YEAR END TOP 10!

Welcome to Now Showing’s first YEAR END TOP 10!

Before I go into my top ten there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind. Though I tried to watch as many films as I could this year, you can only spend so much before you start slipping on your rent! Just because I haven’t previously reviewed it on my site, it doesn’t necessarily mean I didn’t see it. I do have a life… sort of. And now, in no particular order, the 2009 YEAR END TOP 10!


1.An Education- The buzz around this gem has been Carey Mulligan’s breakout performance as a sixteen year old girl who gets involved with a much older man who gives her a life a young woman could only dream of. You’ll fall in love with this pre-Beatles era picture!

To read my full review on this film CLICK HERE.



2.Public Enemies- Michael Mann’s film about John Dillinger may have divided critics when it came to the technology that was used to film this period piece but there is no dividing anyone when it comes to the sheer energy its cast displays on screen. Johnny Deep leads an all star cast featuring great performances by Billy Crudup, Marion Cutillard and Christian Bale.

To read my full review on this film
CLICK HERE.
3.Star Trek- I never, ever thought that a Star Trek film would come out and cream the Star Wars franchise! J.J. Abrams and company got us all excited for space operas again! May the force… I mean, live long and prosper!






4.Up- Pixar can do no wrong in my eyes. Who knew that an animated story about a house floating on balloons and a cranky old man could bring tears to those who watch? Only Pixar.

To read my full review on this film CLICK HERE.



5.(500) Days of Summer- This is not a love story. It’s a break up story. But you’re going to watch it anyway because we are all suckers for a good breakup story, or is it just me? Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschannel are irresistible as the doomed couple!





6.Invictus- I know that the promotional posters for Clint Eastwood’s latest project put Matt Damon front and center, but it is Morgan Freeman who carries the film as Nelson Mandela (In the role he was born to play), during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. This is an inspiring look at the man who was not willing to allow his past to dictate how he viewed others and how a rugby team brought a whole nation together.


7.Red Cliff- John Woo’s epic about the battle at Red Cliff is brilliant. His work in this film has been compared to Akira Kurosawa’s own masterpieces. If you like sword and sandal films like Braveheart and Gladiator, look no further than Red Cliff!

To read my full review on this film CLICK HERE.



8.Where The Wild Things Are- This Royal Rumpus tugged at my heart with a warm performance by Max Records as the child who his mother called, “WILD THING!” Spike Jonzes was determined to make this an experience that reminds us of our own youth and how fragile we were at one point. Well done.

To read my full review on this film CLICK HERE.


9.The Damned United- “Those dirty, dirty Leeds!” Michael Sheen stars as the man who lasted only forty- four days as the Leeds manager, Brian Clough. Peter Morgan’s script, who’s past work includes The Queen and Frost/ Nixon, is brilliant and brings a dimension to The Damned United that would not have been possible through anyone else.

To read my full review on this film CLICK HERE.

10.Terminator Salvation- People can hate on this film all they want but the reality is that it WAS a great action movie! It may not have James Cameron’s hand print but it does respect the world he created. I really am hoping this is not the last we see of the war against the machines.

To read my full review on this film CLICK HERE.


Honorable Mentions: District 9, The Men Who Stare at Goats

Top 10/ Disney Animated Film Part 3

Last week Disney released Pinocchio on DVD and Blu Ray, celebrating its 70th Anniversary since its theatrical release. With this being a special occasion, I decided to compile a list of the 10 best Disney Animated Films. Enjoy!

10 Best Disney Animated Films- Part 3 of 3

3/ Sleeping Beauty- Work of art. This is one way to describe Sleeping Beauty. It took ten years to animate this film and it shows in every single cell and background set! The animation is very medieval and gothic. When watching on my screen, I could not believe that I was seeing a film over fifty years old! If it came out today, it would still be regarded as a work of art! I apologize for being so caught up in the artwork, but my goodness, it looks beautiful…ok, let’s continue. I was glad to see that the prince in this film was more like an action hero! He doesn’t just wait around for danger to go away before he comes in to sweep the princess off her feet. No, this guy fights goblins, and a dragon to get to the one he loves! I was amazed to find out that Princess Aurora, the main character in the film, is only in it for less than eighteen minutes! Let me just say, she did more to impress me in those eighteen minutes than most of the princesses before her. I guess it also helped that she was the prettiest of them all! Side note: This was the last fairy tale that Walt Disney had a chance to work on before his death.

2/ The Lion King- This was the first Disney film I got to see in theatres. Just the opening scene alone would have been worth the admission price! Talk about epic! I’ve seen every Disney animated film to date and none have had “the complete package” quite like this one. An inspiring opening, very catchy songs (Circle of Life, Hakuna Matata, Can You Feel The Love, I Just Can’t Wait To Be King), jaw dropping animation (The stampede scene… nuff said!), a coming of age storyline, characters that you truly care about, great comedic moments (“Why do I always have to save your… aahhh!!!”), great action pieces, and a heart dropping scene that will make you weep for days! I don’t think any other Disney film since has been able to live up to this achievement. I can only imagine how Walt would have reacted after seeing this!

Which brings us to… drum roll please…

1/ Beauty and the Beast- I think it’s safe to say that one of the biggest attractions from Disney’s canon of animation films is their fairy tale line. Out of all the fairy tales though, Beauty and the Beast stands above all. It’s romantic enough for the ladies, while still being rough enough for the men to enjoy. The title song, “Beauty and the Beast”, is one of the most beautiful songs composed for an animated film. To top it off, the ballroom scene has been hailed by critics as one of the most captivating images in animated cinema history. It also doesn’t hurt that it is the only animated film in history to be nominated in the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards!
The classic storyline about looking for the beauty within a person and allowing your heart to be your guide is a storyline that is used often in fairy tales, but here, she REALLY has to look within the beast and within herself to accept him. And what a beast! It’s really great to see someone who starts off as a villain, see his emotional transformation and eventually win the heart of the one he loves!
With Beauty and the Beast, Disney finally perfected the formula for a fairy tale film, truly making this, a tale as old as time!

Top 10/ Disney Animated Films Part 2

Last week Disney released Pinocchio on DVD and Blu Ray, celebrating its 70th Anniversary since its theatrical release. With this being a special occasion, I decided to compile a list of the 10 best Disney Animated Films. Enjoy!

10 Best Disney Animated Films- Part 2 of 3

7/ Bambi- I’ve watched this film many times, and yet I still don’t know what the storyline is exactly. Is it passage of time? A boy becoming a man? An animated nature film? I don’t know. What I do know though is that this film is a work of art. The backgrounds are painted in such a way that it almost feels as if you’re in a dream. Everything about this production feels innocent. Maybe that’s what it is, a film about a time when everything was innocent! Before man came in and built a modern society! Whatever it is, it’s beautiful to watch. Oh yeah, almost forgot, have a couple of napkins in hand!

6/ The Little Mermaid- This under the sea adventure is responsible for what came to be known as The Disney Renaissance. After years of lackluster films being churned out from Disney Animation Studios, the animation department was finally moved to, basically, a trailer park, in hopes to slowly do away with that department. Out of this desperate time to prove that animation features are still an important part of cinema, came The Little Mermaid. Without this films success, we would not have had Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, Mulan, Pocahantas, Hercules, Tarzan, or The Hunchback of Notre Dam.

5/ Pinocchio- Hailed as the perfect example of modern day animation, Pinocchio is a sad tale about the wooden boy who wanted to become a real boy. I’m still taken aback from the fact that this is a 70 year old film! There are movies that age really badly, but this beautiful take on Carlo Collodi’s classic has stood the test of time! One of the best and most frightening moments come during the end with the attempted escape at the hand of Monstro! Talk about sweaty palms afterwards!

4/ Snow White & the Seven Dwarves- The one that started it all! Snow White and the 7 Dwarves was a landmark in animation. Claimed “Disney’s Folly” before its release, it shut critics with it’s wonderful storyline, state of the art effects (For it’s time, of course!), unforgettable music numbers (One Day My Prince Will Come, Heigh Ho), and lovable characters! This film was an instant success, and solidified Disney’s place in history as the master of storytelling!

See you soon for the top three!

Top 10/ Disney Animated Films Part 1

This week Disney released Pinocchio on DVD and Blu Ray, celebrating its 70th Anniversary since its theatrical release. With this being a special occasion, I decided to compile a list of the 10 best Disney Animated Films. Enjoy!
*Special Note* I did not count Pixar Films since they are a different company who Disney distributes for.

10 Best Disney Animated Films- Part 1 of 3

Honorable Mention

Lady & the Tramp- This movie just had to be in here somewhere. It holds a special place for me since my wife and I consider it our “date” movie. Beyond that, here’s an animated film about a dog (Tramp) who “gets around” with the females (off camera of course) only to be smitten by a lady named Lady! It has one of the most romantic scenes in animated history and it touches on adult themes while still keeping in mind that it’s a kid’s film… or is it…?

10/ Peter Pan- This story about the boy who never grew up makes me feel like a little kid! Scenes like Pan and the Darlings flying through London to land on Big Ben, Hook and Mr. Smee taking Tiger Lili to Skull Rock, or the final duel between Pan and Hook, are just so much fun to watch because they were drawn so vividly and so eerily at the same time! You’ll get chills when you witness Capt. Hook shoot one of his own crew just because he was getting annoyed by his singing! You’ll laugh as the Lost Boys constantly fight each other over a silly comment or misunderstanding! If you don’t want to feel like a grown up, look no further!

9/ 101 Dalmatians- Here’s a film that Walt Disney wasn’t happy with until many years after its release. Part of it had to do with the new Xerox technology that allowed the artist's drawing to be directly shot into the film, as opposed to having the artist's work traced and cleaned up by a different group of animators. This caused the animation to look more “sketched” and “dirty”. Another issue was the backgrounds. Colors ran off the borders, nothing was clean and romanticized like previous Disney films. The result was something new, fresh, loud, and jazzed up, which Walt didn’t understand until some time later. Top this with cool characters, one of the nastiest villains ever and a warming story about a mom and dad fighting to get their kids back, and you have one wild ride!

8/ Aladdin- Far away lands, carpet rides, genies, and a hot Persian Princess! Aladdin was just such a fun ride that went from one great action piece to another! Robin Williams was on fire as Genie, delivering his lines as only he could do. In fact, a great deal of why the movie was successful was because of the way Genie would just come in and steal every scene he was in!

I’ll be back soon for 7-4!