As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, director Alexander Payne has just added Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard and Robert Forester to the cast of his film The Descendants. The new additions join topliner George Clooney, along with Shailene Woodley, Nick Krause and Mary Birdsong in this Fox Searchlight production, which began filming in Hawaii this past week. Read the full story

The release of Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island marks Leonardo DiCaprio and the renowned director’s fourth film together after The Aviator, Gangs of New York, and The Departed. In honor of the duo, here are my top ten Director/Actor collaborations over the years of cinema. Read the full story

Writing this list was nothing short of headache inducing. Why? Because this has been nothing short of a fantastic year for movies. If you told me earlier this year that Adventureland, Watchmen, World’s Greatest Dad, 500 Days of Summer and even Drag Me to Hell wouldn’t be making my favorite films list I would have called you crazy. That goes for another handful of excellent to even great films that aren’t on this list. This was a fantastic year to be a cinephile or even the average joe movie goer. More importantly, this year was another reminder of why we love movies. There’s been a countless number of films that have transported us to other worlds and introduced us to new characters that we loved and felt for. That is a part of the magic of cinema and this year is proof of that. With all that smaltzy intro fluff out of the way, here are my favorite films of the year and even more mentioning of very good to great films that aren’t in the final fifteen:

Another batch of honorable mentions: An Education, The Informant, Coraline, Antichrist, Public Enemies and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

15. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

It’s crazy, dark and insanely hilarious. After a long streak of duds, Nicholas Cage finally made a triumphant return to greatness with his creation of Terence McDonagh. Bad Lieutenant has very little to do with the 1992 film and is a fantastic parody of the “dirty” cop genre. This won’t go down as one of Herzog’s best films, but will definitely stand out as a highlight in his already great filmography.

14. The Brothers Bloom

Rian Johnson’s follow-up to the great Brick lived up to the promise he showed in his feature film debut. The Brothers Bloom was disappointingly overlooked in theaters and divided critics, but will most likely soon find an audience. This is a film that is sure to gain a following that will cherish it — as they should. It’s not overly quirky, it’s not emotionally hollow and yes, the script is wonderfully smart. Who couldn’t like Bloom, Penelope, Stephen and even Bang Bang?

13. Funny People

Funny People is Judd Apatow’s best film yet. Unlike his previous films, it has a genuine sense of style and extremely well executed drama. Adam Sandler gave another reminder of his range as a dramatic actor. Apatow also still shows his true knack for hilarity and crafting characters we can care for and invest in. It’s an excellent film.

12. Avatar

It’s no Aliens, it’s not Terminator 2: Judgement Day and it isn’t even on the level with the first Terminator film… With that said, Avatar is still a fantasy epic that defines a movie going event. The same old story worked. Jake Sully was a compelling hero, and of course the visuals were awe inspiring. The dialog isn’t nearly as sharp as it should be and it holds the film back, but Avatar still remains a highly entertaining and emotionally involving journey.

11. District 9

District 9 may not have been so good when it came to subtlety nor making the relationship between Wikus and his wife contain emotional weight, but even with that baggage Neil Blomkamp’s directorial debut is still nothing short of exhilarating. From the racist and unlikable protagonist, the photo real prawns and the terrific action sequences Blomkamp managed to create a wonderful new world.

10. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The past few films in the Potter series have been getting more mature and, more importantly, better. The Half Blood Prince is the latest and best entry into an already excellent franchise. This is undoubtedly on level with or possibly even tops The Prison of Azkaban. Harry Potter is still the lead we can easily cheer for, Ron is still a sidekick that doesn’t annoy us and Hermione is still that pretentious student we love.

9. The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson past two films didn’t quite rank up with the greatness of The Royal Tenenbaums or Rushmore, but The Fantastic Mr. Fox did. If there was ever film that was consistently hilarious and yet completely beautiful to look at it, it would be The Fantastic Mr. Fox. That’s the type of film like that doesn’t come around too often and they deserved to be embraced. As a quick side-note, I happen to love The Life Aquatic but it’s no Rushmore or Royal Tenenbaums.

8. The Hurt Locker

Besides the excellent Strange Days and the ultra cool Near Dark, Kathryn Bigelow’s filmography has mostly consisted of fun B-movies. The Hurt Locker changed that. It defines intensity. The Hurt Locker is a look into the psyche of soldiers. Does one have to be crazy to do what William James does in the film? That’s a question the film poses along with plenty of more left for interpretation. There’s also plenty of great action set pieces that make one feel quite disoriented.

7. Moon

Duncan Jones’s directorial debut is ambitious and original. Jones made a five million dollar film that is a few leagues ahead of the other science fiction films we’ve seen this year. Another reason why it’s so great: Sam Rockwell’s performance. His Sam Bell ranks amongst his best with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Snow Angels and who could forget his iconic Guy Fleegman from Galaxy Quest? It didn’t quite get its due in theaters, but will soon inevitably gain the attention a gem like this deserves.

6. A Single Man

A Single Man was another addition to this year’s long line of great directorial debuts. Tom Ford made a heartbreaking tale on grief, loss and ultimately death. Ford filled the screen with striking imagery and made sure it was supplied with a wonderful score to support these themes along with Colin Firth’s incredible performance. Everyone is spot on when they hail it as Firth’s best performance.

5. Up in the Air

Can George Clooney do no wrong? From the looks of it, not anymore. Ryan Bingham easily could have been hateable, but like most of his films Clooney brought along a sense of charm and sadness. This was a great year for Clooney and this is one of his best performances yet — up there with Three Kings and Out of Sight. Jason Reitman seems to be improving with each feature and this is his best yet.

4. UP

Who’s not a sucker for Pixar? Obviously people with no souls and a cold black heart. Anyone who’s inept of falling in love with Carl Fredricksen and Russell should have their mental state questioned. They’re a duo for the ages. They’re nothing short of lovable and even the dog Doug earns that status of pure lovability. Lovable is the best way to describe Up. It’s a beautiful film and that fact is established from the glorious opening.

3. Inglorious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino’s best? Maybe not. But another Tarantino classic? Most likely: yes. This ensemble was somewhat miss-marketed as the “action event of the summer” and in retrospect, in many ways it was. Tarantino’s dialog and build ups are exciting and blow away any other action sequence seen during that season of Transformers and G.I. Joe. Three other reasons why this is a great film ensemble: Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent, and Michael Fassbender. Their show stealing performances deserve the overused term: tour-de-force.

2. A Serious Man

Another great Coen brother’s film? Really? Who would’ve thought. A Serious Man ended up being the cliché most people predicted — aka another terrific film from the Coen brothers. Their latest is a darkly comedic and profound tale of a man’s life that’s on autopilot and he’s finally having to deal with the repercussions. It’s hilarious, sad and the ending is utter brilliance.

1. Where the Wild Things Are

Simply moving, heartfelt and full of pure beauty. Spike Jonze once again delivered a magnificent film that may also be his best. It’s not too often a realistic look on childhood is shown in films. We generally get the annoying smart kids (the sister in 500 Days of Summer) or just the average goody-too-shoes. Max Records is neither of those things. He needs someone to emotionally rely on, can’t express himself, and even talks like an actual kid kid. Where the Wild Things Are is truly magnificent.

What did you think of this list? Did you agree with it? What would you omit, change or add in?

20th Century Fox | USA/UK | 99 min

The Fantastic Mr. Fox is Wes Anderson’s best film since The Royal Tenenbaums. It features his usual shtick including the array of eccentric characters, scene chewing dialog, and being shot on a level of pure beauty. This is an instantly charming, hilarious, and highly entertaining film that bursts with originality.

Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is a thief, he’s the of the best. From stealing chickens to knocking out dogs with poisoned blue berries, he loves the adrenaline rush. Unfortunately, he has to give all that up once his wife Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) becomes pregnant. Once he hangs up the old trade he’s now just a regular old Fox. Making dues as a writer, living the normal family life, and none of this involves his favorite thing: stealing. But once he moves into a new tidy tree home he’s found a thief’s delight. Sitting right across his street is three large factories that include a sweet apple beverage, plenty of meet, and loads of chickens. This is where Mr. Fox turns back to his old ways to pull off one of the biggest heists in Fox History. From then on, it becomes all out warfare between Mr. Fox and the three crazed company owners. Read the full story

BBC Films/Overture Films | USA/UK |90 mins

They do stare at goats, in case you’re wondering. But, like most scenes in this strangely square, oddly disengaging film about one of the more interesting military tales to be told in some time, the “goat” scene comes and goes and leaves the viewer cold, like after an emotionless night of sex. This is what the whole film feels like – a good, fun time that will be an engaging story to tell to your friends, but you’ll end up feeling there wasn’t much to be gained from the experience as a whole.

Director Grant Heslov and writer Peter Straughan certainly are intelligent storytellers and well-versed in the true life behind this thing, but it seems as though they never really decided on what parts of the “incredible true story” to focus on, and instead offer a smorgasbord of history and fiction and history and fiction and then – it ends.

The film revolves around journalist Bob Wilton (a very normal, bland Ewan McGregor here) and his search for a story in one Lyn Cassady (a capably comedic George Clooney), an ex-operative of the top secret New Earth Army, led by Bill Django, played by Jeff Bridges as a militarized version of The Dude. In short, Django trained his soldiers to fight with their minds rather than weapons; training that included running through walls and making the correct decision in a split second – or at least trying to do these things.

So it’s funny right? That the U.S. government would pay for something like this? Or wait, no it’s not funny – it’s sad that no one ever gave the New Earth Army a chance and instead stuck to torture and violence? Or wait, no it’s funny though too, but also sad? Or just sad?

Intent viewers are sure to think all of these things during the short, 90-minute running time Goats hustles along at, and never know how the movie actually feels about it. They’ve got a story, after all, and it’s a good one – so they tell it. They just tell it, and that’s all they do.

And, to a point, it is enough: it’s literally a story so good it tells itself. But this critic wishes that Heslov had tried a little harder to work with the abundance of materials he’d chose to adapt. After all, the opening text of the film states: “More of this is true that you would believe.” Then make us believe the unbelievability. This, unfortunately, doesn’t happen. Sure, it’s all strange and ridiculous, but after films like The Informant! this year, it seems that anything could be true.

Clooney controls the laughs of every scene he’s in, recalling his small gem of a performance in last year’s Burn After Reading. Likewise does Bridges, and though Kevin Spacey, as the film’s villain, is given precious little to do he certainly makes the most of what he’s got. These are talented people working here, but unfortunately not working hard enough.

6 out of 10

/Film reports that George Clooney is now set to direct Matt Damon in a dramatization of the Hamdan vs. Rumsfield case (see Wikipedia). The film tells the story in which “the supreme court found in favor of Swift (Damon) and his client Hamdan and held that military commissions to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay lacked “the power to proceed because its structures and procedures violate both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the four Geneva Conventions signed in 1949.”

Read the full story

Another poster has arrived today thanks to Fox Searchlight via Firstshowing. Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox is based on a Roald Dahl book with George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzmann, and Bill Murray providing the voices.

Check out the poster below >>

Apple has exclusively released the trailer for Grant Heslov’s dark comedy, The Men Who Stare at Goats. Inspired by the true story of reporter Bob Wilson’s (Ewan McGregor) encounter with an enigmatic Special Forces operator, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Cassady is on a mission to find the missing founder of  New Earth Army who are changing the way wars are fought. The legion of “Warrior Monks” have unparalleled psychic powers which allow them to read the enemy’s thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Wilson joins Cassady on his “dangerous” mission.

Check out the trailer below >>

The new trailer for Wes Anderson’s animated film The Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s story, has hit the web. George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzmann, and Bill Murray provide the voices. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Check out the trailer below >>

(Co-Written by Dan Mecca & Merrill Barr)

It only seems appropriate to offer a take on what is now the most popular genre in Hollywood – the remake. Not that the remake hasn’t always been popular. Just look at how many times Little Women has been made. A lot.

That being said, remakes have never been as prolific (or as potentially profitable) as they are right now. One can chalk this up as unoriginality or business savvy or both, but the fact remains the age of the remake is upon us and it has only just begin to rear it’s ugly, repetitive head.

With that said, we here at The Film Stage have attempted to break down the remake genre and decipher the gems and germs that have come out of it.

See the lists >>