Decade pt. ii ( Top Five 00's Movies - 2001)

For the second part of my look back at this decade of donuts, I find myself in the year 2001. The year of the space odyssey was far from my favorite at the theatre. Granted 2000 wasn't a whole lot better, but let's just leave it at this: 2001 was the year we were subjected to GLITTER and FREDDY GOT FINGERED.

This was the year that two of the biggest fantasy franchises were unleashed on theatres, but neither of their opening chapters will be found in this five (though I promise, both series will show up eventually). This was also the year I really started to branch out cinematically and embrace foreign and independent cinema - both of which you'll find in this five.

So come back with me to the year the iPod was born. After the jump, please find...

Hatter's Top Five Films of 2001

#5. SHREK... I've taken my fair share of shots at Dreamworks animation from this little corner of cyberspace. Perhaps it's because with SHREK, they set the bar so very high for themselves. The movie succeeded on a lot of levels, not the least of which was taking every opportunity it could to tweak the nose of the biggest animation studio of all. It was clever where most animation is cute. It was funny where other cartoons are silly. If Pixar was going to be The Beatles of CG animation, Dreamworks unleashed this film on the world to make it clear that they were ready to be The Stones. It will likely go down as one of the best animated films of all time, and you must wonder - just how much did it burn Disney to lose the first ever Best Animated Film Oscar to this flick?

#4. MULHOLLAND DRIVE... There are certain films I've seen that I liken to a song whose lyrics don't make sense. I've seen this one a few dozen times and I still don't get it...but holy shit is it good! Part film noir, part mind-bending suspense, one hundred percent David Lynch. I sort of get the impression that Lynch had a few broken ideas and decided this was the best way to string them together, but its missing jigsaw pieces format is what makes it so unforgettable - and so very original. Truthfully, this flick might well have earned a spot in my five if only for that sublime spanish performance of "Crying".

#3. Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN... Quite simply, JULES ET JIM for a new generation. In a perfect world, this would have won best Foreign Film...or, y'know been nominated.

#2. MEMENTO... Years before he was fending off questions about whether or not he'd be directing the next Batman film, director Christopher Nolan gave us this broken narrative about a truly damaged man's attempt to make some sense of his life (too bad he can't remember how many times he's actually made it right). I've always loved how this is essentially a simple story made much more interesting through a broken narrative, and how it gives a different class of movie stars a chance to flex their muscles. Pardon me - I need to go get a tattoo of that last point before I forget it.

#1. MOULIN ROUGE!... Let's remember that until Baz Luhrmann came along, and achieved critical and commercial success, the musical had essentially been a dead film genre for about twenty years. Think about that a moment - MOULIN ROUGE resurrected an entire genre. Without this film, there's likely no CHICAGO, no HAIRSPRAY, no SWEENEY TODD. Beyond its powers of resurrection, this film deserves credit for making the extra time spent on it worthwhile. Usually, when a film's release date gets pushed, it's a bad sign - think GANGS OF NEW YORK. But every once in a while, it's because the filmmaker knows their vision is incomplete, and a bit more time will make the difference between "humdrum" and "holy cow!" - think TITANIC. While it was the year of hobbits, of wizards, and of beautiful minds, it's this daring, hyper-active, high-energy jukebox that stands out for me eight years later.

Others on my shortlist for 2001 include THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, DONNIE DARKO, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, GHOST WORLD, and GOSFORD PARK. Check in on May 19th for the next installment, my top five films of 2002.

Did I miss one? Feel free to leave comments with your own favorite movies from 2001, along with suggestions for the next top five.

The Wall pt. 2

For a few years now, rumours have abounded that a sequel to WALL STREET is being kicked around Hollywood. "Why not?" right...if studios can try to remake BONNIE AND CLYDE, FOOTLOOSE, and DROP DEAD FRED (yes, really)...then a sequel to an 80's classic isn't that far fetched.

While director Oliver Stone was never attached to the project, the original setup for the idea centered around the fact that after 20 years in prison, Gordon Gekko would now have been released, and trying to get back into a game that might well have passed him by. As it happened, real life sped right past the fiction, and one can only imagine how last year's financial meltdown could have been worked into the plot.

I must admit - part of me would be very curious to see this movie, to see how a character like Gekko is involved and reacts to the financial situation America now finds itself in. I'm already wondering, could a man like Gekko still get up in front of a board of investors and claim quite simply that "Greed is good".

The film might never see the light of day, but I for one think it's one worth persuing. Even if, as rumoured, Shia Lebeouf would also be cast.

Get a Job (EXTRACT Trailer)

While they meant it as a joke, somebody decided to welcome me back to work after a sick day by saying I seemed to have a prolonged case of The Mondays. Got a laugh out of me, which I suppose was the point. Then I got to thinking about Mike Judge.

Judge, the brains behind TV's King of The Hill and Beavis & Butthead, is also the director of OFFICE SPACE - which I deem required viewing for anyone out there who works in an office. Sadly, Judge hasn't directed much else besides this cult opus...but it would seem that the wait is over...

Review: ADVENTURELAND * *

Society is nothing if not sentimental. Give any style ten years, and it goes from being "out" to being "retro". Want proof? Check your local concert venue this summer and you might be able to catch shows by Creed, Limp Bizkit, or Blink 182.

Take audiences back to a simpler time, and that should be enough to sell them on what you want to say. That is, of course, unless you don't really have much to say in the first place.

Our story begins in the late eighties. James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has just graduated from college and has plans to spend his summer before grad school traveling with friends through Europe. Unfortunately, his parents have had a financial setback, and not only has that scuttled his travel plans, but also his funding for grad school. James needs a job, and much to his chagrin, he can do no better than a summer gig at Adventureland - a theme park that ranks somewhere between Six Flags and a county fair, leaning heavily towards the latter.

The job is crappy to say the least, but there's a silver lining in the friends James makes. He finds kinship with Joel, a similarly hapless geek who is far too qualified to be running a ring-toss and gets funny looks for his affinity of smoking a pipe. He gets mentorship from Mike (Ryan Reynolds), the park's maintenance man who seems to want to help Jesse shed the stigma that virginity brings with it. And finally there's Em (Kristen Stewart), a confidently laid back girl who befriends James, and who he quickly falls for.

However, as often happens in a close-knit group, there are subplots a-plenty amongst these young hip carnies. Much of centres around Em, who despite her budding coziness with James, has been sneaking around with Mike for over a year - completely unbeknownst to our young hero of course. Likewise, there is the sultry Lisa P (Margarita Levieva), the object of every guy who works at the park. She also takes a shining to young James, but why would he be chasing after her when he seems to have such a good thing going with Em? All just par for the course during one crazy summer in Pittsburgh.

ADVENTURELAND is yet another love letter to a particular era. We all have our fondness for times in our past (1994 does it for me), and once a year or so, a screenwriter's ode to a better time makes the jump to the big screen. The funny thing is that in this case the story didn't take it quite far enough. The movie is supposed to be set in 1987, but there are moments that could be 1980...moments that could be 1985...moments that could be 1977. If not for the theme park's obsession with "Rock Me Amadeus", the movie could be set anytime over the span of ten years. What I'm left asking, is "why do that"? If there's something about the era that is supposed to drive this story, why leave the era so ambiguous? Perhaps if the setting were more concise, my nostalgic sense might tingle, and leave me with a better impression of the film.

There were precious few things the poor sense of setting didn't ruin for me...and the wickedly bad casting took care of the rest. The guy might be trying to branch out, but it's tough to buy Van Wilder as the theme park douchebag. Jesse Eisenberg might have better parts in his future, but all I could think about as he played his part was that he was a last second sub when Michael Cera turned the part down. Then there's Kristen Stewart. The once and future Bella has a tough time getting through this film. For a girl who is supposed to be as savvy and sultry as Em is, why does Kristen Stewart play her as vacant and slutty? It's possible I might have enjoyed this movie more were a more charming cast given the parts.

ADVENTURELAND seems to suffer from a touch of identity crisis. It provides a laugh or two, but isn't funny enough to be a funny movie. It also contains a tender scene here or there, but isn't sweet enough to be a sweet movie. I'm fighting hard not to provide specific comparisons to the films I have in mind, but essentially ADVENTURELAND strikes me as the first draft of a lot of similar stories I've watched in recent years. It's a shame too, since I have the suspicion that good copy of this rough draft would make for a charming and entertaining film.

Downtown ( Free Screenings at Dundas Square )

It seems everywhere you go these days, people are trying to remind you that times are hard. While I'm ever the optimist, I certainly can't argue that times are not hard...but if all you ever see and hear are reminders about how hard times are, doesn't that make it harder for us to pull together as a society and make things better?

But I digress...

In such "hard times", what could be better than to be able to relax and watch a movie for free? Truly, "free" is well within everybody's recession-tightened budget, right? Well right on cue, the organizers of events at Dundas Square in Downtown Toronto have announced this year's schedule of free screenings.

The theme for this year is a tad flimsy, they've gone with the somewhat ambiguous "Adrenaline Rush" as a program. The showings will go as follows...

June 30th: NORTH BY NORTHWEST, 9:03pm
July 7th: LE MANS, 9:01pm
July 14th: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, 8:57pm
July 21st: APOLLO 13, 8:52PM
July 28th: CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, 8:45PM
August 4th: CAST AWAY, 8:36pm
August 11th: GLADIATOR, 8:37pm
August 18th: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN - THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, 8:16pm
August 25th: THE GREAT ESCAPE, 8:05pm
September 1st: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, 7:53PM

Decade pt. i (Top Five 00's Movies - 2000)

We find ourselves in the final year of this decade...and speaking of this decade, what exactly are we calling it now that it's almost over? (The Oh's??). I'm sure the lasting legacy of this decade won't be completely understood for a few years yet, but here's hoping that we didn't step on any proverbial butterflies and screw the future up too badly.

At the movies, it might likely go down as an "OK" decade. There were landmark films that will inspire many to come. There were films that seemed amazing at the time, though likely won't age well...and there were films I'm sure many of us wish hadn't happened (CAT IN THE HAT - I'm looking at you).

A few other bloggers have already started putting together their lists of the best films of the decade, so you know of course that I must give my two cents as well. I thought I might go one year at a time, offering up a top five for each. So after playing catch up this week and next, I'll offer up one a month for the rest of the year, culminating with my top five of '09 in December, and top five of the decade on New Year's Day (I can sense you marking your calender already!). Let's begin...

Hatter's Top Five Films of 2000

#5. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON... The film was actually a play on Chineese myths and fairy tales, but many North American audiences hadn't seen anything like it before and lost themselves in the flights and fights. This was the movie that made Ang Lee a household name, and really rekindled the mainstream's interest in Asian cinema. Looking back now, it feels like ten or twelve too many copycat films were made, most of which could not achieve the crossover appeal of this romantic action epic.

#4. BILLY ELLIOT... Looking back, I believe this might be the most underrated film of the decade. Cut from the cloth of THE COMMITMENTS, this is the story of a English miner's son, who wants nothing more than to dance. It's a heartfelt and moving film - but it remains one that wasn't widely seen. It's backed by a fierce soundtrack that includes T-Rex, The Jam, and The Clash and backdropped by the true story of miners' strikes that nearly ruined the country in the 80's. Strangely, Jamie Ball's career didn't really soar after this film the way it does for many child actors, but director Stephen Daldry did land an Oscar nomination for this, his debut film (and likewise for both other films he directed this decade - pretty good run!). If you've never seen this passionate movie, rent it this weekend - you can thank me later.

#3. ALMOST FAMOUS... So, to be clear, I'm ranking these in order of what I think is the best - which is why this, my all-time favorite film comes in at only number three. There's precious little I could say about this film that I've never said before. I will say this though: Looking back, it could very well be the best written screenplay of the decade. I could provide examples of the many brilliant lines it includes ("Go to the record store and visit all your friends"..."I am a golden god!"..."I'm telling secrets to the one guy you don't tell secrets to"...), but that could fill an entire blog entry all its own.

#2. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM... This cinematic equivalent of an ass-kicking that tells the story of four people who want nothing more than to climb out of the gutter their life has become, only to end up flat on their backs even deeper in the ditch. Unflinchingly directed, and edited with the rope-a-dope rhythm, this film is morose, shocking, disturbing, and brilliant. This is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen in my life - and I never want to see it again.

#1. TRAFFIC... Stephen Soderbergh can be wildly inconsistent (and I say that as a fan), but when he's on - he's on. In a perfect world, this film would have taken the Oscar for Best Picture - though it did score Soderbergh Best Director in a rare year where the two awards were split. This epic about the futility of The War on Drugs is memorable for a wealth of great acting, some eye-popping cinematography, and a narrative that overlaps just enough, to illustrate how interconnected our lives really are. the movie reminds us that while every crusade may seem to be black and white, there are often too many variables to pound a podium and provide a soundbite. As it happens, the most telling quote a politician can give in this movie is "If there is a war on drugs, then many of our family members are the eney...I don't know how you wage war on your own family." One can only wonder if in five to ten years time, will we get an equally bleak look at The War on Terror?

Others on my shortlist for 2000 include TIGERLAND, O' BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, HIGH FIDELITY, CHICKEN RUN, and GLADIATOR. Check in on April 28th for the next installment, my top five films of 2001.

Did I miss one? Feel free to leave commenst with your own favorite movies from 2000, along with suggestions for the next top five.

"Give It Away" (Studios Sign YouTube Deal)

"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero" - Chuck Palahniuk

I can't help but think about those words as I read about today's announcement that YouTube has struck a deal to offer full length tv shows and movies on their site. The deal will offer content from Lionsgate, BBC, Sony, Discovery, and National Geographic.

The decision isn't exactly groundbreaking - Hulu has been offering free content for a while now - but it seems to mark a complete about face for the film and TV industry. Ever since the turn of the century, all we've heard about is how piracy is bad, and how thousands of jobs will be lost if the material was just given away for free.

Perhaps nine years worth of legal bills has changed the tune of studio executives, and they've finally managed to come up with a better alternative.

(NB - No word as to whether or not Canadian net users will be able to access the free content, or whether - like Hulu - we'll be locked out)

You Got It All...Wrong

This is why I continue to despise American Idol.

The Bitch of Living

Last night, m'lady and I went to see SPRING AWAKENING at The Canon Theatre. It's an amazing musical. Go see it if you have the means, but leave the little kids at home. As we were walking up Victoria Street, I said aloud "Now that would make a great movie."

Ask and ye shall receive it seems. As noted in the article, McG has signed on to adapt the show into a movie. This leaves me a little curious. My thoughts continue after the jump.

For starters, I tend to see McG as an action guy...not a coming-of-age drama guy. While it's true his work on WE ARE MARSHALL showed he can direct a halfway decent film that doesn't involve guns and bombs, it doesn't exactly cement him as a musical go-to either. There's no promise that he'll direct right this moment, but I can only hope he plucks someone with some stage vision to take the reigns for this.

Beyond my uncertainty of McG's directorial influence, is the fact that the man is already attached to three other upcoming projects (CAPTAIN NEMO, DEAD SPY RISING, and the next TERMINATOR sequel). With four films to choose from, what do you think the odds are something nice like this gets back-burnered? Or for that matter, shelved entirely?

I sincerely hope that doesn't happen, I'd hate to see this film fall into development hell the same way RENT did. It's one of the few musicals out there that tells an amazing story, it could likely be made on a lower budgets, and it deserves to be seen sooner rather than later.

In case you're interested, I've taken /Film's lead and embedded a clip from the show below...

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (THE HANGOVER Trailer)

I know, I know...I'm behind on this one. But like I said yesterday, I'm trying to get this whole blog back into gear.

It feels like I've spent much of my time since the moment THE WATCHMEN ended just waiting for the summer to get here. Seriously gang. You can keep your fast, your furious, your hannah and your montana. Unless someone pays me to see 'em, there is precious little this spring that has got me excited.

THE HANGOVER doesn't even get me all that excited...but heck, it's gotta be better than the dreck on screens right now. Right?

Head Like a Hole

I'm not sure if it's because I've been pouring more energy into my photos lately, or because I haven't gone to the theatre as much - or for that matter that there's precious little out that I truly want to see...

...but lately, when it comes to this space, I've been feeling a lot like this...



...Soon I'll get back to my usual chatty self. If you're reading this, thanks for stickin' around.

Review: MONSTERS VS. ALIENS 3-D * * 1/2

Seven years ago, Dreamworks Animation brought us SHREK, with its heartfelt message that people might not look like much, but it's what they have inside that counts. Then later, Dreamworks created KUNG FU PANDA, with its heartfelt message that people may not look like much, but it's what they have inside that counts.

This month, Dreamworks has given audiences MONSTERS VS. ALIENS. Want to take a guess what the moral of this story is??

"MvA 3D" starts on Susan Murphy's wedding day. Susan (Reese Witherspoon) is outside the church she'll be married in, when she manages to get hit by a meteor. She seems OK at first, but moments into her wedding, she starts glowing green. No sooner has she turned a lovely shade of Shrek, than does she start to grow into a giant. The military wastes no time coming to the crash site, capture Susan, and bring her back to a top secret facility.

There she is informed by general W.R. Monger (Keifer Sutherland) that she is one of five monsters the American military has caught over the years. Soon, she befriends the others: Missing Link (Will Arnett), who looks like he just waded out of the black lagoon. Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), a mad scientist who happened to transform himself in an experiment gone awry. A (literally) no-brained, jiggly blue blob named Bob (guess they ran out of clever names - he's voiced by Seth Rogen). And finally an enormous grub named Insectosaurus.

They are kept in seclusion for their own protection, but when earth is threatened by an alien overlord named Gallaxhar, America finds its usual defenses useless, and needs to call on this band of misfits to protect them. A battle or two ensue, and yes indeed, our characters begin to learn that it doesn't matter what the world's reaction to your outward appearance, it's the heart you have inside that counts.

Yawn.

MvA 3D actually paints itself into a very strange corner. On the one hand, the movie has been created with the 3-D effect clearly in mind. During quite a few of the lower action/higher dialogue moments, the 3-D composition keeps you drawn in. I haven't seen the 2-D version, but in my estimation, many of these scenes would drag the film down. However, with the subtle 3-D, these scenes are snappier, and keep you drawn in.

The strange bit, is that the animators didn't take the effect far enough. Aside from a brief moment early in the film, the 3-D effect never seems to reach out into the audience, instead seeming content to stay just one foot forward from the screen. What really worries me, is the news that starting now, every Dreamworks animated film will be produced in 3-D. So this lack of attention to detail could well be a sign of things to come.

What all of this adds up to is a movie relying on a gimmick, and not using the gimmick well enough. MvA 3D isn't a very good story. It's cute for kids, but animated films should try to reach further than that nowadays. I'm sure there was a better formula for this story - perhaps embracing the monsters as a part of the military's line of defense, rather than a deep dark measure of last resort. Unfortunately, despite six credited screenwriters, what we're given is a movie that steals from MONSTERS INC, INDEPENDENCE DAY, and DR. STRANGELOVE.

Once again, I have to look back on a Dreamworks Animated movie and wonder "what if?". What if animators didn't have the 3-D gimmick to fall back on? What if screenwriters cared to give Bob, Link, and Cockroach some real soul, and didn't have celebrity voices to fall back on? Hell - what if Pixar had been given this concept instead of Dreamworks?? What truly disappoints me, is that films like SHREK, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, and WALL-E show that animation can be about more than just distracting kids with funny voices and bright colours for 90 minutes. sadly, nobody at Dreamworks seems to care about this premise.

Fashion (BRUNO Trailer)

Don't say I didn't warn ya. Here comes Bruno...