Fat Dude Digs Flicks

Need your opinions, film nerds:

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:21:48 -0500

What are your top five Criterion Collection discs that are still in print? Please do this. This is a serious research assignment. Put it in my ask box, please.

So long 2012.

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:33:43 -0600

Long live 2013!

We here at the Andy Awards will see you next year!

BONUS BAD Hate me for saying it, but I find LINCOLN to be one of...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:20:27 -0600

BONUS BAD

Hate me for saying it, but I find LINCOLN to be one of the most overrated films of the year on every level. It did not resonate with me and I could not connect with it. One of the greatest actors of our generation, Daniel Day Lewis, plays Lincoln like the weird uncle or cousin you have, telling random stories at random intervals. The picture is washed out. Tommy Lee Jones does a fine job playing Civil War era Tommy Lee Jones. Sally Field is in it, too. The best moments in the film feature James Spader, John Hawkes, and Tim Blake Nelson, as three ne’er-do-wells who somehow popped up in the wrong movie. The film plays like a dramatized text book, but only one-third as entertaining. My reaction to this film has made me coin a phrase. I call it THE IRON LADY EFFECT. This is when a movie generates award buzz, but only infuriates me every time I think about it. I think of LINCOLN and I get irrationally angry. It could have been amazing.

FIVE WORST MOVIES OF 2012 5. GHOST RIDER SPIRIT OF...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:07:01 -0600

FIVE WORST MOVIES OF 2012

5. GHOST RIDER SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE

Neveldine and Taylor should have made this fun. Still bad, but fun. They didn’t.

4. ROCK OF AGES

Adam Shankman directed HAIRSPRAY before this one, a movie with good music that was fun while having a heart and soul. This time around, at least the music was good… when performed by the original artists.

3. THE DEVIL INSIDE

Did anyone go to the website? Did anyone really care that much about this hunk of garbage?

2. THE HOBBIT

No. Just… no. Far too long. Horrible pacing. Annoying characters. Poorly recycled effects. Absolutely disappointing.

1. PROJECT X

Despicable characters with no redeeming qualities become heroes. This movie is trash. I imagine the only way this movie became the most illegally downloaded movie of last year is because people refused to pay movie for it. If kids praise it for being an accurate reflection of their life, I f’ing hate kids.

BEST ACTOR Joaquin Phoenix, THE MASTERJohn Hawkes, THE SESSIONSI...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:53:54 -0600

BEST ACTOR

Joaquin Phoenix, THE MASTER
John Hawkes, THE SESSIONS

I don’t know what else I can say about Phoenix’s performance. If a performance can make me appreciate an actor I don’t like, something is being done right. Phoenix is nothing short of amazing in this Brando-level performance. And in THE SESSIONS, Hawkes becomes one of the most charming men to grace the screen this year. Being confined to an iron lung does not mean that Hawkes’s Mark will be confined to a restricted life.

BEST ACTRESS Emmanuelle Riva, AMOURNaomi Watts, THE...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:40:21 -0600

BEST ACTRESS

Emmanuelle Riva, AMOUR
Naomi Watts, THE IMPOSSIBLE

Pain and heartache. Devastation. Letting love slip away. Letting love be what keeps you hanging on. Two strong women fighting completely different kinds of disasters. These are the foundations of the best female performances of the year. Riva is heartbreaking, portraying a stroke victim who slowly fades away. Watts is breathtaking as a mother trying to find her family in the wake of a tsunami. Exceptional performances.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Chris Terrio, ARGO BEST DIRECTOR Ben...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:26:58 -0600

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Chris Terrio, ARGO

BEST DIRECTOR

Ben Affleck, ARGO

What? You didn’t like this movie? You didn’t think it was brilliantly written and crafted? ARGO to hell!

Wait… that’s not right…

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Wes Anderson, MOONRISE KINGDOMQuentin...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:13:49 -0600

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Wes Anderson, MOONRISE KINGDOM
Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED

Anderson’s script is blissfully happy. Tarantino’s script is gloriously violent. Both are exceptional original stories.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUNG ACTOR Tom Holland, THE IMPOSSIBLE As...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:01:09 -0600

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUNG ACTOR

Tom Holland, THE IMPOSSIBLE

As great as Naomi Watts is in this film, the talent shown by Holland helps keep viewers fully engaged.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Philip Seymour Hoffman, THE MASTERLeonardo...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:47:33 -0600

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Philip Seymour Hoffman, THE MASTER
Leonardo DiCaprio/Christoph Waltz, DJANGO UNCHAINED

Philip Seymour Hoffman really has to work hard to turn in a bad performance. In THE MASTER, he is remarkable, effortlessly. He provides foil and friend to Joaquin Phoenix’s revelatory Freddie. And Quentin Tarantino knows how to get the best out of his actors. DiCaprio is exceptional as the cruel Calvin Candie and, as I have already mentioned, Christoph Waltz proves yet again that he is the perfect Taratino actor.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Anne Hathaway, LES MISERABLESHelen Hunt,...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:33:43 -0600

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway, LES MISERABLES
Helen Hunt, THE SESSIONS

Sometimes, you don’t have to last the entire run time of a film to leave a lasting impression. Sometimes, you just need a few minutes. Anne Hathaway has a lovely singing voice and does a fine job in LES MISERABLES. Sadly overlooked in most circles is the marvelous Helen Hunt for her work in THE SESSIONS. Both deserve to be acknowledged.

#21 HONORABLE MENTION (TIE) THE RAID: REDEMPTION/DREDD

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:20:35 -0600

#21 HONORABLE MENTION (TIE)

THE RAID: REDEMPTION/DREDD

11 - 18 HONORABLE MENTION 11. THE SESSIONS12. THE IMPOSSIBLE13....

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:07:04 -0600

11 - 18 HONORABLE MENTION

11. THE SESSIONS
12. THE IMPOSSIBLE
13. SKYFALL
14. JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME
15. BULLY
16, THE IMPOSTER
17. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
18. (tie) HAYWIRE/MAGIC MIKE/21 JUMP STREET (also known as the year Channing Tatum became watchable)

1. THE MASTER (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson) When I left the...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:53:43 -0600

1. THE MASTER (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson)

When I left the theater after seeing THE MASTER, I had this weird feeling in my gut. Did I like it? Did I get it? Did I need to get it in order to like it? Discussed prior to its release as a sort of expose on Scientology, the film became something far different than that, but also not much more than that. Does that make sense? Does it need to? Does this process of analysis infuriate you? Maybe it should. A lot of criticism over THE MASTER call it a masturbatory measure in excess and self-importance. Maybe it is. Maybe that’s kind of the point. Whatever it is, no film stuck in my mind like THE MASTER did this year. Containing — hands down — the year’s best performance and many of the year’s best scenes, THE MASTER is about connection and isolation. Friendship. Being a man or being an animal. Spirituality and sense of self. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams deserve every commendation and accolade for their excellent performances, but Joaquin Phoenix towers over everyone else this year. I do not make any attempt to hide my disdain for Phoenix. I often like to call him a modern day Sean Penn but with a quarter of the talent. Phoenix doesn’t play the Hollywood game and comes off as a standoffish attitude case. His previous performances have been moody, whiney, or a pretty decent impression of Elvis Presley when he was supposed to be Johnny Cash. However, in THE MASTER, Phoenix is a beast, a feral creature of rage and pain, and precisely what the character demands. These performances mixed with brilliant cinematography and a glorious score add up to an amazing, if not slightly unpolished, gem of a film.

2. ARGO (directed by Ben Affleck) I have been a Ben Affleck fan...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:40:30 -0600

2. ARGO (directed by Ben Affleck)

I have been a Ben Affleck fan for years. Years. When people badmouthed him, I was quick to defend him in even the worst of movies. I like DAREDEVIL. I enjoy JERSEY GIRL. I see something worth watching in GIGLI. As his reputation started to drop, I still held on to hope that Ben would be back. I mean, after all, he was the one I cheered loudest for when GOOD WILL HUNTING won its screenplay Oscar. Then came his performance in HOLLYWOODLAND. Solid. Strong. The Affleck I always knew was there. But that wasn’t enough for Ben. He wanted to take a different path and tell stories differently. He made his directorial debut with GONE BABY GONE and followed it up with THE TOWN, two Boston area crime sagas, both solid films (that made my top ten lists when they were released). Affleck had already proven himself as a skilled storyteller with those films, but ARGO shows that this is something he was really meant to do. ARGO has the rare honor of being both critically appealing and a real crowd pleaser. It is suspenseful and funny. You take an interest in the characters and, despite the fact that you know how this story ends, you want them to survive the heartpounding escape. Don’t worry about not getting a directing nomination this year, Ben. Keep making movies like this and you’ll have one soon enough.

3. DJANGO UNCHAINED (directed by Quentin Tarantino) In some...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:27:06 -0600

3. DJANGO UNCHAINED (directed by Quentin Tarantino)

In some circles, it would be considered blasphemy to say you don’t like a particular Tarantino film. The one I like the least is his previous film, the overlong INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. Seeing DJANGO in theaters on opening day, I was left feeling that this was a wonderful return to form. Christoph Waltz solidifies himself as the perfect Tarantino actor, mastering his character and dialogue in a truly remarkable way. Continuing his trend of making us see actors against type, Tarantino cast Leonardo DiCaprio as the villainous Calvin Candie. While the Academy may not have seen it that way, DiCaprio’s performance is a thing of maniacal beauty. A brutally delightful revenge film that only takes a wrong turn when the director decides to make an appearance.

4. ZERO DARK THIRTY (directed by Kathryn Bigelow) Very much...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:13:47 -0600

4. ZERO DARK THIRTY (directed by Kathryn Bigelow)

Very much procedural in nature, the strength of this film is in its cast, headed by a strong, determined performance from Jessica Chastain, and deft direction by Bigelow. Like so many films, our hunt becomes an obsession that is likely to tear our protagonist apart. She continues her fight to fruition, leading to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. The raid on the bin Laden compound in the film’s final act is an expert piece of cinema. Controversy erupted over the film’s depiction of torture. Luckily, that controversy did not deter too many people from seeing the film or acknowledging how exceptional it is.

5. MOONRISE KINGDOM (directed by Wes Anderson) This charming...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:00:40 -0600

5. MOONRISE KINGDOM (directed by Wes Anderson)

This charming little movie about young love is pretty much the epitome of a Wes Anderson movie. Quirky. Off hue color scheme. Dry dialogue. Still, when someone dives back into his old bag of tricks and can still make the audience smile, you know he’s doing something right. Exceptional performances from the entire cast, especially the young lovers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward.

TOP FIVE!

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:47:13 -0600

In all honesty, any one of these following movies could be my number one pick. I love them dearly. However, I stand beside this final ranking.

Enjoy the top five!

6. CHRONICLE (directed by Josh Trank) This year saw the return...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:33:42 -0600

6. CHRONICLE (directed by Josh Trank)

This year saw the return of Batman and Spider-Man to the big screen while also finally realizing Marvel’s master plan by uniting the Avengers in one film, yet the best movie about humans with amazing abilities contains no world-famous superheroes. CHRONICLE still resonates with me. Utilizing the best techniques of the found footage genre, CHRONICLE focuses on three teens who gain superpowers and how they come to terms with those abilities. Much like PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, this coming of age story is not without pain. These are characters the audience cares about through their successes and conflicts.