Couch Time with Sheldon

By no means is this a complaint but movies show up at my door constantly. I am rarely without something to screen when I look for something to watch. Why then did I find myself at the video store this weekend renting a bunch of movies when I already had a bunch at home? I guess I'm insatiable that way.

It isn't going to get any better either with releases like what I'm about to divulge to you coming soon. The hilarious comedy that is hip enough for teens but smart for adults, EASY A, drops right in time for Christmas on December 21. One of 2010's most celebrated adult dramas, THE TOWN, just a few days before that on December 17. James Franco plays Allen Ginsberg in the obscenity obsessed docudrama, HOWL, hitting stores on January 4. And looking a little further to the spring, Disney will be bringing BAMBI to blu-ray on March 1. (Click any film title above, save for BAMBI, for a full review.)

And now, back to the couch ...

SEX AND THE CITY 2

The girls are back where they belong, in my living room. It is so much easier to forgive writer/director, Michael Patrick King's ridiculously outlandish production and nonsensical plot when I'm lazying around in my jammies in the couch. At least watching it this way means I don't have to get dressed all pretty and trek myself over to the theatre to sit there for 2 1/2 hours. No, this way I can drink as many cosmos as I like during the film to make it even more plausible. In all honesty, the second "Sex and the City" movie has its moments. They are not particularly deep or insightful and they certainly don't hold any of the gravitas that they would have years ago when the series was running but they are amusing. If you miss the girls, check them out. You will laugh plenty and the regret will be minimal. Click here for the full Black Sheep review. (Warner Brothers)

LEAVES OF GRASS

How could a movie starring well liked thespian, Edward Norton, go straight to home video? This Tim Blake Nelson film played at TIFF in 2009 and was intended for a theatrical release this fall so what went wrong? Allow me to tell you, pretty much everything. Norton plays twin brother, one is professor of philosophy and the other is a pot dealer. The professor goes home to the middle of nowhere for the first time in ages to play a little identical twin trickery, as if this were a television sitcom or something. As competent as the players are (rounded out by Susan Sarandon and Keri Russell), something always feels off and amateurish in this film. It could have been interesting but never quite gets there. (First Look)

THE SECRET OF KELLS

I'm so happy to have finally gotten around to seeing THE SECRET OF KELLS, the surprise Oscar nominee in the Animated Feature category last year. A young lad named Brandon, who has never been outside the walls that surround Kells, must challenge himself to be the best he can be in order to bring order to a chaotic world. It plays out like a fantasy quest film where the meek must triumph over tragedy and all things evil. This will likely play better to adults fans of the fantasy genre than to attention deficient children but this fable will certainly enchant anyone with an appreciation for breathtaking and imaginative animation style. Give in to Kells and it will show you all the secrets it has to offer.

(New Video Group)

If you're stopping by the video store, there are a ton of brand new first run titles available for rental or purchase this week. Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, etc. get together for the reunion comedy, GROWN UPS ... Jim Carrey's holiday leftovers from 2009, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, are now available for your consumption ... Lars Von Trier's latest, ANTICHRIST, gets the Criterion treatment ... Cutie, Zach Efron's big dramatic turn as CHARLIE ST. CLOUD is now available for slumber parties and drinking games ... It's supposed to be great family fun for RAMONA AND BEEZUS ... Or how about a supposedly dreadful prostitute drama with Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci running the LOVE RANCH ... And finally, most of you missed this in theatres but you had better get out there and watch one of the most exciting and hilarious films on the year, SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD. Don't make Michael Cera come after you. (Click here for the Black Sheep SCOTT PILGRIM review.)

See you on the other end of the couch ...

Source: Blu-ray.com

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Shearing the Oscars: Animated Feature

This is a big year for the Animated Feature Oscar. For the first year since it originated in 2001, there were enough films released in the Academy calendar year to warrant expanding the number of nominees from the usual three to the maximum five. With Pixar's UP leading the category as the frontrunner, the expansion might not lead to an unexpected winner but it has already brought about one of the year's biggest surprise nominations, the very little known, THE SECRET OF KELLS. The unexpected inclusion meant big studio hopeful CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and past winner, Hayao Miyazaki's PONYO were shut out. Let's take a look now at what did make the cut.

CORALINE


There is no denying the artistry of, CORALINE, Henry Selick's miniature epic. Not only is the stop-motion animation technique used so brilliantly, in both a creative and technical fashion, but the tale itself, based on the Neil Gaiman story, is genuinely original. While the film clearly connected with art enthusiasts and young girls, it may have been inherently too cold to remain fresh in voters' minds a year later. It has been honoured as one of the American Film Institute's Top 10 films of the year but this will not be Selick's year for Oscar as well

FANTASTIC MR. FOX


Wes Anderson's magical masterpiece, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, is the next biggest threat in this category. It is the only other nominee aside from UP to find its screenplay, co-written by Anderson and indie filmmaker, Noah Baumbach, honoured by critics' associations. The film's score, composed by Alexandre Desplat is also nominated for an Oscar. The National Board of Review even awarded Wes Anderson a special acheivement award for creating such a brave, new approach to animated film. All of these factors could push FOX past Pixar but it will have to dig a lot deeper still to get up as high as Pixar is.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG


Disney was pushing two films for this category aside from UP, the aforementioned PONYO and their first 2D animation in years, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. Between the two, the latter is certainly the easier choice. Unfortunately, in my opinion, while I do feel Disney was able to get back to its roots with their fresh take on this classic tale, they did not do anything past presenting their first African-American princess to modernize their tested formula. They even brought Randy Newman back to compose a few diddies and, nothing against the perfectly acceptable songs, the Academy honoured him as well. This is a safe entry but no actual threat.

THE SECRET OF KELLS


GKIDS, the U.S. distributor for THE SECRET OF KELLS, opened their mostly hand-drawn fable in one Los Angeles theatre for one little week last year so that their film could be eligible for Academy consideration. Once they passed that hurdle, they held Academy screenings and shipped out screeners but did nothing really more to push their film. As it somehow managed to score a nod alongside these other films with distributors with deep wallets, the film must be pretty good. I cannot say, personally, as I'm one of the millions who hasn't seen it. Although I doubt it can pull off the impossible and take the win here, it's planned spring release will definitely be much more fruitful than I'm sure GKIDS ever imagined.

UP


It is so easy to say great things about Pixar. I could not believe they pulled this one off, to be honest. And when I realized after seeing it that they had, I could not really believe I ever doubted them. Pixar hasn't always won over the hearts of the Academy though. MONSTERS INC lost the inaugural Animated Feature award to SHREK and CARS lost to HAPPY FEET in 2006. Those two weren't also nominated for Best Picture though. Besides, they have won four out of the last eight years so it isn't that a big a stretch to see them taking it a fifth time. It's no bigger stretch than a rickety old man and a boy scout flying high above the world in house attached to hundreds of helium balloons anyway.

WHAT WILL WIN? UP

WHAT MIGHT STILL WIN? FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Next up in Black Sheep's Academy Awards spotlight, it's time to get down to the written word and look at this year's nominees in the writing categories. That's next weekend. In the meantime, Black Sheep reposts full reviews for some of the nominated animated features all week.

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