News: Happy New Year!

     I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy 2011! Around this time, it is customary to look back at the year before and analyze the good and the bad, as many critics release "top ten list" as well as some dubious awards. Unfortunately, since I do not live in New York City or Los Angeles, there are still some big name movies of 2010 that have yet to come to local theaters, which means that I will be delaying my own "Top 10" of 2010. The last well reviewed Oscar contender comes to my area around mid-February, so I will probably compile my list around then. Until then, have a great New Year and here's to a great year at the movies in 2011!

Top 100: 40-31

     Continuing ever and ever closer to the conclusion of my "Top 100" countdown (check out the previous weeks by clicking the following weeks: 100-91, 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, 60-51, 50-41), this week is an interesting mixed bag of popular main stream films, "arty" foreign films, and some old-fashioned classics. This includes two of the few films on my list to have honest to goodness musical numbers, two dark science-fiction films from the 1980's, one of the most unconventional "war" films you will ever see. In terms of the timeline, this week is biggest appearance for the 1940's, with three films coming from the pivotal 20th century decade. With the old there is also a lot of new, with three films coming from the first decade of the 21st century. There is also great range of auteur directors this week. There are two films from the Japanese master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, the third appearances of my two favorite modern auteurs, Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, and the second film from the much admired Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Now on to the countdown!

Review: The Fighter

     Practically from the very beginning of the town, Hollywood has had an obsession with boxers and fighters. From Wallace Beery in the original 1932 version of "The Champ", to Kirk Douglas in 1949's "Champion", to the winner of Best Picture in 1976, "Rocky" (and its many sequels), to Robert De Niro's classic turn as Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's 1980 classic "Raging Bull", to Russel Crowe's Depression Era Jim Braddock in Ron Howard's "Cinderella Man", the list of "boxing movies" goes on and on and has become a bona fide genre in and of itself. While I am not the genre's biggest fan, as the abbreviated list above shows, there have been some good films in the genre. Given the history, any director attempting to make a boxing film has to be very competent to make his unique stamp on the genre. If you have been following the awards season (including the coverage on this blog), you know David O. Russell's "The Fighter" is consider to be one of the main players in this year's Oscar race and has received much praise from critics all over the country. But does it live up to the hype? And how does it stack up against some of the other famous films in the genre?

Top 100: 50-41

     This week marks the beginning of the second half of my countdown, or in other words, the start of my Top 50 countdown (to see the first half of the countdown, click the following links: 100-91, 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, 60-51). Depending on my mood and how critical I want to be, the movies from about 80 up to 50 would either get a 9 or a 10 in my rating system, but from here on out, no matter my mood, these movies are absolute tens. These are the films that come as close to the arbitrary, imaginary ideal of perfection as anything I have seen on the silver screen. For this week's ten, there is no one genre that dominates, although many of the films fit what I would describe as "light-hearted drama", films with comedic moments that are still focused on an individual's struggles. This is yet another week with a lot of big Oscar contenders, including three Best Picture winners and three other Best Picture nominees. For directors, this week includes the introduction of the man who is probably considered France's greatest auteur, two films from the most nominated director in Oscar history, and two more films from the most commercially successful filmmaker ever, Steven Spielberg. Finally, this week's retro theme is all about the seventies, with four films from the decade appearing on the list (as well as a film from the 1990's that is a continuation of sorts of a genre that began in the 1970's). Now on to the countdown!

Review: 127 Hours

     You may remember the story of Aron Ralston (James Franco) back in 2003. It was the highly reported story of how, while hiking in a state park in Utah, Ralston got into a jam when he got his right arm stuck in between a boulder and a canyon wall in one of those tight crevices that so commonly dot the red clay landscape of the Beehive State. Ralston spent 127 hours (hence the name) stuck in this spot before he finally got up enough courage to do the only thing he could to save his life: amputate his arm with a cheap pocket knife. The story made for a great evening news anecdote or morning show interview about the inspirational feats that can be accomplished when the innate desire to live trumps over all other fears, and it probably made for an interesting autobiographical book which Ralston wrote entitled "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" (no kidding), but would a story about one man stuck in the same spot for 127 hours make a good film?

News: Screen Actors Guild Gives Out Nominations

     This actually happened yesterday, so you may have already heard this, but just in case you have not, I thought I would alert you about the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Unlike the critics' awards, the SAG awards includes actual members of the Academy. The Screen Actors Guild is much larger though than the actors branch of the Academy, and it includes a lot of smaller bit players who tend to vote for popular actors more than the Academy. Nevertheless, it gives you a rough idea of what some of the acting nominations might look like come Oscar time. If you want to check out the SAG nominees, click here.

Top 100: 60-51

     This week we reach the halfway point in my countdown, going from 60 to 51 (check out 100-91, 90-81, 80-71, and 70-61, if you missed them). Comedy makes its biggest presence felt since the first week, with three and one-half of the films falling under the genre's heading. Not surprisingly then, two more Woody Allen films (including my favorite Allen movie) make appearances, which brings a grand total of five of Woody's films on my list, tying him for the most appearances of any director on my list. There are also a few second appearances from some of my other favorite directors, and the only appearance from one director who I consider to be the most underrated director working today (a few of his other films almost made my list). In terms of a timeline, the 1990's and 1980's make the most appearances, with each decade having three films in this week's list. Now on to the countdown!