Scanners' 2007 Exploding Head Awards (Part 1)

Dude! No Country hasn't opened in Istanbul yet!

Obviously, all the blog posts in all of the interwebs have to be finely tuned to Turkish release dates thereby sparing me from being spoiled.

Anyway, great post.

Aaaaah! I agree one hundred and fifty percent. That opening sequence in "Juno" almost undermined the whole movie for me. The casual animation walking scene and preg test scene were just too a-shucks indie cute. And then those scribblings in white announcing the season. I really liked the movie but some of those decisions kept me from loving the movie as much as others claim they do. I of course complain about it more at my home.

I'd also like to add my choice for the year's best ending:

Es ist für mich. (It's for me) - The Lives of Others

I think the line in superbad you were refering to is closer to the effect of "...because you don't negotiate with terrorists." The brilliance of Michael Cera knows no bounds, and I'm glad your shining a light on it Mr. Emerson.

I don't mind the opening scene in Juno. It's played entirely for laughs, but I love a Rainn Wilson cameo, and I don't think it's too over the top. It also introduces the audience to the style of language that Juno and Leah speak in the first half of the movie, and I think it makes it a little easier to swallow because it's comparatively more subdued than Rollo's (Wilson's).

You're also making me think I need to see Breach.

The Return of the King Award to the film with the most amount of endings: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Well it would have been nice if you'd given a couple of awards to No Country for Old Men.

This is the first mention of Barry Corbin I've seen in reference to No Country for Old Men. I remember literally the night before I saw the movie I was talking with my dad about how good Maurice was on Northern Exposure with the discussion ending with "Does that guy make movies anymore?" Thus, my surprise when I saw him the next day in the movie. When I told my dad he asked, "Was he any good?" and I told him that he was one of the best parts of the movie.

Michael Cera (19), Ellen Page (20), Seth Rogen (25), Jonah Hill (24), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (18)

Also known as the "make ken feel inadequate" awards.

Jim and Phillip: Couldn't agree more abou the opening scenes of Juno. Overall, I liked the movie (Simmons & Janney are good, but I liked Garner & Bateman's work even more), but I can't love it b/c the first ten minutes are not just bad, but excruciatingly, "look at us, aren't we so clever?" bad. I love Rainn Wilson in The Office, but that scene was one of the year's worst.

And even though I'm not orgasmic about No Country like most people here are and I disagree with you on Moss' exit and Bell's dull, interminable monologues, the scene of the dog chasing Moss in the water is one of my favorites of this year (maybe even this decade). It's suspenseful and funny in a way that would make Hitchcock proud.

I have, if I may, a few nominee/category additions:

Best Ending:
"Zodiac": "That's him. That's the man who shot me" (cue "Hurdy Gurdy Man")

Most Repressed Homoeroticism (also, interestingly, in a western):
Charlie Prince's not-so-subtle feelings for Ben Wade ("3:10 to Yuma")

Worthy of Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival:
"Breach"

Best Throwaway Line By Seth Rogen in a Movie This Year:
"He's not usually this drunk when he does this, but, I think that'll just make it cooler." ("Superbad")

Most "What If...":
Michael Cera as Ben Stone in "Knocked Up"

"Independent" is the perfect word which needs to stop getting thrown around in the cinema setting. The only other one I think is of equal importance to ban is the word "quirky," which is like a land mine field for half the "independent" movies now. Wes Anderson gets the label, so does Sofia Coppola, Jim Jarmusch, and now, "Juno."

But dynamite observations on Michael Cera. His personality has carried over flawlessly to film, with a face full of subtle looks. My friends predict he's going to be sort of a new Ron Howard, doing films and TV now in his youth, probably taking up being a producer/director later on.

It's funny, because that scene from Juno is front and center in the trailer, and it's practically crippled my desire to see the movie. And then the trailer ends with Ellen Page and her line (badly paraphrased here, I apologize) about her parents not worrying about her getting into trouble because (pointing to her stomach) "Look at me-- what worse shenangians could I possibly get into?" and I'm back wanting to see it.

This was a really fun list! You're ready for another quiz, Jim! Between this and "Moments Out of Time," I have gotten not a damn thing done at work today!

P.S. Barry Corbin was brilliant. Not a trace of Northern Exposure to be found...

I agree about most of your comments, but that comment about Coppola basically making "slide show" movies is a little too harsh and somewhat feels like you're trying to stir up controversy. Keep in mind I haven't seen Youth without Youth, but still...

JE: I often feel a disconnect in Coppola's movies between the effort and the emotion (or lack thereof). Most of them feel over-intellectualized to me. I don't know how to explain it other than to say that I don't find passion or conviction resonating from the filmmaking itself. Obviously, there are exceptions (particularly in the early/mid-1970s). But during the running time of "Youth Without Youth" I really did begin to wonder -- "momentarily" -- if my favorite Coppola films ("Godfather II," "The Conversation") were as good as I remembered.

NTinsley: Yes, that line ("Because we don't negotiate with terrorists") comes right before he mumbles, "Terrorism." He's so caught up in the video game, he just babbles. It made me laugh.

Fritz: As you can probably tell, I thought the monologues I mention in "NCFOM" were profoundly moving (hauntingly written, too!), and essential to what the movie does. But that's another complaint I've read, even from people who loved the movie: that the ending is weak or anti-climactic. I say yes to the latter and no to the former.

Ali: Not to worry -- I tried to remain vague enough about "NCFOM" not to spoil anything! Good point about all those endings in "Jesse James." I liked the movie (mostly the sense of time and place), but I thought it was over several times before it was. I've only seen it once, though...

Finally, someone who is 1) giving "12:08 to Bucharest" some credit, and 2) not drooling all over "Diving Bell and the Butterfly." I saw "Diving Bell" at the film festival down here, and i found it boring (why all the awards at the critics' circles?) -- and the POV camera became annoying really fast.

Jim,

Kudos for singling out one of the most brilliant moments in "No Country for Old Men"...the dog chase. I think that the word "nightmarish" is often overused, but that sequence genuinely had the twisted, terrifying logic of some nightmares of pursuit that I have had. (OK, so I'm running away from this truck, and they're shooting at me, and I dive into a river, and before I can figure out what's going on, a dog is paddling after me!).

I still have yet to see many of the best-reviewed films of this year, and I'm dying with anticipation for "There Will Be Blood", so I can't really judge whether or not I'd agree with all of these awards.

Michael Cera is hilarious in "Superbad", though, I'll agree with that. My favourite under-the-breath lines comes late in the film: "Yeah, it looks like a division sign."

In fact, it's those under-the-breath, tangential moments that elevated both "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" into the realm of genuinely crowd-pleasing comedies. I love Seth Rogen's awful (yet hilariously realistic) impression of Robert De Niro in "Knocked Up", especially since it's followed by Paul Rudd's almost spot-on De Niro riff.

Best Ending: Zodiac.

Most Annoyingly Pretentious Directorial Decision: the exit of Llewellan Moss in No Country For Old Men. I too, though, loved the scene of the dog and the river.

Worst Ending: Lust, Caution.

No mention of Rescue Dawn? How about "Best Casting Side Effect", when Christian Bale as Dieter Dengler recalls his memories from World War II and the moment he was inspired to fly airplanes, and the earnest look in Bale's eyes flashes the audience back to his performance as young J.G. Ballard in Empire of the Sun.

NTinsley: Yes, that line ("Because we don't negotiate with terrorists") comes right before he mumbles, "Terrorism." He's so caught up in the video game, he just babbles. It made me laugh.

Got ya. I remember that now.

That reminds me of two other ones that I always laugh at but never got a laugh in the theater. Both from Cera: "Now that she can jog comfortably she's in the best shape of he...." and "Full throttle...Charlie's Angels 2"

Best Closing Shot Close Ups:
*No Country For Old Men
*The Orphanage
*Zodiac
*Michael Clayton
*The Lives Of Others
*I'm Not There
*Eastern Promises
*Across The Universe

Most Reoccuring Visual Motif
Shoes - Two important scenes of Chigurh removing his boots and another of Moss buying them in No Country For Old Men, piles of empty shoes in Pirates 3, Rescue Dawn, and Pan's Labyrinth (not actually 07, but the last week of 06 is close enough to indicate a trend), shoes hanging from rafters in Harry Potter 5, and so on

Best Use Of A Mariachi Band
No Country For Old Men

Worst Use Of A Mariachi Band
Bratz: The Movie

I'd also add to ,cringe-worthy lines "I'm a pimp, and pimps don't commit suicide!" from Southland Tales (repeated about three times, yeesh).

You know in the script for NCFOM that you linked to, Bell's final monologue is meant to be illustrated as described, with the vision of the horseback rider seen onscreen. Now of course you can make the less is more argument about the filmed version, which I won't debate. But maybe if they had included that dream sequence, audiences would be better tipped off that the movie was coming to a close, and they'd pay more attention to what Bell was saying. Then the cut to black wouldn't seem as abrupt.

Matt: Isn't that pimp line the final line in the movie, too? I don't even know what that's supposed to mean in the context of "Southland Tales."

Dan: Yes, the Nov. 2005 script has "illustrated" the dream -- which, I think, would have been a huge mistake. My chief complaint about movies these days is that they're too literal. We don't "see" inside the heads of any of the other characters (although Ed Tom Bell is our opening-sequence narrator, and the movie's central character), and there's no reason to drift off into an illustration of his dreams. (He even apologizes for telling them!) If the film had telegraphed its ending, that conclusion wouldn't be anywhere near as powerful. I felt the same way I've described feeling at the end of "Man Push Cart": the moment it ended (maybe a fraction of a second before or after) I felt like it was absolutely the right place to stop. The book goes on for some time after the car accident, but I think the movie ends exactly where it needs to. How better to end a movie of such nightmarish intensity, slowly deepening into reflection, than with "Then I woke up"?

Kirk, Matt: Must've had a brain stutter last night. I've added "Zodiac" to my list of the year's best endings. I think it's far more ambiguous than "NCFOM"'s, but a lot of people don't read it that way.

Dan: My bad, re: "Rescue Dawn." I've added a citation for CB's survivor smile.

I don't disagree with any of that Jim, I was just speculating on the problem of expectations. If the audience is expecting the film to continue on to something equivalent to the wood chipper confrontation in Fargo, then they may not pay as close attention to what is said in a scene that they do not expect to be the last, and they miss that concluding beat you mentioned. That's the impression I got from my theater when I heard people say "..Whaa..?" as if they had been waiting for the scene to end so the plot could start up again. Maybe the dream sequence, by the very nature of its change in style, would've helped focus attention on the content of what is said. But obviously that's a moot point, and I'm not trying to second guess the Coens. Just an observation, however idle.

Interesting point, Jim, about finding Bell's monologues profoundly moving...The more I think about NCFOM, the more I think your ultimate reaction to the film's ending depends on how much you feel connected to Bell.

I think part of the reason the anti-climax left me cold and frustrated was that I didn't feel much connection to Bell. For the film's third-act switcheroo to work, the audience needs to really be invested in Bell and his disillusionment. Bell doesn't need to be the main character in the first 90 minutes, but the audience has to feel something for him. You did, I didn't...And the more I think about NFCOM, the more I think this is where the film will rise or fall for most viewers.

And let me also echo the praises for Zodiac's ending - my favorite film of the year so far and I love the final exchange in the hardware store - and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" sounds incredibly creepy.

I thought Tommy Lee Jones was the best Laura Linney, myself.

And that coitus interuptus shouldn't be given awards.

Incidentally, I get the feeling that you're not really wild about No Country for Old Men. I mean, you think it's ok, but you're not really in love with it.

After seeing two movies in the last couple of days, (more specifically tons of trailers) I thought of a new award.

The John C. Reilly Award for ubiquity in supporting roles:
Ciaran Hinds. Irish actor who appears in supporting roles in Margot at the Wedding, There Will Be Blood, In Brughes, Stop Loss and Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day.

Mr. Emerson,

"That's one doodle that can't be undid, home-skillet."

Could you please elaborate on why this line bothered you so much?

Personally, when I first saw the trailer for "Juno" I was very put-off by Ellen Page's smug delivery of the "...shenanigans" line.

Young comedy whippersnapper stars of the year:

Should I read something into the fact that most (3 of 5) of those are Canadians?

So I take it you liked No Country for Old Men?

Also: I envy you with my life for having already seen There Will Be Blood.

nowak: You got it. When it comes to modern comedy, Canadians have ruled since the '70s! "SCTV," "SNL" (from Dan Aykroyd to Phil Hartman), "Kids in the Hall," David Steinberg, Tommy Chong... even Jim Carrey, if you're into that sort of thing. The greatest comedic actor in the world, Catherine O'Hara, is Canadian!

Harry: That line (which is also in the trailer) is wrong, wrong, wrong in every conceivable way, as far as I'm concerned: It's overwritten (trying WAY too hard to be funny); it dilutes any humor in the "Etch-a-Sketch" reference (brought on by Juno absent-mindedly shaking the pregnancy test stick like a mercury thermometer); the relationship between the two characters is inexplicable (why does she go to THAT drugstore and put up with this jerk, with whom she seems to have no rapport?); Rainn Wilson's delivery is too emphatic (as if he's memorized a tongue-twister of a line and is just trying to spit it out); the hostility in the entire scene seems over-the-top, out of nowhere; the tone is one of sitcom smugness and phony abrasiveness, one insult/punchline followed by a snappy/snarky comeback, followed by another snappy/snarky comeback. It's got "first-time writer" stamped all over it. Fortunately, the movie later settles down and lets characters emerge.

So, that begins to describe what I didn't like about it! In the context of the movie, I actually thought the "shenanigans" line worked pretty well. It's too bad they use it as the tidy "button" on the trailer.

I'm going to be an annoying nitpicker here, just because it's late, I'm drunk, and I have to film a goddamn wine show tomorrow morning:

That "inside-Bill-Murray's-big-rubber-prop-mouth shot of dentist Steve Martin" in LSOH is not from inside Bill Murray's character's mouth. He comes later. It's from a random patient during a chorus in "Dentist."

Mr. Emerson,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my Question about the Rainn Wilson line. What you're saying essentially is that the line is artificial, stilted in its wackiness, and self-consciously "cute."

In the trailer, when she tells her parents of the pregnancy, J.K. Simmons says, "A D.U.I., anything but this," and it cuts. I was thinking, shouldn't his line have been more of a curt direct zinger with the cut being the punchline? That would've been funnier. But after reading your comments here, I realize that this expectation of mine to see self-contained one-liners spoken by characters in comedy trailers followed by a cut is a response that has been pre-programmed in me by watching too much television or something.

People don't actually talk to each other in rat-a-tat witty one-liners without missing a beat.

On a completely unrelated note, what do you think of "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM" and "AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE?"

to Ali Arikan

on your suggestion of "The Lives of Others" for best ending: Bravo to you sir. Goddamn right.

Rest in Peace Ulrich.

"The Assassination of Jesse James..." only has one ending, and in my opinion it's the best ending of the year.

[obligatory spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it]
The closing moments - as Robert Ford's assassin enters the picture (walking up through the snow with that cold, ragged face of his) and the narration mournfully discusses Ford's legacy in relation to Jesse's - bring the film into COMPLETE focus. Unless you thought Jesse's assassination itself was an ending (which would have negated the entire purpose of the film), the film didn't give any other signals that it was coming to a close until the final few minutes. There were no other "endings."

The ending we do have is the thematic climax of a pitch-perfect character study-cum-deconstruction of myth, legend and celebrity.

To me, that seems extremely obvious - the film wouldn't be complete without that ending, nor almost anything that sets it up. To me, it seems that if you're paying attention to the length of the film or "how many endings" it has, you're really not paying attention to what the film is accomplishing with its characters and themes. Nor, perhaps, have you understood what the film is about.

Also, Jim: I'm confused about your criticism of the milkshake analogy in "There Will Be Blood."

That line was spoken by a CRAZY, DRUNK OLD MAN in a final fit of madness. Did you actually think that was Anderson's major metaphorical conceit?

Great list, Jim. I'll join the "the early part of 'Juno' sucked" crowd. That the movie managed to have any effect on me at all after that terrible scene is a tribute to the talent of the people involved. I recently popped in my screener and watched it again because some people told me that I didn't understand the use of slang as a defense mechanism for teens. But a second viewing only made me hate the bad scenes more (partly because I liked the good scenes—especially Bateman's—so much. Cody has a strong knack for characters. Hopefully she can get over the obsession with her own cuteness.

I loved Michael Cera on "Arrested Development, and his work this year validated my feelings.

One question about the "Most belabored inappropriate metaphor" award: Are you complaining about the moment, or admiring it? Since it's a crazy drunken character making the metaphor, and not an omniscient narrator or a visual metaphor communicated by the camera, it shouldn't really be held to the same scrutiny.

Also, the other person didn't think they were sharing the milkshake, he thought the milkshake was tucked in a freezer somewhere. (I was going to say a closet instead of freezer, but then it would melt—just like oil, eh?)

So glad you said that about the dog and the river in No Country for Old Men. I compared that to the crop duster sequence in North by Northwest.

Hi, never posted on a site like this and don't really read much on them either. But thought I would comment on how helpful these dialogues are. On JUNO - I am not a critic - just an average middle-aged white woman who likes chick flicks mainly - but that opening on Juno really rang false for me. I agree with all of the statements about Rainn Wilson. But then I read the post from the person who made I thought some really good points about how ( sorry for paraphrasing ) they kind of HAD to have a really jarringly clever verbal exchange up front in order for us to accept and love Juno and her friends lingo and delivery. Maybe without that scene, her unique little personality might not have worked - would have put people off.. so, I thank you for that insight whoever-you-were. One last thing - here and on the other page about the video montage "ten best" list I was astonished at how many of you filmophiles had not seen BREACH. I have no street cred ( avg. avg. movie goer ) but that film mesmerized me.. for all of you who haven't seen it - it reminded me of "Broken Glass". Same type of suspense and Chris Cooper - why is he not the lead in more movies?

Mr. Emerson has my respect, but what is this inexplicable enthusiasm over some disposable comedies? (The Judd Apatow products)

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" will be remembered long after Judd Apatow and his merchandise have been shelved next to the countless other "coming-of-age" comedies in a mall video store.

In reference to Michael Cera's infamous argument while filming that scene before he was dropped from "Knocked Up". Why can't I shake the feeling that the entire incident was staged? I suppose it would just be a big waste of time, but shortly after Apatow puts him in another flick, "Superbad", which may be more successful than "Knocked Up". Add to that the fact that Cera seems terribly unsuited to "Knocked Up". Isn't he too young for the role and/or Heigl? Rogan is several years older. And then Rogan, a favorite of Apatow, gets Cera's role? I don't know. Could it have been for the sake of publicity? Maybe there's really no advantage, but something seems fishy there...