2009 Really Reels!

In case you missed last night's podcast, Really Reel Reviews gave out its 2009 Really Reels for some of the best performances and movies of the year. (Listen to the award show here)

But for all the lazy fans of Really Reel Reviews, here's a list of the big winners from last night!

Best Female Performance

ERIC - Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe as "Precious Jones" in Precious






TERRY - Monique as "Mary Jones" in Precious





Best Male Performance

ERIC - Robert Downey Jr. as "Sherlock Holmes" in Sherlock Holmes




TERRY - Christoph Waltz as "Col. Hans Landa" in Inglourious Basterds



Most Memorable Line/Best Catchphrase

ERIC - "Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mothers and yours. I dare you to do better." said by "Christopher Pike" in Star Trek


TERRY - "Classic" said by "Alan Garner" in The Hangover




Best/Worst Adaptation

ERIC (Best) - The Blind Side








TERRY (Worst) - Angels and Demons







Favorite Cameo

ERIC - Eminem in Funny People




TERRY - Tyler Perry in Star Trek






Worst Movie

ERIC - The Girlfriend Experience








TERRY - The Collector







Worst Sequel

ERIC & TERRY - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen






Biggest Disappointment

ERIC - Surrogates








TERRY - Bruno







Weirdest Sex Scene

ERIC - Tabloid picture in District 9

TERRY - Jake and Neytiri in Avatar

(Pictures omitted due to us not wanting to wind up on any lists after googling "Avatar sex" or "Human/Prawn beastiality")

Golden Bullet (2009's Most Hated Character)


ERIC - "Melissa" in The Hangover





TERRY - "Skids" and "Mudflap" in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen



A Shot of Jack (2009's Favorite Character)

ERIC - Summer and Tom in (500) Days of Summer







TERRY - Alan Garner in The Hangover







DRUMROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Best Movie

ERIC - Away We Go













TERRY - Inglourious Basterds










So there you go, Really Reel Reviews first Really Reels awards show. As always, if you have comments/concerns about the winners please email us at reallyreelreviews@gmail.com and we'll gladly post your feedback or read it on the next podcast.

And also feel free to nominate your favorite 2010 movies throughout the year and maybe they'll walk away with some hardware next January!

1999 v 2009 / Reader Submission #3

This post comes to us from loyal R3 fan Oliver C. It is a simple look at 1999 movies compared to those that have come to us this year in 2009. While I do not agree with everything he says below, it is interesting to look back at 1999 and think about how you felt after seeing the movies he references below. Did you feel like you'd still be talking about them 10 years from the day you had your ticket ripped? Will you still be quoting The Hangover 10 years from now? Oliver's post looks at the end of 2 decades, and while you could just as simply compare 1999 to 2008 or 2006, it's still fun to look at the end of a decade and see where we were, where we've been, and where we're going... I should note that this was submitted to us before December movies were released.

Always feel free to email us your very own submissions to be posted on the site. Enjoy Oliver's contribution and here's to looking forward to 2010.

--------------------BEGIN SUBMISSION------------------

As we approach the end of the decade, many people will look back at the year and reminisce on the past movies that made 2009 the year that it was. I look back and I think… Really? Is that it??? What do we have to work with here? This year was marked off with remakes and sequels trying to be bigger and better then their first: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Terminator Salvation. Movies made to inspire us like Whip It fell flat. And even the biggest smallest horror movie was really just a re-imagination of the Blair Witch Project. All in all, once the dust settled from the battling robots, 2009 really went out with a fizzle. You’re probably asking, “geez, man, what do you expect?” I expected another 1999. Now that year truly ended the decade with a bang (I’m not eliminating Avatar to wow me… but I’m not holding my breath for it either).
1999 brought us a plethora of future classics, first-time directors, and even a sequel that lived up to the original in Toy Story 2.

1999 introduced the audience to M. Night Shyamalan(The Sixth Sense), Sam Mendes (American Beauty), Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich), Sophia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides), Alexander Payne (Election), and Brad Bird (The Iron Giant) all of which had their first wide releases in this year. Four of those directors were nominated for Oscars in their aforementioned debuts, with Mendes actually walking away with the trophy for Best Director. Since then Spike Jonze picked one up for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sophia Coppola for Lost In Translation, Alexander Payne for Sideways, and Brad Bird for Ratatouille. And The Sixth Sense went ahead to be one of the highest grossing movie of all time.

It’s not just the directors that came out of the shadows, 1999 also introduced us to the on-screen talent who were once barely on the public’s radar to center-stage. Angelina Jolie not only outshined co-star Winona Ryder, but also took home Oscar gold with Girl, Interrupted. Reese Witherspoon proved that she wasn’t just another cute blonde with her Golden Globe nominated role in Election. Jake Gyllenhaal took his first adult role in October Sky. Michael Clarke Duncan went from bodyguard to the stars to Oscar Nominated actor in The Green Mile. And Russell Crowe went from Aussie bad-boy to future Academy Award Winning Aussie bad-boy in his Nominated performance in The Insider.

1999 was also a big comeback year. Whether it be from constant box-office flops like Julia Roberts or tabloid fodder like Martin Lawrence and Hugh Grant, each of these actors re-established themselves with Notting Hill and Blue Streak.

Two sets of brothers took us in opposite directions in the movie viewing experience. The Wachowski brothers taught us that Keanu Reeves can actually make a movie that will make you think in The Matrix. They also gave us a need to see everything in HD. The Weitz brothers taught us that you can have a sex-comedy with heart in American Pie. They also gave us a need to see everything in HD (I’m talking about you, Shannon Elizabeth).

Finally, 1999 taught us that Box Office grosses means nothing in the general scheme of things when it comes to making a movie that will always stick with the viewers. Fight Club, Boondock Saints, and Office Space suffered huge box-office hits (Boondock barely even saw the light of day), but each one resurfaced with a huge cult following in the DVD world.

All is not perfect though. 1999 brought us one thing that the true movie fan can do without. Jar-Jar-Binks and Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace.

I never said it was a perfect year.

Keepin' It Really Reel Award - July '09

Really Reel Reviews started as a simple idea that we hoped would pass the time for us and occasionally bring us some amusement. The venture has lasted a little over two months, but it has been exhausting. We have been tiring ourselves by watching movies, going through drafts for various blog entries, and arguing tons of topics and points for podcasts, many of which we never discuss on air. Mix that with family, work, and a recession and you’ve got a recipe for burnout – not to mention I’ve just started my PGA season on Tiger Woods golf! When can a guy get a break? So here we are. Let’s take a knee and grab some water and reflect on the summer of movies since its end is just over one month away…
Most of the blockbusters have already come and gone. When you listen to our podcasts there are only a few movies we strongly recommend, and only one of the much anticipated summer releases do we outright encourage seeing in theaters– STAR TREK. Admittedly, our reason for wanting to see Star Trek and wanting it to succeed was more for J.J. Abrams, not the Star Trek franchise, and that is why Abrams is July’s recipient of the Keepin’ it Really Reel Award.
I never saw Felicity, never saw much of Alias, but I did see the pilot of LOST and that was all she wrote. JJ Abrams directed the pilot of LOST (in addition to his writing and producing responsibilities), and if you haven’t seen it then you are missing something special. The way he handles chaos and presents it intricately, but clearly (which ends up being important to the theme of the show) is unlike anything I had ever seen…until I saw the bridge scene in Mission: Impossible III. But all the explosions, time traveling, and intricate action sequences aren’t what make Abrams amazing.What separates Abrams from McG and Michael Bay is the same thing that makes Star Trek better than Terminator Salvation and Transformers – it’s the story. Yes, the actual story.

Story is an ancient term some of you may not remember, but it is very important to Abrams and what he does. From Felicity to Sydney Bristow to the entire ensemble of LOST; characters are what drives Abrams’ work. Even in "MI3", Abrams’ directorial debut, characters that we had known for two previous movies seemed to have newfound depth to them. I mean, everyone looks better compared to John Woo’s doves and motorcycle ballets, but "MI3" made a legitimate stance as story based action movie. And that’s exactly why the franchise, for the first time in its brief history, will use a director for more than one movie.

I could go on and on about Abrams, but what really makes him deserving of this month’s award is his own words at the TED speaker series. There he talks about his passion for story and mystery. He also mentions why many sequels fail – because they “rip off” the wrong elements of the original movie. I highly recommend listening to that portion of the clip. Abrams Keeps it Really Reel by injecting our otherwise dull, lackluster, and cookie-cutter summer with some life, energy, and ingenuity.
Allow yourself to actually watch some of Abrams’ work and forget about the vehicle he uses to set up his plot; forget the plane crash, the time travel, the black hole, and allow yourself to get to know the doctor or the con man, the aspiring starship captain, or the secret agent and I guarantee you will be amazed. Thank you, J.J. Abrams for your many stories that go beyond the common ploys and tricks of cinema and TV. And we’re all looking forward to 2010 when Destiny is Found! (Lost fans, you can now go change your shorts.)