film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
UPDATED: Winners are indicated with ♦s. I made informed guesses in 20 of the 24 categories; of those, I guessed 12 correctly. (Well, 13, really, except that in the animated short category in the original version of this page, I had both “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” and “Logorama” checked … more…
If you regularly check my on-the-fly ranking of new theatrical releases as I see them, then my top 10 movies of 2009 are no surprise: I shuffled a few titles around a bit last month, but the films ranked in the top 10 for 2009 haven’t changed much in months. (The 2009 ranking is here; … more…
Last week, the members of the Online Film Critics Society were polled about which movies we thought will be the Oscar nominees for Best Picture — remember, there will be 10 this year — and these are the films we collectively predicted (in alphabetical order; links go to my reviews): Avatar The Blind Side An … more…
Now posted over the OFCS news blog. Fun! A taste: BEST PICTURE The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds A Serious Man Up Up in the Air BEST DIRECTOR Kathryn Bigelow (-) The Hurt Locker Neill Blomkamp (-) District 9 James Cameron (-) Avatar Joel & Ethan Coen (-) A Serious Man Quentin Tarantino (-) Inglourious Basterds … more…
Twilight frenzy has gripped the U.K., too: 1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon: £11.7 million (NEW) 2. 2012: £3.5 million (2nd week; drops 46%) 3. A Christmas Carol: £2.2 million (3rd week; drops 11%) 4. Harry Brown: £.72 million (2nd week; drops 43%) 5. Up: £.64 million (actual numbers, not estimates) Bad timing for box … more…
Where does the week go? 1. Where the Wild Things Are: $32.7 million (NEW) 2. Law Abiding Citizen: $21 million (NEW) 3. Paranormal Activity: $19.6 million (NEW in wide release; up 148% over last week’s limited release) 4. Couples Retreat: $17.2 million (2nd week; drops 50%) 5. The Stepfather: $11.6 million (NEW) actual numbers, not … more…
It’s hard to know sometimes whether the Coen Brothers are… well, not pulling our collective leg. Bbut are they actually *daring* us, with each new film, to keep coming along with them?
And so do decade-old movies about playthings: 1. Zombieland: $24.7 million (NEW) 2. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: $15.8 million (3rd week; drops 37%) 3. Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D: $12.5 million (NEW) 4. Surrogates: $7.2 million (2nd week; drops 51%) 5. The Invention of Lying: $7 million (NEW) actual numbers, not estimates What … more…
Weird how it feels like a “slow” week when I’ve got “only” four movies on my slate. Four movies, that is, in a screening room, which isn’t counting all the press roundtables I’m doing this week, and the stack of DVDs I want to get to, and the IFC movies available on demand I’d like … more…
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… Oh my goodness, the Coen Brothers have a new movie… And holy shit, that is a trailer, isn’t it? No stars, no “in a world where” nonsense, just that rhythmic thumping and the sweaty desperation and the blank stares and the palpable angst. I’d always see anything … more…
