Best of Black Sheep: Remembering the year 2004

I’m a sensitive guy but I don’t cry very often. Usually, the only time I find myself crying is at the movies. For me, crying is a beautiful release and when I’m watching a movie and it comes over me, I always let it out. I figure if the hard parts of my life don’t bring me to tears, then I’d better let them out whenever the opportunity presents itself, even if I’m not completely sure what it is about the image on the screen that is moving me so deeply. When I first saw FINDING NEVERLAND, it was a matinee showing. There weren’t too many people in the theatre and that suited me just fine. This way, I got to sob profusely while still maintaining some sense of privacy. When the film was released to own, I brought it home and, to my surprise, cried just as much as I did the first time I saw it. When I watched it again recently to prepare for this piece, I was concerned, at first, that it wasn’t as good as I remembered it in my mind. But then, before I could get across the room to get my box of tissues, I was weeping once again.

Based on Allan Knee’s play, “The Man Who Was Peter Pan”, FINDING NEVERLAND is something of a tear-jerker that seems deliberately designed for boys. This is Peter Pan after all and what man cannot identify with the age old tale about not wanting to ever grow up? Certainly not this one anyway. That said, I don’t think this is what gets me crying each time; that would be too simple an explanation. No, it is something inherent in the story itself that speaks directly to this boy’s heart. FINDING NEVERLAND is a story about feeling inspiration and fostering your imagination. Without either of these, Neverland could never be found. James Barrie (Johnny Depp) is the author of “Peter Pan” and the film gives us the chance to see the very real components that would become one of the most timeless children’s classics in history. As a writer, especially one who struggles to find the words from time to time, seeing that they can come from everything transpiring right in front of me was truly freeing.


Historically, Barrie met the Llewelyn Davies family in London’s Kensington Gardens in 1897. In the film, it unfolds exactly the same way, only the man of the family, Arthur, has already passed away and, of the family’s five young boys, only four make the film for fear of overcrowding. The mother, Sylvia (Kate Winslet), is simply enjoying her time in the park with her boys when Barrie suddenly becomes a central figure in the boys’ game. From that moment on, he never stops playing with them. It isn’t quite so joyous for all the boys though, what with their father recently passed. No, young Peter (played by Freddie Highmore in the role that turned him into a child star) finds himself facing adult realities that are far too harsh for him to process, let alone preserve his innocence. Barrie steps in as a father figure but the healing does not begin so easily. Barrie must remind the boys that their imaginations can take them anywhere they want to go, any time they want to go there. As he unleashes the power of his imagination in hopes of rekindling theirs, he finds something completely unexpected – Peter Pan.


Director, Marc Forster, whom I have a love/hate relationship with (basically, I love this film and hate most of his other work), does his best to do to his audience that which Barrie is determined to do for his lost boys. FINDING NEVERLAND flows back and forth between scenes of hardship (loveless marriages, financial woes and terminal illness) and magical escapes, from pirate ships in the backyard to children bouncing from their beds and taking flight. “Neverland” is a place where one never has to grow up and it is always just on the other side of our conscious minds waiting for us to visit whenever we need to or just plain feel like it. All any of us has to do to find it is believe that it is there. At no time does it feel like FINDING NEVERLAND is encouraging us to ignore our responsibilities so that we can play whenever we want. It is quite the contrary really. Forster and friends are just trying to help us find it in ourselves so that it can help us get through all the tears.



Black Sheep's 2004 Top 10
(in alphabetical order)

BAD EDUCATION, directed by Pedro Almodovar
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, Michel Gondry
FINDING NEVERLAND, Marc Forster
GARDEN STATE, Zach Braff
THE INCREDIBLES, Brad Bird
KILL BILL VOLUME 2, Quentin Tarantino
MARIA FULL OF GRACE, Joshua Marston
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, Walter Salles
TARNATION, Jonathan Caouette
VERA DRAKE, Mike Leigh

Best of Black Sheep: Remembering the year 2003

KILL BILL VOLUME ONE
Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino


2003 was a big year for me. I shot my very first short film – also coincidentally my only short film – and I got involved in theatre production. It was also a big year for one of my favorite filmmakers, Quentin Tarantino. After his third film, JACKIE BROWN (1997), the follow-up to his contemporary masterpiece, PULP FICTION (1994), underwelmed both critics and audiences alike, Tarantino returned to theatres in 2003 with an epic so momentous that it needed to be split into two films. Clocking in originally at over four hours, Tarantino’s fourth film, as it is billed when the title appears on screen, KILL BILL, was both highly anticipated after a six-year hiatus on the part of the infamous filmmaker and highly criticized for being split into two parts (the second was released in the spring of 2004). Regular Tarantino distributor, Miramax, felt the film was just too long to be released as a whole; the industry meanwhile saw the decision as nothing more than a way to sell two tickets to one movie. Audiences did not care one way or the other; KILL BILL VOLUME ONE went on to earn over $180 million internationally and put Tarantino back on track to becoming the best of the contemporary film auteurs.


KILL BILL VOLUME ONE opens with a Klingon proverb … Revenge is a dish best served cold. Only Tarantino can open a film with a quote from a Star Trek character and transcend geekiness into authenticity. Besides, the quote fits as revenge gets served in the coldest of fashions in the two hours that follow. And with good reason, I might add. In a role that was written specifically for her (to the point that production was pushed back after she became pregnant), Uma Thurman plays The Bride and when we first meet her, she is lying on the floor, beaten and bloodied. A gun is pointed at her beautifully battered face and she tells the man standing above her, whose name, Bill, is all we know for now, that she is carrying his baby. Regardless, he shoots her anyway. Believing her and her entire wedding party to be dead, he leaves her to rot but The Bride is a character that will not be held down. Miraculously, she survives and devises a plan to obliterate the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (the group responsible for her wedding day massacre) one by one, including their leader, Bill (the recently deceased David Carradine). I’m a big supporter of turning the other cheek but this is one scenario where I can hardly blame her for exacting her revenge. In fact, I delighted in every second of it.


I was not the only one delighting in this blood-soaked revenge tale (nearly 100 people die in the film). Clearly, Tarantino was having so much fun too. Just as he did with PULP FICTION, he takes the story, based heavily on the 1973 Japanese film, LADY SNOWBLOOD, and breaks it up so that the timeline plays out non-sequentially. The through line is simply a death list that The Bride attacks one at a time. There are plenty of trademark Tarantino touches, from a bright, yellow truck called the Pussy Wagon to punchy dialogue like “My name is Buck and I like to fuck.” There is even a knowing nod to himself at one point when Thurman draws an imaginary square in the air, just like she did in PULP FICTION at the Jack Rabbit Slim restaurant on her date with John Travolta. Tarantino’s films are never fully out of the reach of his sometimes gigantic ego but he earns every indulgence in this film. Considering how playful his tone is, his care for the visual style is stupendous and the choreography of the all out brawl at the film’s climax is mesmerizing. All you can do is sit back and enjoy the bloodbath. And as much as Tarantino deserves all this praise for this picture, he could not have done it without Thurman. Her turn as The Bride is immensely demanding of her talents, both physically and emotionally, and she makes every moment on screen that much more urgent.


It seems that little is said about KILL BILL and what a strong picture it is for women working in the action genre. The rest of the cast is made up of Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox and Daryl Hannah and all of these ladies are not to be messed with. There is no denying their strength or the skills and Tarantino has far too much respect for both his characters and his actresses to ever allow them to be taken advantage of or exploited as girls gone wild. They are simply women who kick some serious ass paving the way for KILL BILL VOLUME ONE and Mr. Tarantino himself to do the same.



2003 Top 10
(in alphabetical order)

CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS, Andrew Jarecki (Director)
CITY OF GOD, Fernando Meirelles
ELEPHANT, Gus Van Sant
FINDING NEMO, Andrew Stanton
IN AMERICA, Jim Sheridan
KILL BILL VOLUME ONE, Quentin Tarantino
LOST IN TRANSLATION, Sofia Coppola
MONSTER, Patty Jenkins
RAISING VICTOR VARGAS, Peter Sollett
LES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE, Sylvain Chomet

Best of Black Sheep: Remembering the year 2002

2002 is not a year that I often like to recall. I was 25 years old and there was so much going on in my life at the time that it all ended up falling down on top of me. I had just graduated from university but I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so I just went on going to work day after day at my pointless retail job. As if that weren’t daunting enough, my relationship of three years was coming to a particularly dramatic end. We would fight about everything. It got so bad at one point that one night, after coming home from having seen THE HOURS and CHICAGO back to back, we argued extensively over which was better as if that actually mattered. I was in THE HOURS camp. The manner in which Stephen Daldry brought depression to the forefront was shockingly palpable. Paul was adamantly pro-CHICAGO. I suppose escaping harsh reality for musical exuberance was where his head was at. With a little perspective and a heck of a lot of healing, I think I can finally admit that he may have been right after all … maybe … at least about that anyway.


I should clarify; I always loved CHICAGO. I felt that Bill Condon, the screenwriter who would go on much later to direct DREAMGIRLS, had found the most seamless way to adapt a stage musical to the screen. He borrowed the concept from the stage production itself but he brought it to such new heights that it made CHICAGO into a triumphant return for a genre that had long been suffering. The musical numbers that would ordinarily disrupt the story were all worked in as a means of escape in the mind of the star, Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger). Having just been arrested for the capital murder of her lover, Roxie desperately needed a way to cope with her new reality. First time feature filmmaker and veteran theatre director, Rob Marshall, took Condon’s sharp script and made sure that every nuance was not only handled delicately but honoured so that CHICAGO could do more than just be an excellent film experience. Marshall infused an energy to a show that is so stark on stage by keeping the pacing fast and the lighting always theatrical and richly colorful. Suddenly, you had a musical that didn’t have numbers that stopped the story but rather commented on it at all times and made it that much more exhilarating. After winning the Oscar for Best Picture that year and taking in roughly $170 million at the box office, it was clear that Marshall’s CHICAGO had saved the musical itself from certain death.


I should also clarify that I was depressed when I first saw THE HOURS. Perhaps, as I am now not depressed, I can look back on the two works and have an easier time delighting in the musical while feeling a degree of hesitation going back to darker times. At the time though, I distinctly remember feeling that the isolation of depression was captured not only so succinctly but in a fashion that was intricately complex and beautifully executed. THE HOURS is all about the actresses. A trio of incredible women, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep, play variations on the same woman throughout the eras to show the timeliness of depression and how it is seen and dealt with differently depending on the period and the surroundings. It does run the risk of being seen as a distinctly female experience but clearly that isn’t so. One day around the time of the film’s release, a woman came in to the record store I was working at and asked for the brilliant score by Philip Glass. I immediately began talking to her about how profoundly the film had affected me, even going so far as to cite specific scenes in detail. She had just come from the film and you could see she had been crying. This woman was bewildered that I was able to connect with this film coming from a male perspective. I simply told her straight up, as she left the store with the score in hand, that depression has no gender, that it is universal.

The truth is that neither Paul now I was right. Film appreciation, as I’ve said time and time again, is inherently subjective. The way we see film, the manner in which it moves or excites us, is directly affected by what we bring to the screen as viewers – whether that be because we are in the middle of a painful breakup or because we woke up with a musical bounce in our step. What matters more is that these films worked their way into our hearts and not at all how they got there in the first place. Of course, we weren’t actually arguing about the movies; we were arguing about much harder, much more complicated issues. Our passion for the films allowed us to use them as our swords and shields. The films themselves helped us each move on.

Regardless, both films get ...


2002 Top 10

ADAPTATION, Directed by Spike Jonze
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, Michael Moore
CHICAGO, Rob Marshall
FAR FROM HEAVEN, Todd Haynes
FRIDA, Julie Taymor
THE HOURS, Stephen Daldry
THE PIANIST, Roman Polanski
PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, Paul Thomas Anderson
SECRETARY, Steven Shainberg
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, Alfonso Cuaron

Best of Black Sheep: Remembering the year 2001

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
Written and Directed by John Cameron Mitchell



Editorial Note: Leading up to Black Sheep's upcoming feature highlighting the best films of the last decade, we take another look back at the decade behind us, year by year, each day leading up to it ...

I can still remember how I felt after seeing HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH for the first time. It was raining but the only reason I noticed that was because I was wet when I got home. I didn’t feel a thing while I walked outside; I was far too stunned. What had I just seen? I certainly couldn’t say that I had ever seen a rock opera about a transsexual singer/songwriter from East Berlin who had a botched sex change operation and who had immigrated to America only to have all of her music ripped off by a pretty little white boy. The only reassuring thing about this state was that I was fairly certain no one else could say they had seen that before either.


Well, plenty of people had seen the Off-Broadway hit but that is still a pretty paltry faction of people. Yes, HEDWIG got its humble beginnings in New York City. It was written by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask and the title character was performed by Mitchell himself. After the show concluded its run, Mitchell had bigger plans and bigger wigs in mind for both Hedwig and himself. He had never directed a film before but must have felt comfortable enough with this material to take that risk. The risk most certainly paid off and to watch Hedwig, you would never know he had never directed before. Mitchell took a play that was grand in scope but limited in size and eradicated any notion that it had to be contained on a stage. His direction of Hedwig goes from town to town following the former lover who stole all his songs while simultaneously moving back and forth between time and space to tell Hedwig’s incredible story. His performance of Hedwig earned him a Golden Globe nomination and to watch it, you cannot imagine anyone else filling those gigantic platforms.


Sure, it’s all a little jarring at first but then at ten minutes in, a song starts. An animation takes over the screen and tells the story of how love began. The song is called, “The Origin of Love” and the drawings are nothing more than stick figures shaking almost elegantly on parchment but it doesn’t matter. They capture exactly what the complex song is saying so simply. The song details how all of us were once connected with another. There were boys attached to other boys, girls with girls and even girls attached to other boys, if you can believe that. Until one day, the gods decided that too much fun was being had and split all of these perfect unions into halves that would then have to scour the world to find their counterparts. Before this moment, there was no need for love, to search for it, to crave it because it simply didn’t exist. Hedwig is not a man or a woman and certainly not whole. Her search is bold, empowered and unfailing … and will likely never be over.


I think its fair to say that there are still too few people who have seen anything like HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH and I think its fair to say, too few people ever will. Thanks to John Cameron Mitchell though, a select group of fortunate people can now fell a little more open minded and hopefully a little more whole.



Black Sheep's 2001 Top 10
(in alphabetical order)

DONNIE DARKO, directed by Richard Kelly
LE FABULEUX DESTIN D’AMELIE POULIN (Amelie), Jean-Pierre Jeunet
GOSFORD PARK, Robert Altman
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, John Cameron Mitchell
IN THE BEDROOM, Todd Fields
L.I.E., Michael Cuesta
MEMENTO, Christopher Nolan
MOULIN ROUGE!, Baz Luhrmann
MULHOLLAND DRIVE, David Lynch
PRESQUE RIEN (Come Undone), Sebastien Lifshitz

Best of Black Sheep: Remembering the year 2000

Editorial Note: Leading up to Black Sheep's upcoming feature highlighting the best films of the last decade, we take another look back at the decade behind us, year by year, each day leading up to it ...

When asked to look back at the year 2000, or more specifically, the year 2000 in film, I remember distinctly being torn between not just two films that year but rather being torn over what constituted the true value of a film worthy of the title, “Best Picture of the Year”. The first of the two films in question captured my mind. It is a distinctly cerebral experience in its carefully plotted design and intricate balance of several different stories told simultaneously and the serious nature of its subject matter. The other film captured my heart. It is achingly romantic in tone and theme but it never crosses over into the saccharine. Instead, it honours the emotion itself as the governing force of life. What holds more value when it comes to film appreciation? An interaction with your emotional core or the provocation of thought? An appeal to one’s intellect or a plea to the soul? Which film is better? Steven Soderbergh’s TRAFFIC or Ang Lee’s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON?


The moment Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) appear on screen in the same space in, the attraction between them is undeniable. Yet, the same can be said for their restraint. And so CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON establishes its largest question; if love is the greatest gift that can bestowed upon man, so great that warriors such as these two fight in its name, why then deny this gift for yourself in favor of respect for social obligation? Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien cannot be together because she was once promised to his greatest warrior brother. The two bonded after his death but have never acted upon their feelings as not to disrespect his memory. In many ways, Li’s fallen brother brought he and Yu together but in just as many ways, he made it impossible for them to be together. Now, Li is debating leaving his battles behind him and pursuing that which his heart has longed for for so long but duty almost seems bent on stopping this from happening as no sooner does he hang up his sword, it is stolen, forcing him to confront his oldest nemesis. It would seem that love and honour go hand in hand but honouring love in this case makes it impossible to experience it.


The romantic core of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is certainly honoured by Ang Lee, who infuses the picture with fluidity and intensity, establishing a tone that can only be described as magical. (I suppose it could also be described as mystical, majestic or mesmerizing as well but you get my point.) The sword robbery prompts a sequence of battles that combine seamless excellence in cinematography, score, choreography and of course, performance (including breakout, Zhang Ziyi). Running on air across shingled rooftops or through towering treetops is visually stunning but also heightens the passion of an already fiery experience. When on the ground and engaged in combat or sword play, the actual fighting is so perfectly timed and executed against Tan Dun’s drum heavy score that it is often impossible to distinguish between what is fighting and what it dance. As usual, Lee’s gentle directorial hand allows for a vast canvas that takes on an enlightened stance all its own. In a film where all who have honour are bound by decorum and tradition, flying is possible and seems boundless but they are ultimately grounded by the same properties that make flight possible.


TRAFFIC is no less a technical feat. Based on the British mini-series, “Traffik”, writer, Stephen Gaghan, scaled down over 300 minutes of story to a scant 147. In it, he explores the war on drugs, from sales to distribution to border crossing to addiction and treatment. The severity of the situation is not glazed over in TRAFFIC and Soderbergh makes directing this enormous undertaking all look so easy. Considering the title, it is ironic that the film travels so easily back and forth between Mexico, San Diego, Washington and Ohio. The different locales and stories are all differentiated by color schemes – a yellow tinged Mexico stimulates our nervous systems while demonstrating a fragile city controlled by drug cartels and corruption and a blue Ohio allows us to dive deeper into the lows of addiction with a sedated effect. San Diego rather is painted in much more naturalistic hues, perhaps highlighting the normalcy of the drug sales in America. The action taking place in all these locations makes for its own contradictions as well, thanks to Gaghan’s delicate and precise screenplay. How else could one explain a film that is essentially anti-drug that exposes some of its more insightful musings during drug-addled hazes?


What is traffic after all but being stalled and surrounded by an endless see of obstacles ahead of you, stopping you from getting to where you’re going? It never feels as though it will ever let up or you will ever find a way to get through it all. While TRAFFIC is not entirely pessimistic, it is decidedly realistic. It never insinuates that the war on drugs is one that cannot be won but that perhaps the idea of winning needs to be modified. It seems almost naïve to think that drug usage will ever be irradiated from the human experience but with all the extreme violence that the trade creates, clearly the consumption needs to be scaled down significantly. Soderbergh is also careful not to suggest that he has all the answers. To him, it is clear that the Mexican drug cartels must be taken down; that the flow of drugs and firearms across the Mexico/US border needs to be cracked down on; and that we must no longer be afraid to look inside out own houses, at our own family members and friends to help bring them back to a place where they can truly see the world as it is. As Brian Eno’s “Ascension” plays over the film’s final frames, the idea of progress seems at the very least, possible.

Both films were released in December of 2000; both went on to earn roughly around $125 million at the box office; and both went on to win four Oscars each. It would appear that I am not the only one split on the two films. And as neither actually went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture, perhaps the debate will never be settled as to which film truly deserves the crown. Of course, it is fair to say that neither film actually needs to be regarded as better than the other. I can love them both equally for different reasons as I’ve got plenty of love to go around. After all, I spend so much time trying to get my mind and my heart on the same page, why would not apply that same logic to these two beautiful pictures? And as GLADIATOR actually went on to win the title that year, perhaps brawn is more appealing than brains and beauty combined anyway.

Both films ...


Black Sheep’s Top 10 Films of 2000
(in alphabetical order)

Best in Show
Billy Elliott
Chicken Run
Chuck & Buck
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
In the Mood for Love
Requiem for a Dream
Traffic
The Virgin Suicides
Wonder Boys

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: 2009 Recap

2009 closed at the box office with the strongest money maker since THE DARK KNIGHT, clinching a third week atop the chart. AVATAR has now made over $1 billion internationally and is in position to become the biggest film of all time. If it doesn't make it, it may have to settle for second place but seeing as how it will be settling in behind director, James Cameron's other behemoth film, TITANIC, I'd say the one-two punch is not bad at all. Overall, the North American box office took in $10.6 billion this year, an 8% increase over 2008. Of course the higher price of 3D tickets has some influence on that but with a 4% increase in attendance as well, things are looking bright. Let's take a look at some of this year's box office winners and losers one last time before we welcome a whole other onslaught in 2010.


The biggest hit of the year belongs to TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. The Michael Bay directed sequel pulled in $402 million domestically, about $80 million more than the original film. And to think Bay was complaining that there wasn't enough promotion being given his summer tentpole before it came out. You need not have worried Mr. Bay. Of course, AVATAR will go on to easily out do the big metal machines by the time it closes its run but for now it will have to settle for second place with $352 million in just three weeks.


The year started out with a bang. A handful of unexpected titles did much better than expected business to get the year started out right. UK export, TAKEN, with unlikely action star, Liam Neeson wowed North American audiences after a successful run abroad the year before (19th place, $145 million). Kevin James proved himself a bankable star with PAUL BLART: MALL COP (18th place, $146 million). Universal was even able to revive a dying franchise with FAST & FURIOUS reuniting the original cast and taking in $155 million for a 16th place finish.


Summer was hot this year, kicking off with X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE in the first weekend of May. The film would go on to earn $179 million and finish the year in 11th place despite a rough version being leaked online just weeks before its release. STAR TREK followed and with a $257 million take, J.J. Abrams has successfully relaunched a long dead franchise. The year's biggest comedy was the unlikely hit, THE HANGOVER. With no big names to pull people into the theatres, they had to rely on laughs alone and they kept people laughing all the way to a final haul of $277 million. Being delayed from the fall before was a great move for everyone's favorite wizard as HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE would go on to earn $301 million for a third place finish for the year. That total is the second highest for the series, just behind the first installment. The later part of summer also saw solid returns for DISTRICT 9 ($115 million, 27th place), G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA ($150 million, 17th place) and Quentin Tarantino's biggest hit of his career, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS ($120 million, 25th place).


With the animated film genre forging ahead into 3D, filmgoers followed along happily and there was plenty of love to go around. Pixar would see its first 3D feature, UP! become its biggest hit since FINDING NEMO. Dreamworks got in the game with the spring hit, MONSTERS VS. ALIENS, the studio's second biggest hit of the year. Mid-summer entry, ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS may have done better overseas but still took in $196 million at home - not bad for an aging franchise. Sony saw modest but impressive returns for CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (24th place overall, $122 million). Even Focus Features found some love for the dark but gorgeous CORALINE (41st place, $75 million).


This year's most unexpected box office success story has to be Sandra Bullock. Sure, ALL ABOUT STEVE tanked but Bullock saw the biggest hit of her career as a lead actress hit theatres in the summer. THE PROPOSAL, co-starring Ryan Reynolds, took in $163 million for a 13th place finish. You'd think that would be enough to lift her spirits but she would then go on to surpass even that with THE BLIND SIDE. The feel-good hit is still tracking but has already pulled in $209 million and has got the industry abuzz with Bullock Oscar talk for the first time. You can't help but feel good for her. I can't anyway.


The indie film scene, at least the Hollywood equivalent of it, was alive and well this year. The unlikely success, PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE took in over $43 million without ever playing on more than 1000 screens. Filmgoers everywhere fell in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, taking in over $32 million. Oscar favorite, UP IN THE AIR, continues to impress week on week as the adult comedy has grossed over $45 million this last month. There is no bigger indie success story this year than PARANORMAL ACTIVITY though. Any film that costs under $15K to make and goes on to make over $107 million in North America alone (29th place) is something quite frightening for Hollywood indeed.


Another scene that is undead and well is the TWILIGHT series. NEW MOON surpassed all expectations to open to $142 million in November. Despite the film being practically unwatchable (yeah, I said it.), it would go on to secure the number five slot for the year with a take of $287 million. It is still tracking too so likely to finish in third place overall.


There are disappointments and then there are duds. In my eyes, the following films are disappointments, if only because I expected that they would do better or they may have started strong and dropped off fast. TERMINATOR SALVATION seemed like it could be one of the most solid summer tentpoles but you cannot call yourself that when you only manage a final take of $125 million (23rd place). Just ahead in 22nd place is ANGELS AND DEMONS, a film that, with a take of $133 million, would earn less than $80 million that its predecessor, THE DA VINCI CODE, earned. Disney's return to 2D animation, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, has been struggling to find an audience during the holidays, a time when it should have been no question. After five weeks, the film has earned just $85 million. If Spike Jonze's WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE had not been blasted for being too dark and sombre for kids, perhaps the quiet masterpiece could have made more than $75 million. And this last one was expected to set the box office ablaze this past spring but WATCHMEN suffered from overexposure before even being released and would go on to earn just $107 million (30th place).


As for the duds, I'm talking about the kind of box office impact that seriously casts doubt on the future of an actor or a series. There are two films that come to mind right away. The first is BRUNO. Twitter, the new word of mouth, killed this film before it even hit the Saturday of its opening weekend. Star, Sasha Baron Cohen will have a hard time convincing Hollywood that he can command BORAT numbers again after a final $60 million take, compared to BORAT's $128 million. And the SAW franchise is in serious danger of being killed off after the sixth installment crumbled under the excitement for PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. The film managed a final take of $27 million, which is less than what the films usually earn in their opening weekend.

It was an exciting year at the box office and 2010 will certainly be no different. Thanks for taking the time to look back with me at the year that was at the box office.

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

Black Sheep's Top 10 of 2009

I sit before my computer on the last day of 2009. In a matter of hours, there will be so much going on that I will not be able find two minutes together to accomplish anything really so it's best that I get this done now, when I can give it the attention it truly deserves. 2009 was a great year for me and the movies. Early on in the year, I began publishing a regular monthly column on The Movie Network's "Movie Entertainment" magazine's website and it has since been picked up by The Movie Network itself. In April, I attended the Tribeca Film Festival for the first time and ended up meeting and interviewing one of my favorite director's, Steven Soderbergh. My interview with him about THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE would go on to be published on CBC's website. In May, I left my day job and prepared to move to Toronto, which I did in July. The summer was a great time to be unemployed and I managed to sustain myself on zero incoming cash until just after the Toronto International Film Festival. This year, I saw nearly 20 films at the festival, compared to a scant five the year before. I also had the chance to sit and interview the star and director of this year's indie success, PRECIOUS. I have had to return to working my day job now but 2010 awaits and I'm closer now than ever before.

Alright, so that's me. Now what about the movies? I knew all year that I was going to be leaving my day job at some point so I was able to get excited about a lot of the movies that were coming out this year. And a lot of them did not disappoint. As per usual, my full list of best performances and films will be coming soon with the announcement of the Mouton d'Or awards in January but the following is my Top 10 films of 2009, in alphabetical order. Even as I write these very words to you, I have a short list of eleven titles and I'm still not sure what will make it and what won't. The suspense is killing me! Anyway, here goes ... (click on any title for the full Black Sheep review)


(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
Directed by Marc Webb


I've seen this film three times and it makes me smile and feel good about everything every time. This anti-love story is so infectious and so enchanting that it somehow ignites my personal quest for love while simultaneously breaking down all the myths about love I've subscribed to all these years. The adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are the cutest couple of the year!


DISTRICT 9
Directed by Neil Blomkamp


When I first saw this film, I was floored. It was original; it was exciting; I was completely convinced that South Africa had been overrun with alien life. It isn't every day that you catch a film that is visually remarkable, action packed and socially conscious at the same time with absolutely no trace of compromise. I was also pretty floored because the moment it ended, I knew it was going to find its way on this list.


AN EDUCATION
Directed by Lone Scherfig


This film was the toast of TIFF and I could not get in no matter how hard I tried. It was well worth the wait. Its classic style and subtle screenplay brought new perspective to the feminist plight. Star, Carey Mulligan carries the ecstasy of a first love with the jubilance of a little girl and the weight of the consequences to dating an older man with grace and restraint. I for one definitely felt like I learnt something.


FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Directed by Wes Anderson


Wes Anderson is a particular taste and I was thrilled to see that taste make a successful transition into the realm of animation. Watching this adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic is a constant delight. It truly digs its own path, striking the perfect balance between adult insight and childlike excitement throughout. In a world where Pixar owns the monopoly on satisfying adult animation (and rightfully so), it is refreshing to see that others out there can not only pull it off too but bring something new as well.


THE HURT LOCKER
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow


By now, you've no doubt seen this film on every Top 10 list in the world. It is an obvious choice but it is also the right choice. Bigelow managed to craft a highly explosive film about trying to make sure bombs don't go off. The film is naturally tense but all the more so because Bigelow sneaks us into this military bomb squad in Iraq by shooting from as many different perspectives as possible. Perhaps this is why it is the least judgmental Iraq war film to date.


PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
Directed by Lee Daniels


From a filmmaking perspective, this one is certainly uneven at times but its boldness is so striking that it certainly earns its place amongst the best of the year. This story of a young woman, overweight, pregnant, illiterate and abused, is the most unlikely of success stories. It is fueled by some of the most brave performances of the year from one of the most eclectic casts of the year. It is Daniels though who deserves the biggest applause here for getting people to stop ignoring this girl and see her for who she is inside.


A SERIOUS MAN
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen


Who knew that the Coen Brothers could get so personal and still feel completely disassociated? Michael Stuhlbarg's incredible performance as Larry Gopnick allows this tale of misfortune to transcend its Jewish roots and become a tale for unlucky folks everywhere. Watching his life is like watching a train wreck just get worse and worse but somehow all the while, thanks to that special Coen touch, deep, genuine sympathy is inspired aplenty.


SIN NOMBRE
Directed by Cory Fukunaga


I cannot say enough good things about this first feature from Cory Fukunaga. Two complete strangers end up on the same journey to cross the Mexican border into the United States and neither their lives nor ours are the same for having the experience. Each of their characters is going through their own individual struggles but the solace they find in each other makes every hardship they suffer worth it. Fukunaga is a bold new voice.


A SINGLE MAN
Directed by Tom Ford


Fashion designer, Tom Ford's directorial debut, is just plain stunning. It's 1960's design is authentic and exquisite and the performances from Colin Firth and Julianne Moore are fresh and exciting for each of them. By adapting Christopher Isherwood's novel of the same name about a man coping with the death of his longtime lover in a world that doesn't acknowledge that love, Ford has made more than a film; he has also made a very compelling argument for gay marriage and the rights that should be afforded gay men and women everywhere. And naturally, he did it in style.


UP IN THE AIR
Directed by Jason Reitman


Films that are decidedly adult in theme and tone have struggled recently to connect with audiences but this one is so perfectly executed that it is not only reaching its audience but going far beyond it. The zeitgeist factors in this film, from the crumbling economic backdrop to the increasingly guarded approach towards love and human interaction, make it easy for most to identify with it. The entire cast (George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick) is lovely; the tone is respectful; and thanks to Reitman, the whole thing soars.


HONOURABLE MENTION: HUNGER
Directed by Steve McQueen


OK, so I found a way to cheat the Top 10. Don't hate on me. I did not include this film in the actual Top 10 as it is considered a 2008 entry but as it did not play in Canada until this year, it warrants mentioning. This 2008 festival favorite went unnoticed in North American cinemas this past spring but that doesn't shock me. Hunger strikes and graphic prison violence are not exactly crowd pleasers. If you are up for it, you must see this film. It will turn your stomach but it will furiously turn the wheels of your mind as well.

There you have it folks. These were my favorite films from 2009. Here is to an excellent 2010!

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: Merry Christmas, Hollywood.

Well, I'm full. I had plenty to eat over the last few days and food exhaustion may be the reason for my late report but I wasn't the only one who ingested a lot this weekend. Moviergoers ate up almost everything Hollywood was serving at the box office for the year's last full frame. Christmas Day has been a launching pad for a variety of fare over the years but this year it fell on a Friday and got a very big present - the biggest Christmas Day opening in history.


SHERLOCK HOLMES may have missed out on the weekend crown - an achievement claimed by AVATAR in its second weekend - but, with $24.8 million on Christmas Day alone, it easily surpassed former champ, MEET THE FOCKERS ($19.5 million), to become the best Christmas Day opening of all time. AVATAR also passed MEET THE FOCKERS, with $23.6 million, which is not bad at all for a film in its second week. SHERLOCK HOLMES ultimately brought in $65.4 million all weekend for a stellar wide per screen average of $18K. I can think of one person who just had the best Christmas of their lives - once-promising director, Guy Ritchie now has his first actual hit. And come to think of it, once washed up actor, Robert Downey Jr., now has two bonafide franchises on his hands. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la, indeed.


James Cameron's AVATAR finished the weekend with $75 million, off only 2.6% from last week. It has already pulled in over $600 million internationally and it's success has naturally sprung talk of a sequel. I implore you, Mr. Cameron, leave this film alone. Take your wonderful technology and incredible imagination and create another great new thing. The point of AVATAR was to create something no one had ever seen and a sequel would inherently defeat that purpose. I'm asking nicely.


Speaking of sequels, ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKEQUEL (sp?), opened in third place after dethroning AVATAR on it's early Wednesday release. When the first film came out, I was floored that anyone wanted to see it but then it was huge. It brought in $44 million opening weekend, a couple of weeks before Christmas, and went on to make $212 million in North America. So this time, I was ready for it. The question wasn't whether it would do well; it was whether it would do better than the first. And I'm sad to say it did. On Wednesday, it brought in $18 million and it would finish its five day run with $77 million, $28 million more than the first made in five-days. Good job, people. I applaud you.


Opening in fourth place, the Nancy Meyers comedy, IT'S COMPLICATED. Comparatively, the opening is modest, pulling in a near $8K average on almost 2900 screens. It is still a strong opening for an R-rated adult comedy and Meyer's second largest December opening, after the Mel Gibson hit, WHAT WOMEN WANT. Not to sound too sexist but I'm thinking that Meryl Streep's biggest fans, people like my mom, were probably busy with holiday stuff this weekend so movies might not have been their priority. Good word of mouth should carry this one well into the new year.


That said, I actually did go to a movie with my mom this Christmas. My holiday movie this year was Rob Marshall's NINE. It was my second viewing and my mom's first (she loved it!). I was disappointed on first viewing and wanted to like it more. I did definitely enjoy it more on second viewing but people were less than enthused about making it their holiday movie. Yes, NINE increased its gross over 2000% this week but it could barely muster a $4K per screen average on 1400 screens. A film with this pedigree and this kind of push should have been much bigger. Oscar chances for the incredible cast and film were on the rise in the last week but the lack of audience support has definitely set them back.


Outside of that, most films in the Top 10 saw slight declines this week - except oddly enough for Disney's A CHRISTMAS CAROL, which plummeted by 60%. I guess the movies are a place to escape Christmas, not celebrate it further. THE BLIND SIDE and INVICTUS saw modest increases well into their runs, proving inspiration goes well with turkey and stuffing. And Oscar hopeful, fan favorite and critic's choice, UP IN THE AIR, expanded to over 1800 screens and saw a healthy 266% increase for a slot in the Top 5.


Outside the Top 10, Heath Ledger's last screen performance, one that was not completed and was filled in by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Ferrell, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS, was attended by Terry Gilliam fans everywhere, pulling in an average of $32K on 4 screens. Personally, I'm avoiding the film. I realized that I would rather leave my last memory of Ledger as THE DARK KNIGHT. There was plenty of holiday cheer actually for platform expansions. Jean-Marc Vallee's THE YOUNG VICTORIA added 143 screens for a 277% increase; Pedro Almodovar's BROKEN EMBRACES added 41 screens and improved over 75%; Tom Ford's A SINGLE MAN added 37 screens and improved over 120%; and CRAZY HEART, starring Oscar hopeful, Jeff Bridges, tacked on 8 screens and saw an 88% increase.


NEXT WEEK: Nothing; I got nothing. That's because there is nothing coming out next week. Hollywood is done with 2009. The only release is a limited one on Wednesday - Austrian director, Michael Haneke's critical darling, THE WHITE RIBBON, bows in New York and L.A. in order to qualify for the Oscars. The box office report will not appear next weekend, in this form that is. I will be looking back at 2009 as a whole and breaking it down into winners and losers. Good times.

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO