POP! LIST: TOP 10 FILMS OF 2011

POP! LIST: TOP 10 FILMS OF 2011 

BY JAKE MATHISON/February 15, 2012

10. REAL STEEL (PG-13)
One of the year's biggest surprises, Shawn Levy's Real Steel is a great underdog story and sensational pop filmmaking-- especially if you're a sucker for anthropomorphic robots or Hugh Jackman, or both.


9. YOUNG ADULT (R)
Jason Reitman's Young Adult is a purposefully uneasy film, meant to hit home and hit hard, allowing for an extremely interesting, nuanced performance by the venerable Charlize Theron.

8. THE IDES OF MARCH (R)
George Clooney's big year was punctuated by his poignant political thriller, The Ides of March, which in a turn of cinematic magic, saw him sparring with heavyweight Ryan Gosling.

7. THE DESCENDANTS (R)
Alexander Payne's The Descendants is a lovely, forthright film built around an unusually vulnerable performance by the stalwart George Clooney as a father trying to piece his family back together.

6. THE HELP (PG-13)
Tate Taylor's Civil Rights-era exploration, The Help, is an talent tour de force that features phenomenal work from its ensemble cast, including Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain.

5. 50/50 (R)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fantastic as a young cancer patient in Jonathan Levine's touching 50/50, which also features another great turn from the meltworthy Anna Kendrick.

4. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (PG-13)
Marion Cotillard dazzles in the charming time travel flick, Midnight in Paris, which down the road, has the potential to be considered one of Woody Allen's finest, most approachable films.


3. DRIVE (R)
In Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn takes us on a timeless, complex joyride through the seedy backstreets of gritty L.A. with a resurgent Albert Brooks and two of the very best young talents working in the industry, Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan.

2. ANOTHER EARTH (PG-13)
Mike Cahill's feature debut, the duplicate Earth drama Another Earth, took the festival scene by storm, and for good reason-- it's full of fresh, character driven sci-fi goodness and features a bold, breakthrough performance by writer/actress Brit Marling.

1. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (R)
David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo impressively outdoes the Swedish original (an excellent film in its own right) in every way, and Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander will leave you gobsmacked.

COMING SOON: 10 WORST FILMS OF 2011 

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LATE NIGHT MOVIE SERIES: EYES OF LAURA MARS (2/11/2012)

LATE NIGHT MOVIE SERIES: EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978)

BY JAKE MATHISON/February 11, 2012

Eyes of Laura Mars piqued my interest for a couple of reasons. The foremost being that George Lucas, after seeing some of its early test footage, hired its director, Irvin Kershner, to helm The Empire Strikes Back. But it also caught my eye because it's based off a spec script by horror legend John Carpenter. Double the intrigue, double the fun.

It's a typical '70s Gothic mystery flick about a shock photographer named Laura Mars, played by Faye Dunaway (Chinatown), who gains the ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer. And as expected, it's as ridiculous as it sounds.

Though it's beautifully shot, the film is wildly inconsistent and its plot lacks even a single coherent thread running through it. In fact, the film's story is so counter intuitive and confusing that even its Wikipedia description had no idea what was going on (I've since fixed this to the best of my ability). The pacing is also atrocious, and Dunaway dreadfully overplays every line to the point where you'll wonder whether or not she's having some sort of seizure. Worse yet, the never ending red herrings are just plain obnoxious and the twist ending is unbelievably silly.

On the plus side, we do get a very good (albeit nasal) performance from a young Tommy Lee Jones, and the late Raul Julia turns up briefly as a creepy former beau. It was also clearly shot on location in New York City in the late '70s, so it does have that authentic, seedy disco era vibe to it. And it's easy to see why Lucas became so enamored with Kershner, as there is a lot to love about the film's production quality and the ethereal, dreamlike way it was shot. It's also a very good stylistic example of the giallo genre. But you can't polish a turd, and the script is just that. Though, to Carpenter's credit, the story does have good bones, and with a little common sense and a lot of revision, it could be ripe for a remake someday (even though Jessica Alba already came close in her impotent 2008 vehicle The Eye).

Quite frankly, if you're big on substance, give this one a pass. It's all style here. But with that being said, I'd still probably pick up a copy of Eyes of Laura Mars if it ever came out on Blu-ray, if only to admire its shear beauty with a proper transfer and better resolution.

BEST LINE: "I'm completely out of control!" -- Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway)

Eyes of Laura Mars is rated R and is available from Amazon on DVD or as a digital download

LATE NIGHT MOVIE SERIES: INNERSPACE (2/8/2012)

LATE NIGHT MOVIE SERIES: INNERSPACE (1987)

BY JAKE MATHISON/ February 8, 2012

Growing up, the first VCR we owned was a top loading movie muncher. But for the longest time, we had barely any VHS cassettes to feed it. And the only place in town that rented them was a bizarre combination ice cream parlor & porno shop run by a blind couple. So I mostly resigned myself to watching things that had been taped for me by relatives in Minneapolis with cable. I had a copy of Superman II, complete with an interrupting speech from President Reagan (the '80s equivalent of a special feature), and also a partial copy of Innerspace that was missing somewhere between 5-10 minutes of establishing scenes and Dennis Quaid's buttcheeks.

I must have played those tapes until the ribbons tore. And as such, I'm particularly ashamed to admit that I never saw those first few scenes of Innerspace until I happened across a copy caged in some discount bin at Wal-Mart a few years back.

Needless to say, it's still really frakking good. And with the added bonus of those previously unseen (at least to me) first 10 minutes, it's even better. Dennis Quaid buttcheeks and all. It's a badass, sci-fi lite micro-epic. I mean, who wouldn't want to get miniaturized and injected into Martin Short? Yes, the science is ambiguous. Yes, the characters are ridiculous. But you can't go wrong with Quaid's charismatic grin, Short's manic physicality and Robert Picardo as a tech fencing cowboy. And if that's somehow still not enough for you, it's also a pretty good reminder that Meg Ryan used to be hot.

Innerspace is easily Joe Dante's best film (sorry Gremlins), and even as it approaches its 25th anniversary, it remains fresh, stylistically sleek and most importantly, still funny.

Now, where's that Blu-ray Warner Bros.?

BEST LINE: "I'm possessed!" -- Jack Putter (Martin Short)

Innerspace is rated PG, and is available from Amazon on DVD or as a digital download

ONE FOR THE '90s (2/4/2012)

ONE FOR THE MONEY (PG-13)

BY JAKE MATHISON

February 4th, 2012

Starring: Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara and Daniel Sunjata

Directed by: Julie Ann Robinson

Written by: Stacy Sherman (screenplay), Karen Ray (screenplay), Liz Brixius (screenplay) and Janet Evanovich (novel)

One for the Money is a dated film that may have worked, and even worked well, a decade ago. But as it stands, it's not fresh enough to keep an iPhone era attention span, and its obvious '90s shtick mostly misfires when translating to its modern setting. It's a shame, too, because this is probably Katherine Heigl's (Knocked Up) least offensive role in, well, forever. But the Stephanie Plum of One for the Money clearly hasn't aged well as a character, and the film's weaksauce plot is only barely masked by the explosive charisma of Jason O'Mara (TV's Life on Mars and Terra Nova) as an ex-flame on the lam. Fans of the cozy mystery genre, without a particular allegiance to Ms. Plum, would do better to revisit 1998's brilliant Zero Effect instead.

2.5/5 stars

One for the Money is rated PG-13 for violence, sexual references and language, some drug material and partial nudity

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THE DIABLO IS IN THE DETAILS (12/18/2011)

YOUNG ADULT (R)

BY JAKE MATHISON

December 18th, 2011

Starring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson and Patton Oswalt

Directed by: Jason Reitman

Written by: Diablo Cody

Young Adult is a wickedly delicious film. It's a perverse, brutally honest depiction of the mundane and unfulfilled lives we lead. And because of that, it's beautiful.

Charlize Theron's (Monster) Mavis Gary is a refreshingly loathsome character. As the ghost-writer of a series of popular YA (young adult) fiction novels, she has achieved a modicum of success, but under somebody else's name. And even though she's clearly a bright and talented individual, she's also a selfish, neurotic and paranoid narcissist, and seemingly always has been. Recently, she appears to have added depressed, alcoholic divorcee to that list.

When an old flame, played by Patrick Wilson (Watchmen), sends her an e-mail regarding the birth of his child, she obsessively sets off to win him back, ending up on an unavoidable collision course with her small Minnesota hometown and the people she's desperately tried to leave behind.

For many, Young Adult will be a hard film to stomach. It's comprised almost entirely of wholly unlikable, extremely complex characters. And it's going to hit close to home for anybody who grew up or still lives in a small town in middle America. But the film does a good job of spreading its blame equally, and it spends a great deal of time tackling the juxtaposition between the various levels of the unfulfillment spectrum.

Theron is pretty spectacular here. She's everything Diablo Cody's (Juno) script asks her to be and more, spewing electric dialogue and effortlessly painting a portrait of Mavis's often schizophrenic turns between loneliness and scathing condescension. And Patton Oswalt (Big Fan) is surprisingly good as a former classmate whose broken physical state mirrors Mavis's broken emotional state.

Although Cody's post-Juno work has been a mixed bag, in reuniting with director Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) she appears to have recaptured a little bit of her former magic, and together they have sculpted something bold, genuine and definitely worth investigating.

In a way, Young Adult is like a brawl between two opposing forces that hold nothing but contempt for one another. And it's fascinating to see that play out. But don't go into it expecting Cody's warmer, more charming fare, because other than a writer's credit, it has little in common with Juno. However, if you appreciate darker, more divisive themes, you're in for a real treat.

4/5 stars

Young Adult is rated R for language and some sexual content

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POP! LIST: TOP 10 ACTRESSES UNDER 30 (2011)

POP! LIST: TOP 10 ACTRESSES UNDER 30 (2011)

BY JAKE MATHISON

December 12th, 2011

10. Felicity Jones, 28

Best Role: Like Crazy (2011)

Why She's #10: Though she's only recently become known to mainstream American film-goers, bright-eyed Brit Felicity Jones certainly appears to be the whole package. Her earnest performance in the recent indie drama Like Crazy showcased a strong young actress ready to break out across the pond.

9. Elizabeth Olsen, 22

Best Role: Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

Why She's #9: Liz Olsen broke free from her older sisters' shadow, and seemingly came out of nowhere to become the new "it-girl" of indie-drama. Better yet, her rise in stock is actually well-deserved. She's been willing to go to artistic lengths that many of her peers have not. Her wounded but powerful performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene proves that she puts in the work and takes her craft seriously.

8. Ellen Page, 24

Best Role: Hard Candy (2005), Juno (2007)

Why She's #8: Page has been mostly off the radar for the last couple of years, but it would be a crime to overlook her visceral breakout performance in 2005's Hard Candy. Page's best asset is her ability to seamlessly transition between gritty, stark dramas and meta-comedies like her Oscar-nominated turn in Juno.

7. Emily Browning, 22

Best Role: Sleeping Beauty (2011)

Why She's #7: Even though Sleeping Beauty turned out to be a pretentious dud, Browning deserves a spot on this list for being absolutely fearless in it. She gave absolutely everything she had in an incredible, gutsy performance-- a role that required not only full dedication, but also full exploitation. If nothing else, it was a calculated risk to get her noticed, and it worked beautifully.

6. Jennifer Lawrence, 21

Best Role: Winter's Bone (2010), The Beaver (2011)

Why She's #6: At 21, Lawrence is the youngest actress on this list, and her Oscar nod for Winter's Bone has seemingly blown the doors of her burgeoning career wide open. And though she may project a sort of heartland strength, she is also more than capable of digging deep and playing off a hidden, quiet sensitivity.

5. Anna Kendrick, 26

Best Role: Up in the Air (2009), 50/50 (2011)

Why She's #5: Anna Kendrick is the new breed of American sweetheart. She's snarky, yet still extremely likable, having used her tremendous sincerity and relatability to garner the first of what should be many Academy nominations. Even with that exposure, she remains underrated, and has the talent to really sneak up on you.

4. Rooney Mara, 26

Best Role: The Social Network (2010), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Why She's #4: David Fincher shocked the industry when he handpicked the relatively unknown Rooney Mara to play the title character in his remake of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo-- but from all early indications, he appears to have hit a home-run. Mara made a big impact with her small amount of The Social Network screentime, putting Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg in his place. She's strong, determined and poised to make a big splash this year.

3. Carey Mulligan, 26

Best Role: Never Let Me Go (2010), Drive (2011), Shame (2011)

Why She's #3: Carey Mulligan is a gifted emoter. She has an uncanny ability to say everything without saying anything. She's tough, hardened and at her best when playing emotionally damaged and/or vulnerable characters. She's also been experiencing a meteoric rise as of late, and her upcoming performance in the controversial NC-17 piece Shame is sure to garner some Academy attention.

2. Anne Hathaway, 29

Best Role: Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Why She's #2: Even though she's the veteran presence of this list, Anne Hathaway is still something of an enigma. Her powerhouse performance in 2008's underrated Rachel Getting Married pushed her career to the brink of greatness, but she has since found herself in the unenviable position of repeating that success. In many ways, her career has mirrored recent Academy darling Natalie Portman. Hathaway's been the rock of a lot of inferior fare, so it's fair to assume that it'll only be a matter of time before she finds her Black Swan.

1. Alison Brie, 28

Best Role: Community (2009-), Mad Men (2007-)

Why She's #1: Besides being an absolute knockout, Brie's amazing combination of intelligence, physicality and impeccable comedic timing have made her a versatile force to be reckoned with. She's not afraid of taking bold risks or gambling stylistically with her choices, and her instincts almost always pay off with huge dividends. She's a duel threat on TV's Community and Mad Men, shooting to the top of this list because she's a true chameleon, capable of playing any role in any genre.

THE RAINBOW DISCONNECTION (12/9/2011)

THE MUPPETS (PG)

BY JAKE MATHISON

December 9th, 2011

Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Rashida Jones and Chris Cooper

Directed by: James Bobin

Written by: Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller and Jim Henson (characters)

It's a good time, and it tries really hard. That might seem like an oversimplification, but that's The Muppets in a nutshell. It's not the drastic reenvisioning most were expecting when Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) became attached to the project as a writer. And it's definitely not a reboot. It never pushes the envelope, but it's a mostly charming, family-friendly film full of safe choices, archetypes and retro goodness.

When Gary (Jason Segel) takes his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) and his little Muppet brother Walter to Los Angeles for a vacation, they inadvertently stumble across nefarious oil monger Tex Richman's (Chris Cooper) plot to destroy the relic Muppet Studios and spend the remainder of the film attempting to reunite Kermit with his old pals for a last-ditch studio saving effort.

There's a whole lot of Muppety merriment and nostalgia involved, with throwbacks to the days of telethons, '80s robots, New Coke and the like. All of this works. And there are some really good, honest moments for Kermit as well, with him spending most of the first act as an aging, defeated, and emotionally spent frog.

In spurts, there are also some really interesting choices and story elements at play in The Muppets. It's never revealed how Walter came to be Gary's little brother-- was he adopted, or is Muppetism some sort of genetic anomaly along the lines of dwarfism? There's plenty of fourth wall breakage. And Walter, Gary and Mary also seemingly live in a Truman Show-esque faux town that's always ready to bust out in song and dance upon command, yet observably relieved and exasperated of that routine when the trio departs on their Hollywood vacation. Needless to say, none of these non sequitur oddities are ever fully explained or developed, and it's a shame they weren't explored further instead of yet another greedy villain cliche or hokey Miss Piggy parody vignette.

The bottom line is that The Muppets, as a franchise, needs a facelift from an unlikely source--perhaps a David Lynch (Blue Velvet) or Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth)-- because it's now clear that Jason Segel just isn't going to be that person. It's one thing to respect the source material, but there's simply no edge to this film. It doesn't tread enough new ground to stave off an inevitable reboot. Heck, it's not even the best Muppet film of the last twenty years, an honor which distinctly belongs to the underrated cult favorite Muppets from Space. But it's still a film full of life, love, and the pursuit of Muppetness, and how could anybody not dig that? Mahna Mahna.

2.5/5 stars

The Muppets is rated PG for some mild rude humor

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