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 Holiday Movies A Christmas list
Now Playing The Barbarian Invasions
Genre: Quebec-set sexual satire about the death of a randy, petty
patriarch The pitch: Curdled, curmudgeonly semi-sequel to Denys Arcand's 1986
boomer chat-classic "Decline of the American Empire." The demo: People who believe Roger Ebert's quote that it's a
"masterpiece." Buzz worthy: Marie-Josée Croze, winner of a Cannes acting prize,
unleashing her demons on the protagonist. Party chatter: The shocking bit of September 11 footage that appears
without warning was shot by a Quebecois architect. Oscar tidings? You can practically hear Harvey Weinstein huffing and
puffing; it's one of the few art-house movies in memory to get
pre-opening weekend sneak previews. Calendar Girls
Genre: Older women being naughty girls The pitch: "The Full Monty" with unemployed women The demo: Your mom. Let her go with her friends. Party chatter: From the director of "Saving Grace," another
graysploitation comedy, with Brenda Blethyn as a middle-aged pot dealer.
Oscar tidings? Wouldn't it be nice for Helen Mirren or Julie Walters
to get one of those? Maybe for another movie.
Elf vs. Bad Santa
Genre: North Pole Grudge Match The pitch: Elf's the $100-million-plus-grossing Will
Ferrell-being-simple fable; Billy Bob Thornton's Willie T. Stokes is
the most [bleeping] sad-sack Santa of them all. Who would want to see it: Pack the kids, nieces and nephews off to
"Elf" and join Billy Bob for the tale of a man whose downfall came
after he was "with a woman who wasn't clean." Buzz worthy: Any scene where Ferrell romances elfin Zooey Deschanel;
any scene where Billy Bob glares mercilessly at his tormentors, adult
and child alike, before turning a blast-furnace of obscenity upon them. Party chatter: The Coen brothers came up with the idea for "Bad
Santa." Oscar tidings?: No effin' way. In America
Genre: Irish magical realism The pitch: Jim Sheridan's semi-autobiographical story of an Irish
family's move to Manhattan in a dreamy, indeterminate time. The demo: Just about anybody: its story of a father, mother and two
beautiful girls coming to terms with love and loss is mysteriously
beautiful and wondrously hopeful. Buzz worthy: Djimon Hounsou, as a suffering downstairs neighbor,
inhabiting a raw monologue, raging at numb dad Paddy Considine about the
meaning of love. Party chatter: Sheridan, who wrote the story with two of his
daughters, says it's about "leaving the culture of Death behind." Oscar tidings? Fox Searchlight held the film from fall 2002 to
improve its chances. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Genre: Multibillion-dollar hat trick The pitch: Whoop-de-doo epic for fantasy fandom, Tolkien readers,
action aficionados and admirers of doe-eyed, floppy-haired
indie-rocker-like mythical creatures. The demo: The hundred million or so people who've seen it already. Buzz worthy: The attack of a nasty-ass spider as big as Governor
Schwarzenegger's custom Humvee. Party chatter: Hobbit-like, Peter Jackson recently entertained
European interviewers in shorts and barefoot. Oscar tidings? It may be the crowning of the King--shot for shot,
Jackson is the most inventive, emphatic, ambitious director going, but
the pining emotions of "Cold Mountain" could give it an uncivil kick
in the shorts.
Lost in Translation Genre: Euro-ennui The pitch: A delicious Tokyo-set comedy about jetlag and romantic
bonds The demo: People who hear from their friends they just don't know
what they're missing. Buzz worthy: Lying chastely on a hotel bed, Scarlett Johansson,
playing a 23-year-old Yale graduate and fifty-plus movie star Bill
Murray share confessions about their lives and marriages. Her list
includes "I'm so mean," delivered with lacerating and
self-abasing knowingness. Party chatter: The script was little more than a 75-page outline,
which was enough to convince foreign distributors to ante up the modest
budget after the success of "The Virgin Suicides." Oscar tidings? Two words: Bill Murray Mona Lisa Smile
Genre: Female self-empowerment fantasy The pitch: The Dead Princesses Society The demo: Fans of actresses like Julia Roberts, Kristen Dunst and
Maggie Gyllenhaal. Buzz worthy: Gyllenhaal catting around with anachronistic alacrity. Party chatter: Mike Newell directed "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Oscar tidings? It's the kind of plot that's dandled the Academy since
1939's "Goodbye Mr. Chips." Something's Gotta Give
Genre: Chick (and dick) flick The pitch: Equal opportunity romantic comedy. Randy Jack meets
writerly Diane and toothsome Amanda Peet's just another 30-year-old
toothpick. The demo: Fans of plainspoken romcom who don't want either the man
or woman to become villains. Buzz worthy: Diane Keaton and Frances McDormand as sisters, doing a
kitchen bump-and-bump to "Sexual Healing," playing upstairs for
daughter Peet and Nicholson: "Oh baby" turns into "Mommmmmm!" when
Jack seizes up with a Viagra-influenced heart seizure. Party chatter: Nicholson says what people misunderstand about him is
his perception of fidelity: "I commit. I commit like a freight
train." Oscar tidings? Smart screenplay; Michael Ballhaus' cinematography
makes money look super-shiny. 21 Grams
Genre: Nonlinear drama The pitch: Many dark nights of the soul, in strategically disarrayed
order The demo: Fans of wrenching melodrama and over-the-top acting: Sean
Penn, Naomi Watts and especially Benicio del Toro suffer savagely in the
aftermath of a hit-and-run accident. Buzz worthy: The look on Watts' face when she returns to drug-taking
in a Memphis tavern's washroom. Party chatter: Director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, a self-confessed
rotten musician, says he hears a scene before visualizing it. Oscar tidings? Distributor Focus Features has this, "Lost in
Translation" and "Swimming Pool" on its ambitious roster: they're
going for all of them. Coming Attractions Big Fish
(Christmas Day)
Genre: Whimsy The pitch: Tim Burton grafts his knack for warped imagery onto tall
tales drawn from Daniel Wallace's best-seller and embellished by
screenwriter John August. The demo: People who didn't get enough of twisted father-son
communication allegories this year with movies like "Hulk." Buzz worthy: Helena Bonham Carter's unexpected monologue about a
man's secrets. Party chatter: Burton didn't think to cast girlfriend (and mother of
his son) Bonham Carter for her dual roles as a legendary with and a
neglected mistress; producer Richard Zanuck did. Oscar tidings? The studio and the state of Alabama are sure hoping. Cheaper by the Dozen
(Christmas Day)
Genre: Family gross-out comedy The pitch: Tromping on the title of an ancient book and movie The demo: Fans of director Shawn Levy's previous
lurch-and-laugh-fest, "Just Married" with Ashton Kutcher and Brittany
Murphy. Party chatter: Hillary Duff might pass for Bonnie Hunt's daughter.
Maybe. And how'd Ashton Kutcher get in there? Ohhh. Oscar tidings? Oscar Meyer, maybe. Cold Mountain
(Christmas Day)
Genre: Thinking women's epic The pitch: The first dip into the books of Homer since "O Brother
Where Art Thou?" The demo: Fans of thoughtful epics like "The English Patient" and
"Dr. Zhivago," opening with a touch of "Saving Private Ryan"-style
horror. Buzz worthy: Natalie Portman, a widowed mother in the wilderness with
a sick child, indicating her heartfelt need for intimacy. Party chatter: To get the most for their $80 million, the producers
shot the Civil War South mostly in Romania. Oscar tidings? Romance, landscapes, war, suffering, longing, man's
inhumanity to man--What's not to like? The Company
(Christmas Day)
Genre: Dance drama The pitch: A dream project of Neve Campbell; she's part of a
fictional Chicago dance company. The demo: Girls still young enough not to be embarrassed wearing
their leg warmers to the mall. Party chatter: The 76-year-old Robert Altman shot on video for the
first time, although his career-long fixation with the zoom lens
prepared him for its intimate virtues. Oscar tidings? Its fixation on process and the low-key quality of its
drama probably disqualify it for the story-mad members. Paycheck
(Christmas Day)
Genre: Science fiction: imagine a world where Ben Affleck is a star The pitch: Slick Philip K. Dick adaptation The demo: Fans of clever popcorn movies that don't take the time to
insult your intelligence. Buzz worthy: Uma Thurman actually sells the movie's post-Buddhist
thesis statement: "That's all we are, the sum of our own experiences...
But some of the best things come from complete mistakes." Party chatter: Woo wants to make a film about the Chinese who built
the Western railways, but after lackluster results on "Windtalkers,"
Paramount got him to return to his kinetic ways as in "Face/Off." Oscar tidings? It's too much fun. Peter Pan
(Christmas Day)
Genre: Spielberg Lite The pitch: Super-expensive adaptation of J. M. Barrie's work The demo: People who haven't seen the yucky coming attractions Buzz worthy: Anything with Ludivine Sagnier's Tinkerbell Party chatter: Sagnier's Tink is mute: "In Steven Spielberg's
movie, [`Hook'], Julia Roberts speaks. He made her talk. But I think
it's a good idea for her not to talk. We have to respect her
infirmity!" Oscar tidings? If director P. J. Hogan's audience-pleasing work on
"My Best Friend's Wedding" is any indication, probably not. Young Black Stallion
(Christmas Day)
Genre: IMAX pablum The pitch: A girl and her big black pony The demo: Undemanding girls who want ponies Buzz worthy: The young actress' awed expression when she first sees
the stallion rare. Party chatter: Its IMAX-length running time, just over forty minutes,
keeps its simplicity from numbing the bottom or brain. Oscar tidings? Right up there with "Real World: Cancun."
Girl With A Pearl Earring
(December 26)
Genre: Historical romance The pitch: A portrait of watching a painting dry The demo: Fans of Tracy Chevalier's best-seller and pretty, pretty
pictures. Buzz worthy: Colin Firth as the great painter Jan Vermeer,
demonstrating his camera obscura to pout-mouthed, nearly-mute, pale
model-to-be Scarlett Johansson. Party chatter: The film is almost as still as the silence in a
gallery filled with Vermeer's paintings. Oscar tidings? A daringly subdued emulation of Vermeer's modest body
of brilliant work may wow the technical branches, but it's probably too
still for the rest of the Kodak Theatre mob.
House of Sand and Fog
(December 26)
Genre: Downbeat drama The pitch: Adaptation of Andre Dubus III's Oprah Book Club selection
about the battle for a small house in California after bureaucratic
mistakes pit an irresponsible woman (Jennifer Connelly) against an
Iranian émigré (Ben Kingsley). The demo: Fans of brilliantly nuanced acting who like their tragedy
strong as winter's longest night.
Buzz worthy: There is a moment involving Kingsley and a Snickers bar
that is small, quiet and packs a punch like a fist. Party chatter: First-time director Vadim Perelman is himself an
émigré, and after the fashion of smart outsiders making their way in
Hollywood, gave a profane, balls-out interview to Newsweek that gives
him cred as a battler atop the burnished results of his film. Oscar tidings? You betcha. Kingsley, Connelly, Ron Eldard as a deputy
who's a lost soul and especially Shohreh Aghdashloo as Kingsley's wife,
all give compact yet epic performances.
Also by Ray Pride Tip of the Week
The goo factory
Christmas gift
Short Runs
Tip of the Week
Culture crash
Weight regimen
Short Runs
Tip of the Week
Short Runs
Get over here and love one another
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