Edge of Darkness review

It's an interesting world that of trailers and promotions. I can say that this year so far there have been quite a few crappily cut trailer releases for movies with good buzz or good people behind it that make you question why the trailer is so bad. Now with some it's faith that you'll see it on and hope that your favorite stars won't let you down. And some is just believing that the good hype was from people that share your tastes. "Edge of Darkness" had a trailer that I hated. I mean I got sick of it after two views, nearly forgot about the movie even coming out and saw little to be impressed with for it to be A: the return of Mel Gibson, actor and B: director Martin Campbell's follow up to "Casino Royale", his best directorial accomplishment to date. And even with good word of mouth before the release I was still pretty 'meh' about it all. Welp I was fucking wrong; this movie kicks some serious ass and not just in the literal sense.

Based on a BBC series from 1985 that Campbell directed, it's really a noir story about a cop's daughter that gets killed and works for this mysterious company. The first 40 minutes to an hour is really bringing up minor clues and lots of questions and questionable characters; the main being Jedburgh played fantastically by Ray Winstone. Jedburgh is like Michael Clayton with a gun in a sense. He's someone who's is called in to 'fix' situations that don't appear to be able to be handled in any other fashion. Interestingly enough though he takes on a more personal interest in Gibson's Thomas Craven character and in a way does his part to help lead him in the right direction. Jedburgh's reasoning? Well that's of his own mind and left for you to fully figure out, but that's part of the allure. Much of "Edge of Darkness" works like a true blue British crime drama.

The major differences between crime dramas in the U.S. and in the U.K. is that over seas they use some of the clitche's of crime noir to their advantage and they seek to tell more complex stories with characters that are equally complex and often on various levels. You get hints to what they're thinking and maybe why they're thinking that way, but you don't hear it said in so many words. A lot of times in the states we'll have a piece of that pie, but rarely all of it assembled. The reason is because we don't take too kindly to British film pacing when it comes to action pictures, which would explain the overly action packed American like trailer. But make no mistake, this is a Brit picture to the core. It's also co-written by Oscar winning screenwriter William Monahan, writer of "The Departed" and "Kingdom of Heaven". Monahan has a great flow to his dialogue where sometimes the best thing said is nothing at all and sometimes those ridiculously hoecky lines in the trailer, roll out dynamically in their proper noir like setting.

And now to Gibson. I had a long talk with a friend about this after the movie comparing the antics and believability of Gibson vs. Harrison Ford in a role like this. We agreed that Gibson has a certain thing about it where we could see him being this guy and you get his emotion through the character in roles like this. Here he's got a strong Boston accent and it's pretty damn good, but what surprised me was really just how old they made him look, but didn't make him into a superhero kind of like Liam Neeson in "Taken". The violence is bloody, brutal and rough; so it doesn't feel as stylized as it either. Actually it's more like a Cronenberg picture in that respect, but it's great either way. Howard Shore also delivers a fantastic score that when it hits that third act becomes the cherry on top of the already terrifically made thriller.

And I do mean thriller. There are some great sequences of tension and it's built around wondering who is watching or listening in and what is Craven going to do next. Pissed off as he is, he's not going around shaking everybody down. He knows when to talk and when to fight, but still you don't want to fuck with this guy. The story's complexity and paranoia aspects work okay, but not in that "Parallax View" sort of way or a "Silkwood" sort of way. Closer to something like "The International". And I just have to commend really the Hollywood system. This is the first time in recent memory where major studios have released really good and entertaining films so early and I hope it continues throughout the year.

I've seen three genre pictures that were skillfully made and entertaining this month. Hell I'd package them together and tell you to pull a triple feature on them, but these are the sort of films studios should turn out. It doesn't matter if they're action films, comedies, horror, romantic comedies... but they need to have characters, interesting or at least interestingly told stories and an impressive cast and crew that seem like they want to make this movie and not just toss out a hunk of shit for a few million. Oh and while you're at it, START CUTTING SOME TRAILERS THAT ACTUALLY DISPLAY THE GOOD ASPECTS OF THE MOVIE! I'm sick of hearing things are good, when the evidence isn't there for me or the rest of John Q public. Hopefully people will still give "Edge of Darkness" a shot even with shitacular ads because it's very much worth the price of admission.

Daybreakers review

The way "Daybreakers" kicks itself off is to let you know a few things. The first is that the world in which it takes place in is strange and unpleasant. The second this is letting you know that this is a vampire story and that when they're in sunlight then burn... not sparkle. In fact there are several things in the film that jump up and are made more prominent, seemingly just to let you know that these are what vampires really are. However this is a different vampire tale, one set in a future where vampires are the majority and what's left of the human race is being hunted down and drained of all their blood to feed the masses. But that precious blood is running out and the people are beginning to lose control and also devolve in some ways. Actually when they don't consume enough human blood they turn into the picture above. Not cool for them. Enter Edward... wait... no not Cullen, his last name is Dalton played by Ethan Hawke; he's a scientist working on a blood substitute.

Edward's not a fan of being a vamp and in fact rarely drinks blood. He has a chance meeting with some humans and aids them in their escape. One of them notes who he is and decides to seek him out later and introduce him to Lionel Cormac, whose friends call him Elvis, played by the always entertaining Willem Dafoe. Elvis was a vampire, but was turned back thus he is the key. But the road our heroes face is long and full of backstabbing, vampire soldiers and Sam Neil as Edward's boss, who owns the blood harvesting company and is interested far more in profit then he is in any cures.

The mark of an impressive B-movie is really in the tech side of things. As long as things move along nicely and we are provided with fun sequences and good visuals, then we'll overlook plot holes and bad acting. Luckily there was no bad acting to make up for, but sure there's some plot holes and a some of the effects were a bit if-y, but then again that's part of the allure of B genre movies. They didn't have a hundred million, they just had spirit and what money they did have and they had to put it to good use and that was done here in spades. The world of "Daybreakers" is pretty specific and there are great strides taken to display how vampires would live out a normal life, from special cameras and black out windows on cars for day driving, to censors letting them know when UV light is entering. Seeing vampire hobos and cops and seeing them do what they do is pretty neat. But the film's major strength is in how fun and expanded they make the story.

"Daybreakers" is written and directed by Peter and Michael Spierig, the brothers who had some cult acclaim with "Undead", a low budget, low radar horror comedy a few years back. I wasn't a big fan of it, but this is a big step up. A lot of their humor from their last film is here as well as their effects techniques, but it's paced a hell of a lot better than "Undead", looks better and it's much more fun. There are some great single images in the film that really bring it all home and give you a good perspective on things. The big sequence at the end is perfectly captured at one point in slow motion with an entire squad of soldiers tearing into one another like they had chainsaws in their mouths.

It's sad seeing it so late and seeing that it didn't get too much play with audiences, "The Book of Eli" is kind of having a similar issue which is distressing as it's also a great example of genre film making done to perfection and a great character movie. But often these things happen and audiences attention aren't on movies in January except for their chance to catch the award favorites. In any case "Daybreakers" is a great return to form for vampires and a fun B movie that's the kind of escapism we need right now. It's bloody, funny and fast-paced.

Youth in Revolt review

There's very few problems I have with "Youth in Revolt", but at the same time there isn't a whole lot right with it. I will say though that Michael Cera manages to shed some of that awkwardly funny teen character for which he's played... forever and only half way plays that character for a change. The other portions of Cera's character are bullish yet charming and cause him great strides towards what he wants. His created alternate persona Francois Dillinger is that helpful asshole that could in theory get the girl of his dreams Sheeni Saunders, if only he wasn't causing so much chaos along with it. Nick Twisp, the real character is a horny, young man stuck in a mental time warp and is looking for a girl that's somewhat like that as well. That's not to be mean, but it's truthful and when he meets Sheeni she is all that he's looking for. She loves old music, records and has a love of the french and wants to move there. Cute, sounds like something people used to say in the 50's and 60's when they wanted to move somewhere cultured that they felt would have what they were looking for in life, which often seemed to be escapism.

However there are various things in the universe that seem to be keeping them apart. Sheeni has a boyfriend, her parents are strict and don't like Nick, she wants to be with someone who's 'different' (which apparently is just a clever way of saying someone who's bullish and a dick) and they live in completely different places. So Nick and at times Francois work to fix these things one by one and usually by fixing the problems separating the two, they openly break the law or cause some kind of mildly humorous havoc. "Youth in Revolt" just kind of floats along there with a couple funny sequences with Justin Long in a nice, but unnecessary character and some of the interactions with his mom and her boyfriends at the time. However the rest of the time I couldn't wrap my mind around why he wanted to be with this girl.

Perhaps it's that thing about movie love where we're supposed to just get the drift and go along with it, but the chemistry between the two wasn't particularly great and she really just wanted Nick to get kicked out of his house, move there and become a dick so that they could be together. But what might be a little crazier is that he was so in love with this chick that his burning down of a building and messing up two cars and a trailer is ok because it was for love. Maybe that works on some level in a world of less importance or a movie that's funnier, but it doesn't work here.

Michael Cera is working up the pole of being a headliner. Unlike some people I don't hate the guy, he's just been typecasted and who knows if he likes it or not, but now is the time for him to branch out and do something different or start getting different things sent to him at the very least. He's got a very good wit and comic timing, but floaty little movies like this or to a much lower extent "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" isn't doing anything for him.

The Book of Eli review

When I dish out cash to see a post apocalyptic movie I have exceptions. I want characters, I want a fucking journey that when I leave the theater I'm going to think about and carry with me for a while. And when it's rated R I expect even more. You have the right to pull out all the stops and really create something hard edged and as always badass. Welcome to the gritty future of "The Book of Eli", a movie that's more 'Terminator' without robots than all that silvery shit and CGI in "Terminator Salvation". A movie that belongs aside such post end of the world grit as "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior".

Now something better about the film is that this ain't just a post apocalypse film. It's in fact a samurai picture with a little western thrown in. The Hughes brothers who haven't done a film since 2001's Jack the ripper flick "From Hell" which was stylish, entertaining and flawed due to it's pacing, returns the brothers to the public eye and after this I hope we see more of their films sooner rather than later. They infuse the film with tons of saturated images of the world we knew and characters big and small that are always entertaining and often have more going on then we notice at first glance. But first let me conquer the elephant of the film, the Christianity aspect. What's surprising is that the film doesn't deal with it as God is good and Christians need run the world or anything like that. The film shows the power and importance of religion and the ideas behind it. People can use religion for different reasons and that's something used in the film, but never said in so many words.

Eli's faith is what drives him. This quest west to where he believes the book will be safe. Is it a big Christian alegory like "The Chronicles of Narnia"? Not in any way, sense or form and if you think so then really you don't need to be watching films like this. But now lets shift gears, Denzel is in many ways a badass. Even when playing the types of characters he often plays, he's still a badass that can control any situation. As Eli we see a character unlike most that he's played, a monk and killer with a machete that knows how to handle himself in the wasteland. He has a couple of great long shot fight sequences that'll be remembered. It's brutal and fast paced... not unlike what we see in samurai pictures. Gary Oldman returns to top villainy form as the head of a town. He abuses his wife played by Jennifer Beals and he exploits his step daughter played by Mila Kunis. He's searching for this bible because he too wants it and while the trailers may make you think he's simply out to use it for evil, it's not quite so cut and dry.

He does want the people to be civilized and he knows the power that those words can have over the people. There is more to it, but I don't want to spoil the whole scope of the picture. And it really is a big scoped film that creates a world and the people within it. It's not just a bunch of destroyed cities and desert and action set pieces. There's a system at work with the few civil minded people existing in the world and it works for them. As an action picture Hughes brothers know what works and what works is when you have everything encompassed into a single frame. The sequences in which Kunis tosses a grenade down the road and it blows an armored car to pieces. Instead of cutting the scene to pieces they do two simple shots and both include the actors, the explosion and the pieces landing around them. The same goes for the fight scenes and several of the films shoot outs, the longer the shot goes on the more engrossing the action becomes. The best of the best action filmmakers know this.

So with all my love of "The Book of Eli" not everybody's gonna like it. People who can't figure out the real religious parts of the movie and realize some of the undertones and questions it attempts to raise won't like it because they think it's trying to convert them (which I'd love to hear them convince me of) or they find that any religious aspect in any film cheesy (which I'll defend here till I'm out of breath). It's an action movie that actually attempts to make you think about society and what religion can do to humanity. It's also a genre picture in the best sort of way. It pays it's tiny homages throughout the film and in different ways and is still very original and endlessly entertaining. If you like films like "Zatoichi", "A Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More" or the "Mad Max" films then yes this is right up your alley. If not, well there's plenty of copies of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" to go around.

The Road review

I've found that allowing things based on the work of author Cormac McCarthey to sit in you a while tends to help with the expressing of feelings about his work. When I first watched the Coen brothers "No Country for Old Men" I waited nearly a week before writing the review. This is McCarthey's second film adaptation of late, but he's had at least three, the oldest being "All the Pretty Horses" which was... umm... well I wasn't so keen on it. "The Road" is definitely one that's had me swinging both ways and I have read the book before seeing the film although it was some years ago; probably around the height of the books success.

As a story "The Road" is harrowing and beautiful. It's a fathers love of his son despite how horrid the world is or rather what's left of it. It's also his selfishness in wanting to continue when things are as bad as they are. The juxtaposition of such was that of his wife played in flashbacks by Charlize Theron. She in fact never wants to give birth to their son and after he's become a young boy, doesn't want him to have endure the horrors that world has to offer. Viggo Mortensen plays the father known simply as 'Man' in the story and film just as Kodi Smit-McPhee is known as 'Boy'. Both of their performances are brave and strong as they have to be. We are with them constantly and never leave them and with that we see that love and respect that they have for one another. At the same time you also see their degree of clashing where Man thinks that there is no good left and for Boy to think that it would be the death of them both.

In addition to that "The Road" offers a great score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis who also scored "The Assassination of Jesse James" and director John Hillcoat's film prior to this, the gritty Australian western "The Proposition". Hillcoat is a fantastic director as tends to tell his stories less through words and more through the power of the imagine on screen. "The Proposition" is an amazing picture on a dozen levels and one is the beautiful and foreboding imagery. The harsh and yet magnificent look of the Outback and the nasty, gritty people doing deeds within it. "The Road" has many strong images as well. Hillcoat gives us some of those shots of gray, dead cities and burning buildings, but he also shows us other areas. He shows us the dying forests and oceans. Takes us to places less seen in post apocalyptic films.

But here is where we come to a wall. Many people will not like this film and it's perfectly understandable. And I'll go one step further and deliver this nugget out there, the film has no climax. This is not an action film or a thriller. It's a survival and family drama in a setting we're not too use to seeing that type of film in. Thus to some extent what you see is what you get. You get two people walking and living and occasionally having to forcefully deal with the devils of the new world, but more so deal with the biggest enemy which is the elements. Keeping warm and dry and not starving the death or allowing their own paranoia consume them. It's really an interesting story, but I should say know what it is you're walking into first.

For me "The Road" has many strong elements and themes and I'm not quite ready to take them all in just yet. For me I think I need to get a little of them unresolved exciting post apocalypse out of my system since last year that didn't happen. So here's hoping the Hughes brothers and "The Book of Eli" can provide that (which from what I've heard they do). So for the time being I feel a bit cold on "The Road". I feel like down the line my feelings might strengthen, but not particularly lessen, but I'll need time. It's something I'd go back to see on DVD and see how I feel then knowing what I know now. And yes it is somewhat difficult to write a review on a film when you're feelings towards it are as clouded as this. I kind of wish there was 2 3/4 I could throw out, but that doesn't work with my set up. The last time I felt this way about a film was Terrence Malik's "The New World" and with time it has made me look upon it much more pleasingly then it did upon that first viewing. So who knows, in a few months I may re-review "The Road" and see how I feel then. But for now I'm going with this...

"The Road" ** 1/2 out of ****

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus review

For anyone who has never seen a Terry Gilliam film, then here's what I will say. If you take Tim Burton, loose a degree of the dark look and shift that to the actual tone of the picture and then throw some paint and crazy into the mix, you've got yourself a Gilliam picture. The man is creative and sometimes too creative for his own good. In fact if you wiki Terry Gilliam you can easily discover just how many of his films revolve around some kind of conflict either with studios, producers, actors, the Writer's Guild of America or all the above. In the case of "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" however, he had the worst thing possible to happen, which was the death of his lead actor Heath Ledger.

So two or three years later we get Ledger's final performance piece and finally... FINALLY Gilliam has created maybe his best work. I say this being a big fan, but knowing the flaws within his work involving pacing, characters and just him going hog wild and forgetting what the damn story was all about. No, here is a perfect fantasy film that's original, funny, jarring at times, sexy, thrilling and one of the best pictures of 2009 (although I can't officially list it). The first thing I'll say is that I'm actually surprised at how much Ledger was in the film. He's actually pretty much throughout the whole thing minus the effects sequences in which he enters the mirror into Dr. Parnassus's mind. In those sequences for some... I won't say who... their appearance changes, thus Tony is played by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law. It never feels stapled onto the original story or idea, it feels genuine.

But really his character Tony isn't quite as important as Dr. Parnassus, played by Christopher Plummer and damn well I should say. His lovely daughter and assistant with the show Valentina played by Lily Cole. And the devil Mr. Nick played by the always entertaining Tom Waits (who will also been seen in "The Book of Eli"). The real plot involves them and the bet... well... bets made between Parnassus and Mr. Nick. Mainly the one in which for immortality with the woman of his dreams, Mr. Nick would get any child he fathered with the woman when the child reaches sixteen; and guess who has a birthday coming up. Of course Valentina has no idea about this, but Anton, the other assistant who's head over heels in love with her does and Parnassus' long time friend Percy played by Vern Troyer.

Hope is restored thanks to the devil, but not without something up his sleeve as usual. The addition of Tony to the traveling show also proves most helpful, except to Anton because all of Valentina's attention has gone to him. Now let's talk about the glorious imaginarium. It's pretty damn cool. The effects both CGI and practical are impressive and very much in keeping with Gilliam's true style. I'll say it's not quite as dark as some of his past pictures, but it doesn't need to be like oh say "The Fisher King". But there is dark places it goes to and some extremely funny sequences that really show off that humor and creative muscle he's got.

I do wish more of his films were floating around in Wal-Mart and what not so more people would pick them up. It seems like Tim Burton has some stranglehold cult love from goth kids, tweens and people who like movies and hang around Hot Topic. But ask them about Guillermo Del Toro, Terry Gilliam or even someone like Nick Castle (gotta love "The Last Starfighter") and they give you blank stares. I imagine it's because Burton's stuff is more out in the mainstream and Gilliam has remained independent most of his career. And given his history I'm really sure it was by choice. But if there is one of his films to see, let you begin with this one. It's a real love letter to his friends and fans and in many ways it's the kind of movie I've always wanted to see his name attached to. This is perfect fantasy.

"The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" **** out of ****

The Lovely Bones review

Every now and again I'll see a trailer for something and I won't have that thought was 'wow, I've gotta see that now' or 'that's something that's gonna be kick ass' or something along those lines. By the way I tend to think that a good bit no matter what genre it is; my mind is like an 80's G.I. Joe figure with two catch phrases. Sometimes I see something and I think on it for a good while and then see what the vibe strikes me as and what not. I subtract even who is involved in the picture, which is 95% of the time is a big deal to me and I just see what's the vibe I get from it. Peter Jackon's "The Lovely Bones" was one that hit me down the road and I kept it in my head that 'this seems like something I'm gonna love'. Granted I've thought this before and been dead wrong, but in this case I wasn't. I watched it yesterday morning and much of what was in the film is still stuck in my head, running around and around.

I've never read the book, although now I very much want to and from what I hear there are things taken out, which isn't surprising; although the biggest one is the lack of the rape scene. I'll get back to that later though. The first thing I noticed and hooked me into the picture was the 1970's look and feel of it. I mean this is down right 70's to the nitty gritty and it looks perfect. The feel however comes from two sources; one is cinematographer Andrew Lesine, who gives the film that slight grainy, glowing Bob Clark look and the other is all Jackson. What a lot of people don't know is that Jackson's real style isn't how "The Lord of the Rings" was shot. I'll say that the final installment had some in it, but that was much more restrained. "King Kong" had a good bit of his style in it (probably why I loved it so much), but really his old splatter films and his dramas speak of his true blue style. Jackson loves a lot of camera movement, sometimes normal and sometimes these irregular pattern shifts. His lenses provide a global scope on things at times and it all feels like films I've seen made in the 70's and 80's.

As most people do know the film is about little Suzie Salmon who at age fourteen is murdered by one of her neighbors and from her own piece of heaven watchers her family during the aftermath. Saoirse Ronan, the young Oscar nominated actress who stole the show in "Atonement" again displays range and great depth. She makes you like this character and in many ways identify with her as well. In fact there's such great deal of that and done so well that I imagine several people would've walked out had the rape and murder scene been in the film. Make no mistake about it those is no way you can make those things not ugly and horrible in this situation and then easily recover the film you had before that despite the better things that follow. Granted you know what happened and are given more than enough clues to back it up, to show it would've been horror for horrors sake. It's the same reason for some of the restraint Del Toro had at the end of "Pan's Labyrinth"; somethings you don't really want or need to see.

The aftermath with the family is equally interesting as you see the various ways in which people deal with grief. For her father (played by Mark Wahlberg) it was hope and later obsession with the case and the people around him. Her older sister felt the same way and her mother (played by Rachel Weisz) went through heavy depression and goes as far as to leave the family for a short time. All the while Suzie's killer, Mr. George Harvey continues his life and is getting comfortable with little to no suspension on him. Stanley Tucci plays Harvey and this is really an impressive and key role for him. When you see a character actor like him in a dozen films you start to see the same dude everytime. Not here. Tucci is completely invisible in this guy down to the voice. This is the only supporting acting work I've seen that actually rivals Christoph Waltz performance in "Inglorious Basterds".

The depiction of heaven was something that many were concerned about after the trailers. I admit was a bit put off by some of it then too, but within the movie it's something much bolder and much more interesting and this is why Peter Jackson is a fantastic film maker. He has created a movie that not just is set in the 70's and 80's, but could be right out of that time period as well. In several ways this is a film that's directed towards teen audiences as much as adults and has subject matter that's identifiable to them, but isn't bullshity. It's also a fantasy film in many ways which is very much how rough subject matter was covered in films then and often illustrated its point better than regular dramas about similar subject matter. And there is bits of dark humor within it all was well which points away from the darkness of the picture, but only for it's moment and despite how grim it all sounds, the film is quite beautiful. Not just in the fantastical elements, but with the family dynamic and seeing their progression as times passes.

"The Lovely Bones" interestingly enough isn't being pushed as hard as other awardy movies. For Paramount and Dreamworks their big dog is "Up in the Air" (which I'll see soon) so this has fallen by the wayside. My hope however is that people do go out and see this film, awards or not and see how they feel about it. As much as I do love it, it does strike me as a film which could divide people, which is understandable in certain ways. I do urge those who see and like "The Lovely Bones" to see Jackson's other drama/tragedy "Heavenly Creatures" which is slightly more brutal, but equally as fantastic and inspired as this. A brilliant piece of work.

"The Lovely Bones" **** out of ****

MY FAVORITE FILMS FROM 2000 TO 2009 vol. 5 (59-50)

59. "Paranormal Activity"
If I had done a top 20 of 2009 this would've been #11. I really comes close to making that top 10 for me, but just misses the boat due to some... re-thinking and what not between it and other films. That said I love a ton of things about "Paranormal Activity". It was made for dirt cheap ($15,000 which was mostly the cost of the camera), became a massive success, was surprisingly scary and in the right ways and was generally fun which is rare. At no point did I feel like it was a real POV type of movie like this really happened; it always felt strangely just like a film. Which it is. It's wealth is found in the subtleties of the movie. There's some big scares, but they're all done in quiet, unsuspecting ways which makes them more memorable.

58. (TIE) Peter Jackon's "King Kong" & James Cameron's "Avatar"
I cheat and this is the first of a few. Oddly enough most of the cheating does take place on this particular post, fancy that huh. Any ways the reason I grouped these two together was because they are most massive scaled adventure films that were both perfect homages to genre picture yester-years as well as original and thrilling pieces of work. Both were also labors of love that these two filmmakers had and worked damn hard on to accomplish that vision. For Jackson he has finally won his Oscars for "The Lord of the Rings" and got to remake the picture that made him love movies. Thus he creates a 3-hour epic that delves into great depression New York as much as it delves into the complexities and humor of these characters and the dangerous of Skull Island. For Cameron "Avatar" is the is love letter to "Dune" and "John Carter of Mars" ("Wall-E" director Andrew Stanton will be thanking Cameron soon for laying a lot of the ground work for JFofM, which he will be directing for Disney). His flawless animation and groundbreaking motion capture techniques payed off big time and he didn't hesitate to remind of us just how good he was at displaying large scale beauty and destruction.

57. "The Incredibles"
Brad Bird at his finest and really one of the best Pixar films I've ever seen. The reason? Because it was ballsy. I mean when you really look at it, it's a bit more adult then it lets on. Bird told a great softer version of "Watchmen" with this picture (by his own admission) and it works like a charm. The satirical look at superheroes and their existence in the real world is always interesting and it's been nice to see more films going that route in addition to the tons where their existence is more positively accepted and not debated or exploited. Furthermore the voice casting of Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee was 100% perfect.

56. "Babel"
The last ten years for Brad Pitt were better than the ten before it. Sure he had an Oscar nod back then too and did tons of great roles, but now he brings a lot character acting Brad to main characters and in turn has beefed up general dramatic acting Brad. In fact I'd say that he impressed me more in this film than Cate Blanchett. No easy feet in my book mind you as I do love me some Cate fuckin' Blanchett. But the real star of this was Rinko Kikuchi who plays the deaf Japanese girl. For me her story was so heartbreaking and strong that it brought me close to tears. However in truth the film is filled with interesting and strong stories and was a worthy ending to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's trilogy.

55. "Sin City"
The film that aided in the massive push for graphic novels to get the film treatment. Thank you Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino for that. And also thank the countless major actors and actresses that took pay cuts just to do this movie. I mean you have Bruce Willis, Micky Rourke, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood, Powers Boothe, Clive Owen, Brittany Murphy, Jamie King, Alexis Bledel, Carla Gugino (pause....), Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clark Duncan, Ruger Haur and Michael Madsen. And I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting someone... but oh well. Extremely violent and extremely fun. They took Miller's books and really displayed them for the mass public who would other wise have no idea what "Sin City" was.

54. "The Royal Tenenbaums"
Currently my second favorite Wes Anderson film and one great dark comedy that's got all the wit and charm one could ask for. Granted this style has remained pretty much his trademark, and I don't view that so much as a bad thing. I do have to say that after this and with the exception of his newest film the characters seem to follow very similar patterns. But for "The Royal Tenenbaums" it's a dysfunctional family story that plays out magnificently. Gene Hackman finally had another role that gave him something to do and the younger comedic cast (ala Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson who co wrote the script) are superb.

53. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Depressing. I've seen the film a number of times and it never stops being depressing. However despite that I love how it's made on every level. The CGI is perfect, the music is beautiful and director David Fincher (a major personal favorite of mine) made an amazing romance journey that was filled with ideas and emotions. Now I think some of what was in Eric Roth's screenplay doesn't spell out so much on the screen, but that's ok. One of the things that Fincher wanted to do was to make a film that spoke more after the viewing and actually it has worked out that way for me.

52. "Star Trek"
J.J. Abrams' well made reboot. In fact it's one of the best reboots I've seen. Abrams' style is what makes this all work. And by style I mean everyone he works with and what he does. His lense flares put me in the "Die Hard" mindset; dark, but with enough light and activity around that it feels like day. His casting was perfect to a tee and his action sequences rival most big name action directors working today. I expect great things from this new franchise, great things.

51. (TIE) "Public Enemies" & "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford"
This is like a married couple on so many levels. Hell I'd so a double feature of these any day of the week they go together so well. Here are two films that take a look at the facts behind two of American's first major criminals. Both have histories and legend behind so much of them that often the truth falls by the wayside because it's not as interesting. With Michael Mann however you'll be getting truth and in large doses. Depp's portrayal of John Dillinger is one that the more I see it, the more I like it. He's internal and knows what he wants and for the most part how to get it. But he's clouded more and more as his days get fewer and fewer. However Marion Cottilard sold the show as far as I'm concerned. Every times she was on screen I believed every word she said. Mann's digital eye is at it's best and the finale is one of melancholy, as only Michael Mann could bring us. Now with "... Jesse James..." we have a large scale western that's packed with the kind of stuff classics are made from. Brad Pitt delivers what I think is still his best performance and Casy Affleck was fan-fucking-tastic. Had he not been against Javier Bardem at the Oscars, he would've won it. The story is really one of the first examples of a fan murder, although Ford had it in his mind that James intended to kill him and really that's probably true. But what's even better is seeing the aftermath across the country and how Ford wasn't treated as a hero for bringing down the outlaw, but as a coward. Also the score by Nick Cave is one of the most haunting and beautiful scores I've ever heard.

50. The Re-birth of James Bond "Casino Royale" & "Quantum of Solace"*
This one isn't so much a cheat as much as something that I feel is more important. A character like James Bond for example is important and with these two films and actor Daniel Craig, James Bond has been reborn and made better. Here we don't have the cookie-cutter spy we've gotten used to. We've got a hard nosed British spy who doesn't take shit from nobody and is willing to get his hands dirty if need be. At the same time he makes mistakes. Sometimes minor ones, sometimes BIG ones, but that's what great about it. He feels human. I can't really think of many Bond films in which Bond really got the shit beat out of him before taking down the bad guys and getting his surve on with whoever the Bond girl was. So what's next for Bond? Still a bit unknown, but the next film will be directed by Oscar winning Sam Mendas of "American Beauty", "Jarhead" and "Revolutionary Road". I wonder if anyone is accepting pre-orders yet.

* film pictured atop this blog

MY FAVORITE FILMS FROM 2000 TO 2009 vol. 4 (69 to 60)

69. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Burton is maybe at his best while he's at his darkest. Or at least his most endearing. With 'Sweeney Todd' he brought to the big screen a fantastic revenge tale and musical that actually never bored and never went too over the top. Johnny Depp and Helena Boham Carter also give two of their strongest performances to date and "Borat" and "Bruno" star Sasha Barron Cohen is hilarious and highly impressive in a small, but memorable performance.

68. "Juno"
Despite the rapid anti-Diablo Cody people at there that have since hurt the film, it's still a great piece of work. It really takes some special people to tell a story as rough and often tragic as teenage pregnancy and make it funny, witty and entertaining as well as emotional. Director Jason Reitman and Oscar winning writer Diablo Cody are that blend of perfection that could dance across that tight rope of a story and Ellen Page made a name for herself.

67. "The Ring"
Still one of the only good American remakes of already pretty lame Japanese horror films. I recently got a chance to re-watch the entire movie and while it isn't the scariest thing ever, it's still a brilliantly crafted mystery that hits ever not correctly. Naomi Watts is a great actress who has proven she can play tough, scream queen, rom-com hottie and be very funny and this was my first film I saw her in and still I found her as a lead for this perfect. She has the right mannerism, tone and look throughout the picture. Also like she studied Janet Leigh beat for beat before shooting. Also this is one of Gore Verbinkski's best directed pictures, know just how to make the film atmospheric and creepy in all the best ways.

66. "Unbreakable"
One of the best super hero origin stories ever made. M. Night Shyamalan's follow up to "The Sixth Sense" was a smart and taunt domestic drama/thriller about a man coming to terms that he might in fact be a super hero. Bruce Willis is one of few hollywood mega stars that can successfully play an average joe and even better is his acting range to play these quiet and very internal characters. On the other spectrum is Samuel L. Jackson, the comic book collector and man who is convinced of Willis' supernatural gifts. Why I love this so much is because of how grounded in reality it all felt. For me this ranks as Shyamalan's best film and his most endearing.

65. "Persepolis"
Based on the graphic novel of an Iranian girl growing up in the 1980's, a very rough time in their culture. The film is animated in pretty much the same style as the book and is wildly original, funny and heartbreaking. A bit long feeling at times, but such an amazing tale demands it.

64. "Ali"*
One of Michael Mann's most underrated pictures, but one that's still remembered as the first film where we really got to see the acting chops of Will Smith. Mann fills the screen with vigor and insight into one of the sports worlds most impressive and memorable athletes. Smith along with Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Jada Pinkett Smith and Mario Van Peebles deliver some stellar performances and Mann's particular style makes for one highly engrossing and interesting dramas.

63. "Doubt"
The 60's tend to be filled with dramas I loved and "Doubt" was among the best ensemble casts that I saw in 2008. One major thing is that every actor and actress in this film has done so many movies that I forgot how talented they are. Meryl Streep does so much and his terrific in all of it, but often doesn't explode like she used to. But her she damn sure does it every time she's on screen. Amy Adams reminds me that she too is a fucking fantastic despite doing some very, very bad films from time to time. And then Philip Seymour Hoffman is better than ever as the accused priest.

62. "Good Night, and Good Luck"
George Clooney's second and best directed film to date. A black and white, PG rated re-telling of legendary news man Edward R. Murrow and his news crew. David Strahrin delivers one of the best performances of the decade and the massive cast with everyone from Clooney to Robert Downey Jr. to Patrica Clarkson to Jeff Daniels is phenomenal. Clooney's use of black and white and the particular look it's given makes it feel truly old, but what these people stood up for is quite timeless.

61. "The Pianist"
Directed by Roman Polanski (someone who's been in the news a lot lately) it's the most personal and perhaps the most important of his films. He was a child during the Holocaust and his vision of German occupied Poland and France is quite strong. Adrian Brody's Oscar winning performance helps to bring you into the very dark, emotional and harrowing picture.

60. "Crash"
Another backlash drama, but I give credit where it's due and it's due. First off it proved that a little indie picture could still compete with the big dogs in the box office and at the awards. As a film it's that first, fresh viewing where I feel it works best. It's emotional and strong and filled with great scenes of dialogue that flow with an almost Spike Lee type rhythm to it. The following viewings... for me anyway have never been as strong. It's still a good movie, but not quite what it was the first time. But it did showcase Sandra Bullock actually acting and proving that Brendan Fasier could do the same.

*film pictured above.