Another list? Darn tooting! This time it’s about two great things that go great together: movies and music. CNN’s Screening Room has named its Top Ten Songs in Movies. Not soundtracks, not scores, but singles used during a particular scene. As expected, the list is heavy on the male-dominated scenes and, somewhat less expectedly, fairly violent.

10. Trainspotting, “Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop (opening scene)
9. Dr Strangelove, “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn (atomic ending)
8. The Royal Tenenbaums, “Needle in the Hay” by Elliot Smith (Richie’s suicide attempt)
7. Say Anything, “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel (Lloyd’s boom box serenade)
6. Almost Famous, “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John (bus sing-along)
5. Muriel's Wedding, “Waterloo” by ABBA (talent show triumph)
4. Apocalypse Now, “The End” by The Doors (awaiting orders in Saigon)
3. Goodfellas, “Layla” by Eric Clapton (Jimmy’’s murder spree)
2. Reservoir Dogs, “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel (ear slicing)
1. Easy Rider, “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf (opening scene)

Now, I love Nos. 7–5. I had a poster of Lloyd’s grand romantic gesture from Say Anything on my dorm room wall. And I dare you not to feel unbridled joy as Muriel and Rhonda come out in their white ABBA outfits in Muriel's Wedding. This movie made me forever love Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths. Heck, let’s watch it again, just because we can.

As for the other selections on CNN’s list, I would have picked a scene from Wes Anderson’s film Rushmore instead of Tenenbaums. And I would have gone for the “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” Uma scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction instead of the unfortunate Van Goghing of a victim’s ear in Reservoir Dogs. Also, no mention of The Graduate anywhere on this list? Didn’t that film practically pioneer the use of popular music in movies?

To balance out the bloody and the manly, I thought I’d add some gay, girly and (whenever possible) gay girly selections to the list. Since CNN’s list makers seemed impressed by showy outer death and destruction, how about some quiet inner devastation? In Love Actually, Emma Thompson realizing her husband is being unfaithful — set to Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” — will break your heart, guaranteed. … continue reading

Esther Blueburger "befriends a duck, talks to God through the toilet and break-dances at her bat mitzvah." In other words, Hey! Hey! It's Esther Blueburger is my kind of movie.

Replace the sprinkles with braces and you've almost got a younger Betty Suarez. The story is a little Betty-like, too. Danielle Catanzariti makes her film debut as Esther, a 13-year-old Jewish girl who doesn't fit in at her private girls' school — or with her family. And she's nervous about her bat mitzvah. … continue reading

When Steven Spielberg's concept for a dark comedy about a woman with dissociative identity disorder originally got press, Showtime exec Robert Greenblatt expressed confidence that The United States of Tara would attract "an extraordinary actress looking for a real tour de force opportunity." Turns out he was spot on; news just came out that the indeed extraordinary Toni Collette is set to star as the mum of two whose multiple personalities emerge under stress.

My first response to the news was to cheer; I adore Collette and can think of few women whom I'd rather see on a regular basis. Once I stopped grinning, though, I had to be surprised — both because Collette has been so very film-centric and because I think of her as a dramatic actor more than a comedian. But the film focus hasn't stopped Holly Hunter, Glenn Close or Mary-Louise Parker, so why shouldn't Collette join in this "golden age" for women on cable? And as for the comic aspect, I needed only think of my introduction to Collette, Muriel's Wedding, and I became as convinced as Greenblatt that "when you're casting a show that requires an actress to not only play one complex character, but in this case several, the road begins and ends with Toni Collette." … continue reading

Last week, E! Online's Reel Girl posted her "Incomplete Top 10: Great Cameos." The list ranges from obvious (Marshall McLuhan in Annie Hall) to random (this must be the only best list on which Dumb and Dumber appears, courtesy of Cam Neely) to wrong (Meryl Streep, yes, but in Stuck on You? No).

While I understand Reel Girl's "good lighting" theory (a well-done cameo makes everyone look better), I prefer scene-stealers to film-stealers, special moments of brilliance rather than lone moments of brilliance; even Streep doesn't make a lame comedy worth my time. Also, while blink-and-you-miss-it cameos are fun (see Cate Blanchett in Hot Fuzz or Julie Delpy in But I'm a Cheerleader), they don't require much, so they're not included.

My favorite bit parts fall into a few categories, and I'm sticking with the ladies exclusively. I'm also sticking to film — sifting through all of the Simpsons and Will & Grace cameos is daunting enough; add The Muppet Show and it's nigh impossible. Since the following is therefore an unscientific bunch of personal observations, discuss away!

The Hat-Tip Cameo: Chita Rivera, Chicago

Hollywood producers are far too obsessed with remakes, but if they must go there, I appreciate it when they doff their proverbial caps to original stars. Respect wins points every time, and as the creator of Velma Kelly on Broadway, Rivera deserves every ounce of respect she gets and then some. Her cameo as cell block diva Nickie in the 2002 movie adaptation is too brief, but any more would be unfair to successor Catherine Zeta-Jones — can't have the new star too far in the shadow of her elder. … continue reading

Entertainment Weekly recently issued a list of the 25 best action movies. I skimmed it so fast, I almost sprained something, because very few of the movies appealed to me. I'm just not big on big exploding things. There are exceptions, of course (like The Matrix and the original Star Wars trilogy), but I tend to prefer films in which character development prevails over plot development — or at least doesn't disappear entirely in a flaming fireball or a rain of bullets.

So here's my list of inaction movies. In these films, the fireworks occur inside the characters' heads. Maybe the characters talk a lot; or maybe they think a lot but say very little; or maybe they actually do a lot, but the doing is less important than how they feel about what they've done. Or maybe it's not so much about a lack of action as an abundance of brain activity. Or maybe I'm overthinking it. Nah! Anyway, here they are. (The quintessential inaction movie is, of course, My Dinner With Andre (1981), but I'm not including it here because, hello? No women.)

13. Clockwatchers (1998)
It's right there in the title: In this movie about temporary office workers, all the characters do is watch the clock and plan to prepare to get ready to change their lives. It's like 9 to 5 on quaaludes. But I can't think of four people I'd rather watch do nothing than Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow and Alanna Ubach (she also happens to be my favorite part of Legally Blonde). Don't miss Debra Jo Rupp (the mom from That '70s Show) as the paranoid, pernicious head of personnel.

The trailer even crows, "In a world where nothing ever happens ..." … continue reading

I've been looking forward to Evening for months now. How can you really go wrong with a cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson and Claire Danes? I mean, why don't you just rifle through my memories and pull out every actress who has ever turned my head or moved me to tears?

The Dead Girl, rated 75% fresh by rottentomatoes.com, appears straightforward enough at first. The title would seem to say it all. But writer/director Karen Moncrieff (Blue Car) veers off the beaten storytelling path and instead rushes headlong into the prickly bramble of human relations. If you could shove troubled people under a microscope, this is pretty much what you would find on the slide. [Warning: Spoilers ahead.]

… continue reading

Told in five interconnected vignettes, the movie begins with "The Stranger." Toni Collette plays Arden, the hangdog caregiver to her foul and vile mother (Piper Laurie, playing up the crazy every bit as much as she did in Carrie). While out on a walk, Arden discovers the mutilated corpse of a young woman, Krista. Arden alerts the police, which serves to earn her nothing more than her mother's ire and venomous tongue.

Take a look at this poster for the movie Evening:

First, can you believe all of those women are in the same movie? It's like The Hours on crack. Several of those names would be impressive on their own, and in certain pairs (like Streep/Close, Collette/Redgrave) I'd be gape-mouthed. But six super lady stars in one film? (I'm counting Danes, Collette, Redgrave, Richardson, Streep, and Close as superstars.) I'm gobsmacked.

Once I get past the mind-blowing litany of names, though, I have to ask: What the hell kind of order are they in? … continue reading