Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

This sequel featuring the egomaniac 1980s TV personality has some laughs, lots of cringes, and some yawns and is something to watch in a few months when you're home with some drinks and can watch it for free on cable, especially for the last half hour rife with dozens of cameos.

Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate reprise their roles from the 2004 version, which I think I saw but don't remember. Ferrell once again co-writes with director Adam McKay (The Other Guys).

Rottentomatoes critics average 75% to audiences' 68. Jack liked it more than I did.

Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

Jack and I enjoyed, as we expected, this story of prickly writer P.L. Travers being wooed by Walt Disney to sell him the rights to her novel Mary Poppins. A New Yorker subscriber since the 1970s, I had read the long 2005 article (you can read it too!) so knew a bit of the story. Writers Kelly Marcel (this is her feature debut and next is Fifty Shades of Grey) and Sue Smith (new to me) fleshed out the plot for director John Lee Hancock (I've seen only The Blind Side of his four previous features) to include Travers' Australian childhood. Trivia point: Marcel wrote the first draft, which was on the prestigious Hollywood "Black List" of the best unsold un-produced screenplays of 2011.

In the 1960s-era cast Emma Thompson (last blogged in Brave) is brilliant as the tight-lipped adult Travers; Tom Hanks (most recently in Captain Phillips) endearing as Disney, who just happens to have been a distant cousin of Hanks; Jason Schwartzman (mentioned in Moonrise Kingdom and covered in Fantastic Mr. Fox) and B.J. Novak (last in Inglourious Basterds) are great as the songwriting Sherman brothers; as are Bradley Whitford (he's done a bunch of features but is best known as Josh Lyman on 154 episodes of The West Wing, 22 wonderful episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as Danny Tripp, and I'm enjoying him in the dumb sitcom Trophy Wife) as the baffled producer and Paul Giamatti (mentioned in 12 Years a Slave, credits listed in The Ides of March) as the sweet driver. In the 1910s sequences, Annie Rose Buckley is adorable in her feature debut as little Helen, Colin Farrell (last in Seven Psychopaths), inexplicably missing from the trailer, is powerful as Helen's beloved father Travers Goff, and Ruth Wilson (The Lone Ranger) is no slouch as Helen's mother Margaret.

John Schwartzman (half-brother of Jason, Oscar-nominated for shooting Seabiscuit (2003), he has other good works including Benny & Joon (1993), Edtv (1999), The Bucket List (2007), and The Amazing Spider-Man) keeps the picture Disney-lush with help from the production design and picture car teams.

Thomas Newman (most recently in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) gives us a lovely suite of music (preview it on amazon) mixed in with the Disney score and a few other tunes, including jazzman Dave Brubeck's 1957 version of Heigh-Ho.

Here are some more articles for enthusiasts to read: one, two, three, four--I can't vouch for all of them--but imagine there are spoilers galore, so read after seeing the movie.

Rottentomatoes audiences are in line with us, averaging 90% to critics' 81. This is not a totally feel-good movie (rated PG-13 for some disturbing themes), but we do recommend it. Don't rush out of the room when the credits begin, as you will be treated to some fascinating vintage photos and audio.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

I knew I would love this loose adaptation of the James Thurber short story about a meek man who fantasizes about being bold. Some friends and I decided that Thurber's protagonist, a henpecked married man, would be just plain pathetic now, and this one, played and directed by Ben Stiller (most recently blogged in Tower Heist) and written for the screen by Steve Conrad (The Weather Man (2005), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)), is merely painfully shy with his eye on a pretty co-worker, Cheryl, played by Kristen Wiig (last in Girl Most Likely), and a hero he admires played by Sean Penn (last in Gangster Squad). Conrad came to our university for a sold out advance screening and is a humble, nice guy with a lot of respect for the original Thurber material and a great sense of humor. That said, this is also an action picture with great special effects and beautiful festival award-nominated photography by Stuart Dryburgh (covered in Amelia). 140 (!) actors are listed on the imdb page but the only other one I want to mention is Patton Oswalt, a favorite of mine who was last blogged in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, and here plays mostly a voice on the phone. It's not a spoiler to tell you who it is so you don't have to wrack your brain, as Mary Ellen and I did, to identify his voice.

Composer Theodore Shapiro (last in We're the Millers) is also nominated--no, the Oscar nominations are not out yet--for a varied score that goes from dreamy (featuring guitarist José Gonzalez) to pounding. Hear one track on youtube, preview the whole score on the amazon page and listen, if you wish, to the companion tracks.

Unfortunately Jack was out of town for the advance screening over two weeks ago. I was willing to see it with Amy and him yesterday when our first choice for a Christmas movie was sold out, but only two tickets were available for the three of us so we went home and watched a Pay-per-View (more on that in a later post).

Apparently Thurber didn't like the 1947 Danny Kaye version. Rottentomatoes critics feel the same about this one, averaging 47% to audiences' 77. We loved it and so did many of the people in the room earlier this month. I did not get motion sick after wisely moving toward the rear of the room, but did have to put my fingers in my ears at an unnecessarily loud music cue in a mountain scene.

All is Lost (2013)

This one-man show is very good, starring Robert Redford as a nameless 70-something solo sailor struggling to survive peril after peril in open water. It opens with "Our Man" reading from his journal and there are no more than a dozen words spoken after that. I covered Redford in The Company You Keep; director/writer J.C. Chandor made his feature debut with Margin Call; and Alex Ebert, leader of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, composes the haunting music, clips of which can be heard on the amazon page.

Rottentomatoes critics are more enthusiastic at 93% than its audiences at 70, but this is another to watch for awards season. That said, sufferers of Motion Picture Motion Sickness (MPMS) should sit in the back row or wait for the DVD release in mid-February.

Nebraska (2013)

We liked a lot this story of a father, on the verge of dementia, and his grown son on a road trip to claim a million dollar sweepstakes the father is convinced he has won. With deserved award-winning and -nominated performances by Bruce Dern (Oscar-nominated for playing Jane Fonda's husband in Coming Home (1978), he was also great in The Great Gatsby (1974) as Tom Buchanan, That Championship Season (1982), 29 episodes of Big Love (2006-11), and many more, among his almost 150 roles) as the father, Will Forte (I know him as cross-dressing Paul on 13 episodes of 30 Rock (2007-2012) and didn't realize he was on 158 episodes of Saturday Night Live from 2002-12, among his 59 acting credits) playing it straight as the son, June Squibb (her face was familiar but I would not have been able to tell you she was in 41 things, including Scent of a Woman (1992) and About Schmidt (2002)) as the mother, director Alexander Payne (covered in The Descendants), writer Bob Nelson (his first feature after two TV series), it also features cameos by Bob Odenkirk (last in The Spectacular Now) and Stacy Keach (the winner in this post, he's got 189 acting credits but nothing really calls out to me--I must be tired), and Rance Howard (father of Ron and Clint).

The beautiful black and white photography is by Phedon Papamichael (last blogged in This is 40) who is also someone to watch this awards season.

I said to Jack afterwards that all of the music seemed to be in 3/4 time. I found the soundtrack by Mark Orton streaming on this page and correct myself that most of it but not all is in waltz time--either 3/4 or 6/8. Very nice guitar work with other strings. There are plenty of songs listed on imdb as well.

Film fans should see this before the Oscars. Don't just take our word for it--rottentomatoes critics average a whopping 91% and audiences 89.

Go for Sisters (2013)

This tale of two old friends reunited on opposite sides of the parole officer's desk caused Jack to dub it "the most languidly-paced thriller ever" and had me checking the time before it was half over. More interested in character than plot, director/writer John Sayles (I haven't seen his two Oscar-nominated screenplays Passion Fish (1992) nor Lone Star (1996), but can vouch for his excellence in Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979), Lianna (1983), The Brother from Another Planet (1984), The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), Sunshine State (2002), and particularly Casa de los babys (2003)) has long been able to show us folks other than those from his own white privileged background, but this one suffers. Starring Lisagay Hamilton (last blogged in The Soloist) and Yolonda Ross (she's been in many projects I've seen but she didn't look familiar--she is nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for this role) as the officer and her friend, respectively, and Edward James Olmos (covered in 2 Guns) as a disgraced cop helping them.

Stalwart Sayles fans will want to see this, playing in limited runs around the country and available now for pre-order on the same site. Rottentomatoes: 65% critics, 45 audiences. No big surprise.

Delivery Man (2013)

This is a great story about a sperm donor who finds out he's fathered 533 children and Vince Vaughn and Chris Pratt are okay. But the original, Starbuck, was better and this copies everything. I repeat, everything (except the pro athlete plays basketball here and in the French Canadian version he played soccer). Maybe that's what happens when the director/co-writer adapts and directs his own script. The remake also suffers because it's been barely seven months since the original played in these parts. Critics at 38% and audiences at 56 on rottentomatoes reflect my opinion. Oh, and perhaps this is nitpicking (I've been picking more than nits anyway), but Vaughn (covered in The Dilemma), as the father, is a very tall fellow and the actors playing his brothers and father are uniformly not. Pratt (last in Zero Dark Thirty) pretty much phones it in as his best friend and lawyer.

Do yourself a favor and see the original Starbuck, now streaming on netflix.

More awards

Some are coming soon to the heartland. Some are marked with estimated DVD release dates. Some will live in obscurity. Too bad.

The National Board of Review Winners

Best Film: Her

Best Director: Spike Jonze, Her

Best Actor: Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Best Actress: Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks (DVD May 2014)

Best Supporting Actor: Will Forte, Nebraska

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station (DVD 1/14/13)

Best Original Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis

Best Adapted Screenplay: Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Feature: The Wind Rises

Breakthrough Performance: Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station (DVD 1/14/13)
Breakthrough Performance: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color (DVD 2/25/14)

Best Directorial Debut: Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station (DVD 1/14/13)

Best Foreign Language Film: The Past

Best Documentary: Stories We Tell

William K. Everson Film History Award: George Stevens, Jr.

Best Ensemble: Prisoners (DVD 12/17/13)

Spotlight Award: Career Collaboration of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Wadjda

Creative Innovation in Filmmaking Award: Gravity (DVD December 2013)

Top Ten Films (in alphabetical order)
12 Years A Slave (DVD February 2014)

Fruitvale Station (DVD 1/14/13)

Gravity (DVD December 2013)
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor
Nebraska
Prisoners (DVD 12/17/13)
Saving Mr. Banks (DVD May 2014)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Wolf of Wall Street

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
Beyond the Hills
Gloria
The Grandmaster (DVD out now)

A Hijacking
The Hunt (DVD 12/10/13)

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
20 Feet from Stardom (DVD 1/14/14)
The Act Of Killing
After Tiller
Casting By
The Square

Top Ten Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (DVD 12/17/13)
Dallas Buyers Club

In a World… (DVD 1/21/14)
Mother of George
Much Ado About Nothing
Mud (DVD out now)
The Place Beyond the Pines (DVD out now)
Short Term 12 (DVD 1/14/14)
Sightseers

The Spectacular Now (DVD 1/14/14)

------------------------------------------------------------

The Gotham Awards nominations, more recognition for independent films:

Best Feature
12 Years A Slave (DVD February 2014)

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (DVD 12/17/13)
Before Midnight (DVD out now)
Inside Llewyn Davis
Upstream Color

Best Documentary
The Act Of Killing
The Crash Reel
First Cousin Once Removed
Let the Fire Burn
Our Nixon

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Ryan Coogler for Fruitvale Station (DVD 1/14/13)
Adam Leon for Gimme The Loot
Alexandre Moors for Blue Caprice (DVD 1/14/14)
Stacie Passon for Concussion
Amy Seimetz for Sun Don’t Shine

Best Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years A Slave (DVD February 2014)
Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford in All Is Lost (DVD 2/11/14)
Isaiah Washington in Blue Caprice (DVD 1/14/14)

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine (DVD 1/21/14)
Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon (DVD 11/31/13)
Brie Larson in Short Term 12 (DVD 1/14/14)
Amy Seimetz in Upstream Color
Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now (DVD 1/14/14)

Breakthrough Actor
Dane DeHaan in Kill Your Darlings
Kathryn Hahn in Afternoon Delight
Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale Station (DVD 1/14/13)
Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years A Slave (DVD February 2014)
Robin Weigert in Concussion

For the third consecutive year, IFP is proud to present the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumna of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs. This grant aims to further the careers of emerging women directors by supporting the completion, distribution and audience engagement strategies of their first feature film.
The nominees:
Afia Nathaniel, director, Dukhthar
Gita Pullapilly, director, Beneath The Harvest Sky
Deb Shoval, director, AWOL

Philomena (2013)

This remarkable story of an unemployed journalist helping a sweet Irishwoman find the son she gave up 50 years before skillfully mixes grief with laughter and cynicism with hope. Judi Dench and Steve Coogan make an entertaining odd couple and both have been nominated for (so far) BAFTA Awards (the British Oscars) for these roles. We all expect greatness (though not usually an Irish lilt) from Dame Dench (last blogged in Skyfall) but the range of Coogan's (most recently in What Maisie Knew) acting is growing by leaps and bounds. Coogan also co-wrote the snappy script (his second feature and first drama after lots of British TV comedy) with Jeff Pope (over a dozen other credits, none known to me), adapting the 2009 book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty Year Search, by Martin Sixsmith, which he had adapted from his newspaper article. This script won the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice Film Festival and is nominated for a BAFTA as well. We had not researched much less read the book, so we were surprised by a plot twist or two. You can easily find out the entire plot beforehand but I'm glad I didn't. Expect nice work from young Sophie Kennedy Clark as the young Philomena and a cringe-inducing cameo from Mare Winningham late in the third act.

The story brought me recollections of the brutal but brilliant The Magdalene Sisters (2002) which is about "fallen" Irish girls punished in a convent in the 1960s.

We expect nominations for director Stephen Frears (covered in depth in Chéri) as well. When the Oscars come around, you will want to have seen this. Don't just listen to Jack and me, trust the reviews at rottentomatoes (93 critics/92 audiences).

Kill Your Darlings (2013)

Today Jack and I enjoyed this tale of Allen Ginsberg and his future Beat Generation friends as wayward freshman at Columbia University. It opens with a murder that really happened. The great cast: Daniel Radcliffe (perhaps you've heard of Harry Potter?) as Ginsberg, Ben Foster (last blogged in Ain't Them Bodies Saints) as William Burroughs, Jack Huston (best known to me as the "half-faced" Richard Harrow on Boardwalk Empire, he's part of the famous Hollywood Huston family) as Jack Kerouac, Dane DeHaan (The Place Beyond the Pines) as Ginsberg's best friend Lucien, Kyra Sedgewick (less than one degree of Kevin Bacon--she's his wife--she's won a lot of awards for The Closer) as Lucien's mom (her jewelry gets its own credit at the end), Elizabeth Olsen (Liberal Arts) as Kerouac's girlfriend, Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Six Feet Under) as a pivotal character, and as Ginsberg's parents David Cross (Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development, Cross played Allen Ginsberg in I'm Not There. (2007)) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (most recently in The Spectacular Now, she's back to playing crazy and nobody does crazy like JJL). Every one of them delivers. 

The title is from an English professor's advice to his students, meaning that the words they have written are the darlings and the writer should edit/cut them ruthlessly.

Nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, it's the feature debut of director/co-writer John Krokidas and co-writer Austin Bunn. About half of the songs in the credits are listed on imdb, and the score by Nico Muhly (The Reader) is good too, but not available to stream or buy at this time.

Audiences and critics agree at 75% and 74% respectively on rottentomatoes. There are many darkly lit scenes so I recommend seeing this on the big screen before it leaves its short run here or wherever you are.