celluloidnotes

The Oscars have concluded and Slumdog Millionaire was this year’s big winner. As per status quo there were very few surprises, maybe Penn winning Best Actor over Rourke, but that’s not even that shocking.

Anyhow, here are the winners:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Christian Colson

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner: Sean Penn for Milk (2008/I)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner: Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Winner: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Okuribito (2008)(Japan)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SONG
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman, Sampooran Singh Gulzar(”Jai Ho”)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SCORE
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Chris Dickens

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Winner: The Dark Knight (2008) - Richard King

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron

BEST DOCUMENTARY, SHORT SUBJECTS
Winner: Smile Pinki (2008) - Megan Mylan

BEST DOCUMENTARY, FEATURES
Winner: Man on Wire (2008) - James Marsh, Simon Chinn

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)

BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
Winner: Spielzeugland (2007) - Jochen Alexander Freydank

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Greg Cannom

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Winner: The Duchess (2008) - Michael O’Connor

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo

BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
Winner: Maison en petits cubes, La (2008) - Kunio Katô

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Winner: WALL·E (2008) - Andrew Stanton

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Simon Beaufoy

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN
Winner: Milk (2008/I) - Dustin Lance Black

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

The Independent Spirit Awards are all wrapped up. Not too many surprises here, though there definitely were a couple of surprises (like how terrible some of the music was). Here are your winners with selected snarky comments from the evenings festivities.

Best Picture: The Wrestler

Not too surprising. This was the film to beat, the huge number of nominations both here and at the Academy Awards made it clear that The Wrestler was a front-runner at the ISA.

Best Director: Tom McCarthy for The Visitor

This was a shocker. Deserved, but shocking.

Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk

Best Screenplay: Woody Allen for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

A little surprised that Allen beat out Charlie Kaufman here. Though not surprised that Allen was not in attendance tonight.

Best Actor: Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler

Of course he won.

Best Actress: Melissa Leo for Frozen River

This was a tough field with Hathaway in there for Rachel Getting Married and Michelle Williams great performance in Wendy & Lucy. Leo definitely earned it, Frozen River has been the sleeper indie-hit of the year.

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Was a tough category and she was great. Between her and Javier Bardem there was little room for anyone else to shine.

Best Supporting Actor: James Franco for Milk

Great decision; great performance.

Best Foreign Film: The Class

Film geeks thought this was the favorite, a film that has just deserved more love than it’s got. Though this was by no means a given with some other great films up for the award including Gommorah and Hunger.

Best First Feature: Charlie Kaufman for Synecdoche, New York

Another obvious one. Kaufman is an Independent Spirit darling, and it was a great film.

Best Documentary: James Marsh’s Man on Wire

This is definitely the film to beat tomorrow night at the Oscars as well.

Best Producer: Heather Rae for Frozen River

Though it may not be a popular opinion I think this was a gimme. The marketing strategy exacted by Sony and the producers on this film is the sole reason this film got as much attention as it has (including a couple of Oscar nods). If you haven’t read about how this film was developed after Sony bought it at Sundance you need to. This is how the independent film is going to survive the collapse of the film industry.

Best Cinematography: Maryse Alberti for The Wrestler

I can get behind this. It was a beautiful film and how often do you see a female cinematographer win an award? Not often enough.

The John Cassavetes Award (for a feature made for under $500,000): In Search of a Midnight Kiss

This was the clear choice for the award. Not the best film of the year by any means, but an impressive film.

The Robert Altman Award (best cast): Synecdoche, New York

Again another one I’m behind, though it may not have been a gimme. This film simply hasn’t gotten a whole lot of love from the critics, and I thought it was great.

The Acura Someone To Watch Award: Lynne Shelton for My Effortless Brilliance

The Truer Than Fiction Award: Margaret Brown for The Order of Myths

The Oscar nominees are in. And as I’ve said previously, oy, it was kind of a weak year at the cinema. Glad to see that The Visitor, Frozen River, and Happy-Go-Lucky all earned a nomination. Roger Deakins earned another nomination this year. Maybe it will finally be his year to win an award. He always deserves it, but if he wins it this year it’d be like spitting in the face of all of the amazing films he’s shot.

Only real disappointments: no Wallace & Gromit for short animated film and no Synecdoche, New York for best screenplay, which I think probably deserves it. Though, look at the list, this is no place for experimentation. Especially this year. Also, what the hell happened in the supporting actor category? Heath Ledger and Robert Downey, Jr. Really? I guess.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Ceán Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall
Frost/Nixon (2008): Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Eric Fellner
Milk (2008): Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks
The Reader (2008): Nominees to be determined
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Christian Colson

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins for The Visitor (2007/I)
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon (2008)
Sean Penn for Milk (2008)
Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Angelina Jolie for Changeling (2008)
Melissa Leo for Frozen River (2008)
Meryl Streep for Doubt (2008/I)
Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin for Milk (2008)
Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder (2008)
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt (2008/I)
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)
Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for Doubt (2008/I)
Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Viola Davis for Doubt (2008/I)
Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler (2008)

Best Achievement in Directing
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Stephen Daldry for The Reader (2008)
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon (2008)
Gus Van Sant for Milk (2008)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Frozen River (2008): Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008): Mike Leigh
In Bruges (2008): Martin McDonagh
Milk (2008): Dustin Lance Black
WALL·E (2008): Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Doubt (2008/I): John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon (2008): Peter Morgan
The Reader (2008): David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Simon Beaufoy

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Changeling (2008): Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight (2008): Wally Pfister
The Reader (2008): Roger Deakins, Chris Menges
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Achievement in Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
The Dark Knight (2008): Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon (2008): Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
Milk (2008): Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Chris Dickens

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Changeling (2008): James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
The Dark Knight (2008): Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
The Duchess (2008): Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road (2008): Kristi Zea, Debra SchuttBest Achievement in Costume Design
Australia (2008): Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Jacqueline West
The Duchess (2008): Michael O’Connor
Milk (2008): Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road (2008): Albert Wolsky

Best Achievement in Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Greg Cannom
The Dark Knight (2008): John Caglione Jr., Conor O’Sullivan
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008): Mike Elizalde, Thomas Floutz

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Alexandre Desplat
Defiance (2008): James Newton Howard
Milk (2008): Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman
WALL·E (2008): Thomas Newman

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman, Gulzar(”Jai Ho”)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman, Maya Arulpragasam(”O Saya”)
WALL·E (2008): Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman(”Down to Earth”)

Best Achievement in Sound
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight (2008): Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty
WALL·E (2008): Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt
Wanted (2008): Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
The Dark Knight (2008): Richard King
Iron Man (2008): Frank E. Eulner, Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Tom Sayers
WALL·E (2008): Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
Wanted (2008): Wylie Stateman

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron
The Dark Knight (2008): Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, Paul J. Franklin
Iron Man (2008): John Nelson, Ben Snow, Daniel Sudick, Shane Mahan

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Bolt (2008): Chris Williams, Byron Howard
Kung Fu Panda (2008): John Stevenson, Mark Osborne
WALL·E (2008): Andrew Stanton

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (2008)(Germany)
Entre les murs (2008)(France)
Revanche (2008)(Austria)
Okuribito (2008)(Japan)
Vals Im Bashir (2008)(Israel)

Best Documentary, Features
The Betrayal - Nerakhoon (2008): Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath
Encounters at the End of the World (2007): Werner Herzog, Henry Kaiser
The Garden (2008/I): Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Man on Wire (2008): James Marsh, Simon Chinn
Trouble the Water (2008): Tia Lessin, Carl Deal

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Conscience of Nhem En, The (2008): Steven Okazaki
Final Inch, The (2008): Irene Taylor Brodsky, Tom Grant
Smile Pinki (2008): Megan Mylan
Witness from the Balcony of Room 306, The (2008): Adam Pertofsky, Margaret Hyde

Best Short Film, Animated
La Maison en Petits Cubes: Kunio KatoUbornaya istoriya - lyubovnaya istoriya (2007): Konstantin Bronzit
Oktapodi (2007): Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchand
Presto (2008): Doug Sweetland
This Way Up (2008): Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes

Best Short Film, Live Action
Auf der Strecke (2007): Reto Caffi
Manon sur le bitume (2007): Elizabeth Marre, Olivier Pont
New Boy (2007): Steph Green, Tamara Anghie
Grisen (2008): Tivi Magnusson, Dorthe Warnø Høgh
Spielzeugland (2007): Jochen Alexander Freydank

The Razzies, that prestigious award that honors the year’s worst at the cinema, have announced this years nominees. It’s safe to suspect that these are the only awards these films will receive nominations for.

There are a few surprises in here. Ben Kingsley get a nom for his role in The Wackness is surprising. Many have been surprised by Indiana Jones getting a nomination, but I’m going to have go ahead and support that one. Anyhow, I’ll try not to bash films, as this award will do that for me. Leading the pack were a host of nominations for The Happening, The Hottie & The Nottie, The Love Guru, and Uwe Boll in general (who will receive the lifetime disaster award).

The nominations:

Worst Picture Nominations:
Disaster Movie & Meet the Spartans (double nominee from the same writer-directors)
The Happening
The Hottie & The Nottie
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
The Love Guru

Worst Actor Nominations:
Larry the Cable Guy, Witless Protection
Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave
Mike Myers, The Love Guru
Al Pacino, 88 Minutes & Righteous Kill
Mark Wahlberg, The Happening & Max Payne

Worst Actress Nominations:
Jessica Alba, The Eye & The Love Guru
The cast of The Women (Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Meg Ryan)
Cameron Diaz, What Happens in Vegas
Paris Hilton, The Hottie & The Nottie
Kate Hudson, Fool’s Gold & My Best Friend’s Girl

Worst Supporting Actor Nominations:
Uwe Boll (as himself), Uwe Boll’s Postal
Pierce Brosnan, Mamma Mia!
Ben Kingsley, The Love Guru & War, Inc. & The Wackness
Burt Reynolds, Deal & In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Verne Troyer, The Love Guru & Uwe Boll’s Postal

Worst Supporting Actress Nominations:
Carmen Electra, Disaster Movie & Meet the Spartans
Paris Hilton, Repo! The Genetic Opera
Kim Kardashian, Disaster Movie
Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
Leelee Sobieski, 88 Minutes & In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

Worst Screen Couple Nominations:
Uwe Boll and any Actor, Camera, or Screenplay
Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, What Happens in Vegas
Paris Hilton and either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore, The Hottie and the Nottie
Larry the Cable Guy and Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
Eddie Murphy and Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel Nominations:
The Day the Earth Blowed Up Real Good
Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Speed Racer
Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Worst Director Nominations:
Uwe Boll, 1968: Tunnel Rats, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale and Uwe Boll’s Postal
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
Tom Putnam, The Hottie & the Nottie
Marco Schnabel, The Love Guru
M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening

Worst Screenplay Nominations:
Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
The Happening
The Hottie and the Nottie
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
The Love Guru

Worst Career Achievement:
Uwe Boll

PICK OF THE WEEK
Killshot
dir. John Madden
Starring: Thomas Jane, Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke

Killshot was originally predicted to be a film that was being considered for Oscar season, aided in no small part by Mikey Rourke, who is hot again, and definitely a favorite for Best Actor for his role in The Wrestler. It looks like a taut dramatic thriller, based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and produced by Tarantino. With it getting pushed back over and over again, and their decision to have “test market” screenings instead of press-screenings, it seems that the studio has very little confidence in this movie.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
dir. Patrick Tatopoulos
Starring: Rhona Mitra, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy

I shouldn’t be excited about this. The second installment of this series was something of a disappointment, even if this is your cup o’ tea. Yet, there is something about this trailer (and it keeps popping up on TV and everywhere else I’m looking) that makes me want to give this a shot. How does it go? Fool me once shame on me. Fool me twice shame on me…you, well you can’t fool me a third time. (Eh, one last Bush joke before the door hits him in the ass…)

Inkheart
dir. Iain Softley
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis, Eliza Bennett

Oh boy, another fantasy kids film with Brendan Fraser…this ought to be quite different from the last one, I’m sure. Even die hard LOTR fans who eat up everything Serkis does can’t make this seem anything less than sub-par. So, it’s sure to do well in the theaters.

Outlander
dir. Howard McCain
Starring: James Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Ron Perlman

Jesus and Hellboy star in this adaptation of Pathfinder. Well, that’s not quite accurate. But it’s not far off. This film is about a war between Vikings and Aliens in the year 709. Based on a true story. Looks so bad I kind of want to see it.

Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms
dir. Sander Francken

This documentary attempts to trace the impacts of small arms trade around the world. Looks fascinating. This is likely to be a great film that will receive no attention whatsoever. Not surprising, but timely and a film that more people should get out and see.

Donkey Punch
dir. Oliver Blackburn
Stars: Sian Breckin, Nichola Burley, Jaime Winstone

I believe I’ve post on this gem previously. Dear lord what did humanity do to deserve this idea? I’m not going to explain it. I’m sure you see the title and think, ‘there has to be something more to this.’ There isn’t. Trust me.

Of Time and the City
dir. Terence Davies

Honestly, I haven’t seen this film and I don’t know very much about it. But the trailer is very intriguing and looks like a film that will slip under the radar unless you write this one down. Truly looks like it could be one of the more interesting films released this winter/spring (when the cinema goes down the shitter).

Last Week’s Top Ten
1. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
2. Gran Torino
3. My Bloody Valentine 3-D
4. Notorious
5. Hotel for Dogs
6. Bride Wars
7. The Unborn
8. Defiance
9. Marley & Me
10. Slumdog Millionaire

New review up over at Tiny Mix Tapes of Carlos Reygada’s brilliant Silent Light.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the introduction:

From the first frame, Silent Light wraps you in its warm, naturalistic cinematography. The opening 10 minutes, marked by the profound blackness and the sound of crickets, typify the powerful, minimal mise en scène of director Carlos Reygadas. Stars slowly surface through the darkness as the camera pans the sky, settling on the horizon as the sun begins to rise behind two silhouetted trees. The soothing sounds of this lush plain begin to give way, turning the serene landscape into a tormented portrait of the natural world and ultimately of the characters within the film. Unseen cows begin to moo, and birds chirp frantically, lost in the shadowy trees. Slowly, the mooing begins to sound distressed. We wonder, is this what it sounds like when a cow screams? Yet the beauty of the shot lends an aura of inevitability to the scene. This is what the world looks and sounds like in the absence of humanity.

Thanks for reading, as always.

I promised I get the fresh Box Office Top Ten list as soon as I could, so here I am. Not a very surprising Christmas weekend. A film about a dog was tops, Frank Miller’s The Spirit was a dud both with critics and the box office, while The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Valkyrie both did notably well for slightly heavier films over a holiday weekend when crap normally dominates.

Last Week’s Top Ten:
1. Marley and Me
2. Bedtime Stories
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Valkyrie
5. Yes Man
6. Seven Pounds
7. The Tale of Despereaux
8. The Day the Earth Stood Still
9. The Spirit
10. Four Christmases

There is oddly only one film getting a release this week. So, I guess it would have to be my pick of the week. …

Defiance (12/31 - limited)
dir. Edward Zwick
Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell

What was at one time considered a serious Oscar contender seems to have been largely forgotten at this point. The cost-cutting Paramount has pushed this back quite aways, it’s getting a limited release, and they have pretty much completely cut promotion funding. The film is even being released on a notoriously bad week for films (thus only one picture is being release). Currently clocking 33% on the tomatometer, the films seems somewhat doomed. But the solid cast is said to have put in some noteworthy performances and certainly isn’t out of the running for awards season. There may still be hope for Defiance.

Last Week’s Top 10:
(this will be adjusted on Monday to reflect the current week - just thought I’d throw this in since I missed last week)
1. Yes Man
2. Seven Pounds
3. The Tale of Despereaux
4. The Day the Earth Stood Still
5. Four Christmases
6. Twilight
7. Bolt
8. Slumdog Millionaire
9. Australia
10. Quantum of Solace

Hello reader. I’ve been missing for all of Decemeber, haven’t I? Well, there was no warning, but I took some time off for a film premiere I had, for visiting family, and for many other things which took priority over here. But I am back. You can expect to see The Cinematic Fakebook debuting soon, and the usual updates coming regularly again.

Until that time I’ll offer you some good places to look at in case the unimaginable edges of the interwebs are not interwebbing enough for you.

InDigest Magazine has their anniversary issue up online. It features new fiction from Meakin Armstrong, Lech Harris and J. Albin Larson; new poetry from Stephen Burt, Ada Limon, Erica Wright, Brad Liening, Meggie Elder and Jess Grover; interviews with John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) and Ted Hearne, and lots of other stuff.

In that same vein they have the Nobel Prize for Literature speech by Harold Pinter at their blog.

I have recently been reading FOU Magazine. It’s a great place to get some fresh poetry.

And of course there are lots of great film sites that you probably know about, which you should read, and, of course, No Narrative (which will begin updating again very soon).

PICK OF THE WEEK

Milk
dir. Gus Van Sant
Starring: Sean Penn

It’s about time a film was made that focused on the legend of Harvey Milk (there is a great documentary on the subject already though), the man who, in 1977, became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in America. His legacy and assassination are the focus of this film, which is getting raves everywhere.

Australia
dir. Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman

General Rule: Baz Luhrmann = beautiful cinematography + weak, melodramatic plots. Australia likely will be no exception to the rule.

Four Christmases
dir. Seth Gordon
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon

Christ, the bad Christmas movies have already begun. Though, surprisingly, this one doesn’t star either Matthew Broderick or Tim Allen. I have at least one thing to be thankful for on Thursday, second being that we don’t live in a dictatorship and that I will not have to watch this.

Transporter 3
dir. Oliver Megaton
Starring: Jason Statham, Robert Knepper

I feel as though the director, Oliver Megaton, is really a name that Bart Simpson used while calling Moe one night. He was born to direct a high octane thriller. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that there is any life left in this series. But maybe I’m wrong, some people seem to still be in love with this, I’m a bad judge, it doesn’t do much for me.

Familiar Strangers
dir. Zackary Adler
Starring: Shawn Hatosy, DJ Qualls

Quirky indie-family drama, sounds pretty familiar. But this is a film that I recommend you give a chance. There is much more than meets the eye, and they have done a great job of casting this one. Almost as highly recommended as Milk.

Fix
dir. Tao Ruspoli
Starring: Shawn Andrews, Olivia Wilde, Tao Ruspoli

This sounds interesting. The film is shot in the first person by the actors in the film. It gained some notoriety on the festival circuit and is getting a limited release this week.

Last Week’s Top 10:
1. Twilight
2. Quantum of Solace
3. Bolt
4. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
5. Role Models
6. Changeling
7. High School Musical 3: Senior Year
8. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
9. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
10. The Secret Life of Bees