SANDRA BULLOCK

By R. Kurt Osenlund, The Good Life film critic

There's no question about it: Sandra Bullock just had the best year of her career. Not even when her breakout turn in "Speed" got her heaps of work in the mid- to late- '90s did Bullock experience the kind of popularity and success she garnered in 2009. In July, Bullock starred opposite Ryan Reynolds in "The Proposal," a charming if not entirely laudable flick that saw the 45-year-old return to her romantic comedy roots. The movie went on to gross a whopping $314 million worldwide, making it Bullock's biggest box office hit. It also landed her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress (Comedy/Musical).

But, surely, the recent Bullock film that really got everyone talking was "The Blind Side," a fact-based football drama about the unlikely upbringing of defensive lineman Michael Oher. Bullock portrays Oher's adoptive mother, Leigh Anne Touhy, a real-life Southern belle with a pampered, polished lifestyle and fierce maternal instincts. Mildly moving but more than a little patronizing, "The Blind Side" proved very popular with audiences, grossing over $200 million to become the most successful sports-related drama of all time.

"The Blind Side" also landed Bullock a heap of awards recognition, including a Golden Globe for Best Actress (Drama), a SAG award for Best Actress and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Many believe her to be the favorite to win the Oscar, or, at least, the only contender who stands a chance against Meryl Streep, a nominee for "Julie & Julia."

All this amidst starring in what many to believe to be one of the very worst movies of last year, "All About Steve," for which Bullock received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress not one day before the Oscar nominations were announced. Like it or not (as much as I adore Bullock, I feel the Oscar recognition is undeserved), hers is the most fascinating story of the awards season, especially since her climb to the top coincided with almost universal jeers for a major dud. Another factor that's pulled Bullock through is her sheer likability, which, although it doesn't really warrant award wins, sure makes for some entertaining acceptance speeches.

Brief capsules on new DVDs worth renting.

By R. Kurt Osenlund, The Good Life film critic


MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT

While there's not much to write home about in terms of filmmaking craft, this commemorative doc. collage is nevertheless terrific entertainment, celebrating -- and not eulogizing -- the art, moves and enduring genius of arguably the greatest pop star of all time. It's amazing to see just how much Jackson still had it right up until his death, and to marvel at how music truly was his first language. (Now available)




BRIGHT STAR

Writer/director Jane Campion translates the work, love and tragically short life of English poet John Keats to the screen, creating her own kind of poetry in the process. Ben Whishaw is beguiling as Keats, and Abbie Cornish is exquisite as Keats's fashionista muse, Fanny Brawne. Named after Keats's famous poem to Fanny, "Bright Star" is one of 2009's best films, and certainly its most beautiful. (Now available)




COLD SOULS

Everyone's favorite everyman schlub actor, Paul Giamatti, plays himself (very well) in this surrealist comedy about a company that offers the ultimate cure for chemical imbalances: soul extraction. Giamatti opts for the procedure, reconsiders, then is forced to hunt down his soul, which ends up in the body of someone else. Though it doesn't always feel wholly original, this slightly tragic, very dry and technically accomplished comedy is a promising debut for filmmaker Sophie Barthes. (Available Feb. 2)

Behold! Some of the newest trailers for some of the most noteworthy upcoming releases.

By R. Kurt Osenlund, The Good Life film critic

ROBIN HOOD
I personally don't see why we need another Robin Hood movie, but if there must be one, I suppose the "Gladiator" duo of director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe is as good a team as any to deliver it. This new film focuses on the famous bandit's return from the Third Crusade, and his mission to save his homeland and its people from the Sherrif of Nottingham (Matthew MacFadyen). In other words, it's essentially about what every other Robin Hood flick is about. Cate Blanchett co-stars as Lady Marion.




THE A-TEAM
Speaking of things we don't need, here's another Hollywood remake of a popular TV show. Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Sharlto Copley of "District 9" portray the beloved quartet, while Jessica Biel and Patrick Wilson co-star. Looks to be plenty of fun, for sure, but also formulaic and hectically edited.




KNIGHT & DAY
Tom Cruise returns to the screen in this romantic comedy/spy thriller (doesn't every Tom Cruise film feel like it's "the return of Tom Cruise?"). Cameron Diaz co-stars as a woman who keeps finding herself caught up in the mishaps of Cruise's reckless secret agent. Unlike most, I enjoyed "Vanilla Sky," the last movie that saw these two stars share the screen. Their reunion could be just a "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" wannabe, or it could be one satisfying action-comedy cocktail.

MICHAEL FASSBENDER

By R. Kurt Osenlund, The Good Life film critic


For my money, German-born Irish actor Michael Fassbender is one of the most exciting screen stars working today. Since he appeared in the award-winning HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" in the early 2000s, the hunky 32-year-old starred in a host of BBC shows until finally making himself known to American filmgoers by playing the warrior Stelios in Zack Snyder's green-screened swords-and-sandals epic, "300," in 2006. Since then, Fassbender's career choices have been challenging, artful and consistently intriguing -- so much so that, at this point, if Fassbender's name is in the cast list, chances are the movie is something special and unique.

Just look at three of Fassbender's most recent projects. In "Hunger," one of the very best films of 2009, Fassbender wowed in the leading role of Bobby Sands, a resolute martyr and the initiator of the Irish Hunger Strike that took place inside the walls of Northern Ireland's Maze Prison. The performance required Fassbender to lose a dramaic amount of weight, but even more affecting is the emotional intensity and gravitas of the gifted actor's work. In Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," another standout picture from last year, Fassbender appeared as a cheeky film critic/spy, and handily rounded out QT's international cast with wit and style.

Now, Fassbender delivers a wholly realistic supporting performance in "Fish Tank," writer/director Andrea Arnold's candid Cannes Jury Prize winner about an underpriveleged 15-year-old girl coping with the pains of adolescence. The UK's answer to "Precious," and the grittiest interpretation of teenage female angst since Catherine Hardwicke's "Thirteen," "Fish Tank" is painfully, unapologetically honest, and much of that honesty stems from the unvarnished turns by lead star Katie Jarvis and Fassbender, who portrays the older fellow who brings both pleasure and pain into the young girl's life. Even with relatively minimal screen time, Fassbender grabs the viewer once again, and once again displays his value as a character actor inside the body of a movie star. ("Fish Tank" opens at the Ritz Theatres in Philadelphia in February.)

"Fish Tank" trailer:

Brief capsules on new DVDs worth renting

Behold! Some of the newest trailers for some of the most noteworthy upcoming releases.

By R. Kurt Osenlund, The Good Life film critic

SEX AND THE CITY 2
Okay, the fan in me really wants to be super-excited for this movie, which reunites the fab foursome for yet another couture-filled soiree. But the critic in me sees a lot of problems here: 1. Do we really need another outing with Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda? I'm not gonna pull the age card, but I will say that one movie was a nice enough capper to an iconic series. Dragging out the story may well tarnish its history. 2. Could Carrie's stock narration sound any more desperate? Here's what I heard: "Sorry, we really don't have anything left to say, but please come see our movie anyway." 3. Finally, the most obvious complaint: What's with the desert? As a century of cinema has proven, New York is rich enough for thousands of stories, and it's the cornerstone of "SATC." No need to shuffle the ladies off to the Sahara, where broad comedy will undoubtedly ensue. Also, there's no one more qualified to strut across sand dunes in designer clothes than these girls, but that doesn't mean it doesn't look ridiculous.




IRON MAN 2
Another sequel, and more skepticism for yours truly. Believe me, I adored the first "Iron Man" film, calling it one of the best superhero flicks to ever be churned out of Hollywood. But this follow-up looks to be even more cocky than Tony Stark, the metal-clad millionaire played by Robert Downey Jr. There's potential for a lot of broad humor here as well, as evidenced by jokes that may be too lame for even the great Downey Jr. to sell (in my opinion, "You complete me" is never, ever okay). Mickey Rourke is an exciting addition, but unless his Whiplash has more tricks up his sleave, he doesn't seem to be a very formidable villain. In case you missed her few seconds of screen time, Scarlett Johansson also appears as The Black Cat.




CREATION
A prestige film stripped of its prestigious, Oscar-qualifying, late-2009 release date, "Creation" spent a long time searching for a U.S. distributor following its premiere at September's Toronto International Film Festival. Apparently, American audiences are especially sensitive to the Charles Darwin biopic's theme of Creationism versus evolution. The movie has since been picked up by Newmarket Films, and will open at the end of January. However good it turns out to be, the unfortunate truth is that its early-in-the-year showing will probably adversely effect its chances in the 2010 awards season. Still, it will no doubt benefit from having two terrific lead actors on board: Paul Bettany as Darwin and Jennifer Connelly, Bettany's real-life wife, as Mrs. Darwin.

SAM WORTHINGTON

Brief capsules on new DVDs worth renting.

Catching up with an alternative flick that was recently tossed around in limited release. (I intended to review this film just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, but life -- and turkey -- intervened.)

By R. Kurt Osenlund, The Good Life film critic

OH MY GOD?
Dir. Peter Rodger
Gussi S.A. / Mitropoulos Films
98 min. Not Rated


I suppose a movie about the meaning of God doesn't need to be a sober, introspective therapy session, but it most certainly didn't need to be the pretentious, obtuse, hyperactive mess that is "Oh My God?," British photographer Peter Rodger's globetrotting documentary in which he asks a bunch of random people what they think about the man -- or woman, or whatever -- upstairs.

It's nice that Rodger took the initiative to travel the world with little more than a camera and a question, and he sure did capture some pretty scenery, but did he have to show us every last frame of his footage? The opening of this film is an unbearably lengthy montage of shots that have absolutely no context other than the depiction of people, places and things on God's green Earth and the stinking pride of the director. It's a good warning of what's to come, as "Oh My God?" is basically an aimless string of uninteresting psychobabble and ADD-style editing.

I don't even think "The Bourne Ultimatum" had as many cuts as this movie, which abandons every image for another so quickly and frequently, the topic at hand becomes immaterial and the film becomes almost unwatchable. By comparison, a therapy session would be a godsend, for at least then we'd be able to look in the eyes of an interviewee long enough to process his or her remarks.

Not that the remarks are all that thought-provoking anyway. "Oh My God?" boasts the presence of a handful of famous and non-famous individuals who, like the opening images, apparently have nothing to do with one another aside from living on Earth and appearing in this movie. Seal. Ringo Starr. David Copperfield. Sir Bob Geldof. Hugh Jackman and his "Australia director, Baz Luhrmann (both of whom Rodger fortuitously bumped into while they were on location filming their 2008 epic). Do you care a smidge about these folks' opinions about God, anymore than you would your next-door neighbor's? Me neither. And maybe that's the point, but hell if Rodger communicates it, or any other objective in this insight-free, film student-quality exercise. OMG, did I hate it.

1 star (out of 5)

"Oh My God?" saw a limited release in Philadelphia in November, is now playing in St. Louis and Chicago, and should soon be arriving on DVD. Avoid it.

Behold! Some of the newest trailers for some of the most noteworthy films in the pipe.

By R. Kurt Osenlund, The Good Life film critic

THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE
It would appear that Nicolas Cage's foray into more credible, interesting work -- i.e. his unwound, much-lauded performance in Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans -- was very short-lived. This spring, he reunites with his "National Treasure" director, Jon Turtletaub, and producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," a mega-budget Hollywood take on the classic tale of wizard and wizard wannabe. With the whole "Treasure" team on board (as well as actors Jay Baruchel and Alfred Molina), chances are this is going to be some highly conventional fare. Still (and I've said this before only to kick myself later), the effects look fun.




SALT
Now, this is the version of Angelina Jolie I like to see. Not the one who screams about losing her son and then lands an undeserved Oscar nomination, but the one who really kicks ass. Action is the arena in which Jolie excels. See: "Wanted," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." "Salt," Jolie's latest pulse-pounder, casts her as a CIA officer who's forced to become a fugitive after accusations fly that she's a spy for the Russians. The role was originally written for a man until Jolie, one of the few female actors who can carry a film, stepped in.




THE LAST STATION
A prestigious cast leads this period film about the final year in the life of famed Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer). Directed by Michael Hoffman, the movie recently earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Picture. Additional cast members include James McAvoy and Helen Mirren, who's expected to find herself among this year's Best Actress Academy Award nominees. "The Last Station" is playing in very limited release.