Just watched "8 Mile" (2002) which brings my films watched by Curtis Hanson total to a whopping five films. Hanson produced one of my favorite films in "Wonderboys" (2000) and made one of the moviegoing public's favorite films of the 1990's with "LA Confidential" (1997).
In addition, he also made one of the few chick flicks I would consider a great film with the 2005 "In Her Shoes" (starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MaClaine). Lastly, the only film of his I have seen that I consider kind of a drag is the gambling film "Lucky You" (2007) that starred Eric Bana, Robert Duvall, and Drew Barrymore.
Overall, he's a very strong filmmaker that has worked magic on genres that I would otherwise not be interested in. Even his noble failure, "Lucky You", shows the same traits as his other entries. Here's what I would consider to be Hanson's style: (note: I'm going to use abbreviations WB, IHS, LY, 8M, LAC)
1. Plots that move at their own pace-In WB,the protagonist english professor is about to lose his job for killing the president's dog and/or impregnating the dean's wife, he's just lost his manuscript, and he has until the end of the weekend to decide whether to abort his love child with his dean's wife and try to win her love. Yet despite this frantic crisis, most of the movie shows him in a melancholy state hanging around with his eccentric editor playing parlor games, getting high, and showing his even-more-eccentric student the time of his life. In LY, the protagonist risks his fortune and more with every bet he makes and even as he continually finds himself more and more in the red, an air of panic doesn't really set in there either. Similarly, IHS has one of the two protagonists, a lawyer, either quitting or losing her job and it seems insignificant.
2. Somber visual tones-8M plays into this because it's in the rust belt of Detroit and the harsh life of that town manifest themselves all around. LAC is a send-up to film noir so Hanson thrived on the dark interior spaces. The interior spaces (in Philadelphia and not Florida for the latter) in LY and IHS were pretty similarly shady and dark.
3. Strong Emphasis on Parent-Child Relationships-All five films have strong parent-child dynamics although I'm not entirely sure whether thematically they line up in any way. Let's see:
-A key plot point in LAC is that Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) has to decide whether to be like his father and be an honest cop. He ends up rejecting his father's methodology.
-Rabbit in 8M is trying to cope with a mother who hasn't gotten her life together. His poverty is a result of her but his emotional instability is also a result of her. As he succeeds in rapping, he is able to fix his mother and their relationship.
-In WB, Professor Grady Tripp is trying to decide whether he's a stable enough person to take on fatherhood and his salvation comes through that decision. He breaks into the home of his in-laws to save his hide, but the encounter with his father-in-law shows a paternal relationship there. He also takes on his most talented student as a surrogate son.
-The two sisters in IHS are damaged as adults because of the lack of a mother. They did grow up looking out for each other, however, but when that relationship is damaged, it takes a mother figure (they're grandmother) to repair them. Their salvation also comes through learning the truth about their mentally ill mother.
-The protagonist in Lucky You continues to make ill-advised risks because he's trying to live up to the card player and gambler that his father once. In the middle of the film, one of those ill-advised risks is playing his father directly and losing.
In all these films, people are defined by their parents or the lack thereof. The characters all deal with their parental relationships and in some cases take substitutes. The sisters in IHS use each other for support. Grady Tripp might be missing the guidance and separated from the father-in-law since he's divorced so he takes on a surrogate son, and when he's ready, he takes on an actual son.
4. Slow Secondary Courtships-In 8M, LY, IHS and LAC, there's a courtship that occurs during the movie. The characters meet during the movie so we see the relationship take place in its entirety. In the case of IHS and 8M, the characters also are leaving behind worse relationships that we don't see from the inside out so much. The relationships take place rather naturally and they're not the most important thing about the film but they do drive the film along.
5. Weary Characters alongside more excitable characters-Bud (Russell Crowe) from "LA Confidential" surely fits the bill. His colleague Jack (Kevin Spacey) is very much the opposite. Jack is eager to do his job and tackle a lead and is even eager to spread his legend, so to speak, by advising for a cop show. The bubbly Drew Barrymore is a counterpoint to Eric Bana in LY as is Horatio Sanz's character. WB has Tripp and his married lover as the weary ones. Tripp is balanced by his carefree editor.
"In Her Shoes" has the weary/excitable character dichotomy in three places: Between the two sisters (although the film's reveal is that younger sis is hurting underneath), between Toni Collette's choice of two lovers (one is unfaithful because he reveals a past where he was constantly rejected by girls whereas the other is optimistic, commanding and looking forward), and the grandmother and her circle of friends. The grandmother straddles the divide (although she hasn't necessarily dealt with her daughter's death and her alienation from her grandchildren) and is less eager to jump into love than her friends and suitor.
With the exception of LY, the carefree characters are all painted negatively: Jack is doomed by his eagerness and Bud's fate turns out better because he knows not to trust anyone. Grady's editor is seen as a nuisance and a bad influence on him. In IHS, the younger sis is the drag on her older sister.
Showing posts with label Toni Collete. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toni Collete. Show all posts
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Little Miss Sunshine Review
I had this on the blog than deleted it because I had a contract to publish it exclusively through another organization but since that was never posted, I will repost my review of a great, great film:
This might be one of the few movies in which the phrase "you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll jump for joy" is a true statement, because at the very least, I know I did all three of those things over the course of the movie.
Little Miss Sunshine centers on a dysfunctional family and their misguided hopes to redeem their problems through the potential success of their youngest member Olive (Abigail Breslin). Olive has won a spot in a California beauty pageant and with brother Dwayne (Paul Dano), her uncle (Carrell), her grandfather (Alan Arkin), and her parents (Greg Kinnear and Toni Collete from The Sixth Sense), goes on a road trip to the pageant from her Albuquerque, New Mexico home.
Within an all-star cast, Steve Carrell and Greg Kinnear prove themselves versatile character actors and Alan Arkin's comic shtick compliments their turns nicely as adults who have taken different paths to failure. Carrell's uncle Frank is an accomplished scholar who has just attempted suicide because his boyfriend has left him and he's been fired. Kinnear plays Richard, a self-help motivational speaker who could desperately use a dose of his own medicine while Arkin is the perfect antidote to Richard as his dad who isn't so much unhappy as he is careless with regards to his life. Toni Collette as the family matriarch is the glue that holds all of them together with her level-headed attempts to cope with one problem at a time, but even she is starting to have her problems as she resorts to smoking again. The family's dysfunction is already starting to rub off on older son Dwayne, who has taken a vow of silence and proclaims he hates everyone, so there is a certain desperation within the family that unspoiled at the age of 8, Olive might be the only one left in the family who has a chance at normalcy.
Little Miss Sunshine comes to movie screens nationwide from the Sundance film festival where the filmmakers benefited from being able to have the creative freedom to find their own voice. In this case, it allowed Michael Arndt to write a particularly poignant script that was able to fearlessly go to dark places in finding its moments of joy. The film's R rating, therefore is not just because of the number of bad words, but because the film goes to incredibly dark places touching on failed dreams, suicide, coping with death, a son cussing out his mother for being a failure. Every bit of it is necessary because without hitting such lows, the film's uplifting moments become all the more sweeter. Little Miss Sunshine is a richly told story that brings about a feeling that few movies can offer.
This might be one of the few movies in which the phrase "you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll jump for joy" is a true statement, because at the very least, I know I did all three of those things over the course of the movie.
Little Miss Sunshine centers on a dysfunctional family and their misguided hopes to redeem their problems through the potential success of their youngest member Olive (Abigail Breslin). Olive has won a spot in a California beauty pageant and with brother Dwayne (Paul Dano), her uncle (Carrell), her grandfather (Alan Arkin), and her parents (Greg Kinnear and Toni Collete from The Sixth Sense), goes on a road trip to the pageant from her Albuquerque, New Mexico home.
Within an all-star cast, Steve Carrell and Greg Kinnear prove themselves versatile character actors and Alan Arkin's comic shtick compliments their turns nicely as adults who have taken different paths to failure. Carrell's uncle Frank is an accomplished scholar who has just attempted suicide because his boyfriend has left him and he's been fired. Kinnear plays Richard, a self-help motivational speaker who could desperately use a dose of his own medicine while Arkin is the perfect antidote to Richard as his dad who isn't so much unhappy as he is careless with regards to his life. Toni Collette as the family matriarch is the glue that holds all of them together with her level-headed attempts to cope with one problem at a time, but even she is starting to have her problems as she resorts to smoking again. The family's dysfunction is already starting to rub off on older son Dwayne, who has taken a vow of silence and proclaims he hates everyone, so there is a certain desperation within the family that unspoiled at the age of 8, Olive might be the only one left in the family who has a chance at normalcy.
Little Miss Sunshine comes to movie screens nationwide from the Sundance film festival where the filmmakers benefited from being able to have the creative freedom to find their own voice. In this case, it allowed Michael Arndt to write a particularly poignant script that was able to fearlessly go to dark places in finding its moments of joy. The film's R rating, therefore is not just because of the number of bad words, but because the film goes to incredibly dark places touching on failed dreams, suicide, coping with death, a son cussing out his mother for being a failure. Every bit of it is necessary because without hitting such lows, the film's uplifting moments become all the more sweeter. Little Miss Sunshine is a richly told story that brings about a feeling that few movies can offer.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Review of 2002 film About a Boy
Adapted from Nick Hornsby's cleverly written and fun novel, I found this movie immensely enjoyable. Hugh Grant stars as Will, who differs from most of us in such a fundamental way that it makes him a very interesting guy. What makes Will out-of-sync with the world is that his late father once wrote a famous and with the royalties he collects from it, he doesn't have to work to sustain himself financially. The downside of this, of course, is that he doesn't have anything substantial or fulfilling in his life but he's very comfortable with that, at least at the beginning of the story.
What changes Will's life is the inadvertent introduction of a 12-year old boy and his suicidal mother (Toni Collette) into his life when a scheme to meet an attractive mom backfires. Like some of the best relationships in life, Will's with the 12-year old Marcus is involuntary at first but the two learn a lot from each other. With a of fear of losing his mother and an uneasiness about whom he can depend on, Will gives Marcus someone to look up to, while Marcus enables Will to find meaning in his life, especially when Will meets a woman he feels he might be able to fall in love with (Rachel Weicz).
This is the second Hugh Grant film that I've seen this year, which surprises me considering I still don't think Hugh Grant works most of the time. I credit this to an excellent adaptation of Hornsby's novel that adds more depth to Grant's role than the usual bumbling romantic lead, and also because within the setting of London Grant works better within the cultural context. The boy who plays Marcus is a cute kid who's easy to dislike at the beginning, but proves pretty bright when he takes Will's immensely useful tip that it is possible to change his level of coolness simply by changing some of the little things in his appearance (getting a haircut, buying new shoes, etc). Watching that scene warmly brings back memories of that monumental day in our own lives when it dawned upon is after years of feeling hopeless within our grade school social circles that it is, in fact, possible to change your level of coolness. The film is filled with a lot of those little things in life we can relate to so much more than we thought we would.
What changes Will's life is the inadvertent introduction of a 12-year old boy and his suicidal mother (Toni Collette) into his life when a scheme to meet an attractive mom backfires. Like some of the best relationships in life, Will's with the 12-year old Marcus is involuntary at first but the two learn a lot from each other. With a of fear of losing his mother and an uneasiness about whom he can depend on, Will gives Marcus someone to look up to, while Marcus enables Will to find meaning in his life, especially when Will meets a woman he feels he might be able to fall in love with (Rachel Weicz).
This is the second Hugh Grant film that I've seen this year, which surprises me considering I still don't think Hugh Grant works most of the time. I credit this to an excellent adaptation of Hornsby's novel that adds more depth to Grant's role than the usual bumbling romantic lead, and also because within the setting of London Grant works better within the cultural context. The boy who plays Marcus is a cute kid who's easy to dislike at the beginning, but proves pretty bright when he takes Will's immensely useful tip that it is possible to change his level of coolness simply by changing some of the little things in his appearance (getting a haircut, buying new shoes, etc). Watching that scene warmly brings back memories of that monumental day in our own lives when it dawned upon is after years of feeling hopeless within our grade school social circles that it is, in fact, possible to change your level of coolness. The film is filled with a lot of those little things in life we can relate to so much more than we thought we would.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Summer Movie Awards
Best Picture-
Little Miss Sunshine-One of the few movies in which the phrase, "You'll cry, you'll laugh, you'll jump for joy" isn't just a movie cliche. Coming from Sundance Film Festival, the movie opened at 1.4 million dollars but broke into the top 10 two weekends later and stayed there for 7 weeks for a reason: it's just that good and word got around. Within the structure of a typical road trip movie, Little Miss Sunshine is an emotionally resonant film that contains some very dark moments en route to higher highs.
Runner-Up: Prairie Home Companion-The biggest misconception about Prairie Home Companion was that it was a film about Garrison Kiellor, but that's also it's greatest strength. Those familiar with the director know that Rob Altman uses the film as a springboard for meditations on art, life, and death. On top of a great soundtrack, humor and color come from all sorts of colorful characters (Maya Rudolph as the frustrated stagehand, Kevin Kline as the bumbling private eye or Meryl Streep and Lilly Tomlin and the chatty Johnson sisters, etc.) within a great ensemble
Best Pure Comedy: Talladega Nights-From the comedic team that bought us Anchorman (writer/director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell) comes a solid follow-up that certainly has its funny moments. The primary thing that distinguishes Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby from regular comedic outings of the frat pack is assembling a great cast of comedic talent that can surround Will Ferrell and keep up with him line-for-line as he veers off what's written in the script (if there's one at all). Might have been a little less funny than Anchorman but it makes up for it with heart in the endearing father-son relationship between Ferrell and Gary Cole.
Best Popcorn Movie: Da Vinci Code-The fact was that Ron Howard was in a damned-if-you-do damned-if-you-don't position in adapting the most popular book of the day, and all things considered, whether it was too close to or too far away from the book, it made for good entertainment if nothing else. Ian McKellan, Paul Bettany, and Jean Reno added interest to the movie with parts that support Tom Hanks, and considering how many well-liked French actresses there are to chose from, landing Audrey Tatou was a steal. Howard's picture works as a carefully-paced thriller and the controvoursey behind it all provided some good water cooler talk if nothing else
Runner-Up: X-Men 3-Another movie with high standards to live up to coming in, X-Men 3 was an admirable third leg of a very solid trilogy with the stakes of life and death being raised up a little (characters actually died, that's not supposed to happen in superhero movies?!), good special effects, and I liked the intergenerational theme of the new cast of characters (Iceman, Kitty Pride, etc.) having to step up when the time was right for them
Best Actor:
Paul Giamatti, Lady in the Water-Some people would insist on giving Giamatti the best actor award for everything he does and I'm not approaching the role from that angle. Still, with the stutter and everything, I actually thought Giamatti stuck out strongly as a beacon of well-constructed character acting amid a very bizarre world and cast of characters that M. Night Shamylan created.
Runners-Up:
Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine-All the actors in the movie were very good, but he has great comic instincts, look at the scene where Kinnear is about to be busted by a cop but saved by porn magazines for what i'm talking about
Jonny Depp, Pirates 2-The movie was mediocre but Depp might have been even more electric in this film than the first. His physical movements and control over his body is a throwback to the great silent comedians and he shines in every scene he's in.
Best Supporting Actor:
John C. Riley, Talladega Nights-It's hard to compare a pure comedy role to a dramatic role like Robbins but more props to him for keeping up with Ferrell laugh-for-laugh at making up his own lines. Besides, is there any truer definition of supporting than Riley's role?
Runners Up:
Ian McKellan and Paul Bettany, Da Vinci Code-Da Vinci Code worked for me, at least, on the strength of the supporting players. McKellan made a very nuanced and sophisticated villain that reminds me of someone who could easily fit into an Indiana Jones or James Bond movie. Despite the fact that he had to show his backside naked (something I could've done without), Bettany imbued the role with a little more of a fragile side than his counterpart in the book had.
Best Actress:
Toni Collette, Little Miss Sunshine-I saw Collette as the glue that held the whole dysfunctional family together. She played the straight woman to everyone else's comic hijinx and hopefully Little Miss Sunshine will get the neccessary exposure this talented actress deserves.
Best Supporting Actress:
Meryl Streep-Prairie Home Companion-Now this was a Meryl Streep performance I really, really liked. With her interactions with Garrison Kiellor, you felt like there was a lot more to her than was being shown, and you really grew to love her character in a sort of "I wish she was my mom, too" way. I loved her non-stop babblings with her sister and loved her singing even more.
Runner-Up: Emily Blunt, Devil Wears Prada-The attention has gone to Streep for the movie and she's even receiving early Oscar buzz but I personally thought that Blunt proved slightly more adept at the acerbic one-liners that the movie is most memorable for.
Best Special Effects:
X-Men 3-Superman saving a flaming plane from gravity and ability to deflect bullets is all well and good but it's hard to top the playground of possibilities special effects special effects you can have when playing with characters who can control ice, fire, metal, and the weather. Highlights include, Wolverine's rampage through the jungle, Jean Grey stopping an army of guns firing at her, and ice and pyro using their powers in a dead heat
Best Animated Film:
Cars-Cars was without a doubt better than....wait, it was the only animated film I saw this summer, but, hey, none of the other ones looked intriguing enough to watch (except Over the Hedge, I do regret seeing possibly the only time that Avril Lavigne, Steve Carrell, and William Shatner will star in the same movie together). Nevertheless, Cars was a fine picture with a relatively bold theme about the importance of community, taking the sceninc route and the need to preserve the finer things in life. Bonnie Hunt, Owen Wilson, and Larry the Cable Guy all had great chemistry with each other.
Best Movie I didn't see:
Unlike most critic wannabes, I am not ashamed to say that I did not see every movie that came out this summer. Akeelah and the Bee, about a talented young girl who is too afraid to show that she's smart for being unpopular and starring the usually underrated Lawrence Fishburne, sounded like a worthwhile film I will regret not seeing.
Best end credits:
Clerks II-As an usher in the movie theater, I did see the end credits of many movies while I was cleaning up and Clerks II never dissapointed. Kevin Smith thanks everyone he's ever met for all sorts of things (i.e. He thanks his parents for having sex) as well as people he's never met. He lists 10,000 of his myspace friends in the end credits. Finally, he has a disclaimer that he spends way too much time on the internet
Best Song:
Route 66, John Mayer-A great cover by John Mayer, who while having a reputation as a boy bandish pop singer, is actually a devoted student of past guitar greats and he pays ample tribute to Chuck Berry adding a little more spice along the way
Runner-Ups:
My Minnesota Home-Prairie Home Companion
Bad Jokes-Prairie Home Companion
This Land-Sujfan Stevens
Best Score:
Lady in the Water-The haunting score lingers in your memory long after the film does. M. Night Shamylan's last film picked up an oscar nod for best score, so it might be likely that Lady in the Water follows suit.
Little Miss Sunshine-One of the few movies in which the phrase, "You'll cry, you'll laugh, you'll jump for joy" isn't just a movie cliche. Coming from Sundance Film Festival, the movie opened at 1.4 million dollars but broke into the top 10 two weekends later and stayed there for 7 weeks for a reason: it's just that good and word got around. Within the structure of a typical road trip movie, Little Miss Sunshine is an emotionally resonant film that contains some very dark moments en route to higher highs.
Runner-Up: Prairie Home Companion-The biggest misconception about Prairie Home Companion was that it was a film about Garrison Kiellor, but that's also it's greatest strength. Those familiar with the director know that Rob Altman uses the film as a springboard for meditations on art, life, and death. On top of a great soundtrack, humor and color come from all sorts of colorful characters (Maya Rudolph as the frustrated stagehand, Kevin Kline as the bumbling private eye or Meryl Streep and Lilly Tomlin and the chatty Johnson sisters, etc.) within a great ensemble
Best Pure Comedy: Talladega Nights-From the comedic team that bought us Anchorman (writer/director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell) comes a solid follow-up that certainly has its funny moments. The primary thing that distinguishes Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby from regular comedic outings of the frat pack is assembling a great cast of comedic talent that can surround Will Ferrell and keep up with him line-for-line as he veers off what's written in the script (if there's one at all). Might have been a little less funny than Anchorman but it makes up for it with heart in the endearing father-son relationship between Ferrell and Gary Cole.
Best Popcorn Movie: Da Vinci Code-The fact was that Ron Howard was in a damned-if-you-do damned-if-you-don't position in adapting the most popular book of the day, and all things considered, whether it was too close to or too far away from the book, it made for good entertainment if nothing else. Ian McKellan, Paul Bettany, and Jean Reno added interest to the movie with parts that support Tom Hanks, and considering how many well-liked French actresses there are to chose from, landing Audrey Tatou was a steal. Howard's picture works as a carefully-paced thriller and the controvoursey behind it all provided some good water cooler talk if nothing else
Runner-Up: X-Men 3-Another movie with high standards to live up to coming in, X-Men 3 was an admirable third leg of a very solid trilogy with the stakes of life and death being raised up a little (characters actually died, that's not supposed to happen in superhero movies?!), good special effects, and I liked the intergenerational theme of the new cast of characters (Iceman, Kitty Pride, etc.) having to step up when the time was right for them
Best Actor:
Paul Giamatti, Lady in the Water-Some people would insist on giving Giamatti the best actor award for everything he does and I'm not approaching the role from that angle. Still, with the stutter and everything, I actually thought Giamatti stuck out strongly as a beacon of well-constructed character acting amid a very bizarre world and cast of characters that M. Night Shamylan created.
Runners-Up:
Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine-All the actors in the movie were very good, but he has great comic instincts, look at the scene where Kinnear is about to be busted by a cop but saved by porn magazines for what i'm talking about
Jonny Depp, Pirates 2-The movie was mediocre but Depp might have been even more electric in this film than the first. His physical movements and control over his body is a throwback to the great silent comedians and he shines in every scene he's in.
Best Supporting Actor:
John C. Riley, Talladega Nights-It's hard to compare a pure comedy role to a dramatic role like Robbins but more props to him for keeping up with Ferrell laugh-for-laugh at making up his own lines. Besides, is there any truer definition of supporting than Riley's role?
Runners Up:
Ian McKellan and Paul Bettany, Da Vinci Code-Da Vinci Code worked for me, at least, on the strength of the supporting players. McKellan made a very nuanced and sophisticated villain that reminds me of someone who could easily fit into an Indiana Jones or James Bond movie. Despite the fact that he had to show his backside naked (something I could've done without), Bettany imbued the role with a little more of a fragile side than his counterpart in the book had.
Best Actress:
Toni Collette, Little Miss Sunshine-I saw Collette as the glue that held the whole dysfunctional family together. She played the straight woman to everyone else's comic hijinx and hopefully Little Miss Sunshine will get the neccessary exposure this talented actress deserves.
Best Supporting Actress:
Meryl Streep-Prairie Home Companion-Now this was a Meryl Streep performance I really, really liked. With her interactions with Garrison Kiellor, you felt like there was a lot more to her than was being shown, and you really grew to love her character in a sort of "I wish she was my mom, too" way. I loved her non-stop babblings with her sister and loved her singing even more.
Runner-Up: Emily Blunt, Devil Wears Prada-The attention has gone to Streep for the movie and she's even receiving early Oscar buzz but I personally thought that Blunt proved slightly more adept at the acerbic one-liners that the movie is most memorable for.
Best Special Effects:
X-Men 3-Superman saving a flaming plane from gravity and ability to deflect bullets is all well and good but it's hard to top the playground of possibilities special effects special effects you can have when playing with characters who can control ice, fire, metal, and the weather. Highlights include, Wolverine's rampage through the jungle, Jean Grey stopping an army of guns firing at her, and ice and pyro using their powers in a dead heat
Best Animated Film:
Cars-Cars was without a doubt better than....wait, it was the only animated film I saw this summer, but, hey, none of the other ones looked intriguing enough to watch (except Over the Hedge, I do regret seeing possibly the only time that Avril Lavigne, Steve Carrell, and William Shatner will star in the same movie together). Nevertheless, Cars was a fine picture with a relatively bold theme about the importance of community, taking the sceninc route and the need to preserve the finer things in life. Bonnie Hunt, Owen Wilson, and Larry the Cable Guy all had great chemistry with each other.
Best Movie I didn't see:
Unlike most critic wannabes, I am not ashamed to say that I did not see every movie that came out this summer. Akeelah and the Bee, about a talented young girl who is too afraid to show that she's smart for being unpopular and starring the usually underrated Lawrence Fishburne, sounded like a worthwhile film I will regret not seeing.
Best end credits:
Clerks II-As an usher in the movie theater, I did see the end credits of many movies while I was cleaning up and Clerks II never dissapointed. Kevin Smith thanks everyone he's ever met for all sorts of things (i.e. He thanks his parents for having sex) as well as people he's never met. He lists 10,000 of his myspace friends in the end credits. Finally, he has a disclaimer that he spends way too much time on the internet
Best Song:
Route 66, John Mayer-A great cover by John Mayer, who while having a reputation as a boy bandish pop singer, is actually a devoted student of past guitar greats and he pays ample tribute to Chuck Berry adding a little more spice along the way
Runner-Ups:
My Minnesota Home-Prairie Home Companion
Bad Jokes-Prairie Home Companion
This Land-Sujfan Stevens
Best Score:
Lady in the Water-The haunting score lingers in your memory long after the film does. M. Night Shamylan's last film picked up an oscar nod for best score, so it might be likely that Lady in the Water follows suit.
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