Top 10 Sequels That Shouldn’t Have Been Made

Top 10 Sequels That Shouldn’t Have Been Made

In no order, here is a list of some terrible sequels. I know…people might argue other titles like Teen Wolf Too, Weekend At Bernies 2Caddyshack 2, and sure, those are pretty shitty but you have to look at expectations. Was anyone under the guise that Weekend At Bernie’s 2 would be awesome? I hope not. So here are some high  expectation, low payoff sequels.

The Matrix: Revolutions

Alot of people give Matrix 2 a ton of shit, but I think, while kinda bad, that Matrix 3 is legions worse. Matrix 2 at least was as entertaining as part 1. (I think the entire saga is vastly overrated and sort of boring myself). Matrix 3 is just pure garbage wrapped in diarrhea with a grogan bow on top. There is nothing good about it, and in fact, I gave it a second try recently, and was bored to literal tears. Terrible movie.

Ocean’s 12

Ocean’s 11 was pretty silly, but at least it had some fun going for it. Even though every part of their heist went flawlessly, and really had no level of threat for their caper, it was still fun to see Clooney, Pitt and Damon joke around with each other. Then they took it too far. Ocean’s 12 is like watching a group of rich assholes just look at each other and grin all day. I mean, this was the biggest ”I’m a handsome, rich celeb” pat on the back if there ever was one. Even the preview had a 10 second shot of just Pitt and Clooney  laughing and smiling. Just a poorly written, poorly acted, poor movie all around.

Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd

Okay, I know I prefaced this article with the ”this will be all about high expectation movies” but I lied a little. I know no one expected Dumb And Dumbererererrrr to be good, and it wasn’t. But did it need to be THIS shitty? I mean, aside from two fucks doing their best Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels impressions, what was the point of this movie? Did anyone on earth want a prequel to Dumb And Dumber? I bet if you asked one million people this question, you would get a 98.6% result in the “NO” category. I would bet money on those odds. This movie was dumber than the title suggests. I hear they’re making a sequel to Dumb And Dumber now, but I feel that the Dumb And Dumber anus has been raped too hard from this prequel that it’s in therapy and has some serious emotional issues. A.K.A no one gives a shit anymore.

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Maybe it’s just me, but I think the first Ace Venture a is fucking hysterical. What I like about it is that Ace himself acts like a complete retard and annoys everyone he is around, but he’s a goddamn great detective, and he solves these cases that stump the police with ease. I feel like he acts like a retard just to be cocky, and that’s why I think it’s so funny. But then they made part 2. In this movie, he IS a retard. He’s a terrible detective in this. He bumblefucks around because he’s a bumblefuck, not a good detective. Plus, he’s suddenly terrified of bats? Who the fuck came up with that idea? This movie sucks all the life out of the first one…and it just plain sucks.

Speed 2

It’s never a good idea to make a sequel to an awesome and successful movie and then eliminate the main star from the picture. I’m sorry, but you cannot coast on a Speed sequel with just Sandra Bullock. I mean, aside from being annoying and boy-ish, she can’t carry an action franchise, even if you toss Jason “Wooden” Patric. A convincing action star, he ain’t. The only shining star is watching Willem Dafoe cash his paycheck as the bad guy. And I mean you can literally watch him go to the bank and cash his paycheck for this movie. It’s on the special features.

Saw 2-7

In the 80s we got endless sequels to Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday The 13th, and people pissed and moaned about how bad they were. I bet you fucks would do anything to get that level of entertainment back again, right? The Saw franchise is an abortion to horror. And not because of the gore. The gore is good. It’s mainly because who gives a shit about Jigsaw? He’s such a lame villain. Freddy had charisma. Jason had menace. Jigsaw has….cancer? So scary. Well, I guess cancer is sort of scary if you have it, but a cancer patient trying to kill me doesn’t do much for me. The traps get crazier and crazier and as the series goes on, we get different psychos becoming Jigsaw for whatever reason. I’ve watched all these movies and was so bored, I could barely tell you anything that happens. Plus, the editing sucks. I want to watch a horror movie, not a fucking System Of A Down music video. Don’t cut your horror like MTV, just a tip. It takes away everything that is effective about a horror movie. The first Saw isn’t great, but it was clever….these are just the last few farts after the mega turd plops out.

Cars 2

I love Pixar movies, like everyone else. I think they’re amazingly written, hilarious, incredibly animated and just individual treasure. So what in the fuck was Cars 2? First of all, Cars itself is probably their weakest movie, but you can still salvage some great moments about redemption and learning to be selfless. Cars 2 is just some lame action movie or some mystery, I don’t even know. When you make Mater your main character, you’re in trouble. Would you let your redneck uncle from Vermont lead the way on an important adventure? I didn’t think so. So why would anyone let fucking Mater out of the garage for anything? The movie isn’t funny at all, and there was so much crap going on, that after 10 minutes I just stopped giving a shit. Huge bummer and first Pixar fail.

X-Files: I Want to Believe

I was never a big X-Files fan when it was on tv, but I did really like the first X-Files movie. I thought it had only a handful of inside jokes, but all around, someone who hadn’t seen the show much could get it and enjoy it, which I did very much. This movie though, after the 11 or 12 year wait was…..what was it actually? I mean, what even happens in this movie? It’s not even about monsters or aliens. It’s about….wait….what the fuck was it about? Nothing happens in this movie. Mulder and Scully talk and then they drive and talk some more and….talk…and drive I think, no wait, they talk then drive….I think. God, what a fucking snooze fest. It’s a 2 hour shot of Melatonin. SNORE.

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

Blair Witch Project sucks, but it broke some nice ground. Well, I wouldn’t really say nice because found footage movies are shitty, but still…I appreciate pioneers to some degree. But when they tried to cash in on the name and make an actual movie, well, it was worse bomb than the one that sunk the U.S.S Arizona…probably more people died too. They tried to go for some like haunted house shit. I don’t know, it was a long time ago, but I know that it was just really bad. Avoid.

 

Batman & Robin

“I want a car. Chicks dig the car.” “This is why Superman works alone.” These are the first lines uttered in the worst sequel of all fucking time. From Arnold’s “Frost you!” to the Bat-nipples to fucking Alicia “I feed my child chewed food from my mouth like a bird” Silverstone, the only Bat in this movie is the bat-shit insane the producers were for letting one of the worst directors in history Joel Schumaucher take over what was an awesome franchise. It was like watching a snuff film, because Schushitter really did muder Batman in plain view in front of us all. Back in 1997, I gave most movies the benefit of the doubt. Even if they were ”bad” per-say, I would find something good about it and rate is 3 stars or so. This was the first movie that I fucking HATED. I left the theater full of rage that millions upon millions of dollars were spent making this total face-rape of a movie. I was so mad, that I went to a record store and STOLE the Smashing Pumpkins Batman And Robin soundtrack because I refused to even put one more penny into this franchise. Seeing my parents burn in a fire would be less painful than sitting through this fucking godawful movie again. Nolan’s Batman movies are extremely overrated, but they at least gave mouth to mouth to the franchise that Schumaucher killed. I gotta give the man credit for that at least. He took Batman and just said “I’m a fuck you so hard that you die.” and that’s what he did. South Park made an episode where Spielberg and Lucas rape Indiana Jones to death…but did they fucking see this movie? This was an actual assault. It almost made me hate Schwarzenegger, and I forgave him for Jingle All The Way!!! HATE HATE HATE HATE!

End of list. Bye bye.

2012 Academy Award Predictions

2012 Academy Award Predictions

The 2012 Academy Awards are this weekend, and once again, we’re all trying to come up with who we think will go home with the Oscars this weekend. I like to really look at the various industry awards (SAG, DGA, ACE) while making my prediction. A month ago, I was sure that Hugo would be taking away quite a few awards this year, but ultimately, the buzz is really behind the Artist.

So here’s who I think is going to win in some of the major categories:

Best Picture

  • The Artist

Best Director

  • Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Actor In a Supporting Role

  • Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

  • Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Actor in a Leading Role

  • Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress in a Leading Role

  • Viola Davis, The Help 

Film Editing

  • The Descendants, Kevin Tent

Cinematography

  • The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

  • The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash

Writing (Original Screenplay)

  • Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen

84th Academy Award Nominations Announced

They are here! Been waiting patiently to hear what films are lucky enough to garner nomination for the 84th annual Academy Awards. Nothing too shocking here, I’m a bit surprised ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ was completely shut out of the Animation Category, though ‘Puss in Boots’ was nominated? Andy Serkis is sadly missing a nomination for ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes,’ and despite my reservations for the film, Charlize Theron didn’t get anything for ‘Young Adult.’

I am however happy to see that ‘Hugo,’ my favorite film of last year, got quite a few nominations!

The Academy Awards are Sunday, February 26th, and are hosted by Billy Crystal.

Best Picture

  • The Artist
  • The Descendants
  • Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
  • The Help
  • Hugo
  • Midnight in Paris
  • Moneyball
  • The Tree of Life
  • War Horse

Best Director

  • Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
  • Alexdander Payne, The Descendants
  • Martin Scorsese, Hugo
  • Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
  • Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Actor In a Supporting Role

  • Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
  • Jonah Hill, Moneyball
  • Nick Nolte, Warrior
  • Christopher Plummer, Beginners
  • Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

  • Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
  • Jessica Chastain, The Help
  • Mellisa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
  • Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
  • Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Actor in a Leading Role

  • Demian Bichir, A Better Life
  • George Clooney, The Descendants
  • Jean Dujardin, The Artist
  • Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
  • Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress in a Leading Role

  • Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
  • Viola Davis, The Help
  • Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  • Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
  • Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Animated Feature Film

  • A Cat in Paris, Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
  • Chico & Rita, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
  • Kung Fu Panda 2, Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  • Puss in Boots, Chris Miller
  • Rango, Gore Verbinski

Cinematography

  • The Artist, Guillaume Schiffman
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Cronenweth
  • Hugo, Robert Richardson
  • The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
  • War Horse, Janusz Kaminski

Foreign Language Film

  • Belgium, “Bullhead”, Michael R. Roskam, director
  • Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar”, Philippe Falardeau, director
  • Iran, “A Separation”, Asghar Farhadi, director
  • Israel, “Footnote”, Joseph Cedar, director
  • Poland, “In Darkness”, Agnieszka Holland, director

Music (Original Song)

  • “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
  • “Real in Rio” from Rio, Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

  • The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
  • Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan
  • The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
  • Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin.  Story by Stan Chervin
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)

  • The Artist, Written by Michel Hazanavicius
  • Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
  • Margin Call, Written by J.C. Chandor
  • Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen
  • A Separation, Written by Asghar Farhadi

Art Direction

  • The Artist: Laurence Bennett (Production Design); Robert Gould (Set Decoration)
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Stuart Craig (Production Design); Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
  • Hugo: Dante Ferretti (Production Design); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration)
  • War Horse: Rick Carter (Production Design); Lee Sandales (Set Decoration)

Costume Design

  • Anonymous, Lisy Christl
  • The Artist, Mark Bridges
  • Hugo, Sandy Powell
  • Jane Eyre, Michael O’Connor
  • W.E., Arianne Phillips

Documentary Feature

  • Hell and Back Again
  • If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
  • Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
  • Pina
  • Undefeated

Documentary Short

  • The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
  • God is the Bigger Elvis, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
  • Incident in New Baghdad, James Spione
  • Saving Face, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing

  • The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
  • The Descendants, Kevin Tent
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
  • Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
  • Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen

Makeup

  • Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
  • The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)

  • The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
  • The Artist, Ludovic Bource
  • Hugo, Howard Shore
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
  • War Horse, John Williams

Short Film (Animated)

  • Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon
  • The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
  • La Luna, Enrico Casarosa
  • A Morning Stroll, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
  • Wild Life, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)

  • Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
  • Raju, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
  • The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George
  • Time Freak, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
  • Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing

  • Drive, Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Ren Klyce
  • Hugo, Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
  • War Horse, Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing

  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
  • Hugo, Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
  • Moneyball, Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
  • War Horse, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
  • Hugo, Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
  • Real Steel, Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Dan Glass, Brad Friedman, Douglas Trumbull and Michael Fink
Preview Review: November 18, 2011

Preview Review: November 18, 2011

THE DESCENDANTS

I love the work of Alexander Payne. Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt and Sideways are all awesome, funny as fuck and touching films in their own right. I expect The Descendants to be no different. George Clooney, these days, can seem to do no wrong. The man has been in the awards spotlight for years now, and it looks like this will probably be yet another nomination. What I love about Payne’s movies is his ability to make handsome or beautiful actors looks like shit. It comes off as real, which makes everything even more touching because it’s like you are watching ordinary folk go through problems that could even happen to you. About Schmidt is my favorite of his films, but this one looks just as good.

PREDICTION: 4 stars

HAPPY FEET 2

I actually saw the first Happy Feet and was indifferent to it. I mean, its a fine film to show my son someday and I’m sure I will enjoy showing him this one as well because anything that keeps him quiet for 90 minutes while I pour myself a glass of comfort whiskey is worth the price of admission. Hearing Robin Williams sing is a little like having my knuckles sanded by an industrial diamond buffer, but I can stomach it for penguins. I love penguins, its a little known fact about me. I wept at March Of The Penguins like a 12 year old girl
getting her first menstrual cramps. So I can tolerate Happy Feet, but that doesn’t mean I really like it. But if you’re looking for an oddly star studded non-Pixar CGI kids movie…well, it beats Shrek.

PREDICTION: 2 stars

TWILIGHT 4: BREAKING DAWN PART 1

That title is like a mouthful of cock. Hollywood finally figured out that you can take 1 movie and split it into 2 parts and double your money. Fuckers. Isn’t that a little like dipping your chip in the sour cream and chives dip 5 times at a party? Oh well, if it works for Harry Potter… I will admit that I haven’t seen any of the Twilight movies. All I know is that it’s some vampire romance between a guy with long hair and a vampire and a werewolf. Sounds like a fucking mess. Also I’m told the vampires are vegetarians? What the fuck is that? It makes preteens cream so, like Justin Beiber, it probably sucks, but it sure is popular. Someday I will give this series a shot, if anything to get some material, but as of now, I’ll pass. If you want a REAL vampire romance movie, check out Let The Right One In or its equally engaging and surprisingly good American counterpart, Let Me In. Now that is romance. Skip this shizz.

PREDICTION: 1 star

Good stuff next week!!!

PREVIEW REVIEW: October 7, 2011

PREVIEW REVIEW: October 7, 2011

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2:  FULL SEQUENCE

Yes!  I know that for whatever reason it’s cool for people to hate on the first Human Centipede.  Well, I actually thought it was a really well made and original horror flick.  It was nice to see a horror movie for a change that wasn’t Saw or some “found footage” bullshit. This movie had a great premise, the mad scientist was awesome, pretty good gore, and actually used fucking tripods and camera movement…what a concept!!  Anyway, I loved it…and to be honest, part 2 looks even better to me.  I love the premise.  Some psycho watched the first movie and becomes obsessed with creating his own human centipede but he sucks at it.  It looks pretty hardcore and I
just love movies about crazy people.  Plus, it’s filmed in black and white, which I think is a ballsy move.  Looks awesome all around and I can’t wait to see it!  And to play off the tagline of the first one, 100% medically accurate, this one is 100% medically INaccurate, which makes me think of some nice infected gore, etc…which also wets my whistle!

PREDICTION:  3 1/2 stars

THE IDES OF MARCH

Political thriller movies can go either way for me.  Some can be really exciting and cool like All The President’s Men, and some can totally blow like Lions For Lambs.  This one has an amazing cast though and is directed by George Clooney, who is actually a terrific director mostly.  I have some high hopes for this one.  I think that Ryan Gosling is on a role, and after seeing and loving Drive, I really am excited to see his followup.  He looks to actually have some dialog in this movie too, unlike Drive.  But I think that even if the movie drags a little, like political films can sometimes, just seeing Gosling, Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti all interacting together will be enough entertainment to get you through. Possible Oscar bait as well.

PREDICTION:  3 stars

REAL STEEL

They really missed the opportunity to title this one REAL GAY.  It sounds like a gay porn, actually.  Okay…so we have basically Rock Em’ Sock Em’ Robots the movie right?  Jesus, does this look retarded! We have Hugh Jackman building these boxing robots and then training them to fight eachother because that is the new form of boxing in the future.  News flash…unless you’re a fucking nerd, you don’t want to watch robots fight eachother.  That is why boxing is popular.  People want to see other PEOPLE beat the shit out of eachother!  Not fucking
robots.  Also, did anything think of the immense liability it would be if shrapnel from the robots flew into the crowd and decapitated someone?  This is just immensely stupid.  They should make Hungry Hungry Hippos the movie next, but do it as a horror movie.  Or how about Jenga the movie directed by Michael Bay??  Just totally stupid and a waste of time and millions of dollars that could probably help out some poor foreign country.

PREDICTION:  1 star

Bye.

DVD Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

fantastic_mr_fox_pic_1_jpg_595x325_crop_upscale_q85

Reviewing a filmmaker’s swing at the children’s genre is usually pretty difficult and on par with reviewing a musician’s Christmas record and trying to make sense of it with the rest of their catalogue.  However, Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is not like most children’s films.

“Fox,” is based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl, best known for writing “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”  However, when you see this latest adaptation, you wonder if it wasn’t written especially for Wes Anderson.

Mr. Fox is a sly, cunning, witty, quick, entertaining and enjoyable kind of character.  A life-long thief, he volunteers to stop his career after his wife tells him that she’s pregnant.  He takes up writing a column in the local paper.  However, this life of tranquility doesn’t last too long before Mr. Fox is compelled to take up his criminal activity, this time stealing from Boggis, Bunce and Bean, three farmers who do not take kindly to the thefts.

Adapting the book along with Noah Baumbach, Anderson made some changes to the story, adding what is now a familiar theme of sons trying to please their fathers.  The ending of the movie is also different, but is based on an original ending that Anderson found in Dahl’s notes.  And while the movie is an adaptation, there is so much of it that reeks of Anderson’s self-written work.  “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is a movie that revels in the details.  From Mr. Fox dressing very similar to Anderson himself, to the decision to shoot the movie at 12 frames a second instead of 24, allowing you to clearly see the fur of the animals move as the animating process was going on.  Anderson wants fingerprints on this movie and he gets it.  It’s what makes the movie so rich.  You can feel the presence of Anderson and his animators behind the camera.

The voices are also wonderful, provided by some of Anderson’s usual cast, some featuring new additions to the world that he’s building.  George Clooney is Mr. Fox, and Meryl Streep is Mrs. Fox.  Jason Schwartzman plays Ash, the Foxes son, and Bill Murray plays Badger, Mr. Fox’s attorney.  (Also look for a rabbit wearing an orange neckerchief.  His voice is done by celebrity chef Mario Batali.)

It may not be for some children, (those who don’t like discussions of existentialism, for example,) or some adults, (those who can’t loose themselves in Anderson’s make-believe world,) but if you’re a fan of Wes Anderson, you’ll like this.

Like the rest of Anderson’s work, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is an acquired taste.  While some directors open up, making movies that are more easily accessible for a wider audience with each film, Anderson is almost going down his own foxhole.  If “Darjeeling Limited,” shed some of his fans, “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” will probably shed even more, with them charging that Anderson is now only interested in entertaining himself.  However, with each movie, I find enough overlap with what fascinates him with what fascinates me.  -Sam

DVD Review: Up in the Air

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Ryan Bingham likes to keep things simple.  A constant traveler for work, he lives his life with his frequent flyer cards, his hotel reward programs, everywhere he goes, he is greeted with a chorus of, “it’s great to see you again, Mr. Bingham.”  Ryan Bingham is a professional down-sizer.When companies need to trim their staff down, they send in Bingham to be the hatchet man.  The work is not important to Bingham, it’s the lifestyle that the work allows him to live.  He spends as little time as he can in his apartment.  It’s too close to having a life.  He doesn’t seem to have friends, he has his job.  And his backpack of clothes.  As the movie opens, Ryan meets a fellow traveler, who lives by a similar ethos.  If they’re in the same city, or on the same layover, they’ll meet up.  Her name is Alex Goran and Ryan finds himself feeling something he usually doesn’t: he cares about her.

Meanwhile, things at work are getting complicated.  A young go-getter has come up with a way to virtually fire people on-line, thereby saving millions of dollars a year and thousands of miles in the air.  You sit down in front of your computer terminal, the firee sits in front of their terminal and they are told their services are no longer required.  Ryan thinks the concept is asinine.  You need to fire people face-to-face, you need to give them that respect.  To give the inventor a sense of what he does, he takes her with him on a trip, showing her that perhaps firing people isn’t as easy as she thinks it is.

This is Jason Reitman’s film and you can clearly see his imprint on the material.  Based on the book by Walter Kirn, it seems to have Reitman’s sensibilities throughout, much in the same way his first film, an adaptation of Christopher Buckley’s “Thank You For Smoking,” felt like a collaboration.

The cast is uniformly excellent.  George Clooney is outstanding, playing Bingham in a very subdued and carefully mannered performance.  Vera Farmiga, who usually disappears in her past films, (“The Departed,” “Running Scared,” amongst others,) is excellent here, playing Alex as the yang to Bingham’s ying.  Also impressive is Anna Kendrick, best known for her work in the “Twilight,” films, but turning an excellent performance as Natalie Keener, the inventor of the on-line executioner.  Reitman fills out his cast with some of his stock performers, veterans from his other movies, (Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliott,) who all work perfectly yet again.  The rest of the cast, mostly those facing firing are actual victims of downsizing, brought in by the filmmakers to re-count their initial reactions.  And it doesn’t feel like a gimmick.  It feels natural.

“Up in the Air,” is the kind of movie that sneaks up on you.  While you may not be expecting greatness, it sneaks up on you, introducing characters that may at first blush appear comic, but Reitman peels that away, quickly showing the vulnerabilities of each one in a way that draws you in.  By the end of the movie, there is a definite affinity and  caring for Bingham and his compatriots that I did not expect.  Much like “Juno,” “Up in the Air,” wins you over at first with charm, but quickly reveals a greater depth.  It is a movie that, upon walking into, you may not think you’re going to see a great movie, but by the end, you know you’ve seen something special.  It’s one of the year’s best.  -Sam

Golden Globe Noms Released

Tuesday morning found people on the west coast up very early to hear the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations.  Here’s the full list, with the TV categories included:

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Best Director – Motion Picture

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham(“The Weary Kind”)

Everybody’s Fine (2009): Paul McCartney(“(I Want To) Come Home”)

Nine (2009): Maury Yeston(“Cinema Italiano”)

Brothers (2009/I)(“Winter”)

Avatar (2009)(“I See You”)

Best Animated Film

Best Foreign Language Film

A few thoughts: “Invictus,” was shut out of the biggest category, (best motion picture- drama,) and will that hurt it’s Oscar chances?  Nice to see Meryl Streep wrack up a few more nominations.  (I believe that brings her lifetime nominations to 25, or something equally silly.)  The nominating committee seemed to dig “Inglourious Basterds,” which was nice. “Nine,” did well with nominations, but will that mean anything when the Oscar nominations come out?  The reviews seem to be tepid at best.  (I’m still looking forward to seeing it.)  “The Hurt Locker,” picked up a bunch of nominations, which that, coupled with the ‘best of’ awards it’s been wracking up bodes well for an Oscar nomination.  The same goes for “Up in the Air.”  Looks like those two will be the names to beat at this ceremony, and the one held in February.

Review: Up in the Air

Review: Up in the Air

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Ryan Bingham likes to keep things simple.  A constant traveler for work, he lives his life with his frequent flyer cards, his hotel reward programs, everywhere he goes, he is greeted with a chorus of, “it’s great to see you again, Mr. Bingham.”  Ryan Bingham is a professional down-sizer. [Read more...]

Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

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Reviewing a filmmaker’s swing at the children’s genre is usually pretty difficult and on par with reviewing a musician’s Christmas record and trying to make sense of it with the rest of their catalogue.  However, Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is not like most children’s films. [Read more...]