Quick Takes: "Cabin in the Woods", "Girls", "A Prophet"

"The Cabin in the Woods"

Directed by Drew Goddard

My thoughts on the much hyped "Cabin in the Woods" are difficult to state, not because I'm afraid of giving away spoilers. It's because the subject of spoilers has been so completely marring any reviews. If we're not even allowed to talk about the basic plot of the film, what's the point? A bunch of old corporate geezers send a bunch of high school teens into a death trap to pretty much reenact your typical horror films. If that's the master spoiler, what the hell am I spoiling? That's in the very first 15 minutes of the film. I wish I'd even known that before heading in to the film. It's nice to have some inclination of plot.

But how's the film? Not quite worthy of all the hype that everyone seems to allot it. Is it quite clever in its more humorous statements. Yes, and it gives the films a spontaneity that all the serious talk of spoilers attempts to deprive the film of. This isn't a masterful film, or something worth protecting. The surprises aren't based on plot, but on visual zing. Richard Jenkins' and Bradley Whitford's regular exchanges throughout the film give the horror backdrop such a lively nature to it. And when the third act festival of carnage begins, boy oh boy is it ridiculous fun. A few days ago, after I first saw the film, I had a less than soulful tune to things, and gave the film a C+ via twitter. Now? I think it's a keen and fun play on the genre, and deserves not to be raised to a standard it couldn't possibly live up to.

Catching Up With 2010

As was obvious when I published my list of the best films of 2010, I still need to see quite a few films from last year. There are a few that I'm willing to leave behind like Cyrus, but I still missed out this year. Had I seen all the films I wanted to, Easy A, Winter's Bone, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 would've easily slid off my list. However, I am making the resolve to catch up with these films before they're lost to the wind. I've had some trouble seeking out Exit Through the Gift Shop, and I've missed out on A Prophet and The Secret in Their Eyes out of benign neglect. I'm hoping that doesn't happen again this year. I'll have no more missed opportunities this year, so here's the list of films I still need to catch up on.

-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
-Fair Game
-A Prophet
-The Secret in Their Eyes
-Blue Valentine
-Another Year
-I Love You Phillip Morris
-Rabbit Hole
-Exit Through the Gift Shop
-127 Hours

Awards 2010: L.A. Film Critics Association Award Winners

Finally, somebody is breaking the mold of what is expected, meanwhile giving us some gentle encouragement in weak areas. I commend the Los Angeles Film Critics for their choices, because they kind of decided to do things their own way. They got some mad love for that five hour feature Carlos, and it shows. Of course, they still put their best foot forward in awarding The Social Network, which you could criticize for getting all this buzz, but do you honestly have any real problems with this film? Be serious with yourself. David Fincher made a pretty tight and flawless feature.

I'm glad Colin Firth is getting some wins for his brilliant Best Actor turn in The King's Speech. Supporting Actor is the only one I have a slight problem with, because A Prophet was technically released last year, but the performance was still tops. Also glad that Olivia Williams almost won Supporting Actress for her performance in The Ghost Writer, and that the film tied for Best Musical Score. Ultimately, it's nice to have a different flavor in the mix when it comes to these critics awards. I was getting a little irritated with some of the choices.

Best Picture: The Social Network
Runner-up: Carlos

Best Director: David Fincher (The Social Network)/Olivier Assayas (Carlos)

Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Runner-up: Edgar Ramirez (Carlos)

Best Actress: Kim Hye-ja (Mother)
Runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)

Best Supporting Actress: Niels Arestrup (A Prophet)
Runner-up: Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
Runner-Up: Olivia Williams (The Ghost Writer)

Best Screenplay: The Social Network
Runner-up: The King's Speech

Best Cinematography: Black Swan
Runner-up: True Grit

Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Runner-up: The Illusionist

Best Foreign Language Film: Carlos
Runner-up: Mother

Best Documentary: Last Train Home
Runner-up: Exit Through the Gift Shop

Best Musical Score: The Ghost Writer/The Social Network

Best Production Design: Inception
Runner-up: The King's Speech