Movie Box Review

Above: Nowhere near my fave film of the year - but one of the the few pics I have of me at the theatre!

As we turn to the new year I want to take one final look back at 2011 and some of the very interesting, important and light bulb moments and realizations of the year.

Perfect Isn't Everything
Every year I make a list of films, be it favourite, bests, moments, memories, or a combination of all. I thought I would prefer consistency in this list year after year and at the end of 2010 I thought I had cracked the nut: Perfect Films. Films where there is nothing that needs to change about them and I could recommend widely. And last year I came up with The Perfect List and kept my eye out for them. But this year, I found a wrench thrown into that works with a film called The Adjustment Bureau. I LOVED this movie. But it wasn't perfect. That left me conflicted, because I wanted to give it the highest accolades but it didn't meet the definition I created to litmus test films as a way for ranking. Ah, well. I tried but it just reminds me that matching movies to audience is more clear & helpful than 'defining'.



I Saw Myself In Film
This was likely the biggest revelation I had this year, in film or our and happened in what felt like the most unlikely of place, while watching Soul Surfer. Yes, the film is a biopic on Bethany Hamilton, a teen surfer girl who lives in Hawaii and has some huge challenges to face. I went into this film because I like water movies, but I had no idea what a deep, relating experience it would be. I really 'got' her story. But more than that I felt it was my story too as I went through something similar and seeing it was like seeing a reflection of my own experience. It was a huge revelation not just the experience but that it was so unusual for this to *be* an unusual experience as many people see films to see just that - their experience be it past, present, or future/hopeful on screen. But until then, I never had. In fact, the only other character I've seen in film that I'd say was pretty spot-on like me (when I was a kid) is Lucy Pevensie from the Narnia films. It was really wild, and I can see why people are drawn to films where they see themselves as it's a very powerful experience.



Book to Film Club
One of my biggest endeavours of the year was running the 2011 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club where we read 11 books that were being turned into film adaptations, and 7 of them were released in 2011 with another 1 on DVD and at least 1 being released in 2012. I would have loved for them have all to be released, but sometimes it's hard to gauge! But it was 4,318 pages of book goodness and many insights along the way. I certainly enjoyed some books more than others but overall it was an enlightening, enriching and fun experience and I loved hearing peoples impressions of the books and films. I'll definitely be doing the Book to Film Club again 2012.



Let's hear it for FUN films
I think us film folk can often get tunnel vision focus of 'serious' films, sometimes even leaning on them so hard that we forget films have value for many different reasons. I realized this while in the theatre during 2011 while grinning ear to ear and laughing from deep in my belly. Films like Fast Five, The Three Musketeers (2011), Fright Night (2011), Kung Fu Panda 2 and I Am Number Four. Those were all really fun films that I really enjoyed this past year.



Incomplete Challenges, No Marathon, Wha?
One of the oddities of the year was that I didn't have a marathon, like in previous years when I ran the Vampathon, Wolfathon, Sword & Sandals marathon or even Harry Potter and Star Trek countdowns. I was this close to doing the Summer of SciFi but had to pass on it when I unexpectedly had to move, and I completed an exploration of 33 genres through the Movie Moxie Podcast but I didn't think of that as a marathon (although it was an epic endeavour!). My second 101 Films in 1001 Days came to a bleak close with only seeing 2 of those films in 2011 and only knocking back 71/101. I did pretty well with my Owned/Unseen Challenge and am giving myself the rest of the weekend to knock off the final 3 titles. Looking back though, I realize that the big marathon was the Book to Film Club, it took up the energy and format I used for marathons. Perhaps I also kind of forgot about it because I had 2 planned for 2012 from way early in 2011 that I forgot to do one! It's a mystery.


Above: all the boxes on the floor are boxes of movies

Checking in on the Numbers
I often gripe on the ones that got away, or than one more review that I want to do, but I have to say that I'm pretty happy that come the end of the year I've seen 101 of the 400 theatrical releases, and reviewed 82 of those films (plus an additional 23 straight-ish to DVD), and plan on having another 10 reviewed by the end of the month which will be a 90% review rate (or 80% if I don't do those 10!). Yep. I'm happy with that number. Plus as we turn to 2012 I'm at a total of 999 Reviews. What will be 1,000?

I Felt Like I Was The Audience
When you see as many films as I do, it almost goes without saying that they aren't all 'for you', or in this case 'for me'. Like I noted with Soul Surfer, I'm very used to not having my own experience reflected but that doesn't mean I don't love an appreciate seeing and learning about other ideas and experiences. Sometimes that can be a lot of work, and sometimes it's an idea or point of view I'm neither interested in or care to understand. But on occasion, something beautiful happens and I feel I was actually the intended audience. That I understand the language in which the film is speaking, and that it's speaking directly to me. This year the film that spoke to me was Drive. I understood every moment of that film on a visceral, direct-to-my-heart level. It was very powerful.



So, Yeah... I Don't Really Dig Drama or Comedy.
Another odd revelation for going through the genre analysis, was that these two HUGE genres are never my go to genres. Thankfully we live in a time with enough variety that I can work through almost every other genre before getting to straight-up dramas or comedies. But I will give that for performances, it's hard to beat drama and I found further clarity that with comedy I enjoy Canadian, British & some foreign comedies but given a choice I'll always go for action, art house, dance, martial arts, sport, sword & sandals, vampires, horror, supernatural, fantasy and especially science fiction first. Every time. I still get odd looks when I share this realization with people though, and have run into a few road blocks of possibly not being taken 'seriously', but in a time of films like The Tree of Life, Another Earth and TrollHunter / Trolljegeren I think that's just not the reality.



Monster Movies & B-Movie
Another great revelation this year was realizing a love of B-Movies, especially monster movies. From Sharktopus to Dinoshark to Mega Python vs. Gatoroid to Dinocroc vs Supergator I was all over these crazy movies. They are so much fun, even if they aren't 'good'. Actually, sometimes they are better if they aren't good - but not always. I think one of the things I love about them is that you know what you are getting into. There is a monster/crisis/natural disaster and then the challenge to defeat it and on that journey there will be many one liners, possibly familiar faces and many casualties and screaming along the way. I love them. Best watched with popcorn, and almost always exactly 90 minutes long. Fun times!



Elsewhere
This year I've also been hanging out outside the Movie Moxie mostly in the podcasting realm with Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast which is now at 118 episodes going strong since 2009 and Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural will have it's second anniversary soon - who knew there would be so much paranormal TV to talk about? I've also done several guesting on the Saturday B-Movie Reel over at Tuning into SciFi TV which has been a lot of fun. I love chatting about film (and TV!).



Writing Writing Writing
It's also been a big year of writing for me, and I've done tons of reviews, festival coverage, journalling and planning but I've also been writing a memoir-like something that I don't even really know what it is but it really shifted my thinking on things and led to many interesting realizations, many of which I've discussed here in this post. It's pretty rough and very much about the process over the product, but I would like to keep it up and hopefully have more of the thoughts and ideas translate into the written word here on the site. I guess that is where my 2012 year will begin.

Above: Nowhere near my fave film of the year - but one of the the few pics I have of me at the theatre!

As we turn to the new year I want to take one final look back at 2011 and some of the very interesting, important and light bulb moments and realizations of the year.

Perfect Isn't Everything
Every year I make a list of films, be it favourite, bests, moments, memories, or a combination of all. I thought I would prefer consistency in this list year after year and at the end of 2010 I thought I had cracked the nut: Perfect Films. Films where there is nothing that needs to change about them and I could recommend widely. And last year I came up with The Perfect List and kept my eye out for them. But this year, I found a wrench thrown into that works with a film called The Adjustment Bureau. I LOVED this movie. But it wasn't perfect. That left me conflicted, because I wanted to give it the highest accolades but it didn't meet the definition I created to litmus test films as a way for ranking. Ah, well. I tried but it just reminds me that matching movies to audience is more clear & helpful than 'defining'.



I Saw Myself In Film
This was likely the biggest revelation I had this year, in film or our and happened in what felt like the most unlikely of place, while watching Soul Surfer. Yes, the film is a biopic on Bethany Hamilton, a teen surfer girl who lives in Hawaii and has some huge challenges to face. I went into this film because I like water movies, but I had no idea what a deep, relating experience it would be. I really 'got' her story. But more than that I felt it was my story too as I went through something similar and seeing it was like seeing a reflection of my own experience. It was a huge revelation not just the experience but that it was so unusual for this to *be* an unusual experience as many people see films to see just that - their experience be it past, present, or future/hopeful on screen. But until then, I never had. In fact, the only other character I've seen in film that I'd say was pretty spot-on like me (when I was a kid) is Lucy Pevensie from the Narnia films. It was really wild, and I can see why people are drawn to films where they see themselves as it's a very powerful experience.



Book to Film Club
One of my biggest endeavours of the year was running the 2011 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club where we read 11 books that were being turned into film adaptations, and 7 of them were released in 2011 with another 1 on DVD and at least 1 being released in 2012. I would have loved for them have all to be released, but sometimes it's hard to gauge! But it was 4,318 pages of book goodness and many insights along the way. I certainly enjoyed some books more than others but overall it was an enlightening, enriching and fun experience and I loved hearing peoples impressions of the books and films. I'll definitely be doing the Book to Film Club again 2012.



Let's hear it for FUN films
I think us film folk can often get tunnel vision focus of 'serious' films, sometimes even leaning on them so hard that we forget films have value for many different reasons. I realized this while in the theatre during 2011 while grinning ear to ear and laughing from deep in my belly. Films like Fast Five, The Three Musketeers (2011), Fright Night (2011), Kung Fu Panda 2 and I Am Number Four. Those were all really fun films that I really enjoyed this past year.



Incomplete Challenges, No Marathon, Wha?
One of the oddities of the year was that I didn't have a marathon, like in previous years when I ran the Vampathon, Wolfathon, Sword & Sandals marathon or even Harry Potter and Star Trek countdowns. I was this close to doing the Summer of SciFi but had to pass on it when I unexpectedly had to move, and I completed an exploration of 33 genres through the Movie Moxie Podcast but I didn't think of that as a marathon (although it was an epic endeavour!). My second 101 Films in 1001 Days came to a bleak close with only seeing 2 of those films in 2011 and only knocking back 71/101. I did pretty well with my Owned/Unseen Challenge and am giving myself the rest of the weekend to knock off the final 3 titles. Looking back though, I realize that the big marathon was the Book to Film Club, it took up the energy and format I used for marathons. Perhaps I also kind of forgot about it because I had 2 planned for 2012 from way early in 2011 that I forgot to do one! It's a mystery.


Above: all the boxes on the floor are boxes of movies

Checking in on the Numbers
I often gripe on the ones that got away, or than one more review that I want to do, but I have to say that I'm pretty happy that come the end of the year I've seen 101 of the 400 theatrical releases, and reviewed 82 of those films (plus an additional 23 straight-ish to DVD), and plan on having another 10 reviewed by the end of the month which will be a 90% review rate (or 80% if I don't do those 10!). Yep. I'm happy with that number. Plus as we turn to 2012 I'm at a total of 999 Reviews. What will be 1,000?

I Felt Like I Was The Audience
When you see as many films as I do, it almost goes without saying that they aren't all 'for you', or in this case 'for me'. Like I noted with Soul Surfer, I'm very used to not having my own experience reflected but that doesn't mean I don't love an appreciate seeing and learning about other ideas and experiences. Sometimes that can be a lot of work, and sometimes it's an idea or point of view I'm neither interested in or care to understand. But on occasion, something beautiful happens and I feel I was actually the intended audience. That I understand the language in which the film is speaking, and that it's speaking directly to me. This year the film that spoke to me was Drive. I understood every moment of that film on a visceral, direct-to-my-heart level. It was very powerful.



So, Yeah... I Don't Really Dig Drama or Comedy.
Another odd revelation for going through the genre analysis, was that these two HUGE genres are never my go to genres. Thankfully we live in a time with enough variety that I can work through almost every other genre before getting to straight-up dramas or comedies. But I will give that for performances, it's hard to beat drama and I found further clarity that with comedy I enjoy Canadian, British & some foreign comedies but given a choice I'll always go for action, art house, dance, martial arts, sport, sword & sandals, vampires, horror, supernatural, fantasy and especially science fiction first. Every time. I still get odd looks when I share this realization with people though, and have run into a few road blocks of possibly not being taken 'seriously', but in a time of films like The Tree of Life, Another Earth and TrollHunter / Trolljegeren I think that's just not the reality.



Monster Movies & B-Movie
Another great revelation this year was realizing a love of B-Movies, especially monster movies. From Sharktopus to Dinoshark to Mega Python vs. Gatoroid to Dinocroc vs Supergator I was all over these crazy movies. They are so much fun, even if they aren't 'good'. Actually, sometimes they are better if they aren't good - but not always. I think one of the things I love about them is that you know what you are getting into. There is a monster/crisis/natural disaster and then the challenge to defeat it and on that journey there will be many one liners, possibly familiar faces and many casualties and screaming along the way. I love them. Best watched with popcorn, and almost always exactly 90 minutes long. Fun times!



Elsewhere
This year I've also been hanging out outside the Movie Moxie mostly in the podcasting realm with Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast which is now at 118 episodes going strong since 2009 and Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural will have it's second anniversary soon - who knew there would be so much paranormal TV to talk about? I've also done several guesting on the Saturday B-Movie Reel over at Tuning into SciFi TV which has been a lot of fun. I love chatting about film (and TV!).



Writing Writing Writing
It's also been a big year of writing for me, and I've done tons of reviews, festival coverage, journalling and planning but I've also been writing a memoir-like something that I don't even really know what it is but it really shifted my thinking on things and led to many interesting realizations, many of which I've discussed here in this post. It's pretty rough and very much about the process over the product, but I would like to keep it up and hopefully have more of the thoughts and ideas translate into the written word here on the site. I guess that is where my 2012 year will begin.

In a recently Film Weekly podcast interview with Mark Strong, I was struck by just how beautiful this actors voice was. We've seen him a lot recently, often as the bad guys (Robin Hood (2010), Kick-Ass, Sherlock Holmes) which he does so well, but hearing the interview it was just so nice to hear him talk and we get to hear that lovely voice (and even a few beautifully spoken works in French), which got me to think about voices and how some actors you are just drawn to their voice and would happily hear them recite the phone book. Here are a few more of my favourites.

Vanessa Redgrave. Oddly, I remember her voice most specifically from Deep Impact. She has a scene with Téa Leoni where she's literally just describing something, and I could watch it over and over again to listen to her. It's unbelievable, and I would say my favourite part of that film. She's also absolutely lovely in Letters to Juliet and in the musical Camelot.

Stephen McHattie. I think anyone who has seen Pontypool will agree with me on this one, where he plays radio DJ Grant Mazzy and speaks the majority of the dialogue of the film. A joy to listen to. He's also great in The Rocket / Maurice Richard, a performance that won him a Genie for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.

Tom Hardy. I was reminded by how much I loved Tom Hardy voice as I recent watched RocknRolla for the first time and every time he said something I felt my ears hone in on each word he said. I think it might be a combination of the accent and how his voice resonates, but I couldn't tear my ears away and wouldn't want to. Last year release of Bronson we get to hear him a lot as he's in the title role and in some ways feels like a one-man show and if you turn back the clock a bit you can also see him as Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis.

Those are just a few of my favourite voices. Whose voices do you love?

In a recently Film Weekly podcast interview with Mark Strong, I was struck by just how beautiful this actors voice was. We've seen him a lot recently, often as the bad guys (Robin Hood (2010), Kick-Ass, Sherlock Holmes) which he does so well, but hearing the interview it was just so nice to hear him talk and we get to hear that lovely voice (and even a few beautifully spoken works in French), which got me to think about voices and how some actors you are just drawn to their voice and would happily hear them recite the phone book. Here are a few more of my favourites.

Vanessa Redgrave. Oddly, I remember her voice most specifically from Deep Impact. She has a scene with Téa Leoni where she's literally just describing something, and I could watch it over and over again to listen to her. It's unbelievable, and I would say my favourite part of that film. She's also absolutely lovely in Letters to Juliet and in the musical Camelot.

Stephen McHattie. I think anyone who has seen Pontypool will agree with me on this one, where he plays radio DJ Grant Mazzy and speaks the majority of the dialogue of the film. A joy to listen to. He's also great in The Rocket / Maurice Richard, a performance that won him a Genie for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.

Tom Hardy. I was reminded by how much I loved Tom Hardy voice as I recent watched RocknRolla for the first time and every time he said something I felt my ears hone in on each word he said. I think it might be a combination of the accent and how his voice resonates, but I couldn't tear my ears away and wouldn't want to. Last year release of Bronson we get to hear him a lot as he's in the title role and in some ways feels like a one-man show and if you turn back the clock a bit you can also see him as Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis.

Those are just a few of my favourite voices. Whose voices do you love?

Last week on the MTV Movie Awards featured many forms of entertainment from dance numbers, speeches and skits, but also gave us more of a new norm with it in the form of new trailers and film clips for upcoming films. I remember they did this on the awards last year as well, as it was when the New Moon trailer first debuted. This year we had a clip from the upcoming The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and a trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

I watched the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse clip, because I couldn't resist (and co-hosting a Twilight podcast means it's technically 'research' :), but I didn't watch the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 trailer. In fact, I ran from the room and tweeted about it saying it was the beginning of the long stretch of time of avoiding all there is to avoid about Harry Potter.

Now, this isn't because I don't like the Harry Potter world. I love it. I LOVE IT. Last year I re-watched and reviewed all the Harry Potter films and this year I'm re-reading all the books. But, I don't watch any of the trailers for this particular franchise (I slipped once, don't tell anyone!), and the reason is I'm already sold on it. I will see the film. Probably the first day of release. Likely multiple times in the theatre. I don't need to see or know anything more about the film. I'll be there.

But, in not watching it does mean I'm missing out on the reactions and hype from now until November and that's becoming more and more part of the culture of film. People look forward to them, chat about them, spoof them, critique them, once they are out - people are all over them. Also, trailers for the big films actually have release dates and are strategically released on shows like the MTV Movie Awards or aligned to audiences through what films they show in front of. But there are some film that I just don't want to see anything for, it's not a new thing for me - the first time I remember actively avoiding the trailer was for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (and boy was that worth going in blind!). With the Harry Potter series, I think they've done a great job adapting the book to films and it's one of the few examples where I've enjoyed the films more than the books. I'm also way less familiar with the books and giving that Deathly Hallows is going to be a new format of 1 book 2 films, I have no idea what they are going to do. And I don't want to - I trust it will be interesting to see without knowing anything about it. I'm looking forward to it, I want to support it, I excited for it and I just don't want to know anything more about it.

The clip from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a bit of a different story. It's one that I almost felt like I couldn't not watch it. I knew it would be part of the talk over at Before the Dawn, and well ... it's Twilight, what can I say, it has that pull to want to watch it. It's funny because it feels like they've been holding their cards close to their hearts on footages, images and clips for such a long time and in the past few weeks the amount of content has exploded, many of which are official images. I did watch the clip, but I'm getting close to not watching any more as I want to save some to the experience of seeing it on the big screen. But, clips are a different beast from trailers. Trailers are intended to be see on their own, to be just a few moments to give you a taste of the film. But watching clips, feel very different as they almost always feel out of context. Rarely to we have time to settle into the world and let the atmosphere take us it. They can serve to let you know that an important scene is included, show neat effects, great acting, etc. but rarely do they feel like they will be as powerful as you see them in the film. I think trailers are created and seen in the format they are intended, where as clips seen out of context, can feel a bit strange. I know watching the Eclipse clip I kept wonder about the music and if that was the score we'll hear in the film.

These are two films and worlds that I acknowledge that I'm already very well versed in, so just a brief moment can say a lot. We've seen a lot of great trailers this year, two that I saw many many times but still think are really good are Kick-Ass (see trailer) and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (see trailer). Kick-Ass especially as it really gives the tone of the film without telling us all the content. Upcoming films this year where the trailers has won me over where the premise alone may not have include: The Kids are Alright (see trailer), Knight and Day (see trailer) and The Adjustment Bureau (see trailer).

What's your take? Do you like to see trailers or clips? Both? The most recent poll shows that trailers themselves make up a huge percentage of what contributes to making a decision. How about clips? Or even when films have 'the first five minutes' available? Do you watch them? Avoid them? Have they made you take a chance on a film you'd otherwise not? Do you find they enhance the experience of film, or say to much?

If you do want to see the clips and trailers from the MTV Movie Awards - Geeks of Doom has them all here. Or if you only want to see one or the other you can watch the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse trailer clip here and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 trailer here.

Last week on the MTV Movie Awards featured many forms of entertainment from dance numbers, speeches and skits, but also gave us more of a new norm with it in the form of new trailers and film clips for upcoming films. I remember they did this on the awards last year as well, as it was when the New Moon trailer first debuted. This year we had a clip from the upcoming The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and a trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

I watched the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse clip, because I couldn't resist (and co-hosting a Twilight podcast means it's technically 'research' :), but I didn't watch the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 trailer. In fact, I ran from the room and tweeted about it saying it was the beginning of the long stretch of time of avoiding all there is to avoid about Harry Potter.

Now, this isn't because I don't like the Harry Potter world. I love it. I LOVE IT. Last year I re-watched and reviewed all the Harry Potter films and this year I'm re-reading all the books. But, I don't watch any of the trailers for this particular franchise (I slipped once, don't tell anyone!), and the reason is I'm already sold on it. I will see the film. Probably the first day of release. Likely multiple times in the theatre. I don't need to see or know anything more about the film. I'll be there.

But, in not watching it does mean I'm missing out on the reactions and hype from now until November and that's becoming more and more part of the culture of film. People look forward to them, chat about them, spoof them, critique them, once they are out - people are all over them. Also, trailers for the big films actually have release dates and are strategically released on shows like the MTV Movie Awards or aligned to audiences through what films they show in front of. But there are some film that I just don't want to see anything for, it's not a new thing for me - the first time I remember actively avoiding the trailer was for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (and boy was that worth going in blind!). With the Harry Potter series, I think they've done a great job adapting the book to films and it's one of the few examples where I've enjoyed the films more than the books. I'm also way less familiar with the books and giving that Deathly Hallows is going to be a new format of 1 book 2 films, I have no idea what they are going to do. And I don't want to - I trust it will be interesting to see without knowing anything about it. I'm looking forward to it, I want to support it, I excited for it and I just don't want to know anything more about it.

The clip from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a bit of a different story. It's one that I almost felt like I couldn't not watch it. I knew it would be part of the talk over at Before the Dawn, and well ... it's Twilight, what can I say, it has that pull to want to watch it. It's funny because it feels like they've been holding their cards close to their hearts on footages, images and clips for such a long time and in the past few weeks the amount of content has exploded, many of which are official images. I did watch the clip, but I'm getting close to not watching any more as I want to save some to the experience of seeing it on the big screen. But, clips are a different beast from trailers. Trailers are intended to be see on their own, to be just a few moments to give you a taste of the film. But watching clips, feel very different as they almost always feel out of context. Rarely to we have time to settle into the world and let the atmosphere take us it. They can serve to let you know that an important scene is included, show neat effects, great acting, etc. but rarely do they feel like they will be as powerful as you see them in the film. I think trailers are created and seen in the format they are intended, where as clips seen out of context, can feel a bit strange. I know watching the Eclipse clip I kept wonder about the music and if that was the score we'll hear in the film.

These are two films and worlds that I acknowledge that I'm already very well versed in, so just a brief moment can say a lot. We've seen a lot of great trailers this year, two that I saw many many times but still think are really good are Kick-Ass (see trailer) and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (see trailer). Kick-Ass especially as it really gives the tone of the film without telling us all the content. Upcoming films this year where the trailers has won me over where the premise alone may not have include: The Kids are Alright (see trailer), Knight and Day (see trailer) and The Adjustment Bureau (see trailer).

What's your take? Do you like to see trailers or clips? Both? The most recent poll shows that trailers themselves make up a huge percentage of what contributes to making a decision. How about clips? Or even when films have 'the first five minutes' available? Do you watch them? Avoid them? Have they made you take a chance on a film you'd otherwise not? Do you find they enhance the experience of film, or say to much?

If you do want to see the clips and trailers from the MTV Movie Awards - Geeks of Doom has them all here. Or if you only want to see one or the other you can watch the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse trailer clip here and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 trailer here.

I've been keeping an eye on films released though the year, as I always do, but with a particular look at gender dynamics and sole protagonists vs. ensemble cast and in doing so noticed an trend that has taken me a bit by surprize. This is the double protagonist with a male and female lead, not romance-focused, although it's usually involved somewhere plus crossing over not one but several genres. Phew, I think I got that all out there in one go. The majority of the films that fall under this umbrella are 2 big stars in romcomesque + at least one other genre, often action of some kind. They are all different enough that it's no do-over of trending of the likes of Armageddon/Deep Impact days, and it's a good 5 years since we say Mr. and Mrs. Smith, so I wonder what's brought this crop to harvest within months of each other?

Now, romcoms are no stranger to double protagonist films, as are buddy cop movies and adversary crime films, but the films that follow this new pattern have elements of sometimes all of these things. The films that have been on the radar here are The Bounty Hunter, Date Night, Killers, Knight and Day, and The Adjustment Bureau.

None of them are straight up romcoms or romances, but there is a couple or ex-couple or possible couple in all of them, plus an action and/or thriller element to them as well. That's a lot for 1 film, no? And times that by 5 films. Weird. Does having more elements to each film make it more appealing, or even broaden an audience that wouldn't be sold on a straight-up dramatic or romantic story? Do we, the audience, expect some kind of action in almost every film we see now? Explosions! Yay! Myself, I don't *need* explosions in a film. Nothing wrong with them, but they don't get a tick box on any kind of score card I'd keep. Or, is it playing the gender card of having both romance + action targeted to please a 'normal couple' stereotype of the ladies liking the romance and the guys liking the action?

Out of the options there, I'm going to pull a different card. The casting. We are seeing stars here - double billed and equally represented star power and that I'm liking. Steve Carell & Tina Fey? Even for a non-comedy centric me, that got me in the theatre to see Date Night. Tom Cruise & Cameron Diaz as inadvertent must-stick-together adventurers in Knight and Day? Yep - I'm sold. And no one is going to be able to keep me away from seeing Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau (Sept 17, 2010 can't come soon enough!), and it's billed as Sci-Fi/Romance. That's a happy dance moment (check out the trailer if you are yet to be convinced). When you look at the pairings, they are predominately a female comedic actor with male action stars. Very interesting.

I'm not sure if some of these are spinning too many plates or not. I'm all for genre mash ups, but these feel like a bit of a new breed. What are your thoughts? Which films are you interested in why? The action, romance, casting, plot or all of the above? Which aren't appealing?

Here's a few details on each of the films mentioned.

The Bounty Hunter
Female Lead: Jennifer Aniston (Love Happens, Marley & Me, The Break-Up)
Male Lead: Gerard Butler (Gamer, RocknRolla, 300)
Genre: Action/Crime/Comedy/Romance
Plot: A bounty hunter (Gerard Butler) gets a case to target his ex-wife (Jennifer Aniston), a journalist working to crack a murder case.
Release Date: Friday March 19, 2010

Date Night
Female Lead: Tina Fey (Baby Mama)
Male Lead: Steve Carell (Get Smart, Dan in Real Life, The 40 Year Old Virgin)
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Thriller
Plot: An everyday married couple with kids insists on having their date night, which leads to a little more action than they expected
Release Date: Friday April 9, 2010

Killers
Female Lead: Katherine Heigl (27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth, Knocked Up)
Male Lead: Ashton Kutcher (Spread, The Guardian)
Genre: Action/Comedy/Romance/Thriller
Plot: Swiftly together new couple are keeping secrets, of the 'I'm a secret agent' variety.
Release Date: Friday June 4, 2010

Knight and Day
Female Lead: Cameron Diaz (The Box, My Sister's Keeper, There's Something About Mary)
Male Lead: Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible, Vanilla Sky, The Firm)
Genre: Action/Comedy
Plot: Two strangers thrown together and end up constantly on the run
Release Date: Friday June 25, 2010

The Adjustment Bureau
Female Lead: Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria, The Wolfman (2010), The Devil Wears Prada)
Male Lead: Matt Damon (Bourne Trilogy, The Departed, Gerry)
Genre: Romance/Sci-Fi
Plot: A chance meeting of a politician & a ballerina lead to mysterious complications
Release Date: Friday September 17, 2010

I've been keeping an eye on films released though the year, as I always do, but with a particular look at gender dynamics and sole protagonists vs. ensemble cast and in doing so noticed an trend that has taken me a bit by surprize. This is the double protagonist with a male and female lead, not romance-focused, although it's usually involved somewhere plus crossing over not one but several genres. Phew, I think I got that all out there in one go. The majority of the films that fall under this umbrella are 2 big stars in romcomesque + at least one other genre, often action of some kind. They are all different enough that it's no do-over of trending of the likes of Armageddon/Deep Impact days, and it's a good 5 years since we say Mr. and Mrs. Smith, so I wonder what's brought this crop to harvest within months of each other?

Now, romcoms are no stranger to double protagonist films, as are buddy cop movies and adversary crime films, but the films that follow this new pattern have elements of sometimes all of these things. The films that have been on the radar here are The Bounty Hunter, Date Night, Killers, Knight and Day, and The Adjustment Bureau.

None of them are straight up romcoms or romances, but there is a couple or ex-couple or possible couple in all of them, plus an action and/or thriller element to them as well. That's a lot for 1 film, no? And times that by 5 films. Weird. Does having more elements to each film make it more appealing, or even broaden an audience that wouldn't be sold on a straight-up dramatic or romantic story? Do we, the audience, expect some kind of action in almost every film we see now? Explosions! Yay! Myself, I don't *need* explosions in a film. Nothing wrong with them, but they don't get a tick box on any kind of score card I'd keep. Or, is it playing the gender card of having both romance + action targeted to please a 'normal couple' stereotype of the ladies liking the romance and the guys liking the action?

Out of the options there, I'm going to pull a different card. The casting. We are seeing stars here - double billed and equally represented star power and that I'm liking. Steve Carell & Tina Fey? Even for a non-comedy centric me, that got me in the theatre to see Date Night. Tom Cruise & Cameron Diaz as inadvertent must-stick-together adventurers in Knight and Day? Yep - I'm sold. And no one is going to be able to keep me away from seeing Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau (Sept 17, 2010 can't come soon enough!), and it's billed as Sci-Fi/Romance. That's a happy dance moment (check out the trailer if you are yet to be convinced). When you look at the pairings, they are predominately a female comedic actor with male action stars. Very interesting.

I'm not sure if some of these are spinning too many plates or not. I'm all for genre mash ups, but these feel like a bit of a new breed. What are your thoughts? Which films are you interested in why? The action, romance, casting, plot or all of the above? Which aren't appealing?

Here's a few details on each of the films mentioned.

The Bounty Hunter
Female Lead: Jennifer Aniston (Love Happens, Marley & Me, The Break-Up)
Male Lead: Gerard Butler (Gamer, RocknRolla, 300)
Genre: Action/Crime/Comedy/Romance
Plot: A bounty hunter (Gerard Butler) gets a case to target his ex-wife (Jennifer Aniston), a journalist working to crack a murder case.
Release Date: Friday March 19, 2010

Date Night
Female Lead: Tina Fey (Baby Mama)
Male Lead: Steve Carell (Get Smart, Dan in Real Life, The 40 Year Old Virgin)
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Thriller
Plot: An everyday married couple with kids insists on having their date night, which leads to a little more action than they expected
Release Date: Friday April 9, 2010

Killers
Female Lead: Katherine Heigl (27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth, Knocked Up)
Male Lead: Ashton Kutcher (Spread, The Guardian)
Genre: Action/Comedy/Romance/Thriller
Plot: Swiftly together new couple are keeping secrets, of the 'I'm a secret agent' variety.
Release Date: Friday June 4, 2010

Knight and Day
Female Lead: Cameron Diaz (The Box, My Sister's Keeper, There's Something About Mary)
Male Lead: Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible, Vanilla Sky, The Firm)
Genre: Action/Comedy
Plot: Two strangers thrown together and end up constantly on the run
Release Date: Friday June 25, 2010

The Adjustment Bureau
Female Lead: Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria, The Wolfman (2010), The Devil Wears Prada)
Male Lead: Matt Damon (Bourne Trilogy, The Departed, Gerry)
Genre: Romance/Sci-Fi
Plot: A chance meeting of a politician & a ballerina lead to mysterious complications
Release Date: Friday September 17, 2010

Me on the fateful day of watching the pilot episode of "LOST". Photo credit: my sister Jamie

Sunday May 23, 2010 was the perfect day to write this. Why, you ask? Because it was a day I kept Tweetdeck & Twitter closed, I didn't log on to Facebook, and when I inadvertently checked IMDb and Zap2it I closed them and quickly vowed to stay away from them for the rest of the day. Why did I do that with sites & services that I use every day? I wasn't having an internet free day, but self-imposed social media and tv/film blackout as it was the night of the last episode ever of "LOST". And I was determined to get to that last episode of the epic 6 season journey without any spoilers.

This post is 100% spoiler-free, by the way.

I was a latecomer to "LOST". I remember when it started and everyone was all yakkity yak about it but it didn't hold any appeal to me. I even saw 2 episodes of season two with my sister Suzie way back when and we spent more time talking and explaining the freaking show than actually watching it - it was way too much to understand coming in late. Then, last April during my sister Jamie's reno she shared the secret that she and her husband were watching it on DVD. And then she shared the first episode with me. Then the second. Then lent me the DVDs, which I burned through watching the series unfold as I knitted into the wee hours of the night. I was hooked.

I was in love with "LOST". But, I had to keep it a secret. I was seasons behind everyone for months so I had to keep it under wraps. One image or comment could give something away from seasons ahead. More than once I ran away from my TV if they played a commercial and I literally stapled pages together in Entertainment Weekly if they had a story on the show. Any kernel of information could shatter a house of cards being perfectly and purposefully built in front of my very eyes. I didn't want to hear theories, explanations, definitions, casting.... nothing. I wanted to watch it unfold and see the story as it was meant to be told.

But, now I can let that go and share my love of the show. I can scream it, I can shout it. I LOVE YOU "LOST"! I really do. Do you want to know why?

Yes, this post will continue to be 100% spoiler-free.

I love "LOST" for its great storytelling. For keeping us guessing, even when we didn't know we would be guessing. I love "LOST" for providing us with a multicultural, dynamic and talented cast. I love "LOST" because it has characters to love, characters to hate and characters we hate to love & love to hate. I love "LOST" for being consistent. Yes, consistent - I now that sounds boring but it ain't! I love "LOST" for being gusty. For being more than a little zany.

So, why the heck am I writing about "LOST" on Movie Moxie? It's TV not film, right? True. But, one of the reason I love "LOST" so dearly is because it is one of the only things I've seen in recent history where people actively try to be spoiler-free. They know how good the show is, and don't want to ruin the experience for others. This is something I work on and strive for with every review I write and every post I make. It's not easy, but I'm committed to it and I think it's worth it. From my very first film reviews of In The Heat of the Night I wrote "Although I thought I would end up posting movie reviews that included spoilers I just can't do it for this film". That day I wrote more reviews for Ong-Bak & Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor, and I still didn't do spoilers. After a while I realized never wanted to do spoilers. Ever. It's been 4 years and over 600 film reviews later, and I've stuck with being spoiler-free the whole way.

Why spoiler-free? Well, I've never had a film experience enhanced by having the film spoiled to me. Never. I've also never heard someone say "I'm so glad I knew the ending/twist/reveal." either. But I have had and heard people talk about having a film spoiled for them, and it's not fun or nice. I've certainly never heard of it encouraging someone to see a film, and isn't that what talking about film or reading reviews is all about? I review films with this objective in mind: that from the perspective of the reader, they will be able to determine whether or not they'd want to see the film. It can certainly still be a challenge, as it was just last week writing a review of Harry Brown. But it's still worth it - because lo and behold one of the commenters mentioned having that film spoiled to them somewhere else along the way.

I go to great lengths to try and avoid this. Last year was a huge challenge on that front and I literally ran from a friend who was going to tell me an anecdote about Star Trek less then 2 hours before I made it to see the film without knowing anything about it. I ran. I apologized for it later, and the story wouldn't have been a spoiler, but I wasn't willing to chance it.

I can understand why people want to share the details of things they are excited about or feel strongly for. Discussing a film in depth is after all one of the funnest parts of being a film fan. But remember back to that moment when you saw a big reveal? The beauty of that moment was all the build up and careful maneuvering to get you there. Let us get there too, so we can have that moment.

The good news is, you can talk about films without giving too much away. It's a completely learnable skill. To start simply, ask the person if they've seen the film. If they have - go nuts. If not, try mentioning what you liked about it thematically, instead of specifically. Compare it to another film perhaps, in terms of style or pacing. What was the spirit of what you enjoyed about it, or hated it? The setting (other than occasion SciFi film) is usually safe to share. Character descriptions can be safe too, as long as you talk about them from the perspective of the character at the beginning film (if it's linear narrative). You can talk about how the film made you feel or if you'd like to see it again. You can say what the perfect setting would be to see it, or if who you saw it with and if you agreed with your opinion of it or not. Also, who might like it and why? It's about context, not content. And don't be afraid to put a hold on the conversation if you think it's going too far. You can always decided to chat about it again once everyone has seen the film.




"LOST" in 6 Seasons brought me 3 Sweaters, countless teas, many tears and many memories

Me on the fateful day of watching the pilot episode of "LOST". Photo credit: my sister Jamie

Sunday May 23, 2010 was the perfect day to write this. Why, you ask? Because it was a day I kept Tweetdeck & Twitter closed, I didn't log on to Facebook, and when I inadvertently checked IMDb and Zap2it I closed them and quickly vowed to stay away from them for the rest of the day. Why did I do that with sites & services that I use every day? I wasn't having an internet free day, but self-imposed social media and tv/film blackout as it was the night of the last episode ever of "LOST". And I was determined to get to that last episode of the epic 6 season journey without any spoilers.

This post is 100% spoiler-free, by the way.

I was a latecomer to "LOST". I remember when it started and everyone was all yakkity yak about it but it didn't hold any appeal to me. I even saw 2 episodes of season two with my sister Suzie way back when and we spent more time talking and explaining the freaking show than actually watching it - it was way too much to understand coming in late. Then, last April during my sister Jamie's reno she shared the secret that she and her husband were watching it on DVD. And then she shared the first episode with me. Then the second. Then lent me the DVDs, which I burned through watching the series unfold as I knitted into the wee hours of the night. I was hooked.

I was in love with "LOST". But, I had to keep it a secret. I was seasons behind everyone for months so I had to keep it under wraps. One image or comment could give something away from seasons ahead. More than once I ran away from my TV if they played a commercial and I literally stapled pages together in Entertainment Weekly if they had a story on the show. Any kernel of information could shatter a house of cards being perfectly and purposefully built in front of my very eyes. I didn't want to hear theories, explanations, definitions, casting.... nothing. I wanted to watch it unfold and see the story as it was meant to be told.

But, now I can let that go and share my love of the show. I can scream it, I can shout it. I LOVE YOU "LOST"! I really do. Do you want to know why?

Yes, this post will continue to be 100% spoiler-free.

I love "LOST" for its great storytelling. For keeping us guessing, even when we didn't know we would be guessing. I love "LOST" for providing us with a multicultural, dynamic and talented cast. I love "LOST" because it has characters to love, characters to hate and characters we hate to love & love to hate. I love "LOST" for being consistent. Yes, consistent - I now that sounds boring but it ain't! I love "LOST" for being gusty. For being more than a little zany.

So, why the heck am I writing about "LOST" on Movie Moxie? It's TV not film, right? True. But, one of the reason I love "LOST" so dearly is because it is one of the only things I've seen in recent history where people actively try to be spoiler-free. They know how good the show is, and don't want to ruin the experience for others. This is something I work on and strive for with every review I write and every post I make. It's not easy, but I'm committed to it and I think it's worth it. From my very first film reviews of In The Heat of the Night I wrote "Although I thought I would end up posting movie reviews that included spoilers I just can't do it for this film". That day I wrote more reviews for Ong-Bak & Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor, and I still didn't do spoilers. After a while I realized never wanted to do spoilers. Ever. It's been 4 years and over 600 film reviews later, and I've stuck with being spoiler-free the whole way.

Why spoiler-free? Well, I've never had a film experience enhanced by having the film spoiled to me. Never. I've also never heard someone say "I'm so glad I knew the ending/twist/reveal." either. But I have had and heard people talk about having a film spoiled for them, and it's not fun or nice. I've certainly never heard of it encouraging someone to see a film, and isn't that what talking about film or reading reviews is all about? I review films with this objective in mind: that from the perspective of the reader, they will be able to determine whether or not they'd want to see the film. It can certainly still be a challenge, as it was just last week writing a review of Harry Brown. But it's still worth it - because lo and behold one of the commenters mentioned having that film spoiled to them somewhere else along the way.

I go to great lengths to try and avoid this. Last year was a huge challenge on that front and I literally ran from a friend who was going to tell me an anecdote about Star Trek less then 2 hours before I made it to see the film without knowing anything about it. I ran. I apologized for it later, and the story wouldn't have been a spoiler, but I wasn't willing to chance it.

I can understand why people want to share the details of things they are excited about or feel strongly for. Discussing a film in depth is after all one of the funnest parts of being a film fan. But remember back to that moment when you saw a big reveal? The beauty of that moment was all the build up and careful maneuvering to get you there. Let us get there too, so we can have that moment.

The good news is, you can talk about films without giving too much away. It's a completely learnable skill. To start simply, ask the person if they've seen the film. If they have - go nuts. If not, try mentioning what you liked about it thematically, instead of specifically. Compare it to another film perhaps, in terms of style or pacing. What was the spirit of what you enjoyed about it, or hated it? The setting (other than occasion SciFi film) is usually safe to share. Character descriptions can be safe too, as long as you talk about them from the perspective of the character at the beginning film (if it's linear narrative). You can talk about how the film made you feel or if you'd like to see it again. You can say what the perfect setting would be to see it, or if who you saw it with and if you agreed with your opinion of it or not. Also, who might like it and why? It's about context, not content. And don't be afraid to put a hold on the conversation if you think it's going too far. You can always decided to chat about it again once everyone has seen the film.




"LOST" in 6 Seasons brought me 3 Sweaters, countless teas, many tears and many memories