Smart List
If you didn’t the first time, now’s the time to talk about: “Ponyo.â€
How did Oscar voters forget all about master Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and his sweet and charmingly unusual spin on “The Little Mermaid� Watch it on DVD and share the puzzlement. (Tuesday)
FOR THE RECORD:
Robert Pattinson: A Smart List item last Sunday about actor Robert Pattinson said that “Remember Me†was his first nonvampire role. It should have added “since he filmed ‘Twilight.’ †—
Speaking of Oscar snubs, go ahead and talk about: “ Where the Wild Things Are.â€
If you enjoyed Spike Jonze’s reinvention of the Maurice Sendak 18-line classic, you were also likely chastised by the most ice-blooded of your friends, who dismissed the film as cold and pretentious. The rest of you with beating hearts, it’s one for the future classics collection. (Tuesday)
Do talk about NBC’s “Parenthood.â€
Two words: Lauren Graham. A few more: Back on prime time. In a series by “Friday Night Lights†executive producer Jason Katims. Based on one of the really good Ron Howard films. There is nothing not to like. (Tuesday)
Hopefully, you all will talk about: Franz Ferdinand’s “The Lobster Quadrille.â€
It’s deliciously hypnotic Track 13 on “Almost Alice,†the album of “Alice in Wonderlandâ€-inspired music. Call it incentive to get past Avril Lavigne’s title track, which is the disc’s weakest offering. The rest is happily more in tune with Lewis Carroll’s (and, indeed, Tim Burton’s) oddball sensibilities. Especially Robert Smith’s tripped-out version of “Very Good Advice†from Disney’s 1951 animated original. (Tuesday)
Normally, we’d talk about anything: Jon Hamm.
But we’re not sure about “Stolen,†an independent thriller available on IFC’s OnDemand service this week and in theaters next. In the film, said to have a “Changelingâ€-esque twist, Hamm stars opposite Josh Lucas as a father trying to figure out what happened to his young son. Hamm is probably in his dependably awesome form, but this one sat on the shelf for quite a while before finding a buyer. (Wednesday)
Like it or not, the world will keep talking about: Robert Pattinson.
He’s now making the full-court press to promote his first-non-vampire role -- a stagnant twentysomething in the super-sad drama “Remember Me†-- over the next two weeks. For non-fans, it might be worth seeing how he fares faced with the ladies of “The View.†(Tuesday)
-- Denise Martin
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