DVDs. Which Will It Be?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 8:00AM Now that we've caught up with the last Reader Request (Beauty & The Beast) and we're finally done with 2010 movies (Jesus, that took forever!), it's time to really dig into 2011. The earliest releases of 2011 are already on DVD and the summer movie is in full swing. Here is a list of newish movies from either the past couple of weeks or today's DVD batch. It's time to bring back the Reader Request.
- GNOMEO & JULIET -garden gnomes do Shakespeare in this animated film.
- I AM NUMBER FOUR- alex pettyfer shoots stuff from his hands in sci-fi/romance.
- THE MECHANIC - jason statham teaches ben foster how to kill people.
- NO STRINGS ATTACHED - natalie portman and ashton kutcher are f***buddies.
- THE OTHER WOMAN -natalie portman marries another woman's man.
- THE RITE -studying exorcism with scary-eyed anthony hopkins.
- THE ROOMMATE -leighton & minka rip off "single white female" in college thriller.
Which of those 2011 feature releases would you like Nathaniel to write-up about? Your vote is my command.
"at the ballet-ayyyyyyyyyy"I'll write up the winning choice for next Monday. UPDATE: HERE IS THE WRITE UP ON THE OTHER WOMAN.
There are two documentaries also hitting DVD that I've already written about, the orangutan in captivity meditation known as Nenette (brief thoughts) and the Broadway doc Every Little Step (review) which is worth seeing if you have any emotional investment in "A Chorus Line" or any intellectual curiousity about the casting process on big Broadway shows.
DVD, polls, reader requests
Reader Comments (32)
none of the new releases (seriously, nobody will be deprived if those films are never spoken of again). spare yourself
I couldn't bring myself to vote for any of them. :(
I voted for "The Mechanic" since I kind of wish that I'd seen it, if only for the chance to drool over both Statham and Foster.
If "Gnomeo and Juliet" wins, you have my permission to ignore it, as it has to be the worst film I've seen so far this year.
No! Gnomeo and Juliet is actually enjoyable. Sure it's not up to par with Romeo and Juliet, but in my opinion its a better watch than Rango (yeah I said it) and the gnome gags surprisingly never get old. Plus, with 5 animation nominations and a seemingly weak year, you never know what might sneak in.
I voted for No Strings Attached because I didn't really want you to waste your time on any of the other abysmal titles.
Agree with those who say, "Skip them all!" But I was just thinking about Ben Foster and "Six Feet Under." I remember loving his strange sexy subplot with Lauren Ambrose and Peter Facinelli. Only "The Social Network" among recent movies comes close to capturing college-age people in a way that seems real but heightened and entertaining. And Lauren Ambrose got me to thinking about Amy Adams and her 3 Oscar nominations. I don't dislike Amy, but 3 Oscar nominations (Marilyn Monroe none, Mia Farrow none, Michelle Williams--a superior actress--only two) for an actress who is, IMHO, not the equal of even a really good "TV Actress" like Ambrose. She's close to Adams's age and created a more 3-D character than anything Adams has done, but her career doesn't seem to have gained any traction. Unfair.
Sam & Par --- well part of the reason i do this sometimes is that i don't beleive it's healthy to watch only prestige movies ;) so i have to sit through questionable ones now and again... else how to fully appreciate the good stuff.
Owen -- it is really unfortunate that Ambrose hasn't found a follow up role worth of her Six Feet Under spin (although she was great on stage when i saw her)
Where is the "none of the above" option? The descriptions had me clawing my eyes out. Better you should work on your Moulin Rouge tribute. (Right now, please.)
I agree with Owen - I haven't seen "The Fighter", mind, but three nominations already is a bit much, when there are so many talented people out there. Of course the movie industry is never fair, it's all in how amibitious you are, who you know, who your publicist and - probably a bit of sheer luck. (As if I know who gets to be A-list and who doesn't, and how that happens.)
Amy deserved her nominations for The Fighter & Junebug. DOUBT is the only problem nod, that she got merely for being famous.
Write about "The Other Woman" and just dedicate the whole article to Lisa Kudrow's performance! :)
ARGH. why did the poll just close?
frustrating. VOTE AGAIN.
i'll just have to remember that no strings attached, the other woman, and the mechanic were in the lead on the first several dozen votes.
even the poll wants to let you off the hook
I agree with Nate. Her nods for those two films were fully deserved; her performance made me like "Junebug," and I actually preferred her to Melissa Leo in "The Fighter." There are, as Janice stated, factors greater than just talent that determine whether or not an actor finds success in getting steady high-profile work.
"natalie portman marries another woman's man"
haha the irony.
I'll have to second Troy.
totally agree with Nat on the two nominations. The Fighter was one of the best performances last year. Sometimes it just works that way though, that the nominations are well deserved but that person's oeuvre outside those films has nothing significant. And then so many people with stronger careers don't get that "it" role that gets them nominations.
Natalie Portman in her post-Oscar narcissist slump phase is the only logical choice for a true actressexual.
The only one that seems remotely interesting is The Mechanic, and only because I'm curious about the Statham/Foster chemistry.
Definitely liked Adams in "Junebug," a caricature but a well-done caricature. Agree with Nathaniel about "Doubt," though again I don't think Adams was bad per se. But I'm probably the only person I know who thought "The Fighter" was overrated, including all three of the Oscar-nominated/winning performances. It's a shock that there are any trees left in Boston there was so much scenery-chewing in that movie! And I should quickly add that I admire David O. Russell. I think "Flirting with Disaster" is one of the few successful modern screwball comedies.
The Roommate, just for the laughs and WTF moments.
I voted for I Am Number Four, as I'm fascinated by the surge in the amount of questionably talented pretty boys that have made it onto the cinema recently (Pettyfer, the Hemsworths, Kellan Lutz, etc), and wondering if any of them will have any sort of legs at the box office or will they disappear the second their franchises disappear.
THE RITE it's very bad and a clever paper on Hopkins' career might be nice
The Other Woman because it never got a real release here. Although NO Strings Attached for a close second because the outtakes must be hilarious.
I voted for The Other Woman. It's a film I wish so hard was as good as The Opposite of Sex and Happy Endings, but I fear that it's not at all.
I am surprised so many of you want Nat to skip all of these. I know you don't get paid, but negative reviews are very fun to read. I voted for Gnomeo. But if I think one of these could be interesting, it probably would be The Other Woman.
Is none a choice?
Ummm, I thought Amy adam's performance in Doubt was better than her The Fighter performance. I've always liked her but the Oscars have really become comfortable with her, they should back off a bit...she is doing a Janis Joplin bio though..... I can see people going nutz over that performance already if she can pull through with it. Amy doing Jannis? Our sweet Junebug? daamnnnn....OSCAR
anyway, I don't really know what to pick. random picks
Geez, this is a long thread. But this is in response to the discussion on Amy Adams. I actually think she's the best thing in DOUBT...and I LIKE the movie, I just find Amy's performance to be the least affected and the most authentic.
I voted THE OTHER WOMAN. I didn't dislike the movie but I find Natalie Portman to be the weakest link of the whole thing. I think it'd be curious if you Nat analise the interesting Lisa Kudrow/Don Roos dynamic collaboration (The Opposite of Sex, Happy Endings, WEB THERAPY (!)).
And seriously: LISA KUDROW needs to get a juicy movie OR TV role stat. Period.
It's really something that makes me itch (and I think I have complained about it here for a few times already):
How is it that Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc can have a successful comedy series on TV and Jennifer Aniston a decent movie career (she's not decent and neither are her films but I mean 'decent' since they have decent box office results) and MATTHEW PERRY and LISA KUDROW can't seem to catch a break?
I still think 'The Comeback' and 'Studio 60' were two extremely well done comedies. And don't get me started on 'Mr. Sunshine'. ABC ditched that for THOSE new comedies? Stupid.
Regarding Amy Adams...
I truly believe, like Nathaniel and others, that her JUNEBUG and THE FIGHTER nominations were thoroughly deserved. The one for DOUBT is less justifiable but still that year they could have gone with something much worse.
And I think people constantly underestimate her. I hope she rocks that Janis Joplin biopic. She's awesome. In my pretend world she'd have an Oscar for JUNEBUG. And possibly another one for THE FIGHTER if I ruled the Academy. Of course if that happened Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep would already be the actresses with the most Best Actress wins in history.
About Adams, I agree with Nat. Even if I don't considerate her in my top five of supporting performances last year, she was really good in "the Fighter" and I would be happy for her "surprising" victory. Again, "Junebug" is her best performance.
For Doubt, I don't think she was bad per se, but if we considerate 2008 Supporting Actresses contenders, it wasn't exactly a strong competition (I'm refering potential contenders with real chances):
1. Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Kate Winslet, The Reader - Which got it in the leading category
3. Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
4. Viola Davis, Doubt
5. Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Amy Adams, Junebug
And far next:
6. Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire - Maybe DeWitt won Satellite, but Pinto has the overheaming champ.
7. Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married - Her film failed in other categories.
And that's all. Thompson, Okonedo, Upham and Deneuve have little chance. Even Schygulla with her NSFC victory wasn't a real threat.
Im liking this "debate" on Amy Adams. Havent seen The Fighter, but she definitly deserved a nom for Junebug. I agree re Doubt she got in because of Meryl, Phil and Viola.
Its strange that she has only be an "A-Lister" for a couple years (circa 2005), yet she already has 3 - thats the same as Nicole Kidman!!! Here's betting she gets her fourth nomination (where many will declare she's overdue for the win) before Kidman does.