January (5): A Madea Christmas, Her, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, I, Frankenstein, The Punk Singer
February (7): The Monuments Men, The Lego Movie, Vampire Academy, RoboCop, Her, 3 Days to Kill, Non-Stop
March (8): Mr. Peabody & Sherman, 300: Rise of an Empire, Non-Stop, Need for Speed, The Single Moms Club, Muppets Most Wanted, Divergent, Divergent
April (9): On My Way, Captain America: The First Avenger, Sabotage, Bad Words, Oculus, Transcendence, The Other Woman, The Quiet Ones, Captain America: The First Avenger
May (10): The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Brick Mansions, Neighbors, Captain America: The First Avenger, Million Dollar Arm, Godzilla, Only Lovers Left Alive, Only Lovers Left Alive, X-Men: Days of Future Past, A Million Ways to Die in the West
June (11): Maleficent, Chef, Edge of Tomorrow, Edge of Tomorrow, We Are the Best!, The Signal, The Signal, Words and Pictures, Belle, Dirty Work/Busy Bodies/The Music Box, Edge of Tomorrow
Top 5 of 2014:Edge of Tomorrow, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Signal, Transcendence, Words and Pictures
Mom’s Top 5:Chef, Words and Pictures, Captain America: The First Avenger, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Monuments Men
Dad’s Top 5:3 Days to Kill, Chef, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Edge of Tomorrow, Captain America: The First Avenger
***
Superior, Highly Recommended:Her, The Punk Singer, The Monuments Men, 3 Days to Kill, Non-Stop, On My Way, Sabotage, Brick Mansions, Million Dollar Arm, Chef, We Are the Best!, Belle, The Grand Seduction
Good, Recommended:A Madea Christmas, I, Frankenstein, The Lego Movie, Vampire Academy, RoboCop, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, 300: Rise of an Empire, The Single Moms Club, Muppets Most Wanted, Divergent, Captain America: The First Avenger, Oculus, The Other Woman, The Quiet Ones, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past
Don’t Want To See It Again, But Harbor No Particular Ill Will Toward It:Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Neighbors, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Maleficent
Eh, Not for Me:Bad Words, The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Best Picture:American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street
Pick: Obviously there are many, many worthy films that weren’t even considered for this category due to the critical consensus, but of these nominees, American Hustle and Her are both fantastic, and neither of them have any chance of winning.
Mom’s Pick:Gravity
Dad’s Pick:American Hustle
Best Actor: Christian Bale, American Hustle; Bruce Dern, Nebraska; Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street; Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave; Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Pick: Christian Bale is very good in American Hustle and gets my vote, but Joaquin Phoenix actually gave the best performance by an actor this year in Her.
Mom’s Pick: Matthew McConaughey
Dad’s Pick: Christian Bale
Best Actress: Amy Adams, American Hustle; Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine; Sandra Bullock, Gravity; Judi Dench, Philomena; Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Pick: Cate Blanchett, obviously!
Mom’s Pick: Cate Blanchett
Dad’s Pick: Cate Blanchett, though he also enjoyed Amy Adams’s performance (as did I)
Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips; Bradley Cooper, American Hustle; Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave; Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street; Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Pick: Bradley Cooper deserves and absolutely won’t receive recognition for his performance in American Hustle.
Mom’s Pick: Jared Leto
Dad’s Pick: Barkhad Abdi
Best Supporting Actress: Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine; Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle; Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave; Julia Roberts, August: Osage County; June Squibb, Nebraska
Pick: Sally Hawkins is fantastic in Blue Jasmine and would win this award without question in a perfect world. Jennifer Lawrence would also be an acceptable choice.
Mom’s Pick: Lupita N’yongo
Dad’s Pick: Sally Hawkins
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity; Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave; Alexander Payne, Nebraska; David O. Russell, American Hustle; Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
Pick: David O. Russell is the most consistent director working today, as previously noted in this space; all of his films are great. The only one I’m not crazy about is Three Kings, but even that one is pretty good.
Mom’s Pick: Alfonso Cuarón
Dad’s Pick: David O. Russell, though he also enjoyed Gravity and would be OK with Alfonso Cuarón.
Best Original Screenplay:American Hustle; Blue Jasmine; Dallas Buyers Club; Her; Nebraska
Pick:American Hustle, Blue Jasmine and Her are all deserving.
Best Animated Feature:Croods, Despicable Me 2, Ernest & Celestine, Frozen, The Wind Rises
Pick:Frozen
Best Foreign Language Film:The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium), The Great Beauty (Italy), The Hunt (Denmark), The Missing Picture (Cambodia), Omar (Palestine)
Pick:The Hunt
Best Original Song: “Happy,” Despicable Me 2; “Let It Go,” Frozen; “The Moon Song,” Her; “Ordinary Love,” Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Pick: “Let It Go” is nice and all, but the only song that I would actually listen to outside of the context of the movie is “The Moon Song” from Her.
Best Production Design: American Hustle, Gravity, The Great Gatsby, Her, 12 Years a Slave
Pick: This should go to Her, hands down; it’s just beautiful. Here is a very interesting interview with production designer K.K. Barrett regarding the reasoning behind some of the choices that were made.
Mom’s Pick:The Great Gatsby
Dad’s Pick:The Great Gatsby
Best Visual Effects:Gravity; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Iron Man 3; The Lone Ranger; Star Trek Into Darkness
Pick:Iron Man 3, though all of the nominees would be acceptable choices.
Only 49 movies in the second half of the year, for a total of 97. Well, in the immortal words of Hilary Swank’s character in New Year’s Eve, the new year is a chance “to do better, to do more[.]”
July (11):White House Down, The Lone Ranger, Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, World War Z, RED 2, RIPD, The Conjuring, RED 2, The Wolverine, Girl Most Likely
The Lone Ranger is sprightly and entertaining, even with the lengthy running time. Man of Steel is the best Superman movie by a long shot. I had some problems with the one female character (with dialogue) in Pacific Rim. RED 2 is highly amusing. RIPD doesn’t completely deserve the critical drubbing it received. The Conjuring is a fun haunted-house movie, and it’s certainly nice to see Lili Taylor with such a large role in a major motion picture; in addition, I have always been fascinated by Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Wolverine provides a nice contrast to Pacific Rim, as it features four distinct women who don’t do anything infuriatingly passive during the whole movie. Girl Most Likely is a sweet, zany, small-scale comedy with a nice central performance by Kristen Wiig.
August (7):The Heat, The Lone Ranger, The Purge, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Kick-Ass 2, Pulp Fiction, You’re Next, Getaway
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is lighter and faster than the first film. Kick-Ass 2 benefits greatly from an increased focus on Hit Girl. I had never seen Pulp Fiction in a theater and quite enjoyed the experience. You’re Next is a surprising, clever horror-comedy. D.W. Griffith (and, later, Jean-Luc Godard) famously said that all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun; the makers of Getaway posit that all you need to make a movie is Ethan Hawke, a surly teenage girl and a Shelby GT500 Super Snake Mustang outfitted like the cars in Death Race careening through Bulgaria. They’re right!
September (13):We’re the Millers, Closed Circuit, Blue Jasmine, Closed Circuit, This Island Earth, Closed Circuit, Riddick, The Andromeda Strain, Austenland, When Worlds Collide, Westworld, White House Down, The Family
We’re the Millers was more amusing than anticipated. Closed Circuit offers a fascinating look at the British legal system and features terrific performances from Rebecca Hall and Eric Bana. Cate Blanchett deserves every award for which she is eligible for Blue Jasmine. Riddick is certainly an improvement over The Chronicles of Riddick, but you’re probably better off watching Pitch Black again instead. This Island Earth, The Andromeda Strain, When Worlds Collide and Westworld were part of a local theater’s “Sci-Fi Saturday” series. I hadn’t seen any of the films that were screened and enjoyed all of them; The Andromeda Strain was my personal favorite. Austenland is a fun romantic comedy for Jane Austen devotees. The Family is very amusing, a fine addition to Luc Besson’s filmography.
October (10):The Invisible Man, Pulling Strings, Planet of the Apes, Gravity, Machete Kills, Kronos, Enough Said, Carrie, Enough Said, The Counselor
The Invisible Man, Planet of the Apes and Kronos were the remaining “Sci-Fi Saturday” films. Pulling Strings is a sweet romance about a mariachi in Mexico trying to win over the diplomatic consul who denied him a visa. Gravity is visually interesting, but I thought the metaphor was too simplistic/obvious and robbed the story of its stakes (woman who has isolated herself after a tragedy has to decide whether to languish in isolation [space] or re-enter society [Earth’s atmosphere]–hmm, whatever will she choose?). Machete Kills is very violent and very funny. Enough Said is Nicole Holofcener’s most accessible film to date (and I love all her movies, including this one). Carrie (2013) is a great improvement over the original, though I still prefer the ending of the 2002 version. The Counselor divided critics; not that I care about the critical consensus, but I have to believe that those who panned it either didn’t understand it or have a low tolerance for nihilism. Those who referenced its alleged misogyny clearly fall into the former category.
November (3):The Counselor, Thor: The Dark World, The Best Man Holiday
Thor: The Dark World is fast-paced and amusing. I quite enjoyed The Best Man in 1999, and The Best Man Holiday is a fun sequel that also happens to be extremely sad, so consider yourself warned.
December (5):The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, American Hustle, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Tremors, The Birds
I did not expect to enjoy The Hobbit, but I did. American Hustle is yet another great film by David O. Russell, the most consistent filmmaker working today. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is the rare family film that does not condescend to the audience, and it is gorgeous. Tremors and The Birds were this year’s “New Year’s Eve-il” double feature; I hadn’t seen Tremors in a theater and I hadn’t seen The Birds at all. Both were great fun.
Top 13 of 2013:Dead Man Down, Closed Circuit, Enough Said, The Sapphires, American Hustle, The Counselor, Blue Jasmine, Frances Ha, Stoker, The East, The Heat, The Conjuring, Trance
Mom’s Top 13 of 2013:Star Trek Into Darkness, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, Fast and Furious 6, Blue Jasmine, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Enough Said, The Sapphires, The Lone Ranger, Pacific Rim, The Heat, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Dad’s Top 13 of 2013:Star Trek Into Darkness, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Fast and Furious 6, 42, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Heat, The Sapphires, The Lone Ranger, American Hustle, RED 2, Enough Said, Closed Circuit
Superior, Highly Recommended:Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Parker, The Last Exorcism Part 2, Disconnect, Spring Breakers, Evil Dead, Oblivion, Iron Man 3, Fast and Furious 6, Man of Steel, World War Z, White House Down, The Lone Ranger, RED 2, The Wolverine, Girl Most Likely, You’re Next, Austenland, Carrie, Thor: The Dark World, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Frozen
Good, Recommended:Snitch, Admission, Pain & Gain, Now You See Me, The Purge, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Kick-Ass 2, Getaway, The Family, Pulling Strings, Machete Kills, The Best Man Holiday, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Decent, No Regrets:Side Effects, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Ginger & Rosa, Star Trek Into Darkness, RIPD, We’re the Millers, Gravity
Don’t Want To See It Again, But Harbor No Particular Ill Will Toward It:Warm Bodies, Beautiful Creatures, Jack the Giant Slayer, Oz: The Great and Powerful, Olympus Has Fallen, Riddick
It’s always hard to care about the Emmy awards if your tastes oppose the critical consensus 99% of the time, but I like to watch the show anyway, akin to watching the Super Bowl when you don’t care about the teams who are playing. I am a big fan of award shows, even when I’m not a fan of the content they choose to reward.
This year, there are two particularly glaring omissions:
(1) Hannibal. Look, I get it. It’s a TV version of an iconic character whose appeal is already limited on account of (spoiler alert) being a cannibal. I’m no fan of the books or films, but I gave this show a shot, and I’m glad I did.
Mads Mikkelsen plays the title character with such delicacy and restraint that every facial expression is riveting. Hugh Dancy’s performance as the fragile, half-crazy profiler who becomes a patient, colleague, and friend (?) of Hannibal seems showy compared to Mikkelsen’s, but I recently re-watched The Jane Austen Book Club and the difference was startling, so I think maybe I haven’t given him enough credit. Each episode is so finely acted and written and so beautifully staged that most other crime shows seem crude and cheap by comparison.
(2) Tatiana Maslany. Without spoiling too much about the premise of the sci-fi series Orphan Black (but don’t watch that video if you don’t want to know), Maslany plays at least four distinct characters in every episode. I can only presume that she was overlooked because (a) it’s a lesser-known show with some content that could be off-putting to more conservative voters (not suitable for children) and (b) it’s very easy to forget that all of those characters are played by the same person. But they are!
On to the actual nominations:
Outstanding Drama Series Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, House of Cards, Mad Men
Breaking Bad: Men behaving badly. Game of Thrones: Men behaving badly in medieval times, or whatever. Mad Men: Men behaving badly in the 60s.
Homeland has a little problem that I like to call “Claire Danes.” I’d probably like House of Cards, but I haven’t been able to get motivated to watch it.
Pick: Downton Abbey.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel; Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey; Claire Danes, Homeland; Robin Wright, House of Cards; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men, Connie Britton, Nashville; Kerry Washington, Scandal
Pick: There is only one choice here. Vera Farmiga is flat-out delightful on Bates Motel, and the best reason to tune in every week is to see what amazing thing she’ll do in the next episode. The series is ostensibly a prequel to Psycho, set in the present, but sometimes it’s just a show about a plucky single mom trying to raise a troubled teenager in an unusually creepy small town. More detailed praise for her performance can be found here, here and here.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad; Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey; Damian Lewis, Homeland; Kevin Spacey, House of Cards; Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Pick: Jeff Daniels, obviously. (Though I’ll concede he has no chance.)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad; Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey; Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones; Christine Baranski, The Good Wife; Morena Baccarin, Homeland; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Pick: Oh, Christine Baranski, I guess. The Good Wife has a great supporting cast, but the lead actors suck all the life out of the show; Julianna Margulies is vacant and Chris Noth is smarmy. I know some readers of this blog are pulling for Maggie Smith, and I suppose that’s fine too.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire; Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad; Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad; Jim Carter, Downton Abbey; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Pick: Could not care less.
Outstanding Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory, Girls, Louie, Modern Family, 30 Rock, Veep
The Big Bang Theory: Vulgar, sexist. Girls: Vulgar, off-putting (though I generally like Lena Dunham and wouldn’t begrudge her a win). Louie: Vulgar, off-putting. Modern Family: Crass, obnoxious.
I haven’t watched Veep, so I guess that leaves 30 Rock, which I did occasionally watch and enjoy, though it lost steam toward the end.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Laura Dern, Enlightened; Lena Dunham, Girls; Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation; Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Pick: Edie Falco, obviously, though she has the distinct advantage that Nurse Jackie is basically a half-hour drama with wacky music. I’d be OK with any of the nominees.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development; Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory; Matt LeBlanc, Episodes; Don Cheadle, House of Lies; Louis C.K., Louie; Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Pick: Alec Baldwin was always good on 30 Rock, and I’d certainly want to see him prevail over Bateman, Parsons and Louis C.K. I don’t harbor any ill will toward LeBlanc or Cheadle, either.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory; Jane Lynch, Glee; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie; Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock; Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Pick: If there were any justice in the world, Merritt Wever would have this sewn up. As we know, there is no justice, so she has zero chance.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Adam Driver, Girls; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Ed O’Neill, Modern Family; Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live; Tony Hale, Veep
Pick: This would be a good time for a restroom break, or to go get more snacks, take out the trash, feed the cat, etc.
Outstanding Miniseries or Movie American Horror Story: Asylum, Behind The Candelabra, The Bible, Phil Spector, Political Animals, Top of the Lake
On paper, Political Animals seemed like it had been dreamed up just for me: Sigourney Weaver as a stand-in for Hillary Clinton? Sign me up! However, the series was a disappointment from the start; it started badly and grew progressively worse over its brief run. It was a broad, crass caricature of the Clintons that betrayed a total lack of understanding of the reason people actually like the Clintons. Weaver had her moments but the entire enterprise is best forgotten.
Pick: Oh, whatever, who cares. I’d like to see Phil Spector win just to see David Mamet give a speech, but that seems highly unlikely.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum; Laura Linney, The Big C: Hereafter; Helen Mirren, Phil Spector; Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals; Elisabeth Moss, Top Of The Lake
Pick: Helen Mirren was remarkable as always as Spector’s defense attorney, Linda Kenney Baden.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Michael Douglas, Behind The Candelabra; Matt Damon, Behind The Candelabra; Toby Jones, The Girl; Benedict Cumberbatch, Parade’s End; Al Pacino, Phil Spector
Pick: Pacino, I guess, but this would be another opportunity for a drink refill, vacuuming, doing laundry, etc.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Asylum; Imelda Staunton, The Girl; Ellen Burstyn, Political Animals; Charlotte Rampling, Restless; Alfre Woodard, Steel Magnolias
Pick: Rampling was remarkable as always as a former secret agent in Restless, but if I were going to choose someone who had a chance of winning, I’d go with Sarah Paulson, who did most of the heavy lifting in American Horror Story: Asylum.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
James Cromwell, American Horror Story: Asylum; Zachary Quinto, American Horror Story: Asylum; Scott Bakula, Behind The Candelabra; John Benjamin Hickey, The Big C: Hereafter; Peter Mullan, Top of the Lake
Pick: Well, let’s just say you shouldn’t watch American Horror Story: Asylum if you would prefer not to be creeped out by James Cromwell for the rest of your life.
When I read that a new (to me) band called Shovels and Rope had racked up four Americana Award nominations alongside Richard Thompson, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, et al., I thought: oh great, another critically acclaimed, snoozy band like The Civil Wars (evidence of said snooziness here). I also recalled an irritating Entertainment Weekly article about the alleged “revival” of “folk rock music” courtesy of the similarly somnabulent Mumford and Sons, among other bands that only someone with a very limited knowledge of folk music and history and things that are good would consider “folk” and/or “rock.” You can read it here if you want to be annoyed for the rest of the day (Sample quote: “[I]t reflects the larger migration toward pared-down lifestyles that started around the 2008 recession and now extends to everything from homemade fashion to artisanal food.”)
Anyway, curiosity eventually got the best of me, and I am delighted to report that for once, people who nominate things for awards got it right! Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent are a husband-and-wife duo who have recorded separately but also perform together as Shovels and Rope, and their sound has been described as “barn rock” and “folky cow-punk.” I don’t know what that means, but it sounds good, right? If you aren’t sold by the 1:14 mark of the first video posted below… well, you and I have very different taste, because that’s about the time I started thinking, “Why doesn’t everyone know about this band? If only I had an infrequently-updated blog where I could post a few of their videos to spread the word!”
Hail Hail
O Be Joyful
Tell the Truth
Bad Luck
Full disclosure: “Hail Hail” is the one that got me hooked, but I have probably listened to “Bad Luck” 40 trillion times over the last month or so.
As of June 30, I had only seen 48 movies in the theater this year. (So you’d think I’d have more time to update this blog.) I’d better step it up by December 31.
I had previously seen and enjoyed Hitchcock and Silver Linings Playbook in 2012. Mama is nicely atmospheric for a while, with an interesting performance by Jessica Chastain, but the premise inevitably descends into extreme silliness, and not the good kind. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is clever and very gory (and silly, but the good kind). I disliked Les Miserables much less than I’d anticipated, having no fondness for the source, but it was impossible (for me) to care about the fates of any of the characters–except maybe Javert. He was just trying to do his job!
February (7): Parker, Warm Bodies, Argo, Beautiful Creatures, Warm Bodies, Snitch, Side Effects
Parker is great fun, just the kind of lean, fast-paced crime movie I tend to enjoy, and about a katrillion times better than Payback, the last attempt to adapt the Donald Westlake/Richard Stark character. Warm Bodies and Beautiful Creatures are fine if you’re a teenager. Snitch is well-made and features a very respectable, very serious lead performance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. (In the same vein, see also: the darker, severely underappreciated Faster.)
Jack the Giant Slayer and Oz: The Great and Powerful are decent family films. I was dubious about The Last Exorcism Part 2, given how much I loved the first movie and its crazy ending, but my doubts were unfounded: this installment drops the found-footage angle and focuses on poor Nell and her continued struggles, and Ashley Bell is more than up to the task of carrying the movie. I saw Dead Man Down three times in one week (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday), so, yeah, I liked it; it’s a story about blackmail and vengeance, and there are expensive-looking action sequences and explosions, but it’s completely character-driven. A+. I had missed Jack Reacher in 2012; I quite enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind a sequel. Stoker is gorgeously shot, anchored by a brilliant performance from Mia Wasikowska. Admission is a nice romantic comedy/drama with an unusual female protagonist. Olympus Has Fallen is not exactly “good” and just looks cheap when compared to White House Down, but its one redeeming feature is that it is really violent. And I suppose it’s sort of amusing. G.I. Joe: Retaliation is fine, but I found myself missing the characters from the first movie.
April (10): Olympus Has Fallen, Jurassic Park, Evil Dead, Spring Breakers, Ginger & Rosa, The Sapphires, Trance, Oblivion, Disconnect, Pain & Gain
I ended up seeing Olympus Has Fallen a second time because I lost a bet. Jurassic Park holds up remarkably well, even if I’d rather be watching Jurassic Park III. Evil Dead is one of the goriest movies I have ever seen in theaters. Spring Breakers is surprisingly good, a critique rather than a celebration. I expected to like Ginger & Rosa more than I did, which is something I can say for pretty much all of Sally Potter’s films, so you’d think I’d eventually learn to lower my expectations. The Sapphires is terrific, and woefully underseen. Trance is a return to form for Danny Boyle, closer in tone to Shallow Grave than Slumdog Millionaire (thank goodness). Oblivion is one of the better sci-fi movies of the last decade, a welcome surprise. Disconnect is distinctly unsettling and I’m still thinking about it, so, job well done, filmmakers. (Lessons learned: never buy anything online, never post on message boards, never Google “teen runaways.”) Pain & Gain is a violent black comedy, right up my alley.
May (5): Iron Man 3, Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Iron Man 3, Fast and Furious 6
Iron Man 3 is by far the best of the series, thanks in large part to writer/director Shane Black. I liked Star Trek Into Darkness more than the first one. Fast and Furious 6 is a lot of fun, can’t wait for the next installment.
June (9): Now You See Me, Frances Ha, The Purge, The East, Man of Steel, The Bling Ring, World War Z, White House Down, The Heat
Now You See Me is a diverting caper film. Frances Ha is a nice showcase for co-writer/star Greta Gerwig, who is very likable. The Purge has an entertaining premise and an important message: kids and neighbors are THE WORST. The East is complex, well-acted, well-written. Man of Steel is probably the best Superman movie to date. The Bling Ring is well done but inconsequential. World War Z is much better than I thought it would be; that goes for White House Down, too. The Heat is not only very amusing, but also casually feminist, so, a good time at the movies.
Top 5 of 2013 (so far): Dead Man Down, The Sapphires, Stoker, Frances Ha, The East
Best Summer Movies (so far): I have actually enjoyed almost all of the big-budget summer releases this year – Iron Man 3, Fast and Furious 6, Man of Steel, World War Z, White House Down, The Lone Ranger. I also liked The Heat and Now You See Me. So either summer movies are getting better or I’m getting less critical in my advanced age.
Summer Movie MVP: Literally the week before I saw Iron Man 3, I started watching the AMC show Rubicon (only one season, 2010). When I saw Iron Man 3, I thought, “Gee, that remarkably competent henchman looks very familiar.” Only when the credits rolled did I realize that it was James Badge Dale, the star of Rubicon. He also has brief but memorable turns in World War Z (as the captain in Korea) and The Lone Ranger (as the Lone Ranger’s brother), leading Entertainment Weekly to dub him “the American Sean Bean.”
Mom’s Top 5 of 2013: Star Trek Into Darkness, The Sapphires, Kon-Tiki, White House Down, Man of Steel
Dad’s Top 5 of 2013: 42, Iron Man 3, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Lone Ranger, The Sapphires
Kaiti’s Top 5 of 2013: Iron Man 3, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Fast & Furious 6, White House Down, The Lone Ranger
As a refresher, here is a list of all the movies I saw in a theater from January through June 2012, for a total of 55.
July: To Rome With Love, Amazing Spider-Man, Savages, Safety Not Guaranteed, Safety Not Guaranteed, Safety Not Guaranteed, Savages, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Dark Knight Rises, Step Up: Revolution
August: Total Recall, The Bourne Legacy, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dark Shadows, Battleship, Prometheus, Men in Black 3, The Hunger Games, Ruby Sparks, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Hit and Run, Paranorman
September: The Possession, The Avengers, Celeste and Jesse Forever, The Campaign, The Expendables 2, The Cold Light of Day, The Words, Resident Evil: Retribution, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, Resident Evil: Retribution, Won’t Back Down
October: Resident Evil: Retribution, Pitch Perfect, The Oranges, Seven Psychopaths, Looper, Here Comes the Boom, Hotel Transylvania, Paranormal Activity 4, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Alex Cross
November: The Man With The Iron Fists, Silent Hill: Revelation, Skyfall, A Late Quartet, Silver Linings Playbook, Argo
Top 12 of 2012: Haywire, Prometheus, Safety Not Guaranteed, Savages, Seven Psychopaths, Silver Linings Playbook, Coriolanus, Gone, Damsels in Distress, Killing Them Softly, Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, Hitchcock
Mom’s Top 12 of 2012: The Avengers, John Carter, Battleship, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Safe, Lockout, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, The Bourne Legacy, Dark Shadows, Snow White and the Huntsman, Men in Black 3
Dad’s Top 12 of 2012: Prometheus, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Avengers, Skyfall, Safety Not Guaranteed, Men in Black 3, Dark Shadows, Haywire, The Bourne Legacy, Argo
Superior, Highly Recommended: The Iron Lady, Seeking Justice, Jeff Who Lives at Home, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Lockout, Safe, Dark Shadows, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Celeste and Jesse Forever, Won’t Back Down, Pitch Perfect, A Late Quartet, This is 40
Good, Recommended: Joyful Noise, Underworld: Awakening, One for the Money, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Thin Ice, John Carter, The Avengers, Battleship, Girl in Progress, Men in Black 3, Moonrise Kingdom, Brave, To Rome With Love, Hit and Run, Paranorman, The Possession, The Campaign, The Words, Skyfall, Silent Hill: Revelation, Argo
Decent, No Regrets: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (3D), Wanderlust, 21 Jump Street, Mirror Mirror, A Five-Year Engagement, Wrath of the Titans, Snow White and the Huntsman, People Like Us, The Amazing Spider-Man, Step Up Revolution, Total Recall, The Bourne Legacy, Ruby Sparks, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Looper, Here Comes the Boom, Hotel Transylvania, Paranormal Activity 4, Alex Cross, The Man With the Iron Fists, The Expandables 2, The Cold Light of Day*, Red Dawn, The Oranges
Don’t Want To See It Again, But Harbor No Particular Ill Will Toward It: Young Adult, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, A Thousand Words, Chernobyl Diaries, The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises, This Means War
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad: The Cabin in the Woods, The Woman in Black
Sadly, The Cabin in the Woods is neither “breathlessly entertaining” nor “insanely enjoyable.” It’s a horror movie for people who “enjoy” things ironically, and it takes forever to get to the point. No thanks.
*The Cold Light of Day is not a well-made film. The director seems particularly fond of shooting the backs of actors’ heads. Henry Cavill makes for an insufferable “hero.” However, Sigourney Weaver seems to be having such a good time playing the supposed villain that all of her scenes are supremely entertaining, particularly the climactic car chase, and I generally had a good time watching it as a result.
I’ve only seen 55 movies this year (theater visits, not individual movies). Better step it up over the next six months!
January (10): Young Adult, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Joyful Noise, The Iron Lady, Haywire, Underworld: Awakening (3D), Haywire, One for the Money, The Iron Lady
February (8): New Year’s Eve, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, This Means War, The Woman in Black, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (3D), Thin Ice, Wanderlust, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (3D)
March (9): Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (3D), Gone, Gone, 21 Jump Street, A Thousand Words, John Carter (3D), Seeking Justice, Jeff Who Lives at Home, Mirror Mirror
May (13): A Five-Year Engagement, Safe, The Avengers, Dark Shadows, Damsels in Distress, The Avengers, Battleship, Girl in Progress, Dark Shadows, Men in Black 3, Wrath of the Titans, Battleship, Lockout
June (10): Snow White and the Huntsman, Chernobyl Diaries, The Avengers, Prometheus, Prometheus (3D), Prometheus, Moonrise Kingdom, Men in Black 3, Brave, People Like Us
Top Five of 2012 (so far): Haywire, Prometheus, Coriolanus, Gone, Damsels in Distress
Best Summer Movies (so far): Prometheus, Dark Shadows, Men in Black 3, The Avengers, Battleship
Mom’s Top Five of 2012: The Avengers, John Carter, Battleship, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Safe and Lockout (tie)
Dad’s Top Five of 2012: The Avengers, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Men in Black 3, Dark Shadows, Prometheus and Seeking Justice (tie)
Worst Movie of 2012: The Woman in Black. I get what they were going for, but (a) Daniel Radcliffe has Elijah Wood Syndrome and will always be 12 years old; (b) 90 minutes of Radcliffe sorting papers and looking scared is not, in the classic sense, “interesting.” Add a pointlessly downbeat ending, et voila, the least enjoyable 90 minutes I’ve spent in a movie theater this year. (They’re making a sequel, naturally.)
Kids in Mind: 2.5.4 (they helpfully point out that the message of the movie is, “Girls can shoot and ride horses as well as boys can.”) Rotten Tomatoes: 9%. Nine percent. Suitable for children/parents: Not for kids at all, but I’ve watched it about five times in the last few weeks and I’m hard-pressed to remember why it would be rated R beyond “adult themes.” Look at that Kids in Mind rating; it’d probably be a PG-13 today.
“Ugh,” a friend said, perusing my DVD collection. “Don’t tell me you own Bad Girls.”
“No,” I replied indignantly, as if I would ever own such a movie. “That’s Buffalo Girls. Anjelica Huston as Calamity Jane. Totally different.”
He moved on. “Blue Crush?”
“Wait,” I said. “Have you actually seen Bad Girls?”
“No,” he admitted. I hadn’t, either; my indignation was unfounded. All I knew was that Bad Girls had been savaged by critics and ignored by audiences circa 1994. But since when have I agreed with critics? Or audiences, for that matter? Shouldn’t a movie with four apparently strong female leads appeal to me? Shouldn’t the fact that it was critically savaged make it more interesting to me, not less? The Quick and the Dead and Bandidas are the only two Westerns I actually like. I own Buffalo Girls!
The TV show Revenge premiered a few months after that conversation occurred. The protagonist is played by actress Emily Van Camp, apparently noted for her roles on Everwood and Brothers and Sisters, two shows I managed to ignore for the duration of their moderately lengthy runs. She’s good. But Madeleine Stowe gets top billing, and rightfully so; as the (totally sympathetic!) antagonist, she is a revelation. See for yourself.
She had a good reason for that.
Anyway, I started thinking, “I like women with backbone, that whole deal. Why did I never see any of her movies?”
Coincidentally, the Encore channels started to run Bad Girls on a near-endless loop, so I finally got around to watching it. As usual, the critics were wrong; it’s perfectly decent. Cody Zamora (Stowe) incurs the wrath of the law when she murders a guy to protect her friend Anita (Mary Stuart Masterson), a respectable woman forced into a less than respectable profession following the death of her husband. In turn, Anita and their other friends Eileen (Andie MacDowell) and Lilly (Drew Barrymore) rescue Cody from the hangman. Since they’re already on the run, Anita comes up with the bright idea to head to Oregon, where her husband owned some land, to open a sawmill. Cody just happens to have $12,000 saved up, wired to an account in Agua Dulce (not the town in California), which she’d be willing to contribute to the cause.
Upon arrival in Agua Dulce, Cody withdraws her money, which is promptly stolen by Kid Jarrett (James Russo), the leader of a gang of bank robbers with which Cody used to run. In the meantime, they’re being chased by Pinkerton detectives as well as Dermot Mulroney, who hopes that Cody will lead him to Kid and his gang so that he can carry out his own revenge mission.
That all sounds kind of interesting, right? But here’s the other thing I vaguely knew about the movie beforehand: It was a famously troubled production. The budget ballooned from $6 million to around $20 million. The original director, Tamra Davis, was fired and replaced by Jonathan Kaplan.
Not long before I saw Bad Girls for the first time, I watched a highly entertaining documentary called Machete Maidens Unleashed!, which is about all of the cheap exploitation movies that were filmed in the Philippines in the 60s and 70s. Among the interviewees are various actresses who appeared in the movies, along with Sid Haig, Dick Miller, Roger Corman, Joe Dante and… Jonathan Kaplan!
That’s right. The studio replaced Tamra Davis with the guy who directed Night Call Nurses.
As it turns out, that description isn’t really fair. Further research indicates that he did transition into making more respectable movies eventually; he also directed Heart Like A Wheel, The Accused, Immediate Family, Unlawful Entry and Love Field, so he had a pretty good run in the 80s and 90s. But maybe his background in exploitation movies explains why Bad Girls is so weird.
Cody would seem to be a great character, but she runs off to Kid Jarrett’s hideout to retrieve her money and is victimized, then saved by Dermot Mulroney. Lilly ends up in the same predicament later in the movie. Sure, Kid eventually gets what’s coming to him (uh, guess that was a spoiler), but it’s hard not to think that perhaps the director of The Student Teachers was not the best choice to make what appears to have once been intended as a feminist Western. On the other hand, characters have to grow and change, so maybe it’s sufficient that Cody and company get their revenge and their money, then ride off into the sunset (minus one, who opts to stay behind with a friendly rancher), headed to the Yukon.
Of the actresses, Stowe is the obvious standout. Masterson is fine in a somewhat thankless role. Barrymore and MacDowell both acquit themselves nicely as the plucky comic relief. James Russo is really good at playing a really sleazy bad guy. The fantastic Jerry Goldsmith score may be at least 35% of the reason that I keep watching this movie when it pops up on cable.
Bad Girls is no Bandidas, but it’s reasonably entertaining, and one of these days I probably will add it to my collection. So there!
Interesting Trivia: There was apparently supposed to be a fifth “bad girl,” played by Cynda Williams, but she was also fired.
Not Really Trivia, But Interesting: In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Stowe described her character as follows:
“‘She’s so hardened and cold that she has no use for men other than for money,’ says Stowe, gleefully adding, ‘When she strikes out it’s quick and violent. You don’t expect a woman to whip out a gun.’
“And you wouldn’t expect Stowe to whip her old colleague Kaplan [from Unlawful Entry], who replaced original director Tamra Davis (Guncrazy) one week into filming. But when she hears a comment of his — ‘The challenge was to not make the tone so serious. Because this is, after all, a movie called Bad Girls, about women doing stuff men have traditionally done and [looking] really good doing it.’ — she goes ballistic. ‘I hate that sh—!’ she exclaims. ‘That just drives me up the wall. I guess that’s why they were busy taking tobacco out of my mouth.’
“Stowe can’t stand the title, either. ‘I thought [the movie] was a very interesting feminist statement,’ she says, ‘and I don’t know why they have to attach that name to it as a kind of tongue-in-cheek thing.’ But since she has yet to see Kaplan’s cut, she’s reserving judgment. ‘I sense that he’s a little nervous about how audiences are going to respond to Cody. It’ll be interesting to see if he keeps that intact.'”
A few years after the movie was released, she gave another interview suggesting that she was displeased with the final product: “Asked about the widely-panned 1994 Western Bad Girls, the pained look of a TV commercial migraine sufferer crosses her face. ‘That was just a movie that should never have been made. I was horrible in it. I look at it and think, You stiff! Just die!‘”
Well, I liked it. Even if I’m the only one. I am a lone reed, etc., etc.
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Gee, The Black Keys are pretty good, but I’d probably like them better if they had a cool female singer instead”? I know I have. So imagine my surprise upon discovering that the universe had responded to this random thought by providing The Heartless Bastards, a band I discovered on a rerun of Austin City Limits that is perhaps best described as similar to The Black Keys, but with a cool female singer instead.
As it turns out, that comparison isn’t totally unfounded: according to Wikipedia, “[t]hey are often compared to fellow Ohioans The Black Keys.” Moreover, “[t]he band was signed to Fat Possum Records in 2004 after Patrick Carney from The Black Keys passed along a demo he received from Erika [Wennerstrom, the aforementioned singer/guitarist/piano player].”
Here are a few of my favorite tracks:
Early in the Morning
Out to Sea
Pass and Fail (not a live performance, but a great song)
Parted Ways
Done Got Old
New Resolution (not a live performance, either)
And, for comparison purposes, my favorite Black Keys song (this week):
Official Site
The Austin City Limits episode that started it all
eating junk, watching rubbish 