RCL: Dancers (Glee), Assassins (and Kick-Ass) and More

Red Carpet Lineup. Once weekly, we check in with random celebs who've been out and about, displaying their beautiful selves.


from left to right: Gillian Anderson is still so beautiful. Just saying. She attended a premiere wearing whatreminded me of a Project Runway gown. As in, I sense a theme. But which one? Uma Thurman, seen her crazythin in black at a benefit dinner has been taking too much flak lately for the box office failure of Motherhood. Her career has always been peaks and valleys; Flops can't kill it. I do wonder why she keeps trying her hand at comedy, though. Either her agent or the goddess herself must like her doing them. I think every auteur that has benefited from her screen presence (Kaufman, Frears, Nair, Niccol, Tarantino) really ought to offer her a good role soon to remind us of her inimitable razzle dazzle. After Kill Bill's assassin Bride you'd think she'd get more action offers at least. I regret to inform that Parker Posey did not become my BFF after we danced together at Sundance ;) She wore a leopard print to the Tribeca Ball. I was going to make a cougar reference but the term doesn't fit her as she seems ageless. I know that Parker had a great run in the 90s and don't wanna be greedy fan but I'd love to see her get another great comedic lead role.

Finally, Chloe Moretz went for the pink baby doll look for another Kick-Ass premiere. This is more girlie-girl than she ever gets in the film. I'm so pleased to report that Roger Ebert hates it. I don't normally worship Ebert the way 97.3% of online critics do but he's so widely read and respected it that I love it when he speaks something eloquently that needs to be spoken if you know what I mean. There's a lot to recommend in Kick-Ass but it's also another depressing reminder of how soulless, proudly violent (just listen to today's politicans) and gleefully sadistic the world is becoming. I hope all things are cyclical and we have another flower power generation around the bend. But I guess it would take catastrophic reality to end this particular en vogue fantasy of blood blood blood so...uh... be careful what you wish for. er... moving on. Anyway, I wrote a little bit about for Towleroad.


from left to right: Patricia Clarkson attended the premiere of the Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphosis) production of the opera Armida and really sells the black and white. I like it so much more than several Oscar dresses this year. Zoe Saldana always seems exuberantly happy, yes? Even when promoting a movie called Death at a Funeral. Was she this smiley before starring in two gargantuan hits back to back last year? Every time I see Ginnifer Goodwin I flash back to Win a Date With Tad Hamilton and Walk the Line. I'm not sure why. I like her on Big Love but since she became ultra thin she reads more generic to me. Are you fond of Ginny? This look seems very casual for the Opera but I'm no expert. I've only been thrice.

We end with Glee's adorable Harry Shum Jr. at one of their promotional events. This is the most obsessed I've been with a mute dancer since Cloud lept around in Madonna's Confessions era videos. Can they please give Harry as "Mike Chang" a storyline already! Spread the wealth. The highlight of Tuesday's return-from-hiatus episode was undoubtedly the new characters. Jonathan Groff and Idina Menzel? Our Broadway cup runneth over with this show and we lick up the spills.

Can you tell that I'm thrilled that Glee is back? Are you? I don't know why I got so very impatient for its return, though. Shoulda just rewatched the older episodes. Basically, I've come to realize, Glee is from the Golden Girls stable of sitcoms. It's essentially the same exact jokes every episode. The joy of watching is in which new ways they spin the old jokes. In what way will Rachel be deemed annoying? which particular crazy tic of Emma's? How will Sue Sylvester insult Will Schuester's hair? what femme or gay joke will spring from Kurt? etcetera.

Like everyone else I love Jane Lynch as the comic villain Sue Sylvester and I am desperate to see next week's Madonna episode (p.s. Madonna likes it). But I think they missed a few great opportunities here in this Vogue spoof/tribute.



Sue totally shoulda been doing the jogging-like part of the Vogue dance in her tracksuit and the extras doing the open shirt strobe lit dancers shoulda totally been the jock stars Finn and Puck.

Decade in Review: 2000 Top Ten

What follows is my original top ten list of 2000... or rather the revised version I published in 2002. Let's discuss each year of this decade as it winds down! Who's with me?!? It's always interesting to see which films remained at the forefront of our memory and which fade... both for a variety of reasons, quality being only one factor. New comments are in red.

Please note: This list was based on NYC release dates in the year 2000. Some movies are listed as different years at the IMDB based on when they were released in their home country or in LA or whatnot.




Runners Up (in descending order): Une Liaisons Pornographique, Nurse Betty, You Can Count On Me, Before Night Falls, Pola X, Chicken Run, American Psycho, Wonder Boys and Billy Elliott Um... WHAT THE HELL are some of these movies doing outside the top ten list? You Can Count on Me is still so lovely to think about. Particularly Laura Linney's gleeful waving to brother Mark Ruffalo and that beautifully coaxed ending, bless. Of these nine pictures, I think of American Psycho (originally #17!?) most -- see previous posts -- and then probably Pola X which I know a lot of people hate.


P.S. Those people are cuckoo!


10 Jesus Son
Allison MacLean's stark and arresting drug drama is laced with surprising (but occassionally off putting) comedy and blessed with two astonishing, enigmatic performances by Samantha Morton and Billy Crudup. Filled with memorable imagery it feels optimistic in such a realistic way that it should be required viewing in rehab.

I've rarely thought of this movie since but one image, Samantha Morton shimmying towards her man, remains particularly vivid. Morton is such an electric actor and she's never lost that alien watchability, even as her face has grown familiar.

09 Urbania
Full review here. Jon Shear's directorial debut (an adaptation of Daniel Reitz' stage play) is an exhilarating and unexpected ride through urban anxiety and grief. It's stunning. And though I'll cop to perhaps a little trouble being objective about it (it hit close to home), I'm betting that this overlooked film will grow in stature.
I probably overestimated this one at the time, which on a revisit a few years later felt too stagebound to totally work as cinema but I still wish more people would have seen / do see it. Dan Futterman is strong in the lead role.

08 Bring It On
Full review here. A dozen reasons to love Bring It On: 1. The best teen comedy in at least five years. 2. Hugely enjoyable, a great popcorn film. 3. Elisha Dushku's va va voom (for all of you Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans) -"Missy is the poo. So take a whiff!" 4. The toothbrush scene 5. Allows itself important themes (racism, sexual orientation, appropriation versus theft) without once feeling like a downer or casting the themes aside. 6. Spirit fingers. 7. "Cheerleaders are dancers who have gone retarded!" 8. "Brrrrr....it's cold in here." 9. Torrance plays the cassette. 10. A sports movies that's actually a good sport. 11. A gay man that's hotter than the straight men? Now, there's something you don't see too often in the homophobia ridden world of cinema. 12. Kirsten Dunst in top comic form, what more do you need?

07 Idioterne
Lars Von Trier's much maligned first and only "official" Dogme 95 film, The Idiots, is an in your face marvel. This Danish madman splits cinephiles in love and loathe camps. I'm firmly in the love category. His genius is clearly visible but only for those who have eyes to see...

Before Antichrist arrived to give me pause, I would have called this movie the definitive von Trier. It's so tellingly of him: the humor, the aesthetic, the not-entirely-serious self regard. I still think it's one of his best and most successfully provocative pictures

06 The House of Mirth
Gillian Anderson's coming out ball. While I wouldn't go so far as to say it was "the best performance in any category all year" as I've read in at least one review... she was up to the challenge of Lily Bart. But hey, I knew she transferred. She already proved that with Playing by Heart. And leaving Anderson aside for a moment, it's an exceedingly intelligent and gorgeous adaptation from Terence Davies which is sure to garner at least a few deserved technical nods at the Oscars. God bless Terence Davies for not having Joanne Woodward READ the whole freaking story to us as we watched (Are you listening Scorsese?)

I compared it unfavorably to The Age of Innocence? While I do very much hate overbearing voiceovers, there's a lot to recommend in both films. Why was I mad at Scorsese in 2000? Hmmm, what came out then? I haven't thought of Mirth in years and years and I am surprised to see it in my top ten list. It's amusing how I entirely misread its Oscar chances (nomination total: zero) but it's sad that Gillian Anderson's film career never really panned out.

05 Erin Brockovich
At its core it's a brassy superbly wrought star vehicle with Julia Roberts at her all time best. With Soderbergh's auteurial skills in full bloom however, it's elevated to a whole other realm of humanity. Sharp, funny, focused, and auteurial ...and for my money stronger than Soderbergh's other more highly praised 2000 endeavor. At any rate it's easily the best pure "Hollywood" film of the year.

04 Beau Travail
Claire Denis contemplative masterwork of masculine rituals and hierarchy.

Then and now I seem to be at a loss for words but oh, how that movie lingers. Greatness. Haven't seen it in years, though and it's obviously one that needs multiple viewings to fully appreciate.

03 Requiem For a Dream
Darren Aronofsky's astoundingly cinematic second film is not easy to sit through, but the rewards are great. Ellen Burstyn is miraculous as an unravelling diet pill addict. Jennifer Connelly and Jared Leto are heartbreaking as the foolish young lovers who throw their lives away but the film's ultimate power comes courtesy of Aronofsky's vision. Making as bold a statement as you can make about what the cinema can and should do, he discards any narrative device other than imagery. The further I get away from the film the more it's looking like a masterpiece.


02 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Ang Lee & James Schamus's delightful one off homage to a favorite genre. The modern feminist kung fu genre pic is fused with an old fashioned romantic period piece by a superb cast, haunting gorgeous cinematography by Peter Pau, and Ang Lee's own seemingly infallible directorial instincts. Whichever culture or characters he fixes his versatile lens on, he gets straight to the heart of the matter. Ang Lee tops his own impressive roster of films (Sense & Sensibility, The Ice Storm, & The Wedding Banquet among them) and makes what could only be called magic. This movie will restore your faith in the cinema. No joke. It's that wondrous.

01 Dancer in the Dark
Full review here. Lars von Trier. Björk. Catherine Deneuve. "Love it. Hate it. See It." Overwhelming, visionary, absolute genius... I'm tempted to call it best of the decade and there's nine years left to go.

I sure went hyperbolic on my bronze, silver and gold medalists there. It's a good thing all three pictures hold up. Though I suppose it's worth noting that Requiem for a Dream which I labelled 'not easy to sit through' is the one I've sat through the most on this entire top ten list in the intervening years... even more than Bring It On. What a double feature that is, eh?



What are your favorite pictures from 2000?
Which that you used to love are you surprised that you let go? Which have changed the most for you over the years? Which do you think I should revisit.

Beauty Break: Catsuit

meow

literally!

clip, clip here
clip, clip there
we give the roughset claws
that certain air of savoir faire
in the merry old land of Oz

And the Best of British To You, Sir! (/Madam)

Dave from Victim of the Time here once more. It's St. George's Day here- the patron saint of England (and several other countries but who cares about them?)- and although usually all that patriotism makes me slightly ill I thought I'd be more cheerful for once and bring you good mostly-American people some examples of my country's film-making prowess. Although even though it's the English patron saint's day I'll still sticking the banner out to cover the other three countries of our country, because it's all very confusing and we haven't devolved yet. Only a matter of time, though, I hear. [/tangent]

Ten years ago, the BFI polled a whole bunch of people to determine what the best British films of the twentieth century were. Now- spoiler!- the winner was The Third Man. A fair enough choice, says I. You can't beat a bit of zither. But, since they did that, and happily it's ten years later, I've decided to be stunningly original and bring you some of the best of what we've had to offer in the first decade of the twenty-first century. In bite-size form, because you've already seen what happens when I start rambling.

Boy A. Plot description doesn't sell this one very well (I think someone's still holding it against me), but it features a superb Andrew Garfield, who I'm sure you'll all know in a few years time if you don't already (that's him to the left there), some wonderful cinematography and a screenplay that is really rather affecting.

Bright Young Things. A marvellous 1930s romp from the ever-dapper Stephen Fry, based on an Evelyn Waugh novel and with a superb Stephen Campbell Moore in the leading role. It's all generally very witty and slightly posh and a bit naughty and all very delightful until the war turns up and spoils it all, like it always does. Bloody war.

Ghosts. You might know documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield from his two Aileen Wuornos films, but his first foray into a narrative film is rather excellent as well; focusing on a tragedy involving illegal Chinese immigrants working in Britain and struggling to survive. Draining but a very powerful watch.

Hallam Foe. Or Mister Foe as you Yanks might know it. Someone's favourite Jamie Bell (above) is preoccupied by the memory of his dead mother, and when he sees someone who looks just like her... things get a bit creepy. All full of gritty Scottish grimness and disturbing plot turns, but fascinating and superbly crafted. (And also with Claire Forlani, who I never knew was British before this, did you? You probably did.)

The House of Mirth. Terence Davies is one of our best but most scarce auteurs, a bit like Terrence Malick really; this adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel is slow, deliberate but superbly affecting, with- see a theme here?- a stellar turn from the wonderful Gillian Anderson.

Hunger. I look at this list and it's rather full of depression. You'll be glad to know things don't change with this one; painstakingly in its depiction of Bobby Sands' hunger strike, this is hardly the most comfortable watch you'll ever have, but the viscerality twinned with director Steve McQueen's (not that one) painterly sensibilities is an impressive sight to behold. [see previous TFE posts]

London to Brighton. More fun and games here as an experienced prostitute and a teenager new on the job run away, all bloody and the like, from their pimp in London and go to Brighton (er, obviously) because something rather bad has happened and they'd quite like to stay alive, thanks. Paul Andrew Williams blew people away a few years ago with this dark, powerful thriller.

Morvern Callar. Samantha Morton gets fucked up in Ibiza. Lynne Ramsay's intimate style is key to unlocking this strange, beguiling and strangely beautiful piece of work.

This Is England. Skinheads are scary. This film about skinheads is also scary, but marvellously so; Shane Meadows' work is always imbued with a rather morbid sense of humour, and the electrifying sense of constant danger. Thomas Turgoose marks himself out as the young boy who joins a gang of skinheads, and experiences the joy of community and the dangers of growing up all at once.

Vera Drake. Obviously if you're an Oscar-watcher you won't need me to tell you how good Imelda Staunton is here as a 1950s housewife who does backstreet abortions, nor that Mike Leigh brings his usual keen improvisation eye to the period setting. You already knew that? Good. Bears repeating, though, doesn't it?

Blimey. We're a depressing bunch, aren't we? I think my flag has wilted.

I Want to Believe... in Contests

So, X-Files: I Want to Believe didn't exactly light up the summer box office but, given the franchises longevity, it's sure to find more of a sustainable life now that it's on DVD. Want a copy? I have four to give away so you can stare at Gillian Anderson all you want in the privacy of your own home. People have done a lot less worthwhile things in the privacy of their own homes. To enter the contest...

Send me an e-mail by Sunday night December 7th with the following information:

1. "X"... in the subject line.
2. Your name and mailing address in case you win (kept private, not sold)
   
3. Complete the following sentence: "I want to believe _________________ " [...anything movie related you'd like to believe in will do! That's for publication right here]
   

Revelations Winners Revealed

Three alien-loving Film Experience readers have won The X-Files: Revelations DVD set. Eight episode of Chris Carter's beloved series (starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny) are going home with them. The episodes are handpicked for their relevance to the new movie. I asked all contestants what their favorite movie about aliens were. The randomly drawn winners named the following films...

Rene in Texas loves Mysterious Skin. An interesting choice for the aliens question. Those of you who've seen it will agree.

Lynsey in Maryland is fond of a James Cameron's flick The Abyss.

Ed Harris is simply the icing on a big old fantabulous cake when it comes to that flick.

Ed as icing? Yes, please. Smother my deserts with it.

Neel in Nevada choose one of my favorites Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! for three reasons.

1. The Bening, hot off The American President and willing to try something completely different.
2. When the filmmakers decided that the temporary solution of having the aliens saying only "Ack ack ack" was funnier than anything else they could come up with, so they kept it.
3. The scene where they show the contrast between The New York Times' sobering, scientific headline announcing the alien arrival and The New York Post's more tabloid approach.

"Ack Ack Ack" really is one of the funniest lines in the history of the cinema. I laugh every time... which is saying a lot because the line is repeated hundreds of times. I also completely love Sarah Jessica Parker in that movie. She's so undervalued as a comic actor in that she's only really valued for Sex & the City these days but hasn't she been wonderful in so many other comedies, too?

Contest: The X-Files, Dusted Off

I'm sure I've told this story before but the oddest moment I've ever had entering a movie theater was in 1984 when I walked into David Lynch's adaptation of Dune and the usher passed me, my parents and my brother a one page glossary of terms we should all read before the movie began. Assigned reading @ the movies. Say what ?!?

<-- Mulder and Scully upon hearing that I've only ever seen four episodes of The X-Files (1993-2002) in my life

Sometimes I embrace televised entertainment that benefits from glossaries and mnemonic devotion and beg others to play along (Buffy and Battlestar) and other times I'm all exasperated "I can't be bothered to keep track of this!" (Lost and The X-Files). I suppose it's a hypocritical stance... but nobody can follow all of these incredibly complex narratives. The brain would burst. You gotta choose.

So, if you're like me and you don't have nine years of twists, conspiracies and alien oddities memorized you might need this new DVD set to prepare you for the second movie, The X-Files: I Want to Believe which opens July 25th. The DVD set is called The X-Files Revelations and it's eight episodes of the TV series specifically chosen for their relevance to the movie. Kinda like a 376 minutes long "previously on..." I have three copies to give away.

NO MORE ENTRIES BEING ACCEPTED. CONTEST CLOSED

Winners will be announced Friday, July 5th. (Although essentially we're all winners since this means we get to look at Gillian Anderson again. Mmmmm, Gillian. You just don't work enough)

*

Gillian "Where Ya Been?" Anderson

In the 90s you couldn't go a week without seeing Gillian Anderson's mug somewhere, what with the success of The X-Filesand the media's obsessive near-Julia/Leo levels of devotion to the show. Post X-Files, it looked like Gillian wouldn't be wasting a second in taking her slightly cerebral heat directly to movie screens instead. She got off to a rather proud start with excellent reviews (but no Oscar nomination) for her take on the doomed "Lily Bart" in Terence Davies' divisive take on the Gilded Age tragedy The House of Mirth.

And then... (crickets chirping)

The danger of taking time off for celebrities is that there are so many of them. If you get up from your seat for some R & R, someone else will be sitting down immediately. Good luck getting your spot at that table back. That said, Gillian is back at work and could be looking at a possible public revival this fall or winter. She's starring in two upcoming films. The first to be released will probably be The Last King of Scotland (which you probably noticed on my year-in-advance Oscar pages) and the second is the recently wrapped thriller Straightheads which co-stars Danny Dyer. You can read about the making of that film directly from it's director at Straightblog. So give that a look if you've been curious as to what Scully has been up to.