Here Comes 2008!
Best Lyrics to Ring in the New Year, Ever!:
"Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles (words and music by George Harrison)
Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Hope 2008 is a great one for you!
The basu! Guide to the Movies
(The OMG-Another-Year's-Gone-Already?! Edition)
21 – 28 December 2007
The b! List
Ten things that are the best, ever (currently)!
1. The Dark Knight Trailer. Question: "People are dying, what would you have me do?" Answer: "Endure. You can be the outcast. You can make the choice that no one else can face, the right choice." 18 July 2008! http://tinyurl.com/yqzmrv
2. The (Arrogant) Australian Cricket Team. No matter what you say, after their 15th (!) consecutive Test win, attention must be paid (however grudgingly). http://tinyurl.com/2gembs
3. The New England Cheat-riots. No matter what you say, after 19 – 0…sorry, 16 – 0…16 – 0 (getting a little ahead of myself there), attention must be paid (however grudgingly). http://tinyurl.com/yv37jw
4. The Lost Dog Cafe. If you're looking for a fantastic slice of pizza, or even a delectable sandwich, in very fun settings then you must check out this charming little Arlington, VA establishment. But before that you must stop by…
http://www.lostdogcafe.com/
5. The Stray Cat. A nice place to eat with friends, have a drink and watch happily as part of the proceeds is donated towards rescuing cute little kittens. Of course, you must have a bottle of…
http://www.thestraycatcafe.com/
6. Delirium Tremens. My new favorite Belgian beer thanks to The Better Half's good friend Tim Wilson. http://www.delirium.be
7. Open Field by Taken by Trees. A great discovery thanks to WAMU 88.5, the NPR station in Washington, DC. That lovely voice belongs Victoria Bergsman, former vocalist for The Concretes and the female voice on "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn And John. http://tinyurl.com/yuonno
8. The Upcoming NFL Wild-Card Weekend. Now I'll have something to do on both Saturday and Sunday. http://tinyurl.com/yv4xur
9. LA Traffic. After taking the I-95 through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia I will now say the words I never thought I would say: "LA traffic isn't that bad…" http://tinyurl.com/2xxyyp
10. G.P. Sippy. A melancholy farewell to the mastermind behind the most famous Bollywood film of them all, Sholay. http://tinyurl.com/yrw2m9
One to Watch: The Greatest Movie, Ever! …Since Children of Men
There Will Be Blood
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Ciaran Hinds, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor
Plot: An ambitious man tries to strike it rich as an oilman in 1920s America. Citizen-Kane-for-a-whole-new-generation type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Don't take my word for it; here is sampling of what some of the nation's top critics are saying about this film:
"As astounding in its emotional force and as haunting and mysterious as anything seen in American movies in recent years" [David Denby, The New Yorker ].
"A great brooding thundercloud of a movie" [J. Hoberman, The Village Voice].
"Day-Lewis's portrayal is not just the performance of the year…but a creation of awesome proportions" [Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal].
"It looks and, especially, sounds like no movie you've seen before" [Dana Stevens, Slate].
"The film is above all a consummate work of art…the window it opens is to human consciousness itself" [Manohla Dargis, The New York Times].
"Anderson has taken a stab at making The Great American Movie -- and I daresay he's made one of them" [Scott Foundas, LA Weekly].
"There hasn't been such an amazing character study in film since Citizen Kane" [Zack Haddad, Film Threat].
"A searingly intense and artful tale that grabs hold of the viewer from its…opening scenes and doesn't let go" [Claudia Puig, USA Today].
"Ambitious, deeply flawed and studded with sequences that achieve pure, majestic greatness" [Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide].
Bottom Line: Theatres – First Day!
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
One to Watch: The Bloodiest Movie Musical, Ever!
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Sacha Baron Cohen (yup, Borat himself)
Plot: A wrongfully convicted barber returns to have his revenge on those that have, um, wronged him. This-time-a-close-shave-is-not-just-a-metaphor type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: There are two things about this movie that are not readily apparent from the trailer. One: there will be singing (it is a musical after all). Two: there will be blood (it is directed by Burton after all). In fact, they should have subtitled this movie There Will Be Blood considering just how much of that icky stuff flows in the movie. It's not quite the masterpiece that The New York Times said it was, but it comes this close, and I'm happy that Burton is taking it to the next level.
Bottom Line: Theatres – Eventually
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
One to Watch: The Best Chance to Break a Box-Office Jinx
Charlie Wilson's War
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the great Om Puri
Plot: The real life story of how a hard-partying US Congressman joined forces with a socialite and a renegade CIA agent to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan. No-you-couldn't-make-this-sh*t-up-if-you-tried! type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: If there's anyone that could possibly beat the Iraq War Movie jinx at the box office (even though, technically, it's not really an Iraq War Movie, but what was that about guilt-by-association?) it would be the Awards-Season-baiting Hanks-Roberts-Hoffman troika.
Bottom Line: Theatres – Eventually
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
One to Watch: Judd Apatow (Finally) Gets One Right in '07
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Godfathered by: Judd Apatow
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, Kristen Wiig, Raymond J. Barry, Margo Martindale, and many "name" actors cameo-ing as famous musicians
Plot: A famous musician must fight his demons for a last shot at redemption. Talk-about-a-genre-being-ripe-for-a-parody type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: It's so sad. The Comedy Godfather Apatow finally gets one right in '07 (Knocked Up was too s*xist and Superbad was too long) and it's the only that flops (breaking his winning streak at the box office). Too bad, too da*n bad.
Bottom Line: Theatres – Eventually
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
One to Watch: For the Boy in All of Us
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Directed by: Jay Russell
Starring: Alex Etel, Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, David Morrissey, and the inimitable Brian Cox
Plot: A young boy tries to save a mythical creature from destruction at the hands of the local populace at a lake in Scotland. Oh-a-lake-in-Scotland-is-a-loch type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: It's that really sweet little kid from Millions; how can you resist? I still remember that bit from the Millions trailer: Boy: "Are you really a saint?" Woman: " 'Course I am." Boy: "What was your miracle?" Woman: "Don't you know? It was you." Oh…man…sniff…it…gets…me…sniff…every …time…sniff…
Bottom Line: Me, and 12-year-old Boys the World Over: Theatres – Eventually; Other, More Grown-Up Types: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
One to Watch: Oprah + Denzel = Resistance is Futile
The Great Debaters
Directed by: Denzel Washington
Produced by: The Oprah Winfrey
Starring: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, John Heard, Kimberly Elise
Plot: An African-American debate team from the segregated South dares to challenge Harvard University to a competition. Something-tells-me-they-win type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Okay, we all know this is going to be cheesy, sentimental and hit-you-over-the-head obvious, but a stirring, David-beats-Goliath underdog story (with the added benefit of racial-harmony promotion) may be just the thing to bring the Holidays to a gentle, sweet close.
Bottom Line: Theatres – Eventually
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
Ones to Watch: Three Singular Directors
Honeydripper
Directed by: John Sayles
Starring: Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Mary Steenburgen, Stacy Keach, Vondie Curtis Hall, Sean Patrick Thomas, Keb' Mo'
Plot: The survival of a blues bar depends on a mysterious musician who comes into town. Something-tells-me-he-comes-through type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: There are principally two kinds of Sayles movies: earnest ensemble dramas that succeed in spite of the central Message (Lone Star; City of Hope ; Matewan; Eight Men Out; Passion Fish; Sunshine State) and earnest ensemble dramas that do not succeed because of the central Message ( Men with Guns; Casa de los babys; Silver City) [of course there are some others like The Secret of Roan Inish and Limbo that do not fit these two categories, but let's not talk about them here]. This one is, by all accounts, somewhere in between.
Bottom Line: The Better Half and Other Fans of John Sayles: Theatres – Eventually; Other, More Realistic People: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
Smiley Face
Directed by: Gregg Araki
Starring: Anna Faris, John Krasinski, Adam Brody Jane Lynch, John Cho, Danny Trejo
Plot: An aspiring actress has a strange day when she decides to eat her roommate's cupcakes. Dude-talk-about-flashing-back-to-college type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Araki went to USC. This is pretty surprising given his unusual (and decidedly non-mainstream) oeuvre.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
Flakes
Directed by: Michael Lehmann
Starring: Aaron Stanford, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Lloyd
Plot: A cereal store tries to fight for survival after the possible arrival of a rival franchise. Man-there's-a-franchise-for-everything type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Lehmann directed Heathers , which means I am always ready to check out his movies, especially one that stars the singular Deschanel.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
One to Watch: A Horror Movie at the Oscars?!
The Orphanage
Directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona
Presented by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Belén Rueda, Geraldine Chaplin, Fernando Caya
Plot: A family returns to an abandoned orphanage to discover that it may not be as abandoned as they had been led to believe. What-part-of-the-decrepit-gothic-mansion-gave-it-away? type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Hey man, that facts that the great del Toro is attached to this movie, and Spain submitted this as its official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 2008 Oscars means I'm going to try and watch this movie…as soon as I get through some of the others on the list below.
Bottom Line: Me, and Other Fans of Guillermo del Toro: Theatres – Eventually; Other People with Less Time on Their Hands: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
One to Watch: A (Possibly) Surprise Best Animated Film
Persepolis
Directed by: Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Starring: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Simon Abkarian, Danielle Darrieux
Plot: A young Iranian girl with a love for Western pop culture tries to survive during the Islamic Revolution. They-eat-this-stuff-up-in-the-West-don't-they? type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Don't look now, but this obscenely well-reviewed film (a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes!) is sneaking up on the kinds of critics' best-of lists which point to a Spirited Away-type upset at the Oscars (of course, in the case of this obscure film, I think a nomination would be considered a victory in and of itself).
Bottom Line: My Friend Doney Joseph and Other Animation Aficionados: Theatres – Eventually; Other, Less Enlightened Souls: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
Movies
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Directed by: Jon Turteltaub
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Bruce Greenwood, and doing-it-for-the-money serious actors like Helen Mirren Harvey Keitel, and Ed Harris
Plot: A historian tries to clear his ancestor's name…by breaking into national monuments. I-still-don't-get-it type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: I don't understand it . I mean, the first movie was all right and all, but for some reason, it really caught the public's fancy and the sequel even more so (I can't tell you how many people I have met during my current jaunt to the East Coast to visit the friends and family of The Better Half who have told me they watched this movie on opening weekend). I still say you should wait for it on DVD, but something tells me you're not going to.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
The Bucket List
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow
Plot: Two very different hospital roommates decide to life to the fullest before they…kick the bucket. Something-tells-me-that-they-learn-to-live-life-to-the-fullest-just-before-it's-taken-away-from-them type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: The DVD of this movie is going to make the perfect future Father's Day gift. You'll give it to your dad, he'll put it on the shelf next to the other Movies That Make Guys Cry (Field of Dreams; Brian's Song; The Shawshank Redemption; Braveheart ; Rudy), give you an awkward man-hug, and then two of you will get back to comfortable topics like sports, cars, power tools and when you'll be giving him (more) grandchildren.
Bottom Line: Me, and Other Sentimental Old Fools: Theatres – Eventually; Other, More Sensible People Blessed with Youth and Vitality: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
P.S. I Love You
Directed by: Richard LaGravenese
Starring: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Kathy Bates, Lisa Kudrow, and the fabulous Gina Gershon
Plot: A woman is told how to rediscover happiness through a serious of letters left behind by the love of her life after his untimely death. Dude-he-still-can't-let-go type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Look, I'm going to watch this movie. There, I said it.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Directed by: Greg Strause and Colin Strause
Starring: Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis
Plot: Two aliens continue their battle on Earth. Talk-about-a-very-different-kind-of-immigration-debate type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Here are some other, much better, movies with the word "requiem" in the title: Requiem for a Dream; Requiem for a Heavyweight; When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts [TV]; Brown's Requiem; and, of course, Requiem (2006).
Bottom Line: Me, and Other Geeky Sci-Fi Fanboys Who Really Should Know Better: DVD; Other, Much More Sensible People: Pass
Other Movies to Check Out (instead): There Will Be Blood; The Top 10 Movies of 2007 [See Below]
The Top 10 Future Cult Classics of 2007
Hot Rod
The Top 10 Movies of 2007
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly [tie]
Control [tie]
Ratatouille
Sunshine
Into the Wild
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
No Country For Old Men
American Gangster
The Bourne Ultimatum
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox
The Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Juno
The Savages
I'm Not There
Charlie Wilson's War
Atonement
The Kite Runner
The Band's Visit
The Great Debaters
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
The Orphanage
Margot at the Wedding [For The Better Half]
Youth Without Youth [Special Mention]
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead [Special Mention]
The Bucket List [Though I'll wait for it go wide on 11 January 2008!]