A few good films in 2009

By Sarah Sluis
Perhaps it's the part of me that grew up in a world where "participant" ribbons were a standard consolation prize, but I wanted my top ten of 2009 to include some movies that won't be seeing much play at the Oscars or in other top tens, but are good films in their own right. In particular, I wanted to reward fine genre works, whether it was an arthouse take on a police procedural (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) or that rarest of the rare, a comedy that makes me laugh out loud (almost all of those made the list).

The Hangover: This is not an Oscar comedy. It's not dark and ironic, the protagonists are young, it made lots of money, and it's definitely, definitely not "quiet" or "black." The raunchy comedy earns my top honors because instead of that cringe-worthy tactic of having its characters get into deeper and deeper trouble for laughs (a no-no for sensitive souls like myself), it created humor from having its characters try to pick up all the pieces. Miraculously, it managed to find new ways to shock audiences, and it had the best missing big cat since Bringing Up Baby.

Avatar: James Cameron's work feels like the sci-fi epics I loved

growing up: movies like Jurassic Park and Independence Day that broke

new technological ground and backed it up with a winning story (though

I'm not sure how well Independence Day holds up today). Cameron is a

master at his craft, and no adult will look at 3D the same way. Bonus

points for its environmental bent.

I Love You, Man: Another innovative comedy that turned romantic comedy conventions on their head and used the "falling in love" montage for the film's bromance. Its Rotten Tomato rating (in the eighties) is higher than most "awards" films, but it's received little end-of-the-year love. Having suffered through many terrible romantic comedies this year, it was a pleasure to watch something that was actually laugh-out-loud funny, and a welcome addition to the Judd Apatow-style comedy-bromance genre.

(500) Days of Summer: My indulgent, hipster choice. Young love has never been so ebullient than in this film that mixed up its chronology to make its kiss 'n break-up story novel. Its fantastic musical sequence (staged by director Marc Webb, a veteran of music videos) was proof that good things can come from music video-influenced films. It also violated the most important romcom trope: getting together at the end.

Thirst: Stylistically rigorous, this vampire tale is far, far from New Moon. Its scenes of sex and violence will have you wriggling in your seat in discomfort, but director Chan-wook Park (Oldboy) is truly a master at his craft, taking Asian horror to an artistic high, with a bit of a moralistic bent.

Up: Best thing about Up, #1: It makes you cry. Instead of adding double entendres for adult laughs, Pixar used the wide age range of its audience to make older viewers cry. The little kids next to me didn't get it, but I was wiping away tears underneath my 3D glasses. Best thing about Up, #2? It makes you laugh. The talking dogs were my most memorable chuckle of the year.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans: I thought I was so sick of police procedurals, but Nicolas Cage brings the genre back with the baddest, most insane performance of the year. The seediness of New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina is made absurd by director Werner Herzog's inclusion of iguana point-of-view shots and the depictions of off-the-cuff abuse of power and drugs. A strange, strange movie, in all the right ways.

Precious: Based on the Novel �Push' by Sapphire: A tearjerker with equal parts horror and heart. Precious' world is so foreign to most of us, but director Lee Daniels makes it even more of a nightmare with his use of dream sequences and subjective point-of-view. Mo'Nique put in a jaw-dropping performance, and her final monologue is a gutsy move made by Daniels that raises more questions than it answers.

Up in the Air: Yes, this is one that's on a lot of top ten lists, and its tone of comedy mixed with anomie comes straight from the Academy playbook. But it's good. My favorite sequence was when George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick form their unlikely trio, learning from each other and crashing a party.

Food, Inc.: A well-researched complement to Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation, this documentary covered the food industry from moo to mouth and back again. I spouted "Did you know�?" to friends and families for weeks based on what I learned about the food industry. It's already out on DVD, calling out to me for a second viewing.

Why stop at top ten when there are a few films that deserve honorable mentions, but didn't make it into my rather loose list. An Education: The debut of Carey Mulligan with a fantastic performance from Rosamund Pike. Pike's glamorous and perfectly assembled look made her as attractive to adult-pining Mulligan as Peter Sarsgaard. The Cove: Environmental activism meets Ocean's 11, so controversial it had a hard time playing in Japan. And they're feeding dolphins to your children! The Young Victoria: a decidedly unstuffy costume drama and romance that should make Emily Blunt a star.

Time to go on a 'Business Trip' or to the 'Burlesque'?

By Sarah Sluis

With The Hangover a success, and its sequel greenlighted, one Hollywood screenwriter had the perfect pitch: the female version. Today, Variety announced that writer Stacey Hartman, who has sold some screenplays but has yet to see any of them made, will write the script Business Trip. It will follow a group of women who go on a corporate outing/conference/pitch. Of course, "anything but" ensues. The production company behind The Hangover, Benderspink, will produce, along with Universal Pictures.

I'm always itching to see female-oriented comedies that aren't centered on romance, so I'm totally on board with the plot. Plus, this would be a great chance to cast some up-and-comers in comedy, just as The Hangover cast rising faces like Zach Galifianakis alongside actors usually cast in supporting roles, like Ed Helms. Benderspink is currently producing romantic comedy Leap Year, which stars Amy Adams, so this project seems like a good way to blend the sensibilities of a "crazy night" comedy with a romantic comedy.

Another project that will star women, Burlesque, added Cher to its cast. She will play the owner of a modern burlesque club who mentors her new hire, a small-town girl (Christina Aguliera). The film will be a backstage musical, and both Cher and Aguilera will sing in their roles. Screen Gems, which mainly produces horror films and some comedies, is overseeing the project, which makes me wonder if this will be more genre/exploitation than an arty musical like Chicago or Moulin Rouge. The director, Steve Antin, is an actor who has recently transitioned to writing and directing. He directed a reality competition series about burlesque-style pop group The Pussycat Dolls, "Girlicious," so he's well-versed in filming costumed singing and dancing. Susannah Grant, who penned projects that have great female appeal, like Erin Brockovich and Ever After, revised the script. I'm uncertain about the vision of this film, especially if it's going to try to appeal to one gender over the other. Since shooting starts in November, we'll find out soon enough.

Three comedies vie for top spot

By Sarah Sluis

From the gate, The Proposal and Year One look as though they'll both hit $20 million this weekend. If The Hangover can handle the competition, and hold on to its below-average drop, it will also hit $20 million, making this week a close race between three comedies.

Judging by reviews, The Proposal (3,056 theatres) appears to be a typical romantic comedy, slick and well-acted, but hampered by its predictable format. Our executive editor Kevin Lally praised the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, saying, "The situations may be formulaic, but the teamwork of the two leads brings them to sparkling life." Manohla Dargis at the NY Times was not so kind, lamenting the repetition of stereotypical rom-com setups. However, even she noted that Bullock and Reynolds pulled off good performances, adding that Bullock's "no shrew in need of taming. She's just another female movie star in need of a vehicle that won't throw her overboard for sexist giggles and laughs."

Year One (3,022 theatres), which comes from writer/director Harold Ramis (read an interview with him here), has also been received with shrugs. Despite Ramis' pedigree (he's responsible for Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, and Analyze This), our Frank Scheck found that "the script�co-written by Ramis and the team of Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (NBC's "The Office")�is strictly bargain-basement, offering a plethora of poop, sex and fart jokes and vulgarity without a smidgen of wit." EW's Owen Gleiberman found the comedy provoked only a "handful of chuckles," and pronounced it "silliness run mildly wild."

With these so-so reviews, I wouldn't be surprised if audiences again choose The Hangover, whose humor is neither stale nor ancient, but shocking to the point that at least some viewers will come away repulsed, not indifferent.

On the specialty side, another comedy opens this weekend: Whatever Works, the latest from Woody Allen. Dana Stevens from Slate opened her review of the film this way: "Imagine if Annie Hall had been forgotten in a Ziploc bag under your couch cushions and left there for 30 years." Needless to say, it did not play well for her. Whatever Works will compete with quirky comedy Away We Go, which will move into 134 theatres with hopes to cross the $1 million mark.

Next week, the machines are back with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which will be joined by weepie My Sister's Keeper.

Party's still on for 'The Hangover'

By Sarah Sluis

The Hangover has hit the jackpot. Last week it was the surprise #1. The day after Up was declared the winner, higher-than-estimated Sunday grosses pushed The Hangover to the top spot. This week, the Las Vegas comedy dropped a mere 25% to earn $33.4 million. Thanks to high weekday grosses, its cumulative box office has already passed the nine-figure mark: $105,000,000. With a $9,960 per-screen average, plenty of people were turned away from Friday and Saturday night screenings, ensuring high grosses in weeks to come.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 opened lower on the list, taking in $25 million and the #3 spot. It's a solid opening for an actioner that didn't receive much buzz. Lower on the list, the lightly marketed Imagine That came up with just $5.7 million at #6. Family audiences likely chose the much higher regarded Up over the Eddie Murphy film. In its third week, Up soared to $187 million cumulative, bringing in $30.5 million while losing just 30% of its gross.

Of the rest of the films in the top ten, Land of the Lost dropped the most (51%), followed by Drag Me to Hell (45%) and Terminator Salvation (43%). Of the three, Drag Me to Hell was the best reviewed, so it may actually be defying the precipitous drops (of 50-70%) often seen with horror titles.

Dropping between 32-35%, generally considered a better-than-average performance, were Star Trek, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and Angels & Demons. All these films have crossed the $100 million mark (and Trek the $200 million mark), so their mid-30's drops will help boost the ends of their runs.

On the specialty side, Food, Inc. was the clear winner, earning $21,000 on each of its three screens. Moon followed with $18,000 on eight screens, and Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro came in with $15,000 on two screens. All are stellar performances, and bode well for the films' expansion.

This week, ancient-times comedy Year One will try to perform more like The Hangover and less like Land of the Lost. Sandra Bullock rom-com The Proposal, the first of the genre since Ghosts of Girlfriends Past released on May 1st, also stands to do exceptional business for romance-starved audiences.

Weekend choices: 'Lost,' 'In Ruins,' or 'Hangover'

By Sarah Sluis

This weekend, it's the battle of the comedies. Each targets a slightly different segment of the comedy crowd. Because of its PG-13-rating, $100 million budget, and big-name star Will Ferrell, Land of the Lost is the front-runner to come in behind Up this weekend. However, low-budget, R-rated The Hangover could give it a run for its money, despite its comparatively miniscule budget. Advance ticket sales for The Hangover surged yesterday, bumping its total pre-sales up to 35% of all advance tickets, while Land of the Lost has only 9%.

The Hangover (3,269 theatres) went from production to release in less than a year. It literally started shooting last fall, and a sequel has already been green-lighted: the studio believes in this one. It appears the PR people have anointed Zach Galifianakis as the star to showcase. The NY Times Magazine profiled him and his offbeat humor, and New York Magazine did a Q&A. The movie is incredibly raunchy and a hard R. I loved the way the emphasis wasn't on the characters doing crazy things to make the audience laugh, but them trying to figure out what crazy things they had done during the night they didn't remember. It put less pressure on the audience to laugh, making the film much funnier. The "mystery" framing makes the reveals shockingly funny. There's a real sense of surprise, especially in the reactions, that doesn't feel performed or staged.

Land of the Lost (3,521 theatres) is a comedic adventure in a crazy world. If you come in with no expectations, as I did, you'll probably enjoy it. In a nod to its detractors, it's not ground-breaking comedy, and has unevenly balanced humor. I think the biggest problem people have been having with the movie is that the comedy never grounds itself: it's crazy people in a crazy environment. For me, Danny McBride was able to be the yin to Ferrell's yang and balance his overblown, egotistical character. I expect that teen audiences will enjoy the film, but interest will drop as age, and comedic savviness, increase.

My Life in Ruins (1,164 theatres), which our reviewer Doris Toumarkine called "bland but sweet-as-baklava," also opens in wide release, but on the small side. If Fox Searchlight took care in selecting those theatres, it could open with a high per-screen average, despite the fact that it's not expected to open particularly high. On television, star Nia Vardalos has been pleading with female audiences to "vote with their pocketbook and see the film opening weekend in order to give more female directors and female-oriented films a chance." I find the argument strange, especially since My Big Fat Greek Wedding was known for its slowly increasing rollout--it had its highest weekly gross four months after its release, and never earned more than $14.8 million in one weekend. Even that was over a three-day Labor day holiday. Despite this unconventional pattern, it grossed $241 million. I think that instead of trying to make middle-aged women act like teenage boys who drop their Wiis to catch a film right that Friday night, studios should respect, and market to, an audience that prefers to see films recommended by their friends, and might take weeks to "get around" to seeing a movie. The proof is in the profit.

While the three films releasing this weekend will provide a much-needed comedic relief, the most buoyant title is Up, which is expected to return to the top spot this weekend after glowing reviews. It earned $68 million its opening weekend, and its weekday grosses are above-average, totaling $86 million as of Wednesday.

On the specialty front, Focus Features releases Away We Go in 4 theatres. Even though it's a film many wanted to love, especially with its pedigree writer and director--Dave Eggers wrote and Sam Mendes helmed--it seems to fall flat. The film will expand over the next two weeks, so it will be looking for strong opening weekend per-screen averages.

Next weekend, Speed-on-a-train film, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, will open wide, along with family comedy Imagine That, which stars Eddie Murphy. Disney is also sneaking The Proposal, hoping to drum up business for a big opening weekend.