Winter's Bone wins Best Feature at the Gotham Awards, starting the awards derby on the right note.

The first major awards show of the year started the season on just the right note. Winter's Bone, easily the best live-action picture of the year so far, scored the Best Feature Award, while also winning Best Ensemble Performance (yay for John Hawkes). Somewhat surprisingly, Jennifer Laurence did not win the Best Breakthrough Performance award (she lost to Ronald Bronstein), but she'll have to make due with a surefire Oscar nomination in a month or so (if I had my way, she and Natalie Portman would just both win the Best Actress Oscar and call it a night). The film and its cast and crew landed seven Film Independent Spirit Award nominations this morning, including Best Picture, Best Female Lead (Jennifer Laurence), Best Director (Debra Granik), Best Screenplay (Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini), Best Supporting Male (John Hawkes, who damn-well better win), Best Supporting Female (Dale Dickey), and Best Cinematography (Michael McDonough). Winter's Bone is the best film of the year that isn't Toy Story 3. Glad to see the awards season on the right track from the get-go.

Scott Mendelson

The Adjustment Bureau gets two awful posters.

These may be two of the lamest pieces of poster art in a long time. Aside from the fact that Emily Blunt apparently cannot run without the help of Matt Damon (she plays a ballet dancer, which means she's probably in much better shape than he is), the entire layout looks poorly photoshopped and not the least bit serious. If this movie is somekind of jokey nod to Hitchcock's man-on-the-run thrillers, then so be it. But the trailer seems to be selling this as a serious thriller. I don't think anyone can look at these posters, especially the tall one with its 'okay, pose for the camera and pretend to run... now!' character shots, and do anything but giggle. Poster fail.

Scott Mendelson

Smoke, but no fire: Bosnian activist group 'Women Victims of War' attacks Angelina Jolie over made-up concerns of her new film.

The headlines scream "Jolie called insensitive to Bosnian rape victims!" and "Angelina Jolie called ignorant by Womens Victims of War". But if you read the story, and read their statement, it becomes quite clear that this group (however noble their work is up to this point) has used the media's obsession with smacking down big celebrities as a way to get their name in the newspapers. The gist is that Jolie is directing a drama set during the Bosnian war, around 1992-1995. It concerns a romantic plot involving a Serbian prison guard and a Bosnian captive, a woman who was once his girlfriend (sounds like the plot of the first 'Sayid episode' in the first season of Lost). This tidbit has been tossed about as 'proof' that Angelina Jolie is making a film about a rape victim who falls in love with her rapist. They have not seen the script and prior attempts by Jolie to set up a meeting with the group have been unsuccessful.

RIP: Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010)

On the opening night of Scary Movie 3, when Leslie Nielsen paid homage to his 'want want to tell you all good luck, we're all counting on you' bit from Airplane!, my friend and I were only ones in the theater who laughed. I cannot describe to you how old I felt in that moment on October 24th, 2003. Rest in piece Leslie Nielsen. We'll try not to call you Shirley. Most of tonight's obituaries will (justifiably) focus on his legendary deadpan comic work in Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and non-Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker spoofs like Repossessed, Spy Hard, and Superhero Movie. But for those who only know Mr. Nielson as 'that guy from all of those spoofs', take a moment to relish Leslie Nielsen: horror film villain. After the jump, go about 5 minutes into the first clip for this second segment in the 1982 horror anthology Creepshow. Farewell Mr. Nielsen, you'll always be Shirley to us.

Scott Mendelson

Weekend Box Office (11/28/10): Tangled and Harry Potter 7 face off over crowded Thanksgiving. Burlesque, Faster, Love and Other Drugs open soft.

Like a combination of Thanksgiving holidays past, it was a combination of Harry Potter holding down the fort against all newcomers, while a Disney animated property broke out of the gate. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I still won the three-day and five-day weekend derby, but Disney's Tangled had a smashing debut that set a record for a three-day opening weekend for a standard Disney cartoon (IE - not Pixar). The Disney fairy-tale scored $48.7 million over the Fri-Sun portion of the weekend and amassed a whopping $68.7 million since opening on Wednesday. Inflation and 3D price-bump aside, this best the $42 million opening of The Lion King way back in summer 1994 (which was one of the top-five opening weekends ever at the time). It's also the second-largest Thanksgiving opening weekend in history, behind the $80 million five-day and $59 million three-day opening weekend of Toy Story 2 back in 1999 (that $57 million debut was the third-biggest ever at the time). The lesson here is a simple one: Disney REALLY should have opened The Princess and the Frog in wide release over Thanksgiving last year.

Review: Tangled: the 2D 35mm Experience (2010)

Tangled
2010
100 minutes

Rated PG (for 'brief mild violence' - this one really should have been a G)

by Scott Mendelson

The most impressive thing about Walt Disney's Tangled is that it manages to incorporate nearly every standard element of the classic Disney fairy-tale/90s cartoon without being about any of those things. It is, at heart, a rollicking buddy picture. It works as a comedy because it never tries too hard for laughs. It works as an occasional action picture because it doesn't go out of its way to be 'action-packed'. And it works as a romance because it makes no effort to tell 'the greatest love story every told'. It is a clever and charming adventure that just happens to be the 50th animated feature from Walt Disney Studios. And, quite frankly, they make it look easy this time around, fashioned an genuine chick-flick fairy tale that effortlessly fixes many of the creepy gender undertones found in both the old films (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty) and the more recent animated fables (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast). It's a shame that this is allegedly to be Disney's final fairy tale adaptation

(we'll see...)

, because they've finally perfected the formula.

Explaining the fates of Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Alternative/cult films are, by definition, not mainstream.

There has been much discussion over the last few months over the relative box office failures of more cult-ish genre properties. But, the fact remains that films based on cult properties or inherently aimed at cult audiences are almost designed not to break out beyond the pre-established audience. In the end, the real victories for (among others) Watchmen, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Kick-Ass is that they got made and were released to a wide audience. Expectations were out of whack for all three, but those that wanted to see them had ample opportunity and will enjoy them accordingly. The problem is, at heart, an entertainment media that treats the niche as mainstream.

If you're wavering on seeing 127 Hours, you CAN handle it.

There has been much discussion regarding the slow expansion of Danny Boyle's dynamite drama 127 Hours. Much of it has revolved around a certain moment that occurs towards the end of the picture. Sure, the film is based on a somewhat publicized true story, so this might not count as a spoiler, but I'll try to be vague for those not in the know. Anyway, in the same way that The Cove had to deal with people who were generally interested in its content (an expose on the practice of dolphin slaughter in Japanese waters) but didn't particularly want to sit through images of dolphins being graphically killed onscreen, 127 Hours has a major handicap in regards to both its mainstream box office success and its Oscar hopes. In a just world, the film will end up scoring at least a Best Actor nomination (if not win) for James Franco, who dominates the film in no less a potent manner than Natalie Portman owns every moment of Black Swan (review for that one coming after the holiday). But there is a genuine concern that enough people will pass on the terrifically engaging and intense character study because they know what happens and are not sure they can handle it. So for those on the fence, here's the scoop:

Review: Faster (2010)

Faster
2010
95 minutes

rated R

by Scott Mendelson

The most surprising thing about Faster is that it's not. It's not a thrill-a-minute action romp, nor does it even qualify as trashy exploitation fare. It's a genuine drama and a thoughtful, occasionally moving character study. It is, at its core, a look at three damaged souls who must choose whether to cling to their convictions or let it go for the sake of their humanity. Faster may not satisfy hardcore action junkies and/or gore hounds, but it earns points for being a real movie with a token amount of substance.

Yep, Gore Verbinski is directing The Lone Ranger, with Johnny Depp as Tonto.

Confirming something that has been rumored for literally years, Disney announced that Gore Verbinksi will be helming a feature-film retelling of The Lone Ranger. And yes, Johnny Depp will be playing Tonto. For what it's worth, Johnny Depp does have is 1/4 Native American, with a Cherokee maternal grandmother and a partial-Cherokee father. As to who will be playing the actual Lone Ranger, that is still up in the air, although I'm pretty sure that perennial favorite George Clooney has outgrown the part. Jerry Bruckheimer will be producing for a planned 2012 release.