Movie Screening Alert - Oscar Nominees

New York audiences might want to clear their schedules on Saturday if they haven't seen most of the Best Picture Nominees yet. The AMC Kips Bay is doing a marathon screening of 

AVATAR

UP IN THE AIR

PRECIOUS

THE BLIND SIDE and

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (in that order).

It's $30 for the all day event - not too bad considering a regular ticket is over $12 these days - and apparently includes all you can eat popcorn. I'm sure there are screenings like this most year (unless it's a new thing due to the increase in nominees), but it's a cool idea. It might be a bit of an overwhelming movie watching experience, but if you're looking to catch up, here's a good opportunity.

Top 10 Films of the Aughts (Part I)

The period between 1990 and 1999 was great for movies. Pulp Fiction, Shawshank, Hoop Dreams – that's 1994 alone. There are times when I think the quality of films (especially domestic films) has degenerated as I’ve grown more familiar with writing and filmmaking. But then I thought about it, and, man, some really great movies came out this decade.

So here are #'s 10 - 6... (#'s 5 - 1 coming soon...)

10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Charlie Kaufman won a much-deserved Oscar for the most original concept in recent memory. Break-ups hurt because of loss – the loss of a comfort zone, the loss of someone else, the loss of someone else’s feelings. To prevent this feeling of loss, what if a medical procedure could erase that person from your memory?

The premise is ingenious, but the film stands out for depicting a universal relationship between Joel and Clementine (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet), told from beginning to end. The break up scene is most relatable, as Joel and Clemantine each say hurtful things that can't be unsaid. Whereas most movies capture romance with sparkling jewelry and huge set pieces, the most romantic scenes involve throwing leaves at each other, falling on the ice, or lying on the couch. And of course, the film does a commendable job in showing that pleasure from the good times ultimately outweigh the eventual pain.

Joel wants to procedure to stop, but is powerless as his body is knocked out. In Joel’s final memory, he and Clementine sit on the beach, completely aware that the incident is going to be erased: “This is it, Joel. It’s going to be gone soon.” “I know.” “What do we do?” “Enjoy it.”

9. Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino might be gimmicky. He might be completely full of himself. He might be a narcissist, a sexist, a thief.

He can be all of those things, but he can still be an expert craftsman.

A farmer stands on his front yard filling buckets of water. In a car in the distance, two guards approach with a Nazi colonel (Christoph Waltz). The farmer looks to his house, to his three teenage daughters. He pours some water over his face.

In the house, the colonel takes off his hat and smiles. “Do you know who I am?” The farmer nods. The colonel motions for his guards – equipped with machine guns – to step outside, but they remain visible through the window. The colonel acknowledges the daughters and their beauty. He asks if they would mind stepping outside. They look to their father, who nods, nervously. They step outside.

In the hands of a lesser writer/director, the subsequent scene between the colonel and farmer would be rushed and expositional; with Tarantino, the talky scene plays secondary to the tension of the guards in the window and the mere fact that we don’t know anything.

To arouse the curiosity of an audience without making it question the logic - that is tough. And, man, he makes it look easy...

8. Brokeback Mountain

It took a while for this film to set in. I think that’s a testament to Heath Ledger, the screenwriters, and Ang Lee, who collectively take a subtle story/protagonist and make it fly.

The premise by nature leads to a reactive story, one that studies a cowboy Ennis (Ledger) who lacks the ability to love. Whether it’s his wife, daughters, or Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal), the one person with whom he connects, he never allows more than five consecutive words to escape his tight-lipped demeanor. When someone notices a hint of transparency, he responds aggressively, like when he attacks Jack and ends up with a bloodied lip. He pushes himself into seclusion.

Jack is killed, and though the cause of death is ambiguous, the film sets up that he was possibly murdered for being homosexual. Through Jack’s ex-wife (Anne Hathaway), Ennis learns that Jack wanted him to scatter his ashes. When going to Jack’s parents for the ashes, he finds intertwined with one of Jack’s shirts is his blood-stained shirt from their fight years earlier. He holds them up to his face.

It’s subtle and fantastic.

7. Match Point

Though elements are borrowed from his Crimes and Misdemeanors and Hannah and Her Sisters, this is the most unique of Woody Allen’s canon. For starters, there is no Woody Allen, meaning neither himself as an actor nor a neurotic character in the cast. Secondly, this was the first of his films to take place outside of New York.

For a writer, the film is an education on economy and precision. Allen equips the hero of the story, an Irishman from a poor family Chris Wilton (Jonathon Rhys Meyers), with two gifts: skill with a tennis racket and good looks. Though he never climbed the ranks in professional tennis, his skill enables him to become an instructor at a country club. There, he befriends club member Tom Hewitt (Matthew Goode) and is able to use his other gift to catch the eye of his sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer). He charms his way into her heart and into the good graces of her wealthy parents, virtually guaranteeing him a fruitful life. But there is one problem: Tom is engaged to an American, Nola Rice (Scarlett Johannson), a failed actress pulling the same stunt as Chris.

Though the outsiders are experts in their roles, their obvious similarities and sexual attraction complicates their didactic plots. An affair is unfeasible, but proves unavoidable. And that’s the first act of a film that manages to explore themes of luck, hard work, and love without seeming implausible and still deliver a twist ending that hits just the right note.

6. Love Actually

How can you think of this film without smiling? Whether it’s the cheery score, that “Christmas is all around me!”, or that even a Hugh Grant or Colin Firth can act like a complete spazz when face-to-face with that flashy-eyed girl, this is one of those movies that will always put you in a good mood.

But how is it that Love Actually avoids being cheesy? It’s because the brilliant writer/director Richard Curtis explores the flip side of the coin. A workaholic (Laura Linney) finally has the chance to romance her crush, but a call from her hospitalized brother prevents it from happening. Daniel (Liam Neeson) is in constant grief after losing his wife to cancer. And, of course, the most heartfelt scene in which Karen (Emma Thompson) realizes her marriage is over after opening a Christmas gift.

The lows also accentuate some wonderful “movie moments”. There’s the porn star “rehearsing” with his female costar while having trouble asking her on a date. There’s Jamie (Colin Firth) and his Portuguese servant in the water saying the same things in different languages. There’s the controversial Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) on television: “Kids: don’t buy drugs. [a sigh of relief from the hosts] Become a pop star and they give ‘em to you for free!” And, my personal favorite, Mark spilling his heart out to Juliet (Keira Knightley) via poster cards though he has nothing to gain.

How did this film not get a screenplay nod?

* * *

(Hm. Noticing a theme, my revised #1 of the decade is now Terminator Salvation.)

HItFix Picks 29 Possible Contenders for Oscar Nominations

HITFIX just recently posted a list of 29 films that could show up on this year's Best Picture nomination sheet. Remember, this is the first time the Oscar will go to one out of ten nominees, rather than the traditional one out of five. It's an interesting list, with a mix of genres and live action versus animation. Some of the films are more obvious contenders than others, and all have short pros and cons listed. Check out the full article - or if you're in a hurry, read the 29 selected films here.

(With the number of films he's apparently in this year, George Clooney could theoretically be in half of the best picture nods, if the projects he's tied to from the below list are all selected. I'm a bit surprised Public Enemies didn't make the cut. Or, to a lesser degree, Watchmen - just in light of some of the other choices. Also, I'm still not sure where the line is drawn for certain categories, i.e. Mr. Fox or Up appearing in Best Picture instead of Best Animated Feature categories, or District 9 and The Prophet taking one of the ten spots, rather than one of the five for best foreign. Frankly, I'm not even sure if District 9 is considered a foreign film or not.)

1. Invictus
2. Avatar
3. The Informant
4. Nine
5. Julie & Julia
6. Broken Embraces
7. Precious: Based on a Novel by Sapphire
8. Where The Wild Things Are
9. Star Trek
10. An Education
11. The Men Who Stare At Goats
12. District 9
13. The Tree of Life
14. The Hurt Locker
15. Bright Star
16. Up In The Air
17. A Prophet
18. Up
19. A Single Man
20. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
21. Capitalism: A Love Story
22. The Road
23. 500 Days of Summer
24. Inglourious Basterds
25. Everybody's Fine
26. Amelia
27. A Serious Man
28. The Lovely Bones
29. Brothers

Screen Alert: Inglourious Basterds - Basterdizing History (In A Good Way)

*SPOILER WARNING*

Major spoilers discussed throughout the entire post.

Last Sunday, after a rave review from Zombie and mounting curiosity/excitement throughout the summer, I treated myself to an early morning screening of Quentin Tarantino's latest film, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. I was glad I went early, because even though it was before noon, there was not one seat to spare in the theater. It's no surprise BASTERDS opened at nearly 38 million.

For those who (somehow) don't know, BASTERDS is treated to Tarantino's signature over-the-top yet slightly humorous (at times) violence. Set in World War II, BASTERDS might just be the most acceptable setting for the gore that Tarantino rewards audiences with. The increasingly visible Brad Pitt (or am I the only one who feels like he's been popping up in movies a lot more in recent years) plays Aldo Raine, a U.S. Army lieutenant who assembles a squad for one reason and one reason only, "killin' Nazis." The hook? The squad is comprised entirely of Jewish soldiers, and to them, the war is personal; they're out for blood.

BASTERDS is one of Tarantino's most linear films, if not the most linear. Sure, he still jumps around a little here and there. While certain characters don't meet up until almost the last hour of the nearly three hour picture, everything seems to be happening chronologically, for the most part. However, my interest now isn't so much to review the film - you can find a ton of reviews online, many of which praise BASTERDS - but to analyze a key part of the ending.

To set the final scene, the orphaned Shosanna Dreyfus owns and operates a movie theater in France. The sole remaining member of her Jewish family, she has a deep rooted hatred for SS Colonel Hans Landa, the man responsible for her family's death. When she finds out that her theater has been chosen to host a premier of a new Nazi propaganda film, she concocts a plan. Burn the theater down with over 350 Nazis - including the top man himself, Hitler - trapped inside.

As the action built, I found myself starting to squirm in the seat. She had such a good plan. Top it off, the Basterds got involved. Overkill (literally). But how, I wondered, was Hitler going to escape sure death? I've been so programmed by historical fact that it never once crossed my mind that Hitler might... dare I say it... die onscreen from anything other than the suicide we know he actually went from. Then, it happened. Eli Roth - "The Bear Jew" stormed Hitler's balcony while the fuhrer was watching the movie and shot him. Dead. To pieces. Not only had Hitler been killed, but it was an unceremonious death. He stood up, got shot, and went down. It was only when The Bear Jew shoots his corpse that we even get a close up on Hitler.

Wow. Hitler killed on screen. I hadn't seen it coming. Then I got to thinking, has that happened before? I've seen some films based on his actual last days - like the amazing DOWNFALL - but I can't recall any movies where he's been blown away like that. I thought it was great. Yes, we got to see Hitler get his, but more than that, my expectations were completely shattered. I honestly wonder now if we can expect to see more movies do this - blatantly buck historical fact for a more gratifying ending. Part of me definitely hopes so. I was apparently way off on my expectations with BASTERDS' loyalty to certain historical facts (not that I thought the film was rooted in accuracy in any way). For the ending I didn't see coming, Tarantino gets my kudos (if he ever wants it, that is).