At the Movies: Best of the Decade

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I’ve been a solid fan of the At the Movies show for ages. Even stuck with it through the Year of Two Bens, although I’m ecstatic now that AO Scott and Michael Phillips are the hosts. They were my favorite Roeper co-hosts…preferred them both to Roeper, actually.

Anyway, here are their top 10 picks of the decade:

AO Scott:

10. Million-Dollar Baby
9. 25th Hour
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
7. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
6. The Best of Youth
5. Where the Wild Things Are
4. The Pianist
3. Brokeback Mountain
2. A.I.
1. Wall-E

Michael Phillips:

10. Minority Report
9. Gosford Park
8. Mulholland Drive
7. United 93
6. Zodiac
5. Y tu mama tambien
4. Once
3. Climates
2. Ratatouille
1. There Will Be Blood

This vidclip for the #1 spot  includes their complete lists, as well as the top ten Viewer’s Picks.

Alien Redux?

 

RUMOR MILL:  Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic, Alien, turns 30 years old this year (this part is a fact, actually). As an extra-special present, it appears the film is up for a remake.

Or wait…maybe it’s an origin story?

And Scott himself is producing, along with his brother Tony?

Who knows for sure at this point? It could be worthy if they do it right.

For more details:  Alien Remake in the Works?  and the original post at  BloodyDisgusting.com.

Kubrick Retrospective and Eyes Wide Shut Revisited

 

Great news for Kubrick fans like me — IFC (Independent Film Channel) is hosting a midnight-movie retrospective featuring some of his greatest films (including 2 of his early film noirs), one film per weekend through July 4. We missed out on Lolita, last week’s selection, but this weekend it’s going to be Full Metal Jacket, followed by:

Eyes Wide Shut — May 22-24
The Shining — June 5-6
2001: A Space Odyssey — June 12-13
Killer’s Kiss — June 19-20
The Killing — June 26-27
A Clockwork Orange — July 2-4

Speaking of Eyes Wide Shut:  I’m one of the few who loved it on first sight. Whether you did or didn’t, today’s great article about it on Tribeca Film will certainly provide some food for thought.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Blog — GOOP

I just discovered Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog, GOOP. I haven’t yet done much exploring, but for her March newsletter she asked for top DVD rental picks from 5 directors: Steven Spielberg, Wes Anderson, Jon Favreau, James Gray and Sofia Coppola. Some interesting titles there, particularly from Wes Anderson. The newsletter’s quite brief, and well worth a look.

    

 Just read an interesting article on RopeofSilicon.com which picks up and takes off on E’s Sundance vidinterview with Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (stars of 500 Days of Summer), asking the question, Why Do So Many Romantic Comedies Suck?  The video is worth a look:  JGL is quite articulate, ZD sadly not so much, LOL.  The article really further defines the question rather than answering it, although the author does seem to feel that “star power,” or the lack of same in many of today’s films, plays a large role in the success or failure of a romcom.

There’s a lot of good stuff in the comments too.

Terminator: Salvation — Why Can’t You Boys Just Get Along?

Moritz Borman, one of the three original producers of Christian Bale’s highly anticipated debut in the continuing Terminator saga, has filed a lawsuit against his two partners, Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek.  Borman’s suit asks for $160 million in damages, alleging fraud and breach of contract.  At this time it’s unknown what, if any, effect the lawsuit will have on the film’s upcoming release.

More on Screenrant.com.

Update: No More “Nottingham”

Apparently we’re not going to be treated to Russell Crowe playing both the Sheriff and Robin Hood in Ridley Scott’s Nottingham.  The movie, which is due to start production in 2 months, has been retitled…wait for it…Robin Hood, and will focus on the hero’s early days as a bowman in the army of Richard the Lionhearted.  The infamous Sheriff has been relegated to a minor role, while France is now the major villain, in the aftermath of the Norman invasion.

More from an interview with Ridley Scott on the MTV Movies Blog.

Danny Boyle Receives 2009 DGA Award

Danny Boyle received the Director’s Guild of America award for Slumdog Millionaire last night. That definitely puts him ahead of the pack for the big nod by the Academy– since its beginnings in 1948, the DGA award has only gone to 6 directors who did not go on to win the Oscar for that year.

Ari Folman won the best documentary award for Waltz with Bashir, which is up for Best Foreign-Language Film at the Oscars. Best television film/miniseries award went to Jay Roach for Recount.

Complete list of DGA awards and more about the evening’s festivities at the Hollywood Reporter.