Adam Spector and I reveal our top five films of 2019 to date

Judging best directors in the off-years

A quick informal post judging the merit of directors who got nominated for directorial nods without a Best Picture Oscar Nomination:

1998-Peter Weir: The Truman Show-I tend to think of Weir's strength as delicately structured epics with sweeping visuals. "The Truman Show" was certainly a shift for Weir but he's a great director, brought great performances in his cast, and this is one of the best films of 1998 period. With snubs for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, I'm glad this film got rewarded somewhere.
Grade: B+


1999-Spike Jonze: Being John Malkovich is more of a Charlie Kaufman film than a Spike Jonze film. This was earlier in Kaufman's career, so the Academy probably wasn't aware that Kaufman was the genius who made it happen. It's also unfortunate that Frank Darabont got snubbed here for a film that's still highly regarded and when one considers that he also got snubbed for "The Shawshank Redemption." If they were going to snub "Green Mile", I would have preferred the Academy have gone with "Talented Mr. Ripley" and Anthony Minghella.
Grade: C-

2000-Stephen Daldry: Billy Elliot- I'm not too opposed to Lasse Holstrom getting snubbed since he got nominated the year prior and "Chocolat" is very much Oscar-bait film of the least deserved BP nom of the decade. But why Daldry? Rob Zemeckis, who's always quite innovative even if he's not recognized very widely for it, made "Cast Away" ring with great intensity despite the fact that it was a one man show. Cameron Crowe made a very personal picture in "Almost Famous" as well. The Oscars love Daldry as evidenced by "Hours" and "The Reader"'s accolades. On the other hand, "Billy Elliott" wasn't yet at a point where Daldry started getting overly sappy.
Grade: C+


2001-David Lynch: Mulholland Drive and Ridley Scott: Black Hawk Down: Both great directors who deserve nods so no complaints here. Still, it's too bad Todd Fields wasn't nominated for "In the Bedroom."
Grade: A-

2002-Pedro Almodovar: Talk to Her: This nod baffles me the most. First, I would have thought foreign film enthusiasts might have gravitated toward Alfonso Cuaron's "Y Tu Mama Tambien" or "Monsoon Wedding" or at the very least, there would have been a foreign film bote split. However, Alexander Payne, who was 3 for 3 with critical hits at the time, however should have been a strong contender for a directorial nomination, Then there's Todd Haynes' Sirk send-up "Far From Heaven", Sam Mendes' "Road to Peridtion" or critical darling Spike Jonze's juggling of two Nicholas Cages with a great ensemble in "Adaptation" and Alfanso Cuaron himself. I might be able to imagine Pedro Almodovar's body of work being rewarded but it was such a competitive year. The nomi
Grade: B

2003-Fernando Meirelles truly deserves a nomination but I was just baffled by the year in which it came. "City of God" was nominated for the Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Broadcast Film Socety in 2002. How many voters would even assume it was still eligible the following year?
Grade: B+

2004-Mike Leigh already had a nomination for "Secrets and Lies" and while "Vera Drake" had a deserving accolade it seemed like not much more than a biopic. In the meantime, Bill Condon (Kinsey), Michael Mann (Collateral) or Mike Nichols (who's Closer was somewhat of a comeback) were waiting in the wings
Grade: D

2006-Paul Greengrass: United 93: This was was a pretty good pick for the alternate slot since he's Australian (not exclusively foreign-language), chopped his teeth with the Bourne Supremacy and made a hit picture out of an ensemble (not a single star in the United 93 cast)
Grade: B+

2007-"Julian Schnabel for the Diving Bell and the Butterfly": Another instance in the 2000's where the last slot went to a foreign director. This is a fairly good entry for a genre that's vastly overrewarded (see: "My Left Foot", "The Sea Inside", "Elephant Man", "I Am Sam"). There were a few other directors like Sidney Lumet, Ridley Scott, and  Tim Burton who would have been nice to see in this category as opposed to Schnabel who was essentially a newbie.
Grade: B-

Blindness (2008) review

Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, and Gabriel Garcia Bernall star in a
Dystopian sci-fi thriller of sorts that takes place in an unnamed (and
unfamiliar looking) that doesn't seem so far removed from us in what
appears to be the not-too-distant future. When an epidemic causes
people to suddenly go blind, the police place the first wave of victims
in a quarantine with limited resources and as the prison guards become
less visible for some unknown reason (the film brilliantly provides us
only with the point-of-view of the people inside the prison), anarchy
develops from which separate wards engage in a struggle over food.

"Blindness" is Brazillian wunderkind Fernando Meirelles' second
English-language film after breaking out to North American audiences
with his Oscar-nominated gang epic "City of God," and while it lacks
the frantic pace of "God" or "Constant Gardener," the rawness and
visual intensity of Meirelles' previous works is still on screen. The
film's epilogue runs a little long and the pacing is a little slow, but
it's thought-provoking and has a unique voice.

One might compare it to Children of Men or No Country for Old Men in its lack of interest in character development in any conventional sense. If there is any prologue before the action sinks in, it's of very little use. The characters are defined mostly by action when confronted against a seemingly unstoppable force (in Children of Men, it's a mob, in No Country for Old Men, it's a seemingly invincible man, and in Blindness, it's a natural epidemic). However, I sensed a richness to Blindness that I didn't sense in Children of Men or No Country for Old Men (even though those were Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning films and this got bashed review wise) in that the situations the characters were placed in made for a compelling morality play as well.

I saw a sort of first-world/third-world metaphor with Ward 3 and Ward 1. Ward 3 had superior firepower (the gun) so they were able to control the resources and subjugate the other wards, much like Europe was able to do with South America, Africa, and the rest of the world. There were many other takes on the film that my friends had as we had a sort of discussion afterwards. I never saw Children of Men or No Country for Old Men having that kind of potential (although NCfOM came closer). Blindness had a clear aim to be about something more than the immediate action at hand.

What a godawful weekend at the box office....

If you read any newspaper's weekend section, you would have seen reviews for Nick and Nora's Playlist, Religulous and Blindness and Beverly Hills Chihuaha was most likely relegated to the "Also Playing" section, because it didn't seem particularly noteworthy. Besides, you already pretty much know it's for the same crowd who finds those 30-second spots for Taco Bell amusing and figures that seeing a talking chihuaha on screen for a couple hours is a little safer than the 3 aforementioned films of Ed Harris' critically acclaimed Appaloosa, and there's not much to explain in the story.

Well, mediocrity wins again for a 3rd straight weekend: Previous box office champs have been Eagle Eye and Lakeview Terrace, neither of which have been appealling.

One notable thing about this weekend's winner is that it was directed by Raja Gosnell who Richard Roeper cited in his book "Hollywood Schlock" as one of the worst directors in America, and although Roeper is just one person, I'm moderately inclined to agree with him. Unless you found the Scooby Doo series to be successful, than anyone looking at his imdb profile could easily see he's produced bad movies all over the place. Roeper also notes in that same book that bad directors have the edge over good directors that they're name isn't attached to films. If a good or great director like Ron Howard (example of a good director) or Fernando Meirelles (example of a great director) makes a film, whether good, bad or slightly dissapointing, than people will remember it because their name is always marketed with the film. The fact that Raja Gosnell is nothing to be proud of means he has immunity and he can continue to go on and make awful movies.



Raja Gosnell who Richard Roeper lists as one of the handful of
1 N Beverly Hills Chihuahua BV $29,000,000 - 3,215 - $9,020 $29,000,000 - 1
2 1 Eagle Eye P/DW $17,700,000 -39.3% 3,516 +6 $5,034 $54,605,000 $80 2
3 N Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Sony $12,000,000 - 2,421 - $4,957 $12,000,000 - 1
4 2 Nights in Rodanthe WB $7,355,000 -45.2% 2,702 -2 $2,722 $25,075,000 - 2
5 37 Appaloosa WB (NL) $5,015,000 +3,321.6% 1,045 +1,031 $4,799 $5,570,000 $20 3
6 3 Lakeview Terrace SGem $4,500,000 -35.4% 2,574 +107 $1,748 $32,140,000 $20 3
7 5 Burn After Reading Focus $4,083,000 -34.1% 2,397 -252 $1,703 $51,641,000 $37 4
8 4 Fireproof Gold. $4,069,000 -40.5% 852 +13 $4,776 $12,491,000 $0.5 2
9 N An American Carol Viv. $3,810,000 - 1,639 - $2,325 $3,810,000 $20 1
10 N Religulous LGF $3,500,000 - 502 - $6,972 $3,519,000 - 1
11 N Flash of Genius Uni. $2,328,000 - 1,098 - $2,120 $2,328,000 - 1
12 N Blindness Mira. $2,002,000 - 1,690 - $1,185 $2,002,000 - 1

10 Current Directors worth following

10 Directors to acquaint yourself with: We all know Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas when it comes to blockbusters, Oliver Stone when it comes to controvoursey, Woody Allen for comedy but there are a lot of directors that the average filmgoer might not know of who are doing great work in the 21st century. Being familiar with these names of mostly up-and-coming directors will help you make a safer bet next time you’re in the movie theater line or videostore.
1. Fernando Meirelles: “Stick to your village and you’ll appeal to the whole world,” is the philosophy Meirelles preaches to global filmmakers trying to make it in the global era and one he perfected in the landmark 2002 film City of God, a gripping tale of a young photographer trying to make the most of a short-lived existence in the slums of Brazil. His follow-up which transported the Brazillian filmmaker to the shantytowns of Kenya in an adaptation of The Constant Gardener was received just as well this past year. In an ever-increasing global network of film, Meirelles is paving the way for third world filmmakers hoping to import a brand of filmmaking that retains their local flavor.
2. Wes Anderson: Anderson’s films are a delicately textured feast for the eyes and ears. Unique touches like David Bowie songs translated into Portuguese are infused into eclectic film scores and he pays equal attention to visual tones. His films often feature a central character surrounded by a colorful group of characters and by sorting out the kinks in the relationships in his life, he comes to the conclusion that love them or hate them, be greatful for all the people in your life because they come in handy someday.
3. Sam Mendes: His first film, American Beauty, struck a chord with the American public in capturing the depression of suburban conformity and won an Oscar. His second film Road to Perdition, didn’t get quite as acclaim as the first but still had its admirers (including myself, it’s a personal favorite of mine), while three times did not prove a charm for Jarhead, a film injected with just a bit too much testosterone to be effective. Still, traces of his distinct style are noticeable in all three films: Mendes tends to work from the outside in. In three entirely different settings, the Persian Gulf, The Mob Scene in Depression-Era Chicago, Mendes does a wonderful job, first and foremost, of portraying a world and the characters who inhabit it and the story takes off from there.
4. Stephen Sodebergh: First off, I have to admit that it’s kind of irritating how for such a self-proclaimed champion of independent filmmaking, it seems like the sole purpose of some of his movies is to give his friends Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney something to do. Faults aside, Sodebergh is a very innovative filmmaker whose never-ending desire to experiment makes it so that even if he comes up with a dud like Ocean’s 12 or Full Frontal, you have to give him credit for at least trying something new. When he gets it right, like in Traffic, the results can be classic
5. Rob Zemeckis-Stephen Spielberg’s lesser-known protégé has made some of the most memorable classics of the last 20 years showing great range and innovation. He has explored both the fun and serious sides of the sci-fi genre with the Back to the Future trilogy and Contact respectively. His wacky ideas include infusing the gangster film with animated cartoons in Who Framed Roger Robert and (along with co-writer Tom Hanks) basing an entire film on a marooned castaway befriending a volleyball in Cast Away and surprisingly both worked.
6. Kevin Smith-His humor is admittingly low-brow, but as crude humor goes, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more intelligent filmmaker than Smith. To treat his landmark film, Clerks (and now Clerks II) as representative of his work would not be giving him enough credit for his range. Chasing Amy is considered by some to be an insightful take on relationships (personally, I didn’t like it but others do), Dogma is probably one of the best religious satires ever made. While bashed by some, I found Mallrats is a great send-up to adolescent aimlessness. It’s moral is priceless: that the best things in life are the little joys (a new type of pretzel, a signing at the comic store, etc) that are found at your neighborhood mall. And that’s what it comes down to for Smith. Is there anything in life more serious than that?
7. Bryan Singer-Working with small budgets as shown with The Usual Suspects, Bryan Singer demonstrated his ability as a great storyteller. With bigger budgets and biggest casts, Singer has still retained the human element but great special effects were added. He has done much to resurrect the superhero summer blockbuster with X-Men and Superman Returns (my review of Superman Returns was bad, but I think that Singer did a good job with what was given to him), by bringing realism to the genre. I’m not certain of this but it’s a good bet that pretty much everything from The Hulk to The Fantastic Four to Batman Begins took cues from him.
8. Peter Weir-For the 1985 hit film Witness, one of the very few films to use Pennsylvania’s Amish country as its setting, Australian Peter Weir was brought over to Hollywood for the project because they wanted someone with an outsider’s sensitivity and that has been one of his trademarks. Weir shows extroadinary attention to detail in his films, which helped make 2003 sea epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, set during the Napoleanic Wars, one of the best period pieces to date. He also has a great track record of single-handedly transforming the careers of leading actors he has worked with: Harrison Ford in Witness, Robin Williams in Dead Poets’ Society, and Jim Carrey in Truman Show
9. Alexander Payne-Payne is a UCLA Film School grad who studied abroad in Europe during his undergrad days. It was there where he picked up a fondness for Italian neorealism and he is now basically this generation’s answer to The Bycicle Thief. His last two films, About Schmidt and Sideways have both won multiple accolades, and his first two Citizen Ruth and Election, a high school comedy made with MTV films have developed cult followings. Schmidt and Sideways are marked by brilliant casting choices and a humor that comes from the subtleties and joys of life and they are emotionally affecting in a way few movies are.
10. Edward Zwick-With Glory, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai and the upcoming Blood Diamond, Zwick is most at home making the epic. He is great at period pieces, capturing time and place, and the quality of the art direction in his films (The recreation of 19th century San Fransisco for the opening of Last Samurai, for example) gets taken for granted all too often. He infuses films with wonderfully intense action scenes, and for making his films borderline action/period piece hybrids rather than period pieces, he is often overlooked by the academy, although he did win an Oscar as producer of Shakespeare in Love.