"I was so ashamed."

"Don't worry. You're a little kid."

Pefect Endings: Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Obviously, this post contains spoilers!

Previously, in Stranger Than Fiction: Harold Crick (Will Ferrel) is an ordinary IRS agent: very plain, very quiet, and hated universally. Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson) is an acclaimed writer of tragedies, and she's come up with a brilliant new idea: the tragedy in the life of an IRS agent, named Harold Crick. Unaware of her actions, Karen's narration she writes is voiced inside Harold's head, and only he can hear her- and he starts to freak out when Karen foreshadows his "imminent death". Through the course of the film, Harold seeks help from a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman), learns to loosen up, and even meet the woman of his dreams (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Karen finally comes up with the perfect way to kill Harold: the menial task of his watch stopping inedvertentally causes his death, due to a stranger telling him the wrong time. Through a series of events, Harold saves a boy on a bicycle and gets hit by a bus that he wouldn't have even run out in front of if his watch had been set to the correct time. To Karen's shock, she finally meets face to face with Harold, and to even more surprise, he agrees to go through with the death in order to satisfy the ending to her novel. The sequence previous to this showed Harold getting hit by the bus, and Karen typing feverishly at her typewriter. However, she gets to the phrase, "Harold crick was dea", and cannot muster the strength to finish the sentence.

Here, we join Karen and Professor Hilbert after the incident.


Now, I've read and heard complaints that this ending completely breaks the movie and knocks it down a peg. However, I totally disagree: its sense of wallowing in its own irony and fully acknowledging it caps it off for me as one of the best endings of the new millenium.

You can break down the excellency into three main points here: the acting, the pacing, and the writing. When you're dealing with greats like Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, you are naturally going to have a great deal of talent and nuance floating around the scene. Thompson's character is nothing short of astonishing, and her narration is perhaps some of the best on celluloid (she should've been nominated for the Oscar easily). Even Maggie Gyllenhaal and especially Will Ferrel are great here, Ferrel giving what is probably his best performance to date. His tinge of confusion and gratitude upon waking is great. And, may I say, Andrew Rothenberg, the actor who plays Dr. Mercator, is a fantastic example of a shining performance in a limited role. ("...which is pretty cool." Awesome!)

In regards to Emma's narration, the timing and correspondence with the editing makes what could've been a corny montage into something of brilliance. Spoon's music accompanies the scene with a poignant kind of grace that only leaves that much more of an impact on you. Lastly, Zach Helm's screenplay is vastly one of the most underrated of the decade, and this scene proves why. Karen hits the nail on the head when she says that the unsung hero is the kind of guy we want to see live. So, she does the world a favor and keeps Harold alive, saving a humble and changed man. The idea of "reverse irony" here instantly brought a smile to my face when I saw the film on the big screen- first, the irony of Harold's life ending by something as routine as a wristwatch is tragic, but becomes something of a miracle when it's flipped around and ends up saving his life.

Now that's writing we can all appreciate.

A "turkey sandwich" for the BSA Blogathon.

So I may be a day late, but sometimes exceptions must be made. Stinkylulu's best supporting actress blogathon has a nice variety of supporting actresses on its shortlist, but there is one glaring omission that must make its way onto it:




Ari Graynor as Caroline in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.


Now, why in the world would this young actress, rising up with appearances in film, stage, and television, be such a glaring cut from a list of memorable supporting actress turns?

Obviously, whoever asks this question has failed to see the fall gem of a teen romance, headlined by Michael Cera (Juno) and Kat Dennings (Charlie Bartlett). But it's the role of Caroline, Norah's longtime pal and alcoholic lightweight that steals every scene of the movie that she appears in. In fact, her portrayal of high-school intoxication is worthy of accolades, to say the least.

But what does she do? Graynor provides belly laughs in an already funny comedy: her fears of being taken advantage of raped by a crew of harmless gay boys, a scene that could've been written or portrayed poorly, is instead worthy of cracking a smile. Her slow, slurred longing to be consoled by Norah comes off as charming rather than annoying. And who didn't cringe during the scene where she fishes her gum out of her vomit? You can't help but love her, and you can't resist anything but to sit back and experience the ride of a horrible hang-over with her. In all aspects, Graynor has taken the all-too-played drunk girl and raised the bar to the next level of spot-on perfection.




Give this girl a turkey sandwich! And the recognition that she deserves.

Grade-A acting: 2000's.

Top 10 Acting Lineups for the Decade.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

01.] Paul Giamatti [Sideways] "Miles"
02.] Daniel Day-Lewis [There Will Be Blood] "Daniel Plainview"
03.] Jim Carrey [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind] "Joel Barrish"
04.] Javier Bardem [The Sea Inside] "Ramón Sampedro"
05.] Gordon Pinsent [Away from Her] "Grant Anderson"
06.] Don Cheadle [Hotel Rwanda] "Paul Rusesabagina"
07.] Ryan Gosling [Lars and the Real Girl] "Lars Lindstrom"
08.] Albert Finney [Big Fish] "Edward Bloom, Older"
09.] Russell Crowe [A Beautiful Mind] "John Nash"
10.] Ewan McGregor [Moulin Rouge!] "Christian"

Best Actress in a Leading Role

01.] Kate Winslet [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind] "Clementine Kruczynski"
02.] Nicole Kidman [Moulin Rouge!] "Satine"
03.] Julianne Moore [The Hours] "Laura Brown"
04.] Marion Cotillard [La Vie en Rose] "Edith Piaf"
05.] Audrey Tautou [Amélie] "Amélie Poulain"
06.] Julie Christie [Away from Her] "Fiona Anderson"
07.] Nicole Kidman [The Hours] "Virginia Woolf"
08.] Meryl Streep [The Hours] "Clarissa Vaughn"
09.] Julianne Moore [Far From Heaven] "Cathy Whitaker"
10.] Ellen Page [Juno] "Juno MacGuff"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

01.] Steve Carell [Little Miss Sunshine] "Uncle Frank"
02.] Clive Owen [Closer] "Larry"
03.] Sergí López [Pan's Labyrinth] "Captain Vidal"
04.] Djimon Hounsou [In America] "Mateo"
05.] Heath Ledger [The Dark Knight] "The Joker"
06.] Thomas Haden Church [Sideways] "Jack"
07.] Matthieu Kassovitz [Amélie] "Nino Quincampoix"
08.] Jude Law [A.I. Artificial Intelligence] "Gigolo Joe"
09.] Jim Broadbent [Moulin Rouge!] "Harold Zidler"
10.] Greg Kinnear [Little Miss Sunshine] "Richard Hoover"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

01.] Patricia Clarkson [Pieces of April] "Joy Burns"
02.] Natalie Portman [Closer] "Alice"
03.] Virginia Madsen [Sideways] "Maya"
04.] Toni Collette [Little Miss Sunshine] "Sheryl Hoover"
05.] Emma Thompson [Stranger Than Fiction] "Karen Eiffel"
06.] Parker Posey [Best in Show] "Meg Swan"
07.] Emily Blunt [The Devil Wears Prada] "Emily"
08.] Maribel Verdú [Pan's Labyrinth] "Mercedes"
09.] Rachel McAdams [Mean Girls] "Regina George"
10.] Emmanuelle Seigner [The Diving Bell and the Butterfly] "Céline"

Review: The Tale of Despereaux (2008)

If you have ever read the children's story The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, then you've been exposed to an expert novel, one that can show how a creative story and lessons about fear and forgiveness can be excellently woven together- so excellently, in fact, that it garnered itself the Newberry Award Medal for achievement in children's writing.

When they announced that the book would be adapted into a movie, I, of course, was very excited. But, to my slight disappointment, the film version doesn't succeed as much as the book does in its excellence of combining entertainment and value. After seeing the television previews for the movie, however, I was utterly convinced that all pretenses of a book were thrown away and that a shlock-filled version of a "cutesy family film" would be the byproduct. Fortunately, for all our sakes, this wasn't the case. Instead, there is an awkward in-between of both the excellent, albeit mature novel and the overly cute family film- which is somewhat exhilarating and laughable at the same time.


The place is the kingdom of Dor, renowned for its soup-making skills. Both the novel and the film follow a small ensemble of characters: the dubious and confused rat, Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman), the pitiful servant girl Miggery Sow (Tracey Ullman), the princess full of longing, Pea (Harry Potter's Emma Watson), and, of course, the lovable big-eared titular character himself (Matthew Broderick). After the unfortunate death of the kingdom's queen, and subsequent banning of all soup from the kingdom, all of the characters struggle to prevail through these hard times and succeed in their goals. Some of the characters don't...that is to say, they don't succeed in the way they expect to. But Despereaux remains a tale of inspiration that everybody can benefit from.

First off, the film took quite a few pratfalls. Although it's difficult to judge a film as its own when its adapted from a novel, I couldn't help but notice some of the glaring omissions, altercations, and additions to "Hollywood-ify" the film. The book's lineage makes it very easy to follow, focusing on Despereaux, Roscuro, and Miggery by jumping around in time and focusing on their individual goals in their own chapters before jumbling their interactions together in the final chapter. The film chooses to portray the entire story from start to finish in chronological order, so it becomes very difficult to keep track of what's going on in the story.


Of course, the additions are the most distracting and even absurd. The cliche barrier of outracing a cat gets two whole sequences in the film, and barely a feline was mentioned in the novel. Despereaux's dream sequences of himself as a knight in shining armor- although present in the book, but not in depth- are drawn out to their own sequences here as well, in a totally different animation style. Not only are they distracting, they're almost unnecessary. But, perhaps the most upsetting inclusion can only be intended purely as a (failed) attempt at humor and cohesiveness by adding a giant vegetable-man/chef as a character (Stanely Tucci) and passing him of as just an ordinary part of the kitchen- oh look, here's the mixing bowl, the giant pot roasting over the fire, the animate pile of food preparing a meal, and the drawer of silverware. Lovely.


Despereaux does have its pluses. Despite these faulty additions, a lot of the charm from the novel pulls through into the book. Ullman provides strong voice work, making her character easily one of the most interesting in the film. And Sigourney Weaver, as a narrator, brings the film a very complimentary and down-to-earth feeling. The animation itself is also pretty nice to watch from time to time- the designs of structures like the castle exterior and the individual worlds of "Miceworld" and "Ratworld" are delightful, to say the least.

That being said, Despereaux is cute, but ultimately a little flat. A tighter script that stuck closer to the book would've worked wonders in its own right. But it still remains a cute film, that's worthy of watching sometime- but, at my suggestion, at home in the DVD player.

7/10

FYC: Amy Adams in 'Doubt.'

Easily her 'Oscar clip.' A great, great performance.

One hundred for the ages.

100. The Breakfast Club. [John Hughes\1985]
099. A Christmas Story. [Bob Clark\1983]
098. I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK. [Chan-wook Park\2006]
097. Lars and the Real Girl. [Scott Gillespie\2007]
096. Doubt. [John Patrick Shanley\2008]
095. The Painted Veil. [John Curran\2006]
094. Aladdin. [Ron Clements & John Musker\1992]
093. The Illusionist. [Neil Burger\2006]
092. Some Like it Hot. [Billy Wilder\1959]
091. House of Flying Daggers. [Yimou Zhang\2004]

090. Groundhog Day. [Harold Ramis\1994]
089. Love Actually. [Richard Curtis\2003]
088. Stranger Than Fiction. [Marc Forster\2006]
087. Garden State. [Zach Braff\2004]
086. The Seventh Seal. [Ingmar Bergman\1957]
085. Breakfast at Tiffany's. [Blake Edwards\1961]
084. Pan's Labyrinth. [Guillermo del Toro\2006]
083. Tootsie. [Sydney Pollack\1982]
082. Shakespeare in Love. [John Madden\1998]
081. Moonstruck. [Norman Jewison\1987]

080. Young Frankenstein. [Mel Brooks\1974]
079. The Fountain. [Darren Aronofsky\2006]
078. Away from Her. [Sarah Polley\2007]
077. Sense and Sensibility. [Ang Lee\1995]
076. The Prestige. [Christopher Nolan\2006]
075. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. [John Hughes\1986]
074. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. [David Fincher\2008]
073. To Kill a Mockingbird. [Robert Mulligan\1962]
072. Cabaret. [Bob Fosse\1972]
071. Fiddler on the Roof. [Norman Jewison\1971]

070. Waitress. [Adrienne Shelly\2007]
069. Rope. [Alfred Hitchcock\1948]
068. West Side Story. [Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise\1961]
067. Roman Holiday. [William Wyler\1953]
066. The Princess Bride. [Rob Reiner\1987]
065. Howl's Moving Castle. [Hayao Miyazaki\2004]
064. Ratatouille. [Brad Bird\2007]
063. Drop Dead Gorgeous. [Michael Patrick Jann\1999]
062. Pride & Prejudice. [Joe Wright\2005]
061. Clue. [Jonathan Lynn\1985]

060. Closer. [Mike Nichols\2004]
059. Donnie Darko. [Richard Kelly\2001]
058. The Lion King. [Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff\1994]
057. Sideways. [Alexander Payne\2004]
056. Waiting for Guffman. [Christopher Guest\1997]
055. Pieces of April. [Peter Hedges\2003]
054. Casablanca. [Michael Curtiz\1942]
053. As Good as it Gets. [James L. Brooks\1997]
052. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. [Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones\1975]
051. Finding Nemo. [Andrew Stanton\2003]

050. Airplane! [Jim Abrahams, David Zucker & Jerry Zucker\1980]
049. In America. [Jim Sheridan\2003]
048. The Sixth Sense. [M. Night Shyamalan\1999]
047. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. [Luis Buñuel\1972]
046. A Streetcar Named Desire. [Elia Kazan\1951]
045. Princess Mononoke. [Hayao Miyazaki\1997]
044. Children of Men. [Alfonso Cuaron\2006]
043. In the Mood for Love. [Wong Kar Wai\2000]
042. Pleasantville. [Gary Ross\1998]
041. The New World. [Terrence Malick\2005]

040. Chicago. [Rob Marshall\2002]
039. Memento. [Christopher Nolan\2001]
038. Once. [John Carney\2007]
037. The Apartment. [Billy Wilder\1960]
036. Gone With the Wind. [Victor Fleming\1939]
035. Barry Lyndon. [Stanley Kubrick\1975]
034. Sunset Blvd. [Billy Wilder\1950]
033. Days of Heaven. [Terrence Malick\1978]
032. The Hours. [Stephen Daldry\2002]
031. Beauty and the Beast. [Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise\1991]

030. O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Ethan & Joel Coen\2000]
029. Edward Scissorhands. [Tim Burton\1990]
028. Marie Antoinette. [Sofia Coppola\2006]
027. WALL-E. [Andrew Stanton\2008]
026. All About Eve. [Joseph L. Mankiewicz\1950]
025. Chungking Express. [Wong Kar Wai\1994]
024. Breathless. [Jean-Luc Godard\1960]
023. Smiles of a Summer Night. [Ingmar Bergman\1955]
022. Titanic. [James Cameron\1997]
021. Rear Window. [Alfred Hitchcock\1954]

020. 2001: A Space Odyssey. [Stanley Kubrick\1968]
019. The Triplets of Belleville. [Sylvain Chomet\2003]
018. Bonnie and Clyde. [Arthur Penn\1967]
017. Big Fish. [Tim Burton\2003]
016. American Beauty. [Sam Mendes\1999]
015. City Lights. [Charles Chaplin\1931]
014. Vertigo. [Alfred Hitchcock\1958]
013. Little Miss Sunshine. [Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris\2006]
012. The Color Purple. [Stephen Spielberg\1985]
011. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. [Julian Schnabel\2007]

010. The Truman Show. [Peter Weir\1998]
009. 8 ½. [Fredrico Fellini\1963]
008. There Will Be Blood. [Paul Thomas Anderson\2007]
007. Spirited Away. [Hayao Miyazaki\2001]
006. Psycho. [Alfred Hitchcock\1960]
005. Moulin Rouge! [Baz Luhrmann\2001]
004. Amélie. [Jean-Pierre Jeunet\2001]
003. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [Mike Nichols\1966]
002. The Wizard of Oz. [Victor Fleming\1939]
001. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. [Michel Gondry\2004]