#36 The Best Man Holiday
Also, in my old age I appear to have miscounted. I think I actually saw 49 movies this year. So we have to move everything up one, and when I do the last post of the day, I will display the re-calibrated list.
Therefore, instead of a top 20, I will present the beginnings of the top 19:
#19 Nebraska
Alexander Payne is probably best known for two pleasant-climate films, both nominated for best picture--the wine-country bachelor romp Sideways ('04) and the family expose' The Descendants ('11), both of which made my top 5 of those respective years. But most of his other notable work (About Schmidt, Election, Citizen Ruth and now Nebraska) take place in his home state. Nebraska was the last of the 9 best picture nominees I got around to seeing.
The story opens with Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) walking down the side of a busy road in Billings, Montana. This is not the first time he has behaved like this; Woody, a heavy drinker who's a few sandwiches short as the saying goes, is fully convinced he has won a million dollars in a Publisher's Clearinghouse-like sweepstakes. It turns out that he had been trying to walk from Billings to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim it. His wife Kate (an outstanding June Squibb) has had enough, so tasked with continuing to pick him up each time is their youngest son, David (Will Forte). In an effort to placate him and get Woody out of his mother's hair, David finally succumbs to Woody's constant requests to drive him to Nebraska. From there, the majority of the action takes place in Woody and Kate's Nebraska hometown, where we meet David's uncles and aunts, his hilarious cousins (Tim Driscoll and Devin Ratray, who played Buzz McCallister in Home Alone), and Woody's devious ex-business partner (they owned a car garage together) Ed (Stacy Keach). The legend of Woody's million dollars grows, and it's 50-50 whether or not the interested parties are actually interested or just mocking him. Woody and David eventually do make the trip to Lincoln, but I won't give away how that plays out.
I think Bruce Dern is great in this movie, but I would bump him out of the best actor nominees list for one of two people coming up on the countdown because I didn't really feel like he was the lead most of the time. As the doting son, he quietly keeps his family together.
#18 The Way Way Back
Bradley Cooper is good in American Hustle, but the fifth supporting actor nod should have gone to Sam Rockwell for his hilarious, heartfelt turn as the water park manager Owen who takes shy teenager Duncan (Liam James) under his wing for a summer. Duncan, his mother Pam (Toni Collette), her controlling new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carrell) and his daughter Steph (Zoe Levin) go for an extended vacation to his beach house. Living next door are wacky, party-hearty Betty (Alison Janney) and her daughter Susanna (Anna Sophia Robb), and constantly dropping in are Trent's buddies Kip (Rob Corddry) and Joan (Amanda Peet). Duncan, feeling constantly embarrassed by/ashamed of Trent and his oppressive management style, finds refuge in the local water park, where he befriends Owen and his band of merry troublemakers. It's a great coming of age story that takes legitimizes how hard it can be to accept changing family dynamics.
#17 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The cinematic return to Panem is just as or more satisfying than the first, as we pick up right where we left off. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) have effectively pissed off president Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the capitol for their unorthodox double victory. As a result, their families and well-being are threatened unless they stick to the script and enter the Quarter Quell, a special-event version of the Hunger Games, sort of an all-star game of sorts. The action-packed Q.Q. is awesome on screen, the supporting cast (Hutcherson, Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth) add flair, and Lawrence, as usual is beyond reliable.
Til next time, amigos-
Mulhern
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