Yay!

Close to final numbers are in, and Transformers has placed second to The Dark Knight in five-day totals, earning $201.2 million compared with TDK's $203.8 million. To twist the knife in further, The New York Times had this to say (which obviously I had to copy and paste):

"Few expect this “Transformers” to match the staying power of “The Dark Knight” because the new picture, directed by Michael Bay, with Steven Spielberg as executive producer, has received some of the worst reviews of the decade. Roger Ebert’s critique used the terms “horrible,” “unbearable,” “meager” and “music of hell” to describe it. (And that was just in the opening paragraph.)"

In any case, I'll probably celebrate by writing at least five more posts trashing Transformers without seeing it.

In News That Should Never Happen, But Is...

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, a movie that currently has a 21% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes (145 Rotten; 38 Fresh) is possibly on track to surpass The Dark Knight in total earnings over a five-day period. TDK earned $203.8 million dollars in five days, and T2 has made $126 million in three days.

Now, I'm not one to let critics decide for me whether or not a movie is good or absolutely, brain-softeningly horrible (I'm a rebel), but, and this is for the general public: I MEAN, COME ON! I have not seen the first movie or the cartoon and I never intended to see this movie, and I can tell it's bad. You know why? 1. Michael Bay is the director (for evidence, see IMDB). 2 Megan Fox, the lone she-wolf of the film, has publicly come out and said "I don't want to blow smoke up people's ass. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting." 3. It's a movie about robots. That can turn into things.

Don't get me wrong, I loveee blockbusters. Independence Day, Armageddon, throw 'em at me! But people should not be so desperate this weekend as to give this kind of money to T2 in lieu of other movies that are out. Here's what happens: Explosions, not-long-enough glimpses of Megan Fox, Shia LaBeouf desperately trying to act but failing, robots fighting each other, and then something anti-climactic happens at the end so they can make another movie. The end.

In short, if someone tells you they're going to see T2 this weekend, recommend the Hangover, or Up, or even Terminator: Salvation. Just don't recommend My Sister's Keeper, I have a feeling that it's going to blow all the other movies out of the sky (by slowly drowning them in tears) and make $500 million in five days. Too high, you say? Well even it has a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It may be the Oscar bridesmaid...

...but at least at the box office it's the bride. The Dark Knight has now crossed the one billion dollar box office mark with $1.001 billion in the bank, trailing only Titanic (1.84 billion), Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (1.12 billion) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (1.07 billion).

The movie was re-released in IMAX theatres on the day of the Oscar nominations, anticipating an unprecedented amount for a blockbuster movie (they were right, but not in the ways they were hoping). If Heath Ledger wins on Sunday (my fingers have been crossed since January 21st- side note- my fingers hurt a lot) it is likely that whoever has not seen the movie (Hippies? Post-modern freaks?) will go see it, or if it sweeps all eight nominations (possible but doubtful) then they could see their revenue increase as well. The Dark Knight will have to make a lot of money to catch up to the top three, but it sure would be nice if it somehow beat Pirates 2 (I can't believe people saw that so many times).

Image via Gold Derby.

My Favorites from the Oscar Ballot

Unlike my previous Oscar picking post, this one is designed to let you know which movies I found most enjoyable out of all the films nominated. So, since Hellboy 2 is nominated for Best Makeup, I could potentially include it on this list (if I had seen it or liked it- and the answer is neither). Basically, I wanted to remove the stuffiness from the Oscar list and pick out the movies that I want to see ten more times and probably buy. So here goes.

6. Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Written and Directed by Woody Allen, starring Scarlett Johanssen, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress

My idea of this film before I saw it was that it would be primarily about Penelope and Scarlett fighting over Bardem, and that it might be cute and sexy but it wouldn't go much beyond that. As soon as Penelope comes onscreen, she hijacks the film away from the cool aloofness that Scarlett brings and the British neurotic that Rebecca plays (she was previously excellent in The Prestige). Penelope brings much needed life and energy to the film, and also amps the sex appeal up from about a six (on a scale of one to ten) to a thirty-two. And this is with the much-heralded make-out scene with Scarlett being much tamer and more lackluster than previously imagined. Even if I were just watching the film for pure aesthetic enjoyment I would love it because everyone looks so beautiful, but the fact that it has a great story and is well acted makes it one of my favorites of the year.

5. In Bruges: Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh, starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay

Wildly inappropriate and pee-your-pants hilarious, In Bruges is about two hitmen (Colin & Brendan- both never better) who are forced by their boss (Ralph) to lay low in Bruges, Belgium, which unfortunately for them is the worst and most boring town in the world, but fortunately for us the more it makes Colin miserable, the funnier it gets. If you love laughing about un-politically correct topics in the privacy of your own home, do yourself a favor and rent In Bruges.

4. The Wrestler- Directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Mickey Rourke, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei
Nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress

Watching Mickey completely invest himself in the character was absolutely addictive, and I felt out of breath after the movie was over because I realized I had been holding my breath worrying for his character and not wanting the movie to end. I'll spare you the rehash of my Best Actor arguments, but let's just say Mickey's so good that at times I forgot Marisa was in the movie. And I really dislike her as an actress.

3. Slumdog Millionaire: Directed by Danny Boyle, starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor
Nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay

As with The Wrestler I will happily spare you with more of my nonsensical Slumdog joy, but I will say that even above the movie, its soundtrack is one of the best I've ever heard (I can't decide whether it's my favorite- the soundtrack to 24 Hour Party People with Steve Coogan is simply amazing and of course anything with Barbra is pure joy to listen to). I hope they can convince M.I.A. to perform on Sunday, because she is the only one who can deflect the nausea being hurled at me from all directions by Beyonce.

2. Man on Wire: Directed by James Marsh and starring Philippe Petit (as himself)
Nominated for Best Documentary.

Man on Wire is a documentary about Philippe's extraordinary desire to walk a tightrope between the Twin Towers when they were just being built in the 1970s. You'll know very quickly whether you'll like the movie or not because it rests on how you feel about Philippe's personality, as he is (obviously) the focus of the film. It explores his journey via pictures and videotapes of him tightroping during that era, and the time is relived through interviews with him and his co-conspirators with a few re-enactments. I have to say I loved this film so much that I wish it was nominated for Best Picture, and even if someone didn't like the personality of Philippe, it would be a hard and cynical person who could not appreciate some of his feats shown in the movie. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has been reviewed by 137 critics and it has a one hundred percent positive rating, so you know I'm not totally lying when I say it's amazing. If you pick one movie from this list or only listen to one thing I write, ever, go rent Man on Wire.

1. The Dark Knight: Directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. Nominated for 8 Oscars including Makeup, Sound, Editing, Visual Effects, Cinematography, Art Direction, and Best Supporting Actor.

I'll spare you the rehash of my movie review last year, but after seeing it three times on IMAX and once on Blu-ray, I can safely say that it does not get old.

Images found via Google Images.

Oscar Watch Begins!

My gorgeous friend sent me this and I think it is the perfect way to kick off anticipation for the awards season, or as it is sometimes known, Movie Season. Regardless of The Dark Knight's chances this season, this poster is clever enough to star in its campaign:

I sincerely hope that whoever is advertising for The Dark Knight in the trades comes across this and uses it. It would be a breath of fresh air and could bring even more positive attention to a movie that is poised already for an unheard-of nomination amount from a simple "action movie."


Image via joshmc at http://fanartexhibit.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/my-support-for-the-dark-knights-oscar-bid/

The Dark Knight

As a lifetime movie lover, I find it a rare occurrence that a movie lives up to my expectations. Even rarer does it surpass them even after years of waiting, and The Dark Knight does this as a sequel. It is a well known fact that sequels are often crap, and The Dark Knight seemingly had all the chances to be so: Batman Begins was a new breed of superhero movie, TDK's main villain passed in real life, and there was an actor change from the now infamous Katie Holmes to the blockbuster virgin Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Instead, TDK surpasses your expectations. I say your because there is no way, no comic book or movie nerd who exists, who could have had higher expectations than me. I had been looking forward to this movie since Batman Begins ended, and my anxiety reached a fever pitch once it was announced that Heath Ledger was to become the Joker. All in all, about three years of waiting.

The actors are so good in TDK that Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne seems almost a supporting character in the rich plot of twisting evil: creating evil vs. becoming it. As always, it seems, his skills shine as he creates a flawed and impossibly righteous man who creates a superhero and skirts the line of right and wrong; justice-server and vigilante.

Gary Oldman as Gordon plays a larger role in the movie and it serves him well- at points he reminded me of Ian McKellan in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and he continues to be the moral center of the movie. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman reprise their roles as Alfred and Lucius Fox respectively, and they are fabulous as always.

The replacement of Ms Holmes with Ms Gyllenhaal does not amount to as much as I had hoped for, because as with all superhero movies it seems, the lady takes a backseat to the plot and the action. She does have the advantage, however, of creating, in my humble and correct opinion, the most interesting, real and strong female character to support a superhero in a movie, thereby cinematically kicking Gwyneth Paltrow in the face.

I was most surprised by the performance of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, Gotham DA. I believed in Eckhart as an actor, but he truly transformed himself into the righteous a-hole who is twisted away from his goals both by himself, circumstances out of his control, and his drive for true justice. Because while Batman is righteous as well, he has the luxury of public apathy, while Dent lives his life totally in the public sphere with no secrets.

You know that a movie is something special when even the smallest of supporting roles are meaty: William Fichtner as the mob bank manager turns his image 180 degrees around by kicking butt, and Eric Roberts, brother of le Julia, is surprisingly controlled, convincing, and dare I say perfect as the mob boss Moscone.

Finally, there is the late Heath. I have been parasocially in love with him since I was approximately 12, or whenever 10 Things I Hate About You came out. I thought he was something special back then, and he truly delivers on all of the hoopla surrounding his final completed role. He is intense, intelligent, brutal, and hilarious, the latter being the main case in proving his humanity- that he actually is human, and not just a total monster. When I saw La Vie En Rose after Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Oscar, I said that without her extraordinary makeup and lip-synching there was something missing in her performance. What she was missing Ledger owns. He becomes the Joker to a chilling degree, and while he is not so charismatic as to have the audience cheering for him, no one wishes him a quick and unsatisfying death either. My main goal for the movie season will be to see the other four movies that will contain his competition for Best Supporting Actor, to prove that it is his performance that deserves the award, not the sadness so many felt from an actor being taken before his time.

Overall TDK delivers on all and any promises, and I give it
/5 Stars for Entertainment Value;


/ 5 Stars for Goodness/ Award-worthiness.