Steve Carell, Jonah Hill, Lauren Graham and Ed Helms with one of the most beloved acting legends of our time, Morgan Freeman and one of the coolest men ever, John Goodman? Well, you get a mighty, mighty bad movie. This movie was not only not funny but also not entertaining in any way, shape or form. The only redeeming factors, for me, were Ed Helms and Jonah Hill who did their best to make the very lacking script work for them. Hill was one of the best things about Knocked Up and I can barely wait to see him team up with the young, comedic genius Michael Cera in August's Superbad. Now that's a comedy team with unbelievable potential. Helms is consistently one of the best things about the wonderful The Office. Still, these two alone cannot save this tired, heavy-handed, preachy, down-right boring movie. Carell just completely loses all of his sparkle and charm in this movie. And what a way to underuse the absolutely brilliant Lauren Graham. Not even underuse. How can you underuse something that you don't use at all? She's relegated to playing the dumb wife, a secondary, non-descript background character. How can anyone who has seen her work on Gilmore Girls not give her more to work with? She can more than hold her own with the big boys of comedy. Morgan Freeman does the same old God-shtick as the first time around. He's adorable and loveable but it's not enough to save this floundering mess. John Goodman does his best to play a bad guy but there's just one problem for me - I see him as nothing but a huggable teddy bear. Everything was rushed, the dialogue was laughably bad and the humor just wasn't funny at all.

Grade: D-

A Mighty Heart - I honestly can't think of a time when I've been more bored by a movie. Which is disappointing since I really had high hopes for this film. It tells the true story of journalist Danny Pearl (Dan Futterman) who disappears while on assignment in Pakistan and never comes home. Meanwhile, his pregnant wife Mariane (Angelina Jolie) has enlisted all kinds of people who look like each other and have accents you can't understand to try to find him before it's too late. Well, everyone knows that it is too late. Danny Pearl is beheaded on a videotape that is sent to Mariane's friends. Anyway, the movie is just a jumbled mess. There's too much going on and it becomes completely distracting, confusing and convaluted. After Danny goes missing, there's a lot of the same thing happening over and over: lots of random "Danny is missing" phone calls followed by discussions around a table and writing notes on a dry erase board. Then... more random "Danny is missing" phone calls followed by discussions around a table and writing notes on a dry erase board. Then... well, you get the point. The thing that probably bothered me most though was that Danny Pearl, who we are supposed to care about and worry about, the "heart" of the film, I guess, was barely in it. He was just a guy who showed up in a couple scenes and was sort of presented as this brilliant man who was stupid enough to be set up by these men who kidnapped him. The title of the movie is certainly kind of ironic since the movie has virtually no heart. The movie lacks any sort of emotion whatsoever and is just flat and boring. Now let's talk about Angelina. Her performance is completely unimpressive until one scene about 20 minutes from the end of the film. You know, the scene when she finds out her husband is dead. It proves her Oscar win for Girl, Interrupted was not a fluke. She's got talent. It's just a shame that her tabloid fodder life is getting in the way of her acting. She's no longer able to become a character. For me, I was never watching Mariane Pearl. I was watching Angelina Jolie do her best impression of Mariane Pearl.

Grade: D+