It’s the big day! The AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts vs. The NFC Champion New Orleans Saints for the league championship!  It’s the finale to a season that began last September.  Beginning with 32 teams, whittled down to 12.  Then taken down to just two!  Sit back, enjoy the game, watch the commercials, have fun, and remember that it all resets tomorrow!

Country music has changed over the years.  There was a time when many country singers had that “Outlaw” persona, a hard drinking nomad type of singer.  It wasn’t until later that country became aggressively marketed.  It’s actually become tough to tell the difference between country and pop.

Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) and Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell) each represent the two extremes.  Bad is traveling the country playing in front of crowds of only dozens in bowling alleys.  Tommy plays before thousands every night, that is when he’s not off acting in movies.  Bad was Tommy’s mentor until the two had a falling out.  One wonders how much it had to do with whatever the disagreement was and how much was Bad just not being a part of a the new country scene.

Being a dinosaur is the least of Bads problems.  He smokes too much, drinks too much, and has married too much.  A doctor warns him if he doesn’t change soon, he will die.  At the same team he receives the warning he starts dating Jean (Maggie Gyllenhall).  They seem like a good fit together.  He immediately falls for her and her four-year old son, Buddy.  The three become a de-facto family.  Bad enjoys it so much he doesn’t drink if front of the boy and is soon re-evaluating his entire life.

If you think you know how the story ends you’re probably right.  This is very familiar territory but, as Roger Ebert once said “A movie isn’t really what it’s about, but how it’s about it”.  The strategy here is to make it a character study.  Jeff Bridges has gotten an awful lot of attention over this role. The danger in playing an alcoholic is the risk of an over-exaggerated performance, Bridges understands and stays suitably restrained.  So far he’s won the Golden Globe and he’s the front-runner for the Oscar.  It’s well deserved, even with the standard plot Bridges’ acting is extremely entertaining and authentic. .  Who knew “The Dude” was a crooner?

It’s too bad that not as much thought or effort was put into the other characters.  Maggie Gyllenhall simply  goes through the paces.  She’s not bad but not exactly memorable either, but some of the blame lies in the script itself.  Based on her knowledge of Blake’s drinking Jean makes some questionable choices.  Later in the film she even calls herself on it.  But that doesn’t justify the decision in the first place.

The film moves along at a nice pace.  The plot advances in each scene, but time is still taken to enjoy the details: the long nights in the small towns, the concerts, the mock family life, etc.  But at the same time screenwriters didn’t seem to know how end it.  Some pretty big events the final act seem rushed, although the last scene is very well written.

Crazy Heart is a good, but not great movie.  Sure there are few surprises, but it’s not that kind of movie.  It’s the kind of film you just get lost in and enjoy its company for two hours.  Bridges performance goes a long way into keeping the movie enjoyable but the rest of the film is perfectly passable.

**** out of *****

All over the country are small venue theaters, the kind of places that seat 1,500 maybe 2,000 people a show.  Former palaces that all the big name acts used to play.  Now the big names stick to larger arenas that hold 20,000 a night.  But what about those old theaters and acts?  Don’t people still want  entertainment from the acts they remember?  Don’t the old theaters still need attractions to put butts in the seats?

The Great Buck Howard tells the story of a law student named Troy (Colin Hanks) who discovers he’s not happy learning the law. Dropping out of school he soon takes a job as road manager for Buck Howard (John Malkovich).  Howard was once a world-famous “mentalist”, playing all over the world and appearing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 61 times.  Now he plays to small time crowds doing the same act that once made him popular.  The crowds are smaller but people still seems to enjoy what he does.

The movie, inspired by real life magician “The Amazing Kreskin” is a nice character study.  Balancing the sadness of a performer past his prime, with the idealism a young man looking to find his path in life.  Though he lives in denial of it Buck knows he’s hardly relevant but keeps hoping for that one big “effect” that will bolt him back to stardom.  While he still enjoys playing to half filled theaters, it bothers him that he’s not a bigger star.  No one wants to feel like their life’s work has become a joke.

Troy meanwhile refuses to view Buck as a pathetic figure.  He sees him as a talented performer who still entertains.  Troy faces pressure from his father (Tom Hanks) whose concerned his son is throwing his life away.  In spite of this Troy finds meaning in being a part of Buck’s show.  A quiet dignity that law school would never give him.

The Great Buck Howard had a very limited but interesting release pattern.  It first played on HDnet movies and on demand before getting a small release on the art house circuit.  Now out on DVD it will hopefully find a larger audience that will appreciate it.  The movie is much like the title character.  It won’t reinvent the wheel, it may not show you anything you haven’t seen before.  But give it an hour and half and it will entertain you.

**** out of *****

Kicking off 2010 with my final reviews of 2009!  I recently started doing some comic book reviews for popsyndicate.com.  I’ve reviewed Incorruptible #1, God Complex #1, Creepy #2, Indiana Jones Adventures #2, and Ex Occultous.

All of which can be found here.

When you have a few minutes make sure to check out the TV Jedi blog run by Wendy Weber!

Now on to the final Popcorn Panel reviews of 2009!

The Invention of Lying

The invention of lying is a frustrating movie. On one hand it’s a sweet romantic comedy. Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner come off as a funny and charming couple that deserve to be together.

On the other hand the premise, a world where no one can lie except Gervais, becomes a bit tiresome. It’s not enough every character has to be honest, they bare their souls repeatedly. Also there is a subplot about religion that is far more interesting than the rest of the film but is dropped suddenly. This movie is one worth seeing, just not in the theater.

Where The Wild Things Are:

Growing up is tough and filled with danger. Like having your snow fort destroyed or getting so mad you bite your mom. Part of maturity is learning to take a look at yourself and dealing with those fears.

Little Max has a really fun way of doing just that. He goes to a place inside his head. A place where these feelings are are alternately fun and scary. Where The Wild Things Are is an imaginative and entertaining film about issues both adults and kids can relate to. It is a great film and one worth seeing in the theater.

Amelia:

Amelia Earhart lived an exciting life. She literally traveled the world and saw things most people of either gender never will. She was a pioneer during the infancy of the aviation industry. She did not live a boring life, for this she was rewarded with a boring bio-pic.

Filled with toothy smiles and bad accents, “Amelia” is a clunker. One where the audience continuously checks the time. There are some nice shots of the planes flying over the clouds but nothing worth seeing. “Amelia” is not really a bad film, just a boring one. Recommended only for insomniacs.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon:

The high school girl falls in love with the sparkly vampire. The werewolf falls in love with the girl. But instead of doing anything about it, the vampire runs away, the girl broods, and the werewolf refuses to wear a shirt. Sounds like a joke, but it’s no joke and its not funny, or interesting.

The remarkable thing about New Moon is every time something compelling is introduced, the Native-American Werewolf clan or the Vampire hierarchy, it is completely ignored. A step-up from the first movie, but still a long way to go make one of these films truly enjoyable.

Invictus:

INVICTUS is a movie about great ideals. It shows us that forgiveness is the path to change. That sports can be a unifying force in society. The only way politics can truly work is to actually treat everyone as equals. The film is well made and acted, Morgan Freeman seems born to play the role of Nelson Mandela. Yet it lacks the personal element that could have made it great. If released during a slower period at the box office it would be worth seeing at the theater. But with an abundance of interesting films out, INVICTUS can wait.

Avatar:

AVATAR is a spectacularly visual movie. The world the story is set in is contains everything from floating mountains to fluorescent plants that create a stunning environment. Even more amazing are the creatures in the movie.

Motion capture computers are used so flawlessly it is impossible to tell if the aliens are computer generated or actors in costume. Director James Cameron has really raised the bar on the use of C.G. In film. The script, not so groundbreaking, is passable but nothing to get excited about. But in all fairness AVATAR was made to showcase the visuals, not the plot.

The totals break down like this.  I saw 75 different films in the theater in 2009.  Some I saw more than once and some were special attractions, Close Encounters of The Third Kind, The Wizard of Oz, and Let The Right One In, so I walked through theater doors no less than 84 times.  Even so there were a few things I didn’t see that I wanted to before I compiled this list; Crazy Heart, Big Fan, Sherlock Holmes, The Road, A Serious Man.  But I’m not a professional critic who gets into screenings so I only see what I can get to and pay for.  These are the best of what I saw in the theater in 2009.

10- The Hurt Locker An Iraq war movie that doesn’t try to make any statements, just shows you the world the soldiers live in.

09- Away We Go Despite being a bit heavy on the “quirkiness” it’s a very funny and truthful movie about maturity.

08- 500 Days of Summer Another movie a bit heavy on quirk, but also very funny and truthful about how we perceive our relationships.

07- Precious Not exactly a feel good film, though it is very optimistic at parts given the subject matter.  Powerful film that is worth seeing at least once.

06- Adventureland The advertising mislead audiences into thinking this was a wacky comedy.  Instead it’s a quiet and charming coming of age story.

05- The Hangover Funniest movie in some time.  Perhaps the best straight-up comedy of this new golden age of the rated R comedy.

04- Up Funny, sweet, and visually stunning.  Pixar hits another one out of the park.

03- Star Trek J.J. Abrams did what no one has been able to do in twenty years.  Make Star Trek cool for a non geek audience.

02- Inglorious Basterds Quentin Tarantino’s epic World War II masterpiece.  The bar scene is an exercise in building tension.

01- Up In The Air Not a flashy movie but a very entertaining one.  Clooney is on top of his game in this grown up comedy/drama that never goes for the obvious joke or payoff.

Honorable mentions: Moon, Watchmen, Knowing, I love you man, Duplicity, Drag me to Hell, District 9, The Informant, Where the Wild Things Are, The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Box, and Avatar.

Yoda says: “Merry Christmas, have you will!”

If you’re a movie geek and have never been to www.flickchart.com you are really missing out.  It’s addictive, time-consuming, and a hell of a lot of fun.  Simply, two movie posters are on the screen and it’s up to you to pick the movie that you like/think is better.  Some match-ups are easy (The 5th Element vs Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes), some are more difficult (Boogie Nights vs Three Kings) but everybody’s experience is different.  If a movie is ranked 10th on your list and you pick the film against it, then the new film is ranked 10th and the previous film drops to 11.  There are thousands and thousands of movies in the database, with new ones added routinely.  You just keep matching and it keeps lists and statistics.  Here are my top 20 movies according to www.flickchart.com.

1) Almost Famous; 2) Pulp Fiction; 3) The Goonies; 4) The Right Stuff; 5) Jaws

6) Bottle Rocket; 7) Three Kings; The Terminator; 9) Ed Wood; 10) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

11) Rushmore; 12) Fargo; 13) Clerks; 14) True Romance; 15) Say Anything…

16) Leaving Las Vegas; 17) Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade; 18) Cop Land; 19) Star Wars; 20) The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King.

It’s a great list but not quite right.  As much as I like Cop Land, I don’t think it should be in the top 20.  Star Wars should probably be number one.  Raiders of The Lost Ark should replace Last Crusade and be higher on the list.  The Goonies should probably fall into the second half of the list.  But mostly I’m happy with the twenty films listed.

When we watch a movie we, hopefully, see a complete story about a character.  In a good film by the end we know all we need to know about that character.  But what about the other characters?  What happens to them?

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THRID KIND: At the end of the film Roy Neary is chosen by the aliens to ride along in their spaceship.  Most people would feel it’s something of a happy ending.  A man overcomes great personal obstacles to follow his calling, his reward a celestial journey to see things no one from this planet has ever seen.  But what about his family?

At the onset of the story Roy is married to Ronnie and they have three kids Brad, Toby, and Sylvia.  During the film as Roy becomes more obsessed with Devil’s Tower it causes a lot of dysfunction in the family.  With no way to justify his behavior Ronnie takes the kids and leaves Roy.  We see the tension take its toll not only on Ronnie but, also the kids.  Roy goes off for his date with fate and is never seen from again.

It’s doubtful that the government would reveal what really happened that night.  Even if someone was able to dig up records of the event would there be any mention of Neary?  There was a crew of men and women who prepped to go into space, but Neary was chosen even though he was not part of the program.  The only way to prove what happened to Roy would be from eyewitness accounts.  Assuming no one involved in the operation said anything there are only two people who could shed some light on the subject.

During his journey to Devil’s Tower, Roy is detained by the military.  After an interview he is placed on a helicopter with a group of people who were compelled to travel from all over the country to be there.  Before the helicopter takes off Roy makes a run for it,  joined by two others: Larry and Jillian.  As they make their way around the mountain the Army starts dusting with a sleeping agent.  Larry succumbs and doesn’t make it to see the big show.  If interviewed he’d only know part of the story.  Jillian is the key but would she talk?

Jillian makes it with Roy to the landing area for the spaceships arrival.  But where his journey is just beginning, hers ends as her missing son emerges from the starship.  All she ever really wanted was to get her boy back, once that happens she fades to the background to watch what happens.  One important fact: she has a camera and she is not shy about using it.  Would the Army find it and confiscate it?  If she published the pictures would anyone believe her?

If the Neary family did some research and was able to track Roy’s adventure to Wyoming it would be Jillian who would be able to tell them what happened.  I think she would, her and Roy clearly shared a bond and I think she would want them to know what happened.

Most likely Roy would be declared missing and then presumed dead.  The Neary family’s last memories of Roy would that he was going insane.  Obsessed with flying saucers and building and replicas of a national monument.  Until one day, for seemingly no reason, he disappeared.  As hopeful and uplifting as Close Encounters Of The Third Kind is, it’s also a dark tale of how one man lost his family, job, and possibly his insanity to pursue an obsession.

Growing up in the early eighties movie choices were somewhat limited. VHS was just catching on and new releases were sometimes difficult to come by. But we could always count on HBO to entertain us.

The only problem is they ran the same movies over and over. Most movie geeks who grew up in that time probably remember movies like Midnight Madness being played on a seemingly continuous loop. One of these films, Teachers, was a favorite of mine. But would it hold up after all these years?

Alex Jurel (Nick Nolte) is a popular Social Studies teacher at J.F.K. High School. He seems to be so popular because he treats the students as people instead of kids. After many years as a teacher he seems to have been worn down. We get hints that in his early years he was pretty idealistic, now he seems to be coasting through life.

The central conflict of the movie is what will Alex say at an upcoming deposition? A former student is suing the school on the grounds that he was given passing grades he did not deserve. The lead attorney for the plaintiff is Lisa Hammond (Jo Beth Williams). After a coordinated lack of cooperation on behalf of the school district, Hammond decides to hold depositions at the school. Of course she has other motives, not only did she graduate from the school, but she has also had a lifelong crush on Jurel. So the question becomes will the formerly idealistic teacher do the right thing and testify against the school or will he tote the company line?

It seems like that alone would be enough for one movie, not the case here. Other sub-plots are added. Some are meant to be funny, like the story of the mental patient (Richard Mulligan) who impersonates a substitute teacher. Others are meant to showcase what issues big city schools face; violence, teen pregnancy, and general apathy. Very ambitious but in the end there is more drama at this school than in a soap opera.

One might mistake it for a soap opera. While there is a talented cast (Nolte, Williams, Mulligan, Judd Hirsch, Laura Dern, Ralphh Macchio, Crispin Glover, etc) does their best to deliver the overexaggeratedd dialog with a straight face but much of the dialog comes off as cheesy. Throw in several dramatic moments punctuated with “inspirational” 80’s rock and you have a recipe for melodrama.

Despite the heightened dramatics there is still a lot to like in Teachers. Jurel’s do the right thing or take the easy path of compliance works very well. The characters themselves are mostly likable and sympathetic. Many issues addressed in the film still feel relevant today. While the movie itself may not be AS good as I’d remembered it to be, it’s still an enjoyable watch.

*** out of *****

“All things considered
He’s not bitter
He’s not mean (and he’s not done)
All things considered, what he’s telling us
Isn’t hurting anyone”

“All Things Considered” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) has reached a point where life as a newspaperman has become not so rewarding. After his wife leaves him and a co-worker dies at work Bob feels the call to do something with his life. But what? After a strange interview he decides to head to Iraq to cover the start of the war.

Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) was lost too, except it was back in the eighties when he joined the U.S. Army looking for direction. Fortunatley for him Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) already found his own path in the Army, the path of the Jedi. Django set out to create “The New Earth Army”. A group of soldiers that would use all sorts of psychic abilities to become a group of warrior/monks.

If you’ve seen the trailers for The Men Who Stare At Goats you know the rest. Wilton decides to write a story about the Jedi after meeting Cassady. The two go on an adventure together filled with danger and many laughs. The movie is goofy and funny and profound in a couple of unexpected ways.

The story is something of an homage to the original Star Wars films, not only sharing a few themes but also commenting on the a what eventually happened to the franchise. One of the soldiers in the program is an opportunistic jerk named Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey). Where Django is more about growth and spiritual balance, Hooper is much more manipulative. He likes to agitate and use these abilities for personal power. Eventually he forms his own business and becomes a contractor for the military in it’s war on terror. Thus taking something that filled people with joy and exploiting it for cash. Mirroring how many people felt about the Star Wars prequels.

But the central issue is by far the more interesting one. The Men Who Stare At Goats is filled with people searching for a greater meaning. Cassady even reflects that he never felt like he fit in anywhere until he was training to be a Jedi. The movie shows many instances where these people are attempting to use their abilities. But the fun thing is we’re generally not sure if they are crackpots or the real deal.

The beautiful part is it doesn’t matter. It’s not important if they can really walk through walls or stop a goat’s heart with through willpower. These are simply people searching for meaning and finding it. What could be more meaningful than that?

**** out of *****