Poll Results - Best Picture

The obligatory awards season conundrum: Your pick for Best Picture?

Michael Clayton 33%
No Country for Old Men 33%
Juno 25%
Atonement 8%
There Will be Blood 0%

The Winner?! --A tie between Michael Clayton and No Country for Old Men

Thanks for voting. Polls end at midnight Saturday night. New polls on Sunday. Be sure to keep voting.

Review - Jumper

Doug Liman's Jumper is a frantic, exciting film that catches you within the first few minutes and never slows down. The effects are amazing, especially the jump effect, especially once we meet an accomplished jumper who can jump buses and cars. There is one memorable sequence as we are introduced to David (Hayden Christiansen) where he performs his morning routines jumper-style. At one point, he stands on one side of the kitchen, reaches his arm out and then is suddenly at the refrigerator door, perfectly posed to open it. Liman makes his laziness and enjoyment of his power perfectly mundane in these early scenes, just as he made it seem perfectly plausible that two rival assassins were unwittingly married in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. These early scenes also show us the extravagance and excess of David's life, paid for by 'loans' from many different banks. Christiansen succeeds in making David not only relatable but likable as he jumps from continent to continent, eventually settling down for lunch on the head of the sphinx.
Eventually, these light-hearted fun scenes come to an end with the introduction of Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), a mysterious figure who knows David's secret and wants him dead, boldly declaring that only God should have the power to be everywhere at once. The appearance of a second jumper, Griffin (Jamie Bell) throws David's world into a frenzy as he tries to survive the age-old war between the Paladins and the Jumpers and protect the girl he loves (Rachel Bilson).
Unfortunately the film does have its flaws. Its story is fairly one-dimensional and the audience is thrown into it even faster than David. We are basically told here is one side, here's the other. Now watch! At the end, after a surprising and somewhat shocking epilogue, you can't help but feel that there was a lot more story potential here that was squandered.
The film does require viewers to make a few leaps of faith to deal with logical problems, the biggest one being Millie's (Bilson) lack of surprise when David shows up 10 years after disappearing and her eagerness to go to Rome the same afternoon. If you can get past minor logical flaws like this one, then everything else seems to work.
At times, Liman's camerawork seems a little claustrophobic, which is ironic considering this is a movie about being everywhere at once, but as usual, he excels in fight scenes. One several minute scene where Griffin and David fight for a detonator spans several continents and is an amazing experience. Liman proves that he hasn't lost it with the sequences such as this where he simply revels in the premise of this magnificent power.
To keep the film grounded, Liman surrounded himself with a solid cast of visceral, emotional actors. Hayden Christiansen channels the moral ambiguity of David in such a way that he never seems to not be the hero despite some questionable decisions, while Bell's Griffin always plays like a maverick adventurer who we want to root for. Bilson turns in an excellent performance as the down-to-earth and adventurous Millie who accepts David's new-found power with only slight reluctance. And Jackson, of course, steals the show as the malicious, determined (admittedly, shallow and one-sided) Paladin who wants to bring death to them all and is not above trying to kidnap Bilson and kill David's family to accomplish that goal.
Speaking of David's family, Diane Lane turns in a surprising cameo as David's mother, who abandoned him when he was five and mysteriously resurfaces in the middle of the film with a secret of her own. This storyline seems like the biggest waste of potential although it does result in one chilling line, towards the end of the film where Lane gets to channel her maternal instincts and her no-nonsense attitude.
While it can't be denied that the script is light, Jumper is an enjoyable adrenaline-boost with solid performances, spectacular effects and more than a little possibility of a sequel.

Feature - Top 15 Movie Kisses

In honor of Valentine's Day, these are the top 15 movie kisses in no particular order. Some are sexy. Some are comical. Some of them are very wet....but all of them remind us why it's great to be in love. Got a great kiss to add? Disagree with one of the choices? Leave a comment.

1. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook (2004) - directed by Nick Cassavetes

2. Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in Spider-Man (2002) - directed by Sam Raimi

3. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain (2005) - directed by Ang Lee

4. Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky in My Girl (1991) - directed by Howard Zieff

5. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in The Fountain (2006) - directed by Darren Aronofsky

6. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) - directed by Doug Liman

7. Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939) - directed by Victor Fleming

8. Matthew Macfadyen and Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice (2005) - directed by Joe Wright

9. James Stewart and Kim Novak in Vertigo (1958) - directed by Alfred Hitchcock

10. Tramp and Lady in Lady and the Tramp (1955) – directed by Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson

11. Hugh Jackman and Famke Janssen in X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006) - directed by Brett Ratner

12. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - directed by Irving Kershner

13. Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh in Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - directed by Elia Kazan

14. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (1990) - directed by Garry Marshall

15. Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock in Forces of Nature (1999) - directed by Bronwen Hughes

Review - Definitely, Maybe

Definitely, Maybe is a romantic comedy with heart, but more importantly with smarts. The narrative structure, though unconventional, works well by constructing a story within the story. Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) tries to explain to his daughter (Abigail Breslin) the intricacies of love by relating the story of his three loves, one of whom just happens to be her mother.
The chemistry between Reynolds and all of the women in the movie is what carries the film. He is affable and goofy enough to feel like an everyman, while at the same time being notable enough to be worthy of our attention. However, screenwriter/director Adam Brooks is smart enough not to make the movie only about his romantic (mis)adventures, but also about his political aspirations, his climb up the corporate ladder and his general engagement with adulthood. Throughout the course of the film, we get to watch him grow and change and audiences really do connect and identify with him, making the emotional hits relevant and engaging, unlike other contrived romances.
That is not, of course, to discredit the impact of the three leading ladies of the film: Emily (Elizabeth Banks), April (Isla Fisher), and Summer (Rachel Weisz) who all turn in fantastic, nuanced performances. Emily is the small town college sweetheart, sweet and unassuming but she is incredibly overpowered by the performances of Fisher and Weisz. Weisz's Summer is a starving intellectual, a struggling writer for the New Yorker who's dating a famed author, two times her senior. She is obtuse and unpredictable but charming and devastatingly gorgeous, rivaled only by Fisher's April, the spunky and unpredictable copy girl who swoops in and becomes Will's best friend and steals his heart.
These three women circle like sharks throughout the entire movie, leaving viewers as confused about who Maya's mother is as she is. In many films, this would have been an annoying contrivance but Brooks structures his story in a way that makes you as invested in Will and Maya's father-daughter dynamic as you are in his romantic conquests.
The true power of the movie lies in the screenplay which is intelligent and logical and actually representative of real-life. Its few saccharine moments are believable and grounded enough to not sink the movie. The one time you think they may have gone too far and introduced a set-up far too great to be believable, Brooks manages to make it an essential part of the story which actually adds to the conflict.
The genius is that it breaks the rules of romantic comedies. There is no predestination which guides the story. There is simply the very visceral "wrong time-wrong place" of real life. Will wants to be with everyone but can't seem to be with anyone because of actual conflicts, which are organic and not forced (a welcome relief in the rom-com genre.) You truthfully don't know who Will belongs with until the last few minutes of the film but once you find out, you realize it couldn't have gone any other way. It's frustrating, painful and fraught with disappointment and joy--just like real life.

Screenshot - - - Back to the Future

Because sometimes a picture can say it all...

Review - Over Her Dead Body

It is completely implausible to me that Paul Rudd, who has the Midas touch when it comes to choosing movie roles, would sign on to a film like this. Writer/ Director Jeff Lowell must have some really embarrassing Baby Rudd pictures somewhere and he should be incredibly thankful because Paul Rudd is the only thing even remotely watchable in this movie.
The premise of the film is rather intriguing-- a woman who dies on her wedding day tries to sabotage her fiance's new relationship-- but it is wasted on a contrived, undeniably predictable screenplay, which may have been salvageable had the characters not been flat and utterly uninteresting.
There are a few inspired moments in the film; two come to mind, both at the end of the film, but neither is a reward big enough for sitting through the first hour of this movie. The first is the revelation that Dan (Jason Biggs) is not gay but has been pretending to be ever since Ashley (Lake Bell) exclaimed to him how nice it was to have a gay friend just as he was about to kiss her. The second is the parrot, through whom Kate (Eva Longoria) discovers she can speak to her husband, despite being dead. The parrot actually ends up being one of the least annoying 'characters' in the film. Its voice is much more welcome than Longoria's, who screeches and shrieks her way through the film, delivering an all-around career killing performance. She should be thankful that she has Desperate Housewives to salvage a career pock-marked by bombs such as this one and The Sentinel. However, her horrendous outing as Kate is severely dampened by the even worst performance of Lake Bell, whose obnoxious attempts at wit might just drive an audience to suicide.
This film is flawed at even the most basic levels. In regards to his directorial debut, Lowell fails even more completely than he does with the screenplay. His visual style is shoddy and confusing. The camera rarely focuses on anything interesting. This is the type of film construction and editing that seems like it was done on an iMac in someone's basement. There are several opportunities for interesting camerawork but, unfortunately, Lowell neglects to take advantage of even one.
To recap: terrible screenplay, mind-numbing, horrifying performances, awkward direction. That all adds up to a great big flop and a waste of 95 minutes.

Review - The Invasion

Oliver Hirschbiegel's Invasion is a case study in wasted potential. The fourth film to be adapted from Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers, this film needed to have some relevance and a new perspective to be considered a success. It has neither. The first half of the film sufficiently builds up the suspense despite lackluster performances from Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. However, the second half of the film devolves into a frantic quest to stay awake and avoid "the infected."
The film has some genuinely creepy moments and some interesting philosophical questions but they are never explored to the extent that actually impacts the movie. One character ruminates on the idea that a world without violence and greed is a world where humans cease to be human, clear foreshadowing of the events to come, but once those events arrive, it is never really mentioned it again except for a tacked on voice-over at the end of the film which serves absolutely no purpose. I would expect the reshoots from James McTeague of V for Vendetta fame to have put more emphasis on the philosophy behind the film. He showed in V that he is more than capable of combining action with thoughtful meditation. But both he and Hirschbiegel drop the ball in this film.
Furthermore, the movie collapses under its own internal logic problems and pacing mistakes. In many cases it feels as if the filmmakers extended sequences just to make the movie longer. I can think of no other reason for the drawn out, monotonous scenes where Kidman tries to stay awake.
All that said, the film does manage to be enjoyable. It's fun to watch the wooden, emotionless Kidman try to blend in with the infected by presenting herself as...well, wooden and emotionless. The character is written to be kick ass heroine, completely unafraid to mow down an entire group of people with a pistol when they threaten her son but Kidman can't seem to decide whether she is the assertive feminist that she describes herself as or an uptight, automaton afraid of her own emotions. Daniel Craig doesn't try to play his character in any way, instead choosing to infuse him with absolutely no emotion and tap into the everyman quality, as in every man will probably forget that he even appeared in the film. Jackson Bond, who plays Kidman's son turns in the best performance of the film, an impressive feat when alongside such heavyweights as Kidman and Craig who prove their chemistry is palpable in The Golden Compass. Unfortunately, it's far too clear that their hearts weren't in this one.
This movie would be a better Youtube video than feature film when it could focus on the few interesting camera angles without being burdened by logic, story or character development.