Thank You For Smoking (2005)

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright, J.K. Simmons, Maria Bello, David Koechner, Katie Holmes, William Macy

Smoking kills, but Nick Naylor (Eckhart) would beg to differ. He is one man who talks for a living and does he talk! Nick is the Vice President of The Academy of Tobacco Studies which in turn is funded by the conglomerate of tobacco industries. He is the official spokesperson for cigarette manufacturers and smooth talks his way when they are in a mess. Senator Finistirre (Macy) is lobbying against smoking and wants to put a 'poison' sticker on cigarette boxes; call Nick Naylor. BR (Simmons) Nick's boss, is fed up with plummeting sales and wants a new way to increase smoking; ask Nick Naylor. When people keep asking him why he does this job, he smooth talks his way out of it using his own philosophies. After sleeping with Heather (Holmes) a journalist, Nick spills the beans about his job and everyone else concerned with it and soon realises his life is gone for a toss. The initial few moments in the movie are good enough to hold your interest, thanks to J.K. Simmons whose abuses too bring a broad smile to your face. Aaron Eckhart too does a fabulous job at maintaining a constant stream of humour. The movie has some nice humorous dialogues which increases its appeal, but not enough to make you fall off your seat.

Thumbs up: Nice performances, good plot
Thumbs down: More humour would have been preferred

Rating: 7.3/10

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THE 2009 MOUTON D'OR AWARD NOMINATIONS

UP IN THE AIR leads Black Sheep Reviews' 2009 Mouton d'Or Award nominations with a total of seven, including one for Best Picture. Fellow Best Picture nominee, DISTRICT 9 follows with five nods. UP! also earns five nods but misses out on a Best Picture shot. PRECIOUS, AN EDUCATION and (500) DAYS OF SUMMER round out this year's list of contenders for the top prize, each scoring four nods. The Best Picture race this year is one that is particularly meaningful to me. Together, the five films define the year in film for me, as they should. Each one left a distinct mark on me and each one would go on to be more than just a movie but also a memory of my life.

There is one change to the Mouton d'Or Awards this year ... The technical awards have been dumbed down simply because I don't feel technical enough to make any judgment. So instead of having specific awards for editing, cinematography or art direction, there is just one award now called, Best Looking Movie.

This is also the second year for the Black Sheep Reader's Choice Award. Another six films have been culminated from your submissions for Best Film of 2009 and over the course of the next few weeks, you can vote for your favorite of the favorites by completing the Black Sheep poll near the top right of the page.

The winners of the Mouton d'Or Awards will be announced on Saturday, March 6. Without any further delay, I am proud to present to you the Black Sheep Reviews' 2009 Mouton d'Or Award nominations ...

(Click any highlighted title to read the original Black Sheep review)


BEST BIG MOVIE

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK
UP!
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE


BEST LITTLE MOVIE

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
THE HURT LOCKER
J'AI TUE MA MERE
SIN NOMBRE


THE WORST MOVIE I SAW ALL YEAR

THE FINAL DESTINATION
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
THE LOVELY BONES
OBSERVE AND REPORT
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON


BLACK SHEEP READER'S CHOICE AWARD

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
UP!
UP IN THE AIR


THE TREVOR ADAMS ANIMATED FEATURE AWARD

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
PONYO
UP!


BEST LOOKING MOVIE

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE


BEST MUSIC IN A MOVIE

FANTASTIC MR. FOX
NINE
A SINGLE MAN
UP!
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

MATT DAMON in INVICTUS
ALFRED MOLINA in AN EDUCATION
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER in THE LAST STATION
STANLEY TUCCI in THE LOVELY BONES
CHRISTOPH WALTZ in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

MARION COTILLARD in NINE
VERA FARMIGA in UP IN THE AIR
ANNA KENDRICK in UP IN THE AIR
MO'NIQUE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
JULIANNE MOORE in A SINGLE MAN


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER written by SCOTT NEUSTADTER and MICHAEL H. WEBER
THE HURT LOCKER written by MARK BOAL
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS written by QUENTIN TARANTINO
A SERIOUS MAN written by JOEL COEN and ETHAN COEN
UP! written by BOB PETERSON and PETE DOCTER


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

DISTRICT 9 written by NEILL BLOMKAMP and TERRI TATCHELL
AN EDUCATION written by NICK HORNBY
FANTASTIC MR. FOX written by WES ANDERSON and NOAH BAUMBACH
A SINGLE MAN written by TOM FORD and DAVID SCEARCE
UP IN THE AIR written by JASON REITMAN and SHELDON TURNER


BEST ACTOR

JEFF BRIDGES in CRAZY HEART
GEORGE CLOONEY in UP IN THE AIR
COLIN FIRTH in A SINGLE MAN
MORGAN FREEMAN in INVICTUS
MICHAEL STUHLBARG in A SERIOUS MAN


BEST ACTRESS

HELEN MIRREN in THE LAST STATION
CAREY MULLIGAN in AN EDUCATION
MAYA RUDOLPH in AWAY WE GO
GABOUREY SIDIBE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
MERYL STREEP in JULIE & JULIA


BEST DIRECTOR

KATHRYN BIGELOW for THE HURT LOCKER
JAMES CAMERON for AVATAR
JOEL COEN and ETHAN COEN for A SERIOUS MAN
LEE DANIELS for PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
JASON REITMAN for UP IN THE AIR


BEST PICTURE

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
UP IN THE AIR

It's been a good year!

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Next (2007)

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Thriller/Romance

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jessica Biel, Julianne Moore, Thomas Kretschmann

Cris Johnson (Cage) aka Frank Cadillac is a magician in Vegas. He has the ability to see in the future and times his acts accordingly. The FBI receives a nuclear threat on LA and FBI agent Callie Ferris (Moore) knows about Cris and his rare ability. She starts hunting him down in the hope that he could look in the future and help them locate the bomb. What she doesn't know is that Cris can only look in the future for events that he is personally involved in. Knowing this, Cris doesn't want to work with them and is constantly running away from her. Cris meets Liz (Biel) in a cafe and starts travelling with her. They both end up liking each other but Cris sees the future and realises that he might end up putting her life in danger if she is with him. The movie has a nice plot to it but the initial few minutes are slow. Nicolas Cage as usual does an amazing performance but the fundamentals of the movie still revolves around a regular hostage situation.

Thumbs up: Nice plot, Nicolas cage
Thumbs down: Storyline cant be explored further

Rating: 6.7/10

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World Trade Center (2006)

Genre: Drama/History/Biography

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhall

A true life story of Port Authority Police Department officers, Will Jimeno (Pena) and John McLoughlin (Cage) who went to the World Trade Centre compound to evacuate the building, only to get trapped under 20 feet of debris when the buildings collapsed. The story of their families and their wives Donna McLoghlin (Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Gyllenhall) and the 20 hour misery that they both went through. Most of the story revolves around John and Will being trapped inside and how they kept each other alive and were the only support they had. This is again one of those movies that needs time before you can start appreciating it. The movie is very emotional, which truly comes out only in the end. Good performance by the entire cast helped the movie to get more acclaim. They movie fixed itself to the story of only two individuals which was probably a let down. Narrating the story of various families, each of whom had to suffer in one way or another could have made the movie more appealing.

Thumbs up: Good performances
Thumbs down: Story has room for improvisation

Rating: 7.2/10

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Layer Cake (2004)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller

Starring: Daniel Craig, Kenneth Cranham, Michael Gambon, Jamie Foreman, George Harris, Colm Meaney

XXXX (Craig) heads a gang of London based cocaine dealers. His boss, Jimmy Price (Cranham) wants him to hunt down his associate Eddie Temple's (Gambon) kidnapped daughter. Meanwhile, another drug dealer known as The Duke (Foreman) steals a stockpile of ecstasy pills from a Serbian dealer. Price, wants XXXX to become a middle-man by buying the pills from The Duke and selling them to a buyer. XXXX dosent know that Price is double-crossing him, until Temple comes and enlightens him. Coming from the producer of Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the movie showed resemblance to its brothers, sans the humour. The movie has very heavy British accent, which makes it a little difficult for the unfamiliar to grasp. The initial few moments are spent with Craig teaching you the nuances of drug dealing, should you be needing it. The movie has a decent plot but isn't narrated in the best manner. Daniel Craig's presence didn't help to improve the movies appeal either.

Thumbs up: Good plot
Thumbs down: Performance, plot execution

Rating: 6.9/10

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Stardust (2007)

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Action/Romance/Drama

Starring: Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfieffer, Robert De Niro, Kate Magowan, Mark Strong

A small town named Wall, harbours a human population. The inhabitants of Wall are not permitted to cross the village wall and move to the other side, a magical world known as Stormhold, of which the humans have no knowledge. Tristan's (Cox) father once managed to cross the wall and fell in love with a slave, Una (Magowan). Una gave birth to Thristen and sent him to his father for safe-keeping. An older Tristan makes a promise with Victoria, the village beauty, that if he brings her back a star, she would marry him. Meanwhile, the king of Stormhold is aging and needs to select an heir. The prince that finds the kings medallion will be the heir. The medallion lands on the neck of a star which falls back in Stormhold. The star, Yvaine (Danes) is a young, bright girl with radiant beauty. Septimus (Strong) the last of the surviving princes, learns about the star and is in pursuit for her. Una leaves Tristan a letter which tells him of a way to reach her, but he instead lands up next to the star. Three aging witches need the heart of star if they want to revive their youth. Lamia (Pfieffer), one of the witches, goes on a hunt for the star. Three persons, each with a different motive, want the star for some use or another. The movie has a very slow start and the plot takes some time getting used to. One might like the movie if he/she is a Lord of the Rings fan, although the movie isn't as good.

Thumbs up: Good plot
Thumbs down: Slow start, needs more action and thrills

Rating: 7.6/10

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Role Models (2008)

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama

Starring: Seann Willian Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch

Wheeler (Scott) and Danny (Rudd) work for Minotaur, an energy drink manufacturing company. They hate their job, which includes visiting schools and convincing kids not to do drugs but drink Minotaur instead, something which is equally harmful. They end up driving the company truck up a statue and assault two police officers, due to which they land up with a jail term. Their only alternative is to do 150 hours of community service at Sturdy Wings, wherein they have to look after kids on weekends when they are lonely. Wheeler is pun in charge of Ronnie (Thompson) a 10-year old African-American with an extra abusive and sexual language. Danny, on the other hand has Augie (Mintz-Plasse) a kid who thinks he is living in a magical world. The movie is a bit boring and Paul Rudd's bored look doesn't do too much to lighten things up either. It lacks jokes and any form of humour that exists, fails to make you laugh.

Thumbs up: Christopher and Bobb'e's performance
Thumbs down: Bad humour, boring

Rating: 5.1/10

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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Genre: Fantasy/Comedy/Action/Adventure

Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams. Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robbie Williams, Steve Coogan, Cristopher Guest, Alain Chabat, John Bernthal

Larry Daley (Stiller) the night guard the Museum of Natural History, New York left his job to start a company which invents innovative and new useful home devices. He misses the museum and he knows he is not happy. A random visit to his earlier workplace and he sees that the museum is under going a renovation and many of his old friends are going to be replaced by new exhibits. The exhibits would be shipped out to become a part of the federal achieves, Smithsonian, Washington D.C. and that too without the tablet of Ahkmenrah, rendering them lifeless. Capuchin, the monkey, steals the tablet and takes it with him to the Smithsonian. He receives distress calls from Jedediah (Wilson) and decides to head out to D.C. and save his friends. He encounter Kahmunrah (Azaria) the brother of Ahkmunrah who wants to use the tablet to recall his army from the dead and take over the world. Kahmunrah forges an alliance with Ivan the Terrible (Guest) who actually wants to be known as Ivan the Awesome, Napoleon (Chabat) who is very sensitive about his height and Al Capone (Bernthal). Larry meets Ameilia Earhart (Adams), the first woman to fly across the Atlantic and they both have to crack the code for Kahmunrah and save his friends. The movie is much in accord with the earlier one. It's a nice fun watch and the short pieces of humour when you least expect it. Ben Stiller performed amazingly and is well-received.

Thumbs up: Ben Stiller, humour
Thumbs down: Too familiar to the earlier movie

Rating: 7.8/10

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Tis the Season: The Screen Actors Guild

Earlier this week, AN EDUCATION, THE HURT LOCKER and PRECIOUS saw their chances for Oscar gold increase with Best Film nominations at the BAFTA's. At the Screen Actors Guild awards, given out last night, it was another film that declared itself a contender. Without AVATAR or UP IN THE AIR to contend with, as they weren't even noninated, Quentin Tarantino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS emerged triumphant in the Best Ensemble category, the SAG equivalent of Best Picture. As for the remaining acting categories, the winners remain unchanged from last week's Golden Globes. I still haven't caught Sandra Bullock's supposed best performance of her career in THE BLIND SIDE so I have no business saying anything at all about this but I will this week at some point, and let me tell you, if I'm right about this being just some big pay on the back for a long career and contribution to Hollywood, you will hear about it people! This is a guild made up of actors designed to reward the most incredible performances in their field. Again, I cite Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe as exceptional examples of this craft and I hope that the SAG aren't debasing themselves by proving that all of this is nothing more than a fancy popularity contest.

The Screen Actors Guild film award winners are:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
NINE
PRECIOUS

And the winner is: INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney, UP IN THE AIR
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN
Morgan Freeman, INVICTUS
Jeremy Renner, THE HURT LOCKER

And the winner is: JEFF BRIDGES - CRAZY HEART

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Helen Mirren, THE LAST STATION
Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION
Gabourey Sidibe, PRECIOUS
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA

And the winner is: SANDRA BULLOCK - THE BLIND SIDE

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Matt Damon, INVICTUS
Woody Harrelson, THE MESSENGER
Christopher Plummer - THE LAST STATION
Stanley Tucci, THE LOVELY BONES

And the winner is: CHRISTOPH WALTZ - INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz, NINE
Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR
Anna Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR
Diane Kruger, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

And the winner is: MO'NIQUE - PRECIOUS

For a full list of winners, visit the SAG website.

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Crank 2: High Voltage (2009)

Genre: Crime/Comedy/Action

Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Ling Bai, Art Hsu, Efren Ramirez, Joseph Julian Soria

Chev Chelios (Statham) cant just seem to keep his head out of shit. F*** you Chelios is what everyone tells him and he rightly deserves it. The Triad gang leader is aging his bodily parts need replacement. Who other than the great Chev Chelios who managed to survive the deadly Chinese poison. The Triad kidnaps Chev while he is busy falling off a helicopter from the sky. They first transplant his heart with an artificial one which runs on a battery pack which fuels the internal battery which in turn pumps the heart. Next, they want to amputate his penis but Chev escapes and is on the hunt for Johnny Vang (Hsu) who carries his heart in a box. His external battery pack has limited life and in order to recharge his internal batter, he keeps needing shots of electricity. Chev manages to come across a lot of old friends from the previous movie, including Kaylo's twin brother Venus (Ramirez) and his girlfriend-who-thought-he-was-dead-and-now-works-at-a-strip club Eve (Smart) and some enemies. The movie recalls a lot of characters from the previous movie but the story has little association with it. The style of action and comedy is in terms with the earlier version but the story keeps deviating at times to show insignificant clips which try hard to make you laugh. A very typical Jason Statham movie and a good watch if you don't mind some gory action.

Thumbs up: Jason Statham and action sequences
Thumbs down: Similar to Crank in almost all aspects

Rating: 7.5/10

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Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009)

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama

Starring: Jonathan Benett, Kristinn Cavallari, Jerry Shea, Nestor Aaron Absera, Steve Talley, Kurt Fuller, Nic Nac

Continuing the tradition of his forefathers, Van Wilder the fifth (Benett) comes to Coolidge College. Coolidge has changed drastically in the past few years and is now under military control. Dean Charles Reardon (Fuller) has imposed strict military regulations which includes a ban on partying and drinking. Van Wilder is about to change that. He starts hitting on the dean's right hand officer, Dirk's (Talley) girlfriend, Katilin (Cavallari) and proves it to her that his way of life is much better than Dirk's. The dean still holds a grudge against Van's father and along with Dirk, they want to throw Van out of Coolidge once and for all. Each side try and outdo the other, the dean by his army tactics and Van by throwing one amazing party. The movie title and Van's dog, Ballsack, are the only two things that have been kept in continuation with the previous two movies. Apart from that, all other traces are missing. The movie is a very regular sex-comedy and doesn't boast of being different.

Thumbs up: Good humour, although little
Thumbs down: Repetitive, very regular

Rating: 5.3/10

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Michael Jackson's: This Is It (2009)

Genre: Documentary/Musical

Starring: Michael Jackson, Kenny Ortega

The man who invented the 'moon walk', the epitome of all dance forms, the legend, Michael Jackson. For more than a decade, he stayed away from stage performances and his life was marred by controversies. He finally decides to make a public appearance once again at a concert in London in the month of July in 2009. June 2009, preparations for the concert were in full swing and barely weeks before the eventful day, MJ lost his life. It was a tragic day for the world and for the millions of fans who loved his music. A video recording of the rehearsals was being made which was to a part of the concert. That same recording took the form of this movie. The movie is like any other behind the scenes story of an event and doesn't hold any major significance. It perhaps would have been better if it retold the story of MJ's life with all his ups and downs, major concerts, biggest hits etc., instead the movie focused only on the making of the London concert. The movie is a must watch for any die-hard MJ fan, but for anyone else, it is highly avoidable.

Thumbs up: Michael, the legend
Thumbs down: Doesn't include past life

Rating: 6.1/10

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Heat (1995)

Genre: Crime/Action/Drama/Thriller

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diana Venora, Amy Brenemman, Mykelti Williamson, Ashley Judd, Danny Trejo

Neil McCauley (De Niro) along with his gang of robbers, which includes Chris (Kilmer) Trejo (Trejo) and Michael (Sizemore) rob $1.6 million in the form of bearer bonds from an armoured truck. Lt. Vincent Hanna (Pacino) an LAPD homicide detective gets on the tail of McCauley and his group. McCauley and his gang are planning to rob a bank at the risk of getting caught or killed. They have just been double crossed by an accomplice and their position is compromised. It's a do or die situation for McCauley and Vincent and they're both thirsty for each others blood. The movie is a very typical cop story. Complicate the plot, get a good star cast, have an amazing action sequence and watch the ratings rise. The movie doesn't have anything different to offer in terms of its plot which is fundamentally simple but has been complicated due to the excessive use of jargon. It's a very typical and regular movie and I really don't know what the fuss is about.

Thumbs up: Pacino and De Niro as ever, nice action sequences
Thumbs down: Regular run of the mill plot, gets boring at times

Rating: 6.8/10

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Best of Black Sheep: CREATION

CREATION
Written by John Collee
Directed by Jon Amiel
Starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly


Oh, how timely to throw together a biopic about Charles Darwin now. It seems to me that, while Darwin’s theories about evolution have been angering religious types since before they were committed to paper, they seem to have been an even hotter topic in recent years with creationists. It would almost seem as though the creators of CREATION may have specifically intended to capitalize on that controversy to get people to see their movie. They may succeed in getting people into the theatres but their incredibly bland picture will ensure that whatever conversation they hoped to inspire will stop there.


CREATION – the movie, that is, not the finite starting point of existence – begins with Mr. Darwin (a frail, pale but mostly able Paul Bettany) telling his eerily smiley daughter (Martha West) a story. I would think that director, Jon Amiel, is telling his story because he sides with Darwin so I’m not clear why he wanted to portray him as an elaborate story-teller right from the start. If this is the man whose mind would manifest the argumental means to theoretically “kill” God, there should be no seed of doubt planted behind him if he is to be taken seriously.


While Darwin grapples with the death of his favorite daughter, he must resolve his faith and his science in order to complete his years of research. The whole process drags him into madness and Bettany's real-life wife, Jennifer Connelly is alongside for the descent as his wife and first cousin, essentially reprising her role from A BEAUTIFUL MIND, except this time with an English accent. Her religious devotion is at distinct odds with her husband’s scientific methods but Amiel doesn’t allow this complex divide between them to open any serious debate; oddly, he has them not speak instead. This missed opportunity is what makes CREATION trite when it could have been contentious.

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Tis the Season: The BAFTA's

The British Academy of Film and Television, essentially the British equivalent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, have announced their nominations for the BAFTA's, essentially the equivalent of the Oscar. Leading the pack with eight nominations apiece are international phenomenon, AVATAR, critical darling, THE HURT LOCKER and British pride, AN EDUCATION. Each of these three films will compete for Best Film alongside PRECIOUS and UP IN THE AIR. Missing out on a Best Film nod but scoring seven nominations, is DISTRICT 9. That is one nomination more than favorites, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and UP IN THE AIR. This is definitely good news for AN EDUCATION and THE HURT LOCKER as these indie hits have not been seen by that large an audience and need as much exposure as they can get to score Oscar nods. AVATAR is essentially a lock for a Best Picture nod now at the Oscars and I'm happy to see that the BAFTA voters were smart enough to leave its "original" screenplay off the ballot. Another notable absence is Sandra Bullock for Leading Actress in THE BLIND SIDE. Other snubs include NINE and THE DAMNED UNITED, neither of which received any love whatsoever and British-themed films, BRIGHT STAR and THE YOUNG VICTORIA, which each only earned one nod in the production categories. The BAFTA winners will be announced February 21.

Here is a list of the nominees in the major categories ...
(Click any highlighted title for the Black Sheep review)

BEST FILM
AVATAR
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR

DIRECTOR
James Cameron, AVATAR
Neill Blomkamp, DISTRICT 9
Lone Scherfig, AN EDUCATION
Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER
Quentin Tarantino, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE HANGOVER
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
A SERIOUS MAN
UP!

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
IN THE LOOP
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR

LEADING ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART
George Clooney, UP IN THE AIR
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN
Jeremy Renner, THE HURT LOCKER
Andy Serkis, SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL

LEADING ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan, AN EDUATION
Saoirse Ronan, THE LOVELY BONES
Gabourey Sidibe, PRECIOUS
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA
Audrey Tautou, COCO BEFORE CHANEL

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, IT'S COMPLICATED
Christian McKay, ME AND ORSON WELLES
Alfred Molina, AN EDUCATION
Stanley Tucci, THE LOVELY BONES
Christoph Waltz, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anne-Marie Duff, NOWHERE BOY
Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR
Anna Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR
Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS
Kristen Scott Thomas, NOWHERE BOY

ANIMATED FILM
CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
UP!

BRITISH FILM
AN EDUCATION
FISH TANK
IN THE LOOP
MOON
NOWHERE BOY

For a full list of nominees, please visit the BAFTA website.

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Grandma's Boy (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Starring: Linda Cardellini, Allen Covert, Doris Roberts, Nick Swardson, Peter Dante, Shirley Jones, Joel Moore

Alex (Covert) is a video game tester who has just been evicted from his house for not paying his rent. Now homeless, he doesn't have a place to stay and out of desperation he crashes at his grandmothers house. His granny and her two roommates aren't all that bad as Alex had anticipated. They smoke weed, play video games, make out with guys a third of their age and do every possible thing that Alex would want them to do. The movie has no real story and its just about how Alex and his pals along with their new boss Samantha (Cardellini) have a great time together. The movie is definitely funny on more than one occasion which makes it an amazing watch if you have a bunch of freaky friends next to you. A drug peddler with a pet monkey who can do taekwondo, the companies game designer who keeps thinking he is a robot and one amazing party. The movie takes a little time to pick up, but when it does its time smartly invested.

Thumbs up: Humour and performance
Thumbs down: Slow start

Rating: 7.1/10

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The Prestige (2006)

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Science-fiction

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Cristian Bale, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine

There are always three parts to every magic act. The pledge, the turn and finally, the prestige. Robert 'The Great Danton' Angier (Jackman) and Alfred 'The Professor' Borden (Bale) are two rival magicians who once worked together as assistants for another magician. A fatal accident killed Robert's wife for which he blames Alfred. The two spent their entire life battling each other to emerge as the best magician. Alfred has a unique trick known as 'The Transported Man' with which he gains a lot of recognition. Robert attempts to do the same trick but he knows it is not the method that Alfred uses and this loss starts consuming him. He manages to get a unique device constructed by a scientist and is at the peak of his career, when suddenly the act goes wrong and he dies. Alfred is later convicted for murdering Robert Angier and is served the death sentence. The movie has a nice plot, but the first half may leave you a little lost in the story. The plot keeps moving back and forth in time and it takes a while to get a complete grip of it. The movie has a good twist in the end, but not as good as it should have been. There is enough mystery but not enough suspense to compliment it. A more dressed up end would have given the movie a better appeal.

Thumbs up: Plot, casting and performance
Thumbs down: Weak climax, mixed up story

Rating: 7.3/10

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Fanboys (2008)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Adventure

Starring: Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Sam Huntington, Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell

A group of Star Wars fanatics find it hard to move on in life. All they do is waste time and watch their favourite movie for the millionth time. Linus (Marquette) has cancer and has very little time left. Not enough time to wait for the new Star Wars movie to release. In order to give him something to live for, his childhood buddy Eric (Huntington) decides their entire group should do a road trip across the country and break into George Lucas' house to make Linus watch the movie before it releases. Windows (Baruchel) the group geek, wants to meet his online girlfriend and thinks this trip is the perfect chance. Zoe (Bell) loves Windows but cant tell him and Hutch (Fogler) simply wants to get laid. Travelling in Hutch's van aka space ship across the country makes them encounter a whole lot of adventures which includes beating up a gang of Stark Trek fans. The movie is hilarious but misses the point. More humour and playing more on the 'sex factor' would have helped the movie increase its appeal. Its not LOL funny, but funny enough to lighten you up.

Thumbs up: Good plot
Thumbs down: Could have used some 'American Pie' content to improve things

Rating: 5.9/10

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THE LOVELY BONES

THE LOVELY BONES
Written by Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens and Peter Jackson
Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci


I would not have thought that Peter Jackson, the director of the infamous Lord of the Rings trilogy (in case you didn’t know), would ever be a horrible choice to adapt a cherished novel to the big screen. Going forward, I will not be so naïve. In it’s original form, The Lovely Bones, as delicately told by author, Alice Sebold, is a shockingly honest account of what one seemingly happy family endures after the death of their eldest daughter. Its scope reaches into the minds of everyone who is affected by her death and even goes so far as heaven itself for answers. On screen, it goes nowhere near any of this insight and just ends up a mangled mess.


The death of Suzie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a fourteen-year-old girl with her whole life ahead of her, was senseless violence in a time when people still thought such things never happened to them. No body is found and therefore no rest is had by those Suzie touched in life. To sit with the book is to sit with the Salmon family in their grief. It is a cathartic experience and one that I may need to go through again after having all my healing robbed from me by Jackson. His focus, if he had any at all, circles around Suzie’s personal transition from the land of the living to that of the dead. This allows Jackson to imagine grand imagery to bridge the gap between both worlds but, like Suzie, he too gets lost in the “in-between”.


The only things that keep The Lovely Bones from falling apart completely are the performances of Stanley Tucci and Ronan as the murderer and his prey. Their incredible grasp of the source material is the only reminder of its chilling emotional charge. As for Jackson, he should have stuck with the gold he had in hand from the start.

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Black Sheep has Big Love for BIG LOVE

The dust from the Golden Globes has settled and now that I can get over all of their ridiculous choices, I can congratulate an unexpected win that I was very pleased to see. Ever since I first saw her face in KIDS, I was taken with Chloe Sevigny. She has never really connected with the mainstream public but she has amassed a cult following of admirers. On Sunday, she won her first Golden Globe and I could not be happier for the role she won for. As Nicolette Grant in HBO's BIG LOVE, Sevigny's sometimes cold exterior is put to perfect use. She plays the second of three wives in a modern Mormon polygamist family that also includes Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ginnifer Goodwin. Nicky has always been tricky, to say the least. Coming from life on the compound, she is the daughter of a false prophet and is torn between her loyalties to her past family and her current one. She is always dressed in such dowdy attire and so tightly wound, it is a miracle she hasn't combusted into flames by now. In the third season of BIG LOVE, now available on DVD, she finally starts seeing her past for what it really was but it might be too late. Her antics have her on the outs with her new family and it isn't clear that she can ever get back in their good graces. I would love to see bigger love for the show itself but I will hold on to this win for now. Congratulations, Chloe!

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Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: Kal Penn, Lauren Cohan, Daniel Percival, Anthony Cozens, Holly Davidson

Continuing the tradition of his mentor, Van Wilder, Taj Mahal Badalandabad (Penn) travels to England to teach at Camford University. The college is divided as per houses and each member of the college must support a house. He receives an invite to join the Foxes and Hounds, the most prestigious house on campus, only to be rejected due to a typographical error which supposedly states that he cannot be a member of the house. He vows enmity with the house leader, Pip (Percival) and has a crush for his girlfriend Charolette (Cohan). He lands up being a part of the most disgraced house on campus, Cocks and Bulls and wants to change the way things happen in there. In order to do so, he decides to make the house take part in the Hastings Cup, which is an inter-house tournament and wishes to overthrow the consistent winners, the Foxes and Hounds. The movie is a huge improvement from the previous movie and a big step forward in being much more fun to watch. The jokes are still not good enough, but Kal Penn's performance is enough to keep your attention.

Thumbs up: Kal Penn all the way
Thumbs down: The humour can still be further improved

Rating: 5.9/10

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Wargames: The Dead Code (2008)

Genre: Science-fiction/Drama/Thriller

Starring: Matt Lanter, Amanda Walsh, Chuck Shamata, Nicholas Wright

Will Farmer (Lanter) is a computer super-genius, who was simply trying to help his Arabic neighbour by fixing his computer. He stumbles across his neighbours online bank account, which he manages to hack in and discovers thousands of dollars saved in it. His friend Dennis (Wright) persuades him to take some money and gamble it on an online game known as Wargames. Wargames is actually a game run by the US Government. The governments new super computer known as Ripley, believes that if any person can cross level 5 in Wargames, he/she has the necessary intelligence and traits to become a future terrorist and hence should be eliminated. The logic is obviously flawed, but the federal officers don't yet realise it. A wild goose chase begins with officers chasing Will, and ends up involving Annie (Walsh) Will's secret crush and takes the duo to Montreal, Canada. Ripley starts acting irrationally and the government soon realises she herself is a threat to the national security and has to be shut down, something she isn't programmed to do. The movie starts on very shaky grounds but steadily picks up pace. The final climax scene is thrilling, but that is the only piece of excitement the movie can conjure. It seems the movie has been in the making for a bit too many years and by gods grace was put together and made ready for release. The computers voiceovers are terribly annoying, especially Joshua.

Thumbs up: Thrilling climax
Thumbs down: Lousy everything else

Rating: 5.7/10

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I, Robot (2004)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Mystery

Starring: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk (voice), James Cromwell, Bruce Greenwood

Place: Chicago, Year: 2035. The age of robots has arrived and robots are slaves for humans. Detective Spooner (Smith) despises robots and can never get around to trust them. Dr. Alfred Lenning (Cromwell) is known as the father of the robot. He is found dead in his office building lobby, which the police term as suicide. However, Spooner is not convinced and feels that Dr. Lenning was murdered. Robots are programmed to abide by three laws which all in all are supposed to protect humans at the cost of their own life. Spooner, along with psychologist Dr. Calvin (Moynahan) find Sonny (Tudyk) a robot that has emotions and other traits unknown to robots. He can also choose to ignore any of the three laws as per his wish. Spooner has to follow the trail of crumbs and find Dr. Lenning's killer and the mystery behind Sonny. The movie has a very basic plot and there aren't too many complications to it. Will Smith's entire get up and attitude doesn't suit him or his role and seems to be quite fake. The special effects fall a little short at times, but the movie still remains a good watch. Playing a little bit more on the murder mystery with a few interesting twists would have helped to a greater extent.

Thumbs up: A nice overall entertainment package
Thumbs down: Will Smith's look, weak climax

Rating: 7.4/10

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Van Wilder: Party Liasion (2002)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Kal Penn, Tara Reid, Daniel Cosgrove

Van Wilder (Reynolds) is in his 7th year at Coolidge College. He is in there not because he consistently fails to pass but because he consistently makes himself fail. He loves staying on campus and everyone loves him for all that he does. From organising parties, helping guys hook up with girls and taking care of ill students, Van does it all. In fact he has so much on his plate, that he actually needs an assistant who turns out to be Taj Mahal Badlaandabad (Penn) whose last name literally means 'big dick land', is an exchange student from India and wants to learn the American way of life. Gwen (Reid) is a journalist, whose editor wants her to do an article on Van and his seven years at college. Van, however, is not going to give his interview so easily and has other things on his mind with Gwen. The movie is quite a lame attempt at being funny. It falls into the category of those movies which tried to do an American Pie but failed miserably. Reynolds looks a bit too out of place to pull of the role and Kal Penn, as usual plays the role of the sex-hungry Indian, a role I guess he is going to fulfill all his life.

Thumbs up: Prefer yawning rather than think this one out
Thumbs down: Plot and humour

Rating: 4.8/10

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The Duchess (2008)

Genre: Biography/Drama/Romance

Starring: Keira Knightley, Ralf Fiennes, Charolette Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell

Based on a true story, the Duke of Devonshire (Fiennes) is without a male heir and it constantly worries him. He marries a young Georgiana (Knightley), whose mother (Rampling) assures the Duke that woman of her family will always conceive a son. Marriage for him, was a deal and in the deal Georgiana is supposed to provide him with a son and be loyal to him. She fails to fulfill the first condition which does not go down will with the Duke. Georgiana has a crush on Charles Grey (Cooper) and wants to end her marriage. The Duke on the other hand, makes Georgiana's only friend his mistress and vows to destroy Charles if she leaves him. The movie in short narrates the story of Georgiana's devastated life and everything else that comes along with it. It is amazing to know that even the British who used to deem themselves as highly civilised, could actually be like this. The movie moves at an annoyingly slow pace which makes the movie feel like its not going to ever end. Not just that, it also gets annoying and boring after a while. I guess that is actually how the movie was meant to be and would be no better if it were otherwise. It's just a simple story with no real end and no real foundation.

Thumbs up: Has a very Victorian look and feel to it
Thumbs down: Drags on endlessly

Rating: 5.2/10

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And the Golden Globe winners are!

The Globes are over. I had a great time tweeting throughout and sharing the experience with a lot of the readers and other writers out there. I did not so much enjoy the show. It was somber and awkward. Ricky Gervais was ridiculous. Occasionally amusing but mostly insulting and unappreciative. And the choices?! Such bizarre wins that leave me unenthused about the rest of the awards season. Sandra Bullock over Gabourey Sidibe or Carey Mulligan for Best Actress? The Hangover for Best Comedy over 500 Days of Summer. And although I can respect a James Cameron win for Best Direction, I cannot get on board with an Avatar best picture win over Up in the Air, Precious, The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds. I hope when I wake up tomorrow, the film press will be declaring the Golden Globes a big joke so they have zero influence on the Oscar nods.

BEST PICTURE (DRAMA)

The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Winner: AVATAR

BEST ACTOR (DRAMA)

George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Tobey Maguire - Brothers

Winner: JEFF BRIDGES - A CRAZY HEART

BEST ACTOR (COMEDY)

Matt Damon - The Informant!
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg - A Serious Man
Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine

Winner: ROBERT DOWNEY JR - SHERLOCK HOLMES

BEST ACTRESS (DRAMA)

Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious

Winner: SANDRA BULLOCK - THE BLIND SIDE

BEST PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
IT'S COMPLICATED
JULIE AND JULIA
NINE

Winner: THE HANGOVER

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Clint Eastwood - Invictus
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglorious Basterds

Winner: jAMES CAMERON - AVATAR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon - Invictus
Woody Harrelson - The Messengers
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones

Winner: CHRISTOPH WALTZ - INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Baaria (Italy)
Broken Embraces (Spain)
The Maid (Chile)
Un Prophete (France)

Winner: THE WHITE RIBBON (GERMANY)

BEST SCREENPLAY

District 9
The Hurt Locker
It's Complicated
Inglorious Basterds

Winner: UP IN THE AIR

BEST ACTRESS (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)

Sandra Brullock - The Proposal
Marion Cotillard - Nine
Julia Roberts - Duplicity
Meryl Streep - It's Complicated

Winner: MERYL STREEP - JULIE AND JULIA

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Penelope Cruz - Nine
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Julianne Moore - A Single Man

Winner: MO'NIQUE - PRECIOUS

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

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

Winner: UP!

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Cinema Italiana - Nine
I See You - Avatar
I Want to Come Home - Everybody's Fine
Winter - Brothers

Winner: THE WEARY KIND - CRAZY HEART

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

The Informant
Avatar
A Single Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Winner: UP!

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From 2000 to 20: Black Sheep's Best Films of the Decade (2000-2009)

It’s pretty self-explanatory, folks. The decade ended a couple of weeks ago and after careful consideration and a little assistance from my Flickchart obsession, I have whittled down what I consider to be the 20 best films of the last decade. It was certainly not easy and there are so many titles that won’t be mentioned below that truly stood out as well but 10 years is a long time, people. And that means a lot of movies. If you’re narrowing them down to 20, some titles are just not going to fit. And we will call those titles losers because that is what they are. (Sorry 2009, not a single entry from your year managed to make the cut.)

And now for the winners. Black Sheep’s favorite films of the last decade are … (click on any highlighted title for review)

NUMBER TWENTY … WALL-E … Directed by Andrew Stanton … 2008


The last decade was very good to Pixar but according to the world of WALL-E, not so good for humanity. This little robot still warms my heart every time I see him and Pixar gets mad respect from me for constantly pushing themselves when they could so easily coast if they wanted to. Robots can teach us a lot about love if we just listen.

NUMBER NINETEEN … ADAPTATION … Directed by Spike Jonze … 2002

If Nicolas Cage is playing twin screenwriters – one a Hollywood hack and one a tortured artist; and Meryl Streep is playing an unsatisfied writer who gets lost in the exotic world of orchids, thieves and pollen snorting, you know you’re dealing with the crazy mind of screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman and the visual eccentricity of Spike Jonze. This is a beautiful story about getting bogged down in the details.

NUMBER EIGHTEEN … ONCE … Directed by John Carney … 2007

This tiny little modern musical, where music doesn’t just happen spontaneously but rather just exists constantly in the world of these musicians swept the hearts of the world and of the cast itself, as lead actors, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova found love while making it. While their love is never that easy on screen, their real chemistry and beautiful songs leave you wanting to see it a lot more than just once.

NUMBER SEVENTEEN … KILL BILL VOLUME 1 … Directed by Quentin Tarantino … 2003

This was a very welcome return to form for one of the most decadent directors of our time. Tarantino makes so many calculated moves in his work and every time he pulls them off, we marvel. Uma Thurman, in an underrated performance, embarks on a tale of revenge that is completely impossible to predict but disturbingly satisfying. Tarantino’s martial arts experience certainly helped him fashion this into a contemporary masterpiece.

NUMBER SIXTEEN … HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH … Directed by John Cameron Mitchell … 2001

It isn’t so often that you come across a film that takes on a topic as out there as a transsexual rock star who had a botched sex change operation in order to leave East Berlin only to find the wall come down shortly afterward. Director/Star, John Cameron Mitchell makes Hedwig such an unforgettable character by showing us the human side underneath all the wigs and makeup.

NUMBER FIFTEEN … THE PIANIST … Directed by Roman Polanski … 2002

This last entry may never have made the list if I didn’t see it again recently. The hardships endured by Adrien Brody, a pianist, and his family during the Nazi invasion and occupation of Poland is subtly told by Roman Polanski, a man whose own family history must have made making this extremely tumultuous. Hopefully, his catharsis was as strong as the one he captured on film.

NUMBER FOURTEEN … FAR FROM HEAVEN … Directed by Todd Haynes … 2002

Todd Haynes is a favorite of mine. He isn’t afraid to be different and he isn’t afraid to talk about being different while ironically trying even harder to blend in to the 1950’s aesthetic where this story takes place. Julianne Moore, an actress often overlooked by the Academy, should have won for her performance as Cathy Whitaker, a housewife whose husband (Dennis Quaid) has eyes for other men and whose own eyes have fallen for her black gardener (Dennis Haysbert). It is a beautiful exercise in restraint.

NUMBER THIRTEEN … THERE WILL BE BLOOD … Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson … 2007

What more can I say about this modern American masterpiece other than what I just wrote in my review from a couple days back? I will just applaud; Anderson for becoming the director he always could; Daniel Day-Lewis for proving why he is the best living actor; Paul Dano for showing incredible promise; Jonny Greenwood for adding an unexpected level of disturbance with his score; and Robert Elswit for making it all look so good. They struck something alright!

NUMBER TWELVE … THE DARK KNIGHT … Directed by Christopher Nolan … 2008

I have mad respect for this film because effort and ambition go a long way with me. Christopher Nolan pushed the boundaries of comic hero movies so far with this Batman caper that he managed to reach the masses. It was tricky and twisted and it took us on flights we have never experienced on film before. The haters can go on hating this one all they like. No matter what they say, this will always be the film that killed Heath Ledger in my eyes and he went out blazing.

NUMBER ELEVEN … MOULIN ROUGE! … Directed by Baz Luhrmann … 2001

This modern musical is a visual explosion of colour, excitement and love. While it may not be entirely original in its story, it is very much so in its imaginative execution. Repurposing old pop songs and giving new meaning to already meaningful words was a delight for viewers because they could so easily relate to the sentiment. This film celebrates and honours some of the most beautiful values around. Love, above all else.

NUMBER TEN … IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE … Directed by Wong Kar-Wai … 2000

This Hong Kong film from one of the most masterful directors of the modern era is an intense exercise in restraint. Beneath its exquisite exterior, two lonely lovers imagine what it would be like to be with each other, which they both desperately want but do not say. Imagining alternative realities makes it tricky to stay strong in the present one and the aching passion that exudes from both the performances and the aesthetic is intoxicating.

NUMBER NINE … THE SQUID AND THE WHALE … Directed by Noah Baumbach … 2005

As a child of divorce, I’ve never really felt that affected by the dissolution of my parents’ marriage. This honest look at divorce though explores what happens when the center of everything you know is suddenly gone and the rules of gravity no longer apply. Noah Baumbach’s touching screenplay and sensitive direction allow for so many brilliant individual moments, which in turn allows each of the players, including Jeff Daniels’ best work, to act selfishly for the first time in their lives and love it.

NUMBER EIGHT … UNITED 93 … Directed by Paul Greengrass … 2006

It took five years for Hollywood to tackle what happened in 2001 directly. Paul Greengrass took the schizophrenic film approach he applied to the latter Bourne movies and applied it to a day that was infinitely more chaotic. Unknown actors make up the passengers on the flight in question and subsequently, instead of egotistical performances, we are left to focus solely on the fear, the emotions and the heroism that sprung from these ordinary people. This is a tool for healing.

NUMBER SEVEN … LOST IN TRANSLATION … Directed by Sofia Coppola … 2003

When I first saw this film, I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed. It was a lesson in learning how to cut through the hype to see the film for what it truly is. This quiet film about feeling lost and drifting through a world that makes no sense is still timely today. The relationship between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson is so delicate and always just outside of reach, but watching them find solace and understanding in each other when there is none around them gives hope to all.

NUMBER SIX … MILK … Directed by Gus Van Sant … 2008

Something happened to gay cinema in the last decade. It became about so much more than just being gay. And while Harvey Milk is undeniably an activist for the gay community, the film itself also shows all the other facets of his life that make him a complete human being. I watched this film and wept because I knew so little about the history of the gay rights struggle and then wept some more when I saw how the struggle still forges on today.

NUMBER FIVE … TRAFFIC … Directed by Steven Soderbergh … 2000

Every time I see this movie, I am impressed with how complex it is without pandering to anyone in order to make it more accessible. Yes, the cast itself invites a wider audience but the caliber of the combined talent is what drives home the futility and the ongoing need for the War on Drugs. Soderbergh attacks such a wide canvas and does it in such a deliberately colorful fashion; I am still in awe that he was able to tie it all together so perfectly.

NUMBER FOUR … CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON … Directed by Ang Lee … 2000

Ang Lee understands love. Or at the very least, he understands how to convey the otherworldly connections it makes between the people who fall into it. This dreamlike martial arts adventure is about honour, love and kicking some serious ass. It is a whimsical dance that mesmerizes and enchants the viewer while drawing them in to the difficulties loyalty places on sharing love. It even has a random segue about a girl and her comb. It is as much a testament to the beauty of love as MOULIN ROUGE! is.

NUMBER THREE … NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN … Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen … 2007

This is the definitive Coen Brothers film. Much like P.T. Anderson did the same year with THERE WILL BE BLOOD, the Coen Brothers abandoned what they knew about filmmaking and ended up making their best work by pushing themselves into unfamiliar territory. Aside from the introduction of an iconic antagonist, Anton Chigurgh (Javier Bardem), this film is a subversive cat and mouse game that is consistently sharp and unexpected. It is on many levels a practice in perfect filmmaking.

NUMBER TWO … ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND … Directed by Michel Gondry … 2004

I can’t say that I’m a big fan of much of Gondry’s work but this mind fuck about whether it is better to have loved and lost than to have ever loved at all is the most thorough exploration of the topic I know. As Jim Carrey has Kate Winslet erased from his memory in response to her having done the same to him, he quickly realizes that, while the memories may be tainted, their initial beauty gave him a joy that should never be forgotten. Ignorance is not bliss, my friends. It is just a lack of true appreciation.

NUMBER ONE … BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN … Directed by Ang Lee … 2005

Anyone who knows me is likely not the least surprised to see BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN at the top of my decade list. This is a film that spent months being tossed around the media as “The Gay Cowboy Movie”, and even though it had so many of the right elements in place – Ang Lee as director, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, as the cowboys – it had the potential to ruin any chance gay cinema would have to grow going forward if it got it all wrong. Instead, Lee hit every note perfectly. What it actually became was a film with an unexpected universal appeal that would open doors for future gay characters to be so much more than just gay. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN stands as my favorite film of the decade and my favorite piece of gay cinema of all time.

Thank you for remembering the last ten years in film with me. Here is to the next ten!

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