Movie Review - The Devil's Double

The Devil's Double (2011)

Starring Dominic Cooper and Ludivine Sagnier

Directed by Lee Tamahori

I am quite sure that Uday Hussein -- Saddam's son -- was a wild and crazy guy, living in excess and quite literally doing everything, anything, and anyone he pleased.  I am also quite sure that there is a good movie to be told about this guy, particularly about the fact that he hired a high school classmate to be his "look-alike" double and attend various events for him.  The Devil's Double is not that movie.

Director Lee Tamahori fails to find an appropriate balance between the excesses of Uday and the seriousness of the situation for his double Latif Yahia.  Given no choice but to become Uday's double, Latif (played by Dominic Cooper who tackles both distinct roles) is forced to adhere to Uday's every command for fear of his family's safety.  That's a scary proposition and one worth exploring, but whenever the film presents Uday to the audience it's as if we're watching "Sacha Baron Cohen as Uday Hussein!"  There's a comedic quality on display that is simply too jarring when put next to Latif's genuinely nerve-wracking situation.

I can't help but think that the offputting differences in tone between the two characters isn't the fault of Dominic Cooper, but rather the director's concept of presenting two similar-looking people with incredibly distinct personalities.  Cooper does an admirable job exploring the pathos of Latif, but when it comes to Uday it oftentimes veers into the realm of a Saturday Night Live sketch.

It's all rather unfortunate since I really do think this true story was worthy of a decent movie.  The bones of a good plot are there, but this just felt oddly fake and unrealistic in many scenes.  Even if Uday Hussein was as eccentric, wild, and insane as this film makes him out to be, with a more realistic tone, this would have been much more successful.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Coriolanus

Coriolanus (2011)

Starring Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Jessica Chastain, Brian Cox, and Vanessa Redgrave

Directed by Ralph Fiennes

Shakespeare.  Right off the bat, uttering that word limits the marketplace for Coriolanus, the directorial debut of Ralph Fiennes.  The knowledge that Fiennes decided to keep the old world dialog in tact narrows the audience even further.  And choosing a play of the Bard's that no one in the world is familiar with is sort of the last straw.  Fortunately for Fiennes, the update of the work to modern times helps alleviate some of the marketable problems with a film like this, but in the end, there may very well be a reason this is one of Shakespeare's least performed works.

It's not that what is onscreen in this adaptation is bad by any means, but the story itself lacks depth.  Fiennes is the title character, a Roman soldier who has succeeded in helping his country in many of their battles.  However, he's not loved by the people and when he attempts to make his way into politics, the public tosses him out of the country forcing Coriolanus to befriend his biggest enemy, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), a general in the Volscian army.  The two men team up to wage war on Rome and its people and regain control.

Ultimately, Shakespeare has crafted a solid beginning and a good (though not great) conclusion, but the work suffers greatly in the middle.  Perhaps it wasn't explained well enough in this version, but I never understood (or cared, for that matter) why the Roman people had such a huge problem with Coriolanus.  Somewhere in there, we discover that Coriolanus despises the concept of "public rule" and the right of citizens to elect their representatives -- at least I think that's what happens -- but that never really seemed like enough of a reason (especially considering the film was updated to current times) to toss a guy out of the country.  Because of this awkward and "under-explained" middle, I found myself lost and losing interest quite a bit.

It's no fault of the actors as everyone is very good.  Fiennes is tough and nasty and makes a solid "action star" which this role almost requires of him.  Butler is fine as well, although his character really isn't given a whole lot to do.  Even in the final act when Coriolanus teams up with Aufidius, Butler's character almost seemed to be simply a higher paid, glorified extra more than anything else.  Vanessa Redgrave got a lot of praise for her role as the demanding and almost Oedipal mother of Coriolanus and it is deserved.  She's strong, forceful, and quite a presence, and the Shakespearean words roll off her tongue effortlessly.

While I've criticized the movie a bit, it's certainly an interesting look at a very underseen and underperformed play of William Shakespeare's and for that reason alone, this is worth a watch.  Ralph Fiennes certainly doesn't skimp on the violence and he has rather slyly turned this into an action film with Old English dialog.  Unfortunately, I just don't think the play's all that good to begin with which hinders what can be done with it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Swell Season

The Swell Season (2011)

Starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová

Directed by Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, and Carlo Mirabella-Davis

I'm a huge fan of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's musical group The Swell Season and I'm an even bigger fan of their Oscar-winning movie (and Tony-winning Broadway musical) Once.  Because of my fandom, I longed for this documentary chronicling their now-defunct real-life romance to be charming and heartbreaking.  Instead, I found The Swell Season to be one of the most tedious pieces of cinema I've sat through this year...and it hurts me terribly to admit that to myself.

While it wasn't exactly the whirlwind romance I thought it was -- Hansard actually knew Irglová for quite a bit prior to them filming Once although this tidbit of information (and the creation of Once itself) isn't explored in the slightest -- the two found always found themselves spiritually connected to each other through their music.  As Irglová got older and the two spent more time together, the musical connection became a more romantic one, really coming to its peak around the time immediately after their Oscar win.  Hansard, who had toiled for years while touring with his band The Frames, was finding his newfound success a joy, but Irglová struggled greatly being thrust into the spotlight.  Eventually, the tables almost turn with Hansard questioning whether success is all it's cracked up to be, and the two find themselves more at odds with one another rather than really feeling a romantic connection.

The problem is the whole thing is just boring and lacks anything the least bit revelatory.  That paragraph I wrote above just about put me to sleep writing it and this movie tested my patience quite a bit.  There's some nice music, but having seen the duo live, all it did was make me long for them to tour the Philly area again.  A concert wasn't what I was looking for in this film (even though it does showcase Hansard's brilliant soulful grit).  I wanted insight into their relationship and I didn't really get it.  In the end, maybe that's the point, though.  The two struggled with a public image that was thrust upon them when their little indie film found unexpected success and the guarded nature of this project may be fitting.  There are certainly some beautiful moments (mostly coming from sit-down interviews with Hansard's mother and father which are quite touching), but overall, The Swell Season was a big letdown never really building to anything worthy of actually being filmed.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

The 2011 RyMickey Awards - Best Director

The past two years, my winner for Best Director has matched the Oscar winner...the only RyMickey Awards category in which this has consistently occurred.  Will Michel Hazanavicius continue the streak?

Best Director of 2011

Honorable Mentions

#8 - Stephen Daldry - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

#7 - Sean Durkin - Martha Marcy May Marlene

#6 - Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive

And the Top Five...

#5 - Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Even if you don't like the film, there's no denying that Malick presented a visionary take on life, death, and faith.  While it may not have succeeded fully story-wise, the film is a visual beauty and rather poetic in the manner it is told.

#4 - Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Without a doubt, a departure for a director known most for his violent epics.  Scorsese here is at his most tender and gentle and it wears well on him.  From deftly recreating the century-old famous scenes of Georges Mélies to fashioning a fantastical world for the title character, the director shows that he still has tricks up his sleeve despite being one of the most well-regarded auteurs alive today.

#3 - Asghar Farhadi - A Separation

From the opening scene in which Farhadi chooses to give us a long take with a stationary camera focusing solely on a husband and wife separated at a table discussing the reasons their marriage is in shambles, I was drawn in with the dramatic simplicity on display.  There are no bells and whistles here, but Farhadi shows a deft hand at creating real drama.

#2 - Steve McQueen - Shame
Much like the #3 film above, Steve McQueen allows his camera to linger quite often throughout Shame and the simplicity almost creates claustrophobia to a certain effect in that it doesn't allow us to escape what it decides to show us.  Considering the sexual subject manner, McQueen eschews titillation which is a surprising treat and instead focuses on the central character allowing us to fully understand the pain and anguish that comes from his plight.

#1 - Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
It takes guts to do what Michel Hazanavicius does with The Artist, but his ode to silent cinema of yesteryear is pitch perfect.  While it does have some pacing issues in the middle, how can you not love the sheer happiness that's on display?  Couple the masterful homage with some ingenious scenes -- that "sound dream" is utterly brilliant and executed perfectly -- and you've got yourself an Oscar winner...and a RyMickey Award winner.

Previous RyMickey Award Winners

2010

2009

The 2011 RyMickey Awards - Best Ensemble

Teamwork makes everything better...a very strong year for ensembles.  Carnage, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Drive, Higher Ground, and Contagion just to name a few could have easily made it onto the list in a lesser year.

Best Ensembles of 2011

Honorable Mentions

#10 - The Muppets

(Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Walter, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and Animal) 

#9 - Meek's Cutoff

(Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, and Paul Dano)

#8 - Win Win

(Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Alex Shaffer, Bobby Canavale, Jeffrey Tambor, Burt Young, Nina Arianda, and Melanie Lynsky)

#7 - The Descendants

(George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer, and Robert Forster)

#6 - Crazy, Stupid, Love

(Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, Kevin Bacon, and Marisa Tomei)

And the Top Five...

#5 - My Week with Marilyn

(Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Dominic Cooper, Zoë Wanamaker, Emma Watson, and Judi Dench)

Although some roles were completely unnecessary (sorry Emma Watson), it was nice to see that this biopic contained characters with charisma as opposed to actors simply mimicking their famous counterparts.

#4 - 50/50

(Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Angelica Huston)

A young cast with three principals who showed a lot of heart and managed to make comedy out of a difficult situation.

#3 - A Separation

(Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, Sarina Farhadi, Kimia Hosseini, and Ali-Asghar Shahbazi)

From the young girl pictured above to the elderly man around whom much of the story revolved, this was a family drama in which every cast member was at the top of their game.

#2 - The Help

(Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O'Reilly, Allison Janney, Cecily Tyson, Mary Steenburgen, and Sissy Spacek)

This really was, by and large, an actor's showcase type of movie and all the ladies of The Help deserved the heaps of praise that were bestowed on them throughout the awards season.

#1 - Bridesmaids

(Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Chris O'Dowd, and John Hamm)

Another film headlined by ladies, Bridesmaids showed that men aren't the only ones who can make fart jokes funny.  Those six gals above were superb comediennes, all holding their own in each and every scene.

Previous RyMickey Award Winners

2010

2009

Movie Review - Higher Ground

Higher Ground (2011)

Starring Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, Dagmara Dominczyk, Nina Arianda, Taissa Farmiga, Norbert Leo Butz, Donna Murphy, and John Hawkes
Directed by Vera Farmiga

Movies about Christianity often fall into one of two categories: films made by and for the faithful, thus having a tendency to cater only to that religious viewpoint; or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, movies that poke fun at faith and its believers.  Director and star of Higher Ground Vera Farmiga makes note of this on the blu-ray commentary of her directorial debut, hoping that her film doesn't fall into either of those two groups, instead presenting a look at one woman's view of the positives and negatives offered up by "faith."  Farmiga succeeds at that and while she doesn't quite have a perfect film on her hands, she has helmed a movie that never condescends religion or its followers, but also questions the simple act of "following blindly."

Taking place over three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s, Higher Ground follows the life of Corinne Walker from ten to about forty years old.  Pregnant as a young teen, Corinne (played at this stage by Taissa Farmiga, Vera's real-life sister) marries her childhood sweetheart, and after a near tragic event that almost kills her newborn, Corinne and her husband turn to religion and give themselves wholly over to faith.  We jump ahead in time to Corinne's adult life (in which she is played by Vera Farmiga) and discover that she and her husband (Joshua Leonard) are well-respected members of an evangelical church presided over Pastor Bill (Norbert Leo Butz).  Corinne becomes good friends with one of the female members (Dagmara Dominczyk), a Polish gal who opens Corinne's eyes up to other methods of becoming one with God, much to the chagrin of Corinne's husband and her Christian congregation.  As time passes, it soon becomes obvious that the strict conformity of Pastor Bill's church is forcing Corinne to question her faith and that is disturbing to her as she still strives to believe in a higher power.

Shockingly, the film rarely portrays its religious figures as insanely devout as we're prone to see in many films (including one that place in my Top Five screenplays of the year) and it's a welcome relief.  Yes, they're sometimes overzealous in their faith, but they felt real for the most part.  Broadway actor Norbert Leo Butz gives a particularly welcome portrayal of Pastor Bill, presenting him as a man of God who stands for what he believes in, but never allowing the pastor to stoop into bombastic cinematic caricature or stereotype.

In addition to Butz, supporting performances all around are quite good, including nice turns from Donna Murphy and John Hawkes as Corinne's mother and father who go through rough times of their own, recent Tony winner Nina Arianda as Corinne's wild child sister, and the aforementioned Dagmara Domincyzk who helps bring some comic relief to the film thanks to her character's friendship with Corinne.

Vera Farmiga herself is always a pleasure to watch onscreen and I've said before that she's one of my favorite actresses working today.  There's a genuineness and a sense of calm about her that's always very unassuming, but she still manages to always be a presence whenever she's onscreen.  As a director, she does an admirable job, but does have a difficult time trying to balance the comedic lightness and dramatic heaviness that she tries to create here.  While I appreciated the humorous moments she tries to infuse into the film, they oftentimes felt out of place with everything surrounding them (the less said about the unsettling toe-licking scene the better).  Still, this is an interesting and thought-provoking work that provides a respectable questioning of faith that we don't often see in movies.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Tyrannosaur

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Starring Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, and Eddie Marsan

Directed by Paddy Considine

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

I apparently had saved one of the better acted 2011 films until the end.  As the RyMickey Awards are heading towards their conclusion, it's entirely possible that Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman may find themselves in the acting races for their roles in the indie British flick Tyrannosaur -- and, no, unfortunately there are no extinct dinosaurs in the flick.

Instead, the title could very easily refer to Joseph (Mullan), a widowed alcoholic whose temper easily turns him into a beast on a dime.  After a rough night, he wanders into a thrift shop run by Hannah (Colman) and becomes oddly entranced by her.  Outwardly, Hannah seems to have it all together, but her devout Christianity is hiding the fact that she's involved in an absolutely horrible marriage with a husband (Eddie Marsan) who, like Joseph, can't control his temper.  While Hannah tries to help Joseph deal with his demons, she has no one other than God to help her with her problems and since the Man upstairs seems to have forgotten about her, she slowly finds herself going secretly to liquor to drown her pain.

This is a film all about damaged souls and Tyrannosaur so easily could have become an incredible downer.  However, first time director Paddy Considine keeps things going at a good clip (the film clocks in at under ninety minutes) and shifts the emphasis between the characters just enough that it never becomes too bogged down in depression.  That said, don't mistake this for a happy-go-lucky film.  We're in the emotional trenches here and Considine takes us on a journey with a few unexpected moments that elevate this beyond the norm.

The true reasons the film succeeds, though, are the performances of Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman.  Once I got used to Mullan's strong accent (there's no shame in using the captions Netflix provides, is there?), I found myself rather fascinated with his character even though there is something rather rote and by the book when it comes to the self-destructive Joseph.  He's the rough alcoholic with a heart we've all seen before, but Mullan doesn't allow Joseph to ever stoop to stupidity.  He's a smart drunk...he knows wholeheartedly why he's angry and you can see the clarity in his glazed-over eyes.

Almost on the opposite end of the spectrum, Olivia Colman must attempt to hide Hannah's true emotions, trying to tell us that everything's okay, while deep within experiencing immense amounts of physical and emotional pain.  Colman is effortlessly able to achieve this difficult task and when the script finally allows Hannah to let her unfetter her emotions, she lets loose with an agony that palpably resonates with the audience.

Tyrannosaur's Joseph and Hannah have buried their pain, anger, and frustration much too deep within themselves.  When the emotions are finally "excavated," glimpses into the past show how their present has been shaped and a difficult, though engaging, film is the result.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

The 2011 RyMickey Awards - Best Screenplays

The original screenplay category had a lot more that excited me this year as opposed to the adapted category in which, admittedly, I find nearly all lesser than even some of the honorable mentions in the original category.  This was actually a very surprising year for me in terms of screenplays.  Had you asked me at the start of 2011 if the screenwriters of Jennifer's Body and Jersey Girl would find places in my Top Five screenplays of the year, I would have called you a fool, but they landed there rightfully so.  You'll notice that neither Oscar winner -- Midnight in Paris or The Descendants -- found their way onto my lists.

Best Adapted Screenplay 2011

#5 - Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

A solid action picture that tells an origin story without being boring -- a task that is much more difficult to achieve than you think.

#4 - Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller - The Muppets

What's not to love about the Muppets in general?  This was Segel's love letter to his childhood and with his writing partner, the duo reinvigorated a franchise that I only hope will continue to blossom in the upcoming years.

#3 - Eric Roth - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

A touching film that some wrongly label as manipulative.  To that, I say aren't all movies manipulative?  Don't they want us to feel a certain way about certain characters?  Eric Roth took a very oddly written book and made a screenplay that proved to be a key piece in one of my most memorable cinematic experiences of 2011.

#2 - Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin - Moneyball

I like baseball, but baseball can be boring.  And a movie about baseball statistics didn't exactly promise excitement, but the fact that Zaillian and Sorkin created an entertaining script is a huge credit to their talent.

#1 - John Logan - Hugo

A love letter to cinema.  How can a film critic not like that?  

Best Original Screenplay 2011

Honorable Mentions


#9 - Thomas McCarthy - Win Win
#8 - Sean Durkin - Martha Marcy May Marlene
#7 - Will Reiser - 50/50
#6 - Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan - Shame


And the Top Five...

#5 - Kevin Smith - Red State
Yes, Smith doesn't quite dig deep enough in his attacks on religion (go for the gusto even if I'd disagree with you), but he does manage to craft one helluva horror movie.  No character is safe and there is something to be said for that in this day and age where we can typically pick out who will survive scary flicks from the outset.

#4 - Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo - Bridesmaids
Combining raunch and heart (seemingly something the comedy-writing boys in town aren't usually able to do), Wiig and Mumolo succeed in creating believable characters who are forced to endure very awkward situations to humorous effect.  It goes on a bit long, but I think that's more of a directorial issue than anything relating to this Oscar-nominated screenplay.

#3 - Dan Fogelman - Crazy Stupid Love
I love this movie.  I know it probably has its faults -- like the preachy graduation speech and the familial twist at the end -- but there's something so utterly appealing about the whole affair that it won me over right away.

#2 - Diablo Cody - Young Adult
Biting, but cleverly funny, Diablo Cody created the ideal character you love to hate in Mavis Gary (brought to life by Charlize Theron).  Plus, Cody takes an incredibly ballsy risk at the film's end by actually encouraging the bitchy Mavis to stay bitchy...not something you usually see in movies today.

#1 - Asghar Farhadi - A Separation
A simple story that succeeds because it feels so real.  There's not a false note in the Oscar-nominated screenplay and it opened my eyes to a culture with which I was completely unfamiliar without ever seeming the least bit "educational."

Previous RyMickey Awards Winners

2010

2009 (Original and Adapted)

The 2011 RyMickey Awards - Best Younger Actor/Actress

For the purposes of this category, nominees must be 21 years of age or younger at the time of the film's release.  Placing in this category does not preclude nominees from placing in other acting categories.

Best Younger Actor/Actress of 2011

Honorable Mentions
#9 - Hunter McCracken - The Tree of Life
#8 - Mélusine Meyance - Sarah's Key
#7 - Asa Butterfield - Hugo
#6 - Elle Fanning - Super 8

And the Top Five...

#5 - Nick Krause and #4 - Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Nick Krause wasn't ever lauded in reviews of The Descendants, but I found his laid-back Islander a welcome comic addition to his sometimes serious surroundings, lacking the annoying characteristics that often irk me when it comes to "surfer dudes."  Similarly, his scene partner Shailene Woodley manages to play a somewhat troubled teen with a realistic heartwarming side which is oftentimes an oxymoron in today's movies.

#3 - Alex Shaffer - Win Win

In his first filmed acting role ever, Alex Shaffer is your typical moody teenager, but there's something oddly different, innocent, and somewhat sweet in his portrayal that makes this feel like a welcome change from the troubled teen roles we normally see.  Here's hoping for more film roles in Mr. Shaffer's future.

#2 - Thomas Horn - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Previously only seen before on a kids' Jeopardy tournament, Thomas Horn's performance in this flick was one people either loved or hated and I, obviously, fall into the former category.  Having read the source material, this was an incredibly difficult role and Horn manages to take his character's idiosyncrasies and make them completely believable.  Admittedly, I'm not quite sure how much additional acting lies in Horn's future as it seems like this role was tailor-made for this non-actor, but it'll be interesting to see if anything else comes his way.

#1 - Liana Liberato - Trust

This is an intense film and a difficult one to sit through, but if you can muster up the courage to watch, you'll be treated to a riveting performance from Liana Liberato in one of her first feature film roles.  As the victim of sexual abuse, Liberato infuses her character with complex emotions and actions that never seem forced or fake.

Previous RyMickey Award Winners

2010

2009

The 2011 RyMickey Awards - Breakthrough Award

Although these actors and actresses may or may not have been seen before, 2011 was the year they truly made a name for themselves.  This award recognizes both their performances this year and takes into account the possibilities for their futures.  Here's hoping prolific careers are on their horizons.

Breakthrough Award 2011

Honorable Mentions

#10 - Nina Arianda - Win Win, Midnight in Paris, Higher Ground
#9 - Jean Dujardin - The Artist

#8 - Liana Liberato - Trust, Trespass

#7 - Shailene Woodley - The Descendants
#6 - Benedict Cumberbatch - War Horse; The Whistleblower; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

And the Top Five...

#5 - Viola Davis

The Help, Trust, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Yes, Viola Davis has been around for ages and has even been Oscar-nominated before, but you can't deny that 2011 was her year thanks to her role in The Help.  However, she also had some very nice turns in two other films that rounded out her stellar year.

#4 - Melissa McCarthy

Bridesmaids

I knew of McCarthy from her co-starring role on Gilmore Girls, but I can't say I've ever seen a single minute of Mike and Molly.  So color me surprised when she made a name for herself with her Oscar-nominated role in Bridesmaids.  To get a nomination for such a raunchy film is quite the oddity when it comes to the stuffy Academy and it definitely launched her into movie territory.

#3 - Elizabeth Olsen

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Elizabeth Olsen really is a star on the rise and in her first ever released film, she proved that she has quite the acting chops that her familial name would have never suggested (nothing against Ashley and Mary Kate's acting prowess in Full House).  2012 has already brought us Silent House which, while not a great film, wasn't the fault of Ms. Olsen.  Here's hoping to a bright future.

#2 - Michael Fassbender
Shame, A Dangerous Method, X-Men: First Class, Jane Eyre

Fassbender is on a roll as of late.  Four strong performances above (even if the films were of varying degrees of success) and a continuing presence in 2012 already.  His role in Shame very nearly put him on the Oscar shortlist thanks to his bravura performance.

#1 - Jessica Chastain

The Help, The Tree of Life, Coriolanus, Take Shelter, The Debt, The Texas Killing Fields

The winner of this category couldn't be easier this year as 2011 was the year of Jessica Chastain.  She was everywhere and proved to be rather successful in all of her roles which ran the gamut from comedy to drama showing her versatility as an actress.

Previous RyMickey Award Winners

2010

2009

The 2011 RyMickey Awards - Best Cinematography

When we discuss cinematography, we're taking a look at both lighting design and frame composition.  Some nice films this year, but 2009 is still my favorite year of the past three I've been doing this (links to past years are at the bottom of this post).

Best Cinematography of 2011


Honorable Mentions

#8 - Jane Eyre -- Adriano Goldman

#7 - Hugo -- Robert Richardson

#6 - Drive -- Newton Thomas Sigel


And the Top Five...

#5 - The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman

Black and white wins me over every time.  With lovely simple shots like the one above, the "old school" cinematography of this Best Picture-winning film made you feel as if you were watching something created in the 1930s.

#4 - War Horse - Janusz Kaminski

I wasn't a fan of the film in the slightest, but it was a beautiful thing to look at.  Shots oftentimes looked like exquisite paintings.  Admittedly, these shots don't necessarily bring anything new to the table -- I pointed that out and criticized them in my initial review -- but there's no denying that they're powerful throwbacks/homages to cinema's past.

#3 - Melancholia - Manuel Alberto Claro

Director Lars von Trier excels again at choosing cinematographers after the gorgeously lensed Antichrist in 2009.  Here, the foreboding atmosphere is always omnipresent.

#2 - Rango - No Cinematographer Credited 
[Roger Deakins - "Visual Consultant"]

This nearly made the #1 spot.  Animated films as of late are really amping up the visuals and this year's Rango is no exception.  Well-known cinematographer Roger Deakins made this one a beauty to watch.

#1 - The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki

This was the go-to film for many cinephiles in 2011 when it came to cinematography.  Although Hugo managed to win the Oscar, to me The Tree of Life was almost solely about the visuals which oftentimes overpowered the story.  The above shot is fairly "well known," but gives a good overall idea of the way shadows, light, and landscape come together to form something that is incredibly visually appealing.

Previous Best Cinematography Awards

2010

2009

Movie Review - Warrior

Warrior (2011)

Starring Joel Edgarton, Tom Hardy, Jennifer Morrison, and Nick Nolte

Directed by Gavin O'Connor

Prior to watching Warrior, I knew absolutely nothing about the world of MMA -- Mixed Martial Arts -- a boxing/wrestling/karate-type sporting event in which two men enter a hexagonal ring and duke it out until one of them is either knocked out or admits defeat by tapping his hand on his opponent's body or the floor.  Perhaps wrongly, I felt that I would have no desire to witness this sporting event on film, but if I'm being honest, Warrior not only proved to be a better film than I imagined, but made me interested in a sport I heretofore couldn't have cared about in the slightest.

When Warrior came out, I chalked it up to being 2011's version of The Fighter...and it is.  That doesn't necessarily make it less worthy to be made into a film, but facts are facts and both films deal with a broken family that has surrounded themselves in the world of competitive fighting for decades.  They both feature a brother who's gone down the road of addiction -- in this film's case that role goes to Tom Hardy as Tommy Conlon -- and a brother who has things together -- here played by Joel Edgarton as Brendan Conlon.  Both films feature a parent who has pushed his kids hard and has been through tough times on their own although Warrior gives the parent -- Nick Nolte in an Oscar-nominated performance --  the added arc of being a recovering alcoholic himself.  When the two brothers who are both down on their luck in terms of money hear of a sixteen-man five million-dollar worldwide MMA battle, they both instantly want in and somehow (by the magic of the movies) they both succeed.  In the March Madness-like tournament bracket, the two brothers find themselves on opposite sides and is it really any surprise who the final two are going to be?

While Warrior is really a slightly watered-down version of The Fighter, it still manages to hold its own thanks to some solid performances from Edgarton and Hardy.  However, the film really shines thanks to some incredibly intense fight scenes.  Director Gavin O'Connor also directed the hockey flick Miracle and he has a keen eye in terms of building suspense when it comes to sports movies which often have a tendency to become sappy and overly "inspiring."  Here, we find ourselves right in the middle of the caged ring and it's a frightening place to be.

Yes, The Fighter is a better movie than Warrior, but not by much.  Both are worthy glimpses at the rough world of hand-to-hand sports combat and both are well worth your time.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

The 2011 RyMickey Awards -- Best Poster

Some nice posters this year, but, if I'm being honest, only one would find its place hanging in a room in my house if I had my druthers.

Best Posters of 2011

Honorable Mentions

And onto the Top Ten...

#10

Yes, this poster screams "Movie Star," but it's so simplistic that it works without being too in your face. Yes, Brad Pitt is the star, but he's a normal guy in this and the poster somehow conveys that to me.

Find out the rest of the list after the jump...

The 2011 RyMickey Awards - Worst Performance of the Year

Let's just get the worst out of the way right off the bat.  This category is open to all -- male or female.  The only stipulation is that you performed so tremendously awful that you made the filmmaking experience painful while watching your movie.

Worst Performance of 2011

#5 - Glenn Close -- Albert Nobbs

Yes, this was an Academy Award-nominated performance, but Glenn Close as the title character is so one-note, emotionless, and all-out boring that she alone made this film a chore to sit through.

#4 - Taylor Lautner -- Abduction

Constantly mugging for the camera and overly mannered, he's the opposite of charming and charismatic.  Lautner is simply painful.

#3 - Kathy Bates - Midnight in Paris

While most everyone in Midnight in Paris gives believable performances, Kathy Bates is so over-the-top and "fake" that she does the worst thing an actress can do -- make you remember you're watching a movie as opposed to a real story unfolding in front of your eyes.

#2 - Jordana Spiro - Trespass

I realize this is a movie that was released in only ten theaters and next to no one has even heard of it, but a bad performance is a bad performance and Jordana Spiro gives a whopper of disappointment as a coked-out former stripper.  Granted, her role isn't exactly pivotal to the plot, but that even makes it worse since I felt they could have just cut her out of the whole thing and had a slightly better film.

#1 - January Jones - Unknown

Wooden.  No other words are really needed to describe Ms. Jones's performance in the action flick Unknown.  If you go to Google Images and throw "January Jones Unknown" into the search engine, you'll see the minute range of emotions on display from this "actress" in this film.  Failing to show emotion or deliver a believable line reading, if this is the way Jones acts on Mad Men, there's no reason I need to add that show to my Netflix queue.

Previous Worst Performance Awards

2010

2009

The 2011 RyMickey Awards

Last year, I started the RyMickey Awards in March, so I'm just a little bit behind this year...but only a little.  Starting tomorrow and continuing throughout the next few weeks, we'll be exploring what I felt was the best of 2011.  2011 contained a lot of films I liked, but very few that I can truly say I loved which, admittedly, is probably one of the reasons I've waited so long to start these awards.  Lacking a real "wow" moment in nearly every category, the motivation wasn't there to kick these things off.  But kick them off I must and you'll see that there are several flicks now available to view at home that are well worth checking out.

So, we'll get things started tomorrow...finally...

Movie Review - We Need to Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Jasper Newell, and Ezra Miller

Directed by Lynne Ramsay

A woman loving life in her late twenties/early thirties perhaps reluctantly decides to settle down with someone with whom she's fallen in love.  She gets pregnant, but finds herself not feeling the maternal instinct kick in like other moms-to-be.  In the back of her mind, though, she thinks that maybe when she finally gives birth, she'll finally experience what she's "supposed to feel."  However, that innate propensity to love your offspring never kicks in for her and although she attempts to bond, it's obvious to her and obvious to her child as he grows older that this young being was never wanted.

While this all sounds like an impossibility, I'd have to imagine that it occurs more often than we'd think and We Need to Talk About Kevin explores this seldom discussed psychological phenomenon which, in this story's case, comes with great and horrific ramifications.  For Eva (Tilda Swinton), she could have never imagined that her difficult relationship with her son Kevin (Ezra Miller as a teenager and Jasper Newell as a young boy) would result in him committing the unthinkable act of going on a murderous school rampage days before his sixteenth birthday, but their tumultuous relationship appears to have been the impetus for just that.  

Fret not, I'm not spoiling anything with this important "reveal" above.  Director and co-screenwriter Lynne Ramsay pieces together Eva's life like a puzzle jumping around and sometimes staying with scenes for mere seconds before jumping to another.  Admittedly, this technique, while interesting, is off-putting at first if only because as the film progresses, Ramsay decides to stay with moments longer, trying to tell a story rather than trying to showcase a "directorial flourish."  The opening act, unfortunately, starts things off as more of a director's showcase instead of placing the story center stage which is pivotal in a film that is incredibly reliant on shaping complicatedly distraught and disturbed characters in order to progress the tale.  Couple this quick-cutting, jump-editing technique with Ramsay's near-incessant and blatantly obvious use of "red" to foreshadow Kevin's inevitable attack and I couldn't help but think the director brought this flick down a couple of notches from where it could have ended up.

Tilda Swinton is, as is the case most of the time, truly wonderful.  She can convey an incredible amount of emotion with nary a word.  Her eyes oftentimes appear blank and lifeless, yet on a second glance reveal more of the inner workings of her character than words ever could.  She's coupled onscreen by John C. Reilly as her husband Franklin, the more affable and parental of the two.  Reilly is quite good playing the most dramatic role I've seen him attempt and he manages very well.

The character of Kevin, however, is a bit of an anomaly to me.  I understand that the script wanted to present him as a "problem child" of sorts from the very beginning -- a kid who never received the love he so desperately needed from his mother -- but I couldn't help but think I was watching a modern-day reincarnation of Damien from The Omen.  He does some really whacked-out things (particularly as he grows older) and I just couldn't help but think that these parents wouldn't have been on the same page that something was dreadfully psychologically wrong with him.  Then again, the film is called We Need to Talk About Kevin and there's a difference between "needing to talk about" and actually "talking about" Kevin which I guess explains why their communication is next to nil.  The two young actors who portray Kevin do an admirable job, but I feel like they just weren't given a whole lot to work with beyond "You're a bad kid...don't show any emotions other than pent-up anger."

I'm sure the anticipation of this film may have built up something that couldn't be reached -- and, in fact, I was waiting to see this before starting the annual RyMickey Awards -- but I can't help but think another film released in 2011 about this exact same topic -- Beautiful Boy -- told a better and more realistic story.  Granted, that film dealt entirely with the aftermath of a school shooting whereas We Need to Talk About Kevin deals almost entirely with what comes before such an attack, but the little seen Maria Bello-starring picture deserves a bit more respect than Lynne Ramsay's pic which garnered more acclaim when awards season came around.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Alien: Resurrection

--Alien Week--

Please note that all "Alien Week" film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Starring Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, and Ron Perlman

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

The Theatrical Version was watched as the director prefers the original cut.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  After a rousing start with Alien and a terrific follow-up with Aliens, the science fiction horror franchise starring Sigourney Weaver began to falter with Alien 3 and now lands with a horrible thud thanks to Alien: Resurrection, a film that is so tonally different from its predecessors that it's jarring to viewers and almost uncomfortable to sit through.

The blame has to be placed on two people -- screenwriter Joss Whedon and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet.  Whedon -- best known for mixing wry comedy with more dire situations in things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Cabin in the Woods -- is a good writer, but I'm not quite sure he was the right pick to pen an Alien picture.  Previous installments have been über-serious, but this fourth film in which Weaver's Ripley (who died in Alien 3) returns as a human clone developed by the military solely to give birth to alien life forms is too often played for laughs (and with the ludicrous aforementioned premise it's easy to see why they went for the yuks).  Unlike the third film, Whedon at least attempts to create some memorable characters with distinct personalities, but he isn't always successful at crafting anything more than the standard stereotypical machismo-type folks that typically inhabit action films like this.  We're given caricatures instead of "real" people.

Also needing to take a heap of the blame for the film's failure is director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the helmer behind the fantastical and visually inventive Amelie.  Jeunet doesn't ever really go for scares...and what's an Alien film without scares or at least the imminent threat of scares?  The aliens here are even sometimes played for a laugh and that's almost sacrilegious.  He also fails to get good performances from much of the supporting players, many of whom are asked to play up the humor rather than the sheer terror that should come from killer creatures running rampant in a spaceship.

During the film's second half, the humor gets tossed aside and Jeunet attempts to create an action film (though the scares still remain nonexistent), but he isn't successful in that respect either.  However, it's the combined missteps from both Jeunet and Whedon that make Alien: Resurrection the biggest disappointment thus far in the Alien franchise and an unfortunate coda to the series.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Alien 3

--Alien Week--

Please note that all "Alien Week" film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Alien 3 (1992)

Starring Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, and Lance Henriksen

Directed by David Fincher

The Theatrical Edition was watched as Fincher has never signed off on the Extended Cut.

Blogger won't permit me to type it this way, but the proper title of David Fincher's first time venture into feature film directing should really read Alien to the Third Power.  While I guess it's clever, it almost implies an overabundance of aliens whereas the second outing in this movie series was definitely the one that upped the alien ante.  Alien 3 is rather subdued and oddly bland, lacking any of the excitement or tension that is so prevalent in the first two installments of this series.

As the opening credits sequence rolls, we see that although there were four survivors of the last flick, only Ripley is left alive when their "escape pod" ship lands on a barren penal colony planet.  Although it doesn't appear that an alien is responsible for the deaths of her former friends, we soon discover that there was a stowaway onboard Ripley's ship of the non-humanoid kind and that this alien will soon cause quite a ruckus amongst the men in the prison.

Ultimately, the biggest problem with Alien 3 is that you simply don't grow to care about any of the characters, and as they start getting picked off one by one, their deaths don't resonate with the audience a bit.  The prisoners are all interchangeable with not a single one having a real discernible personality (or at least an interesting discernible personality).  I may have criticized Aliens director-screenwriter James Cameron's lack of believable dialog and sometimes cookie-cutter characterizations, but they're Shakespeare compared to what we're given here. Even Sigourney Weaver's Ripley almost feels as if she's phoning it in if only because her character isn't given a whole lot to do.  I mean, sure, she's given the interesting prospect of being impregnated by the same aliens she's been fighting for years, but the film doesn't explore this interesting twist in a manner that is all that fulfilling.

While David Fincher did give the film a unique look in the Aliens filmography -- opting for more earth-like browns as opposed to the steely, futuristic grays of the other installments -- there's unfortunately nothing visually appealing to gaze upon either.  Apparently the final product was heavily tampered with by the studio and that appears most evident in the lack of visceral tension that Fincher is usually so great at creating -- see Se7en or Panic Room or even The Social Network -- which is necessary in order for a film like this to succeed.

Alien 3 certainly isn't an awful film and it's not even the worst of the series (a bit of foreshadowing there to my thoughts on Alien: Resurrection), but it's a disappointing downturn for this Sigourney Weaver-fronted franchise.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Aliens (Director's Cut)

--Alien Week--

Please note that all "Alien Week" film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Aliens (Director's Cut) (1986)

Starring Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Lance Henrikson, Bill Paxton, and Paul Reiser

Directed by James Cameron

Note: The Director's Cut was watched because it is the preferred cut of James Cameron.

Nearly every review of James Cameron's Aliens starts out with (or eventually gets to) the fact that while the original Alien was a pure "horror" film, the 1986 sequel falls a bit more into the "action" genre.  They don't fault the production for this (in fact, this sequel is better reviewed on Rotten Tomatoes than its predecessor), but they try and make this a known fact.  While I'm not going to try a debunk their take on it, I can't help but mention the fact that Aliens is a movie in which a whole bunch of people are getting killed by a whole bunch of alien life forms in quite bloody ways.  Sure, these people may be holding futuristic machine guns and grenades, but they're still getting their insides gutted open.  So, in conclusion, don't let that "action" genre descriptor lull you in to a false sense of security.

It's fifty-seven years after the first film and Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley -- our lone survivor from the spaceship Nostromo -- has been drifting around in space in a deep hypersleep for nearly six decades.  Picked up by a salvage ship that just so happens to be piloted by her former bosses at Weyland-Yutani (you know, those creeps who wanted her to capture rather than kill the alien in the last film), Ripley finds herself in a rather angsty depression now that she's become aware that everyone she's known (including her daughter) has died in the years she's been presumed dead. [Note:  This familial yearning is a concept that is made much more prevalent in the Director's Cut which gives much more needed gravitas to Ripley's emotional plight.]  Ripley soon discovers that a crew of dozens of families had been sent by Weyland-Yutani back to the planet in which Ripley's initial crew first discovered the aliens in order to form a colony and now this new crew is failing to respond to calls.  Ripley, Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke (Paul Reiser), and a dozen or so Marines venture back to the planet in order to find out what has happened to the colonizers...needless to say, those nasty aliens are going to rear their ugly heads.

James Cameron, despite his rather obnoxiously high opinion of himself, is a very solid director, well aware of what it takes to create and build tension which is key in the success of a film such as Aliens.  Much like its predecessor, Cameron allows for the nerve-wracking edginess to build only to fully release once Ripley and the Marines land on the alien-inhabited planet.

Cameron, however, isn't a perfect director despite what his ego may tell him.  Typical of Cameron films, Aliens has two faults that seemingly come with the territory for his films.  First, he's no whiz at crafting dialog.  In fact, it's probably his worst characteristic as a screenwriter.  Here, it's particularly evident in the way the Marines speak to one another.  There were just moments where I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head at the sheer banality of what Cameron was force-feeding the actors to spout.

This lack of believable (or interesting) dialog leads into the second problem which is somewhat typical of Cameron films -- the acting isn't always top notch.  While Weaver is great as is a slimy Paul Reiser in a rather understated "villain" role, nearly all the Marines are so stereotypical "ooh-rah!" over-the-top that I couldn't help but be taken out of the "realism" the movie tries to create.  Bill Paxton, in particular, is really awful, hamming it up in nearly every single scene.  Cameron also, unfortunately, fails to get a good performance from young Carrie Henn in her first (and only) cinematic role.  As Newt, a young girl found by Ripley in the colony after they land, Henn just never inhabited the character to me...but I'm probably being a bit too harsh on the young gal.

It's because of these issues that Aliens doesn't quite match the excellence of Alien even though Cameron's film is actually a bit better paced than its predecessor.  Still, these two films were wonderful franchise starters...it's just a shame that future films couldn't live up to their levels.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+