MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

Bright Star (2009) -vs- Impromptu (1991)

The Smackdown. Ah, consumption. That most romantic and cinematic of slow fades. Think Camille. Two wildly talented love objects with fatally bad lungs compete for this particular smackdown crown. It’s Frederic Chopin versus Bright Star John Keats in a death-baiting battle of ill-fated geniuses, fighting for every breath, playing fast and loose with history, and winning lovely lady hearts as they struggle for ours. I dare you to find two more gorgeous grandees, two saintlier objects of obsession in all filmdom. Go ahead. I’ll wait here.

The Challenger. Twenty-three year-old Romantic poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) falls ever so gradually and ever so predictably for playing-hard-to-get girl next door Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) in a decidedly unglamorous 1818 London. They fight at first, they read poetry, and then they fall into mutual romantic obsession and platonic passion on the fringes of photogenic poverty in Jane Campion’s lushly photographed idyll to doomed love.

Beau's Ten Best Films of the Past Ten Years

 A Smackdown a Decade in the Making! 

The Smackdown.  Here's my list of the Top Ten Films of the Past Ten Years.  The criteria I used is pretty simple: which films are not just good but really impacted the world of film?  It's relatively easy to make a film that entertains.  And, in some ways, it's even easier to make a film that does something "different" and "new."  But to make a film that both entertains and moves you, while advancing the art of filmmaking...that's pretty hard.   So let's get this ball rolling as we reflect on a most eclectic period of film...

#10 --  Star Trek (2009)

Originally, I left this off my list.  I'm dumb.  As "Avatar" talks heats up, I have to point out that this film is perhaps the most important sci-fi films in a decade.  "Star Wars" died.  "Matrix" crashed.  Yet, out of the wasteland that was popular sci-fi, the most mocked sci-fi series rises to earn a crown as a new pop culture phenomenon.  Suddenly, it's cool to be a Trekie or Treker!  Sure, the action sequences are spectacular, the visual FX amazing, and the cinematography undeniably crazy and flare-riffic.  How this film isn't in serious running for Art Direction is a crime that proves yet again how out-of-touch the Academy is (as it was last year with "The Dark Knight").  Though, what J.J. Abrams did to sell "Star Trek" was simple: he made a buddy movie where their universe-shattering stakes of the film rely on two rivals becoming best friends.  He tapped into two legendary icons, using their relationship to tell a universal tale of friendship. "Star Trek," earns its path toward becoming a box office legend on par with "Jurassic Park" and "Independence Day."

#9 -- (500) Days of Summer (2009)

 

Not since "Love Story" (1970) has a film so nailed the simplicity of falling in love, and the empty desolation when you realize its gone (or in this case, unrequited) and must move on.  Again, this is a movie that rides on its simplicity, and harkens back a bit to "The Graduate" from which it takes a great deal of inspiration.  And like "The Graduate," it reflects its generation with brutal honesty -- us young folk who use our hip iPods to enjoy neo-80s counterculture beats and use songs and Facebook statuses to express our emotions.  You want an honest look at heartbreak?  Just watch this film's "REALITY/EXPECTATION" sequence.

#8 --  The Prestige (2006)

This is a bit of a dark horse in my book.  Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan are above silly "Save The Cat" character moments, and instead bind the audience with a spell of mystery as two rival magicians battle it out.  The men are detestable, yet utterly fascinating to watch.  The film's three overlapping, intertwining narratives feed into the grand cinematic illusion that is the film.  Like "Avatar," here is a director risking the entire quality of the film on his adept ability to manipulate his audience to see and feel what he wants them to at a particular moment.  The Nolan Brother's magic trick pays off in spades, as viewers leave this film hungry for another viewing as they know now what was really going on.

#7 -- Memento (2000)

Christopher Nolan is a legendary director in the making, and we should all be grateful to be around for his career.  "Memento" is classic Nolan, a Gordian Knot of a film that explores both obsession and self-deception in neo-noir style.  Much like he used a plot device to visually show Armand's cycle of obsession in "The Prestige", Nolan uses retrograde amnesia in "Memento" to portray the cyclical redundancy of Shelby's obsession to find his wife's murderer.  The ending is well-earned, and again reflects Nolan's confidence in his ability to manipulate audiences.

#6 -- X-Men (2000)

 

This film gets here on quality and impact.  Bryan Singer had a tremendous challenge ahead of him with "X-Men."  How do you adapt the 37-year fictional history of the world's most popular superhero team and pay service to the comic's complex commentary on prejudice?  Although not by any means perfect, "X-Men" marks the first time any director approached comic books seriously and pushed their characters beyond the cookie-cutter good guy/bad guy molds.  Not even "Superman: The Movie" or "Batman" (1989) took so seriously its subject matter.  Just look at Magneto, a tragic villain who challenges our own views on what lengths one may go to combat prejudice.  Most importantly, Singer's film started a major trend in this decade of film: the comic book movie.

"Galaxy Quest" Boldly Arrived Ten Years Ago!

  Galaxy Quest (1999) -vs- Spaceballs (1987) 
  Patrolling the Universe for Laughs   

The Smackdown. While the newspapers and magazines are full of "Best Of" lists for the past ten years, let's get specific. It was a decade ago that the great "Star Trek" send-up "Galaxy Quest" came to theaters on Christmas Day of 1999.   This year we put the film into the Smackdown ring against another comedy send-up "Spaceballs" which took on the other great space franchise, "Star Wars." While fan boys and girls alike will be debating "Star Wars" versus "Star Trek" for generations to come, maybe just maybe we can get a clear winner out of the comic dopplegangers. Here we go!

Even both of these comedy treatments have a strong fan-base (count me in both) and they're funny. True fans got a chance to appreciate that this year when "Galaxy Quest" came out with its special DVD much as "Spaceballs" did back in 2005. The Smackdown rules today focus on those special elements on the Deluxe Edition / Collector's Edition DVDs. 

Bryce's Ten Best Films of the Past Ten Years

Everybody seems to be out with their Top Ten. This year it's a two-fer. You can go with "Top Ten of 2009" or "Top Ten of the Decade."

I say go for the Top Ten of the Last Ten. Now, keep in mind that virtually everybody is going to see this differently and no one will agree. That's the fun. My criteria, in scanning the films from the past decade, was not about what was "important" or "critically acclaimed" or even "big box office." I just asked myself which films I enjoyed watching the most and, if a friend was over and wanted to see one of them again on the home theater's big screen, could I truly enjoy seeing it again?

I even ranked them, although that was a little bit harder. And, I'll state this in advance, I know you're going to freak out when you get to #1 but, like I say, this is subjective, it's my list, and sometimes it's just about how a movie hits you. That's the magic. The films are different. We're different. Everybody likes things differently than the next guy. Here goes...

#10 - Little Miss Sunshine
  

This is the small film that re-defined the "road picture" and touched a lot of people's hearts in the process. You ended up caring about all the characters, the performances were authentic, and the story was quirky and unexpected. And, of course, there was the van...

#9 - Up in the Air

It's possible that this film won't wear as well as I think it will. Maybe it's a slight little trifle that only reflects its moment in time. But when I saw it recently, I found it substantial, moving and surprising. It made the list and not just because Clooney's at his best.

#8 - Almost Famous

 The music is powerfully evocative, the moment-in-time quality is fantastic, and the script is wonderful. If you didn't happen to live through the 70s, this will remind you that there was life before disco. And, yes, we did listen to "Tiny Dancer" and it was as good then as it is now.

#7 - Avatar

The story goes into stereotyped action overdrive in the third act and that's a shame because there is so much going on inside this film that is so wonderful. It's more than eye-candy, though, it's a film event that actually delivers an extremely credible alien landscape, inhabitants and culture. Great film and a piece of history.

 

#6 - Downfall

 I love a good World War II film (although I did not share anyone's enthusiasm for "Inglourious Basterds"). This film, made by Germans, dares to go places that nobody has gone to, specifically seeing Hitler as a real dude. That made him exceptionally scary to me.

Blu-Smack: This Re-Boot's Made for Warpin'

Editor's Note.  Now that Star Trek is out on a three-disc Blu-ray release in time for consumers to express their patriotism during the economic downturn by buying the product for Christmas, we take a moment to re-visit Smackdown ref Beau DeMayo's original review.

 Star Trek (2009) -vs- Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) 

The Smackdown.  Reboots.  A familiar frontier. These are the voyages of the Hollywood business. Now if only I could go reboot the time I bested too many Jager shots and woke up at the campus bus stop twenty minutes before a Physics midterm. Now, it's easy to groan when Hollywood reboots yet another franchise.  Batman.  Hulk.  James Bond.   The list goes on.  Up this year is Star Trek, one of television's most enduring franchises, spawning spin-offs, films, video games, and Trekkies. With such a long history and devote fan base, it's scary to think what a reboot could mean for a franchise most believe reached its prime with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  Nevertheless, we boldly go tonight where no smackdown has gone before, with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan locking phasers and photons with the reboot simply titled Star Trek.

The Challenger.  Facing down gospels of Star Trek canon, J.J. Abrams reintroduces the original crew of the USS Enterprise in their fledgling years at Starfleet Academy, centering the film around an arrogant and willful James T. Kirk and an emotionally-conflicted Spock.  But there's not much time for learning with these Starfleet cadets as a Romulan mining ship arrives from the future (of course, it's Star Trek) hellbent on revenge, thus demanding an emergency response from The Federation.  Star Trek benefits from the advances of modern technology and offers a visually-arresting action film.  In keeping with Abrams trademark storytelling, the film grinds its legendary characters through unrelenting plot twists, revelations, and reversals.  A faithful adaptation of a franchise mixed with a little bit of Apple, Star Trek is a summer blockbuster with the thrills and chills to please fans and newcomers alike.