Best Man's Holiday [2013]

MPAA (R)  CNS/USCCB (O)  ChiTrib (3 Stars)  RE.com (3 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (B-)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
ChicagoTirbune (M. Phillips) review
RogerEbert.com (O. Henderson) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review

I found Best Man's Holiday [2013] (written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee) to be an unexpected surprise. Yes, parents note that the R-rating is deserved.  The film is NOT for kids, but DEFINITELY for parents with kids.  But I honestly found it to be far better than I expected it to be given some of the reviews above.

Further, together with a fair number of African-American films that I've reviewed here in recent years and a number of other African-American films that are scheduled to be released in the coming months, I do have to say that talk of a "Black Hollywood Renaissance" [BBC] [CNN] [Ebony] [HPost] is nnot unwarranted. 

I've come to believe this because of the sheer variety of the African American films (more often than not written/dirrected by African Americans and definitely starring predominantly African American casts) coming out from biopics/history (Fruitvale Station [2013], Lee Daniels: The Butler [2013], 12 Years a Slave [2013], Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom [2013]) to drama (Flight [2012], Tyler Perry's Good Deeds [2012], Tyler Perry's Temptation:Confessions of a Marriage Counselor [2013], Black Nativity [2013]), dramedies (Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family [2011], and the current film, Best Man's Holiday [2013]) to romcoms (Jumping the Broom [2011], Baggage Claim [2013]) to even action films like Alex Cross [2012] and because ALL of these films, while African American in orientation are UNIVERSAL IN THEME.

Additionally, Chicago hosts a number of excellent African / African American film festivals each year that often get into particulars of African and African American experience.  (Please scroll down my Film Festivals page to check the often excellent films that I've reviewed of this kind).  So honestly, this seems to be a remarkable time to be an African American film-maker or simply a follower of African American films).

So why was I so impressed by this film?  Well, I entered the film with rather low expectations, choosing to see it only after the weekend, on a Monday morning (before noon matinee...) ... expecting it to be something of an African-American Big Chill [1983] in which a number of former college friends (since becoming quite disparate) get together after 10-15 years for a not altogether clear reason to spend a somewhat raunchy, and certainly not particularly edifying weekend reminiscing about a distant past that didn't matter much to most of them anymore (the "Big Chill" wasn't called that for nothing...).

Elements of the "Big Chill" formula are certainly present in this film, actually a 15-years since sequel to an African American young adult dramedy/romcom called The Best Man [1999]: The former friends, many long since grown apart, are invited for initially rather unclear reason to spend the Christmas holiday at the palatial home of the by-far most successful couple of the bunch: NFL football star Lance Sullivan (played by Morris Chestnut) and his wife Mia (played by Monica Calhoun).

And yes, some of the invited guests, often far less successful than the Sullivans, like Lance's former best friend (and his former Best Man), writer, Harper Stewart (played by Taye Diggs) and his wife Robyn (played by Sanaa Lathan) wonder initially why they're being invited now to the Sullivans for, let's face it, as intimate a holiday as Christmas: Was it to show off?  And yes, though all the former friends do accept their invitation, there is friction in the air:

Harper's reeling from (1) having lost his teaching job at NYU (he says, "due to budget cuts...'), (2) having had his latest manuscript rejected by his publisher as unsellable (because his last book had been a flop and there seemed to nothing in the new work that inspired confidence that it would do better) even as (3) it seems that he and Robyn are finally going to have a baby (Robyn's 8 months pregnant after apparently enduring several miscarriages in the past, and the doctor's been warning her that it's not going to be an easy delivery ... it looks like the baby's gonna come out feet first, hence she recommends scheduling a c-section ... to be paid for ... how exactly??).  It's in the midst of all this drama at work and at home, that they get an invitation to come to their rich former friends for Christmas, even though hadn't done much of anything with them in years.

Indeed, one gets the sense that Harper wouldn't go at all if not for the "bug" having been put in his ear by his publisher to see if he could write a book about his retiring über-successful NFL running back friend.   But it's quite literally a "Hail Mary" ...

So they come to the Sullivan's suburban New Jersey estate and (of coruse) it's perfect -- beautiful snow-covered grounds, enormous front room when they with a gigantic Christmas tree standing by a beautiful grand-staircase leading to the upwards, somewhere (almost certainly again "grand and beautiful" ...).  And there to greet them oh so graciously are Mia, Mia and Lance's coutnt them THREE cute as a button kids..., and then Lance who'd seem to prefer to spit to the side rather shake Harper's hand (but Mia seemed to want this holiday to be spent together, so ...).

The other guests come with their own surprises and baggage.    There's Mia's never married, always "busy" former best-friend Jordan (played by Nia Long), also in publishing..., comes to the event with her very decent but also very white (...) boyfriend Brian (played by Eddie Cibrian) from an apparently "old moneyed" WASPish family with roots in the snow covered mountains of Vermont.

There's Quentin (played by Terrence Howard) who's also become quite successful as a NY music producer, but everybody seems to dismiss as slease.

There's education specialist charter-school operator Julian Murch (played by Herald Perrineau) who's been married and since divorced from another "member of the gang" invited to this party, Shelby (played by Melissa De Sausa).

Shelby, in turn, comes to the gathering, with presumably her and Julian's 10 year old daughter, with apparently a goal of causing as much grief as possible to her "goody-two-shoes" ex.  Why?  Presumably because while she's become wildly successful and perhaps wildly more successful than he (by being an actress in a raunchy Desperate Housewives [IMDb]  knockoff called "Real Housewives of Westchester County"), it appeared that Julian (focused on building schools for poor people...) was the one who _dumped_ her.

Yet, Julian comes with a second problem.  It's recently come to his attention that his second and presumably far more virtuous/compatible wife Candace (played by Regina Hall), who also works as HIS FUND-RAISING CHAIR for his School / Foundation "had a past" as well.  A 10-15 year old video had recently appeared on the Internet with her looking like she was prostituting herself at a late-1990s "white boy" Frat Party.  The person who had brought this to his attention had been a major donor to his school/foundation.

This last sub-plot CERTAINLY turns this film into an R-rated NOT FOR KIDS production BUT IT ALSO SERVES AS A REALLY GOOD WARNING TO YOUNG MEN / WOMEN : Your actions DO have consequences and PICTURES / VIDEOS of you doing ALL KINDS OF REALLY STUPID / INAPPROPRIATE (and yes IMMORAL) things CAN COME-UP YEARS LATER TO CAUSE YOU / YOUR LOVED ONES A GREAT DEAL OF PAIN.

So then, the group gets together...  Lance can't stand Harper but puts up with him for the sake of his wife Mia.  Harper, in turn, knows that Lance is still really angry at him (for reasons that we're reminded of eventually) BUT HE NEEDS HIM to save him and his wife/family.

Shelby's there to cause as much trouble to Julian as possible even as Julian has a really complicated problem to "disarm" that could blow-up both his work and his marriage.

And even Jordon, with other things in her life (ie white-boyfriend Brian) comes to the event thrown by her former best friend Mia in good part out of a sense of guilt (toward Mia, "why have we gotten so far apart?") and obligation (toward Harper ... who she thinks she can help by buttering up Lance with regards to Harper's much needed book deal).

So why the heck did Lance and Mia invite all these people together to share such a clearly awkward "Holiday Weekend" together?  Well, the reason, which becomes clear in the second half of the film HONESTLY BLOWS ALL THESE PETTY ISSUES AWAY and honestly makes this film FAR BETTER than I EVER EXPECTED IT TO BE.

I would also add that THIS IS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MOVIE.  So even though  IT'S A "HOLIDAY MOVIE" ... CHRIST BY NO MEANS  "GOES MISSING" IN THIS CHRIST-MAS FILM.  NO NOT BY A LONG SHOT.

This is an EXCELLENT FILM FOR ADULTS, PARENTS, MARRIED COUPLES.  It is really about what one really believes about EVERYTHING that ought to be important in life (FAMILY, FRIENDS and YES ... ultimately GOD) and then about being both INVITED and yes, at times, CHALLENGED TO "walk the walk."

Even with regard to Candace and her "little incident" put-up on the internet ... there is a story there, and yes, people do dumb things.  AND IF WE BELIEVE ... WE OUGHT TO BE CAPABLE OF FORGIVING THEM especially when it is SO PATENTLY OBVIOUS THAT EITHER THIS WAS A ONE-TIME THING OR THAT THE PERSON HAS SINCE UTTERLY CHANGED.

Honestly, what a film!


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Men in Hope (orig. Muži v Naději) [2011]

MPAA (UR would be R)  Fr. Dennis (2 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CSFD* listing
FDb.cz* listing
Lidovky.cz* (A. Prokopová) review

Men in Hope (orig. Muži v Naději) [2011] [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDb]*(written and directed by Jiří Vejdělek [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDb]*) a smart/current if certainly morally provocative/challenging adult 30-40 something oriented "romantic" comedy (of the vein of the Marilyn Monroe classic The Seven Year Itch [1955] [IMDb] [TCM] that was also provocative/controversial in its time) finished off a remarkable and remarkably well rounded 2013 Czech That Film Tour cosponsored by the Czech Diplomatic Mission in the United States and Staropramen Beer that played recently at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.  In the course of the past year, the Gene Siskel Film Center has also hosted similar surveys of largely current films from Turkey, Hong Kong and Spain as well as similarly outstanding extended homages to the animated works of Studio Ghibli of Japan [2012] [2013]. 

I have to admit that for thematic reasons, I thought that this film was going to be the most difficult of the film tour to write about here on my blog.  Yet I wished to do so because (1) the film is indeed current, representative of the moral challenges present not only in the C.R. but across a good part of Europe today (and in my time in the seminary in Italy in the 1990s I came across similarly themed and similarly light-hearted Italian films) and (2) after the initial shock: "This film is trying to explore WHAT?" (the film was trying to explore the question: "Can one actually choose to be unfaithful to one's spouse for the sake of one's spouse/marriage?") AS IS ALMOST ALWAYS THE CASE, the comedy inevitably retreats back to safer pastures.  (The film's answer to its question becomes, unsurprisingly and resoundingly "No."  And one thinks of recent American films like the Ashton Kutcher/Natalie Portman vehicle No Strings Attached [2011] and the Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis vehicle Friends With Benefits [2011] that while intended for younger audiences played a similar day-dreamy / coquettish dance with social convention / the moral order of things before returning by the end back to reality).

Yet the conventions of "romantic comedy" generally require that "all end well," the result here being that "all" needed to "end" at least "kinda well" for the protagonists of the film even after crossing the line of this rather provocative social experiment.  And so it does, to the perhaps rightful consternation of many viewers / social commentators (see the Czech language links - if through Chrome or Google Translate - given above).

One could note here the very different and far more morally decisive conclusion to African American film-maker Tyler Perry's recent movie Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor [2013].  Yet one needs to note here that Tyler Perry's Temptation was a very different kind of film - a drama rather than the adult oriented (intended for 30-40 somethings) romantic comedy (again of the vein of Marylin Monroe's Seven Year Itch [1955] [IMDb]) that we have here.

Still it is doubtful that anyone leaves the current film feeling that any of the film's protagonists came-out particularly vindicated.  The film ended "kinda okay" but (1) the traditional order of things (that adultery is definitely not a good idea...) is vindicated and (2) while none of the film's adulterers were ruined or publicly humiliated, all were certainly chastened, and resolved to very quietly "sin no more."  (Indeed, one thinks here of Jesus' resolution of the crisis involving "The woman caught in the very act of adultery" [John 8:1-11]).

Okay, so how does the film actually go? ;-)

The film begins with content, recently retired, now driving a taxi cab about town as a second job, "man of the world" and serial filanderer Rudolf (played by Bolek Polívka [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDb]*) concerned that his seemingly all-thumbed, increasingly put-upon, increasingly "hen pecked" son-in-law Ondřej (played by Jiří Macháček [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDb]*) is unhappy, and more to the point, that Ondřej's making his (Rudolf's) daughter Alice (played by Petra Hřebíčková [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDb]*) unhappy.

So, concerned for the sake of his daughter/son-in-law's marriage, Rudolf takes Ondřej to a pool hall one night and over a couple of drinks offers Ondřej some rather surprising and unsolicited advice to resolve his "problem":
      "You have to cheat my son(-in-law).  No woman likes a door-mat (even less a daughter of mine).  Women like a challenge.  So for the sake of your marriage you're going to have to cheat on your wife." ;-)
      "Well thanks very much there dear (father-in-law).  And by the way you know that you're asking me to cheat on your own daughter."
      "Yes.  How do you think I've kept things fresh with Alice's mother (your mother-in-law) Marta (played by Simona Stašová [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDb]*) all these years ... by cheating on her."
      "And does she know?"
      "Whether she does or not, it does not matter.  It's not who one's with but who one comes back to.  And Alice's mom knows that I always come back to her, that I make her happy, that I keep things interesting with her both in and out of the sack, that I always keep her guessing and always, always leave her with a smile on her face."
      "And you know that can not possibly work for me."
      "Well something must..."
      "You know I can't lie ..."
      "Well, we're going to have to work on that ..."

And so then, the premise of the film is set-up.  It turns out that Rudolf wasn't just inviting Ondřej over for a few drinks and give him some odd, uterly unsolicited marital advice.  He's (of course) awaiting a lady, Šarlota (played by Vica Kerekes) a young voluptuous dancer/aerobics instructor transplant to Prague from Slovakia.  "She could be your grand-daughter."  "Yup, but women like that keep me fresh."  After introducing Ondřej (pronounced basically Ondray) to smiling 20-something Šarlota (pronounced Sharlota), Rudolf sort of chases him away asking him to "think about it." Ondřej now knowing more about his father-in-law than he ever really wanted to, kinda winces ... and goes home, arriving home, adding insult to injury, drenched by rain.

But Ondřej's life really was pretty unhappy both in the bedroom with his wife and outside of it.  So a few days later when he, surprise surprise runs into Šarlota on the street and gets past the question: "What would someone like you possibly see in an old dědek (grandpa) like him?" "He's funny, he makes me laugh," he finds it actually pleasant to talk to someone new.  And perhaps some of Rudolf's charm wears-off on him.  So they start talking and find that they hit it off ...

Much, of course, follows.  Yes, Ondřej's confidence does increase from being around someone who hasn't come to dismiss him (yet?) as a loser.  And that new confidence carries itself over to his other relationships, notably with his wife and even with their employees at the restaurant that the two had started sometime back and had been failing.

But of course, there are inevitable repercussions resulting from that kind of "lifestyle."  First, Rudolf himself, after perhaps a long streak of getting away with this, comes to be busted more or less in flagrante.  Then perhaps just as he and his wife are getting over that debacle, other, more or less inevitable things happen in their lives.  Then Ondřej, nice if rather simple guy that he is (or that he was at the beginning of the story) is really not cut out of this kind of complicated life.  So there are some inevitable bombs that await him as well as the story continues ...

So in the end, while the conventions of romantic comedy require that "all end well," the conventions of REALITY also require justice.  And while the film ends with a smile, it'd be hard for ANYBODY to see it as truly a happy ending or that Rudolf's advice to Ondřej at the beginning of the film was particularly good for him.

Yes, it may be nice to day dream sometimes ... but REALITY is REALITY and there really is no free lunch.  And after all is said and done, the film brings us back to earth and reminds us of this quite well.

ADDENDUM:

As is the case of most of the films in the 2013 Czech That Film series, at the time of the writing of this review, this film is available for viewing outside of the Czech Republic for free (quite possibly with the Czech Film Institute's blessing) on YouTube even with English subtitles (click the CC button on the viewer for the subtitles to appear).


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Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor [2013]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  Chicago SunTimes (1 Star)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (K. Jensen) review
Chicago SunTimes (P. Sobczynski) review

Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor [2013] (written and directed by Tyler Perry) is a well-made African-American oriented film (and Tyler Perry is, of course, an African-American film maker) with a strong moral message -- DON'T CHEAT.  The film is slick, modern, and runs very much like the famous morality films Fatal Attraction [1987] and War of the Roses [1989] only that the central character (the one being tempted) is not played by Michael Douglas but is rather an African American character named Judith (played by Jurnee Smolett-Bell). 

The film begins at a run down, government run, probably "pro-bono" counseling service presumably in Washington D.C., where a rather poor young white couple has come for "marriage counseling."  The young husband doesn't know what's going on, but certainly wants to save his marriage.  The wife just feels that "it's over."  Upset and dispondent, the husband gets up and leaves.  The woman taking more time is stopped by the counselor who asks, "What's really going on?"  The young woman confesses to her, "He really deserves someone better than me."  Not buying it, the counselor a serious looking African American woman in her forties asks the young woman a la Danny DeVito's role in War of the Roses [1989], "Can I tell you a story?"  The young woman says yes.  And thus the counselor begins telling the story of Judith...

Judith was an African American woman born somewhere down South raised by her very Christian devoted mother (played by Ella Joyce).  Ma' was strict but kept her basically on the right path.  Judith's grades were good.  Though ma' never much liked Judith's childhood sweetheart Brice, she kept Judith and Brice honest (and probably scared ... ;-) throughout their teenage years, and finally when Judith (and Brice) were truly old enough, she consented to them getting married, which they did either during or shortly after college. 

The story resumes with the two, Judith (played by Jurnee Smolett-Bell) and Brice (played by Lance Gross) living as a young wide-eyed-happy recently married couple living in a nice small apartment in Washington D.C.  Each had "starter jobs" in their degree fields.  Brice found himself working in a small independent pharmacy, Judith with an MS in Counseling (and having dreams of opening up her own Marriage Counseling practice) working for now as an "in house" psychologist/advisor for a somewhat pretentious Washington D.C. "Match Making Service" run by a 40-something woman named Janice (played by Vanessa Williams). 

Indeed, Judith initially looked down on the place where she worked, suspecting it to be, at the end of the day, a higher-end Escort Service for older men even it pretended perhaps even hoped to be better than that.  Still it was a job ... and eventually Judith hoped to make enough money to be able to open up her own _honest_ marriage counseling practice.

Enter the Snake..., Harley (played by Robbie Jones), a rich African American entrepreneur, who according to Judith's more up-on-the-gossip/worldly coworker Ava (played by Kim Kardashian) made it big by inventing a somewhat slicker, more hip-hoppier version Facebook.  He comes to Janice's Service as a potential investor / social media partner.  Janice having liked Judith's previous work with improving her Service's questionaires asks Judith to work with Harley to see how the Service could further benefit from partnering with Harley's social media outlet.   Of course Harley, who's used to getting what he wants, decides that he wants the very married but previously rather sheltered (and also rather ambitious) Judith.   Much ensues ...

Of course, eventually Judith falls (otherwise there wouldn't be a story...).  What's perhaps interesting is the point at which she falls and how Harley finally gets to her.  Then once Judith falls, the film follows a trajectory similar to Michael Douglas' Fatal Attraction [1987].  Basically, the worst possible scenario plays out...

Now I don't quite understand the "hate" that many critics have given this film.  It's obvious that the film is intended to be a morality tale.  And I honestly don't see ANY DIFFERENCE in the story's setup or its playing-out from its white cousins -- Fatal Attraction [1987] and War of the Roses [1989] -- that I've already mentioned above.  If anything, the Tyler Perry's story is slicker and more updated to our time.

Now Parents, I would say that the film is not intended for kids or even for young teens even if its nudity (none at all) and violence (some but clearly more implied than shown) quotients are sufficiently low for the film to qualify for its PG-13 rating.   However, I just don't think that most kids or even teens would find the film particularly interesting, though young adults and younger married couples would probably enjoy AND UNDERSTAND it far more. For the film's message is both very simple and yet very professionally delivered: DON'T CHEAT.  And IMHO that's a message worth hearing.


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2012 Denny Awards - Part 2 - Most Compelling Performances (Male)

Part 2/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)

Part I - Best Films
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Female)

CHILD (male)
    Winner:
          Tom Holland (P) as the 10 year old Lucas in The Impossible [2012] (R - 4 Stars) who has to take care of his mother following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.   
Honorable Mentions:
           Charlie Tahan (V/P) and Atticus Shaffer (V/P) as young Victor Frankenstein and Edgar E. Gore in Frankenweenie [2012] (PG / A-I - 3 1/2 Stars).
           Kodi Smit-McPhee (V/CR) as Norman and Tucker Albrizzi (V/P) his friend Niel in ParaNorman [2012] ( PG - 3 Stars)
           Daniel Huttlestone (P) as the little boy Gavroche who gets killed in Les Miserables (musical) [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars)  


TEEN (male)
    Winners: 
             Logan Lerman (P) as Charlie and Ezra Miller (P) as Patrick in the teenage high school drama The Perks of Being a Wall Flower [2012] (PG-13 - 4 Stars).  Along with Patrick's step-sister Sam (played by Emma Watson) the three prove the value of friendship in those high school years..

    Honorable Mentions:   
             Dane DeHaan (P), Alex Russell  (P) and Michael B. Jordan (P) as the three friends Andrew, Matt and Steve in the more sci-fi-y teenage high school drama Chronicle [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars).  Sometimes even "super powers" can't compensate for a tough life in a troubled home.
             Taylor Lautner (P) as Jacob Black in Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars).  Jacob didn't get the girl in the story but from what I can gather from watching these films in the theaters, he definitely has an adoring fan base of his own ;-).


YOUNG ADULT (male)
    Winner:
             Zac Efron (P) in the film's title role as a directionless young man who at the beginning of the film had to return home to his parents in 1960s Florida after being expelled from college for some unclear offense in The Paper Boy [2012] (R - 3 1/2 Stars).
     Honorable Mentions: 
              Karan Soni (P) as the talented but somewhat nerdy college student Arnou who needed to be reminded that he's "not going to be 21 forever" in Safety Not Guaranteed [2012] (R - 3 1/2 Stars).
            Robert Pattison of "Twilight Saga" fame as a young "corporate vampire" who spends most of his time riding in the back of coffin-like limo while making decisions that "effect millions" in Cosmopolis [2012] (R - 4 Stars).
              Wojciech Zielinski [IMDb][FPL][ENG-trans] (P) as Michal who almost "made it" in today's Poland and Tomasz Schuchardt [IMDb][FPL][ENG trans] (P) as his childhood best friend Janek who has to watch him crash in The Christening (orig. Chrzest) [2010] (UR would be R - Poland / subtitled - 3 1/2 Stars)
              Bradley Cooper as a struggling young writer who finally got his break by cheating in The Words [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 4 Stars).  He comes to regret it, but how to fix things now? 
              Muhammad Afzal (P) as the 20-something Afzal, a humble water taxi operator in the Kashmir but with  many deep thoughts in his mind Valley of Saints [2012] (UR would be PG-13 - subtitled - 4 Stars.
             Ovanes Torosian (P) as a young Bulgarian college student traveling to his best friend's funeral in Avé [2011] (UR would be R - Bulgaria/subtitled - 4 Stars) with many questions about what life is all about.
             Onur Tukel (P) as the somewhat irreverent (and unemployed) young man living in New York nicknamed "Tuna" heading to his best friend's wedding in Richard's Wedding [2012] (UR would be R - 3 Stars) 
              Paul Dano as a young writer who's both lonely and suffering from writer's block in Ruby Sparks [2012] (R - 3 1/2 Stars).  Finally, he gets inspired in his writing (about a woman, literally "of his dreams") and BOOM she appears.  But now even if she is truly "his creation" wouldn't she be happier/better off if he let her be free?
             Jake Johnson (P) at the far end of "young adulthood", this 30-something journalist takes two rudderless interns under his wing in Safety Not Guaranteed [2012] (R - 3 1/2 Stars)


ADULT (male/unattached/no kids)
    Winners:
              Daniel Craig (P) as Agent 007 James Bond in Skyfall [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars).  Can there really be anybody else?  Well, maybe ... ;-)

             Liam Neeson (P) as the rifleman Ottway, stranded with seven others in the wilds of Alaska in The Grey [2012] (R/L - 3 1/2 Stars. Honestly, given the recent tragedies in Neeson's life perhaps, his current "Answer to Job."
    Honorable Mentions:
             Denzel Washington (P) as veteran airline pilot "Whip" Whitaker in Flight [2012] (R / O - 3 1/2 Stars) in a great Parable about someone who is both very talented and a mess.  Can even a "Miracle Worker" be Saved if he doesn't deal with his Demons first?
             Adel Yaraghi (P) as Adel, an amiable 40-something Iranian "ad exec" living in Tehran and getting married for the first time who doesn't understand why Leila, his fiancee' would be so insistent on him "quitting smoking" in Meeting Leila (orig. Ashnaee ba Leila) [2011] (UR would be PG-13 - Iran/Subtitled - 3 1/2 Stars)
             Tyler Perry (P) as Wesley Deeds, a good son, and a future good husband, who uses his position as a wealthy man to help young mother who comes into his life who is in need in Tyler Perry's Good Deeds [2012] (PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars).  His involvement changes his life but changes it for the better allowing him to become "Good' Deeds.
              

ADULT (male/married/parent)
    Winner:
            Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, two cops, one single later engaged, the other married with a family in End of Watch [2012] ( R / O - 4 Stars).  In a parish with some 100 families of police officers, I can attest, their dialogue is authentic ;-).


    Honorable Mentions:
           Liam Neeson (P) as the tough guy Brian Mills, a former CIA assassin trying to work his way back into his estranged family in Taken 2 [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars).  Okay, he was rarely "there" for his wife and daughter in the past, but did they have any @$%# idea what he went through to "put dinner on their table?" ;-)  
           Hugh Jackman (P) as Jean Valjean, himself saved by a kindly grandfatherly Bishop, serving as the good adoptive father to Cossette in Les Miserables (musical) [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars)
            

ELDER (male)
    Winner:
              Jonithen Jackson (P) as Jacob the grandfatherly patriarch of a family of Marshall Islanders who he had in good part moved from the Marshall Islands to the Big Island of Hawaii during his lifetime in The Land of Eb [2012] (UR would be PG-13 - 3 Stars).  Now Jacob was dying (of cancer) and has to come to terms with the fact that he's not going to be able to finish the various projects that he's started. 
    Honorable Mentions:
             Ian McCellen (P) as the Grand Wizard Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [2012] (PG-13 / A-II - 4 Stars) who calls the reluctant hobbit Bilbo Baggins on "an Adventure."
             Frank Langella (P) as Frank in Robot & Frank [2012] ( PG-13 / 3 1/2 Stars). Okay, he wasn't the best of fathers.  Indeed, he spent most of his adult life in jail.  Now he's "out" but he's old and alone and his kids live far away.  At least his son though bought him "a robot" to take care of him... ;-).
             Billy Crystal (P) as Arty in Parental Guidance [2012] (PG / A-I - 3 Stars).  During most of his adult life, Arty "ruled" his family.  A radio announcer, Arty had dreamed of becoming the "voice" of his beloved (first New York then San Francisco) Giants.  Now near the end of his life, even he realizes that this isn't going to happen.  But what of his relationships wife, who did not mind traveling around the country as Arty pursued his dream, and now adult daughter with a family of her own, who did?




HERO / VILLAIN (male)
    Winner:
              Chris Evans (P) as Captain America and Robert Downey, Jr (P) as Tony Stark in The Avengers [2012] ( PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars) two great visions of "America" (The United States) personified.
    Honorable Mentions:
             Javier Bardem (P) as the Julian Assange-like character Silva in Skyfall [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars)
             Liam Neeson (P) as former CIA assassin Brian Mills just trying trying to be accepted by his wife and daughter again in Taken 2 [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars).
             Daniel Craig (P) as Agent 007 James Bond in Skyfall [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars)
             Ian McCellen (P) as the Grand Wizard Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [2012] (PG-13 / A-II - 4 Stars).


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Alex Cross [2012]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  Roger Ebert (2 Stars)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB review
Roger Ebert's review


Alex Cross (directed by Rob Cohen, screenplay by Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson based on the novel by James Patterson) is about the exploits of an African American detective and psychologist named Dr. Alex Cross (played in the film by Tyler Perry).  In the novels, he lives and works in the South East quadrant of Washington D.C. In the current film he and his family live in Detroit, MI. In both cases these are both "tough" generally crime ridden areas but with some more upscale sections where wealthier/upper middle class African Americans (like Alex Cross and his family) live.

The film concerns itself with Alex Cross' hunting down a particularly sadistic criminal who is given the nick-name "Picasso" (played by Matthew Fox) because he tends to leave charcoal drawings of his victims (often wrything in pain) at the scenes of the crimes.  This criminal apparently sees killing as an "art form" and he also _enjoys_ seeing his victims in pain.

After a particularly brutal murder of the woman of an otherwise unsavory gangster, Alex Cross and his partner Tommy Kane (played by Edward Burns) are brought in on the case.  After "Picasso" finds out that Alex Cross is on his tail, he of course takes enjoyment in "playing" with him and finding some very awful ways to cause Cross and his family (Alex Cross' wife Maria played by Carmen Ejogo, daughter Janelle played by Yara Shahidi, son Damon played by Sayeed Shahidi, and mother played by Cicely Tyson) pain.

IMHO it all makes for a rather good crime thriller and I like the development of Alex Cross' family.  However, PARENTS I would definitely warn you that the film should really be rated R.  There are definitely some very graphic/violent scenes present.  IMHO that does not necessarily make it a bad film, just at times a rather violent one and parents/families ought to know what they are walking into in that regard.


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Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection [2012]

MPAA (PG-13)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2215285/

Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection, written, directed and staring in no less than three roles Tyler Perry [IMDb], presents his take on the 4 year old financial crisis that our country finds itself in (the worst since the Great Depression) through the eyes of his increasingly famous character, the no nonsense Madea [IMDb] (played by Tyler Perry).

The movie begins with conscientious George Needleman (played by Eugene Levy) an accountant at a New York investment firm, who's found himself doing surprisingly well at his job in recent years, once again "putting his job first," and traveling from his spacious New York suburban home down to the city on a Saturday "to do some paperwork" rather than "go to the game" of his amiable but somewhat chubby and not particularly athletic son Howie (played by Devan Leos).  Indeed, as he leaves home, his probably inappropriately young for his age second wife Kate (played by Denise Richards) and 15 year old daughter from his first marriage Cindy (played by Danielle Campbell) are both (though for somewhat differing reasons) angry at him for "once again abandoning the family" to go back to work.  Sigh ... but at least he's doing "good work" and he's doing it actually "for the family ... if they only knew."

Well, he comes to the office and finds EVERYBODY there shredding everything in sight.  What happened?  George's boss tells him ... "I've never really told you, but what we've been doing here is running a gigantic Ponzi scheme for the last five years, and the Feds are coming to shut us down." "But how could that be?  I've been CFO here for the last 5 years.  Shouldn't I have noticed something?"  "That's great!  That's why we've always loved you!  Could you say that louder and into my microphone please?"  (He does).  Turns out that George Needleman was promoted way above his capacity over those last several years, PRECISELY so that he could be the company's fall-guy when the scheme was uncovered.

Switch to Altanta.  Heavy-set recently retired Madea is carrying a few bags of groceries out of the store when she's attacked by a young masked "thug" (who has no idea what he's up against) demanding that she give him her money.  She answers "No way!  Now I'm going to tell you son, do yourself a favor, GO GET A JOB!" "But I have a gun!" "Son, I spent years and years working to finally get this Social Security to be (spits to the side) on a 'fixed income.'  So there's no way I'm gonna give it to a puny thug like you with a puny gun.  Get yourself a job!" "This is my last warning!" "No, this is my last warning!"  Much then ensues over the next couple of minutes.  In the end, the masked thug scared for his life gives up.  And he's revealed to be Madea's own nephew Jake (played by Romeo Matthew).  What the heck just happened?

Well, Jake, Madea's nephew and son of a Baptist Minister, Pastor Nelson (played by John Amos), had been entrusted by his church to invest the church's money wisely so that it could pay-off its mortgage faster.  Where did Jake put the money?  Well in the best mutual fund that he could find ... the one run by Needleman's firm, the one that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.  So Jake, who had previous encounters with the law, and had been so grateful to his father and his father's church to be given "another chance" had lost all the church's money and was scared to death what they'd do to him, and more to the point that the news would "just crush" his dad.  Yes, the Bernie Madoff scandal that came to fore (and was also an elaborate Ponzi scheme) hurt a lot of charities and churches that trusted Bernie Madoff's firm with their money.

Okay, it turns out that another nephew of Madea's, Brian (played by Tyler Perry) an assistant federal prosecutor in Atlanta is put in charge of investigating Needleman's firm on behalf of a number of the churches and charities that lost their investments on account of that firm's malfeasance.  Prosecutors also understand that the firm possibly working as a front for the mob.  So when he talks to the very nervous/distraught Needleman, he realizes that he has to offer him and his family protection.  How?  By hiding them with Madea and her husband.  Who'd think of looking for a timid white-collar accountant and his family (all from New York) "in the hood" in Atlanta?  Much ensues ... ;-)

Of course everything turns out well.  Among the many things that are very nice about this film  -- Denise Richard's character Kate turns out to be more than just a "trophy wife" but a really nice person, Madea in her trademark way is able to knock some sense into the kids and make them more appreciate their parents -- is how Jake's father's Baptist Church is portrayed in the film and the Needleman family's relationship with it.  They don't mock it.  Instead, they go there and meet a lot of very nice people (yes, who are in great part AFRICAN AMERICAN / BLACK).  And indeed, Needleman finds how to "connect the dots" in his firm's Ponzi scheme while once being at one of their services.

This is the third Tyler Perry [IMDb] movie that I've reviewed on this blog.  And I do have to say that I've liked what I've seen.  In this film again, he is "kind/merciful" to the "big shots."  Indeed, Tyler Perry himself in real life is media mogul.  But he is also unflinching in showing the effect of malfeasance of some of the "big shots" on a lot of "smaller people" who had depended on them.

In one scene in the film, Asst Federal Prosecutor Brian is going through with Needleman some of the charities that Needleman's firm had hurt: "Look, these are charities that had been building wells in Africa, vaccinating kids, providing community services for the elderly and youth otherwise at risk.  You hurt them by, what you say, 'not paying attention.'  You're gonna have to help me, help make this right..."

Good job Tyler Perry, good job ...

Casa de Mi Padre (The House of My Father) [2012]

MPAA (R) CNS/USCCB () Roger Ebert (2 Stars) Fr. Dennis (0 Stars)

IMDb listing -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1702425/
CNS/USCCB review -
Roger Ebert's review -
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120314/REVIEWS/120319992

Casa de Mi Padre (The House of My Father) directed by Matt Piedmont and written by Andrew Steele is and starring Will Farrell (all Gringos...) is perhaps a well-meaning if monumentally misguided comedy that's going to cause pain to countless Hispanic (Mexican-American and non) kids and teenagers across the United States for years to come.

All kinds off non-Hispanic viewers from the young to the old, from those thinking of themselves as progressive/liberal to those who are frankly racist are going to see this film and _think_ that by seeing it that they will "know" something of contemporary Mexican/Hispanic comedy and culture.  And they won't and won't be even close.

There is a lot of humor in this film that resembles the British humor of Monty Python and the Holy Grail [1975].  But most viewers of that film will instinctively understand that a man dressed as "King Arthur" skipping across a field with his servant banging two coconut shells together to make it sound like he's riding a horse is just a stupid joke that "of course King Arthur would really be riding a horse."

In Casa de Mi Padre, the dimwitted Armando (played by Will Farrell) repeatedly encounters "a talking white puma" in the desert.  This puma not represented by any living animal or even any CGI effects but rather by a large clumsy stuffed animal that one could win at a two bit carnival.  Further since it is a stuffed animal, it is moved around the screen by a more or less obvious off-screen hand making it move around the screen in exactly the same way that a 3 year old would move a stuffed animal that his/her dad won for him/her at said carnival er "fiesta."  Will viewers understand this to be a joke of the same kind as the "squire banging the two coconut shells together" behind "King Arthur" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail to pretend that King Arthur is riding a horse?  Or will many viewers not even realizing that this movie was written, directed and even starring in the lead role by Gringos say to themselves: "Those stupid Mexicans are so stupid that they had to use a stuffed animal to represent a real one in "their film?"  Of these kind of scenes racist stereotypes are born and fed ...

It would seem to me that when it comes to comedies about ethnicity of any kind there are really only two ways to go about it: (1) have the film be produced by people from the culture that it's about or (2) at least be accurate about the culture/subculture one's trying to represent.

IMHO this movie fails horribly on both counts.  Casa is not My Big Fat Greek Wedding [2002] written and starring Greek-American actress/screenwriter Nia Vardalos about growing-up the daughter of (Greek) immigrants in the United States.  It's not even Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family [2011] a comedy about written, directed and starring Tyler Perry and African-American writer, director, actor and even theater magnate about the challenges present in an African American family (though could easily be extended to any other family in America today).  Indeed, so good were both these comedies that they though they were set within the context of a particular culture/subculture, the issues involved/themes present easily translated ("crossed over") beyond that cultural/subcultural setting.

Instead, Casa de Mi Padre follows a long Hollywood tradition from the "Badges, we don't need no stinkin' badges" depiction of Mexican "banditos" posing as "federales" in the 1940s Humphrey Bogart movie Treasure of Sierra Madre [1948] and similarly appalling if at least without the pretension of "presenting to American audiences Mexican movie/telenovela culture" American comedies about/set in Mexico like the Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short comedy The Three Amigos [1986] or the Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini comedy The Mexican [2011].   All these exist in a "Mexico" created and sustained by Hollywood with little connection to actual Mexico or Mexicans.

But Casa de Mi Padre is being sold as a "cross over" piece to introduce Americans who don't know (and have little to no interest in learning...) Spanish to Hispanic "telenovela culture."  Yet it's really a sloppy (and proudly so...) conflation of at least several genres that do play on Spanish language TV in the United States that seems to be designed to feed American preconceived and largely negative stereotypes:

There are some REALLY GREAT, really WHOLESOME, UTTERLY FAMILY FRIENDLY Mexican "cowboy stories" / "horse operas" that have been produced over years / decades in Mexico.  When I was learning Spanish, I just fell in love with the films of ranchera singers Antonio Aguilar (El Moro de Cumpas [1977]) and especially Vicente Fernandez (Hijo del Pueblo [1974], El Macho [1987], Como Mexico no hay Dos [1981], etc).  If one truly wants to enter into this subculture and really appreciate the beauty of the Mexican "Vacquero" (Spanish for "cowboy") way of life, I'd recommend these films.  But yes, presently you'd have to learn Spanish to see them...

Then there is also the Telenovela culture.  But anyone who actually follows the Spanish language telenovelas knows that they are orders infinitely more sophisticated than presented in this stupid comedy.

Let's just begin that most of the telenovelas aren't set "in the campos" (aren't set in the countryside).  Instead, they are often set among the jet set in state-of-the-art modern sections of cities that really exist across all of Latin America.  So one doesn't get this ridiculous incongruence of plopping the drop-dead beautiful actress Genesis Rodriguez (who plays the "love interest" Sonia in this film) into the middle of a farm somewhere in the middle of Mexico and expect the audience to buy this as credible.  Then yes, "narcos" (drug traffickers) do play a role in _some_ telenovelas but by no means in all or even a large number of them.

Finally, a far better "cross over" effort to allow non-Spanish speaking (and with no interest in learning Spanish...) Americans to Hispanic telenovela culture was the Ugly Betty [2006-2010] television series that starred America Ferrera and was produced by Salma Hayek.  Betty La Fea [1999+] was a wildly popular telenovela that was playing on Spanish language TV when I was still stationed at an overwhelmingly Hispanic parish down in Kissimmee, FL (from the young to the old, everybody seemed to love it).  And Betty had absolutely nothing in common with something like this film Casa.

So overall, I'm rather appalled by this film.  And I would recommend that the next time a 'cross-over' film like this is seriously contemplated by Hollywood that it be written and directed by actual Hispanics.  How hard would it have been to ask someone like Salma Hayek, George Lopez, Robert Rodriguez, or Antonio Banderas for "a suggestion or two..."?

ADDENDUM:

So what then is the film actually about? ;-)  Well:  Raul (played by Diego Luna), the younger and far more intelligent/successful son of Don Miguel Ernesto (played by Pedro Armendaris, Jr) returns home "to the rancho" with his drop dead gorgeous bride Sonia (played by Genesis Rodriguez).  Don Miguel Ernesto is ecstatic because he won't have to leave his ranch then to his dimwitted older son Armando (played by Will Farrell).  But Raul and, indeed, Sonia (tragically...), are involved in drug trafficking.  Much ensues... Finally dimwitted Armando has to stand-up, take down the evil "narco" (drug king-pin) nicknamed Onza (played by Gael Garcia Bernal) and "save the family name ..."  Much of this takes place in the "magical countryside" filled with among other things, the white stuffed animal puma mentioned above, similarly stuffed animal (actually more wolf-looking than coyote looking) coyotes, beautiful "oases" for just perfect love making (actually the "love scene" involving exclusively shot after shot of "butt cheeks," shot in all kinds of angles, is probably what makes the film R-rated but even most kids would find both stupid and hilarious... but parents do take note...) and plenty of campfire settings where dimwitted Armando and his similarly dimwitted best friends can drink lots and lots of tequila, break lots and lots tequila bottles and shoot their pistolas many, many times in the air ...


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Tyler Perry's Good Deeds [2012]

MPAA (PG-13)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1885265/

Good Deeds (written and directed by Tyler Perry), is a very well-written/crafted movie, both gentle and pointed, that's certainly about our times but which chooses to be positive. 

The film is about two people: Wesley Deeds (played by Tyler Perry) and Lindsey Wakefield (played by Thandie Newton).

Wesley is a 30-something gentleman, 5th generation Ivy League graduate, who now heads his family's investment business from its high rise headquarters in San Francisco's business district.  He has both the temperament and the capability to lead the company well and thus be a good steward of the family's fortune for another generation.  But he's also unhappy.  A good son to his mother Wilemina (played by Phylicia Rashad), a good future husband to his fiance Natalie (played by Gabrielle Union), and a good/competent leader of his family's firm, he's nonetheless going through the motions.  He's good because he's always met expectations, done what he's supposed to do (and done so quite well).

Lindsey turns out to be a cleaning lady in the Deeds' high rise.  Behind on her rent, behind on her bills, alone, with an 7-8 year old daughter Ariel (played by Jordenn Thompson) in tow, she's constantly fighting to "keep it together" even as she's obviously terrified that she's one step away from final disaster. 

Even though Lindsey works for Deeds, the two "meet" for the first time when Lindsey cuts off Wesley in the Deeds' Building's parking garage to park in his reserved spot right by the elevator.  Wesley is annoyed.  His more problematic and certainly more hot-headed younger brother Walter (played by Brian White) is furious.  Lindsey, ever in defensive mode, doesn't care, calls both names and runs up to the building's maintenance office to pick-up her check.  She needs the check to cover her rent.  From this initial encounter, much ensues ...

There are many things to like about this movie.  Yes, the dialogue remains at times a little "stiff/unnatural"  It's obvious that the characters represent "types" rather than complex individuals.  Yet, Perry uses his characters and his film with purpose.  He's both challenging his viewers (and perhaps even the larger society) and doing so in a positive way.

It becomes obvious in the film that Lindsey had no idea of who she was actually working for.  When she runs into Wesley sometime later, having been transferred to the evening shift (Wesley habitually stays late working in the office), she has no idea that he actually runs the firm.  She assumes that "Deeds" who owned the firm had to be some "old white guy."  When she starts getting to know Wesley, it doesn't even enter into her head that she's talking to the CEO of the firm and that he's not even a "flash in the pan" / "upstart" but had inherited the firm from his father who inherited it from his.

On the other side of the coin, at a time when so much anger is being expressed at "the top 1%," both in film (Inside Job, Margin Call, Tower Heist, In Time, Man on a Ledge all good to very good films BTW...) and in society (with the Occupy Wall Street Movement), rather than condemning "the 1%," Tyler Perry (himself a theater mogul) offers "the 1%" a good example in Wesley Deeds.  Wesley uses his money and his power to get involved in Lindsey's life.  And as he does so, he finds himself.  He becomes "Good Deeds."

What a nice, nice film!


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2011 Denny Awards - Part 3 - Most Compelling Performances (Female)

Part 3/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)

Part I - Best Films
Part II - Most Compelling Performances (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances (Female)

CHILD (female)
    Winner:
        Maggie Elizabeth Jones as Rosie in We Bought a Zoo
    Honorable Mentions:
        Khomotso Manyaka as Chanda in Life Above All
        Mélusine Mayance as Sarah in Sarah’s Key
        Elle Fanning as Alice Dainard in Super 8
        Chloe Grace Moretz as Isabelle in Hugo
        Amara Miller as Scottie in The Descendants


TEEN (female)
    Winner:
        Freida Pinto as Miral in Miral
    Honorable Mentions:
        Shailene Woodley as Alex in The Descendants
        Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, Pt 1
        Emma Roberts as Sally in The Art of Getting By
        Nikohl Boosheri as Atefah in Circumstance
        Marie Ferét as Narnel in Mozart's Sister 
        Vanessa Hudgens as Lindy in Beastly
        Lily Collins as Karen in Abduction
        Stella Schnabel as Lisa (Miral’s Israeli friend) in Miral
        Analeigh Tipton as Jessica in Crazy, Stupid, Love
        Emma Watson as Hermoine Granger Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2


YOUNG ADULT (female)
    Winner:
        Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, in Martha Marcy May Marlene
    Honorable Mentions:   
        Felicity Jones as Anna in Like Crazy
        Zoe Saldana as Cataleya in Colombiana
        Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre
        Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
        Brit Marhling as Rhoda Williams in Another Earth
        Carey Mulligan as Sissy in Shame
        Taissa Farmiga, young-adult Corrine in Higher Ground
        Bingbing Li as Nina in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
        Sarah Gadon as Emma Jung in A Dangerous Method
        Rashida Jones as Cindy in My Idiot Brother
        Keira Knightly as Sabina Spielrein A Dangerous Method
        Katie O’Grady as Meris Canfield in Rid of Me   
        Charlize Theron as Mavis Gary in Young Adult
        Cameron Diaz as Elizabeth Halsey in Bad Teacher
        Natalie Portman as Emma in No Strings Attached
        Anna Kendrick as Katherine in 50/50


ADULT (female)
    Winner:
        Jessica Chastain as Samantha in Take Shelter
    Honorable Mentions:
        Sarah Paulson as Lucy in Martha Marcy May Marlene
        Kirsten Dunst as Justine in Melancholia
        Dagmara Dominczyk as Annika in Higher Ground
        Jessica Chastain as Mrs. O'Brien in Tree of Life
        Vera Farmiga as Corine in Higher Ground       
        Rachel Weisz as Kathryn Bolkovac in The Whistleblower
        Elizabeth Reaser as Charlotte in The Art of Getting By
        Kristen Scott Thomas as Julia Darmond in Sarah’s Key
        Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn

      
ELDER (female)
    Winner:
        Loretta Divine as Shirley in Madea’s Big Happy Family
    Honorable Mentions:
        Helen Mirren as the elder Rachel Singer in The Debt
        Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady
        Judy Dench as J.Edgar Hoover’s Mother in J.Edgar
        Viola Davis as Abileen Clark in The Help
        Angelica Houston as Diane (mom) in 50/50


HERO / VILLAIN (female)
    Winner:
        Milla Jovovich as Milady de Winter in Three Musketeers
    Honorable Mentions:
        Zoe Saldana as Cataleya in Colombiana
        Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
        Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mistique in X-Men: First Class
        Amanda Seyfried as Valerie in Red Riding Hood
        Emma Watson as Hermoine Granger in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
        Amanda Seyfried as Silvia Weis in In Time
        Bryce Dallas Howard as Rachel in 50/50
        Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook in The Help
        Tyler Perry as Madea in Madea’s Big Happy Family


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