December Roundup

Right, 2009 is at a finish, so here is my roundup of December's releases:

Glorious 39: I LOVE this film. Let's get that out of the way. This thoroughly entertaining piece of classic cinema grabbed my attention from the off, and is kept by the mesmerizing turn from Romola Garai, fast becoming my new favourite actress. The Hitchcokian feel to the story of an aspiring actress who finds out her family are about to help play a part in the beginning of World War Two is always there, and the wonderful direction from Stephen Poliakoff is just another favourable aspect for the film. If I were to criticise any point, it would be some overly kooky deaths, and too many nudges to lead character Anne that loses momentum after a while. But apart from those slight criticisms, I really love the film, and definitekly reccomend you see it.
OVERALL SCORE: 8/10

Me and Orson Welles: I never expected to like this theatre production drama so much, but the brilliant lead performances from Zac Efron as Richard Samuels, a young man who blags his way into Orson Welles' adaptation of Julius Ceaser as Lucius, Claire Danes as Welles' agent, and both his and Richard's love interest Christian McKay as Welles himself, played with ferocity and ego. The slick, slender direction from Richard Linklater and the great set pieces papers over some fluff, but this is an excellent adapation on the book.
OVERALL SCORE: 8/10

Where the Wild Things Are: Oh, how I love this film. Spike Jonze's third masterpiece oozes with charm and assurance, and really understands the meaning of childhood. Max Records is perfect as Max, the lonely 9 year sent to bed with no supper who dreams up a world where the Wild Things live, and he is their king. Beautifully told and visually creative, this 9 line story transists to a 108 minute movie with near perfection (the odd scene near the end drags for one minute too long but these are very tiny flaws).
OVERALL GRADE: 8.5/10

Avatar: I've seen it, I've experienced it...in 2D? Yes, I'm still old fashioned with my hate for the third dimesion, but Avatar works perfectly well as an action thriller, with a slightly enhanced brain and awesome direction from the king of the world himself, James Cameron. The digital effects are stunning, and the performances are good, particularly from Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, the princess of the Na'Vi, the species on the planet Pandora that the humans want rid of so they can get the rich rock that lays in the surface for themselves. The script is as crap as expected, and there are numerous dragging scenes in this 3 hour long haul (hell, 2012 felt a lot quicker than this.) What makes Avatar so special is the beating heart that surrounds this project; sure it's flawed, but its been nurched by Cameron and brought to the screen spectacularly, making this a major achievement.
OVERALL GRADE: 8/10

St Trinians 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold: The reboot of the franchise in 2007 was light, frothy and a lot of fun, but this latest installment in the girl power serious isn't so enjoyable. Falling back on cliches galore, the tale of the St Trinians girls trying to stop a man hating aristocrat from taking over Britain is expectadly nonsenical, and the girl squeals only add to the familararity of the storyline. There are occasional laughs, and this certainly isn't dull, but it lacks any drive or real enthusiasm from its cast, with the exception of Rupert Everett, who once again steals the show as headmistress, Camilla Fritton.

Sherlock Holmes: As I posted in my review, this is loud, explosive but so much fun. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law excell in their roles as Holmes and Watson, with the film detaling their last case together, as they try to solve the mystery surrounding the reserrected Lord Blackwood, played with menace by Mark Strong. This is quick witted and clever, and always appealing, if slightly saggy near the end. A great treat nevertheless.
OVERALL TOTAL: 8.5/10

Nowhere Boy: Again, look at my review for a full detailed analysis. This biopic of John Lennon's rise to fame is incredibly telling and enthralling, if not revolutionary. Sam Taylor Wood excells behind the camera, while Aaron Johnson, Anne Marie Duff and Kristin Scott Thomas all shine in their roles as Lennon, his estranged mother and uptight aunt. This is hardly groundbreaking stuff, and pretty ordinary biopic fare, but the performances, direction and excellent script rise this above average.
OVERALL TOTAL: 7/10

Next month, I plan to see Nine, It's Complicated, The Road, Daybreakers, The Book of Eli, Up in the Air, Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll, Tulpan, Armored, All About Steve, Extraordinary Measures, Edge of Sarkness, The Lovely Bones and Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire.

Sherlock Holmes and Nowhere Boy Reviews

Boxing Day had two little gems waiting to be unwrapped at the local cinema, as both Sherlock Holmes and Nowhere Boy were treats to delect upon. Visually stunning and well acted, both have credibility in spades, and have allowed what has been a year dominated by smaller films to really pack a punch with some more mainstream fare at the final hurdle.

Sherlock Holmes is the origin story of the great detective; the difference being, Holmes (a super Robert Downey Jr.) and his partnr Watson (Jude Law, proving he CAN act) have been at this crime solving job for years- this is the origin of the end of their partnership together. Their last case revolves around the mysterious Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), a black magic extraordinare who manages to rise from the grave after his execution to take over the world (ah, the joy of a proper megalomanic psycho villain), unless Holmes and Watson can stop him. However, are hero must also fend off the femme fatale, Irene Adler (the oh so lovely Rachel McAdams), despite their previous history together...

This Guy Richie (keep reading) directed action flick bounds with energy, mainly thanks to its game cast. Downey Jr. once again delivers an excellent performance, to cap off a good year of performances from him, including a criminally underrated turn in The Soloist. Jude Law may finally be able to put The Holiday behind him, and become the great actor he once promised he could be. Rachel McAdams has had a superb year thanks to the fantastic State of Play, and the OK but well acted The Time Traveler's Wife. Here, she isn't much more than a romantic lead for Holmes, but her effortless wit and sarcasm makes for a riveting performance. And needless to say, Mark Strong is as effective and creepy as the bad guy as usual. The storyline is wonderfully executed, and plays out like a grown up, but still fun episode of Scooby Doo. The fun is always fun too, which is an important element of Sherlock Holmes. The laughs actually make you laugh, and don't seem out of place with the situations going on. There is a horrendous dog farting 'gag', but the film manages to steer clear of stepping into any more shit. The final act feels slightly rushed, but on reflection everything fits in to place. To say I enjoyed Sherlock Holmes is an understatement; I loved it. Well paced, funny and quite brilliant, this is one franchise I do want to see.

I'm not the biggest John Lennon or Beatles fan, but I was very excited for Nowhere Boy, as the trailer seemed funny, dramatic and very engaging. This is the biopic of an adolescent Lennon's life, spent living with his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas, the most underrated actress possibly ever) after being deserted by his mother, Julia (an always excellent Anne Marie Duff.) John is a clever, but big headed young lad who wants to start a rock n roll band having finally met his long missing mother, who encourages him to follow his dream. But family revelations tear this family apart, and dire consequences occur for all involved.

The big draw for Nowhere Boy is the sophisticated and assured direction from artist Sam Taylor Wood. Her first feature film as director is beautifully vintage and very 50s. The wide angle shots add dramatic depth, whilst the little but telling nods to future events in the Beatles' history will appeal to the fans. Aaron Johnson (soon to be world famous thanks to Kick Ass) does a solid job as Lennon. Although very unlikeable in places, Johnson has charisma (something that was lacking from many debuting actors this year) allowing him to fully show his range, and how Lennon must have felt. Scott Thomas and Marie Duff are just as brilliant; the film really centres on their fragile relationship, where these two sisters have messed each other around for too long. It's a shame that next year's Oscars will not feature either star for an award, althougb possibly a BAFTA? The performances, pacing, writing and directing are very good, but the real problem is the fact that we never actually learn a lot about Lennon's upbringing, and maybe some more explanation into Mimi and Julia's back story would be helpful, but those are slight nit picks. This is thoroughly enjoyable stuff, that deserves a big audience.

So, 2009 looks to have ended on a high note. Thank God I didn't see Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 then.

Oscar Predictions

Best Picture

Up
Up in the Air
Invictus
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Avatar
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
An Education
A Serious Man
A Single Man

Best Lead Actor

Morgan Freeman- Invictus
Jeremy Renner- The Hurt Locker
George Clooney- Up in the Air
Colin Firth- A Single Man
Jeff Bridges- Crazy Heart

Best Lead Actress

Gabourey Sidibe- Precious
Carey Mulligan- An Education
Saoirse Ronan- The Lovely Bones
Meryl Streep- Julie and Julia
Sandra Bullock- The Blind Side

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer- The Last Station
Matt Damon- Invictus
Christoph Waltz- Inglorious Basterds
Alfred Molina- An Education
Woody Harrelson- The Messenger

Best Supporting Actress

Marion Cotillard- Nine
Julianne Moore- A Single Man
Vera Farmiga- Up in the Air
No'Nique- Precious
Anna Kendrick- Up in the Air

Best Adapted Screenplay

District 9
The Blind Side
Up in the Air
Precious
An Education

Best Original Screenplay

The Hurt Locker
Up
A Serious Man
Inglorious Basterds
(500) Days of Summer

Best Animation

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Princess and The Frog
Fantastic Mr Fox
Coraline
Up

Best Score

Where the Wild Things Are
A Single Man
The Informant!
Avatar
Nine

Best Visuals

Avatar
Star Trek
District 9
2012
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2009:winners and losers

As a brief sum-up, here are my best and worst categoric films of the year.

BEST FILM
* Star Trek
(Runner up: Terminator Salvation)

BEST ACTION FILM
* Push
(Runner up: Star Trek)

BEST COMEDY
* The Hangover
(Runner Up: Rachel Getting Married)

BEST VISUALS
* Avatar
(Runner Up: Star Trek)

BEST SCRIPT
* Star Trek
(Runner Up: Slumdog Millionaire)

BEST KIDS FILM
* Where the Wild Things Are
(Runner Uo: Up)

BEST ACTOR:
*Sam Rockwell: Moon
(Runner Up: Zachary Quinto: Star Trek)

BEST ACTRESS
* Meryl Streep: Julie and Julia
(Runner Up: Romola Garai: Glorious 39)

I'll have my complete list of best and worst films of the year on New Year's Day!

What will be the biggest December hit?

So, November was a busy month, with Twilight: New Moon and The Blind Side impressing in America, whilst 2012 stunned worldwide. My predictions were way off for The Blind Side and Planet 51 in particular, but the rest were pretty solid. Here are my predictions for December's movies.

BROTHERS: U.S. GROSS: $35M WORLDWIDE: $60M
ARMORED: U.S. GROSS: $20M WORLDWIDE: $50M
EVERYBODY'S FINE: U.S. GROSS: $11M WORLDWIDE: $30M
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG: U.S. GROSS: $100M WORLDWIDE: $250M
INVICTUS: U.S. GROSS: $65M WORLDWIDE: $100M
AVATAR: U.S. GROSS: $330M WORLDWIDE: $900M
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? U.S. GROSS: $70M WORLWDIDE: $150M
NINE: U.S. GROSS: $70M WORLDWIDE: $150M
SHERLOCK HOLMES: U.S. GROSS: $85M WORLDWIDE: $200M
UP IN THE AIR: U.S. GROSS: $50M WORLDWIDE $90M
IT'S COMPLICATED: U.S. GROSS: $120M WORLDWIDE: $200M
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS 2: U.S. GROSS: $230M WORLDWIDE: $400M