5 Films #7: Charlize Theron

For part 7 of my 5 Films series, I chose that sophisticated South African beauty, Academy Award winner Charlize Theron. Known for her portrayals of strong but vulnerable on the inside characters, Theron is the founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Program and a strong activist for other important causes.

Like Catherine Deneuve and NIcole Kidman before her, Theron is one of the most beautiful actresses but one who takes on roles that critique her own status as cinematic beauty. Theron's most famous performances are ones that strip her of her vanity and allow her to get down and dirty with her characters. For that reason, she is one of the most surprising working actors.

1. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001; Woody Allen)
One of Theron's pre A-list roles was as wealthy heiress Laura Kensington in Woody Allen's 1940s-set hypnosis comedy. She only has a handful of scenes, all almost exclusively with Allen himself. But her scenes with Allen consist of some funny verbal sparring and sexy banter and they liven up this film, which came during Allen's early 2000s/pre-Match Point slump. Her lively and wildly funny performance offers a glimpse of Theron's inherent charm and sense of humor, qualities that have helped her maintain strong goodwill within the industry and with audiences. Hopefully, Allen will cast her in a leading role in the future.

2. Monster (2003; Patty Jenkins)
Because the Academy Awards are so arbitrary and because it's no secret that campaigning and Hollywood politics have a lot to do with who wins, it's truly rare for an actor's winning performance to be also be their career-defining performance. Such honor goes to Charlize Theron's Oscar winning turn as real life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Let's just put aside the physical transformation (which was magnificent). The reason why Monster is a true testament to Charlize Theron's talent is that she completely adopts Wuornos' mannerisms, vocal inflections and awkward, mannish gait. She completely assumes the persona of Wuornos, which we can all agree is worlds apart from Theron's own. What's even more brilliant is that this role completely catapulted her to superstardom. Most see the Oscar win as a peak in their careers; for Theron, it was just the beginning.

3. North Country (2005; Niki Caro)
Theron scored herself another Oscar nomination for her work as Josey Aimes, the real life woman who won a landmark sexual harassment case against her coal mining employers. Her performance in this film is quite strong. She maintains a remarkably nuanced balance between fighter against the system and broken bird struggling to survive. That's a common theme of her career, really. She likes playing these characters who have to put on a front just to get through the day. Balanced by a cast of respected character actors, North Country is another star performance from Theron. While not as memorable or unpredictable as Monster, it's still an interesting drama for Theron fans.

4. Aeon Flux (2005; Karyn Kusama)
Like so many Oscar winners before her, Charlize Theron's post Oscar career wasn't all apple pies and kittens. One of the few blemishes on her career is this adaptation of the 90s MTV animated show. She plays the title character, a solider of a revolution brewing beneath an idyllic but dangerous futuristic society. Visually, it's pretty striking but the script and story are both mind-numbingly dumb. Normally, I'd say that Theron does her best with the material but truthfully she looks comatose and withdrawn. She's just not having any fun with the character or action scenes. Her performance is so bad that I couldn't even believe it was her. Talented as she is in most roles, Theron's work in Aeon Flux demonstrates that she isn't infallible as an actor.

5. Young Adult (2011; Jason Reitman)
I mentioned earlier that Monster was Theron's career-defining performance. But her performance in Young Adult proves that she is still a surprising, unpredictable actor. As Mavis Gary, the divorced and delusional ex-prom queen, Theron offers a riveting, enthralling performance. Unlike Monster and North Country, however, she isn't stripped of her movie star glamor. In fact, her stunning looks are her greatest asset in the movie. Theron so masterfully conveys a not-so-tiny nervous breakdown beneath the fashionable clothes and stylish hair. Through Mavis's vanity, Theron bravely sheds her own and offers one of her ugliest but truly tragic characters. As you can probably tell, Young Adult is my favorite performance by Charlize Theron. She received many award nominations (though, sadly, not for the Academy Award) and this commanding performance truly deserved them.

Other remarkable films starring Charlize Theron:
1. Prometheus
2. The Italian Job
3. In the Valley of Elah
4. The Devil's Advocate
5. Snow White and the Hunstman (not all that remarkable but notable for Theron's work)

Hope you enjoyed the Charlize Theron installment of my 5 Films series. For part 8, I've chosen Mr. Southern Smiles himself, Matthew McConaughey. Stay tuned!

5 Films #6: Brad Pitt

It's been a while since I did a 5 Films blog but the time is right to finally post the 6th entry. At the end of the Scarlett Johansson edition of 5 Films, I had named 4-time Academy Award nominee Brad Pitt as the star of the 6th edition. Brad Pitt definitely has managed to overcome the side effects of being a hunky movie star by taking on a variety of fascinating roles, some as the lead and some as a supporting character.

I think this has to do with Pitt rising to prominence just before the Superhero Craze of the 2000s. I can imagine a world where he is the 1st on the list for Superman or Captain America or even Batman. But like his similarly chiseled but respected colleague Matthew McConaughey, he narrowly escaped the fate that awaits Henry Cavill or the Chris-es Hemsworth and Evans.

1.  Se7en (1995; David Fincher)
In the 1990s, Pitt established himself as a respectable supporting actor, and even earned his first Oscar nom for his work in 12 Monkeys. In Se7en, he plays Det. David Mills, the young hotshot cop contrasted to the more world-weary Somerset, played by Morgan Freeman. What's remarkable about Pitt's performance here is that it isn't very showy. I myself had trouble in figuring out how to describe and qualify it. Pitt is more concerned with making his character gel with his surroundings than putting in a show-stopper of a performance. Pitt is a surprisingly restrained actor but I think it's because he likes to really wow the audience when he drops the restrain like during the famous "what's in the box?" climax of Se7en.

2. Troy (2004; Wolfgang Petersen)
I mentioned earlier that Pitt gets taken seriously as an actor because he so rarely uses his looks as a crutch. Of course, the big counterpoint to that argument is Troy, where he is the most beautiful member in a cast that includes the crazy-hot ladies Diane Kruger, Julie Christie and Rose Byrne. In the grand scheme of his career, I can't quite place Pitt's performance as Achilles in this retelling of the Helen of Troy story (also called The Iliad). This is definitely a star performance but in a way that Pitt hadn't done before and hasn't really done since. This isn't Pitt disappearing into the character, this is BRAD PITT, MOVIE STAR in a toga carrying a sword. No, I wouldn't count his work here as some of his finest--but I think that's because this movie is focused on being epic and not on crafting fascinating characters and plots.

3. Burn After Reading (2008, Joel and Ethan Coen)
One thing that really fascinates me about Brad Pitt is that he can do a movie like Troy where he is the star of the show and then he can do a movie like Burn After Reading, where his role is just an extended cameo. Of course, one of the tricks of Burn After Reading is that it makes you think that Pitt is the star of the show and his departure from the film is one of its most shocking yet hilarious moments. As Chad Feldheimer, Pitt is playing such a ridiculous, cartoonish character and he really commits to the ditzy, dumb Chad and his quirks. For me, it was weirdly cool to see Pitt play a character that would normally go to someone less A-list. Like I said, Pitt so rarely goes over the top, but when he does in this movie, it's incredibly effective.

4. Inglourious Basterds (2009; Quentin Tarantino)
Pitt's commitment to his oddball character in Burn After Reading was really just a precursor to his brilliant work in Inglourious Basterds. As Lt. Aldo Raine, Pitt again brings out his goofy charisma but then mixes it with an unnerving menace. There are a lot of laughs to be found in his performance (like how he pronounces the word Nazi) but at the same time, there's something really unsettling about the glee he takes from scalping Nazis. Pitt's natural charm and A-list persona get us on his side but the danger in his performance confronts us with our own revenge fantasies. It is truly a sublime performance. At first I wondered why someone of Pitt's clout would take on such a small role, where he plays second fiddle to the unknown at the time Melanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz. His small role wasn't meant to dupe the audience like in Burn After Reading. Such a challenging balancing act between comedy and menace, however, required an actor of Pitt's calibre.

5. Moneyball (2011; Bennett Miller)
As in awe as I am of Pitt's work as Aldo Raine, his most grand achievement as an actor was as Billy Beane in Moneyball. What makes this performance better than the others listed is that it's incredibly naturalistic. His work feels lived-in and nuanced, as if he's been playing Billy Beane for years or, rather, has been Billy Beane for years. Though Pitt exploits his inherent charm and coolness in the role, underneath all that is the crushing disappointment of unrealized potential. Pitt channels the tragedy of Beane's past into his aggressive belief in the moneyball system. It's also quite ingenious the way Pitt shows Beane taking off his GM mask and becoming a devoted father when with his daughter. This suggests that his baseball team isn't everything, even though he's ready to put everything on the line to save it. I was severely disappointed when Pitt lost the Oscar to Jean Dujardin at the 2012 Academy Awards because his work here was effortless and authentic but I guess that's not the kind of thing the Academy goes for these days.

Other remarkable films starring Brad Pitt:
1. Ocean's 11, 12 and 13
2. Fight Club
3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
4. The Tree of Life
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Look out for part 7 of "5 Films" starring the great and powerful Charlize Theron.

The Greatest Episodes of American Dad (part 2)

A few months ago, I listed the best episodes of American Dad seasons 1-4. Now I'm gonna do seasons 5-8. Enjoy!

Season 5, Episode 4: Brains, Brains and Automobiles
With Steve and Hayley away for the summer, Stan is dreading spending time alone with Francine out of fear that she'll discover how boring he is. Luckily they have a pansexual, alcoholic, drug addicted, disguise wearing alien in the attic. As Francine tries to get Roger to move on with his life, Stan interferes and sends Roger into a coma. The episode is goofy and takes a bizarre trip into Roger's mind which is as horrifying as you might imagine. A lot of people consider season 5 to be the show's best (an assessment I don't disagree with) and I think it's because the season achieves an inspired level of absurdity but with some real emotional stakes. This episode is a great example of that.

Season 5, Episode 15: Merlot Down Dirty Shame
This is another strong Stan-Francine-Roger episode with Fran and Rog going on a wine tour, getting twisted-drunk and accidentally kissing. But when Stan surprises by joining them, hilarity ensues. The writing on this episode is remarkably strong. Also, this episode maintains a frantic pace with Roger trying to keep Stan from finding out about the kiss. Then he tries to get Stan to kiss bartender Mia whom Roger is attracted to and repulsed by (this leads to one of my favorite moments in the show, Roger singing "lips are for kissing, uh, uh, uh"). The lucid dream plot with Steve, Hayley and Klaus is funny but ends in some gruesome dark comedy, which I'm not sure the episode needed. But that's a small blemish on this near perfect episode.

Season 5, Episode 18: Great Space Roaster
Season 5 concludes with Roger 1601st birthday and he wants a roast. Of course, being Roger, he can't take the jokes and goes on a murderous rampage against the Smiths. They are forced to go to Space to escape, leading to an inspired Alien parody. This is another especially well-written episode with the two roast sequences being major highlights. What I like about this episode is that there isn't a B-plot and it has the Smith family all together. These four plus Roger and Klaus have a zany chemistry together, a comic well that the show doesn't turn to as often as it could.

Other season 5 highlights: In Country...Club, Rapture's Delight, A Jones for a Smith, Don't Look a Smith Horse in the Mouth and Bully for Steve.

Season 6, Episode 10: Stanny Boy and Frantastic
Stan and Francine search for another couple to hang out with and end up trying to keep up with an active, younger couple. It's a funny episode, one that gives Stan and Francine a lot of material where they can bounce off each other and do crazy stuff together. That's one thing that Family Guy or The Cleveland Show misses out on because those shows always have the dumb husband/nagging wife combo. The B plot, with Steve and Roger put on hold for two weeks when calling a customer service line for a faulty product, is hysterical--especially when it interacts with the A plot a few times.

Season 6, Episode 11: A Pinata Named Desire
This episode has become one of my favorites because it is jam-packed. A lot goes on in this episode and it features many comic set pieces, each funnier than the last. Even so, the episode doesn't feel frantic or rushed. With Stan and Roger competing for the lead role in the pseudo-intellectual play Pinata Man and Steve and his friends planning one last sleepover, the show mines a lot of great jokes about male friendships and competitiveness. The Stan and Roger plot has a lot of great stuff but the final play scene is just perfect. The women on the show don't really get much to do except deliver a few solid one-liners but overall, this episode is an exceptionally strong half-hour.

Season 6, Episode 13: I am the Walrus
Stan and Steve have a father-son relationship that I at first didn't find all that interesting but now has become one of my favorite dynamics on the show. Stan is all about traditional norms of masculinity and Steve continues to fail to live up to that and it makes for some great material throughout the show. This episode has the two of them competing for masculine dominance in the animal kingdom that is the Smith home. It's hysterical, some truly rich jokes. The B plot has Hayley and husband Jeff go to marriage counseling with reliable funnyman Principal Lewis and their interactions are pretty funny. Even Francine has a lot of great stuff to work with in this Steve/Stan heavy episode, which makes it even better.

Other season 6 highlights: Stan's Food Restaurant, School Lies, Jenny Fromdabloc, Home Wrecker and Gorillas in the Mist.

Season 7, Episode 5: Virtual In-Stanity
One thing I touched upon a few times in the last American Dad blog post was that AD pulls off edgy, weird, racy humor quite well and Virtual In-Stanity, in which Stan makes himself a hot blond teenage girl robot avatar and seduces Steve in an effort to bond with his son, is just an out-there plot that only this show could pull it off. It features some excellent jokes, some of which really come out of nowhere and gives each character a few good moments. The whole thing ends with a random Avatar homage and a truly funny/exciting fight scene. The B plot has limo driver Roger stalking and murdering a group of frat boys who stiffed him the bill. It is one of my favorite late-season Roger plots because it is so ridiculous and over-the-top, these horrific murders become just hysterical.

Season 7, Episode 6: The Scarlett Getter
When Stan's old CIA crush Scarlett Reynolds (probably named after Tony winner Scarlett Johansson, formerly Reynolds) comes back to town, those old feelings come rushing back. Jealous Francine gets Roger to put on his most charming disguise, Dan Andsome-Handsome, and seduce Scarlett away from Stan.  Stan can be such a jerk that it's easy to forget what a great, funny character he is. This episode is really strong for him as his jealous act when Scarlett and Dan Andsome-Handsome are together is a total riot. The end of the episode is super strong also even though it gets a little gruesome. Steve's "lucky panties" B plot is also terrific, giving him, Snot and Hayley some really fun stuff to work with.

Season 7, Episode 14: Stan's Best Friend
I can imagine this episode being somewhat controversial as it makes a case for euthanasia, itself a controversial subject. And this episode features a lot of laughs but it does feature a strong emotional throughline about pets and the unconditional love they give. Stan's Best Friend also features a terrific one-shot character Dr. Lizzie, the psychotic lesbian alt-medicine veterinarian. Her character is truly awful but the writers made her kooky enough to be funny and memorable. There is some nice meta-commentary about the show's wobbly continuity and Steve's constant crying is another good running gag. The B plot with Jeff and Hayley is throwaway and is not all that memorable but it doesn't ruin the episode.

Other season 7 highlights: The Unbrave One, Stanny Tendergrass, Wheels & the Legman and the Case of Grandpa's Key, Old Stan in the Mountain and Ricky Spanish.

Season 8, Episode 5: Why Can't We Be Friends?
Stan's hard and fast rules for manhood have been touched on a lot in the show and there have been some great episodes where Stan gets to be a kid again (most notably in Season 5's Man in the Moonbounce). Here, Stan gets to know what it's like having a truly awesome best friend when he sends Steve's BFF Snot to a fake witness protection program but then becomes friends with Snot himself. It's a great episode about friendship, but what makes it even more remarkable is that the friendship between Steve and Snot is rich in unique but relatable details. The episode makes the effort to demonstrate why Steve and Stan value Snot so much as a friend. The episode is elevated to classic status with the B plot of Roger paying Jeff to clean the attic then robbing him later. It's classic AD B plot with the escalation of events getting even more ridiculous until a great over-the-top finale.

Season 8, Episode 6: Adventures in Hayley-sitting
Once the show dried up the well of political comedy and focused more on character-based sitcom hijinks, Hayley was given B plots, running gags or wasn't even featured at all. Part of that was due to Hayley's voice actress Rachael MacFarlane taking time off to raise her family. In this episode, Steve sneaks out to a party when Hayley makes fun of him and his friends, then she chases them all over town because she wants to show her parents that she's responsible. It's a great setup and the writing lives up to it. Nonstop gags, memorable supporting characters and some really solid one-liners make this one of the zaniest episodes yet. I didn't even mention the funny B plot with Stan and Francine being unable to keep their hands off each other while going to a Cavalia show .

Season 8, Episode 18: Lost in Space
American Dad invites you to become invested in the characters' personal journey, something missing from the other animated shows on Fox. Lost in Space is a terrifically moving episode. A few episodes before, Jeff had been beamed up to a spaceship from Roger's home planet, and this episode finds him trying to make his way back to Earth, by proving to Roger's home planet's Emperor that Hayley is his true love. The episode is very funny, even without most of the Smith characters. It features light parodies of sci-fi with some other clever jokes and fun characters. Such a big departure from the show's regular format was a huge risk but the episode works beautifully. Jeff escapes from the spaceship but still doesn't make it back to Earth at the end. This opens the door for the exciting prospect of a sequel episode or two.

Other season 8 highlights: American Stepdad, The Adventures of Twill Ongenbone and His Boy Jabari, Blood Crieth Unto Heaven, Max Jets and Spelling Bee My Baby.

So there you have it, the 12 best episodes of American Dad seasons 5-8. The 9th season of American Dad premieres Sunday, Sept. 29th at 9:30 pm on Fox. This will be the last season of the show to air on Fox; TBS has bought the show from the network and will air 15 original episodes starting in 2014.