And how has the holiday movie fare presented itself this year? Was it a sumptuous feast full of memorable scenes, or was it a combination of film flavors that no human being should mix together at one time (like Jell-O and coconut)? As a generalization for the season as a whole, I am going with ‘over baked,’ one of my favorite phrases, and sadly appropriate this year.
Pre-Christmas I went over the films that looked appealing based solely on trailer content. This is now my rendering of what the holiday movie meal truly consisted of:
The Fantastic Mr. Fox – I want SO BADLY to just write, ‘It’s Fantastic!’ and move on, but Wes Anderson deserves so much more. I will see anything he puts out in to the film universe, and most likely buy it later for my collection. There is detailed work and rich achievement here – there is a sweetly blunt quality to personal scenarios. For what is essentially a children’s story, to capture that blend effectively, it’s…fantastic.
Up in the Air – This film has been widely embraced as one of the best movies of the year, and I highly expect it to be a top contender for Best Picture at the Oscars. That being said, I had an indifferent response to this film – I feel as if I have learned a lesson, but didn’t really want to go to school that day anyway. The film is quietly earnest in telling its story, and I think Jason Reitman is working with a lot of skill in his bag of ticks. I think George Clooney has rediscovered that authenticity in this movie that I haven’t seen him exhibit very often. I think given the heavy and pertinent issues of unemployment and disconnection that people are experiencing in the new millennium, that this film is incredibly relevant. But in the end, I left the theatre thinking, alright… next. And I am disappointed with that. I think Clive Owen will be brilliant in the British remake.
Sherlock Holmes – Everyone I know has seen this movie (don’t worry, that’s only, like, 12 people) and the reactions have been all over the map. But my opinion is really the only one that counts here, and I thought it was a riot. It did NOT, in my opinion, suck as I feared it might. Robert Downey, Jr. looked like he was having so much fun that it literally forced Jude Law to enjoy the time as well. My ‘hey, THAT guy’ guy Mark Strong was fine, but I guess I was thinking Alan Rickman 15 years ago would have been better – not in full-on Hans Gruber form, but Sheriff of Nottingham form. That would have made this movie outstanding. I enjoyed the wit, the flashy trademark camera moves, and all that crap getting blown up.
Brothers – or, as it is now re-christened, Tobey’s Failed Oscar Push. Doubly disappointing now that Spidey 4 will have neither Tobey nor Sam (no SAM!). HOWEVER, all is not lost from this dark narrative. It’s a rough tale to watch, and I think some balance was lost (from a story-telling perspective) in the editing of the film, but there was a certain small amount of comfort. When speaking of actors emoting with sincerity (as I and all 12 of my aforementioned peeps do, I promise you), all eyes should go to Jake Gyllenhaal on this one, for his sheer brilliance contained in one glance. Definitely not worth the full price of admission, but worth a rental, if only for The Glance. Cripes.
Avatar – When the tourist shuttle flights start, I will be in line. I have no doubt that any moment now we will hear that James Cameron’s next project is to actually build Pandora in space, somewhere out behind the moon, where we all get to create our own Avatar and fly through the floating mountains. This movie has now grossed ridonculous amounts of money, to which I say, well done! Was it worthy of the Golden Globe..? Hell, no. It’s a great ride of a movie, the 3D immersing the audience in the film experience, but could someone PLEASE help this man with his dialogue? It’s not quite Lucas Syndrome at its worst, but that’s not saying much. In order to help create a world of ‘other’ in a film, especially the sci-fi genre, the words can’t be merely mechanical or stuck in to fill a gap – they have to add to the illusion, layer it. Otherwise, a bad line will bring the whole structure down. Just my opinion James – but hey, my last movie grossed…um, yeah… right. Moving on…
The Road – Me? I chose the road less traveled. As in, oops, missed this one. I think almost everyone else did too, so I’m not too broken up about it.
Invictus – Ugh. This is the fourth movie of his recent efforts where I have thought Clint Eastwood has to just dial back the heavy-handed message. I did not like Mystic River, Changeling was an AWFUL story to sit through, I tolerated Gran Torino, and this one? Over baked. The clincher – do I really need to see a black hand and a white hand on either side of the Rugby Cup to GET THE POINT? In slow-mo? No. Emphatically, no. This movie was a pablum serving of the works of Nelson Mandela and the events around the World Cup that I had never heard about growing up in western society. While I congratulate Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon on carrying the weight of portraying real people with REALLY difficult accents, my white middleclass guilt is appeased now.
Nine – I would rather watch Invictus again.
In this season of expanded Oscar nominations, I am finding it hard to believe that there are even 5 films out of this holiday season that are deserving of the nomination. And if The Blind Side is in there, I may vomit. Copiously.
- written by jennifer le vecque
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