Movie of the Day: "One Magic Christmas" (1985)

With Christmas just a few days away it's time for our Movie of the Day series to return, and today I'm recommending a little known holiday film from the 1980's, starring Mary Steenburgen as a grumpy mom who hates Christmas. This one centers on a working class family in a small town who experiences a bout of bad luck (really bad luck as you'll see in the movie), and a Christmas angel has to come down and help the mother to relearn the spirit of Christmas. Sounds hokey of course, but it's actually pretty serious and very solemn (you'd never believe this was a Disney movie, the way the material is played). It may border on dour actually, but the details and magic of Santa's North Pole and workshop in this are pretty cool, and the heartwarming ending and good acting makes up for the depressing nature of some of the earlier scenes. It's an underrated little movie for the season- you should check it out.

1985 Disney Promo:

TRAILER #2: "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

So here's another trailer for the Marigold sequel- strangely, this one really seems to showcase Dev Patel as the star of the movie. Although, since I didn't actually see the first one, I guess I don't know- was he the major character in that one too? It's coming out in February.

Southeastern Film Critcs like 'Grand Budapest'

The Southeastern Film Critics Association (which happen to very good Oscar predictors with their top ten list) have chosen The Grand Budapest Hotel as their best picture, but seem to really like Birdman a lot too, as you glance through their list of winners (and especially runners-up).

SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

Top Ten

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Boyhood
3. Birdman
4. Whiplash
5. The Imitation Game
6. Gone Girl
7. Snowpiercer
8. Nightcrawler
9. Foxcatcher
10. The Theory of Everything

Best Actor
1. Michael Keaton, Birdman
2. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Actress
1. Julianne Moore, Still Alice
2. Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Supporting Actor
1. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
2. Edward Norton, Birdman

Best Supporting Actress
1. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
2. Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

Best Ensemble
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Birdman

Best Director
1. Richard Linklater, Boyhood
2. Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Screenplay
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Birdman

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Gone Girl
2. Wild

Best Documentary
1. Life Itself
2. CitizenFour

Best Foreign Language Film
1. Force Majeure
2. Ida

Best Animated Film
1. The Lego Movie
2. Big Hero 6

Best Cinematography
1. Birdman
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

BOX OFFICE 12/19-12/21: 'The Hobbit' Rules Them All

The final installment of The Hobbit series came in strong this week, earning over $56 million from Friday to Sunday, while bringing in $90 million since opening on Wednesday. Battle of the Five Armies did however, drop 23% from the last film's opening, which itself was off from the first one. Frankly, the reason for this is probably just fatigue, as this trilogy has stretched a 300-page book out as long as it possibly can, and each film was slightly worse reviewed than the former. It's certainly no Lord of the Rings accomplishment.

Meanwhile, other new releases over the weekend were the dreadfully reviewed family films Annie and Night at the Museum 3. The third Night at the Museum movie is coming out five years after the second, and it's fair to say interest has definitely waned, as it earned just $17 million over the weekend. Annie was right behind it at $16 million, but the movie has just been slaughtered by some of the worst reviews of the year, which had to have cut into its box office some. The rest of the top five was filled out by Exodus and the Hunger Games, but both will likely fall out by next week with Christmas releases Into the Woods, The Gambler and Unbroken opening wide.

Top 5:

1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies- $56.2 million
2. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb- $17.3 million
3. Annie- $16.3 million
4. Exodus: Gods and Kings- $8.1 million
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1- $7.8 million

In limited release, Wild expanded to 1,000 screens and made its way to No. 6, earning $4 million, so that will continue to do well as an awards hopeful. More new releases all coming this week (sans The Interview of course), as the Christmas movie season rolls on- traditionally the last two weeks of December are huge at the box office, since everyone's on vacation. We'll have to see what movies are going to benefit from all that time off. Tim Burton's Big Eyes will now be schduled for a wide release to take The Interview's place after Sony canceled the film, so we'll see how that plays out. Tune in next week for the first look at the holiday box office. See you then!

Nevada Film Critics Society Goes for 'Gone Girl'

Hey, something different! Nevada critics like Gone Girl all the way, handing it picture and actress, while giving actor and director to Nightcrawler. Nice to see some variation in taste here.

NEVADA FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

Best Film - 'Gone Girl'
Best Actor - Jake Gyllenhaal 'Nightcrawler'
Best Actress - Rosamund Pike 'Gone Girl'
Best Supporting Actor - JK Simmons 'Whiplash'
Best Supporting Actress - Tie - Jessica Chastain for 'A Most Violent Year' and Patricia Arquette for 'Boyhood'
Best Youth Performance - Ellar Coltrane 'Boyhood'
Best Director - Dan Gilroy 'Nightcrawler'
Best Screenplay - Dan Gilroy 'Nightcrawler'
Best Ensemble Cast - 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
Best Documentary - 'Citizenfour'
Best Animated Movie - 'Big Hero 6'
Best Production Design - 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'
Best Cinematography - 'Interstellar'
Best Visual Effects - 'Interstellar'

REVIEW: "The Babadook" (2014) Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman. Dir. Jennifer Kent

It's easy to forget how hard it is to make a decent horror movie in this day and age. For the last 10-15 years studios have been cranking out cheap, low budget horror flicks with non professional actors in the vein of the Saw movies or more recently, the "found footage" phenomenon. These films are made because they cost next to nothing and they make an easy profit due to the opening weekend alone, because there's a built-in audience for horror movies that will show up to see it, no matter how bad it is and no matter how quickly these movies disappear from public consciousness. They simply don't last.

The ones that have stuck around have left their mark on popular culture- classic horror films like The Exorcist, Psycho, Poltergeist, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead. We haven't had a movie come along that's worthy of joining that list for a good many years- until now. Jennifer Kent's The Babadook is a terrifying, primal scream of a movie that instantly takes its place among the classics of the genre, and sears itself into your brain so that you'll never forget it, the way all the best ones have. It manages to pull this off because Kent understands that horror is never simply about cheap thrills- it's about what's underneath those scares, what's simmering under the surface. You're not really afraid of the monster in front you, you're afraid of the one within- and the real issues it represents.

This movie gets under your skin and stays there, because there's something real at stake in the fight with the monster at hand, and that's the fundamental relationship between a mother and her child. Essie Davis stars as Amelia, a single mom whose 6-year-old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) she's unable to keep under control. The boy has "behavioral" issues, as doctors, teachers and friends say, and it's getting worse by the day. Amelia loves her child, but is weary of the difficulty of parenting alone all the time, especially because deep down she resents his birth, as it coincided with the death of her husband. This fractured family unit is in trouble, and into this situation comes another problem child, the monster from Samuel's mysterious bedtime story. The creepy pop-up book seemed to appear out of nowhere, and as Amelia and Samuel read the story it eventually reveals itself as the nightmarish tale of The Babadook, who will literally haunt you until you wish you were dead.

From that point on reality takes a strange turn, and Amelia seems to trade places with her son, gradually beginning to lose her mind as she becomes paranoid by the shadows lurking around every corner of her house and following Samuel and herself wherever she goes. The movie becomes a combination of a woman stalked by her pending insanity (Roman Polanski's Repulsion comes to mind) and that of a ferocious mother who must battle demons from hell to protect her son (shades of Poltergeist). But these influences combine to create something truly unique, and the Babadook itself is one of the most memorable movie monsters since Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, or the shark from Jaws. It's a creation ever more terrifying because of its simplicity and undying nature. Kent creates an intense atmosphere of suspense, fear, and dread as the film rolls along to its unpredictable climax, but the way it wraps up is as satisfying as you would ever want in this kind of story.

This is a must see for horror fans and anyone who thinks they can withstand the pressure (this isn't for kids though, believe me). Davis gives one of the best performances of the year as an exhausted mother who must find it in herself to come alive for her kid, and I only this was able to find a wider audience, as few people will see it in the U.S., so this is really one you have to seek out. It's a winner and believe me, it's here to stay.

* * * 1/2

Florida Critics Split 'Birdman' and 'Boyhood'

Florida film critics today gave Birdman picture and Boyhood director for Linklater, while going along with recent fave Rosamund Pike in Best Actress. Not too much else of note here, except that they liked The Raid 2 in Foreign Film.

FLORIDA FILM CRITICS

Best Picture: Birdman
Best Director: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Actress: Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Best Actor: Michael Keaton: Birdman
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons
Best Ensemble: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Adapted Screenplay: Gone Girl
Best Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema, Interstellar
Best Visual Effects: Interstellar
Best Art Direction/Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Score: Mica Levi, Under the Skin
Best Documentary: Life Itself
Best Foreign Film: The Raid 2
Best Animated Film: The Lego Movie
Breakout Award: Damian Chazelle

Academy's Foreign Film Shortlist Unveiled

The Academy's Foreign Language Film committee released the nine movies that have qualified for the Best Foreign Film award.  The five nominees will come from this list:

"Wild Tales" (Argentina)
"Tangerines" (Estonia)
"Corn Island" (Georgia)
"Timbuktu" (Mauritania)
"Accused" (Netherlands)
"Ida" (Poland)
"Leviathan" (Russia)
"Force Majeure" (Sweden)
"The Liberator" (Venezuela)

There's always a couple of snubs on here, and this year the biggest was Belgium's Two Days, One Night with Marion Cotillard, which has been one of the three films winning the majority of critic's prizes for Foreign Film. The Dardennes Brothers have been overlooked every time they've submitted in this category, so maybe it shouldn't be that surprising, but it does hurt Marion Cotillard's chances to be nominated as well. I would assume the nominees will be Ida, Force Majeure, Leviathan, Wild Tales and Timbuktu, based on what's gotten the most amount of praise and critical buzz this year for the category.

Las Vegas Critics like 'Birdman,' Tilda Swinton

Woo-hoo for Tilda Swinton! The coolest choice in this lineup by far. I'm actually wondering if she has the teeniest chance to maybe get in at the Oscars as well- if enough people see Snowpiercer she fits the mold of a quirky, passion vote performance which has occasionally made it in the past. She'd definitely deserve it.

LAS VEGAS CRITICS ASSOCIATION

Best Score: Birdman
Best Documentary: Citizenfour
Breakout Filmmaker of the Year: Damien Chazelle
Best Song: "I Love You All" from Frank
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Costume Design: Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Best Foreign Film: Ida
Best Editing: Edge of Tomorrow
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
Best Art Direction: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Youth Performance: Jaeden Lieberher, St. Vincent
Best Horror/Sci-Fi Film: The Babadook
Best Comedy: Top Five
Best Family Film: The LEGO Movie
Best Action Film: Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Animated Film: The LEGO Movie
Best Screenplay: Birdman
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Best Ensemble: Birdman
Best Director: Alejandro Innaritu, Birdman
Best Picture: Birdman

TRAILER: "'71"

Another Feb 27th release date is this British independent film from first time director Yann Demange, starring Jack O'Connell, who's had a bit of a breakthrough year with lead roles in Unbroken and Starred Up as well. Funnily enough, I know him as one of the stars of the UK series Skins that I used to watch- and even back then I noticed he was a pretty good actor. Here he's a British soldier caught behind enemy lines in Northern Ireland after a riot in 1971.

TRAILER: "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter"

A movie from last year's Sundance Film Festival got a couple of nominations at this year's Independent Spirit Awards, and now it has a trailer and a release date. Babel's Rinko Kikuchi stars as a woman who goes in search of the missing money from Fargo (which she's mistaken for a documentary) and it leads to a strange and mysterious journey. It was nominated for Best Director and Female Lead at the ISA's and has gotten some great reviews so far, so be sure to look for it on February 27th.

Utah and the Phoenix Critics Circle like 'Birdman'

Today the Utah critics and another Phoenix group (apparently the city needs two) chose Birdman over Boyhood for a change of pace. Utah also liked Rosamund Pike, who now seems to be charging through several of these regional critics groups all of a sudden.

UTAH FILM CRITICS

Best Picture: "Birdman"
Runner-up: "The Imitation Game"

Best Achievement in Directing: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, BIRDMAN
Runner-up: Jonathan Glazer, "Under the Skin"

Best Lead Performance, Male: Michael Keaton, BIRDMAN
Runners-up: Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"; Ralph Fiennes, "Grand Budapest Hotel"

Best Lead Performance, Female: Rosamund Pike, GONE GIRL
Runner-up: Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"

Best Supporting Performance, Male: J.K. Simmons, WHIPLASH
Runner-up: Edward Norton, "Birdman"

Best Supporting Performance, Female: Jessica Chastain, A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
Runner-up: Tilda Swinton, "Snowpiercer"

Best Original Screenplay: BIRDMAN
Runner-up: "Nightcrawler"

Best Adapted Screenplay: INHERENT VICE and SNOWPIERCER (tie)

Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit, NIGHTCRAWLER
Runner-up: Daniel Landin, "Under the Skin"

Best Documentary Feature: CITIZENFOUR
Runner-Up: "The Overnighters"

Best Non-English Language Feature: WE ARE THE BEST!
Runner-up: "Two Days, One Night"

Best Animated Feature: THE LEGO MOVIE
Runner-Up: "The Boxtrolls"

And the Phoenix Critics Circle chimed in with more Birdman love, including a win (the second) for Emma Stone, and one for Reese Witherspoon too.

PHOENIX CRITICS CIRCLE

Picture: Birdman
Comedy Film: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Horror/Sci-Fi: Snowpiercer
Mystery/Thriller (tie): Gone Girl & Nightcrawler
Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Wild
S. Actor: JK Simmons, Whiplash
S. Actress: Emma Stone, Birdman
Director: Alejandro Inarritu, Birdman
Screenplay: Birdman
Animated: The Lego Movie
International Film (tie): Force Majeure & Ida