The Citizen Review " A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man." -Robert Warshow

Elf is not your average 'holiday' movie. At the surface, it may seem obnoxious or silly and full of laughs but it's so much better. It has created one of the quirkiest, most homey versions of Christmas and the North Pole the movies has ever seen. It totally goes unapologetically showing us Will Ferrel in a felt elf costume for two hours, having Bob Newhart as his 'papa-elf' and the North Pole looking like the inside of a snowglobe. It's funny, yes, but it also taps into the audiences deepest, most tender Christmas spirit. At the center of the film is a great big heart.

Half of the thanks is due to the stellar cast. First of all there is Bob Newhart, the sarcastic, monotoned Papa Elf. Then there is the cast of characters he meets back in the Big Apple. James Caan plays the head of a children's book publisher who couldn't have less 'Christmas spirit', he's also Buddy's dad.; there's his coworker Jovie played by Zooey Deschanel in one of her first mainstream roles (oh yeah, he also lands a job in a large department store);

And of course the other half of the thanks is due to the writing, because there truly are some hilarious scenes that don't stop being funny after the fifth time watching it. For many, Elf has become another holiday classic, sharing the shelf with A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street. And with its fun cast, bustling gags and outrageous performance by Will Ferrel, it's hard for me not to say the space is well-deserved.

Elf is one of those cute, jolly little films that come just around Christmas time. The kids say they want to see Santa on screen, and the parents take them because, it's Christmas! I'm not trying to make this movie sound like a "cookie-cutter" film, because it's not a bad film, but it is jut an okay film. And, really, that's all it's trying to be.

This story, takes place in the North Pole, where Buddy the Elf is the only human at Santa's workshop, resembling ones from the classic animated "Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman. He knows he's different, but he's not sure why. One day, Papa Elf tells him the truth about himself and Santa sends him to New York City to find his real family.

He goes, and indeed finds his family, runs into some funny instances with them, it is a comedy, and there's also a romantic interest played by Zooey Deschanel, in one of her not-so-good performences. The movie isn't bad, there are some hilarious moments from Will Ferrel, without whom, the film would not even slightly work, and it ends nicely. It has become a classic to some, but for me, it was a slightly memorable, cute film, starring Will Ferrel, the only reason this film was memorable.

In a great scene in the last act of this film, an unlikely source of help for the protagonist says this, "You seem to be old and wise." To which she responds, "I feel old, but not very wise."

Here we have An Education, a brand new film that isn't very old but feels very wise. It's based on a sort of memoir by Lynn Barber who said that this story is about her attempt to find elegance in her life. This film certainly documents some very elegant people for sure, but it's much more than that. It starts out with Jenny, a senior at an all-girls school outside of London in the 60's, wishing to travel the world and not fulfill the desires of her parents, which would mean attending the very and wise Oxford University.

Enter older, more sophisticated male with a way out. Or at least, that's what it seems in Jenny's eyes. He's definitely a charmer, convincing her parents to let him take her to London, to various places. It turns out that not all that glitters is gold.

The film succeeds in many ways. It succeeds in showing the tragedy of throwing away one's life for a weekend in Paris, it shows the struggles of many women in the 1960's, it shows that the people we think of as unassuming and docile turn out to be closeted philosophers. The film is beautiful, the actors are all perfection, especially Carrie Mulligan who deserves every award surely to be thrown at her and the script is great too. It's not only an education for those in the film, but those who watch it again and again.

An Education is a film chock-full of great scenes, so great, no minor setbacks the film may have will bring it down. It's about a 16 year old bright school girl who, one rainy day in England, stumbles upon an older, charming man. They met again days later, and one charming phrase leads to another, which leads to the best night of Jenny's life. He sweeps her of her feet and promises there will be more.

So, by this point she's head-over-heals, and soon thinks her education is trivial, and begins to think of life the way her new, older friends see it. She nearly makes a fool of herself, and in the end, well she indeed gets an education.

I said this film has it's minor problems, and it does, but they are minor. And as I also said, it has some amazing scenes. One such scene is in the car with Jenny and her fellow (I'm just quoting this from memory): Jenny says "My teacher once told us that action is character, and I think what she meant was that if we never do anything, we'll never be anybody. And I never did anything before I met you." That, among with others, also showcases the extremely thoughtful, smart screenplay, and the wondrous Carrey Mulligan. Carrie Mulligan's performance has been compared to ones of Audrey Hepburn, because you can't think of anyone else as fresh and vibrant as her. She sweeps the whole audience up with her performance, much like her romantic interest in the film did to her.

Mad Men - WINNER

FlashForward

True Blood

Dexter

Lost

30 Rock - WINNER

Glee

Modern Family - WINNER

The Office

Better Off Ted

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock - WINNER

Ty Burrell, Modern Family - WINNER

Steve Carell, The Office

Hugh Laurie, House M.D.

Tina Fey, 30 Rock -WINNER

Lea Michele, Glee

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

January Jones, Mad Men

Sonya Walger, FlashForward

John Slattery, Mad Men - WINNER

Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock

Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock

Rico Rodriguez, Modern Family - WINNER

Danny DeVito, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

Jane Lynch, Glee - WINNER

Christina Hendricks, Mad Men - WINNER

Catherine Moss, Mad Men

Portia de Rossi, Better Off Ted

Mad Men - WINNER

30 Rock

Modern Family

The Office

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Keep in mind, this is a very rough list and will be edited in time. Here we go:

Best Picture (There are TEN!)

Precious

Up in the Air

Avatar

An Education

The Hurt Locker

A Serious Man

Invictus

Where the Wild Things Are

A Single Man

Inglorious Basterds

George Clooney, Up in the Air

Morgan Freeman, Invictus

Colin Firth, A Single Man

Michael Stuhlburg, A Serious Man

Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer

Carrie Mulligan, An Education

Gabourey Sibide, Precious

Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces

Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

Matt Damon, Invictus

Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Matthew Goode, A Single Man

Mo'Nique, Precious

Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

Mariah Carey, Precious

Penelope Cruz, Nine

Up

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Coraline

Princess and the Frog

But it's a brand new season for Oscars and we're already starting our ROUGH lists.

Can you handle it?

We're so excited!

Matthew Says: A

One of the most anticipated movies of the year, based on one of the most widely renowned children's novels of all time, Spike Jonze has quite some pressure. The question that came up in my mind was, "How is Spike Jonze's raw, artsy style going to mix with a classic children's story?" Well I promise you, Where the Wild Things Are delivers!

Everyone knows the story of Max, who is sent to his room after a tantrum, and escapes into the world where the wild things are. This film just enhances it, making it realistic to the modern family of today, and adds a newer meaning to the story.

The filming of it is breathtaking. The technical merit of the wild things with the raw camera style truly capture what is was like to be a kid. And first time screenwriter Spike Jonzes creates subtle and surprisingly touching scenes between these two different kinds of creatures who aren't really that different.

This one of the most inventive, audacious and spectacular films of the year. It runs on human emotion, inventivness, and being wild. It's a must-see for 2009.

Sincerely,
The Citizen Review

Matthew Says: B+

The Puffy Chair is the independant debut for the writer-director duo, the Duplass brothers. It's a romantic comedy of sorts, and It's one heck of a good one. What's different about this one is the film starts with The two lovers already together. And they're not polar opposites who suddenly have everything in common.

Josh's dad's birthday is next week, and he wants to get him something special. He found an exact replica of a burandy puffy chair that his dad loved when he was little on Ebay. So he and his girlfriend Emily go on a roadtrip to get the puffy chair and take it to his dad's. Along the way they pick up Josh's brother, along with minor mishaps (including sneaking into a motel, busting into garage doors, and an overnight marriage) and major relationship rethinking.

This film was shot on a $2,000 camcorder, and uses friends and family for actors, yet has far better acting, writing and realism than any other romantic comedy I've seen. The acting is insanley real, with emotional scenes that seem like you're peaking in on some couple's fight in the next room.

Sincerely,