Nick Schager Reviews Another Year

After an ever-so-slight reprieve with Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh returns to full-fledged miserablism with Another Year. Schematically split into seasonal segments – and beginning with Spring so that funereal Winter might naturally conclude the grim proceedings – Leigh’s latest concerns a cheery couple, geological engineer Tom (Jim Broadbent) and counselor Gerri (Ruth Sheen), and their recurring get-togethers with a series of despondent friends. Those include Tom’s longtime pal Ken (Peter Wight), an overweight gluttonous drunk, and Gerri’s co-worker Mary (Lesley Manville), a staggering mess of a boozehound whose barely concealed depression over being unmarried and adrift bursts forth after too much wine. Leigh’s attention to character detail and interpersonal dynamics is as astute as ever, and his social critique is harshly even-handed, censuring both the judgmental middle-class Tom and Gerri as well as their pathetic working-class mates.

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The One Movie You Should See This Week (12/30/10)

by Scott Von Doviak

Apparently the movie industry believes we all have something better to do with our New Year’s Eve than head out to the cinema, as the new offerings this weekend are scant and generally downbeat. TakeBiutiful, the latest effort from the life of the party himself, 21 Grams and Babel director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which stars Javier Bardem as a terminally ill, poverty-stricken man who provides for his family by supplying a sweatshop with immigrant laborers. It sounds grim even by Iñárritu’s standards, but may be worth seeing for Bardem’s performance, which took Best Actor honors at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It’s probably not a good date movie to ring in the new year with, however, and neither is…

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Andrew Osborne’s Best of 2010: Movies

So, my frequent cinema companion (and award season co-blogger) Amy (a.k.a. exiled Screengrab commenter “Iris Steensma”) just posted her Top Ten films of 2010 below, and I posted my combined picks with fellow Exiler Scott Von Doviak yesterday at Nerve…

…but for my complete list and other thoughts on this pretty decent cinematic year, scroll on!

Amy Osborne’s Top Ten Films of 2010

1. Please Give

I saw this movie as a cautionary tale, in that I’m afraid I’m going to turn into that crabby old lady who has no zest for life.  Also, I love Rebecca Hall’s face.  And I have to root for Nicole Holofcener, too, because there aren’t enough directresses.

Andrew Osborne’s Best of 2010: Television

1. PARTY DOWN!

I’d heard media-savvy hepcats championing this Starz Original sitcom long before I finally figured out what the hell Starz was and how to find it on my teevee — and since I came to the party late, I also knew going in that the series had been cancelled after just two seasons.   But once I got hooked into the foul-mouthed wordplay of the show’s stellar ensemble (including deadpan everyman Adam Scott, wise-ass sex bomb Lizzy Caplan, doomed TV masterpiece veteran Martin “Freaks & Geeks“ Starr, pre-Glee Jane Lynch, loveably hilarious Megan Mullally and national treasure Jennifer Coolidge), the knowledge of the show’s impending demise added an undertone of melancholy to a series that already dealt with the crushed egos and fragile dreams of misfit cater-waiters serving the L.A. elite.  A classic (though R-rated) sitcom on par with The Office, which — like the British version of The Office — never had a chance to break bad.  Speaking of which…

The Ten Best Movies of 2010

by Scott Von Doviak and Andrew Osborne

From the Old West to the birth of Facebook to the fourth level of your dreams, the year in film had something for everyone. Here are our picks for the top ten movies of the year.

Read the list here

The TV Club Awards 2010

by Scott Von Doviak and The AV Club staff

Half the fun of watching TV is all of the weird crap and ephemera popping up in the middle of the night on cable or even in primetime on some out of the way station. To that end, the first annual edition of the TV Club Awards in a wide variety of hyper-specific categories. Feel free to debate our choices or come up with your own prizes.

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Merry Christmas From The Screengrab In Exile!

The One Movie You Should See This Week (12/23/10)

by Andrew Osborne

It’s beginning to look a lot like Oscar season, everywhere you go…so why not skip the last minute shopping and just buy multiplex gift cards for everyone on your list? And while you’re at it, why not give yourself a gift and see the Coen Brothers‘ latest brainy, bravura masterpiece? Sure, you’ll have to pay a bit more attention than usual to the twisty Old West dialogue in the opening scenes, as precocious teen firebrand Mattie (Hailee Stanfield) teams up with a cocky Texas Ranger (Matt Damon, showing his chops as a character actor) and the besotted, one-eyed U.S. Marshall “Rooster” Cogburn (the Dude, abiding as always in the John Wayne role). But once they (and the story) hit the trail, the suspense and emotional stakes really kick into gear, building to a climactic reminder of the old-school power of a classic Western showdown.

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Nick Schager Reviews Little Fockers

Despite its title, Little Fockers barely features children. Other things it’s lacking include laughs, coherence, and a reason to exist, what with Paul Weitz’s latest installment in this family-friction franchise simply rehashing the dynamics of the original Meet the Parents, except with more cock jokes. Though saddled with twins, nurse Greg Focker’s (Ben Stiller) most pressing responsibility remains living up to the expectations of demanding father-in-law Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), who, after a mild heart attack, appoints Greg as the heir apparent (a.k.a. the “Godfocker”) to his patriarchy throne. No sooner has the torch been passed, however, than Greg is once again bumbling and fumbling about while Jack looks on with mounting consternation, primarily with regard to issues involving erectile dysfunction pills and a sexy drug rep (Jessica Alba) now working with Greg.

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