So, on my way home from work the other night I noticed a big crowd in front of City Hall so I figured, you know, the revolution had begun. Turns out it was the annual lighting of the City Hall Christmas tree, which is almost as fun. I got there just in time to watch Mayor Street finish a speech that no one was listening to, and then…
Here’s what the tree looked like before they turned the lights on.
Here’s what it looked like after.
Pretty awesome, huh?
Actually, I’m just excited because after a full year I finally figured out how to get pictures off of my phone.
The 
Two Best Supporting Actor nods for Little Miss Sunshine and neither of them are for Steve Carell. I predict the Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass diss for you, sir.
One of my favorite screenplays of the year, Thank You for Smoking, is up for an award. This is one of the few nominations I can see crossing over to an Academy nod.
Bryan Singer proves why he’s the king of the comic book film with this tribute to the 1978 original. While lacking some of the subtext of, say, X2 (unless that subtext is “wow, the Richard Donner version rocked!”), this still boasts some amazing direction and a predictably strong performance by Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor.
Kevin Smith rebounds nicely from Jersey Girl with this mind-in-the-gutter/heart-in-the-clouds story of what happens to our heroes ten years after they weren’t even supposed to be here. A welcome addition to the View Askewniverse.
And while we’re on the topic, if you’ve never had the pleasure, treat yourself to An Evening With Kevin Smith. The only thing he does better than make movies is tell stories. If this sequel, filmed in London and Toronto, is anything like the original (or his trip to Philly this summer, where I saw him at the not-at-all-geeky-sounding Wizard World) you will not be disappointed.
So guess what. Richard Donner didn’t really direct Superman II. Well, he did and he didn’t. After about 75 percent was shot, he was pulled off and Richard Lester was called in to clean up the “mess,” which, in all likelihood, was far better. Now you get to find out for sure. One hint: More Jor-El.
The one variation here on the “animals get back at The Man” trope of this year’s CGI films is that in this one they shrink a human. A human will also be shrunk, incidentally, in the upcoming Arthur and the Invisibles, for those of you keeping track of human-shrinking movies at a loss since Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
He may have lost the 2000 election (sort of) but Al Gore scores big with this Best. PowerPoint. Ever. on global warming, which currently stands as the third highest grossing doc of all time. All the charm and charisma that was lacking in the 2000 campaign is on full display here, along with some heartfelt (if occasionally overwrought) vignettes about his personal life and the motivations behind this particular crusade.
Critics were not nearly as impressed with Woody Allen’s latest as they were with his previous effort, Match Point. However, that had little to do with Scarlett Johansson (in her second consecutive Woody flick) or the now ubiquitous Hugh Jackman, and more to do with them being tired of Allen’s same old, same old schtick.
The year’s first flick to break the $100 million barrier was, shockingly enough, the sequel to a successful CGI-animated kid’s flick (I know, I thought it would be Doogal, too). Queen Latifah joins the cast as a love interest for Ray Romano’s mastodon and if you figure that’s what was missing from the first film, enjoy
Has Owen Wilson jumped the shark, or was this going to be a bad idea no matter who you cast? My money’s on the latter. Particularly disappointing is the fact that the guys who directed this directed a bunch of Arrested Developments so you know they know funny. Extras include their commentary.
That Borat guy that maybe you’ve heard of got his start here with two other Sacha Baron Cohen creations, Bruno and the eponymous Ali G. All 12 eps are here along with a host of extras including Ali G giving the 2004 Class Day commencement speech at Harvard (the far more hilarious Kofi Annan gave the actual Commencement Day speech) and a previously unaired sequence with Noam Chomsky.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
We start off with a movie you’ve never heard of, but absolutely must see. If you’re a fan of the chop sockey at all, Alvin Ecarma (full disclosure, I know the guy, which is probably the only reason I’ve heard of this) has created a classic one on the cheap. With hilarious dialogue (“You should have died when I killed you”) and truly deft martial arts, Ecarma pulls together one of the tightest, most entertaining films of the past few years. Finally, instead of trying to track it down on the festival circuit, you can just pop it in and laugh yourself silly.
Maybe you’ve heard of this. I think it was a book or a graphic novel or something. Tom Hanks, Audrey Tatou, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina, Jean Reno and Ian McKellan and directed by that guy who did A Beautiful Mind. Under any other circumstances, this would have been a modest hit with audiences and a huge hit with critics like, say, Cinderella Man. Under these circumstances, about five critics liked it and audiences around the world loved it to the tune of over half a billion dollars.
Speaking of movies that critics derided while audiences, um, accepted, we have this latest installment in the college comedy ouevre about a guy who invents a college to fool his parents. Hilarity and a supporting role for Lewis Black ensue.
With a cast that not only reunited most of the original Strangers With Candy crew but added everyone from Philip Seymour Hoffman to Dan Hedaya, you would have hoped for a more unanimous reception for this flick. But hey, at least it led to a cool appearance for Amy Sedaris on The Colbert Report with Paul Dinello.
I did. In the library. By leaving the lights on. Actually, I think it was the auto industry, but I’ll confirm that when I watch this doc about the rise and fall of the electric which, believe it or not, actually worked and was enjoyed by many before they were essentially taken away, never to be returned. Martin Sheen narrates.
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