Comic-Con San Diego happened a few days ago. It's an event I have heard so much about that it has filled my envy-tanks with enough spleen-fuel to send me to Neptune, especially as it featured what was sure to be the final Lost panel (I doubt they would do another next year just to wrap things up, though I can dream). Among all of the hype for high-profile projects like Iron Man 2: The Ironing, and James Cameron's epoch-shattering masterpiece Avatar (Steven Soderbergh wouldn't lie to us, would he?), was the The Most Anticipated Television Event Of 2009. No, not Community, starring Joel McHale. I am of course talking about the latest show from the mind of the man who brought us the bone-searing thrill-machine known to millions of fans as Lark Rise To Candleford. Yes, the world has gone crazy over The New Adventures of The Prisoner!
As a British sci-fi fan of a certain age, I adore the original Prisoner, and have been nervously watching the development of various remakes and adaptations in much the same way that a houseowner keeps checking the size of the crack in the kitchen wall for signs of imminent subsidence. Kevin Costner was going to be in a film version, back when people liked him, and Mel Gibson was going to be producing a version. Maybe even starring in it. That would be right up his alley, seeing as how he is obsessed with being seen as a tortured martyr (the man's psychology is so open to display you don't need to be Freud to see what's going on in his head). Neither happened, but it's funny that Jim Caviezel is in this remake. While Keanu has captured the market for confident post-Resurrection Messiah, Caviezel seems to be slowly accruing some credits as the pre-death tortured Christ-figure. Mel would approve, I'm sure. He might even get down from his cross long enough to mention this at some point.
As a nerd, I am gripped by the usual nerdly personality disorders: obsession with - and attachment to - trivia, condescending behaviour towards non-nerds, preciousness over the treatment of nerd properties¹. This is a terrible and debilitating disorder to suffer from, and I do try to get over it. As this is merely a short trailer for the mini-series (six episodes), and a lot of information is being held back, it could be a great show, but two things strike me immediately, and it's two things that I knew would happen but dreaded nonetheless.
1) The new Number Six is not defiant enough. Patrick McGoohan personified rebellion, playing a man with the ability to withstand coercion to an extent no human being ever could. As The Prisoner was about resisting the command of (directly) the bureaucrats of the Village and (metaphorically) society itself, he was inspirational. Yes, he was practically a metaphor for a mental state instead of a fully-rounded character, but it was beautiful to see someone triumph over and over again, even though, technically, he spent the entire series failing. Maybe that was the key to his appeal: transforming failure into a kind of victory, because all he needed to win was keep rebelling, even if he never left the Village. It was the kind of story that made you feel better about life, all while making you feel worse about the state of the world. Every episode was a rollercoaster of emotion.
Through it all, McGoohan's Six was cocky, obnoxious, tempestuous, hardcore, and utterly defiant. In short, one of the great characters in modern fiction. From what we can see in this short video, Caviezel's Six spends most of it looking shit-scared. This is not appealing. You can see him becoming more defiant as the trailer progresses, but the plot seems to show an arc for his Six. The original didn't have a namby-pamby arc. He just punched people, had tantrums, and smirked when he won a small victory. You just can't top that kind of swagger.
2) The new Number Six seems to want to help his fellow Villagers. Yes, McGoohan's Six sometimes felt the urge to help others, but of course they are working for Number Two, and betray him. Always. Who knows, maybe this will be the case in the remake, and I keep my fingers crossed that this is the case². A traditional hero will help others, but that implies he is in a position to seek help from them as well. If the story you are telling is one that hints that society is an enemy that wants to strip you of the ability to be whoever you want to be, or do whatever you want to do, and that every person in that society will consider you their enemy, then your character has to be alone. With other people around to save or be saved, it becomes a more formulaic tale of man vs. institution. The reason the original Prisoner still chimes with audiences is that McGoohan's Six is one man against everything, against even the concept of society. Turning it into "Everyman rebels against baddies" removes that metaphorical richness. If this is the way it turns out, it becomes an adaptation of just a précis of the original show.
Of course, this is a first impression, filled with entitlement and whininess. The show could be terrific, and I'll definitely be watching it with as open a mind as possible. My love for Sir Ian McKellan is so total that I will enjoy his presence enough to mitigate a lot of flaws. It's also fun seeing Brit actresses Hayley Atwell and Ruth Wilson appearing in something so expensive and American³ instead of the usual costume-drama nonsense, not to mention the presence of the excellent Lennie James. The Rovers look suitably dramatic while being the same as the originals, though the big bouncy balls of old were effective because of other elements, such as the eerie sound effects and peculiar behaviour of the Villagers whenever the Rovers appeared. Whatever. It's a terrific visual, and it's nice that they kept it.
If I knew nothing about the original series, I'd probably love the trailer. However, I know too much, and even though I'll give the new series a fair shake, I can't imagine that the story they tell using this framework will be anywhere near as interesting as the original. I'll respect the showrunners' choices, but already I can see they're promoting the show as something - a traditional Man Against His Superiors fable - that the original transcended. I enjoy those stories well enough, and they have their own metaphorical power, but let's hope they have found a way to make this more daring, otherwise it will have a tough time replacing the memory of the original, a show that genuinely made you think about the world you are living in, without giving easy answers.
One more thing. They got the "Be Seeing You" thing wrong.
That's more like it.
¹ Oh how I whined when Peter David made She-Hulk boring after Dan Slott had done such good work with the character. I deleted the post about that, you'll be glad to know.
² I'm quite happy to see a Christ figure in this tale: less so a Moses metaphor.
³ That said, apparently it is actually produced by Granada and ITV, and only distributed by AMC, hence the predominantly British cast.
One last poll before the big day (Feb 22nd), when some really mediocre movies get handed awards, and hopefully, just to make the whole thing not a total disaster, Mickey Rourke and the FX teams on Benjamin Button get their gold-plated just desserts too. By now it's probable that even though Slumdog has mysteriously been hit with all sorts of unsavoury accusations of child exploitation and dismissal by India, it's going to romp home. Though I am on record as not being best pleased about that, I'll just be happy if people stop referring to it as the longshot. It really isn't. By now people desperately want it to succeed, and it will. Benjamin Button will go home with some technical stuff, and Slumdog will get the biggies, a decision that will be the sanity-twisting equivalent of this...
...and, eventually, just as regrettable and embarrassing for the Academy members and the folks at home as this.
That inevitability aside, there are some actual longshots in that list. The ones no one thinks to bet on. In some awards the longshot occasionally wins (no one expected Bryan Cranston to get an Emmy for his Breaking Bad work as there were other, better known nominees there), but with the Oscars it pretty much never does. That doesn't mean they should be ignored though. Hence this new poll. Which longshot nominee would you most like to see score an upset and win?
Richard Jenkins (Best Actor for The Visitor)
Melissa Leo (Best Actress for Frozen River)
Michael Shannon (Best Supporting Actor for Revolutionary Road)
Viola Davis (Best Supporting Actress for Doubt)
Gus Van Sant (Best Director for Milk)
Thomas Newman (Best Soundtrack for Wall*E)
Martin McDonagh (Best Original Screenplay for In Bruges)
Peter Morgan (Best Adapted Screenplay for Frost/Nixon)
Wally Pfister (Best Cinematography for The Dark Knight)
Kung Fu Panda (Best Animated Feature Film)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Best Foreign Language Film)
Milk (Best Picture)
Iron Man (Best Visual Effects)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Best Makeup)
The Dark Knight (Best Sound Editing)
Wanted (Best Sound Mixing)
I will admit, I have no idea if Wanted really had amazingly well mixed sound. I just want to know if anyone out there is eager for a movie featuring a Loom of Fate, bullet-curving, and bomb-rats to win an Oscar. If anyone votes for it, I'll assume Mark Millar popped by. Anyway, have at it, my pretties.
I think this shall represent the final purging of the trivia rattling around my brain from 2008.
Welcome Miscellaneous Events of the Year: Nicholas Stoller and David Koepp making good use of Russell Brand and Ricky Gervais
I'm not really a fan of either British comedian, but in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Ghost Town both were great, playing to their strengths and their public personas perfectly. It's even made me like them a bit. It's miraculous.
Honourable Mentions: Kate Beckinsale's strong performance in Snow Angels. So much better when not modelling rubber pants. Seeing RADA-trained Shakespearean actor Adrian Lester playing a gun-toting hardass in Doomsday and seemingly relishing it. The arrival of Rebecca Hall as a formidable screen presence. Tim Roth's excellent performance as Emil Blonsky in The Incredible Hulk (usually I'm not a fan of his).
Unwelcome Miscellaneous Events of the Year: Fox being the biggest assholes in the world for trying to ruin the release of Watchmen. Will there be a boycott of X-Men Origins: Wolverine as a result? I'd like to hope it happens.
Dishonourable Mentions: The incomprehensibility of the action scenes in Quantum of Solace and Eagle Eye. The truly disheartening career choices of Al Pacino. Taraji P. Henson's bizarre stereotypical acting choices in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. George Lucas's decision to make the character of Ziro the Hutt a weird lisping cross-dresser with Truman Capote's voice in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. An entire planet says, "WTF?"
Best Poster:The Dark Knight
Worst Poster:Bangkok Dangerous
Best Advertising Campaign of the Year:Cloverfield
After the trailer from last year, the campaign never really put a foot wrong. By the time the movie came out, there was no way even the worst reviews would have stopped us watching it.
Worst Advertising Campaign of the Year:The Incredible Hulk
Slender trailers, a couple of crappy TV spots, an inability to control the grouchy star (other than a funny bit on Jimmy Kimmel), and eventually, just before the release, a huge emphasis on the appearance of Robert Downey Jr., and the end of the movie being re-edited to give that tiny scene more prominence. No wonder the movie didn't make as much money as hoped. It all made the movie look like this rush-job trying to find an empty weekend during the busy summer season, but even a cursory look at the extras on the DVD show the astonishing amount of hard work and thought that went into it. Such a shame. Anyway, here's the Kimmel thing. It's the only vaguely good thing to come out of the shockingly mishandled campaign.
Least Discreet Advertising Campaign of the Year:
Wanted's many trailers gave away pretty much every WOW moment of the film. As the plot (minus the crazy Loom of Fate and exploding rats stuff) was very similar to the comic, it felt like a waste of time actually sitting through the movie. I can see that the movie was a tough sell, but couldn't they have kept some more stuff back for the film?
Most Deliriously Batshit Action Movie of the Year:Rambo
Honourable Mentions:Vantage Point, Eagle Eye, Chocolate
Vocal Sound Effect of the Year: “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” (Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino)
Catchphrase of the Year: "Let! Us! Fuck!" (Zack and Miri Make A Porno)
Most Welcome Trend of the Year (Other Than The Grudging Critical Respect Aimed At The Superhero Genre): The New Horror Renaissance
It's been going on for a while now, but even so, this year we were lucky enough to get Eden Lake, [Rec], The Orphanage, Let The Right One In and, arguably, the interesting adaptation of Scott Smith's horror classic The Ruins, all of which were of varying degrees of quality but definitely in the "very good" column. I feel like adding Neil Marshall's hugely entertaining Doomsday to that list, for being in such debt to John Carpenter, James Cameron, and George Miller, who all know how to make a suspenseful or horrifying movie. Marshall has shown he can duplicate those talents with ease. If I'm going to add that, I'll even make a case for Stuart Gordon's excellent Stuck, which is macabre, ghoulish, nail-biting suspense, as well as being a terrific comment on poverty and the pressures put on the working class, and features an excellent performance from Stephen Rea. It's been a long time since I was excited by the horror genre, and it's an odd feeling.
Least Welcome Trend of the Year: Post-Modern Cinema-Verite Movies about the War in Iraq
Don't get me wrong, it's vital we keep our eye on that war, and never forget that people are suffering there in simply horrible ways, but whereas documentaries like No End in Sight, Taxi To The Dark Side, and Standard Operating Procedure do their best to illuminate by giving voice to as many different observers as possible, Nick Broomfield's Battle For Haditha and Brian De Palma's Redacted try to create a different kind of "truth" by either recreating an atrocity or by staging a po-mo video collage of a fictional atrocity based on a real one. Both movies come from an honest place but mangle the truth through their different approaches; Broomfield with his docu-drama retelling, De Palma with his formalist tricks (fake French documentary footage, YouTube videos, CCTV, hand-held camera shots from soldiers documenting the events). Both movies intentionally feature non-actors playing unconvincing characters (more like avatars) saying clunky expositional dialogue, and featuring some bizarre choices.
For instance, Broomfield invents a composite character who is a major protagonist during the horrifying massacre of innocents. If you don't see the accompanying documentary (the name of which eludes me, regrettably) then you wouldn't know this, and you would assume that somehow that person had given his consent to Broomfield that he could show him in the film, or had had some hand in telling Broomfield what he was thinking and feeling throughout. As he didn't, all of that is now suspect, and whatever horrors the film presents are dulled by that knowledge. Just as annoying, Redacted is not based on a real event, due to legal difficulties, and as such seems like little more than a remake of Casualties of War. Even though we know there was indeed an incident similar to this, the film just muddies the waters and makes it harder for the viewer to figure out what is really going on over there.
As for the hand-held camera, it's not a convention I usually object to. I just think it really only works in movies like Cloverfield and [Rec], where using the participant frame as a method of generating new ways of delivering shocks to the audience is far more tasteful than, say De Palma's use of it. Even more annoying is that is has been proved that a docu-drama can be made that hews as close to the objective truth as it is possible to. Paul Greengrass' astonishing United 93 should be a template to follow, made with as much attention to detail and first-hand accounting as it is possible to. Admittedly Broomfield couldn't get the same level of access to the real participants as Greengrass, but still, there are avoidable choices made that damage his movie.
It's doubly frustrating because these are stories that need to be told and, especially in the case of Haditha, were done with such incredibly good intentions. This article by Broomfield shows how committed he was to telling this story to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately, in the telling of them, by blurring the lines of fact and fiction, and by filling the characters' mouths with words that no normal person would ever say, they have inadvertently distanced the audience from the real horrors. They're still essential viewing, though.
Most Relentless Use of Religious Imagery in a Science Fiction Tale:Dante 01
Dishonourable Mention:Wall*E
Best Hair: Viggo Mortensen's face fuzz (Appaloosa)
He looks like a bit of a dandy but he will fuck you up, for reals.
Worst Hair: Nicolas Cage (Bangkok Dangerous)
Does using shampoo ruin his deadly assassin's aim or something?
Most Improbably Styled Hair: Camilla Belle's pristine dreads in 10000 B.C.
Apparently we're descended from Rasta Valley Girls.
Best Use of Kristen Wiig:Ghost Town
Worst Use of Kristen Wiig: Cutting her entirely out of the cinema release of Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Adorable Screen Couple of the Year: Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man)
Honourable Mentions: Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno), Mos Def and Melonie Diaz (Be Kind Rewind)
Crap Screen Couple of the Year: Vin Diesel and Mélanie Thierry (Babylon A.D.)
Dishonourable Mentions: Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye), Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson (Jumper)
Inappropriate and Just Downright Creepy Screen Couple of the Year: Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson (Let The Right One In)
"Oh Man, At Last!" Couple of the Year: Harrison Ford and Karen Allen (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
"Jesus, Just Split Up Already!" Couple of the Year: Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel (The Happening)
Dishonourable Mention: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (The Strangers)
Most Awkward and Unconvincing Couple of the Year: Edward Norton and Liv Tyler (The Incredible Hulk)
Utterly Improbable Couple of the Year: James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie (Wanted)
Dishonourable Mention: Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth (21)
Most Gratuitous Kissing Between Two Hotties Just So The Director Can Get His Rocks Off: Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Worst Ending to a Relationship: Kate Beckinsale and Hott Sam Rockwell in Snow Angels
Dishonourable Mentions: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (The Strangers)
Likeable Manic Pixie Dream Girl of the Year: Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis - Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
Honourable Mention: Chloë - (Clémence Poésy - In Bruges)
Dishonourable Mention: Fox (Angelina Jolie - Wanted)
Convincing Lust Object of the Year: Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace)
Honourable Mention: Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Unconvincing Lust Object of the Year: Al Pacino (88 Minutes)
Dishonourable Mention: Kate Bosworth (21)
"Kate Winslet In Little Children" Award For Least Believable Unattractiveness: Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler
We're supposed to think Tomei, as stripper Cassidy, looks so old that no one wants her to dance for them? Bullshit. She's looking as good as ever, though kudos to her for selling that plot point.
Most Amusing Critical Crush of the Year: Stephanie Zacharek's potentially compromising soft spot for Jason Statham
At the end of the year, Stephanie Zacharek, film critic for Salon, had her end of year list (somewhat smaller than mine), with a big list of honourable mentions. Among the usual suspects, there was also The Bank Job and Transporter 3, two movies that really are just not that good. When we had a closer look at her reviews for both movies, we found out why: Stephanie + Jason 4evah!
Hilariously, her reviews for both movies (and Death Race, which she was also easy on), were basically mash notes to the Brit Bruiser. Here are some highlights:
"Statham is sexy all right, with that beefcake-pinup chest, but the sexiest thing about him is what's going on upstairs, and his voice alone is delectable: It sounds like a cat's tongue feels." (Transporter 3)
"The look in Statham's eyes reassures [Keeley Hawes] more than his words ever could -- they have a melting quality that counterbalances the rough, masculine raspiness of his voice. In the press notes for "The Bank Job," Donaldson says that Statham reminds him of a British Steve McQueen, and the comparison makes sense. In "The Bank Job," Statham is a sex symbol with a soul..." (The Bank Job)
"Anderson's camera [casts] its unapologetically erotic view on Statham's perfectly chiseled mug -- his stubble is so artfully dappled it could have been painted by Carravagio... There's no doubt he makes a fine physical specimen in any picture: His muscles have that mysterious filmic quality of looking both rock-hard and pillowy at once... Statham moves with such easy grace that you don't have to work hard to believe him. And if he can stand up to Joan Allen, melting her predatory stare with his own molten gaze, then it's clear he's not just the prettiest guy on the prison block, but also the toughest." (Death Race)
I wish she had reviewed In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale as well. I'd wager she definitely owns it.
Okay, I reckon that should be enough. Normal service can be resumed now.
As I had feared, it's not three posts about the movies of the year, anymore. This one got so big I've split it in sort-of half. The other will be up tomorrow, if you can bear the wait.
Best Hero: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr. - Iron Man)
Honourable Mentions: Racer X (Matthew Fox - Speed Racer) Po (Jack Black - Kung Fu Panda) Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor - Redbelt) Zen (Yanin Vismitananda – Chocolate) James Bond (Daniel Craig – Quantum of Solace)
Best Villain: The Joker (Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight)
Honourable Mentions:
Brett (Jack O'Connell - Eden Lake) Roland Cox (Samuel L. Jackson – Jumper) Tai Lung (Ian McShane - Kung Fu Panda) Prime Minister Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang - Red Cliff: Part One) Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons - Appaloosa)
Worst Hero: D’Leh (Stephen Strait - 10000 B.C.)
Dishonourable Mentions: Rick O’ Connell (Brendan Fraser - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino - 88 Minutes) Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra - Doomsday) David Rice (Hayden Christensen – Jumper) Joe the Depressed Assassin (Nicolas Cage - Bangkok Dangerous)
Worst Villain: Jon Forster (Neal McDonough – 88 Minutes)
Dishonourable Mentions: Gallian (Ray Liotta – In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale) Marriage and the restrictions placed on the human soul by societal conventions (The 1950s – Revolutionary Road) Man’s inhumanity to his fellow man (Humankind at its worst – Blindness) The cynicism of people in modern Britain (Happy-Go-Lucky) Random vaguely Arabic looking Warlord ZOMG Fear of the Other!!! (Affif Ben Badra – 10000 B.C.)
Most Tragic Villain: Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart - The Dark Knight)
Honourable Mention: Prince Nuada (Luke Goss - Hellboy II: The Golden Army)
Most Lovable Character: Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim - Kung Fu Panda)
Character Who Is An Affront To Humanity And Logic And Must Never Be Emulated: Poppy (Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky)
Most Annoyingly Passive Character: Jamal Malik (Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire)
Dishonourable Mention: Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Most Thought-Out Character of the Year: Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
It was a hell of a tough sell, making the audience care about and accept the young turk who would, if rumour was to be believed, take over the whip and fedora in future Indiana Jones movies. That's less likely now, but even so, Spielberg, Lucas, David Koepp (and Frank Darabont from his previous draft) took great care in crafting the character of Mutt Williams, and Shia LaBeouf brought him to life beautifully. Sadly, all involved should have spent as much time getting the final half of the film right as well.
Character We Want To See Suddenly Appear In Every Movie Ever Made Just To Insult Everyone With His Piercing Insights Into The Hypocrisy Of Bourgeois Middle-Class Life: John Givings (Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road)
Dishonourable Mentions: Professor Harold 'Ox' Oxley (John Hurt - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Ashley Kowalski (Dreama Walker - Gran Torino)
Most Lovable Cranky Hardass of the Year: Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood – Gran Torino)
Honourable Mention: The Chief (Alan Arkin - Get Smart)
Badass of the Year: Zen (Yanin Vismistananda - Chocolate) If you don’t believe me, check out the stunt at 3:14.
What a woman. Can we make her the Queen or something?
Best Scene: Scary prisoner Tiny Lister makes a fateful decision in The Dark Knight.
Honourable Mentions:
Philippe Petit completes his high-wire walk between the Two Towers in Man on Wire. The twenty minute single take conversation in Hunger. Tony Stark bickers with his enthusiastic robot helper in Iron Man. The BPRD enter the troll market in Hellboy II. Po's kung fu dream in Kung Fu Panda.
Best Action Scene: The various mini-battles within the Eight Trigrams Formation in Red Cliff: Part One.
Honourable Mentions:
Tai Lung escapes from prison in Kung Fu Panda. The mid-movie blowout chase sequence in The Dark Knight. The first stage of the Casa Cristo 5000 from Speed Racer. The eighteen minute showdown at the end of Chocolate. The mental car chase at the end of Vantage Point. Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) defends the honour of himself and his training academy against thoughtless corporate exploitation in the final few minutes of Redbelt. General Ma Xinyi (Jet Li) takes on a line of cannons in The Warlords.
Most Upsetting Sight of the Year: Whatever the hell that thing was that terrorised poor Manuela Velasco in the apartment penthouse at the end of [Rec].
Honourable Mentions:
A topless Robert De Niro having rough sex with Carla Gugino in Righteous Kill. Mickey Rourke getting stapled in The Wrestler. Tim Roth getting kicked across a campus into a tree in The Incredible Hulk. Jeff Anderson discovering the downside of filming anal in Zack and Miri Make A Porno. Stephen Rea trapped in a windshield for several hours in Stuck.
Long-Awaited Showdown Between Action Icons of the Year: Jet Li versus Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom.
Not-So Long Awaited Showdown Between Action Icons of the Year: Jason Statham versus Craig Fairbrass in The Bank Job.
Scene I Cried At Most This Year: Matthew Fox's final scene in Speed Racer. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Honourable Mention: Mutt Williams picks up his father's hat in the final scene of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Most Satisfying Finale of the Year:The Dark Knight
Honourable Mentions:The Wrestler, Speed Racer, The Orphanage, Step Brothers
Worst Garbled and Re-Edited Ending of the Year:Babylon A.D.
Dishonourable Mentions:Dante 01, Jumper
Most WTF OMG Brain-Altering Applause-Inducing Moment of the Year: Batman brings the Batpod to a very abrupt stop during the bravura chase sequence from The Dark Knight.
Best Bad Guy Death: Random Burmese soldier shot in the head with an arrow prior to falling onto a landmine in Rambo (It's at the two minute mark.)
Honourable Mentions: Rosie Perez crushed by an exploding car in the pitch-perfect action-homage finale to Pineapple Express. No. 8 (Pongpat Wachirabunjong) plunges several floors to a very painful death (see also several of his cronies who suffer a similar bone-crunching fate) in the demented finale of Chocolate. The tragic fall of Prince Nuada in Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
Best Location Shooting:The Dark Knight
As silly as it sounds, filming almost entirely in Chicago is one of the things that makes The Dark Knight such a distinctive movie. Even though Chicago has been used many times before as a location, Christopher Nolan and his crew made it feel like a new place, somewhere that doesn't exist in our world. Here's a feature showing the locations, which is making me want to visit and do a big tour. Nolan's attempt to show as much of "Gotham" as he can, making it a character in the movie, means he also films a lot of interiors in corner offices with large windows looking out over the city. Especially in IMAX, the effect is breathtaking.
Honourable Mentions: The Incredible Hulk - Judicious use of New York locations make the big FX finale shot in Canada look more convincing, and the early scenes in Brazil, with astonishingly long shots of the huge favelas, are fantastic. In Bruges - Obviously. Slumdog Millionaire - When you can tell what the hell is going on.
Right, the next one will be the last one, I hope. It'll be even more miscellaneous than this one, if you can believe that.
