Pop Bunker » 2009 Year In Movies

Black Dynamite (2009) – Counter-Review

Johnny Slick — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:00:48 +0000

I should say this straight out: I thought Black Dynamite was a good movie. I don’t think it was the second best movie of the year for 2009 the way Dale does, or even the 2nd best comedy, but it was very good.

The probable disconnect between Dale and I is that Dale, undoubtedly, was very into the blaxploitation genre of the 70s. They just didn’t show those so much out here in the Pacific Northwest. They showed kung fu flicks a bit more (although, based on the movie knowledge of friends I have who grew up in New York City, not a whole lot of those either) but the blaxploitation flick was largely avoided by KCPQ and KSTW, those non-affiliated Seattle channels who survived by showing movies in the 70s and 80s (KCPQ since latched onto the FOX network as soon as it was born, and KSTW has linked up with the WB or whatever they call it now). Sadly, most of my blaxploitation knowledge is second hand by way of Jackie Brown or the original Shaft, which I went out and bought back in the mid-90s due to extreme awesome quality.

So a lot of the humor was, if not quite lost on me, didn’t resonate the way it might for someone steeped in the genre. Even if you’re in my position, though, it’s worth watching. There’s a soliloquy by Michael Jai White towards the beginning regarding his experiences in ‘Nam that is about as funny a scene as I’ve seen in any comedy this year. Since this is a black comedy, there are cameos and small parts for lots of black comics: Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Buddy Lewis, and Darrel Heath all figure into this film in some way or other. And then there’s Michael Jai White, who looks like he’s been transplanted straight out of one of those 70s movies.

One of the things that really struck me about this movie is how much care was taken into making it. This is so heavily stylized, it’s almost a black Wes Anderson film. Every single item in every single scene is carefully placed, from pool cues to one conveniently placed box of eggs. And while director Scott Sanders (formerly a writer for comedies Roc and A Different World) eschewed Richard Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s celluloid-slashing techniques from Grindhouse, he mocks/celebrates the low budgets of these movies in other, arguably more subtle ways. There is a bit, also towards the beginning of the movie, where one of the heroes gets into a fight scene with a bad guy and accidentally actually hits him. This bit, as well as the bad guy’s indignant curse, comes and goes in a split second and unlike so many spoofs doesn’t sit there and wait for you to get the joke before moving on. You might even miss it the first time you see it. No matter – that just gives you a good excuse to go in and watch this bad boy again.

So why don’t I have it quite up there with the greats of 2009? That’s a good question, actually, and in the end my reasons have less to do with the quality of Black Dynamite and more to do with what the other movies of ’09 bring to the table. It’s great but not simply amazing like Moon or – please don’t shoot me – Avatar. It wasn’t quite as consistently funny as The Hangover (although it did pretty well, don’t get me wrong) and didn’t have the “wow” moments that Up had. I do think I’d put it in the same second-tier group as Away We Go, Up In The Air, and Funny People.Similar Posts:

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Elwood J. Blues — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:03:03 +0000

Summit Entertainment
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Written By Mark Boan
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty
Elwood Says: 4.5 Beckhams out of 5

“Oh, no. They changed that about a week ago. ‘Victory’ sound better.”

By the time I finished this movie, I was shaking. I felt like I needed a cigarette or something to come down. This is a beautifully crafted and nail-biting film that portrays a EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit in Iraq towards the end of their tour of duty. The tension builds from the start, and never lets up. After losing the unit commander (played by Guy Pearce – one of many actors with glorified cameos in the film), SSgt. William James (Renner) arrives as his replacement.

This movie is gritty, and dirty, and makes you feel like you’re in the desert with the EOD unit. The explosions rattle the walls, the sunlight hits your eyes too bright, and the ambient noises (and outstanding use of the rear surround) had me looking behind me more than once. The cinematography is just gorgeous, and at times it feels and looks like a documentary, and the viewer is embedded.

This movie has a minimalist score, and the soundtrack is made up of noises you’d hear if you were really there. This only adds to the suspense, and there’s a sniper scene in the middle of the film that was so intense I was rocking back and forth waiting for what would come next.

You see just what kind of a toll this job can have on a person through the magnificent performances of Renner, Mackie, and Geraghty (Spc. Owen Eldridge). I was especially in awe of Eldridge because he was in a place he clearly didn’t belong or want to be. He was getting the Red Shirt Edit, and you just hang there waiting for that resolution through the whole film. Geraghty brings a blend of innocence and understanding to his character that I wasn’t expecting, and he deserves special mention for his wonderful realization of Spc. Eldridge.

Ralph Fiennes, Christian Camargo, Evangeline Lilly, and David Morse all make brief but memorable appearances. This really speaks to the drawing power of the movie and its director, because that’s a lot of star power and very little screen time.

This is a movie that will benefit from repeat viewings, and hopefully it will bring home some awards next Sunday. I have a feeling that “Hurt Locker” may lose Best Picture to a bunch of blue aliens, but director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal should both be locked in for Director, Screenplay, and I’ve got my fingers crossed now for Jeremy Renner taking home the gold for Best Actor.

(Click here for Johnny Slick’s take on the film.)

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We Support #SamRockwellOscar

Baroness Heather — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:55:57 +0000

As you saw in our countdown, Duncan Jones’ film Moon is PopBunker’s #1 film of 2009. Therefore, we are proud to support the campaign to have Sam Rockwell nominated for (and ultimately in possession of) an Oscar for his performance.

I submitted my picture for this video, and you can spot me at 00:16 in. Watch the video. Pass it on. Get the word out. Let’s get this amazing film the recognition it deserves!

Pass on the link to this post. Visit http://www.samrockwelloscar.org and sign the petition. Use the #SamRockwellOscar hashtag on Twitter. Make it happen. Engage.Similar Posts:

The PopBunker.net Top 09 Movies of 2009

Dale Cooper — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:39:47 +0000

These are the very best of the movies of 2009 that I have seen. Your comments are welcome below. The entire list of 62 movies is available here. This list represents each 2009 release that I have seen and is not purely a *best-of list.

*However any movie better than 25 or so should appeal to just about anyone.

09. Adventureland

There is sometimes a movie that strike such a chord — develops such a rapport with the viewer — that the end of the movie seems more like the end of a memory. For me Adventureland is like that; deeply moving with real characters that are only slightly hyperbolic and then only in an effort to ground the main character, James (Jesse Eisenberg), more on this side of reality instead of that side of reality. It’s possible that the painful reality of Adventureland is achieved because it is the partially biographic tale of writer/director Greg Mottola. Whatever the reason, the happy result is a reflection of lives — some combination of oneself and friends — in that awkward and troubled time that occurs after one is grown up, but has yet to actually grow into the role of being grown up.

08. The Road

Strict transliteration of word to screen is a mixed bag of success. On one hand one might get Watchmen which, though a visual feast, is a soulless affair with little life or depth. Watchmen may not have worked because of the depth of passion provided in the source material. The Road, on the other hand, was written as an ostensibly dispassionate narrative of an ultimately useless journey from Here to There with little or no reason to look forward to getting There or to stay Here. Cormac McCarthy’s novel is unsurprisingly existential in approach, but plays that aspect side-by-side with the very literal meaning of the tale: nothing. It’s a snapshot into nothing once everything is already lost and nothing is all that is left. Miraculously, however, somehow Something is born from Nothing. This is not a tale of great growth or, as the title would imply, a great journey; rather it is a tale of how if nothing is left, then finding Something at the end of the road is, indeed, something. Something to live for and something in which to look forward. The Road movie strikes at dire, visual art with its gray, cold, and somber presentation. The harsh and meaningless journey of Man and Boy is profoundly sorrowful and at times painful to watch as we search for something in hope for our protagonists to find. In the end, as the movies portrays as well as the book, a glimmer is all it takes. Beautifully shot while portraying the complete absence of beauty.

07. A Prophet

Perhaps the finest crime movie in years, Un Prophète is a French prison story of a young Arabic man who enters a brutal prison as prey, and through violence and innovation, becomes a ruthlessly powerful crime lord. Unflinching violence, patient cinematography, and remarkable performances stand out as Malik (Tahar Rahim) fights his way to influence, security, and respect in a rise to power that in many way mirrors that of Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II.

06. Star Trek

Big, fun, dynamic, and, yes, faithful. Those are some words to describe the surprising success that J.J. Abrams has in re-starting the Star Trek film franchise. Many folks thought it was sacrilege to invoke characters from The Original Series (TOS) when the original actors were not going to play them. That seemingly appropriate fear is completely void in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. The movie is able to tastefully use the tried-and-true Trek staple of time travel to alter the course of known (to us) history therefore allowing him to play around in the Trek universe of TOS with few rules of which to adhere. That may have been enough, but Abrams and crew goes further and finds a nearly perfect cast of younger talent to step into the iconic roles of TOS mythos and give dead-on performances of the characters and not the original actors that played the characters. It as an amazing accomplishment, an accomplishment that box offices around the world will cherish once every 2-3 years as a new Star Trek rolls into the theaters with guaranteed box office gold and a new and fresh universe in which to play.

05. District 9

It’s been a wonderful year for sci-fi in cinema. The above Star Trek, the ground breaking Avatar, and other movies on this list gave re-birth to the sci-fi genre in what is PG-13 horror and romantic comedy favored Hollywoodland. District 9 takes a modest 30 million dollar budget and crafts a gritty and daring world where a ship full of a million unfortunate aliens breaks down over Johannesburg, South Africa. In its ever altruistic best, the human population of Johannesburg help the aliens by regulating them to slums and segregation of Apartheid. District 9 takes place about 30 years after that event. The movie is unique in that its human protagonist is a dick and remains an unappologetic dick for almost the entire movie. District 9 is also unique in that is able to craft a completely sympathetic alien co-protagonist who is scaly, slimy, ugly, and only very vaguely humanoid. This is no cute blue cat-woman that the viewer feels for, but rather an alien whose race is nick named “Prawn” by the humans because that’s what they look like.

The movie displays brilliant budget special effects, a unique structure due to its jumping in and out of different narrative points of view, and a truly engrossing story with a tense finale. District 9 is a sci-fi movie to remember for its innovation and commentary as well as its near perfect execution.

04. The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is the only instant classic nu-war movie. There have been a handful of films about American soldiers in modern conflicts and only one other, Three Kings, is in the same league as The Hurt Locker. A tight cast featuring Hollywood hot-property Jeremy Renner, as Staff Sgt. William James, propels the tense and visceral story through its 115 minute runtime in seemingly the blink of an eye. If viewed as an existential quagmire or as a literal peak into the life of one of the most dangerous jobs ever invented by mankind, The Hurt Locker will ring bells on every level of quality cinema. Director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Strange Days) shows again that she is a force of dramatic art when dealing with a certain type of person and the violence that surrounds him — defines him.

03. Inglourious Basterds

In Johnny Slick’s review for Pop Bunker, he said that Inglourious Basterds “is a motherfucking ROCK STAR.” It’s hard to argue that statement. Quentin Tarantino is able to shed the shoddy non-event devices from the meandering Death Proof and guide Basterds into the atmosphere of iconoclastic deconstruction where Tarantino is most effective at play. And at play he is. Inglourious Basterds is presented as if about a group of Nazi hunting Jews in World War II. However, the movie actually has three distinct story lines that collide to form a revenge fable of the highest order and executed to perfection by Mélanie Laurent, as the tortured Shosanna Dreyfus, and Tarantino’s most memorable villain to date in the utterly charming and completely vile Col. Hans “The Jew Hunter” Landa (Christoph Waltz). Tarantino’s dialog is sharper than ever and delivers tension at a reckless and thoroughly enjoyable pace — often times with actors just staring at each other and talking. Many shots from the cinematography stick like still photos in the viewer’s head only to be remembered and dwelled upon later in order to examine the mastery of light, shadowy contrast, and dramatic impact.

Inglourious Basterds is not nearly Brad Pitt’s (Lt. Aldo Raine) movie and Tarantino is able to shuffle his star power to that of the supernova fulcrum which motors the narrative. Eli Roth, playing one of Pitt’s Nazi hunters, even manages to not be annoying. Love or hate Tarantino, this movie is one that must been seen.

02. Black Dynamite

To describe Black Dynamite would be like trying to describe a Jello Pudding Pop™. It’s like everything one loves about a comedy, but also about 1970s exploitation and grindhouse films, molded into a familiar and versatile shape and then stuck on a stick for mass consumption. OK, maybe it’s not exactly like that, but there is no real way to describe this amazing comedy from Scott Sanders and Michael Jai White. Bizarre, uninhibited, quotable, and damn funny, Black Dynamite combines the pulpy revenge device from kung-fu cinema and exploitation films with daft dialogue, brilliant timing, and insane situations to deliver a comedy like never before seen. Michael Jai White is the force in which the entire movies plays upon and he nails his part with the badass precision of the man Black Dynamite he portrays. Black Dynamite is part folk hero, part vigilante, part playboy, and all bad to the bone. When his brother is killed in a drug operation gone wrong, Black Dynamite has the suspicion that “The Man” is somehow involved. So he sets his site on every bastard from Kung-Fu Island to the White House to get his revenge and clean his neighborhood up. The revelation of the diabolical plot and final boss confrontation provided me with 30 straight minutes of belly-convulsing laughter for the first time ever in a film. I cannot think of a recommendation higher than that.

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The 2009 Pop Bunker Movie of the Year

01. Moon

In my earlier write-up about James Cameron’s Avatar, I suggested that Cameron should not be held to the standards of sci-fi fiction greats like Dick, Niven, and Asimov when it comes to the scope and originality of his story. The story of Avatar is fine — good even. Duncan Jones, in his debut as director and writer, delivers a sci-fi narrative worthy of the heights of Dick, Niven, and Asimov. In an incredible feat by a first time writer, Jones hits the notes of classic and profound in the greatest tradition of sci-fi and, additionally, is able to pay tribute to the tropes of the genre while telling his own original story rife with topical interests of now and the near future.

Moon also captures space in Space. Visually the movie plays with the both the claustrophobic and vast; with boundaries and the limitless. The tale weaves in and out of each of these spaces in Space while conducting a deep psychological portrait; a study of morals; a severe existential crisis. At least those things. Or maybe none of them at all. Moon takes place in that area of cinema that is foggy with ambiguity. One can draw conclusions from the story, but on futher reflection one realizes that Jones only directed the tale, that the extrapolation is our own. The connection that manifests due to personal interpretation may best recall the works of Stanislaw Lem. The angles in which to approach the film, like the Space it takes place in, is limitless.

Sam Rockwell is a one man show (well… sorta) in Moon. He only shares the screen with the Kevin Spacey-voiced robot GERTY and video communications with his corporate employers. Rockwell is remarkable in a varied and, at times, heart-wrenching performance. His force of character in Moon elevates an already impressive story to a level of science fiction mastery. He is mesmerizing and deserving of some sort of recognition for this unique and powerful performance.

Moon belongs alongside 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Solyaris as a cinematic master-work of science fiction.

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2009 The Year in Movies | 10 – 19

Dale Cooper — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:11:42 +0000

19. Drag Me To Hell

I anticipated love for this film and instead just liked it. Drag Me to Hell is Sam Rami’s return to the horror genre where he made his name with the wildly overrated Evil Dead movies. Much the same here has Rami displays his fascination with things that squish, glurp, belch, and slime. More of a gross-out comedy than horror, Drag Me to Hell is still a fun if forgettable campy movie for late night, well after dinner has been digested.

18. Lymelife

A stunning surprise of a movie. Lymelife stars the two Culkin brothers not named Maccauley (Rory & Kieran) as brothers; Alec Baldwin as a self-absorbed, business first, real estate investor; cute Emma Roberts; and two ace performances by Jill Hennessey and Timothy Hutton. Lymelife is an introspective indie dramedy about a dysfunctional family where the stars shine all around.

17. Sherlock Holmes

A movie where the product was so much better than I expected that I had to eat over 2000 words of crow in the PopBunker.net review. An action bromance that is mostly respectful of the source material while allowing Robert Downey Jr. to ham it up.

16. Avatar

More words have been written about this movie than I care to think. I have decided against reviewing it because I am just too split on the film. I came up with this formula that works pretty well for me: Out of 10 | FX 8, FX2* 10, Story 7, Acting 5, Dialog 4 = 34/50 or a 6.8 out of 10. I don’t normally score films, but I feel that 6.8 is a little low to be at No. 16 on this list. I will, however, claim that I am ranking it higher, due to some truly innovative effects, than I may have otherwise.

A brief aside: The story gets too much grief. There are a handful of revolutionary sci-fi writers who have breadth of scope that is nearly wholly original when presented. These are the top names like Asimov, Dick, and Niven. Other great sci-writers have fortified the genre over the years by recycling familiar themes and turning them into exciting and classic sci-fi staples. I do not think James Cameron should be held to a higher standard than Orson Scott Card or Robert Heinlein. Avatar milks oft-used sci-fi elements for all they’re worth and adds exactly nothing new to the genre. That being said, the story does (mostly) work as the barest abstract of an excuse to display the amazing and truly imaginative visuals. The standard CGI FX were good, but nothing that hasn’t been seen in movies like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, District 9, and other great FX movies. I don’t believe the “uncanny valley” has been any more crossed with the Na’vi than it was with Gollum. The new FX (*FX2 in the above ratings) are original and at times breath-taking. The 3D world is fun and immersive if not exactly 100% photo-realistic.

15. Zombieland

Welp, if nothing else Zombieland shows there is still some sort of life after undeath in the zombie genre. While not as Holy Shit Awesome as Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland is still able to parlay any number of quirks from its four primary stars and one amazingly cool cameo into a successful, funny, gory, and fresh zomromcom. The romance is perhaps the one part that doesn’t really work, but it is a story that is side-along with the other plot elements, so it does not hurt the movie too much. Woody Harrelson finds a role where his abrasive quality as an actor works as a strong point to the film.

14. Thirst

Chan-wook Park is my “Director of the Decade.” The stellar movies on his decade hit list are Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy, Lady Vengeance (the Vengeance trilogy), and now Thirst. What you do is take the director of Oldboy and imagine a graphic erotic vampire-priest horror film. Yeah, that is pretty damn cool. There are many thematic elements and allegories to chew on when watching the film, and the palette, presentation, and especially sound work are all atmospheric aces.

13. The House of the Devil

I really enjoyed this slice of Polanski worship. It’s the early 80s in the height of Devil Worship Fear. It’s the night of a rare astrological event and our poor young protagonist Sam (Jocelin Donahue in an excellent performance) agrees on short notice and little information to “baby sit” for a mysterious couple in a very rural area. Notice I called this Polanski worship? Then I don’t have to tell you what happens next. The House of the Devil is perfect in nearly every area as it adheres stylistically to to the 1970s and early 80s evil-in-the-house horror sub-genre. The tension is truly of the creeping doom Hitchcockian style for it takes its sweet time building and building and building. Sam is a likeable kid and there comes a point in the movie, before the bad stuff starts to happen, that the viewer becomes attached to the silly college school girl and her charming innocence. That little crush makes the rest of the film a heart-thumping nail biter.

12. The Hangover

The second best comedy of the year is the second best comedy I have seen in a long time for straight up gags. The humor is above the toilet variety, but more sight-induced than something from Apatow. However, a more apt description might be bizarre and non-sequitor. Whatever you’re drinking, The Hangover is funny lightning in the bottle that never slows, never wanes, and pushes the laughs to the very last minute of even the credits. This should be a staple for guy’s night movies, date night movies, and party movies for years to come. Quotable, memorable, but mostly un-describable. One just has to see it. The 00s version of Animal House.

11. Chocolate

Zen is a young girl that suffers from autistic spectrum disorder. Her loving mother is in hiding as a former member of the Yakuza while trying to take care of Zen’s special needs. Zen and her mother are one day discovered by the Yakuza boss Zen’s mother fled. Their flight to deeper cover takes them to a place that they must share with a Muay kickboxing school. It turns out Zen is the Rain Man of martial arts. Right, the kid is the freaking Rain Man of martial arts. Let it soak in…. ok, got it in your Nexflix queue? Good, because it is indeed as awesome as it sounds.

10. Trick r’ Treat

This direct-to-DVD horror anthology had a hard fought battle to win release. It mostly lost that battle. Trick ‘r Treat never got wide release, bounced around the festival circuit for over two years, and finally hit DVD just before Halloween this year with many people calling it a great horror movie in a cliff notes like summation. The aim was to try and rush would-be viewers to understand how great of a movie this is. Unfortunately the spastic clowns that love Hostel above any other form of art in the horror genre ripped this movie and word of mouth was not as strong as it should have been.

Let me set the record straight: If Ray Bradbury would write five whimsical and somewhat frightening twilight prose fairy tales in the vein of Something Wicked This Way Comes and Norman Rockwell illustrated the anthology, then Trick ‘r Treat is what the film version of that book would look like. Trick ‘r Treat is an endearing tribute to American Halloween traditions and the magic of that time of year as embedded in a child’s psyche. This is an adult tale, have no doubt, but the feeling recalls all that we looked forward to in Halloween and being scared when we were young. The cinematography is unerringly beautiful as it recalls Rockwell’s Americana but with darkly saturated tones. A lovely film.

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2009 The Year in Movies | 20 – 40

Dale Cooper — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:10:57 +0000

40. Outlander

Vikings take on aliens after a spaceship crashes to Earth in Scandinavia. The three bold words is all you need to know. Fun-packed sci-fi historical action flick.

39. Jennifer’s Body

Most folks took a piss on this movie. That is largely undeserved. The target audience should not be horny late-teen males, but of the same sphere as Twilight except with more… bite. Diablo Cody’s dialog is a long train wreck of Barbie Doll vernacular, but past that the allegorical connections for female teen relationships is something that approaches poignant. The film is not helped by pedestrian direction and populist hate for co-star Megan Fox.

38. The Fourth Kind

Honest advertising would have done this film a world of good. Instead Universal decided to lie and fake news stories, pretending events in the movie were real, to try and manufacture The Blair Witch Project level buzz for the film. It’s unfortunate because the film works quite well as a tale of fiction – more scary that Paranormal Activity anyway – but all the buzz fell dead with the fuge of misdirection surrounding its release.

37. Red Cliff

John Woo’s return to Asian cinema takes the classic historical route in a dramatization from the Records of the Three Kindoms text. Woo is subdued in this film and tells pretty much a straight story. The set is impressive and the story is interesting and linier, but the costumes and acting both seemed to be a little off – like some budget restraints played a part. I happened to see the 2008 film in full thanks to a friend of mine that sent me the commercial DVD and a srt sub title file. That movie and a second part released in Asia this year were combined into one movie called Red Cliff that was released in the Western world. The non-Asian version is a bit tighter on edits, but some actors I believe were substituted and the second half of the film is rushed. That may be because I saw the first part unedited and then the two movies combined. Either way, Red Cliff is worth a look for Asian cinema, John Woo, or historical movie fans.

36. Sleep Dealer

Bleak dystopian sci-fi from Mexico of all places. The story is strong and possesses classical dystopian and anti-corporation themes from the last 60 years of sci-fi. I would call this a hard science psychological fantasy. The cinematography is beautiful and the dim-drenched world in which it takes place becomes haunting while watching.

35. Crank 2: High Voltage

Just like Crank for the most part. The plot is bizarre and the whole thing stretches the limits of the most generous credulity, but then one realizes that in many ways, the Crank stories are the origins of a new super hero. When viewed as such, the movies are goofy fun.

34. The Tournament

One of those direct-to-DVD gems that comes along more and more often these days. This movie stars Ving Rhames and a bunch of people of whom I have never heard. The action is a bit of a throw-back and comes fast and furious. The plot is gloriously ludicrous and the violence is near the top of the charts. The Tournament is a blast to watch and finale is straight from the 1980s style of bang-boom action filmmaking.

33. It Might Get Loud

Jimmy Page, Edge, and Jack White. If thinking about those three together does not make your soul bounce, then skip it.

32. Last House On The Left

A re-make of Wes Craven’s home invasion classic. Ok, listen up: Better than the original . I love Craven and think for the most part his movies should be left alone, but this needed an update. The story remains largely unchanged, but the style, graphic presentation, and pace all needed a re-working and got it in this re-make. I think of it as a companion to Craven’s original. Sara Paxon stands out as the attacked teen.

31. I Love You, Man

I admire the aim of the movie to make a sentimental bromance . I think men are psychologically blackmailed into hiding their emotion for their best male friends. The trend is alarming because it not only reeks of homophobia, but also promotes a level of detachment that can carry over to all types of relationships. I Love You, Man is a bromance about two men that become best friends and move through the awkward beginnings of their male relationship. It is touching and whimsical and makes me, a man, wish that maybe I expressed to my buddies just how I feel about them.

30. 2012

Roland Emmerich hates us all and yanks the carpet of the world out from under us again. 2012 Probably works the most because of John Cusak’s bizarre over-the-top and cartoonish turn as a sci-fi writer who lucks his way a number of times into not dying with the majority of Earth’s population. Every character is the embodiment of a cliché archetype and serve only as the backdrop to the mostly spot-on, though occasionally terrible, special effects. I love disaster movies hence the somewhat high ranking of this movie on my list.

29. Halloween II

I only recently saw the director’s cut of this movie and it may well have been better than the theatrical release. I believe that director Rob Zombie has a unique vision for horror, but I also think he needs to explore other genres. I do not believe he is mature enough as a filmmaker to pull off the right amount of subtly, style, vision and mesh it with thematic elements in a compelling narrative — yet. However, Halloween II is better than I thought it would be. I knew going in that I should expect more psychological mambo-jumbo while getting inside of Michael Myers’ head. That is what Zombie delivers as the movie tells the simultaneous stories of Myers’ continued demons; the descent into the maelstrom of his sister “Boo,” Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton); and the eventual meeting of the two. Malcolm McDowell is basically thrown away as Dr. Loomis. The most chilling aspect of the movie is show

28. Orphan

Orphan is of the evil child genre and hits the genre notes dead-on. Young Isabelle Fuhrman is creepy great as the bad seed and Vera Farmiga gives a startlingly good performance as the “mother.”

27. Pontypool

A sneaky good time is Pontypool. Another direct-to-DVD standout that takes a complete unique approach to the zombie genre. Since Romero invented the zombie genre, there have been many staples lifted from the seminal The Night of the Living Dead. One of those things is the presence of media such as TV and radio running as a commentary and plot emphasis in the background of an event. Often times it is a zombie outbreak; other times it can be aliens as in M. Knight’s Signs. Pontypool comes from the viewpoint of the media, in this case a rural Canadian radio station, as a zombie-like outbreak occurs. It is a pleasurable movie that relies heavily in the first two acts on voice acting from reporters in the field and situational tension created by events that take place off screen. The third act revs up the more typical zombie devices but by that time the viewer is vested in the movie and rides out the end in good fun.

26. Taken

Father Knows Best meets The Bourne Identity in this surprising thriller. Liam Neeson is becoming the quintessential actor to play badasses of all types. He has played or will be playing: A jedi master, the leader of the A-team, the guy that trained the goddamn Batman, Darkman, Rob Roy, Sir Gawin, and Lord Almighty Zeus. In Taken, Neeson stars as a highly trained spy whose daughter is kidnapped and he finds he has a limited amount of time to find her. Neeson then proceeds to kick all kinds of ass while ignoring or killing everything and everyone outside of the single task of saving his daughter.

25. Funny People

A massively misunderstood film like many in the stand-up comedy drama genre (Punchline, Lenny, Man in the Moon, The King of Comedy) Funny People can be at times funny, but more often is poignant as a tale of life and, perhaps, that meandering wall of personal growth that one sees in film all the time but rarely in real life. Funny People splits the difference with its two main characters played, well, by Seth Rogan and Adam Sandler.

24. Ong Bak 2

Understand this: Ong Bak 2 is not a “sequel” or “prequel” in the traditional film way, but is the most literal of prequels when taking into consideration most Eastern religions and philosophy. Tien (Tony Jaa) in Ong Bak 2 is an incarnation of Ting (Tony Jaa in Ong Bak) – in other words Ting is Tien reincarnated. Got it? Cool. Unreal spectacular fights and stunts highlight Ong Bak 2. Tony Jaa has learned that to become an international power house, that the real-life effective but visually repetitive Thai Kick Boxing can not be the only trick in his book. So, in Ong Bak 2 Jaa expands his martial arts showcase to include varying types of high impact and lightning quick strikes and forms. Ong Bak 2 is pleasing enough as a follow-up to Ong Bak and The Protector, but I could not help but to feel that it was a highlight film composed for international film interests to show investors that Jaa can be as dynamic as Jet Li or Donnie Yen.

23. Coraline

Neil Gaiman’s Coraline makes the jump to the big screen in this creepy and atmospheric tale by Henry Selick. If nothing else Coraline nails the presentation of Gaiman’s fable. Though rated PG, the elements and dark, twisted landscape of Coraline can be an eerie pleasure. In the 3D version, the 3D effect is put to good use and shows how 3D can be used as a layer of presentation and not a gimmick that throws darts at the audience.

22. Pandorum

Pandorum is a real out-of-the-dark pleaser for me. There are elements similar to Event Horizon and Alien in this sci-horror movie, but Pandorum also possesses enough originality to keep its head above water. The movie is fittingly tense and claustrophobic and there is a bit of a gotcha twist at the end. Well, if it gets you. I had that part figured out less than half-way through. None the less, Pandorum is a movie that I expected nothing of and instead found a nifty and entertaining sci-horror flick.

21. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (THBP)

Visually compelling as most of the Potter films, THBP is however the weakest entry into the franchise since the second. That is not to say it is a bad movie, but rather it stalls out the momentum that has building since the third movie in the franchise. The material for the final Potter story (to be split into two cash-milking films ) is stronger than THBP, so I expect a notch better from here on out.

20. In the Loop

One of the best comedies of the year. This BBC Films political roast is led by Peter Capaldi (Torchwood: Children of the Earth) and a ensemble cast whose unerring sharp-witted timing takes aim at UK, EU, UN, and US politics. Just about every aspect of the political system gets the hammer in hilarious fashion, but then one stops laughing long enough to realize that this satire is not too far from the truth. The amazingly sharp and biting script, great casting, and fly-on-the-wall style filmmaking makes In The Loop one of the handful of mandatory comedies to see from 2009.

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2009 the Year In Movies | 40 – 44

Dale Cooper — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:27:02 +0000

44. Pirate Radio (aka The Boat that Rocked)

This is a simple comedy loosely based on the breakthrough of rock n roll to the British air-waves. The plot plays fast and loose with the actual events so it is not something to watch for historical accuracy, but it does have Philip Seymour Hoffman turning in a good performance as always and a killer, and I mean killer soundtrack:

Disc one

1. “Stay with Me Baby” – Duffy – 3:52
2. “All Day and All of the Night” – The Kinks – 2:23
3. “Elenore” – The Turtles – 2:30
4. “Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)” – John Fred and His Playboy Band – 2:52
5. “Dancing in the Street” – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas – 2:36
6. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – The Beach Boys – 2:23
7. “Ooo Baby Baby” – Smokey Robinson – 2:45
8. “This Guy’s in Love with You” – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – 4:01
9. “Crimson and Clover” – Tommy James & The Shondells – 5:24
10. “Hi Ho Silver Lining” – Jeff Beck – 2:53
11. “I Can See for Miles” – The Who – 4:07
12. “With a Girl Like You” – The Troggs – 2:07
13. “The Letter” – The Box Tops – 1:54
14. “I’m Alive” – The Hollies – 2:25
15. “Yesterday Man” – Chris Andrews – 2:32
16. “I’ve Been a Bad Bad Boy” – Paul Jones – 2:20
17. “Silence Is Golden” – The Tremeloes – 3:09
18. “The End of the World” – Skeeter Davis – 2:39

Disc two

1. “Friday on My Mind” – The Easybeats – 2:53
2. “My Generation” – The Who – 3:19
3. “I Feel Free” – Cream – 2:54
4. “The Wind Cries Mary” – Jimi Hendrix – 3:21
5. “A Whiter Shade of Pale” – Procol Harum – 4:00
6. “These Arms of Mine” – Otis Redding – 2:33
7. “Cleo’s Mood” – Jr. Walker & The All Stars – 2:42
8. “The Happening” – The Supremes – 2:50
9. “She’d Rather Be with Me” – The Turtles – 2:21
10. “98.6″ – The Bystanders – 3:19
11. “Sunny Afternoon” – The Kinks – 3:34
12. “Father and Son” – Cat Stevens – 3:42
13. “Nights in White Satin” – The Moody Blues – 4:26
14. “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” – Dusty Springfield – 2:49
15. “Stay with Me Baby” – Lorraine Ellison – 3:33
16. “Hang On Sloopy” – The McCoys – 3:52
17. “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)” – The Isley Brothers – 2:51
18. “Let’s Dance” – David Bowie – 4:06

42. My Bloody Valentine 3D

This movie surprised me about as much as any this year. The film has indistinct ties with other movies of similar names from the ages of cinema past, but there is one thing that those movies did not have that this one does: “My Bloody Valentine 3D” has a completely nude woman running around for, like, 50 minutes or something. In 3D. To condense: nude. running. woman. 3D. I should really move this masterpiece up the list.

43. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

“Wolverine” was not the best nor the worst superhero/comic/cartoon property to hit the screen this year. It’s really a shame that director Gavin Hood and the team of screen writers could not get this nailed down though. Hugh Jackman is the living embodiment of Logan aka Wolverine and was the highlight of all three of the X-Men team movies.

“Wolverine” is packed full of Marvel cameos of which one has a hard time keeping track. Gambit plays a somewhat large role, which is nice, but the other hinted at mutants more detract from the story and narrative than add to it. The finale is a bit of a mess and the de-aging CGI used on Jean-Luc Picard, in his brief appearence, is distracting.

“Wolverine” is a pretty good action movie that moves along at a good pace, but it had the potential to be much better.

41. Watchmen

What a clusterfuck. A mesmerizing, thrilling, and multi-level classic book turned into a beautiful but meaningless and dull facsimile of a film. The movie does not convey the emotion, depth, meaning, or scale of the book and therefore presents itsself as a platitude for the masses. Lifeless. I am not one that thinks the book is always better than the movie, it just happens to be the case this time — by a long way.

Although I am certinaly not against nudity or sex scenes in movies (see above), the awkward and unblievable scene between the Silk Spectre II and Night Owl II is a trite and gratuitous insertion to a story that is anything but trite and gratuitous. Of all the covers of Hallelujah available out there, the original by Leonard Cohen is most ill-advised to use in the scene. Fail. Fail. Fail.

40. Terminator: Salvation

I ragged on Gooney McGlinty — or whatever McG’s name was before he changed it to three letters — as much as anyone. I figured the doofus that made all the movies in the “Charlies Angels” franchise and co-wrote the ultra annoying super-hit “I Just Want to Fly” (or whatever) with the ultra annoying eunuch band Sugarray would be a lock to make an atrocious movie for the “Terminator” franchise. I was right. However, it is not as bad as it should have been. The script is a bit all over the place and pays relentless homage to the original films; there is also several McG controlled WTF moments like a giant tyrannosaurus sized robot “sneaking” up on a pocket of humans who are more or less paranoid that they’ll be sneaked up on. Some of the CGI seems unfinished as well.

Much to my surprise, though, is that McG has a nice eye for action. In some sequences – like the heliocopter crash – it really pays off. He also tends to linger on his action instead of do the cut-away thing like most of his MTV fraternity ADD-styled counterpart directors. Batman is ok in his role as John Connor, but it is not really his film. The film belongs to Sam Worthington of “Avatar” fame as a Machine spy searching for his humanity and loyalty.

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2009 The Year in Movies | 45 – 49

Dale Cooper — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:05:56 +0000

49. Land of the Lost

I detest Will Ferrell. I mean as an actor, I’m sure he is a pleasant enough human, but as an actor he is the current incarnation of Chevy Chase: unfunny to the extreme. Chase had one or two post SNL moments, but I am not sure Ferrell has had any (moments at all. He was not funny in SNL either). Usually movies that he is in that work work despite of him instead of due to him. Seriously, I get a mild case of IBS whenever I hear his name in any context with humor or as an in demand actor.

That being said, “Land of the Lost” is a trippy sort of experience. Ferrell is critically unfunny, but the mushroom inspired representation of the alternate universe is wild and kinda fun. The movie doesn’t make much sense — and again, Ferrell is terrible — but getting a little altered and watching “Land of teh Lost” is not a bad way to spend 100 minutes*.

*The movie should have been 90 minutes. I have a theory — someday studios will get this (again) — gimmick comedies with a thin plot, sight gags, jokes playing off stereotype, etc. should never be over 90 minutes long. It should be the golden ratio of stupid filmmaking. 90 minutes max! The enjoyment level of guilty pleasures decreases significantly after 85 minutes I find, so the 90 minute cap is even pushing it. (This is also another reason why Transformers 2: ROTFL sucked ass).

48. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

In retrospect, I have no idea how this movie made it past the crap-fest that dominated the bottom of this year in movies list. The only merits that “G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra” has is that it is not directed by Michael Bay and that no animals were injured or killed during the process of making the film (unlike “Transformers: ROTFL” which caused llamas to commit suicide on word-of-mouth alone).

Then again, geek nation needs to chill the fuck out when it comes to these properties like “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe.” Remember the cartoons? Yeah, try watching them as an adult. They fucking blow (with the exception of “Scooby-Doo” which was an awesome cartoon). There is no immersive story because these cartoons were promotions to sell toys and comics. So, when we wonder why our lovely childhood memories look so bad on the big screen — well, we shouldn’t. That doesn’t mean the movie wasn’t still terrible though.

47. The Boondock Saints: All Saint’s Day

Troy Duffy should have stopped when he was a cocksucker that made one good movie in one try. Now he is a cocksucker that makes a bad movie half of the time. How this joker has not gotten the Michael Cimino blackball treatment is beyond me. I guess “All Saint’s Day” is not as bad of a movie as “Heaven’s Gate,” but it certainly uses the same “copy my success” formula as Cimino’s spectacular failure. My guess is that movie goers today, and the cultish fans of the first “The Boondock Saints” especially, are not as discriminating as their 1980 counterparts. Fanboy-dom and save or crucify movies and Duffy was saved here. The style of the first film minus Wilem Dafoe equals failure.

Here is a trailer for “The Deer Hunter” which is where a Cimino/Duffy comparison loses traction. “The Deer Hunter” kinda kicks the testacies off of “The Boondock Saints.” Saints looks like a film about choir practice in comparison.

46. The Final Destination

Exactly like every “Final Destination” movie except in 3D. If you liked the others, you will like this one. I sorta liked the others, so I sorta liked this one.

45. Friday The 13th

Nothing is better than re-inventing or “re-booting” a franchise and making it a carbon copy of the original. The best thing about the F13 2009 was all the weed that was growing in the woods (worth getting an axe to the head over if you ask me) and the gratuitous old school slasher film nudity. The kills were not that great although the acting was surprisingly good. I was hoping for more out of a “re-boot.” If the franchise comes back from the dead yet again, there is serious work that needs to be done.

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2009 The Year in Movies | 50 – 54

Dale Cooper — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:02:29 +0000

54. Paranormal Activity

Guh. Sometimes I believe that film goers are so duped by a marketing campaign that they’ll believe anything. I guess if one is devoutly religious and has a leaning towards absurd supernatural belief he might get a slight tingle out of “Paranominal Activity.” No guarantee though. In a year where horror movies had a good run, the runt of the litter in both budget and scares took hold after a ridiculously contrived “DemandIt!” grass roots campaign (the film industry version of a Fox Tea Party) where the movie was at first only shown at midnight. Midnight exclusivity gave way to demand which opened the door for amazing profits for this micro budget movie.

The problem is the only way to consider “Paranominal Activity” a success is to qualify it by its budget. It’s pretty good for a $12,000 budget movie. That’s it. I didn’t want to walk out on it, but I most certainly was never scared and have slept like a baby every night after watching the movie. The camera was too centric to the plot and the theme could never overcome the half-baked religious quackery.

Do you want to know what is a great micro budget film? Robert Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi.” Unfortunately the promise of “El Mariachi” never panned out with regard to Rodriguez’s career. In my opinion Rodriguez is Hollywood’s most talked about useless property. If it were not for his bromance with Quentin Tarentino, he would certainly not be near the top in buzzed about directors. “El Mariachi” is his best film to date and I have my doubts if he will ever match or surpass it. Trailer for that movie below:

53. The Killing Room

It’s refreshing in this era that movies that fail to get theater distribution capital can secure financing to hit the trails to direct DVD land. At one time that was the kiss of death for films, but these days some direct to DVD movies are outstanding but without the names and backing to find a wide audience. “The Killing Room” is one of the many direct to DVD releases this year, but fall well short of outstanding.

“The Killing Room” is a psychological thriller of the people trapped in a room variety. The spin has something to do with the U.S. MK-ULTRA program and Chloë Sevigny as some sort of super profiler. There is some tension and the movie has its moments, but the premise falls flat from inconsistency in its own set-up and failure to establish a believable menace. The first kill, however, might be worth the price of rental alone.

52. Observe And Report

Hey, I like Seth Rogan. For the most part he plays endearing characters and has the timing for good-to-great comedic delivery. Even with those traits, however, “Observe and Report” is an unfunny snooze-fest a good portion of the time. Rogan departs from his typical role and instead hams up his mall security character like something John Goodman would have had a good time with. As the protagonist, however, he is unlikeable. The movie alternates between gross, sadistic, and sarcastic; and the pace never manages to, well, find a pace.

“Observe and Report” is rife with unlikeable characters and an unstimulating plot. Ray Liotta is probably the only interesting thing in the movie – and even he is just playing Ray Liotta. I was looking forward to this “comedy” when I first heard of it coming down the tubes. It was a major let down.

51. Mutant Chronicles

Although sloppy, “Mutant Chronicles” is a pretty fun movie. Ron Perlman is fun as always, but the pacing and entertainment never reach the level of “Hellboy.” I think the aim of a movie was misunderstood a bit – including by me – but the end result, though messy, is visually interesting with its Steampunkiness and one is able to have a good time watching it.

50. Knowing

The best thing about “Knowing” is that it is better than Next. Nick Cage my be resurgent from a critical perspective with turns in Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” and Kick-Ass, but 2009 also had this movie of which the style and pace is similar to the “National Treasure” franchise. If one likes that movie, he is likely to enjoy “Knowing.” I thought it was slightly sharper than “National Treasure,” but the style and pacing was so similar that I felt like I’ve seen the movie twice before.

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2009 The Year in Movies | 55 – 56

Dale Cooper — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:59:40 +0000

A brief two movie post to get me on the five-at-a-time schedule.

#57 Surrogates

“Surrogates” had a few ideas attached. The message and method should be spotted in a very short time after starting the film. My problem with the movie, however, is that it was too clean. I mean that from a cinematography standpoint. Most scenes seemed to be shot with a soft filter of which there was not contrast to give it purpose. The night scenes were of the “clean night” variety which clearly indicate ambient lighting and lens filters. When I first started watching “Surrogates” I thought there was a reason for this filming technique – that film style would change with perspectives or as the Utopian claims wore off of the avatar populated realities.

It didn’t happen. “Surrogates” looks and feels like a soap opera. The premise could have been rewarding, but the movie was visually unstimulating as a futuristic society and the script was clunky and indirect. The critical failure of the movie is a real shame and one of the biggest disappointments of 2009 for me.

#56 Antichrist

From “the worlds greatest filmmaker” no less, Lars von Trier’s over-bearing clusterfuck contains about six minutes of visual stimulation (the sex scene and toddler death at the beginning) and 98 minutes of trudging composed visual impressionism of the worst, uninspired kind.

Thomas Edison, of all people, stated there are three levels of creation: 1) Composed – the most base level where a creator labors with the ghost of an idea as a product and finishes for the sake of having a finished product (example: pop music) 2) Inspired – where the creator has a creative spark and an idea that takes shape with each step of the process; there may be no predetermined end and completion arrives once the creator has nothing left (example: The Beatles after 1966) 3) Elemental – where the creation is such as it seems to be something organic and natural and flowing; ambiguity and resonance often accompanies a work of elemental composition (example: Bach, Mozart). The greatest work can incorporate elements of all levels (example: Poe, David Lynch).

I have no doubt that van Trier calculated what he was going to make long before he was inspired to do so. This composed trash reeks of egomanical filmmaking that vomits from the depth of proving a point and pushing the envelope for the sake of – instead of from a well of inspiration. While color and allegory are interesting in the film, its own turgid backwash robs the film of any and all meaning or impact.

Below is an example of von Trier’s composed absurdity. One could take such a scene seriously in the hands of a real elemental composer such as David Lynch. In “Antichrist,” however, it comes off as a scene included in the movie for the sole reason of making it more weird. I guess it does that, but it is so blatant that it is meaningless and frankly unimaginative.

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