The basu! Guide to the Movies
(The I'm-Not-on-Strike Edition)
19 October – 02 November 2007
The b! List
Ten things that are the best, ever (currently)!
[No YouTube clip link this week...apparently it's banned in Singapore]
1. Bruce Springsteen at the LA Sports Arena. The merlot-sipping, grown-kids wielding crowd was not quite what I expected, neither was the incredible experience which followed. Things were very different at the Arena from a couple of nights ago when we stumbled upon Monster Massive...very different...
2. India vs. Pakistan. The real WWIII. Forget about what George Bush said about Iran's nuclear weapons, everyone knows that the real WWIII is happening on the cricket grounds of India right now with Yuvraj Singh leading the charge.
3. Knott's Scary Farm. Quick tip: If you ever happen to find yourself being chased by a ghoul with a snake coming out of its mouth (they tend to separate out the weak from the herd) all the way to the end of the park, then I would suggest grabbing a large security guard and walking behind him as you try to find the rest of your group. Trust me, this will come in handy.
4. Super Bowl XLII. Nope, Super Bowl XLII is not happening out in Arizona next year. It already happened in Indianapolis and the New England Patriots are your winner.
5. Aliens in America [The CW; Mondays; 8:30/7:30c]. Smartly written and well-acted, you really should check out this criminally-underseen show.
6. Mike Lowell. All right Boston, you paid that blowhard Curt Schilling quite a bit of money (after he had written good-bye lletters to his teammates...which he announced on his own blog), now it's time to cowboy up and give Mike Lowell that same kind of hometown premium that people like Schill and Jason Varitek were so lucky to get.
7. "Into a Swan" by Siouxsie (without the Banshees) . So what if she didn't bring the Banshees back with her. Any new Siouxsie song is cause for celebration. Rejoice!
8. "Thrash Unreal" by Against me!. If Rancid were still around, this is how they would have sounded.
9. Samantha Who? [ABC; Mondays; 9:30/8:30c]. Kevin Dunn , Jennifer Esposito and the great Jean Smart are reasons enough to want to put this on the TiVo Season Pass.
10. There Must Be Blood. I haven't seen a single frame, nor have I read any review in full, but I can already tell you this is going to be the greatest...movie... ever!
One to Watch: With So Many Big Names How Can You Say No?
American Gangster
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe
Also Starring: Ruby Dee, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Cuba Gooding Jr. (remember him?), Carla Gugino, Ted Levine, Joe Morton, Roger Bart, RZA, and the great Armand Assante
Produced by: Brian Grazer
Executive Produced by: Nicholas Pileggi
Written by: Steven Zaillian
Production Company 1: Imagine Entertainment (including Ron Howard)
Production Company 2: Scott Free Productions (including Tony Scott)
Plot: A dedicated cop tries to bring down a powerful heroin dealer in 1970s Harlem. Talk-about-alpha-males-colliding type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: The first time this movie was going to be made it involved Washington, Benicio Del Toro in the Crowe role and Antoine Fuqua in the Scott role (i.e. he was going to direct). Universal got cold feet when the budget crept past the $100 million mark and Fuqua refused to move the production to Canada to save money. Adding to the unrest was the growing reputation of Fuqua as a malcontent (he had clashed with uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer on King Arthur; Fuqua wanted a Gladiator-style epic, Bruckheimer, apparently, did not). Ultimately, the movie was put into turnaround and both Washington and Del Toro walked with their pay-or-play money (they got paid whether the movie got made or not; Nicolas Cage was paid $16 million when Tim Burton's attempt at resurrecting Superman got put into turnaround). The producers tried a smaller version of the movie with Terry George at the helm, and thankfully that fell apart. Finally, Scott came on board (having originally passed on it to make Kingdom of Heaven) and brought his new best pal Crowe with him. Washington decided that he felt bad being paid $20 million to not play Frank Lucas, so he came back on board. And the next thing you know – you have one of the most anticipated epic crime dramas since…2006 (when The Departed came out). And the irony of it all? The production stayed in New York and flew past the original $100 million budget while poor Fuqua was cast aside to make genre pics like Shooter.
Bottom Line: Theatres – First Week!
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): The Departed; Across 110 th Street; The French Connection; Shaft (1971); Super Fly
One to Watch: A Legendary Director Is Alive and Kicking
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei
Plot: Two brothers try to rob a store. The only problem? It's owned by their parents. Never-go-into-business-with-family type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: American Gangster…We Own the Night…the upcoming Pride and Glory…all these buzzed-about movies have invoked some variation of the phrase "like a Sidney Lumet movie from the 70s." The funny thing is that Lumet himself is not satisfied with that whole "70s" thing and is still making movies as we speak (notwithstanding his 83 years) ; and not just making movies, but (if MetaCritic and Rotten Tomatoes are to be believed) making great movies. Bless his heart!
Bottom Line: Theatres – First Week!
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Night Falls on Manhattan; Guilty as Sin; Q & A; Running on Empty; The Morning After; The Verdict; Deathtrap; Prince of the City; Equus; Network; Dog Day Afternoon; Murder on the Orient Express; Serpico; The Hill; Fail-Safe; The Pawnbroker; Long Day's Journey Into Night; The Fugitive Kind; 12 Angry Men;
Ones to Consider: Documentaries About Legendary Historical Figures
Lynch
Directed by: Blackandwhite
Starring: David Lynch
Plot: A documentary portrait of the famed director. Oh-man-I-really-do-hope-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction-with-this-one type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Okay, so maybe Lynch is not a historical, historical figure, but he is legendary .
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Inland Empire; Mulholland Dr; The Straight Story; Lost Highway; Wild at Heart; Blue Velvet; The Elephant Man; Eraserhead
Jimmy Carter Man from Plains
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter
Plot: A documentary portrait of the Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning ex-President. Remember-Al-Gore-was-never-officially-President type compliations ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Carter, on the other hand, is both legendary and historical…though one could make the argument that he's a better at being an Ex-President than he was at being President . Though, please take that characterization with a huge of grain of salt since it's coming from me. Watch the movie for yourself, make your own mind up, and then get back to me.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): The War Room; A Perfect Candidate; An Unreasonable Man; Bush's Brain; Journeys with George
Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
Directed by: Julien Temple
Starring: Joe Strummer
Plot: A documentary portrait of the influential musician. He-was-on-the-South-Park:-Bigger-Longer-Uncut -soundtrack! type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: I always thought that the S*x Pistols invented Punk. Then I was told that The Ramones invented Punk (though it was during a Ramones concert, so I should have been somewhat skeptical). Now I am being told that it was The Clash. I'm so confused, can someone please tell me definitively once and for all, who invented Punk?
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Sid and Nancy; The Devil and Daniel Johnston; Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Directed by: Jim Brown
Starring: Pete Seeger
Plot: A documentary portrait of the still vibrant activist/folk singer. Back-when-being-a-musician-could-actually-change-the-world type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Seger was responsible for songs like "Goodnight Irene", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", "If I Had a Hammer", "Turn, Turn, Turn!", "We Shall Overcome" and "Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight" . He got started with Woody Guthrie. He helped discover Bob Dylan. And that was just the beginning…
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin'; Woodstock; Bob Roberts
Mr. Untouchable
Directed by: Marc Levin
Starring: Nicky Barnes
Plot: A documentary portrait of the other Harlem drug overlord in the 1970s. The-timing-of-its-realese-with- American-Gangster-is-certainly-not-coincidental type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: You know the guy that Cuba Gooding Jr. plays in American Gangster? Apparently, he's a real-life larger-than-life drug dealer in 1970s Harlem. Unlike Frank Lucas, he did not have the good sense to not be splashed across the cover of The New York Times Magazine , which directly precipitated his downfall. Seriously, you just couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): American Gangster; American Pimp; Superfly; The Return of Superfly; Dolemite
One to Consider: Documentaries About Legendary Current Tragedies
Darfur Now
Directed by: Ted Braun
Starring: Don Cheadle
Plot: A documentary detailing the atrocities occurring in Darfur right now. Hopefully-this-will-get-people-to-act type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: One of these days, just one of these days the world will finally wake up and take notice of just what exactly is going on down there .
Bottom Line: Theatres – Eventually
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony; Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation ; Lost Boys of Sudan
One to Consider: Netflix Special
Out of the Blue
Directed by: Robert Sarkies
Starring: Karl Urban, Matthew Sunderland, Lois Lawn
Plot: A man goes on a shooting rampage in an idyllic New Zealand town. Yup-these-things-do-happen-outside-the-United-States type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: It's a New York Times Critic's Pick. They should just make that a section in Netflix because chances are most of these picks will not be coming to a theatre near you because, unlike the New York Times critics, chances are you don't have the good fortune of living in Manhattan.
Bottom Line: Netflix
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Bowling for Columbine; Elephant; Zero Day; Purgatory House; The Basketball Diaries
One to Watch: The Great Juliette Binoche
Dan in Real Life
Directed by: Peter Hedges
Starring: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Emily Blunt, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney
Plot: An advice columnist finds himself falling in love with a woman he meets at a family reunion…who just happens to be dating his brother. Family-gatherings-are-always-so-awkward type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: I like Binoche. I think she's that rare combination of movie star and accomplished actress with the rarer combinations still of movie star/actress/has the good sense to work with very good directors (Kyzlie; Louis MalleX; Anthony MinghellaX;) . The Better Half, on the other hand, likes her because she was in Chocolat. Chocolat? C'mon man, I like a good, sentimental, sweet-natured comedy which makes you believe in the humanity inherent in each and every one of us. But Chocolat? On the other hand The Better Half has seen The Seventh Seal, and I haven't…and I'm supposed to be the film student.
Bottom Line: Me, and Other Fans of Juliette Binoche [But For the Right Non-Chocolat Reasons]: Theatres – Eventually; Other, Less Enlightened Souls: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Breaking and Entering; Paris, je t'aime; Bee Season ; Caché; Country of My Skull; Jet Lag; The Widow of Saint-Pierre; The English Patient; The Horseman on the Roof; Three Colors: Blue; Damage; Wuthering Heights ; The Lovers on the Bridge; The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Ones to Consider: Actors Doing it For Themselves
Gone Baby Gone
Directed by: Ben Affleck (Yes, that Ben Affleck)
Starring: Casey (Brother of Ben) Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan
Plot: A private investigator is called in to help find a missing girl in a closely-knit Boston neighborhood. What-is-it-about-Boston-and-navel-gazing? type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: My ex-USC classmate Andrew "Andy" Colville told me to watch this movie and told me that Affleck (Ben, that is) was a better director Shekhar Kapur (who, according to him, has made a hash of things with Elizabeth: The Golden Age). Andy, my boy, you owe me big time because no, Affleck is not better than Kapur, and no, I should have waited for this underwhelming film to have made it to Netflix. On the other hand, Andy (as well as our friend Andre "The Original AK47" Koutouza) alerted me to the brilliance of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan many months of advance of that film's release. Fine, we're even, but I will still be watching Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): The Departed; Mystic River; Fever Pitch (2005); Good Will Hunting ; The Boondock Saints
Slipstream
Directed by: Anthony Hopkins (Yes, that Anthony Hopkins)
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Turturro, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Clarke Duncan
Plot: An eccentric screenwriter retreats further into his mind when his dream project runs into trouble. Ooh-boy-wonder-what-the-Writers'-Strike-would-have-done-to-him? type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: This is what I read on Rotten Tomatoes: "Hopkins' ambition is laudable, but what he has produced is a handsome, admirable failure, a labor of love and an extremely personal film with extremely limited appeal." Man, I can't wait to watch it on Netflix!
Bottom Line: Me, and Other Fans of Anthony Hopkins Still Waiting For His Next Great Role: DVD; Other, More Fickle Souls: Pass
Other Movies to Check Out (instead): Beowulf; Fracture; All the King's Men (2006); Bobby; The World's Fastest Indian; Proof; Alexander; The Human Stain; Red Dragon; Bad Company; Hearts in Atlantis; Titus; Instinct; Meet Joe Black; The Mask of Zorro; Amistad; The Edge; Surviving Picasso; Nixon; Legends of the Fall; The Road to Wellville; Shadowlands; The Remains of the Day; The Trial (1993); Bram Stoker's Dracula; Howards End; The Efficiency Expert; Freejack; The Silence of the Lambs; 84 Charing Cross Road; The Bounty (1984); The Elephant Man; Magic; International Velvet; A Bridge Too Far; Audrey Rose; Juggernaut; The Looking Glass War; The Lion in Winter
One to Consider: Someone My Teammate Knows Made a Movie
Bella
Directed by: Alejandro Gomez Monteverde
Starring: Eduardo Verástegui (a.k.a. The Latin Brad Pitt), Tammy Blanchard, Ali Landry
Plot: A cook convinces a pregnant waitress not to go through with an abortions. What-did-you-expect-from-a-Religious-Right-movie-producer? type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: My teammate Bon Mercado knows the producer of this film because they go to the same church . Bon, dude, in the interest of the Christian spirit of charity couldn't you slip him my script? C'mon dude, help a teammate out!
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Citizen Ruth; Knocked Up; Lake of Fire
New Movies
Rendition
Directed by: Gavin Hood
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard
Plot: The lives of a seemingly perfect American family are thrown for a loop when the husband is spirited away to a secret location and tortured for information. Well-technically-it's-not- legally-torture type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Director Hood has made an exciting movie with a star who can not only act, but has the good sense to mix in the occasional indie film with the blockbusters, thereby keeping himself fresh, relevant and interesting. That movie is X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and it stars Hugh Jackman. Mark your calendars, 01 May 2009 is going to come faster than you think!
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Three Kings; Home of the Brave; Jarhead; Courage Under Fire; The Jacket
Things We Lost in the Fire
Directed by: Susanne Bier
Starring: Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Alison Lohman, John Carroll Lynch
Plot: A window discovers that she might have feelings for her late husband's best friend. He-did-promise-to-take- really-good-care-of-her type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Director Bier is the most buzzed-about director you've never heard of. She's made the kind of Danish movies that the critics love; that have launched the careers of James Bond villains ( Mads Mxxxxx); and that have prompted the kind of remakes young, hip Hollywood froths at the mouth over (Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire , and Natalie Portman in the upcoming Brothers). Too bad this little movie is going to get buried under the avalanche of Oscar-baiting movies flooding the multiplexes right now, and is going to take an apparently Oscar-worthy leading-man performance from Del Toro with it. Too bad also that Berry's newly-discovered "serious" side gets buried too, but at least she's doing the smart thing by following this with a movie about an Indian woman fighting for the rights of African-Americans in the Deep South. By Indian I mean Mahatma-Gandhi-type Indian. And by Indian I mean she's going to play the Indian woman. That's the new racially diverse Hollywood for you, we get a half-Caucasian-half-African-American woman playing the role of an Indian woman. Somewhere Mickey Rooney is smiling.
Bottom Line: Me, and Other Pretend Fans of Susanne Bier: Theatres – Eventually; Other, Less Poseur-Type Soles: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Brothers; After the Wedding; Open Hearts
Reservation Road
Directed by: Terry George
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino
Plot: Two men on opposite sides of the incident must learn to deal with a car accident which kills a young boy. Just-the-kind-of-upbeat-Holiday-season-film-we-need type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: I know it all sounds pretty grim, but with so many solid names attached, how can you say no?
Bottom Line: Me, and Others with a Grim Outlook on Life: Theatres – Eventually; Other, More Sunnier Souls: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): We Don't Live Here Anymore; The Ice Storm; The Safety of Objects
Bee Movie
Directed by: Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith
Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman
Plot: A bee decides to break out of a life of pre-ordained conformity and explore the outside world. Oh-we-all-know-what-happens-to-non-conformists type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: I hear ya man, and I'm sick of Seinfeld too.
Bottom Line: Those with Young Children in Need of Babysitting Help: Theatres – Eventually; Other, Less Harried Souls: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Shrek 2; Madagascar; Antz
Martian Child
Directed by: Menno Meyjes
Starring: John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Amanda Peet, Sophie Okonedo, Oliver Platt
Plot: A recently widower-ed man fights the system to adopt a boy who thinks he's a Martian. Talk-about-a-three-hanky-movie type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: I remember when my friend Doney Joseph and I were waiting for a screening of Gangs of New York. The theatre right next to out let out before we got in, and every single person coming out was blabbering like a little girl. I looked at the marquee and was surprised to see that it said Life as a House; a film that had been roundly panned by the critics. Trust me, the more celebrated Gangs only had people shaking their heads and muttering under their breath when it was over; while the severely dumped-on House moved people to the point of tears. This is the latter kind of movie.
Bottom Line: Those Who Like Good, Sentimental, Sweet-Natured Dramedies Which Make You Believe in the Humanity Inherent in Each and Every One of Us: Theatres – Eventually; Me, and Other More Cynical Souls: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Life as a House; Steel Magnolias; Beaches
30 Days of Night
Directed by: David Slade
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster
Plot: Vampires roam free in an Alaskan town because night extends for, you guessed it, 30 days. Dude-no -one-has-ever-come-up-with-this-before? type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: My friend Krishna "Krazy Krish" Prabhakar said that I could wait for this on DVD, but I should get the graphical novel when I have the chance. Sounds good to me .
Bottom Line: DVD [But Get the Graphic Novel When You Have the Chance]
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Nosferatu (1922); Dracula (1931); Blade II; The Lost Boys ; The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me but Your Teeth Are in My Neck; Near Dark; The Hunger; Martin
Klimt
Directed by: Raúl Ruiz
Starring: John Malkovich, Stephen Dillane, Saffron Burrows
Plot: A biopic about the famed artist. I-am-assuming-he-led-a-tempestuous-life-filled-with-drugs-and-women type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Malkovich as Klimt? This I gotta see!
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Basquiat; Pollock; Artemisia
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Directed by: Goran Dukic
Starring: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Tom Waits, John Hawkes
Plot: After committing suicide a young man tries to find his ex-girlfriend in the afterlife. Talk-about-not-being-able-to-let-go type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: You know, I was going to completely dismiss this as the kind of hip, nihilistic movie I used to make at USC which in turn was dismissed by my classmates. Then I saw the score on Rotten Tomatoes, and man, I never got those kinds of grades at USC.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): The Virgin Suicides; Ordinary People; The Accidental Tourist
People (1980), The Accidental Tourist
Rails & Ties
Directed by: Alison (Daughter of Clint) Eastwood
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer
Plot: A woman's suicide leads to an unlikely friendship between her son the man who witnessed her death. What-is-it-about-movies-and-suicide? type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Jake (Son of Lawrence ) Kasdan; Jason (Son of Ivan) Reitman, XXX (Son of Tony and Nephew of Ridley ) Scott; and now you can add Eastwood to the growing list of second-generation directors taking advantage of Bollywood-style nepotism.
Bottom Line: Theatres – First Week; Theatres – Eventually; DVD; Pass
Other Movies to Check Out (instead/as well): Less Than Zero; Thank You For Smoking; Plunkett & Macleane
Music Within
Directed by: Steven Sawalich
Starring: Ron Livingston, Melissa George, Michael Sheen, Hector Elizondo, Rebecca De Mornay
Plot: A disabled veteran of the Vietnam War tries to help other disabled people in no position to fend for themselves. I-am-assuming-that-the-spirit-triumphs type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: One of these days Livingston is going to fulfill that ample promise he showed in Office Space . Until then we have to make do with movies like this.
Bottom Line: DVD
Other Movies to Check Out (as well): Music of the Heart; Take the Lead; Mad Hot Ballroom
O Jerusalem
Directed by: Elie Chouraqui
Starring: J. J. Feild, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ian Holm, Tovah Feldshuh
Plot: The birth of Israel is seen through the eyes of two Jewish and Arab friends. Talk-about-coming-from-opposite-sides-of-the-track type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: My old high school friend Rahul "Zondu" Sinha was a voracious reader, probably making up for the lack of anything educational he must have to deal with growin up in…Bihar! He really liked Dominique Lapierre and pretty much read each and every one of his books. Now Sinha is all grown up with a wife, daughter and thriving medical practice. And remember, he grew up in Bihar! Man, that is quite an accomplishment.
Bottom Line: My Friend Rahul "Zondu" Sinha: DVD; Other, More Fortunate Non-Biharis: Pass
Other Movies to Check Out (instead): City of Joy; Cry, the Beloved Country; Paradise Now
The Comebacks
Directed by: Tom Brady
Starring: David Koechner, Carl Weathers, Melora Hardin
Plot: Sports movies are sent up in this parody. Great-another-parody-franchise-takes-birth type complications ensue.
The basu! Buzz: Steve Carell; Paul Rudd; Seth Rogen; James Franco; Vince Vaughn; Will Ferrell…c'mon Judd Apatow can't you do something for your buddy Koechner ? C'mon, help a comedy-brother out man…
Bottom Line: Pass
Other Movies to Check Out (instead/as well): Airplane!; Top Secret; The Naked Gun; Hot Shots; Scary Movie
Saw IV
Directed by: Pass!
Starring: Pass!
Plot: Pass!
The basu! Buzz: Pass!
Bottom Line: Pass!
Other Movies to Check Out (instead): Every Single Movie Ever Made
The Top 10 Movies of 2007
Ratatouille [Tie]
Sunshine [Tie]
Into the Wild
American Gangster (new entry)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (new entry)
3:10 To Yuma
SiCKO
The Bourne Ultimatum
Eastern Promises
Michael Clayton
Zodiac
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Control
Lars and the Real Girl
Dan in Real Life
Across the Universe
Lust, Caution
Reservation Road
Things We Lost in the Fire
Bee Movie
Elizabeth: The Golden Age [But only because I don't know any better]