OSCAR 2011: The Winners and Why

Last night's Academy Awards was, to say the least, surprising, but not necessarily in a good way. In fact, I have to admit I would have been a lot happier if we had absolutely no surprises. Realistically, that didn't happen, and we got plenty of shocking moments that simply didn't need to happen. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" took home an Oscar for the absolute worst aspect of the film. "Hugo" took awards for technical aspects that simply didn't support it, all the while I was reminded of how soulless a feature Scorsese's latest was. But if there's a single win that defines the disappointment I feel this morning, it's Meryl Streep winning Best Actress.

From the very start of the evening, we saw Viola Davis absolutely working it on the red carpet, and I couldn't have felt happier for her. This was her night, and the Academy refused to recognize it. If she had taken the stage, last night would have been absolutely perfect in my memory. I don't blame Meryl Streep for winning. You have to blame the Academy for simply making the wrong decision and not voting on what's simply better and more deserving. Meryl Streep didn't need another award, but even more than that, her getting countless awards for performances like this is like giving Adam Sandler an Oscar for "Jack and Jill" because he was great in "Punch-Drunk Love" in the past. For the most part, however, I was pleased with what was predicted to win "The Artist"s wins were extremely heartfelt, and "A Separation" was just a great moment.

Ranking 2011's Oscar Nominated Films

I've had the feeling that I saw less Oscar nominated movies this year than in previous years. Not so. In fact I feel less complete in Oscar knowledge this year than in previous years when I had seen more films nominated. This year, it scales out to 24, only 5 of which I'd profess to truly love, and only one of those is nominated where it most matters. "Drive" only has one nomination to its name. The worst film I saw of the bunch, until today, was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", and it has three, which I suppose is somewhat deserving, but it only repeats the Academy's favoritism towards glitzy, gaudy, and obvious.

If nothing else, this gives me an outlet for ranking some of the other films that didn't make the cut past the top 20. I have no doubt people will think I'm crazy in ranking "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" above "The Tree of Life", "The Descendants", and "The Adventures of Tintin", but for the life of me I had more of an experience in Michael Bay's rampant actioner than I did with those that rank lower than it. Anything lower than 20, I did not like, so the majority of the films nominated that I've seen, I do enjoy them. I think that they are rather good. It doesn't change the fact that there are better films out there that simply aren't being represented here, and that's a shame.

OSCAR 2011 PREDICTIONS: Best Picture

This is the absolute last race that anybody wants to talk about, because we all know inevitably what it's going to be. "The Artist" is going to win, and I still feel decidedly undecided in respects to that win. Why the hell do I feel that way? Because even though I love "The Artist" more than any other film in this category, I am still rather looking for some kind of adventurous buzz from the Oscars. I want something exciting to happen that will radiate vibes and talks to be bandied about for weeks. For several weeks, I did not have a film that I really wanted to champion. I look at the list of nine, and I honestly don't care enough about really any of them. Not even "The Artist".

Then last Friday I revisited "Moneyball", Bennett Miller's math-behind-baseball film that was well liked back in September, but lost its heat since then. It's easy to flash an indifferent eye its way, and in fact in many other situations I would. But I keep on circling back to a line that I believe defines the situation that the Academy Awards happen to be in right now. "I know these guys. I know the way they think, and they will erase us. And everything we've done here; None of it will matter." In going across every single category, I find the films that will win are never the ones I'd want. I don't have any feeling of satisfactions about the group that the Academy assembles as the best in these particular fields.

That's where I get off sore. "Moneyball" is a film that's entirely about the undervalued, and it's been greatly undervalued time and again this year. Mind you, it's far from my favorite film of the year, and in fact it didn't even crack the honorable mentions with me. I just adore the message it would send if it did win that impossible win. But I suppose I can't feel too bad about my favorite film of the bunch, "The Artist", winning on Sunday either. I just get annoyed with what they've fill the categories with this year. There is a far better group of nominees that have been criminally overlooked in this particular year. It seems so easy to make the right decision, but this year they just fouled up as hard as ever.

OSCAR 2011: Requiem for an Ensemble

If there's been one category that's been sorely missing from the Academy bracket for ages, it's an award for Ensemble Cast that's been long standing within the SAG Awards. And it's a damn shame because there is plenty of room for them to honor a notably strong ensemble cast. Of course the Academy would quite easily muck it up to accommodate their own favorite films rather than consider the casts as a whole. So I offered them a slot for themselves, with what would very likely end up nominated if they chose. But honestly, I care a great deal more about what I would choose, because I'm just that narcissistic.

The only real overlap there would be would be in "Midnight in Paris", which they'd give access automatically whereas I understand why they deserve to be nominated. The cast of that piece is so immense and on-the-dot in a wide and expansive impersonatory and satirical joust for the win. On the smaller side, I think everybody was stunned by the synchronization of the work on "Drive", but less for the across the board subtle and shattering performances on "Tomboy". That may be just me, but I was devastated fantastically. I was giddy with joy at the assembled cast of the latest "Mission: Impossible", each of which served to a purpose. And the cast of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" leaves nary a weak link in the pot.

OSCAR 2011 PREDICTIONS: Best Original Screenplay

To be truthful I'm for the most part pleased with the nominations for Original Screenplay. I say "for the most part" on account of the unwelcome intrusion of "Margin Call". I never understood the enthusiasm that went towards that film instead of the far more deserving "Martha Marcy May Marlene". But outside that slight hiccup, there's a lot to like about the screenplays here. I'd never vouch for "Bridesmaids" on account of direction or as a corporeal film, but it is quite meticulously written by those who seem to understand the film more than it understands itself. It won't win, but it's a welcome addition.

I'm more than just happy to see "A Separation" make it in. Discounting the indifference that's often thrown the way of the Foreign Language category, as well as giving us dreamers something to root for desperately to no avail. But who are we kidding, really? This is between Woody Allen and Michel Hazanavicius, and it's more than likely that the Academy will go with the former in this case. After all, how good can a screenplay with too few spoken words be? Actually quite meticulous. From the dialogue that comes onscreen in captions, to the dialogue that we only ever see on the characters' mouths, to even the slightest gesture and movement, it's quite a brilliant script. It'll still probably go to "Midnight in Paris", for all its clever zingers, but they wouldn't be so clever if it weren't for the spot-on performances from its expansive ensemble.

OSCAR 2011 PREDICTIONS: Art Direction

I'm a proponent of specificity over style, at least in terms of Visual Effects, Art Direction, and such in terms of visual mediums. As such it massively pisses me off when films like "Hugo", "Harry Potter", and "War Horse" make it in because they're "pretty". I use pretty in quotations, because in most cases, it's a hollow beauty. I'm quite simply irritated by the fact that the unprecedented-this-year work behind "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" was ignored, but... forgive? No. Just adapt. Of the films here, the only ones I can say are rather good in terms of set design and such are "The Artist" and "Midnight in Paris". However, the latter didn't absolutely rock my socks off, so here's hoping that "Artist" goes for a sweep. It'll probably go to "Hugo", just because that's the obvious choice.

WILL WIN: "Hugo"

COULD/SHOULD WIN: "The Artist"

SHOULD REALLY WIN: "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy"

AWARDS 2011: "Hugo" Leads the Oscar Nods

Well, that could have gone a great deal better, couldn't it. I'm not happy about the Oscar nominations, but I'll save the endless rant till much later today. There's much work be done here. Until then, grind out your own grievances against this slate of nods while I go off in the corner and cry for an hour.

Best Picture

"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

AWARDS 2011: DGA Does Directors Good

I haven't done too well to keep up with the pace of the Guild awards, and in fact this awards season has been an uncharacteristically weak one for me. I guess I'm just not that invested in it. I rather respect all of the directors on the list of Directors Guild nominations, but two of them just don't deserve to be here. I'm not at all talking about Woody Allen or David Fincher, as both earned their stripes pretty well this year by my standards. I'm talking about Martin Scorsese and Alexander Payne, who are both rather fine directors who misfired drastically this year. Payne seemed to lose any strong and dramatic bone in his body with "The Descendants", and Scorsese's passion was diluted by a supremely lacking story in "Hugo". This is quite a strong list of directors, but they just shouldn't be here now.

• Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris")
• David Fincher ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo")
• Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
• Alexander Payne ("The Descendants")
• Martin Scorsese ("Hugo")

AWARDS 2011: WGA Nominations Skew Disaffected

The WGA has had a notorious penchant for nominating inaccurate films for screenwriting, as they cancel out so many films on strict rules. Therefore, the little interest I usually muster for awards isn't even available now. It's a slow crawl to nomination morning, when all the silliness finally fades from the world and we can start talking not-really-that-seriously.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• "The Descendants"
  
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
  
• "The Help"
  
• "Hugo"
  
• "Moneyball"

Best Original Screenplay:

• "Bridesmaids"
  
• "50/50"
  
• "Midnight in Paris"
  
• "Win Win"
  
• "Young Adult"

Best Documentary Screenplay:

• "Better This World"
  
• "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
  
• "Nostalgia for the Light"
  
• "Pina"
  
• "Position Among the Stars"
• "Senna"

AWARDS 2011: PGA go for regulars, plus "Dragon Tattoo"

The producers guild are down to their dirty deeds once more, continuing to officially endorse the films which we all know will be nominated for Best Picture. There's little straying from the course at this point. It's probably going to be a seven film race this year, and if there's three below that are probably not going to make it, they're "Bridesmaids", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", and "The Ides of March". The rest are just cruising towards nomination day. I would like to see eight films make the cut, and who's to count out that possibility? If there's a film of the three discounted that could likely make it, it would be "Ides of March", which would be a nice capper to a decidedly dicey road it's been on.

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

• "The Artist"
• "Bridesmaids"
• "The Descendants"
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
• "The Help"

AWARDS 2011: Broadcast Film Critics nominations hit

If I'm pretty damn far behind the beat, it's because more important things in real life have taken up the place of my attention span, however cramped it may be. So now I get along to the BFCA nominations, which remain a mere glyph for what the Oscars might be. The nods are mostly predictable in the vein of what you'd expect. The only thing really worth raising a glass to is Nick Nolte being nominated for supporting actor for "Warrior". Still need to see that one, but I've heard solid things going for the man.

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Carpet-Bagging: Before the gates open

We are in the last seconds of the pre-awards season, with the New York Film Critics Circle just on the edge of announcing their victors. We can be ready for a handful of surprises when we see exactly where the critics actually swing in their decisions. At the same time, don't be disappointed if the cards land exactly where we expect them to. The current frontrunners are still "The Artist", "The Descendants", and now effectively "War Horse". The trailer placed it as a winning and simple crowdpleaser several months ago, and even then I knew this was a lock for a nod. If you know me well enough, that also means I despised it quite fervently.

It's not that it's not pretty, but I have a much stronger pull to see the stage play and all its unique design elements than this relatively simple and straightforward exercise in spine-chilling. In the meantime, I continued my general cynicism against "The Descendants", which it's a shame when you employ such against an Alexander Payne film and not for it. I quite liked "Sideways", but I can feel the strands that were leading Payne towards this sort of conclusion. George Clooney is the frontrunner in the Best Actor race, and I doubt that's likely to deflate. Who's going to come in and steal the spotlight?

Jean Dujardin? As interesting an idea as that might be, he's pretty much just a nominee here, in the same vein as Christoph Waltz came along in 2009. He's bound to get a lot of offers after this film, and maybe one of them will bring him back around here, but he's not going to gallop away with this one. "The Artist", in the meantime, does have a strong inclination towards Best Picture, but the closer an opportunity it becomes, the less I see in it. It's really starting to seem more disingenuous a treat than the trailer lets on. 150 seconds conveys perhaps everything that the 90 minute film does, if my cynical non-viewer take on it proves fruitful enough.

So what else has shifted? Well, in case you hadn't noticed, the entire Best Picture race has skewed to becoming almost entirely sweet and obnoxiously endearing, even beyond the three frontrunners. I've already lamented about "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", but I have even more reason to complain now that "Hugo" has entered the conversation quite boldly in comparison. That does give me pause enough to question why I didn't see it while I had the chance over Thanksgiving, but even more over the overlap of the two films' plots. They're practically the same, with the core difference being that Scorsese's film uses breathtaking technologies in a way it's not been seen before and as a tool to give tribute to the past. Stephen Daldry's film is trying to yank those tears out of your eyes in the most manipulative and predictable of ways.

Carpet-Bagging: The Big & Loud Bracket

I'm officially kicking off this official segment to discuss any and all things Oscar and awards related, as last year was very loose with its designation. I'm still not into making predictions until September is well underway. In fact, I don't feel comfortable making guesses on films I haven't had the chance to see yet. The only mildly certain bet I can place is that Alexandre Desplat will be nominated in Best Original Score again, and he will, in all likelihood, not win. As far as what I've already seen, I wouldn't say his work on "A Better Life" has much traction, but he may find an unexpected push in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2".

In spite of my downtrodden pan of the film nearly a month ago, his score had me padding my eyes quite a few times. Unfortunately, it was whilst I was at home listening to it, wishing the film had only lived up to it. Talking of the massive blockbuster of the summer, Warner Bros. is clearly intent on a Best Picture push for their biggest cash-cow of the year. While I doubt it will get the 5% of the votes needed to secure a nomination, and sincerely hope that's the case, the film has insurmountable box office power and a frankly unbelievable critical backing to boot. It could get enough of a passionate vote to make it in.

However, I expect it to find more success in the technical categories, which I'd be so happy about if they weren't so poor this time out. Desplat's score is the best of the series, and that's the biggest recommendation I can push. However, I had nothing but contempt for the stale and obvious approach to the cinematography, and only a little less for the visual effects. They were competent most of the time, but the broomstick scenes in the Room of Requirement are the worst visual effects I've seen in the entire series. Art Direction is almost guaranteed, and it's been the film's strongest player in past years. No acting, directing, or writing accolades to be nominated here.

Box Office Update: Victory for "America"

I'm still getting a weird sense of polarization after giving Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 a pan last weekend, and I almost gave Captain America: The First Avenger a decent review this weekend. Then I thought, "Did I really enjoy it more than Harry Potter?" Thank heavens I didn't, because this weekend is lining things up rather agreeably for most films. Captain America came in first, which was a tad surprising, but it's income was exactly as expected. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was the one that took a pretty big tumble. It fell all the way down to $48 million from it's highest opening weekend ever.

So it looks like The Dark Knight is still moderately safe, and I'd attribute Potter's massive success to opening day madness. The films in that franchise always were a bit front-loaded in terms of income, but still pretty successful. Other than that, I'm not quite sure what else is big about this weekend. Friends with Benefits opened to third place, just below $20 million. That is a tad lower than its counterpart No Strings Attached, but that released during the most depressing time of the year in box office terms. People were looking for something mildly good, and it was only that.

1. Captain America (First Weekend; $65.8 million)

2. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Second Weekend; $48 million)

3. Friends with Benefits (First Weekend; $18.5 million)

4. Transformers 3 (Fourth Weekend; $12 million)

5. Horrible Bosses (Third Weekend; $11.7 million)

6. Zookeeper (Third Weekend; $8.7 million)

7. Cars 2 (Fifth Weekend; $5.7 million)

8. Winnie the Pooh (Second Weekend; $5.1 million)

9. Bad Teacher (Fifth Weekend; $2.6 million)

10. Midnight in Paris (Tenth Weekend; $1.9 million)

Box Office Update: "Hallows" Kills It

Well you can't say that the highest grossing motion picture franchise in history wasn't going to go out without making a huge dent in our wallets. This was inevitable since Friday, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has broken The Dark Knight's opening weekend record by a clear $13 million. The film did earn most of that from the gargantuan Friday debut, but despite the fall from Friday to Saturday, it held on rather respectfully from Saturday to Sunday. It's to be seen how off that estimate is when the final numbers hit on Monday, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a couple million up or down.

It's a massive accomplishment, but there were other milestones to be had this weekend. For starters, Transformers: Dark of the Moon became the first film of 2011 to bust past that pesky $300 million mark. I'll admit to playing a slight hand in that, as I saw the film a second time last evening. Both Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper held on honestly, as no threatening new comedies entered the market. That'll change when Friends with Benefits swings around the corner next weekend.

The most shocking failure of this weekend was poor Winnie the Pooh, which landed in sixth place with only $8 million. People complaining that their childhood was over after Potter debuted were clearly looking in the wrong place. My favorite success of the weekend, however, was Midnight in Paris, reentering the top ten this week just in time to blow past Hannah and Her Sisters to become the highest grossing Woody Allen film to date. So obviously this weekend at the box office was an improvement (a 46.4% improvement at that) upon last year, when Inception opened to the top spot.

1. Harry Potter...Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (First Weekend; $168.5 million)

2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Third Weekend; $21.2 million)

3. Horrible Bosses (Second Weekend; $17.6 million)

4. Zookeeper (Second Weekend; $12.3 million)

5. Cars 2 (Fourth Weekend; $8.3 million)

6. Winnie the Pooh (First weekend; $8 million)

7. Bad Teacher (Fourth Weekend; $5.2 million)

8. Larry Crowne (Third Weekend; $2.5 million)

9. Super 8 (Sixth Weekend; $1.9 million)

10. Midnight in Paris (Ninth Weekend; $1.8 million)

Box Office Update: Under Light of "Moon"

It seems like the box office is thriving, with another major hit having taken a huge chunk of the earnings this weekend, be it one that we expected. To be honest, I would have expected bigger numbers from Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but I guess the weak(er) start had to do with the general anger towards the second film. As most know, I quite enjoyed the second film, and I quite enjoyed the third film for the same basic reasons. It's big, loud, stupid, hilarious, honest, and quite obviously beautiful. Every artist has a certain style, and Bay's is with the degenerate and flashy. You can't simply watch this film and lump it in with the crowd of failing blockbusters.

Cars 2 took a massive drop from last weekend, by far the largest drop of any Pixar film, but there's no surprise there. Larry Crowne failed on impact, not making a huge dent with the opposite demographic of Transformers. Monte Carlo also didn't make a big impact, but it did well for what was expected of it. That's the main thing you can say about it, is that it did exactly what it was expected to do, and that's fine. In the scheme of total grosses, Bridesmaids passed the $150 million point, which I'm quite happy about. Pirates 4 passed $1 billion worldwide, which I'm not at all happy about. It certainly puts Alice in Wonderland in perspective in terms of quality.

1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (First Weekend; $116.4 million)

2. Cars 2 (Second Weekend; $32.1 million)

3. Bad Teacher (Second Weekend; $17.6 million)

4. Larry Crowne (First Weekend; $15.7 million)

5. Super 8 (Fourth Weekend; $9.5 million)

6. Monte Carlo (First Wekend; $8.8 million)

7. Green Lantern (Third Weekend; $8 million)

8. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Third Weekend; $6.9 million)

9. Bridesmaids (Eighth Weekend; $4.4 million)

10. Midnight in Paris (Seventh Weekend; $4.3 million)

Midpoint 2011: What's worth remembering?

To get yet another pet peeve out of the way, it is never appropriate to write in a review of any film, no matter how great it is, that it's the best film of the year thus far. After a time, it becomes far too redundant and honestly irritating. I don't like revealing my cards before they're played, and for that reason it seem ridiculous to remark on the best films of the year thus far. We're six months in and we haven't really gotten much to show for it. The first three months were a depressing slog through the gutters, and April was only refreshing in the most carnal of fashion.

How do I believe that? Well, you look at the standouts of the month, such as Hanna and Source Code, and while they are entertaining mainstream efforts, they offer little more than basic thrills and stylish conceits. Then May came along and the onslaught of fire, explosions, and death began, but not without a few small achievements. Thor proved to be a solid fantasy blockbuster adventure, Bridesmaids was a fascinating introspective comedy that succeeded where most failed, and Kung Fu Panda 2 is commendable for bringing us another fantastic performance from Gary Oldman.

June is where things got decidedly dicey, with anticipated films like X-Men: First Class, Super 8, and Cars 2 leaving this viewers infinitely disappointed. Even Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a film I was honestly ready to enjoy for what it was, managed to fail on a few levels that Revenge of the Fallen just didn't. I know! I really need to stop being so dead inside. I'll get my review for the film up by tomorrow, but the fact of the matter is that this year has thus far been largely a disappointment. I'd write it off as irrelevant when it comes to what I remember at the close of the year, but there are things worthy of mention.

Box Office Update: "2" Fast. Not Furious.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this summer? We've gone on so far without anything being truly exceptional, that I'm honestly playing quite the pessimist. I'm honestly kind of excited for Transformers: Dark of the Moon to lift me out of this rut I've been stuck in. That's not to say that films haven't been mildly successful. Green Lantern looks to be the only unmitigated failure of the blockbuster summer thus far. Things have been on a downward slope for Cars 2 all week, and yet it still displays an honorable total for this weekend.

I'm not surprised, as kids were greatly pleased with Hop a few months back, so why on earth would they not be even more pleased with Cars 2? The film beat low expectations to take the top spot with $8 million more than the previous film's opening. It's still to be determined how well the film plays in the long term, but there isn't much to draw away the kid crowd in the next month, so I'd say the film's prospects are strong. Now, the other new releases would usually be a non-factor, but Bad Teacher put up a fantastic opening north of $30 million, which is spectacular for a comedic venture like that.

Aside from that, there's not much to this weekend's box office. Green Lantern took a nosedive of nearly 65%, and looks like it's going to be a total failure. Super 8 is currently en route to doubling its budget of $50 million. Overall, the weekend was up a good 8% from last year, so things might be taking a turn for the better after Green Lantern's failure.

1. Cars 2 (First Weekend; $68 million)

2. Bad Teacher (First Weekend; $31 million)

3. Green Lantern (Second Weekend; $18.4 million)

4. Super 8 (Third Weekend; $12.1 million)

5. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Second Weekend; $10.3 million)

6. X-Men: First Class (Fourth Weekend; $6.6 million)

7. The Hangover: Part II (Fifth Weekend; $5.9 million)

8. Bridesmaids (Seventh Weekend; $5.4 million)

9. Pirates 4 (Sixth Weekend; $4.7 million)

10. Midnight in Paris (Sixth Weekend; $4.5 million)

Box Office Update: Green Means Stop

Sorry there wasn't any "Weekend Report", but from time to time my actual job tends to come in the way of me getting things up on time. On to the actual news, Green Lantern's opening was a mix of the good and the bad, opening modestly to $21.6 million on Friday only to decline greatly with the next two days. I have absolutely no intention of seeing it and adding to its now depressing total. It still managed to hold onto the top spot, but that's no huge feat going up against the second weekend of Super 8. Talking of which, J.J. Abrams' new film slipped only 40% from last weekend, which is pretty spectacular for a film built on a budget of $50 million.

Then there's the bastard second new release that finds its place lower down the list at number 3, this week being Mr. Popper's Penguins. The film fared less favorably than imagined given its kid friendly premise, but it was expected to land somewhere just below $20 million. Don't expect further kindness with Cars 2 coming in next week to snatch the kid crowd, and Bad Teacher picking up the comedic circuit. X-Men: First Class continued on a downward trend, falling another 50% to fourth place. Filling out the top five was The Hangover: Part II, which is finally bottoming out, and should end its run at about $250 million, far more than it deserves. This weekend ultimately was a gargantuan 23.8% down from last year, but that's understandable against the opening of Toy Story 3.

1. Green Lantern (First Weekend; $52.7 million)

2. Super 8 (Second Weekend; $21.3 million)

3. Mr. Popper's Penguins (First Weekend; $18.2 million)

4. X-Men: First Class (Third Weekend; $11.5 million)

5. The Hangover: Part II (Fourth Weekend; $9.6 million)

6. Kung Fu Panda 2 (Fourth Weekend; $8.7 million)

7. Bridesmaids (Sixth Weekend; $7.5 million)

8. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (Fifth Weekend; $6.2 million)

9. Midnight in Paris (Fifth Weekend; $5 million)

10. Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer (Second Weekend; $2.2 million)

Film Review: "Midnight in Paris" (***1/2)

Please take a look at the film ratings I've given out recently, and you'll see they've been scaled back, because exceptional work deserves to be seen as just that. I thought I might be kind enough to give Super 8 a complete three stars, but still chipped off 1/2. I thought 1/2 more might be deserving of Kung Fu Panda 2, but it was ultimately not too special. Midnight in Paris was just the right film to knock me back into reality, as it was the first film this year that truly defied my expectations going in. We set such specific standards going into films, and without seeing them it is entirely too easy to make calls on certain features.

It starts out with a series of images documenting modern day Paris from morning to nighttime, and the immediate impact is as something hollow. People walking idly by, shelling out cash in stores, rushing through rain under cover of umbrella, and ultimately not taking advantage of the beauty of the place around them. Wasted potential is a good way of putting it. Then the credits roll, and we hear Gil Pender, played earnestly by Owen Wilson, raving about the beauty of Paris, and how much he wishes he could live there. His fiance Inez, played by Rachel McAdams, is not as convinced.

Gil is a former Hollywood screenwriter trying to punch out his first novel, and he has a decidedly more idealist view of the world than Inez and her parents. Inez comes from the viewpoint of survival rather than passion, much like most of us. She's fascinated with Paul Bates, portrayed by Michael Sheen, a cynical and pedantic pseudo-intellectual who tries his utmost to best anyone else, even to the point of factual disconnect. After a day of sightseeing and wine tasting, Gil walks home drunk on his own and ends up being picked up by an old style car that takes him to the Paris of his dreams.