"I don’t know why people are always willing to accept and even like flawed male characters. We’ve seen so many lovable anti-heroes who are curmudgeons or addicts or bad fathers and a lot of those characters have become beloved icons and I don’t see women allowed to play the same parts. So it was really important to me to try and turn that around." - Diablo Cody

It's true that Atticus Finch aside, most great male characters are more like Travis Bickle, Norman Bates, or Jack Torrance: alienated, unhinged, cool as shit. When the Oscars made 1992 The Year Of The Woman, it felt like a mean commentary on the thing we all long realized: that the bulk of prestigious films are made by, for, and about men. This year, the whole old morally complicated white guy breaking the law formula turned out to not be completely infallible. Despite the continued acid reign of Breaking Bad, you shouldn't bet the farm on Luck -- and Mad Men is so beloved because it has equally complex/interesting characters of both sexes.

Posted at 1:45 PM

For a while there, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol looked like an embattled production. Its biggest issue was its star: with his latter-day appeal a question mark, the forces-that-be seemed to be pushing attention away from Tom Cruise, and the franchise’s past, by hiring high-profile co-operatives like Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton, and adding -- and heavily promoting -- that elegant subtitle.

Now, though, everything’s just peachy! The reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with Rotten Tomatoes at a whopping 95%. Also: this thing is making ducats. After an early international premiere landed it a insane $68 million in just five days, this weekend’s limited US release continues to augur good things. In something of an experiment, Paramount opened MI4 in IMAX-only theaters, meaning only 425 locations. It killed, pulling in $13 million and a sickeningly devastating per-screen average. Not hurting the cause was the presence of The Dark Knight Rises trailer, playing ahead of MI4 in 40 of those 425 theaters.

And why did Warner Bros. agree to attach its impending blockbuster’s trailer to a rival studio’s production, rather than its own Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, which also opened this weekend? Because Paramount had stockpiled the IMAX screens for MI4, forcing the WB’s hand. That wouldn’t have been a particularly big deal if it wasn’t for the fact that Sherlock Holmes, in it second go-around with asskicking Robert Downey Jr. in the lead, stumbled. The first neo-Holmes pulled in $62.3 million in its opening weekend; this one, a relatively disappointing $40 million. Meaning: somewhere, as we speak, RDJ is shaking an angry fist at the fact that he didn’t get a ride on the Dark Knight Rises gravy train.

Holmes pull was good enough for first place, though, adding insult to injury for Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. The insult: Making only $23.5 million this weekend, out-and-out weak sauce compared to Alvin and the Chipmunks 2’s $48.8 million. The injury: Being called Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. And it wasn’t only uninspired sequels getting the shaft. Jason Reitman’s Young Adult, which did well in its limited release, expanded wider without dramatically boosting its haul. It landed at seventh place, with $3.7 million.

All these disappointing box office numbers getting you down? Let’s focus on the positive in the negative! Meaning: Let’s all laugh at New Year’s Eve! The execrable Josh Duhamel and Co. production continues to crash and burn, and, with $7 million this weekend, is down 43% from last week’s already crappy numbers.

Each week, marketers release new movie posters, many for films whose releases are still months away. But for those who know where to look, one-sheets can reveal studios' hopes and insecurities about their products. In this space, we will attempt to decode the hidden meanings of the week's new posters.

Carnage

What the art says: There’s no action in this movie, but there sure are actors. Roman Polanski’s latest is an adaptation of a Yasmina Reza play, and like the play itself Carnage takes place almost entirely in one room. With nothing exciting from the movie to show in the poster, they opt for something very boring — on the American poster, at least. The French get this. Maybe Sony just didn’t want us to get distracted from…
What the text says: OK, so the first thing we notice is that the number of Oscars on one’s mantle directly corresponds to billing order. Foster (two Oscars) first, Winslet (one Oscar, but another five nominations) second, Waltz (one Oscar) third, and Reilly (one nomination) last. And that’s the way it should be. Also, naturally we noticed the title font, which may look familiar to you if you’ve ever been to our website. Legal action may be in the works, Mr. Polanski. We hear you have some experience with that.
Tagline: “A new comedy of no manners.” Watch the trailer and you’ll see that this tagline is totally accurate. Look at the poster, with all those damn manners, and you’ll just be confused.

Being Flynn

What the art says: Not much at all. We’re only picking up three things here. First, there’s a young guy and old guy in this movie. Second, it’s set somewhere cold. And third, the sunlight is obscuring the faces in the poster because it’s not De Niro and Dano in the photo.
What the text says: Again, not a whole lot. De Niro would get top billing over damn near any living actor, so even though Dano is working on an Oscar-baiting career he should be glad he even scored the same font size as Bobby. There’s also “Based on a True Story” up top, but who really cares? The only time “based on a true story” is worth a damn is when severed limbs are involved.
Tagline: “We’re all works in progress.” Double meaning alert! But only if you know the movie is about a father and son who are both writers. Otherwise it just sounds like a line from your therapist.

Young Adult

What the art says: Finally, a movie about a WOMAN who just won’t grow up! In Young Adult Theron plays a divorced writer who, as this poster makes clear, still dresses like a 14-year-old when she travels.
What the text says: Paramount knows how clueless audiences are. Unlike the Goon poster below, this one doesn’t bother with Jason Reitman or Diablo Cody’s names. Sure, you know them, but the titles of their movies are far more recognizable to the movie going masses.
Tagline: “Everyone get old. Not everyone grows up.” Just like Apatow for the ladies.

Goon

What the art says: Even with that vagina on the side of his face, Seann William Scott is devilishly handsome. And happy too! Just look at that smirk — a few facial lacerations can’t dull Stifler’s buoyant spirit. To no one’s surprise, this poster is all blue and orange, just like thousands before it. But this one actually ratchets things up a bit more. We’re not just talking tints; Scott’s actual jersey is blue and orange. That’s serious dedication to the color combo.
What the text says: Jay Baruchel is the star. Scott might get his face on the poster, but Baruchel’s name is on this thing four times — twice for acting and twice for writing. And about those writing credits up top. Huh? Name-dropping Superbad and Pineapple Express makes sense, but tacking on Evan Goldberg’s name is meaningless. It would be more effective to call him “Seth Rogen’s friend.”
Tagline: “Meet Doug, the nicest guy you’ll ever fight.” This makes us uncomfortable. We don’t want to fight anyone. Also, we’re never in favor of breaking the fourth wall with a tagline. On the other hand, we’re always in favor of naming characters Doug. So we’re a bit torn on where we come down on this one. Since we’re afraid Doug might punch us though, we’ll go ahead and say we love it.

Catch .44

What the art says: We couldn’t get everyone to pose so we slapped this thing together in Illustrator, put a grimy filter on it and hit print. The lackluster effort on this poster should come as no surprise. This movie is only getting a limited release before coming out on DVD. That said, props for having Bruce Willis stare off to the side. He does it on the posters for all his best movies (see: Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Die Hard 3, and Die Hard 4).
What the text says: We’ve got a coup here! Even though Willis is the clear centerpiece, Whitaker snatches top billing. That’s what an Oscar will get you. Brad Dourif, the amazing Doc Cochran from Deadwood, scores a bit of coup himself with last billing. A character actor with a face more recognizable than his name rarely lands that spot. But if anyone ever deserved it, it’s Dourif. Lastly, there’s “Written and directed by Aaron Harvey,” the man whose only other IMDb credit is a by-the-numbers horror movie called The Evil Woods. They maybe could have left that off.
Tagline: “If you are going down, take everyone with you.” It works both as a bland action-movie tagline, and a rule for anyone in an office building who’s going outside for ice cream.

Previously: Poster Decoder: The Secret Messages in the One-Sheets for Hugo, Dragon Tattoo, and Mission Impossible 4
Poster Decoder: Deciphering the Hidden Meanings of the One-Sheets for Tintin, J. Edgar, and New Year's Eve

In covering the Oscar race so far, I’ve tried to focus on movies that have already opened. But this week, I’m tossing that approach, because effective immediately, the attention of the Oscar-punditry universe swivels decisively forward. The last eight weekends of 2011 will bring more than two dozen movies with aspirations as modest as a single acting nomination and as grandiose as sweeping the slate from Best Picture to Best Makeup.

So from now until year’s end, the goal of every contender that opened before November 1 is simply survival. Think of the next two months as a tidal wave, and of early hopefuls like Midnight in Paris, The Help, and Moneyball as trees along the shore line. Some of those trees will topple — and a couple of months from now, those still standing may look that much taller. Same goes for the movies in the big wave; some will arrive with obliterating force while others will weaken the closer they get. (Please take the above tortured analogy as my tribute to Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter.) With that in mind, this Oscarmetrics installment is a cheat sheet — a map of the parallel tracks of reality and hype along which the race will now proceed.

Posted at 12:45 PM