Interpreting the Golden Globe nominations

By Sarah Sluis

This year's Golden Globe nominations confirmed that The Artist will not be sidelined solely because it's a black-and-white silent. Indeed, I think the movie's antiquated format actually works in its favor. Audiences are delighted to find that they're not bored, but charmed. The Artist is very audience-accessible. It's also rife with the warm-fuzzies that Academy voters in particular love, making me think it will do similarly well once the Oscar nominations come out.

Two movies that have barely screened for critics failed to grab many nominations. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo only got two nominations, one for Rooney Mara in the Best Actress category, and one for Best Musical Score. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close scored a shocking zero nominations. Most critics (perhaps including the foreign press?) haven't seen the Dec. 28 release yet. Is it a stinker?

I liked seeing 50/50 grab a couple nominations. I thought the cancer drama-comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen worked quite well. It doesn't have the lasting resonance I look for in an out-of-the-park movie, but it's rare that a low-budget comedy--marketed with lots of medical marijuana jokes--grabs the attention of critical movers-and-shakers.

The Help, too, has been long expected to make a strong showing in awards season, and its five nominations attest that this was one of the best movies an adult could have seen this summer. The historical drama was nominated in the drama category, despite its many lighter moments--enough to have placed it in the comedy section if that field was more of a lock. Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain all earned acting nominations, with the latter two in the supporting category.

I think Young Adult deserved more than its single nomination for Charlize Theron as Best Actress. Maybe it could have earned more votes if the movie's heroine followed a path to redemption, instead of ending up the same. The Descendants, which also features a hero in a time with crisis, fared better. It earned five nominations, tying with The Help with the second-highest number.

In general, this year has been a inconclusive one for awards-seeking films. There is no single movie ending up with double-digit nominations--and I doubt there will be. There's a flip side to this, at least in critical roundups. I've been more interested in which small independent movies made "top" lists (like NY Times' and Slate's) and less interested in which of the mostly B+/A- mainstream movies ended up in the running. There are many films to check out this awards season, but no one film will generate all the noise. And that might be a good thing.

Could 'tweet seats' come to movie theatres?

By Sarah Sluis

For me, there's nothing worse than the glow of a cell phone screen out of the corner of my eye when I'm watching a movie. I don't think kindly of these people, either. Is it really that hard not to contact people for two hours? However, for many young people, texting and being constantly available is a way of life. Perhaps movie theatres' unfriendly environment for cell phones is partially to blame for the recent complaints about young people not showing up at the box office. If so, then perhaps movie theatres will be in line to adopt the "tweet seats" talked about in a recent USA Today article.

The newspaper cites a number of entertainment venues (but not movie theatres) that designate the back row as one that is acceptable for tweeting. I actually support this idea for movie theatres, with a few caveats.

1. Getting unwillingly stuck in the tweet row might be worse than getting stuck in the front row for a packed screening.

2. If the "tweet seats" are full or undesirable, people may use the fact that cell phones are allowed at all to justify their cell phone-checking during the show in the rest of the theatre.

3. There may be a bit of a learning curve. People may not understand exactly the concept of "cell phone seats." But isn't that what the pre-movie advertisements are for?

In a best case scenario, "tweet seats" would effectively corral all the would-be cell phone checkers into one place. They can enjoy their show their way, and everyone else can take a break from checking their email for a couple hours.

If movie theatres want to attract a young demographic, "tweet seats" may be it. With digital projection, it would be easy to designate a few theatres with such seats and program more youth-oriented movies in those locations. Most adults want movie theatres to provide a quiet, immersive experience. But most teens who go to the movie theatre on Friday and Saturday nights simply want to hang out with their friends away from their parents. For them, being connected is more important than devoting their full attention to a show (and face it, a lot of movies targeting that demographic don't need a viewer's full attention). If teens are shunning movie theatres, "tweet seats" may bring them back.

The best of this year's Black List

By Sarah Sluis

For those interested in the kind of screenplays that are getting passed around Hollywood, The Black List offers a peek at the best unproduced scripts of the year, voted on by a select group of Hollywood executives. The list is influential, both because it has contained screenplays that went on to be nominated and win Oscars, and because it can help the careers of the screenwriters who make the list.

I looked through the 2011 list and picked out the projects that most intrigued me.

When the Street Lights Go On. This screenplay gets my pick not only because of its haunting description, but because it received the second-highest number of votes: 84. The Black List's summary: "In the early 1980s, a town suffers through the aftermath of a brutal murder of a high school girl and a teacher." I love the slightly retro setting, small-town feel, and the obvious implication of the murder: an affair gone sour, or discovered.

Just today, there came news that Drew Barrymore picked up the movie to direct. More details about the plot were revealed, and it sounds intricate. It's told from the perspective of a fifteen-year-old boy and amateur filmmaker who finds the bodies. Two of his classmates are suspects, and all three have a crush on the dead girl's younger sister.

How to Disappear Completely. From the Black List: "A child prodigy tries to take control of his life away from his demanding parents." The idea of overbearing parents is all the rage right now, with high-profile magazine articles examining the negative effects of pushing kids, and outrage over the "Tiger Mom." This kind of controversy, along with any potential audience members' lingering questions or resentment about how they were raised (and isn't everyone a genius in their own way?) make me think topicality could bring this project over the top.

The Outsider. Black List summary: "In post WWII Japan, an American former prisoner of war rises in the yakuza." A historical gangster story that's doesn't have the oft-used mise-en-scene of Prohibition-era America? Please! Those that have read current bestseller Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand know that Japanese POW camps could be brutal places. Violations of international law governing such camps were commonplace. If so, how could someone end up on the other side? That kind of question could give the protagonist a better arc than most such stories.

Of the dozens of screenplays with a spot on the Black List, only a small percentage will end up being produced--or in the running for awards season. I've made my bets, now I only have to wait a few years to see if any of the scripts end up in production--or any good in their finished form.

'New Year's Eve' leads a lackluster box office

By Sarah Sluis

The period from Thanksgiving to New Year's is usually filled with good movies, but early December tends to be sluggish at the box office as people focus on holiday gift shopping. This weekend, which totaled just $78 million, posted the lowest numbers since September 5-7, 2008. That's not good news. The leader of the pack was New Year's Eve, a romantic comedy releasing well in advance of its holiday. With just $13.5 million, the star-filled ensemble picture performed short of expectations that had the film inching closer to $20 million.

In second place, the R-rated babysitting comedy The Sitter grabbed $10 million. So-so viewer feedback, as evidenced by the movie's C+ CinemaScore, could have this movie hurting in coming weeks. However, a small budget and healthy returns from younger moviegoers could make the Jonah Hill starrer profitable for Fox.

With no new family films, existing fare posted strong holds. Arthur Christmas dropped just 10% to $6.6 million as the titular holiday approaches. One spot below, Hugo fell 19% to $6.1 million. The Martin Scorsese-directed picture reportedly cost over $100 million, so its U.S. total of $33 million to date is far behind where such movies usually are after three weeks. The Muppets continued its trend of bigger week-to-week drops with a 36% dive to $7 million. Happy Feet Two held on in the top ten, sliding to eighth place with $3.7 million and a 36% decrease in receipts.

New specialty pictures fared much better than wide ones. In eight locations, Young Adult nabbed $40,000 per theatre. The espionage thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy averaged $75,000 per screen in half the locations. Both movies' debuts put them in a good position for expansion and awards season. Finally, We Need to Talk about Kevin, which seemed to inspire a "love it or hate it" critical reaction, had a softer $24,000 debut playing on one screen. The indie The Descendants added 300 theatres to go up .9% from last week and add another $4.8 million to its $23 million total. The push for The Artist is still heating up. Its 38% improvement from last week, as well as its $18,000 per-screen average, show this black-and-white silent feature has a lot of momentum.

This Friday, another family picture, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, will add to the already-saturated kid market. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will provide some action fun, and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol will have a limited, IMAX-only release.

'New Year's Eve' and 'The Sitter' offer alternative to glut of family films

By Sarah Sluis

There's only three more weekends until Christmas, so it's fitting that New Year's Eve (3,505 theatres) is jumping the gun. The romantic comedy may not be getting the best reviews (only 6% of critics gave it a "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes), but it's the only offering in this genre to come out in the next month, so it will have a captive audience. Unlike the $56 million opening weekend of Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve is expected to come in around the teen millions, and then hit close to that number until we ring in 2012.

The Sitter (2,479 theatres) isn't faring much better in the critics department (only 20% positive) but the young males the movie is targeting tend not to pay much attention to reviews. Our critic Marsha McCreadie is one of the comedy's defenders, calling it "sincere and heartwarming," with star Jonah Hill "[delivering] some complicated and tender moments." Plenty of bawdy and law-breaking episodes temper the emotional punch of the movie, which is essentially an R-rated Adventures in Babysitting.

The adaptation of John le Carr's novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (4 theatres) also makes its debut. Viewers unfamiliar with the book "should pay attention," critic Rex Roberts warns. Even James Bond spy movies have viewers scratching their heads at times, but Tinker, Tailor takes confusion to a whole other level. I found individual parts of the movie more fulfilling than the whole. Roberts points out that director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) "has a knack for finding the telling detail�a drop of sweat from a waiter's brow�that evokes the essence of a scene." Indeed, it's moments like these that make the thriller most satisfying.

Charlize Theron stars as Mavis, a more seasoned variation on the evil prom queen, in Young Adult (8 theatres). She goes back to her hometown of Mercury, Minnesota, to steal back her high school boyfriend, now married and father to a newborn. The comedy-drama "walks a tricky line between cynicism and compassion, laughter and tragedy," critic Kevin Lally notes, "letting us both revel in and gasp at Mavis' wildly inappropriate behavior but ultimately generating a modicum of sympathy." I particularly enjoyed the characterization of Mavis as a junk-food eating, Kardashian-obsessed, toy dog owner, Juicy sweats-wearing adult. Screenwriter Diablo Cody makes sure that Mavis' brand of pathetic is both dark and laugh-out-loud funny.

Ever wonder how a truly evil person comes to be? We Need to Talk About Kevin (2 theatres) stars Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly as the parents of a demonic child who later carries out a school shooting. Although many critics have praised the drama, David Noh resented director Lynne Ramsay's "promiscuous auteur-ism." Many have already mentioned Swinton's name as a possible nominee for Best Actress during the Academy Awards.

On Monday, we'll see if New Year's Eve and The Sitter were able to lift the mid-December box office blues. With half of the top ten films targeting family audiences, these movies should help bring in younger and unattached audiences.

Is the romantic comedy transformation complete?

By Sarah Sluis

Just last year, I thought the problem of terrible romantic comedies would never be fixed. Jennifer Lopez's The Back-Up Plan sent me into this depression. Even with a modern "obstacle to romance" like the fact that she was incubating another man's baby, the movie was awful. It seemed like the formula that worked so well in the screwball era would never be updated for the modern audiences.

Now, it seems that every romantic comedy in the works has a different take on the genre (Celese and Jesse Forever, Seeking a Friend at the End of the World, etc). Instead of starting with the "meet cute," building the plot around mistaken identity or a misinterpreted gesture, and sealing everything with a kiss, screenwriters have been going for the messy and undefined. Breakups and existing relationships are frequently the starting points, not the "meet cute." And in an age where the average age of marriage is rising, divorce is common, and premarital sex is no longer frowned upon, these stories reflect the modern era.

The Five Year Engagement, whose trailer released today, follows this trend. Jason Segel and Emily Blunt star as a couple whose engagement is dragging on, and on, and on. Director Nicholas Stoller co-wrote the script with Segel, and if their Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which started with a breakup) is any indication, this romance-comedy hybrid will innovate on the genre norms.

The trailer has some funny spots but doesn't altogether hint at how the plot will play out--probably a good thing. It appears that Blunt's job makes the relationship long-distance and delays them setting a wedding date. Blunt's heartfelt speech at 1:55 kind of feels like a reconciliation after a breakup. This hints at a more familiar narrative. For a big studio rom-com, this movie still speaks to a big shift in conventions. The traditional romantic comedy may be dead--for now.

'The Three Stooges' trailer: More questions than answers or laughs

By Sarah Sluis

The Farrelly Brothers have been working on a Three Stooges adaptation for years. Several big-name cast members, like Sean Penn, were attached to the movie at one time, but it filmed with three lesser-known stars: Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, and Chris Diamantopoulos. Now the trailer's out, but it offers more questions than answers about what the picture will actually be like. Originally, the movie was supposed to be filmed as a by-the-numbers adaptation that would remain as true as possible to the original. That may be true in some regards, but Snooki of the "Jersey Shore" appears in the trailer, as well as a joke about an iPhone being an "eye-phone." Groan.

I think this movie will be a much harder sell for a younger generation that didn't grow up watching The Three Stooges. I don't even recall seeing their shorts playing in reruns on television in my childhood.

For me, the biggest thing that falls flat is the slapstick humor. What is it with all the eye-poking? I don't need to see giant bells and hammers being planted on the heads of Larry, Curly, and Moe. Today, slapstick humor is alive and well, but it's more often grounded in realism. The Jackass series features real stunts, and "Tosh.0" updates "America's Funniest Home Videos" with an emphasis on YouTube movies that make me wonder if the person in question is still in the hospital being treated for a traumatic brain injury (I prefer the softer falls).

With a no-name cast and stunts that could just as easily have been done in the 1930s, the budget for The Three Stooges will surely be low--and should be. I think this comedy will have an uphill battle when it releases this April through 20th Century Fox. The humor of The Three Stooges is better parsed and reworked for the modern age, rather than being remade without thought to today's audience. If people want to watch the originals, they're easily found on YouTube--for free. At least now I know where the Farrelly Brothers got the haircut ideas for their duo in Dumb and Dumber--Larry and Moe.