Link Catches Us (As We Catch Up)

The Fighter
In Contention Sports Illustrated names The Fighter "the best sports movie of the decade." I guess they're using that 2001-2010 definition. Hate that. I like to end with the 9s.
Low Resolution Speaking of The Fighter. Check out Joe Reid's awesome post "The Art of the Skank"


Cartoons
Milo oh, this is lovely. Toy Story 3 by the numbers. Tons of infographic pleasure... if thinking about how bank accounts of Pixar executives gives you pleasure that is.
The Exploding Kinetoscope FYC: Arguments for the Extermination of the Human Race. (Wow, someone hates Shrek even more than I do!)
EW Inside Movies Anne Hathaway knows her awards history. Texts Jake Gyllenhaal on his first Golden Globe nom. (Even I had forgotten that he wasn't nominated there for Brokeback)
Blog Next Door What the Disney villains teach us.

Mackie & Washington. Yay.

Randomness
Invisible Woman asks you to see Night Catches Us starring Kerry Washington and Anthony Mackie. We plan to, yes we do. Soon.
popbytes Oprah Winfrey must be stopped; Hugh Jackman injured
Salon "Why is Disney hiding the original Tron?"
Little Gold Men the Coen Bros talk to Vanity Fair about True Grit

The Social Network
Remember when everyone was writing about that movie nonstop? It's happening again. Scanners does a comparison with Carlos, another richly layered movie winning critics prizes, and Nick at Nick's Flick Picks has shared ten intriguing thoughts in two parts.The Toronto Film Critics Association just gave it another "best of the year" citation.

Year in Review
Vulture "25 Best Performances That Won't Win Oscars" from Tom Hardy (Inception) to Alexander Siddig (Cairo Time). It's a great list overall but totally spoiled by two little girls, one of whom was genuinely great in another movie this year, so why not make it that one (Yes, Mia Wasikowska's The Kids Are All Right performance is > Alice In Wonderland times 1,000,000)
Twitter "The 10 Most Powerful Tweets of 2010" from Haiti relief to Conan O'Brien half-assed
10 Best and 10 Worst from one of our favorite critics Tim Robey at the Telegraph.

Finally... 

Remember way way back (ok, only two years ago) when I invited you to the wedding of "Boobs & Abs". They've split. Yes, The Green Lantern and The Black Widow are divorcing.  Speaking of Scarlett Johannson, Jon Favreau is leaving the Iron Man franchise. Given that ScarJo's performances feel more listless than ever these last few years, how about Sofia Coppola for Iron Man 3's directors chair. Maybe the fanboys wouldn't appreciate it but at least they'd get some great shots of Black Widow's ass. Plus that f/x related scene in Coppola's Somewhere, with Stephen Dorff interminably stuck in the makeup chair, is one of the best moments in that inside Hollywood movie.

Who Toons

JA from MNPP here. While Nat's been away there's been a sad dearth of Oscar news reported on here at TFE and so when I saw this news earlier today I knew it might be a nice enough sized scrap to toss down until he's back and such things can be discussed proper-like. The Academy announced the fifteen candidates that are eligible for the Animated Feature prize this morning, and they are as follows:

Alpha and Omega
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Despicable Me
The Dreams of Jinsha
How to Train Your Dragon

Idiots and Angels
The Illusionist
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Megamind
My Dog Tulip

Shrek Forever After
Summer Wars
Tangled
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
Toy Story 3

You can check out Nat's prediction page for the category right here. But isn't it funny how the alphabet saved the inevitable winner for last? Trying to trick us all like that.

Seriously though, is anybody going to beat Toy Story 3? Should anybody beat Toy Story 3? I liked not loved it personally - although those final 20 minutes are killer to be sure. I'd love to see The Illusionist (as I'm sure most of us would) but it's not out here til Christmas.
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Top Ten: Antonio Banderas

Happy 50th birthday to Everyone's Favorite Spaniard™* Antonio Banderas.

He was already celebrating the big day yesterday in the port of Marbella with Melanie Griffith, the Mrs. Banderas. okay okay it was her birthday yesterday but we're not really fans [cough to put it mildly]. What is it with celebrities born a day apart getting married? Madonna & Sean did that, too!

Antonio has been fading from the limelight this past decade which is kind of a shame because he would have made a much better "Guido Contini" than Daniel Day-Lewis in Nine (2009) so why didn't he get the chance to help make it work onscreen (and make no mistake, he would have helped. You need a certain type in that role. DDL is many great things but is a charming cad really one of them?) But if you've been missing him, fear not. A mini-'Tonio revival is coming with the Broadway revival of Zorba the Greek on its way and (finally!) a reunion with the man who brought him to international fame, director Pedro Almodóvar for the movie called La Piel que Habito (The Skin I Live In) which supposedly begins shooting this month.

The Film Experience had planned a rather huge 50th celebration today in Antonio's honor, and figured to sneak in a little contemporary Angelina Jolie love via a trip back to their erotic romp Original Sin (2001) and maybe a collection of favorite photos and that sort of thing. Truth: I've never seen that erotic thriller. And why the hell not given that both of those movie stars know a thing or five-hundred about working their sexual mojo for the benefit of the camera. But plans... they do get away from you.

But since it's Tuesday, and I've been neglecting the top tens...

Ten Favorite Banderas Roles

10 "Miguel" in Philadelphia (1993)
I don't really care for the movie, Jonathan Demme's bizarrely toothless and middlebrow follow up to the stellar Silence of the Lambs, but what a boyfriend Banderas made. The movie's authenticity was always in question because it was readily apparent that Tom Hanks's lawyer had no desire to ever touch his Spanish hunk. Imagine having Miguel to yourself and never manhandling him? That's just... Well, it's actually against the law.

09 TBA: I'm reserving this spot for a second viewing of Matador, the only Almodóvar I've actively disliked. Maybe I missed something? And I've never seen Spy Kids. It's true. Is he fun in that?

08 "Zorro" in The Mask of Zorro (1998)
It's as if Banderas' ascendance forced Hollywood to remake it. He existed therefore the movie had to.

07 "Guido Contini" in Nine (Broadway revival)
I've written about Nine too much. I have not another word in me. From now on, I shall only hum the theme song.

06 "Puss in Boots" Shrek 2 (2004)
He's the one redeeming factor of this soulless behemoth franchise. Just hilarious and relentlessly charming. Oh, those eyes!!! Who can resist? I'm talking about the Puss but I totally get it if you were thinking about Tonio's brown orbs.

05 "El Mariarchi" in Desperado (1995)
<--- Cool guys don't look at explosions.

04 "Antonio Benítez" in Law of Desire (1987)
Benítez was a dangerously unstable, often naked, highly annoying young man but Antonio played him superbly. More importantly, this film was an early but substantial example of the difference between rising European actors and rising American fame-seekers. In the former case they generally understand that it's about serving the auteur, the character and the movie, not about working on your "image."

---> The truth telling image to your right is pilfered from this all time classic blogpost from Adam, a friend of The Film Experience.

Law of Desire is actually my favorite Almodóvar movie for personal nostalgia reasons. It's the second one I saw -- after the film that actually followed it Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown -- but the first I sought out because of the man behind the curtain. I was not disappointed.

03 "Ché" in Evita (1996)
02 "Antonio Banderas" in Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)
Because this double feature captures the memorable Madonna thru-line of his international stardom so superbly. They made such a beautiful imaginary couple. At least Madonna thought so.

"I've been wanting to meet Antonio for years. I finally get to meet him and he's married. That's one of life's little fuck-overs."
____-Madonna aloud while sitting next to Antonio.

"I said 'Oh, this is such a disaster. He's married.' He goes 'Oh, in Spain it doesn't matter.' ...Is that man beautiful or what? There's got to be something wrong with him. He probably has a really small penis or something. Oh God. There has to be something wrong with him because nobody is that perfect."
____-Madonna to Nikki in the bathroom of Almodóvar's party

01 "Ricky" in Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)
Almodóvar movies are often blessed with sexual heat (Last year's Broken Embraces is a recent example of the director's gift in this arena)... but there's virtually nothing in the Almodóvar collection that's hornier or hotter than Banderas and his prisoner, the sadly undervalued Victoria Abril, attempting to climax simultaneously in this NC-17 rated stockholm syndrome romance. Even better is the shockingly moving fully clothed moment later in the movie when... no, I shan't spoil the movie. See it.

This post is free. The price you pray for reading is a word or four about Antonio in the comments. Go!

*circa 1990s. Later Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz would war over the designation. They finally called it a draw and married.

Linkily Every After

Movies Kick Ass how the Palme D'Or is not unlike the Oscar, thought its partisans will protest
Movie|Line interviews one of our favorite people in the movieverse, Ari Graynor
TOH! Will Luke Evans be the next big thing once Tamara Drewe opens?
/Film Mark Romanek has completed work on Never Let Me Go. It's due October 1st.
Acidemic would like you to stop judging Lindsay Lohan. Her downward spiral is none of your concern


Total Film has the 21 most storied, insane movie shoots. I refuse to scroll through 21 pages to read it (a blight on all the traffic whores out there!) but I'm guessing you get some Werner Herzog (Aguirre: The Wrath of God) and Coppola's Apocalypse Now therein. Those jungle movies are brutal on filmmakers and cast
Subway Cinema Asian Film Festival in NYC very soon. Lots of exciting stuff including the NYC premiere of the award winning Bodyguards and Assassins [prev post]
Pfangirl has a lengthy look at the superhero genre, where it's been and where it's going. This is the DC edition. Marvel later this week.
Empire Soapdish (1991) is jumping on the remake train along with everyone else. Good luck to however has to top Cathy Moriarty's bitch goddess this time around
Golden Trailer Awards that's happening in June. I don't really understand their nominees but whatevs

Shrek Forever After?
I "love" that the tagline is the final chapter but the movie's actual title promotes Shrek in perpetuity. That's a nightmare ending for me since I hate that lazy green franchise. I am still dumbfounded that Dreamworks suddenly learned how to make good animated films (Kung Fu Panda & How To Train Your Dragon) in its aftermath. Usually studios try and repeat successes rather than find a way to make films that are way better than them. You'd think they would have tried to repeat its success rather than tried to be Pixar (a far worthier goal) given that Shrek films make more than Pixar films (a sad audience-damning truth). So HAPPY ENDING, however improbable. I do so love How To Train Your Dragon. Anyway, Erik Lundegaard looks at Shrek's franchise box office and understands, unlike Hollywood, the math that goes into sequel numbers. Opening weekend is never about the movie you're seeing but about the one before it... provided that there is one before it. If there's not it's about the marketing. Meanwhile Tim at Antagony & Ecstasy shares my fear that this won't be anything like The End

The ostensibly final film in the Shrek franchise (which I'll believe the moment that everybody involved is dead, and not a second before)

He goes on to say that the movie isn't half bad. for this sort of thing. But definitely half bad all the same!