Bryce Zabel's MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

Away We Go (2009) -vs- Juno (2007)

THE SMACKDOWN. Did you ever have to make up your mind? Both "Away We Go" and "Juno" are about those decisions that come from life that can't be fudged, postponed or ignored. Even though both films involve pregnant leads who aren't married to the fathers of their unborn, there's more here than childbirth.  Each film lets us see a big life question presented in a way that shows there isn't always a "right" answer. Sometimes life forces us to choose. To pick up on one and leave the other behind. Well, we have to choose now, too. Should we go with the the couple of thirtysomethings who have to decide where to make their stand with a new baby; or the teenage girl who has a "go-no go" decision to make about a baby of her own and the boyfriend who's in way over his head?

THE CHALLENGER. "Away We Go" comes from the same director who gave us "American Beauty," Sam Mendes. The common thread in his work between these two films is the sharply drawn characters he finds living in an America he doesn't seem to like all that much. Written by the married couple of Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, it tells the story of Burt and Verona -- who aren't married and are muddling through their lives knowing the clock is ticking, not biologically, but socially. Depending on who you talk to they're either nice or narcissistic, but either way they feel like their peers are getting along better than they are, they know something's wrong and they still haven't quite grasped what to do about it. When Burt's parents (Verona's are deceased) announce that they are moving to Belgium and, thus, won't be around to see their grandchild born, the young couple decides to hit the road, looking for a place that will have the right vibe to start their family (and, hopefully, their new & improved lives). Then it's planes, trains and automobiles as the story bounces from Arizona to Wisconsin to Florida and finally lands in what, for them, is supposed to be the land of Hope. Along the journey, they run into a lot of parenting advice and all kinds of disappointing people.

Sunshine Cleaning (2009) -vs- Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

 Let the Sunshine In 

The Smackdown. When I first saw it, I thought "Little Miss Sunshine" was a true original. Now, from the same producers apparently, comes another film shot in New Mexico, with a precocious kid in the center, Alan Arkin as the outspoken grandfather, a dysfunctional family that ultimately rallies around each other no matter how weird or hard it is and the word "Sunshine" in the title. But "Sunshine Cleaning" is no clone either. It's strong enough to step in the ring with the champion and throw a few hard punches of its own. Both are a breath of fresh air (well, the air in "Cleaners" can get a little putrid) because the only super-heroics are done by damaged people just trying to get by.

The Challenger. "Sunshine Cleaning" is a film with death hanging all over it with the intent to instruct us in lessons about how to love life. Rose (Amy Adams) is a single mom, going broke, trapped in a stupid post-high school affair with a kid who needs special attention. Rose is ready for a change and she finds it in a new career -- cleaning up crime scenes. Basically, after the CSI dudes take the bodies and run, she and her sister Norah (Emily Blunt) come in and clean up the mess. Their mother took her own life when they were little kids and, especially for Norah, this brings all kinds of feelings, long suppressed, to the surface.

Nobel Son (2008) -vs- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Brothers Up in Arms

The Smackdown.  Since Cain and Abel, brothers have been letting things get out of hand. The conflict is biblical and filmmakers just can't stay away from the chance to tie bad brothers and greed into a messy bow for us.  There's always room for the new. After all, it's been three decades since Michael and Fredo Corleone put the same issues out there in a pair of "Godfather" films three decades ago. Now, writer/director Randall Miller makes his own run in "Nobel Son" with plenty of greed and sibling fireworks. Just last year writer Kelly Masterson reworked those ideas in the highly regarded but under appreciated "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" from director Sidney Lumet. That's our holiday Smackdown!: Deciding which movie tells the better story of battling brothers, and which deserves a lump of coal.

The Challenger. Few people are less deserving of the acclaim just bestowed upon Eli Michaelson. His unbelievable good fortune propels "Nobel Son." Michaelson (Alan Rickman) receives word he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and it turns a simple misanthrope into a monster. Eli's colleagues disliked his aloof, condescending manner; now he's insufferable and they hate him. That pretty much sums up the feelings of Michaelson's forensic psychiatrist wife, Sarah (Mary Steenburgen) and their son, Barkley (Bryan Greenberg). To Sarah, Eli is selfish, philandering and boorish. He is dismissive toward Barkley. Eli Michaelson is irresistibly nasty. Matters might have remained at that level until Barkley misses his flight to the award ceremony in Sweden. He's been kidnapped by Thaddeus James, whose genetic link to Eli had been undisclosed until now. James (Shawn Hatosy) wants revenge and Michaelson's Nobel Prize money. A convoluted series of events follows, involving mayhem, the Stockholm Syndrome, double crosses, several Mini Coopers, a detective (Bill Pullman) sweet on Sarah, plus an unstable young woman named City Hall (Eliza Dushku). On the way to resolution, no plot twist is ignored and the story - cowritten by Miller and Jody Savin- even aims for laughs.

Australia (2008) -vs- The Castle (1999)

David and Goliath Down Under

The Smackdown. I love Australia. I love their cute marsupials and their adorable accents. I especially love Australian films so you can just imagine how fast I ran down to the nearest multiplex to see Baz Luhrman's very expensive and very epic "Australia." For the sake of argument, let's say you too love Australia. Will you love "Australia?" Or might your next Aussie Movie Night be better spent scouring the movie outback for something more scaled down and intimate? “The Castle,” perhaps the smallest and un-mightiest of all Australian films, loads up its telemovie slingshot against all the CGI battleships and bombers movie money can buy. It's David against Goliath. Let’s see if history repeats itself.

The Challenger.  "Australia" director Baz Luhrman makes very pretty images. I’ll give him that. And they’re not making romantic epics much these days. I’ll give him that too. What the heck. I’m in a holiday mood. 

It’s almost three hours long. You should know that up front. If you’re still undaunted, I’m not about to throw any spoilers in your way. Suffice it to say that you’re in for a lot of scenery. Costume changes. Cattle drives. Evil cattle baron – the kind of bad guy who actually snarls and wears a black hat. Institutionalized racism. Horses. Campfires. Personalized racism. Hypocrisy. World War II. Class struggle. Noble savages. Greed. Nameless, shirtless heroes. Scrappy unlikely motley crews accomplishing the impossible. Mistaken identity. Slow motion running. Murder. Mayhem. Magic. Harmonicas. Clichés of every description recycled for your viewing pleasure (or annoyance).

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) -vs- The Amateurs (2007)

Decent Hard-Working Americans Who Play By The Rules

The Smackdown.  When the economy gets tough, the tough make porno.  That's the big "high concept" of our two films in the ring today.  Based on the news from Wall Street, better brace for an avalanche of nudity and meaningless sex.  Oh, well...

Popular culture and the movies give form to our preoccupations and anxieties. Okay, there's no explanation for "The Love Guru" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." Other movies effectively connect the dots on themes like politics ("W," "Syriana") and human foibles ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Knocked Up"). The newest release from Kevin Smith fits the formula in combining SEX with THE RECESSION for laughs.  "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" started a buzz with a trailer that doesn't contain a single frame from the film. It promises the sort of movie Smith produced over seven earlier features: engaging, funny and potty-mouthed. In this regard it echoes the spirit of writer / director Michael Traeger's well-regarded, but little-seen "The Amateurs."  It sets up a natural SMACKDOWN!: Which movie best captures the funny side of economic uncertainty?

The Challenger. Zack (Seth Rogan) works at a coffee shop, Miri (Elizabeth Banks) at a mall. By their own estimate, these platonic friends in Pittsburgh haven't set the world on fire. They can't meet the rent on the modest house they share and the utilities have been turned off. Over beers they brainstorm a turnaround: Let's make a porno movie! Their project gets off the ground, as Zack puts the touch on a co-worker for production money and they recruit talent for the shoot. "Star Whores" is about to begin production when wreckers flatten their makeshift "studio" for new condos. No problem: They move the production to Zack's coffee shop and rename the flick "Swallow my Cockaccino."
Along the way, a movie gets made. Zack and Miri learn about film making, and themselves. Kevin Smith wrote the script he directed.