The Forgotten Actress Club: "Fairuza Balk"

The first actress to be inducted into the club:

The hypnotic

Fairuza Balk.

Best Known For: Return To OZ ~ The Craft ~ Gas, Food, Lodging (Independent Spirit Award Winner)~ Valmont ~ Almost Famous ~ American History X ~ The Waterboy, Her breakthrough came when she was chosen from millions of young girls vying to play the new Dorothy in The Wizard of OZ sequel Return To OZ. The film was unfortunately a near flop because it boldly yet cleverly veered away from the happy musical feel of the original... and decided to embrace the book's darker side. Balk was a perfect Dorothy for what would later become a cult classic-- and rightly so. The film is in many ways better thathe Judy Garland classic. A thrilling adventure... that is oftentimes scary. The imagery of the headless dancing girls... whos heads are kept in a case will stay with you forever...

Balk would later win a deserving Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress in the great little film Gas, Food, Lodging... and should have been considered an Oscar contender-- the same with her enormous support in American History X.But it was the witchy flick The Craft that really broke her into stardom. Playing the sexy nose-pierced bad-ass witch of an elite high school coven. The youthful film itself is actually remarkable, and found it's way into the same league of 90's classic's like Heathers.

"Watch out for the weirdo's, girls." ~ "We are the weirdo's, mister."

Fairuza earned a high profile appearance in Almost Famous... and shortly after began to fade prematurely. She had a notable performance in the indy Personal Velocity then her career sadly stalled.

My prediction:

With a memorable face that has the ability to transform for sexy and dramatic and frightening roles, it's a wonder that in her mid 30's she isn't being begged for.

Having several long-span leaps between noteworthy performances over the years-- she is due for another. Each time she gains more attention. Let's hope that a gritty project of a drug-abused or wrongly accused woman is somewhere in the waiting zone. She could very well give it her all and to everyone's surprise find her way to the Oscar podium. She is that memorable. She is that good. And she does not deserve to be forgotten. And with that vote of confidence she cannot stay in this club for long...

THE TOP 20 MOVIES OF THE YEAR (Including "Oscar" Snubs.)

THE TOP 20 MOVIES OF THE YEAR 2009

(Including "Oscar" Snubs)

By: Kai Elijah Hamilton

20. Jennifer's Body: A sadly ignored little dark-horror comedy written by Diablo Cody is both tongue-in-cheek and trendy. A campy modern-day take on Heathers (one of the greatest movies of all time) showcases a fetchingly sexy Megan Fox.

19. The Hurt Locker: Perhaps one of the most over-praised films of the year, but as far as war movies go it is an admirable one. It is suspenseful, but chooses to keep its characters and their situations robotic (a tactic too often implored in war films), otherwise it would have landed higher on the list.

18. Halloween 2: One of several horror films on the list, because they are ridiculously ignored. Rob Zombie has most certainly proved an admirable, even avant guard director. His characters often-times have a creepy dramatic depth, but not too deep so that we still feel the surface value of horror films of yesteryear. This, his own sequel, is better than the original sequel Halloween 2 (1981) with Jamie Lee Curtis.

17. The Proposal: Yes, I too am a Sandra Bullock fan (her best movie is still While You Were Sleeping). The Blindside was great for what it was, but I choose this movie as the better because it not only includes a should-have-been Best Supporting Actress contender Betty White, but because romantic chick flicks are a great genre and (despite a usually bland Ryan Reynolds) The Proposal got it just right. This is Sandra how we have and will always loved her.

16. The Twilight Saga: New Moon: I openly admit to liking this series, a great deal as a matter of fact. I feel that it showcases teen-flicks and bubble-gum pop culture at its new-age best. The truth of the matter is, when you let yourself go and get into it, Twilight is addictive, sexy, romantic, thrilling, and compelling. Kristen Stewart is a siren on the rise.

15. The September Issue: Addictive also is the docu-movie The September Issue, about the brazen workaholic life behind Vogue magazine, editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Surprisingly enough it is her side-kick's that often-times drive the film toward a humane level. This is a very rare and intimate look at what goes on behind the scenes of the greatest fashion magazine of all time.

14. Where The Wild Things Are: A very odd film indeed. Which the unexpected, in a good way, is always the better choice. The beloved children's book is finally brought to life with much edge and grace. All the technical aspects were disappointingly ignored by the Oscars: The Art Direction, The Costumes, The Score, etc. Catherine Keener gives one of her most honest performances.

13. Up In The Air: Finally a less arrogant George Clooney, he actually displays a vulnerability. But this movie would be nothing without the matching ladies- Vera Farmiga and especially Anna Kendrick. This movie was worth the hype, and leaves you with one of those "such is life" endings.

12. Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire: This movie would have been a serious contender for The Best Movie of The Year. Except that the final feels as though a cork were prematurely pulled on the entire film, draining it of much needed explanation. However, the acting and gripping story are so monumental that just about any fault can be overlooked. Mo'Nique makes a primo-vicious villain, but her office breakdown at the end is what is nothing short of remarkable. However, Gabourey Sidibe is highly over-shadowed and deserved equal recognition. And let's not forget a kick-ass make-upless Mariah Carey as well.

11. Away We Go: This movie was shot down before it ever left the gates. It is however clever, funny and very touching. Maya Rudolph should have been an Oscar contender. A road-movie that is more about finding one's self right back where you started, than any of the side-splitting and unique vignettes- most notable a relentless Maggie Gyllenhaal. American Beauty Director Sam Mendes shows great versatility here.

10. An Education: Oh, what a lovely, lovely sophisticated movie for young adults. One of these days I swear the handsome Peter Sarsgaard is going to get recognition for his brilliant work. This time around the attention went to swooned virgin Carey Mulligan. Who gave such a notable character arch and fall that it is a wonder where in heaven she came from. The title, An Education, is a metaphor on life more than anything else.

9. The House of the Devil: The horror movie of the year! An astonishing replica of a 1980's campy horror movie fresh off the VHS shelves of yesteryear. Ti West proves to be a genius director. He nails the bitter nail-biting pace of a college gal taking a babysitting job for two satanic worshipers on the night of an eclipse. The movie is frightening, oh yes, but it bares repeating that the replication of 1980's EVERYTHING is nothing short of masterful. Bravo.

8. Crazy Heart: One of those movies, like a country-western song, where you know how you are going to feel by the time it is over but you simply don't mind the lonesome beautiful intoxication. Jeff Bridges is winning as is a perfectly against-type Maggie Gyllenhaal. And hiding behind a small but fine performance is Colin Farrell. This should have been a Best Picture contender. It is one of the best of the year. Hands down.

7. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee: My favorite actress of the year is Robin Wright Penn. She is utterly amazing as Pippa and it is a dirty-shame that she was over-looked. The film itself is a remarkable creative achievement by an equally over-looked female director Rebecca Miller whom also wrote the story and the book. It is my opinion that she is the female director of the year. Because this film reflects the combination of female angst, sharp humor and beauty so strikingly well. Blake Lively also gives a Best Supporting Actress worthy performance. And just about any film with the great black-balled Winona Ryder is a keeper.

6. Coraline: Almost, the Best Animated Film of the Year. Almost. Coraline is the very definition of creative, even surrealistic in nature. The 3D effects are brilliantly captured and the theatrical-minded, button-eyed nightmare story is fascinating. It is a wonder this film did not gain more attention than it did. Rest assured, this will be a classic one day.

5. The Last Word: Bet you've never even heard of this movie right? What a pitty, as it is #5. I guess I could spare you the details of how the brilliant story revolves around a poet who writes suicide notes for the soon-to-be departed; How he falls in love with one of his dead clients sister's and has to shield his idenity. I could also spare you the details about how great Wes Bentley is and how shocking Ray Romano is as a suicidal nut-case that befriends him. And how the surging Winona Ryder gives a tour de force, return to form performance. I could spare you the details... but then again that would be cruel for such a Garden State type comedic heart-tugger to go even further unnoticed. Rent it. ASAP.

4. The Hangover: Now this is what male bonding is all about. This is the most hilarious movie to come out in a long-long time. It would have been awesome to see The Hangover enter the Best Picture ring in order to represent the comedy genre's rise to greatness. Zach Galifianakis is comedic perfection, and in a year with a lack-luster Best Supporting Actor Race it would have been nice to include him. I laughed by ass-off with a smile in between, and something has to be really funny for that to happen.

3. Avatar: It is a rarity that CGI effects can awe-inspire me to the point of tears. Avatar in reality is a breath-taking force in the film world to be reckoned with, a scary merge into the world of- what is next? And, what will happen to softer-spoken films? But better are we in the safety-net of James Cameron (of the great Titanic) than anyone else. Who was the Best Director again?

2. (500) Days of Summer: The Best Movie of the Year that does not include balloons as a major plot-device. Looking back on this ground-breaking, creative, young-adult romantic comedy about lessons learned in love, it is simply a wonder it was not a monster-hit. But such as it goes, (500) was shoved out of the way and planted next to other one-day classic wallflowers while the elite club of Avatarian/Hurt Lockers and other "honor just to be nominated" cliques danced the night away. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a lovable powerhouse, and beautifully quirky heartbreaker Zooey Deschanel will no doubt one day have her chance in winners circle if performances like these keep being churned out. The perfect "You Make My Dreams Come True" musical number is unforgettable, as is the unique Editing and self-proclaimed Best Screenplay of the Year.

1. Up: One of the greatest animated films of all time. Thank you Pixar. You continue to top yourself time and time again. I can't fathom how it would be possible to fly any higher than this one. The adequately titled Up is an absolutely beautiful, thrilling, funny, 4-hankie grabbing, adventure film- cargoing all the right elements for anyone young and old. Edward Asner gives one of the grandest voice talents of all time, and let's not forget that clever voice-box dog Dug. The Oscar winning Score is as timeless as they come. This one is for the ages! The cleverly twisted story of a should-be ending being at the beginning, and displayed as a silent montage sequence aids the message: However fun being carried away with life and love is, oftentimes it is those sweet simple moments in time that are the most enduring of all. "Thanks for the adventure."

THE LOVELY BONES ~ "A shameful poetic wreckage in the hands of a capable director."

It is the vintage 1970's. Susie Salmon, a young high school girl (played by the sensational Saoirse Ronan of Atonement) is murdered. Her spirit is caught in the "in between", a dream world before heaven that is built of significant elements of reality, mostly those just before death. In the in between, Susie is able to watch her family crumble in despair, her hopeful boyfriend's eyes wander, and her murder case grow cold. Meanwhile back in the real world we watch as murdering neighbor George Harvey (played by a creepy Stanley Tucci) regains a familiar itch for brutality, and plans for the murder of Susie's sister Lindsey (Rose McIver).

It is impossible to give away many plot elements, as we walk into the film having seen a spoiling trailer that literally sums up the entire film. At face value it is forgivable that director Peter Jackson decided to go his own way and veer away from the famous book, but what he has somehow managed to do is handicap the entire film by deflating its greatest asset--mystery. We know Susie is going to die. We know Susie is trapped in a dream world. And most importantly--we know who the killer is.

Perhaps the revealing set-up would have worked if the film had been able to capture the drama or the hurt and the urgency of the family in the slightest bit. Instead Jackson seems intent on meandering the story with computer generated dream-world sequences, those that perhaps would have been considered awe-inspiring if it weren't caught deep in the wake of Avatar. But in The Lovely Bones, the special effects disrupt the story and try way too hard to be poetic. Poetry in anything--film, photography, writing, etc. is usually best when it is organically made, when it comes from within, when it isn't trying to force an overwhelming impact--the impact just culminates and lives on. True poetry is not savagely copied from others own creative inspiration, it is only copied when you hold so much respect for that said creator that it rewardingly pays tribute (Brian De Palma to Alfred Hitchcock for example). If creativity has to be copied and duplicated or remixed just enough with hopes of it being pawned off as their own--what does that say about the copiers own creativity?

Jackson has already proved a film poet of a different breed with The Lord of the Rings. He already proved he could mix drama with surrealistic horror in his best movie to date Heavenly Creatures. The Lovely Bones seems forced and jarring. Like a confused director settling on the middle-ground of huge and artistically intimate. The film is just so choppy and non-linear. The murder-mystery should have been trusted the old fashioned way and not strained to be inventive. The interesting opportunity is lost involving Susie's ghostly connection to her family, the opportunity is lost for the psychic girl to field the connection, the opportunity is lost to delve into the dark, sexual, dollhouse making murderer's mind--a skill beautifully toned in its disturbance with Heavenly Creatures.

The Lovely Bones is piled high with capable actors that give their all (other notable players--Mark Walhburg, Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz). But the story truly lacks depth and truly does not know how to get on its own two feet. For a movie set on struggling through being heart-felt it is odd that in the end we feel no justice is served at all. What a shame... this could have been one of the best movies of the year, and I was rooting for it.

GRADE: C -