December, 2009 Archive
Irv Slifkin | Staff Notes
It’s not every year that picking a top 10 list becomes difficult. Usually, one scrambles just to come up with 10 quality releases. And this year seemed much of the same: a slog through the early part of 2009, a summer filled with mindless blockbusters and occasional surprise gems, and a fall spiked with Oscar wannabes and never-bes. Only this time, it was tough to whittle a list of 20 very good movies down to ten. But we finally managed to get the chore done anyway, resulting in the following list, which, for better or worse, stands as a testament to quite an eclectic year of moviegoing. So here goes, in order of preference:
A Serious Man: Ethan and Joel Coen get a little more serious after their throwaway Burn after Reading with this look at the life of a dysfunctional Jewish family (is there any other kind?) in mid-1960s Minnesota. Darkly humorous, wonderfully acted by a no-name cast and offering great period schtick, this Orthodox version of Barton Fink will leave you with an appreciation of the Jefferson Airplane and rabbis that you may not have had before.
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George D. Allen and Irv Slifkin | Movie Buzz, Movie Buzz Podcast
The party’s over. The year’s over. The decade’s over! Movie Irv, still hanging out at the Movie Buzz holiday party long after Sammy Claws and Brian B. have left the building, has decided to make up a list of his favorite films of the decade. See if you agree:
Gary Cahall | Staff Notes
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It is, perhaps, appropriate that the friend and confidante of the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, should--like the man whose exploits he chronicled--also be the subject of several mysteries surrounding his personal life. Was Dr. John H. Watson born in England or, as some Sherlockian scholars have postulated, in Australia or even North America? Where exactly was he shot, in the shoulder or the leg, while serving as a British Army medical officer during the Second Afghan War? Was he married once, twice, or three or more times? And--of primary importance to film buffs--why have most of Watson's depicitions in movies and on TV given the public the impression that he was a befuddled sidekick whom one critic called a prime specimen of "Boobus Britainnicus"? With last week's release of director Guy Ritchie's big-budget Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey, Jr. as the sleuth and Jude Law as Watson, the time is right to look back on the good doctor's screen depictions and at some of the more memorable actors who have played him.
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Jerry Frebowitz | New Releases This Week
New DVD Releases for this week include Paranormal Activity, A Perfect Getaway and the very sexy and wickedly shocking, Jennifer's Body starring America's sexiest bad girl, Megan Fox plus Facing Ali, a new documentary giving insight into the life of Muhammad Ali. Also making its' debut this week is the complete first season of Showtime's runaway hit TV series, United States Of Tara starring Toni Collette.
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Jay Steinberg | This Week in Film History
January 1, 1900: French film pioneer Charles Pathé releases the historical re-enactment Episodes of the Transvaal War in Paris.
December 31, 1903: Capital Execution is the first feature from what will be a thriving Danish film industry, until its decline during World War I.
December 29, 1913: Chapter One of the first true serial, a continuous storyline told in sequential chapters, The Adventures of Kathlyn, is released.
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Jason Marcewicz | Create-A-Caption
You know the drill. Below is a classic movie photo with Jason’s caption.
You’re encouraged to leave your own suggestion in the comment section below!
Everybody rallied around Uncle Billy
…well, except for young Tommy (bottom, center)
who realized he had lost everything in his uncle’s ponzi scheme.
Dr. Strangefilm | From the Files of Dr. Strangefilm...
Let's see...they've both been a part of Western, if not worldwide, folklore for centuries. They both have their fervent supporters, as well as detractors who swear they don't exist. Both seem to be able to know a person's innermost dreams and desires, favor a lot of red in their fashion sense, and like to live in places set in the most extreme of temperatures. Oh, and while they each go by many names, their most popular ones are anagrams.
With all these shared characteristics, you'd think that Santa and Satan would be the best of buddies, wouldn't you? Okay, you really wouldn't, but it does add a fascinating new dimension to one of the Baby Boom generation's most twisted movie memories. That's right, today's case is the 1959 "kiddie matinee" classic Santa Claus, a made-in-Mexico mishegas of St. Nick legend, Christian theology, and Robert Campbell-knows-what kind of miscellaneous mythology which features Kris Kringle's annual globe-hopping, gift-giving marathon under attack from the minions of the Prince of Darkness...well, one less-than-crack member of said minions, anyway.
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Gary Cahall | Staff Notes
It's okay, there's no one looking. You can admit it. You're no Grinch, but you find the unending store and media bombardment of holiday tunes and images over the last couple of months more than a little wearying. And as much as you've enjoyed them over the years, is it really necessary to sit through those cartoon kids decorating and brightening up that forlorn little tree, or watch that reindeer with the mutated schnoz and the dwarf who wants to learn dentistry find their place in the world, yet again? And, now that you think about it, didn't Ebeneezer Scrooge have a pretty successful and comfortable set-up before all those ghosts started pestering him in the middle of the night? Why is it, you ask yourself, that all the Christmas stuff on TV and in movies has to be so darned...merry?
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Jerry Frebowitz | New Releases This Week
New DVD Releases for this week include Extract, the very funny new comedy from Mike Judge and humans discover they are not welcome in District 9, produced by Peter Jackson; then there's the remake of Fritz Lang's 1954 thriller, Beyond A Reasonable Doubt and Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper are back in All About Steve. And, for fans of uniquely offbeat romantic comedies, (500) Days Of Summer is sure to please. Also making its' debut this week is one of TV's most entertaining comedy shows, Taxi: The Complete Series.
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Jay Steinberg | This Week in Film History
December 24, 1906: Considered to be the first feature-length (70 minutes) motion picture, the Australian drama The Story of The Kelly Gang debuts in Melbourne.
December 26, 1913: Less than two years after the sinking of the Titanic, the disaster comes to the screen as the basis for the lavish Danish drama Atlantis.
December 21, 1923: Cecil B. DeMille's lavish, big budget biblical epic, The Ten Commandments, makes its premiere to glowing response.
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