We were impressed enough by the Thor sequel to begin pondering … which are the best superhero movies ever made?
10. Iron Man
Among the most inspired pieces of casting in cinematic history, indie film’s bad boy Robert Downey Jr. shoulders a blockbuster superhero flick and becomes the highest paid actor in history. He may even deserve it. Wry humor, believable bouts of self loathing and narcissism, and the intelligence to pull off the character of Tony Stark, he redefined superhero and caused a ripple effect still being felt in the genre.
9. The Incredibles
Pixar takes on the superhero with heart, humor and the kind of spot-on insight that made their image of toy life, robot romance, and elderly adventure so magnificent. Consistently fun and full of surprises and wisdom, The Incredibles rocks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZbzbC9285I
8. Batman
Back in the Eighties, goth-god Tim Burton breathed new life into the superhero concept with this dark, stylish, almost campy classic. It would be nearly 20 years before Jack Nicholson’s then-iconic version of The Joker was outdone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlsM2_8u_mk
7. X-Men: First Class
Michael Fassbender keeps his pants on for this inspired origins story. Writer Jane Goldman and director Matthew Vaughn, who’d done the genre proud with Kick-Ass just one year earlier, re-team to collect mutants in time to thwart the Cuban Missile Crisis. A killer cast and really clever writing mark this as easily the best X-Men movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8ccSiH4olo
6. Kick-Ass
Hey, speaking of Kick-Ass – how great was that?! In a sea of mock superhero movies, this one turned out to be fresh, a bit twisted and incredibly funny. It also delivered on action. Endearing, relentlessly entertaining, fearlessly violent yet well-meaning, the film hits on all fronts. Plus, Nicolas Cage, with his Adam West impersonation, is utterly priceless.
5. Batman Begins
Talk about a game changer. When Memento director Christopher Nolan turned his attention to the genre, well, the genre was never the same. Any hint of camp is abandoned. Dark and brooding, the film is as interested in story and character as it is in action and bat-gizmos. For the first time, an outright brilliant actor is cast in the hero’s role, and the weight of the decisions made by a vigilante crime fighter is finally felt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zdFsoUF-Fg
4. Spider-Man 2
Like Superman 2 back in ’80, the second of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man flicks ponders the ramifications of true love on superherodom. Tobey Maguire’s inherent tenderness helps the most moving scenes stick with you, in a movie that celebrates humanity in a way few films – superhero or no – have managed to do.
3. The Dark Knight Rises
Finally, someone gets Cat Woman right! Nolan’s trilogy capper is a wildly satisfying, emotionally resonant, dramatically impeccable ride. Every choice is as fitting as it is surprising. He’s responsible to the source material without giving an inch of his own creative control, plumbing cultural currency and comic ethos to create a movie that leaves a mark.
2. The Avengers
Joss Whedon, everybody! He’s every fanboy’s dream. If there any nerdy thing this man cannot do? Buffy, Serenity, The Cabin in the Woods – hell, he even made Shakespeare hip! Plus, he wrote Toy Story – how awesome is that? And while it looked like the Avengers franchise would amount to the gathering of multiple barely interesting individual heroes, plus another Hulk debacle, it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable, well crafted, character driven and fun superhero flicks of all time. And someone finally did the Hulk justice! Well played, Mr. Whedon.
1. The Dark Knight
For the first – and likely last – time in history, the villain from a superhero flick earned the actor an Oscar. And it was flat out obvious, because Heath Ledger’s hauntingly perfect performance as The Joker left a blood chilling impression. And though he is the best reason to watch The Dark Knight, he’s hardly the only exceptional element the film has going for it. The emotional weight to some of the scenes will leave you breathless, and though Nolan has established a very dark view in this series, there is a single, blistering scene in this film that emphasizes the deep optimism the filmmaker and his franchise have for humanity.
The Mo-vember episode of the Studio 35 Show got us thinking ‘staches. What are the best onscreen mustaches? We chose our 10 favorites. Which big, hairy faces did we miss?
10. Charles Bronson
Hard saying which set of whiskers is more impressive, Charles Bronson’s:
Or Tom Hardy in the title role for the film Bronson, so we’ll call it a tie:
9. Yosemite Sam
Sure, Snidely Whiplash was impressive, but when it comes to mustachioed animated gentlemen, we like the bold statement made by Sam.
8. Wilford Brimley
Our favorite cantankerous man with a mustache, Brimley and his whiskers have been making the world safe for oatmeal and extra terrestrials for generations.
7. Robert Redford
You forget how handsome the Seventies could be until you gander at the young Redford, who can even make an unruly mo’ look good.
6. Mike Ditka
Best NFL ‘stache (and sweater and sunglasses). He’s our Ditka.
5. Tom Selleck
Can’t list famous mustaches without this hirsute Eighties PI.
4. Burt Reynolds
Let’s be honest, the entire Eighties boom in mustaches is due to Tom Selleck and this man. Thank you?
3. The Cast of Tombstone
More facial hair per square screen inch, Tombstone makes other films seem positively unmanly.
2. Ron Burgundy
This mustache escalated quickly. With a mustache like this, you have to keep your head on a swivel. It stings the nostrils.
1. Sam Elliott
Yes, he made the countdown twice! He’s the most impressive part of the Stache Pack that makes up the cast of Tombstone, but the manliness that is Sam Elliot’s facial hair cannot be adequately praised with only one slot on this countdown! It’d be very undude of us.
It’s nearly Halloween, and it turns out that children’s hunger for age-appropriate scares rivals their taste for those elusive, full size trick-or-treat candy bars. Mmmmmm … chocolatey age-appropriate scares. Well, we’re here to help stave off starvation with these new and old school viewing options.
For the Very Young
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Hayao Miyazaki – often called Japan’s answer to Walt Disney – shares the sweetly magical tale of a budding young witch. Fun adventures befall the little witch-in-training, who becomes a baker’s courier to gain broom-flying skill. Kids will like the holiday feel, the cat and the hijinks with no worry of big scares.
For the Still Quite Wee
Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
This film is so utterly enjoyable, charming, and silly that you almost miss the true ingenuity and craft in the animation itself. British placticine duo Wallace – inventor and cheese lover – and his silently worried dog Gromit, take on the bunnies upsetting town gardeners. But things go all Halloweeney on them. This is the kind of film that begs to be scanned for its clever details (the town barbershop is called A Close Shave, for instance), but it’s the unselfconscious, innocent comedy and remarkable animation that make the film a stunning success. Wallace & Gromit belong in the highest echelon of doofus and silent sidekick comedy teams, and everyone in your family has reason to see their first full length feature.
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Honestly, this is not one of Pixar’s greatest efforts, but a second tier Pixar film still beats the pants off most anything else you and your kids might watch. The animation is stunning. (Who doesn’t, right now, want to have a fuzzy blue Sulley doll?! You? What are you, a sociopath?) A couple of best buds living in Monstropolis have to keep it under wraps that a child has infiltrated the city. She’s a serious risk of contamination – this is a real danger, actually, because children are filthy germ bags. And they’re often quite sticky. Pixar knows this, and alerts us to the potential epidemic via fuzzy monster characters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IBNZ6O2kMk
Frankenweenie (2012)
In stellar black and white, Tim Burton animates the tale of a quiet young scientist and his undead dog. Odes to the classics of horror will entertain the parents (maybe even grandparents) in the audience, but the lovely boy/dog friendship, quirky school kids, and science-related peril will entertain the kids. Plus, Mr. Rzykurski (Martin Landau) is the most spectacular science teacher ever, as depicted in his speech to parents at the PTA meeting: Ladies and gentlemen. I think the confusion here is that you are all very ignorant. Is that right word, ignorant? I mean stupid, primitive, unenlightened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBfcGLBJ2Uc
For The Not Too Wee
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Back in 1993, Tim Burton produced the classic goth holiday extravaganza The Nightmare Before Christmas, having handed over his own sketches and story to director Henry Selick and the world’s coolest stop-action animators. Burton’s team, including Danny Elfman on tunes, assembled a lightheartedly macabre fantasy that artfully yet cataclysmically mixed America’s two most indulgent and excessive holidays. It was inspired.
Corpse Bride (2005)
The first animated film Tim Burton directed is equal parts wholesome and gruesome, somehow effortlessly combined. A nervous groom practices his wedding vows in a forest, unwittingly awakening a bride murdered on her wedding night. She misunderstands and accepts is promise of love. The reluctant groom is ushered into the afterlife, which is more like a cool blues club than a cloudy resting place, where he is welcomed by a delightfully grisly cast of characters.
The comedy is clever, the bride’s heartbreak is often genuinely poignant, and the rotty flesh is just as natural as the pre-wedding jitters. It’s no Jack Skellington, but it is close.
Monster House (2006)
This one is likely to scare little ones, what with its super creepy sideshow circus backdrop, scary old man and a house that actually eats people. Loads of endearing and interesting characters fall upon the kinds of everyday scares that bloom in a child’s imagination. Well written, honestly spooky, and eventually quite heart tugging, Monster House was a surprise Oscar nomination back in ’06, and is still an underseen Halloween gem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSmE-0A5B8A
Coraline (2009)
Coraline is a two-sided cautionary tale. For kids wishing for more attentive parents, be careful what you wish for. For parents disinterested in their tweens, danger lurks and lures your girls. Adapted for the screen and directed by Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas), Coraline offers darkly magical visuals, quirky and creepy characters, and a surprisingly disturbing storyline. The film is clever and goth-gorgeous, but may be a little too creepy for kids under 10.
ParaNorman (2012)
“I see dead people” takes on new legs with this animated tale of the supernatural. ParaNorman celebrates cinematic horror with the story of a little boy whose closest buds are the goofy new kid and his own long-dead grandma. But Norman’s gift of seeing ghosts proves pretty beneficial when some witchy chicanery threatens the whole town. Plus, big props for including a gay couple in a family-friendly flick.
The cameo-tastic This Is the End releases to DVD on Tuesday, which got us talking about our favorite cameos ever. Peruse, see if you agree, and let us know if we missed anyone.
20. Nicolas Cage: Werewolf Women of the SS (Grindhouse)
Thank you Quentin Tarantino for liking really bad exploitation movies when you were a kid. Thank you Rob Zombie for creating this outstanding fake trailer. Thank you Nic Cage for your ability to channel your own weirdness so beautifully.
19.Tim Robbins: Anchorman
No commercials – no mercy!
18. Paul Shaffer: This Is Spinal Tap
Artie Fufkin, Polymer Records
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT3D3Xc68oQ
17. Steve Martin: The The Muppet Movie
Oh, waiter!
16. Johnny Depp: 21 Jump Street
Not just Johnny – that’s Peter DeLuise (Officer Doug Penhall), too. Surprised he had the time to devote to the project.
15. Bruce Willis & Julia Roberts: The Player
Robert Altman was a genius.
14. Patrick Ewing: Exorcist 3
And Fabio!
13. Gene Hackman: Young Frankenstein
I’ll make espresso!
12. David Bowie: Zoolander
Walk off!
11. Neil Patrick Harris: Harold & Kumar go to White Castle
Almost as brilliant as Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.
10. Will Farrell: Wedding Crashers
Mom! The meatloaf!
9. James Brolin & Morgan Fairchild: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
Paging Mr. Herman.
8. Bill Murray: Little Shop of Horrors
It’s your professionalism I admire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7euWlQBKnw
7. Matt Damon: Eurotrip
Nice tats, Matt!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFCOa4tjHeo
6. Tom Cruise: Tropic Thunder
It’s far too big a role to be considered a cameo, and yet, the list felt weirdly free of gold chains and knuckle hair without it.
5. Christopher Walken: True Romance
Back to back Walken!
4. Christopher Walken: Pulp Fiction
Up his ass…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVxl__61vKI
3. Bruce Springsteen: High Fidelity
Taking advice from the boss man.
2. Bill Murray: Zombieland
I just saw Eddie Van Halen.
Our weekend countdown comes a day early this week so we can celebrate Friday the 13th – today’s date, and that little slashser franchise that could.
Friday the 13th (1980): Our tale began in 1980, when a mother – grief-stricken over the drowning death of her disfigured son Jason – kills a campful of kids. Then Jason kills to avenge his mother for a few flicks. Then an unrelated ambulance driver kills kids, then back to Jason, who goes to camp, to Manhattan, to hell, to outer space, and finally to Elm Street before returning in ‘09 to Crystal Lake to rekindle his hatred for backpackers.
It should surprise no one that the only one that’s really worth a look is the original. This is not a good film, or even an especially scary film, but the characters are not entirely clichéd and the plot twist is somewhat clever. Over-the-top Tom Savini FX give you something to look at beyond the revolving door of shrieking, dying knuckleheads, and the movie boasts an almost absurd number of odes to the film Psycho. Also, of course, is the outstanding Kevin Bacon death scene. (Kevin Bacon Death Scene – I love them! I think I saw them open for Skinny Puppy in ’88.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF_yl401bCc
Friday the 13th Part II (1981): Gone is the novelty of the grief-crazed mother, replaced by the far more potent (franchise-wise) image of an unstoppable killer in Jason Voorhees. He’s played unimpressively by both Warrington Gilette and Steve Dash. With a bruised thumbnail and a bag over his head, the now fully grown Jason finishes off the last survivor of the original, shows a loving affection for his mother’s disembodied head, and kills nearly everyone at the camp next door to Crystal Lake- even wheelchair-bound Ted (a sly ode to Tobe Hooper, or am I overly optimistic?). But not Ginny, played by genre favorite Amy Steel. Ginny believes psychology can explain things, and shows her sympathy for poor Jason by using the term “frightened retard.” Real professional, Ginny. Her green turtleneck and rustic button down wearing beau Paul looks on. Paul – don’t be a hero! Ginny’s not worth it! (PS: Nonsensical ending = huge cop out.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rShnuCLtc0Q
Friday the 13th Part III (1982): The next day, Jason wanders to a sketchy grocery store, kills its unpleasant owners, eats their rabbit and pilfers some clothes. Then he goes further around the lake to Chris Higgins’s family’s summer place, Higgins’ Haven. Episode 3 is mostly famous for introducing the iconic hockey mask, and if you were lucky enough to see it in theaters, you tasted the satisfaction of uninspired 3D, coming at you via a pole, snake, eyeball, yoyo, popcorn, pitchfork, and any number of gimmicks that translate poorly to home enjoyment. Jason smooshes a guy’s head so his eye pops out. Another guy keeps faking his own death, while yet another walks on his hands for no reason I can fathom. The film ends with an unsatisfying dream sequence followed by the sighting of Jason’s dead body. So, clearly, he’s gone for good. Whew!
Friday the 13th(4): The Final Chapter (1984): Would that it were. A little further around the lake from Higgins’ Haven are other private cabin homes that humans continue to rent, regardless of the slaughter taking place over the last few days (episodes 2 and 3). But Jason’s dead now, so no worries, eh? This second attempt to end the franchise inadvertently begins what I like to call the Tommy Trilogy. Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) and his mom and sister live next door to a cabin rented by six horny, disposable teens who’ll skinny dip, pair up, dance poorly and get picked off by the not-really-dead-at-all Jason. Part 4 also sees Crispin Glover (professional oddball and Back to the Future’s George McFly) get laid (after which, of course, comes death by corkscrew). Later, Feldman, the film’s other Eighties icon, chops Jason Voorhees to pieces. Tommy just chops and chops and chops. Chop him up good, Tommy! Not that it will help.
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985): A profitable franchise, like an unstoppable murdering machine, is hard to kill. Since the chopping scene in that last installment left little possibility for Jason’s survival – but so much more money to be made – the unavoidable 5th installment had to come up with something novel. So, we open on a dream sequence that has Jason’s killer Tommy witness Jason’s graveyard resurrection. But that’s too nutty – surely that didn’t happen! Could it be? Or is it adolescent, clearly disturbed Tommy? Or is it some other totally random guy with no connection to Jason whatsoever? Yawn. Well, whatever Part 5 lacks in cinematic quality it compensates for with profanity and bralessness. Yep, lotta boobs in this one.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986): This is the final installment of the Tommy Trilogy. The first one sees youngster Tommy Jarvis chop Jason to bits. Then an adolescent Tommy heads out to a halfway house far from Crystal Lake, but first he dreams of someone digging Jason up and bringing him back to life. So, naturally in his final go-round, a young adult Tommy goes to the cemetery, digs up Jason (with Ron Palillo – Welcome Back, Kotter’s Horshack – in tow), and brings him back to life. Genius. Keep in mind, Jason was honest to God dead this time, and a bolt of lightning through a metal fence post reanimated him (zombie Jason!) It marks a change, however subtle – Jason’s not just hard to kill now; he’s the walking dead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PigpFbOqVtQ
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988): By the late Eighties it was impossible to keep each one straight, and yet the most famous Jason doesn’t enter the picture until this 7th installment: fan favorite Kane Hodder. Hodder’s Jason is chained to a boulder deep in Crystal Lake, but he’s released from his lake prison by a confused telekinetic. He kills the kids vacationing next door, other campers on and around the lake, and eventually has a face-off with the telekinetic. Terry Kiser (Bernie from Weekend At .. fame) plays a total dick of a doctor. A lot of weirdness happens in this one, and yet it still feels like a paint by numbers pick-off of horny, one-dimensional teens.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989): We were all so tired of Jason by 1989. So tired. So writer/director Rob Hedden decided to freshen things up by leaving Crystal Lake behind and spending an interminable amount of time on a big boat, a row boat, on docks and in sewers in an attempt to make a comment on the ugly modern times in urban America. The tiniest graduating class of all time boards a boat for Manhattan, but their classmates, Mall Hair and Mullet, inadvertently dredged Jason up from beneath the water with their anchor the night before, so he stows away. A lot of Eighties clichés later, the prickiest school administrator in history and the rest of the survivors have life boated to NYC, only to fall prey to gang members and druggies and assorted urban whathaveyou. Eventually Jason melts into a frightened little boy. What the hell?
Jason Goes to Hell (9): The Final Friday (1993): Speaking of hell. So Jason’s a demon, apparently, and he’s killed in an FBI sting. That’s right, a whole SWAT team manages to hide themselves and their giant flood lights in the forest around Camp Crystal Lake without drawing Jason’s notice. One minute he’s alive and full size (regardless of what happened to him in those Manhattan sewers), the next, he’s blown to bits. Unfortunately his black heart keeps beating, and he (by way of a kind of giant demon snake) slides from one poorly drawn character into another. This means there’s really no Jason for most of the film, just Jason’s essence, so to speak. But the killers look like regular schlubs because Jason’s inside them. That’s not scary, although one of his bodies looks a lot like that Mayhem guy from the car insurance ads, which seems fitting. It all leads to some nonsense about his bloodline and a mystical dagger. And it ends with Freddy Krueger laughing.
Jason X (2002): He’s been to hell. Where to now? How about deep space? Well, there is a difference between quality bad and worthless crap, and this movie plain old sucks. The great David Cronenberg plays the mad scientist who cryogenically freezes Jason Voorhees. Flash forward 453 years, and the frozen carcass is found, brought aboard New Earth’s space craft, and Jason Meets Aliens unspools. The nubile youngsters are trapped on board with the freshly thawed killing machine.
Freddy vs Jason (2003): At long last! Here’s the skinny: Freddy Krueger can’t hurt anyone if he’s forgotten, so he (somehow – think back ten years to when Jason went to hell) brings Jason back from the dead and sends him to Elm St. to carve up some youngsters. Freddy believes that the carnage will revive the town’s memory of the old nightmare killer. The memories make Freddy strong enough to kill again, but now Jason won’t get off his turf, so they have to duke it out. Some highly augmented and imaginative teens piece this puzzle together and hope to find a way to finish both monsters off for good. Will they succeed? And who will win this battle between the iconic bloodletters? With a little fresh blood spilling from these tired old veins, don’t we all win, really?
Friday the 13th (2009): Unfortunately, Freddy V Jason wasn’t the capper. Not a remake at all, 2009’s Friday the 13th is just another sequel. For the most part, you get what you should, by now, expect: drinkers, sluts, jocks and drug users die; quirky, eternally single ethnic friends brought along for comic relief die; disposable youth mostly fall victim to hatchets to the back, machetes to the skull. There’s also a return to the old “boobs a’bouncing” school of slashers. (This bouncing usually takes place just prior to a hatchet to the back or a machete to the skull.) In fact, there seem to be no tired formulas the film is wary to trot out. It’s as if Jason pulled out the Way Back Machine to revisit the land of 80s horror film cliches. Too bad he didn’t stay there.
It was rumored this week that Jack Nicholson, 76, has retired from acting. Then it was rumored that he hasn’t. Don’t tease us! One of cinema’s most ferocious performers, he’d certainly create a noticeable hole with his absence. In his nearly sixty years in film, he’s racked up a dozen Oscar nominations, three leading to wins. And while he’s certainly been a Hollywood character himself, we want to thank him for introducing us to these ten characters we won’t forget.
10. Frank Costello (The Departed)
9. Buddusky (The Last Detail)
8. Melvin Udall (As Good As It Gets)
7. George Hanson (Easy Rider)
6. Warren Schmidt (About Schmidt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-zEwGZ56Bs
5. Garrett Breedlove (Terms of Endearment)
4. JJ Gittes (Chinatown)
3. R. P. McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
It’s Labor Day Weekend, and we’ve decided to take a mo and celebrate the hardest labor of all. The pregnant kind. Here are our five favorite pregnant lady flicks.
5. Knocked Up (2007)
The Judd Apatow brand extends to films he simply produced, so he may be getting more creative credit than he deserves, but he had back to back writing/directing/comic gems with 2005’s Forty Year Old Virgin and this Pregnant Beauty and the Beast. Better for its ensemble than its leads, the flick boasts dead-on genius work from Leslie Mann, hilarious support from Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel and Kristin Wiig, and it introduced the world to the now constant comic presence of Ken Jeong. At least he kept his pants on for this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR4sXcMf_5o
4. Juno (2007)
Jason Reitman, Diablo Cody, Jason Bateman, Michael Cera and Ellen Page enraptured us all with this quick witted, brilliantly cast, endlessly quotable comedy about a pregnant teen. Reitman and Cody would pair up again with the nearly flawless Young Adult, but their first collaboration remains fresher and funnier than you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwv12d85u7A
3. Waitress (2007)
Soulful and funny, gorgeously filmed and perfectly cast, Waitress is the list’s underseen joy. Pie baking phenom Kerri Russell squirrels away money so she can quit her waitressing job and leave her husband, then finds herself pregnant and attracted to her new doctor. Writer/director Adrienne Shelly’s film offers a pitch-perfect supporting cast, a cleverly crafted script, and the remarkable ability to make you want to eat pie right now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cQ0WwcKCLk
2. Inside (2007)
Holy shit. Inside is not for the squeamish. This French horror flick pits a merciless villain against an enormous expecting mother. Though the film goes wildly out of control by the third act, it is a 2/3 brilliant effort, a study in tension wherein one woman will do whatever it takes, with whatever utensils are available, to get at the baby still firmly inside another woman’s body.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOk5tiAkEdA
1. Rosemary’s Baby
If you’re going to see only one pregnant lady horror flick, make it Rosemary’s Baby. It remains a disturbing, elegant, and fascinating tale, and Mia Farrow’s embodiment of defenselessness joins forces with William Fraker’s skillful camerawork to cast a spell. Yes, that crazy pederast Roman Polanski sure can spin a yarn about violated, vulnerable females.
Shailene Woodley, the 21-year-old who stole scenes from Clooney in The Descendents, finally returns to the big screen with another awe-inspiring turn in this week’s The Spectacular Now. Woodley is part of a remarkable wave of young female talent worth celebrating. Therefore, this weekend’s countdown: 9 brilliant young actresses not named Jennifer Lawrence.
Quvenzhane Wallis
This nine-year-old boasts an Oscar nomination, a forthcoming historical drama co-starring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender, and the lead in the next silver screen version of little orphan Annie’s scrappy story. Her cherubic face and startling talent offers hope for the future of the industry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF7i2n5NXLo
Kara Hayward
Fourteen and brilliant (honestly – she’s a member of Mensa), Hayward made an impression as the heavily eye-lined lovestruck teen in Moonrise Kingdom. Let’s hope Hollywood knows how to make the most of her deadpan genius.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfBPjbvr1BU
Chloe Moretz
Sure, Kick-Ass 2 disappointed, but the hard-working Moretz doesn’t. Now 16, she has more acting credits than everyone else on this list combined. She’s played disdainful, vulnerable, mean, sweet, blood sucker and victim, and soon she’ll reprise the role Sissy Spacek made infamous. We can’t wait to see what she can do at the prom.
Elle Fanning
The touching, versatile younger sister in an acting clan, this 15-year-old may be the most impressive talent on the list. She has a quiet reserve that draws comparison to Meryl Streep – heady company, but Fanning may just be the one who can live up to it.
Rachel Mwanza
You may not know this impressive talent, but her first professional work in the Oscar nominated War Witch proves her uncanny natural ability. Her devastating, understated performance marks the work of a natural artist and we are eager to see her follow up.
Hailee Steinfeld
She received her first Oscar nomination at 16 for a powerhouse performance that stood up to the likes of Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges in True Grit. She’s been quiet since, but she’ll churn out an impressive number of films in the next two years, including a starring role in Romeo and Juliet this February.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31NsT7wyi_Y
Saoirse Ronan
Oscar nominations, action flicks, period piece drama, teen angst pics, accents aplenty – this chameleonic 19-year-old can seem to handle anything. She’s been an international acting force since childhood and we are eager to see what adulthood brings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anqgem9eN38
Saskia Roendahl
Another unfamiliar name, perhaps, but 20-year-old Roendahl made the world take note when she brought tender resilience to the devastating war pic Lore. Like Fanning and Mwanza, she suggests a quiet, wary wisdom with her performances that should help her carve out a brilliant career.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XBsT3iafl0
Shailene Woodley
And back to Woodley, 21, a refreshingly natural performer whose choices mark someone who wants to act rather than someone who wants to be a star. Like her impressive colleagues on this list, she offers hope to those of us who love movies and thrill to see the next generation of Streeps, Blanchettes, Winslets, Moores and Closes begin their cinematic takeover.
Yes, the humorless Kick-Ass 2 disappointed, as sequels so often do. Which are the biggest disappointments? And on a brighter note, which sequels lived up to – even exceeded – expectations? Read on!
Most Disappointing Sequels
5) Hangover Part 2
In 2009, Todd Phillips shared a clever conceit starring an amiable, talented threesome with real chemistry on film. Oh, how we laughed. In 2011 he found out that a clever conceit is only clever once. Revisiting every single joke was, indeed, Hangover 2’s only original joke. What we’ve learned is that one joke in 102 minutes does not a comedy make.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYL_T7f59o8
4) Exorcist II: The Heretic
Jesus. A drunken and flummoxed Richard Burton wanders through Africa on the advice of a demon locust; a hypnotized, angelically dressed Linda Blair looks on from her bedroom in the States. They followed perhaps the greatest horror film of all time with this lunacy? Who’s responsible for this atrocity? Is it Regan’s dangerously incompetent therapist? Director John Boorman? Satan?
3) Jaws 2
Hey, you know who’s not Steven Spielberg? Jeannot Szwarc. Wait, who’s Jeannot Szwarc, you ask? Exactly! He’s the guy who used to direct Beretta episodes who inexplicably helmed the story of a little island community that looks positively delicious to sharks. Szwarc’s disinterests? Character development, storytelling, understatement, bathers.
2) Caddyshack 2
For the love of God. Eight years after one pesky gopher and a slew of vulgarians beat Judge Smails at his own game (golf), a new set of classless sportsmen descend upon Bushwood. What happens if you swap out Ted Knight for Robert Stack, Rodney Dangerfield for Jackie Mason, and Bill Murray for Dan Aykroyd? Nothing funny, I’ll guarantee you that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saREFwdhKH0
1) Ghostbusters II
Stop it! Just stop it right now! Need you crush all our childhood happiness with your greed and listless comedies?! Why is this the most offensive of the sequels? Because the same director, writers and cast returned to cash in on the joy their first film left in our hearts by telling us that we can fight off the bad ectoplasm if we have more joy in our hearts. Ironic, since that’s what they killed with their movie.
Best Sequels
5) Spider-Man 2
Better villain, less predictable storyline, equal parts exciting and tender, Spider-Man 2 exceeded expectations. Few (if any) superhero films can boast such joyous thrills tied to such well-crafted storytelling because few (if any) superhero films care as much about the “human” as the “super”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCLTJJZ8gas
4) The Bride of Frankenstein
In 1931, the great James Whale rocked the cinematic universe with a familiar story, one outstanding performance, and the greatest make up job to date. But with Frankenstein’s 1935 sequel, he was able to show some real talent. This subversive, darkly humorous gem betters the original by a mile.
3) The Empire Strikes Back
When the time came for George Lucas to second his mind blowing ’77 blockbuster Star Wars, he made one terrific decision. He hired somebody else to write and direct. New characters, exceptional battles, and epic surprises help this unpredictable storyline not just live up to the original, but exceed it.
2) Aliens
Oh, hell yes. How was James Cameron to top Ridley Scott’s breathlessly terrifying original? By taking it in an entirely different direction, from terror in space to intergalactic ass-kicking. Bigger-better-faster-more doesn’t always work, but put Sigourney Weaver in a giant metal suit, and things turn out OK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNE0dlHcmgA
1) Godfather Part II
Francis Ford Coppola outdid himself. The origin story, the familial conflict, Fredo. Oh, Fredo. You break our hearts. Godfather Part II doesn’t just follow one mob family, it finds its heartbeat and exposes what it is that differentiates them from us. Flawless.
Karen Black launched her career in the iconic American road picture Easy Rider, though fans of cheaply made horror know her for other reasons. Whether she was being possessed by her new house (Burnt Offerings), mothering a monster (It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive), or a family of monsters (House of 1000 Corpses), Black lent her skills to scores of genre flicks. These were mostly terrible (Plan 10 from Outer Space? Come on!), and they unfortunately drew attention from some of the impressive roles that exemplified her genuine talent over her five decade career. Here’s a quick reminder of why we love Karen Black.
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Black stuns as Jack Nicholson’s white trash girlfriend in one of the great flicks of the American Seventies. Her Oscar nominated performance proved her mettle in animating a low rent sensuality that would mark her entire career.
The Great Gatsby (1974)
Black injects the uptight world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby with a little destructive vulgarity, winning a Golden Globe for her excellent turn as blue collar temptress Myrtle Wilson.
Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
Although Robert Altman’s adaptation of Ed Graczyk’s stage play offered Cher an opportunity to prove herself, Black’s performance as a transsexual James Dean fan served as a reminder of the talent we’d always suspected.
Nashville (1975)
A country singer in Altman’s microcosmic epic, Black held her own in an impressive ensemble and also earned a Grammy nomination for the song she penned and sang.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmEynMp00_E
Rubin and Ed (1991)
The great eccentric buddy picture brought forth Howard Hessman’s best-ever performance, the character that would get Crispin Glover kicked off Letterman, and an opportunity for Karen Black to shine again as a loser’s irritated ex-wife.
