A Home @ the End of the World

When is a Film Too Smart For Its Own Good?

2012-04-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

Recently, I read an article in Entertainment Weekly wherein it asked if James Cameron's Titanic was the "most hated beloved movie." I felt the writer made a pretty good argument that it was...at least of the last 20 years (I'm sure there are more from the pre-war and WWII era). What is it about a film that provokes such an opposite reaction than what mainstream critics and audiences seem to feel? I really don't have answers to any of these questions, but I really must say that I did not care for the recent beloved film The Cabin in the Woods. It did not have anything to do with the aesthetic choices, acting, special effects, or story. I just felt it was too smart for its own good.

So...what does that mean exactly?

For a film like Cabin, it means that it seems to be taking a genre that is kind of beneath any real kind of criticism, namely the slasher genre, and making it out to be the be-all-end-all definitive statement on why-exactly- they exist and why they are the way that they are (yes, Kubrick's Shining kind of missed the boat on 80s slashers while simultaneously inspiring most of them when it thought it was the final word as well...one can only dream of what lame brain clones this will inspire in the years to come) I feel it kind of made the entire genre feel more important than it is...put too much thought into something where the only real thoughts going on are usually in make-up and effects while profiting off of youthful hormones. They are deconstructing a style and a genre that really needed no explanation in the first place and making a profit off it themselves by going through the motions and pretending that what they are presenting is any more intelligent than what has been on the screen before. Of course, I am not saying it needed to be more "original" or anything pretentious like that. I just felt like it was missing some serious sincerity...which is what many real slasher films have in spades. I am not saying it had to be the start of a new franchise like Buffy, but a little more humanity and less emphasis on combining the fantastic with the mundane in crowd-pleasing ways would have seemed a lot more intelligent than the cold, calculating geeky wet dream that I saw on screen. I did not even agree with its obvious thesis of why horror film cliches need to exist, but something says that this film just really is not for me. It really just wants to hear itself talk.

Don't worry, I won't try to spoil the story so you will not want to see the film. I say see it and decide for yourselves.

The Art of Spirit Voting

2012-02-17T00:57:00.000-08:00

Alright. I've watched all the films and have waited until the last second long enough. I better mark my ballot for this year's Film Independent Spirit Awards. I figure they're kind of like the Oscars...except the nominees are rather strange (remember the The Hurt Locker snub a few years back...a year before it swept the Oscars). For the first time, I've decided to make my ballot public on this blog not really as a confessional, but maybe for my own sake since I don't think I've ever really made very clear decisions when voting in years past. Maybe this will make up for it. And, yes, I copied the nominees list from imdb.com. Sue me!

Best Supporting Male
NOMINEES
Cedar Rapids: John C. Reilly
Midnight in Paris: Corey Stoll
Martha Marcy May Marlene: John Hawkes
Drive: Albert Brooks
Beginners: Christopher Plummer
While I respect the diversity of these nominees, this is was one of the easier selections since Christopher Plummer gave a career best performance and deserves to sweep the major awards like he has. I was considering rebelling against the empire and going with the overly theatrical Corey Stoll or the mesmerizing John Hawkes again, but he won last year. Albert Brooks was very natural in Drive, but still stays within his comfort zone. Mr. Plummer has really come into his own in the past few years and I cannot imagine him really topping this performance. It may not be the most "independent" of choices, but it is the one that feels right.

WHO WILL WIN AND MY CHOICE: Christopher Plummer

Best Supporting Female
NOMINEES
50/50: Anjelica Huston
Gun Hill Road: Harmony Santana
Take Shelter: Jessica Chastain
Albert Nobbs: Janet McTeer
The Descendants: Shailene Woodley
Another easy choice. I'm thrilled the committee recognized Jessica Chastain's work in Take Shelter, but she isn't why it's great. I felt Angelica Huston was great but was underused and Shailene Woodley was good, but overused. Harmony Santana's time will come later. The only great performance I saw was Janet McTeer's. She basically hijacked Albert Nobbs from everyone, including Glenn Close (whom I thought was amazing and should have been nominated). The film is a wash, but Janet McTeer's KD Lang-look-a-like stays with you even after Sinead O'Conner's song is forgotten. I'm sure this is a controversial choice, but that's what makes the Spirits so fun to par take in.

MY CHOICE: Janet McTeer
WHO WILL (probably) WIN: Shailene Woodley

Best Director
NOMINEES
Beginners: Mike Mills
The Descendants: Alexander Payne
The Artist: Michel Hazanavicius
Drive: Nicolas Winding Refn
Take Shelter: Jeff Nichols

Oh boy. Going down a list like this makes me realize how unique a year like 2011 was for indie films. If I could, I would vote for all of these directors. They are all worthy (seriously). At this point, it's all apples and oranges. Mike Mills' work was very heartfelt, but too forgettable and Beginners ended up feeling like the cinematic equivalent of a indie rock album (the lame, claustrophobic kind). Alexander Payne finally returned...to overly conventional results. It's just not his best work and he won last time for Sideways, which I felt was miles above The Descendants in every way. Making an inferior film didn't seem to hurt Darren Aronofsky last year, but the competition is too fierce this year. Michel Hazanavicius is the favorite this year, but not mine. His work is whimsical and transcendent, but I feel he completely misrepresents silent film and the transition to talkies in The Artist and I don't really care how crowd pleasing and feel-good it is. I was having trouble choosing between Nicolas Winding Refn and Jeff Nichols. Refn uses his nihilism to give an otherwise empty story like the one in Drive a stylish, nostalgic 80s-esque sheen. Nichols gives Take Shelter an pretentiously indie look, feel, and a sense of character and suspense that Donnie Darko only pretends to have. I ultimately chose Refn not only b/c this is the year of Danish directors with Susanne Bier winning the Oscar and Lars von Trier stealing the headlines and the acclaim, but also Refn's unconventional, deconstructionist take on Hollywood action films with opaque protagonists is showy while never being annoying, coyly revealing without really disclosing anything, and darkly violent without ever really being exploitation. As immature as he seems to be, he has a real vision. The whole time, you feel a star is being born, while knowing that it will only shine when others aren't looking. I know many will disagree with me on this one, but these bold decisions are what Indie Spirit is all about.

MY CHOICE: Drive
WHO WILL (probably) WIN: The Artist

Best Screenplay
NOMINEES
The Descendants: Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, Nat Faxon
Beginners: Mike Mills
Footnote: Joseph Cedar
The Artist: Michel Hazanavicius
Win Win: Thomas McCarthy
This category was a little easier. It always interests me how a film can win Best Picture without having a great script (like Black Swan or The Wrestler). I don't think that will be an issue this year as all of the nominees have great scripts. Again, The Descendants and Beginners were both too conventional for me. The Artist is wonderful, but kind of scrapes by on a gimmick. Win Win is very good and was overlooked, but felt contrived. I'm going against the grain and picking Joseph Cedar's outstandingly funny Cannes-winning screenplay for Footnote. The film hasn't been widely released in America yet, but it is every bit as good as A Seperation's is (which did get Oscar nominated). It amazes me that we have not one but two foreign film scripts nominated this year. Whatever the committee had to do to get that to happen, I applaud them.

MY CHOICE: Footnote
WHO WILL (probably) WIN: The Artist

Best First Screenplay
NOMINEES
Terri: Patrick Dewitt
50/50: Will Reiser
Margin Call: J.C. Chandor
Another Earth: Brit Marling, Mike Cahill
Cedar Rapids: Phil Johnston
This was an easy call b/c the script for 50/50 was the only script that actually worked for me in this whole line-up.

MY CHOICE: 50/50
WHO WILL (probably) WIN: Margin Call

Best Cinematography
NOMINEES
Bellflower: Joel Hodge
Midnight in Paris: Darius Khondji
The Artist: Guillaume Schiffman
The Off Hours: Benjamin Kasulke
The Dynamiter: Jeffrey Waldron
Hmmmm. Over the years, I have grown to appreciate how the Spirits seem to go out of their way to nominate low-key films with understated cinematography. That being said, I didn't really care for The Off Hours or The Dynamiter with with the nice shots. I thought Midnight in Paris really showed that Woody Allen can make a visually compelling film when he feels like it. I felt Bellflower showed indie film at its most dynamic. I'm going to go with the grain on this one b/c The Artist's old-fashioned lensing is just plain special.

MY CHOICE & WHO WILL (probably) WIN: The Artist

Best Documentary
NOMINEES
The Redemption of General Butt Naked: Eric Strauss(director/producer), Daniele Anastasion (director/producer)
We Were Here: David Weissman (director/producer)
An African Election: Jarreth J. Merz (director/producer)
Bill Cunningham New York: Richard Press (director), Philip Gefter(producer)
The Interrupters: Alex Kotlowitz (producer), Steve James(director/producer)
Unlike the Oscars, I feel the Spirits actually nominated documentaries that were worth nominating in the first place. I still don't get the snubbing of Project Nim, but that was the least of my worries. I found We Were Here to be poignant without being particularly revealing; exactly what I was expecting. The Interrupters, Gen. Butt Naked, and An African Election blended together too much. That left Bill Cunningham NY. I have to admit, I'm just a sucker for documentaries on great artists. Just can't help it.

MY CHOICE: Bill Cunningham New York
WHO WILL (probably) WIN: The Interrupters


Best Female Lead
NOMINEES
Natural Selection: Rachael Harris
Pariah: Adepero Oduye
Think of Me: Lauren Ambrose
Martha Marcy May Marlene: Elizabeth Olsen
My Week with Marilyn: Michelle Williams
First of all, great line-up. All are deserving, which made selecting a choice even harder than I expected. Lauren Ambrose was the surprise choice and is deserving despite starring in the worst film. Like Think of Me, Natural Slection goes for a Todd Solondz-esque feel and just slides into predictability. Rachael Harris is the best thing about it, but the competition is too fierce. Adepeo Oduye gives the year's best film debut. The same could be said about Elizabeth Olsen, but that wasn't really a debut has she had experience working on her sister's films. I had a hard time choosing between Olsen's hip, youthful naturalism and Michelle Williams' showy brilliance as Marilyn Monroe. I ultimately sided with Williams as I feel her indie experience trumps her competitors hands-down. She's paid her dues and gives this role her all. She was also brilliant in the more subdued Meek's Cutoff, so this is actually a vote for two amazing 2011 performances. I'm still amazed she been nominated four times before and has never won. Someone give her a Spirit Award PRONTO! The others will have their time later. 2011 was Williams' year.

MY CHOICE AND WHO WILL (probably) WIN: Michelle Williams

Best First Feature
NOMINEES
Natural Selection: Brion Hambel (producer), Robbie Pickering(director), Paul Jensen (producer)
Another Earth: Nicholas Shumaker (producer), Mike Cahill(director/producer), Brit Marling (producer), Hunter Gray (producer)
In the Family: Patrick Wang (director/producer), Robert Tonino(producer), Andrew van den Houten (producer)
Margin Call: Robert Ogden Barnum (producer), Corey Moosa(producer), Michael Benaroya (producer), J.C. Chandor (director),Neal Dodson (producer), Joe Jenckes (producer), Zachary Quinto(producer)
Martha Marcy May Marlene: Chris Maybach (producer), Sean Durkin (director), Josh Mond (producer), Patrick Cunningham(producer), Antonio Campos (producer)
Speaking of Elizabeth Olsen, just when you thought I was getting soft and going with the conventional choices comes this eclectic line-up. I'm so going with the haunting and brilliant Martha Marcy May Marlene, it's not even funny. Margin Call is the favorite, but I felt it was too repetitive. In the Family was too long. Another Earth was too pretentious. Natural Selection probably shouldn't even be nominated. Easy call.

MY CHOICE: Martha Marcy May Marlene
WHO WILL (probably) WIN: Margin Call

Best International Film
NOMINEES
Melancholia: Lars von Trier
Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany
Tyrannosaur: Paddy Considine
UK
Shame: Steve McQueen
UK
The Kid with a Bike: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Belgium, France, Italy
A Separation: Asghar Farhadi
Iran
Of all the categories, this is the one I struggled with the most. This had to be the best line-up of foreign films in the history of my voting in the Spirit Awards. I ultimately had to go with my gut, which is always dangerous. I really didn't think anything could take the place of Melancholia, but then came along A Seperation and screwed everything up. As much as the dark rebel side of me wants to vote for Lars' gorgeous little ode to depression and phony astrophysics, A Seperation is probably the best nominated film in the entire line-up, period. Why we're wasting our time debating The Artist vs anything else is kind of silly when you consider that this is apparently the only category A Seperation qualified for. I really wish they would change the rules. Oh, and as much as I like Shame, Tyrannosaur, and The Kid with a Bike, none of them hold a candle to A Seperation's naturalism and ambiguity. It is one of Iran's greatest films and a stone cold classic in any country.

MY CHOICE AND WHO WILL (probably) WIN: A Separation

Best Feature
NOMINEES
50/50: Seth Rogen, Ben Karlin, Evan Goldberg
Take Shelter: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
Drive: Gigi Pritzker, Marc Platt, Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Adam Siegel
The Descendants: Jim Taylor, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne
Beginners: Miranda de Pencier, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang
The Artist: Thomas Langmann
Well, I was going to go with the crowd and vote for The Artist, but then I realized that I ALWAYS have gone with the crowd on Best Picture so I decided to go my own way this time. Why can't Best Picture just be a personal choice? Why does it always have to be the one that brings the people together? Why do the Spirit Awards now routinely just award the most popular and financially successful film (I'm looking at you, Black Swan)? Well, I'm tired of it. I'm going to go with the one that I felt really defined the year of indie film. The one that wasn't just a nostalgia trip. One that wasn't just a confessional. The one that had nothing to do with a rich man's self-pity. One that speaks to my and everyone else's experience this last year. It was a hard choice given the high quality of all the nominees. Any other year, I probably would have voted for every one of them individually. But, after a lot of thought, I've decided Take Shelter takes it all for me. I know a storm of backlash is coming.

MY CHOICE: Take Shelter
WHO WILL (probably) WIN: The Artist

Best Male Lead
NOMINEES
Take Shelter: Michael Shannon
Rampart: Woody Harrelson
Drive: Ryan Gosling
The Artist: Jean Dujardin
A Better Life: Demián Bichir
Damn. What a line-up. And not an overrated George Clooney performance in sight.  I feel bad that Woody Harrelson gives an amazing performance in one of the worst films I saw in 2011, but not bad enough to vote for him. Demian Bichir earns his surprise SAG and Oscar noms. That's enough of a reward for him. Ryan Gosling is great as an opaque (super)hero, but is too cool for his indie cred. Jean Dujardin has been over rewarded enough, and will continue to be. That just leaves Michael Shannon's shockingly snubbed powerhouse performance. He doesn't just deserve to win the Spirit, he should have gotten the damn Oscar as well. Well, here's his redemption as far as I'm concerned.

  MY CHOICE: Michael Shannon
WHO WILL (probably) WIN: Jean Dujardin



John Cassavetes Award
NOMINEES
Bellflower: Vincent Grashaw (producer), Evan Glodell(writer/director/producer)
Hello Lonesome: Adam Reid (writer/director/producer)
Pariah: Dee Rees (writer/director), Nekisa Cooper (producer)
Circumstance: Melissa M. Lee (producer), Karin Chien (producer),Maryam Keshavarz (writer/director/producer)
The Dynamiter: Mike Jones (producer), Art Jones (producer), Kevin Abrams (producer), Matthew Gordon (director/producer), Merilee Holt (producer), Amile Wilson (producer), Nate Tuck (producer),Brad Ingelsby (writer)
Pariah. No contest. See it. That is all.

MY CHOICE AND WHO WILL (probably) WIN: Pariah

Catch ya next year, Film Indie watchers. May the Spirit be with you.

Belated Golden Globes and BAFTA nominees...YAY!

2012-01-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

Best Motion Picture — Drama: “The Descendants”
Best Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical: “The Artist”
Best Director — Motion Picture: Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Best Actress — Drama: Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Best Actor — Drama: George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Best Actress — Comedy or Musical: Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”
Best Actor — Comedy or musical: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource – “The Artist”
Best Original Song: “Masterpiece” — W.E., Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry
Best Animated Feature Film: “The Adventures of Tintin”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Separation” (Iran)

Television, after the cut:

Best Series — Drama: “Homeland”
Best Series — Comedy or Musical: “Modern “Family”
Best Actress — Drama: Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Best Actor — Drama: Kelsey Grammer, “Boss”
Best Actress — Comedy or Musical: Laura Dern, “Enlightened”
Best Actor — Comedy or Musical: Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”
Best Mini-Series: Downton Abbey
Best Actress — Mini-Series: Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce”
Best Actor — Mini-Series: Idris Elba, “Luther”
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story”
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Dinklage, “Game Of Thrones”

BAFTAS gonna get 'cha....(or, Screw Longlist...Here's the Short List already)

BEST FILM

THE ARTIST – Thomas Langmann
THE DESCENDANTS – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
DRIVE – Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
THE HELP – Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo

DIRECTOR

THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Nicolas – Winding Refn
HUGO – Martin Scorsese
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tomas Alfredson
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN – Lynne Ramsay

LEADING ACTOR

BRAD PITT – Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY – The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN – The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER – Shame

LEADING ACTRESS

BÉRÉNICE BEJO The Artist – Film
MERYL STREEP – The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON – We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS – The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – Beginners
JIM BROADBENT – The Iron Lady
JONAH HILL – Moneyball
KENNETH BRANAGH – My Week with Marilyn
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

CAREY MULLIGAN – Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN – The Help
JUDI DENCH – My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY – Bridesmaids
OCTAVIA SPENCER – The Help

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
SENNA – Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
SHAME – Steve McQueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – _Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN – Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno, Rory Stewart Kinnear

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

ATTACK THE BLOCK – Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
BLACK POND – Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
CORIOLANUS – Ralph Fiennes (Director)
SUBMARINE – Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)
TYRANNOSAUR – Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

DOCUMENTARY

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD – Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM – James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA – Asif Kapadia

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius
BRIDESMAIDS – Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
THE GUARD – John Michael McDonagh
THE IRON LADY – Abi Morgan
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS – Woody Allen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE DESCENDANTS – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
THE HELP – Tate Taylor
THE IDES OF MARCH – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
MONEYBALL – Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

INCENDIES – Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McGraw
PINA – Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
POTICHE – François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A SEPARATION – Asghar Farhadi
THE SKIN I LIVE IN – Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

ANIMATED FILM

HE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS – Sarah Smith
RANGO – Gore Verbinski

ORIGINAL MUSIC

THE ARTIST – Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO Howard – Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE – John Williams

CINEMATOGRAPHY

THE ARTIST – Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO – Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE – Janusz Kaminski

EDITING

THE ARTIST – Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE – Mat Newman
HUGO – Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA – Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER – SPY Dino Jonsater

PRODUCTION DESIGN

THE ARTIST – Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO – Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE – Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN

THE ARTIST – Mark Bridges
HUGO – Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE – Michael O’Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Jacqueline Durran

SOUND

THE ARTIST – Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO – Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE – Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO – Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE – Ben Morris, Neil Corbould

MAKE UP & HAIR

THE ARTIST – Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag – Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY – Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Jenny Shircore

SHORT ANIMATION

ABUELAS – Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
BOBBY YEAH – Robert Morgan
A MORNING STROLL – Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM

CHALK – Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
MWANSA THE GREAT – Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
ONLY SOUND REMAINS – Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
PITCH BLACK HEIST – John Maclean, Gerardine O’Flynn
TWO AND TWO – Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin Cullen

ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD

ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
TOM HIDDLESTON
CHRIS O’DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE

I'm liking the support for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Drive

Satillite "Winners"

2011-12-19T00:44:00.000-08:00

I can't even begin to disagree with most of their picks, but here they are regardless.

BEST PICTURE
The Descendants

Not even close to mine.

BEST DIRECTOR
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive

I do agree with this. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that he deserves the Oscar more than anyone.

BEST ACTOR
Ryan Gosling – Drive

Nope! Next!

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis – The Help

Close, but no cigar!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Albert Brooks – Drive

Good enough.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life

Nice choice.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne, Based On The Novel By Kaui Hart Hemmings, Jim Rash, Nat Faxon – The Descendants

Fair enough.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life

Appalling.

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Mysteries of Lisbon

Still need to see it.

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Adventures of Tintin

Loved it!

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Senna

Need to see it.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Marco Beltrami – Soul Surfer

Um...what?!

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Lay Down Your Head” – Albert Nobbs

Nice.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Janusz Kaminski – War Horse

Need to see it. Can't believe it beat Tree of Life.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Robert Legato – Hugo

Can't really argue, but surprised they went with this one. At least Hugo won something.

BEST FILM EDITING
Chris Gill – The Guard

Uh????!

BEST ART & PRODUCTION DESIGN
Gregory S. Hooper, Laurence Bennett – The Artist

Good call!

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jacqueline West – Water for Elephants

Works, I guess.

BEST SOUND (Mixing & Editing)
Dave Patterson, Lon Bender, Robert Fernandez, Victor Ray Ennis – Drive

Agreed!

Blu-Ray o' Da Day: Intruder

2011-12-18T00:50:00.000-08:00

I had never seen this before until tonight....and am kind of glad I hadn't. I guess this new Blu-Ray release is the first time five minutes of footage has been shown to the public. I had no idea how historical it as and how many long term careers it has launched. Not a great film, per say, but a fantastic '80s slasher and uber-enthusiastic genre exercise. For those of you who had never heard of it either, I'm going to allow you to discover it has I had: totally blind.

2011-12-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know the SAG Awards are sooooo yesterday....but I decided to combine them with the Golden Globe nominations, which were announced literally the next day.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Nominees:

The Artist (2011)

Bridesmaids (2011)

The Descendants (2011)

The Help (2011)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

I usually disagree with some of the choices in this category and this year is no different. Midnight in Paris was not one of the best casts of the year. Better than Melancholia? Better than Beginners? Better than Carnage or Drive? Nope, not convinced.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees:

Demián Bichir for A Better Life (2011)

George Clooney for The Descendants (2011)

Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar (2011)

Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)

Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)

If there's one cause of celebration and that is Demian Bichir. I've been a fan of his since season 4 of Weeds and I'm so glad to see him getting something besides a Spirit Awards nomination. My only regret is not commenting on A Better Life when I saw it last July. Almost makes up for no Michael Fassbender or Michael Shannon.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees:

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Viola Davis for The Help (2011)

Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)

Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Really predictable Glad Glenn Close finally got recognized for that film. Can't wait to see it. Poor Kirsten Dunst and Olivia Coleman!

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees:

Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Armie Hammer for J. Edgar (2011)

Jonah Hill for Moneyball (2011)

Nick Nolte for Warrior (2011)

Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)

Where's Albert Brooks? I'm actually glad to see Armie Hammer getting recognized here. Bad make-up aside, very underrated performance.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees:

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011)

Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011)

Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids (2011)

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)

Whatever happened to Janet McTeer...besides Tideland? I seriously would've nominated Jessica Chastain for Take Shelter instead...or even The Debt.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

Nominees:

"30 Rock" (2006)

"The Big Bang Theory" (2007)

"Glee" (2009)

"Modern Family" (2009)

"The Office" (2005)

BBBBBBOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIIIINGGGGG!

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Nominees:

"Boardwalk Empire" (2010)

"Breaking Bad" (2008)

"Dexter" (2006)

"Game of Thrones" (2011)

"The Good Wife" (2009)

Good enough.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Nominees:

Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)

Ty Burrell for "Modern Family" (2009)

Steve Carell for "The Office" (2005)

Jon Cryer for "Two and a Half Men" (2003)

Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family" (2009)

Are we still hung up on Steve Carell?

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Nominees:

Julie Bowen for "Modern Family" (2009)

Edie Falco for "Nurse Jackie" (2009)

Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006)

Sofía Vergara for "Modern Family" (2009)

Betty White for "Hot in Cleveland" (2010)

No Laura Dern, no Mary Louise Parker, no Laura Linney? Screw this!

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Nominees:

Patrick J. Adams for "Suits" (2011)

Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire" (2010)

Kyle Chandler for "Friday Night Lights" (2006)

Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad" (2008)

Michael C. Hall for "Dexter" (2006)

What is Suits anyway?

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Nominees:

Kathy Bates for "Harry's Law" (2011)

Glenn Close for "Damages" (2007)

Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story" (2011)

Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife" (2009)

Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" (2005)

Is The Closer still on?

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Nominees:

Laurence Fishburne for Thurgood (2011) (TV)

Paul Giamatti for Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)

Greg Kinnear for "The Kennedys" (2011)

Guy Pierce for "Mildred Pierce" (2011)

James Woods for Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)

No Barry Pepper? Hmmmm.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Nominees:

Diane Lane for Cinema Verite (2011) (TV)

Maggie Smith for "Downton Abbey" (2010)

Emily Watson for "Appropriate Adult" (2011)

Betty White for "Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Lost Valentine (#60.2)" (2011)

Kate Winslet for "Mildred Pierce" (2011)

Just give it to Kate, already!

Alright. Here we go. Why does anyone give a damn about the Golden Globes? Is it b/c they have the word "Golden" in the title? Is it b/c it's on television? Everyone knows there's only about 80 members in the Hollywood Foreign Press (even the Spirit Awards have more than that!) and most of their opinions aren't worth a damn (except for maybe Emmanuel Levy's)....yet we pretend to care every year what they think. Maybe they can keep themselves out of scandal for one lousy year. At least Ricky Gervais is coming back.

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Nominees:

The Descendants (2011)

The Help (2011)

Hugo (2011/II)

The Ides of March (2011)

Moneyball (2011)

War Horse (2011)

Gotta love six nominees. War Horse is a surprise. The Ides of March should be a surprise, but really isn't. I'd take Melancholia, Drive, A Dangerous Method, or even Martha Marcy May Marlene over The Help.

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Nominees:

The Artist (2011)

Bridesmaids (2011)

50/50 (2011)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

I just cannot understand how 50/50 is considered a comedy?

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Nominees:

George Clooney for The Descendants (2011)

Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar (2011)

Michael Fassbender for Shame (2011)

Ryan Gosling for The Ides of March (2011)

Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)

Yay! Michael Fassbender! Ryan Gosling in a non-controversial performance! I'm still holding out hope for Michael Shannon.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Nominees:

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Viola Davis for The Help (2011)

Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)

Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Yay! ROONEY! I am really bemoaning Kirsten Dunst, Elizabeth Olsen, and Olivia Coleman here.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Nominees:

Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)

Brendan Gleeson for The Guard (2011)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt for 50/50 (2011)

Ryan Gosling for Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Owen Wilson for Midnight in Paris (2011)

Still fuming over Christoph Waltz's snub.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Nominees:

Jodie Foster for Carnage (2011)

Charlize Theron for Young Adult (2011)

Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids (2011)

Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Kate Winslet for Carnage (2011)

Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet and comedy/musical go about as well together as nuts and gum.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Nominees:

Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Albert Brooks for Drive (2011)

Jonah Hill for Moneyball (2011)

Viggo Mortensen for A Dangerous Method (2011)

Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)

Now, we're talking! Not sure why exactly A Dangerous Method has been ignored until now, but I can only hope this nomination gets it some attention as it goes wide.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Nominees:

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011)

Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011)

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)

Shailene Woodley for The Descendants (2011)

I just don't get Jessica Chastain for The Help. Just Don't!

Best Director - Motion Picture

Nominees:

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris (2011)

George Clooney for The Ides of March (2011)

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011)

Alexander Payne for The Descendants (2011)

Martin Scorsese for Hugo (2011/II)

Woody Allen? Sorry, not seeing it. I'm always wonder how many HFP members line up to suck Clooney's cock every other year.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Nominees:

The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius

The Descendants (2011): Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash

The Ides of March (2011): George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon

Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen

Moneyball (2011): Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin

They really should split it between original and adapted. Go Moneyball!

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

Nominees:

Albert Nobbs (2011): Brian Byrne, Glenn Close("Lay Your Head Down")

Gnomeo & Juliet (2011): Elton John, Bernie Taupin("Hello Hello")

The Help (2011): Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas("The Living Proof")

Machine Gun Preacher (2011): Chris Cornell("The Keeper")

W.E. (2011): Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry("Masterpiece")

Sinead gets married, then nominated...how quaint.

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Nominees:

The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Hugo (2011/II): Howard Shore

War Horse (2011): John Williams

W.E. (2011): Abel Korzeniowski

W.E. and no Alexandre Desplat? Whatever happened to the days of The Painted Veil?

Best Animated Film

Nominees:

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Arthur Christmas (2011)

Cars 2 (2011)

Puss in Boots (2011)

Rango (2011)

Fuck Cars 2. That is all.

Best Foreign Language Film

Nominees:

The Flowers of War (2011)(China)

In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)(USA)

The Kid with a Bike (2011)(Belgium)

A Separation (2011)(Iran)

The Skin I Live In (2011)(Spain)

All winners to me...even if I haven't seen 4 of them...

Best Television Series - Drama

Nominees:

"American Horror Story" (2011)

"Boardwalk Empire" (2010)

"Boss" (2011)

"Game of Thrones" (2011)

"Homeland" (2011)

No Breaking Bad? No me.

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Nominees:

"Enlightened" (2011)

"Episodes" (2011)

"Glee" (2009)

"Modern Family" (2009)

"New Girl" (2011)

Go Enlightened!

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Nominees:

Cinema Verite (2011) (TV)

"Downton Abbey" (2010)

"The Hour" (2011)

"Mildred Pierce" (2011)

Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)

Another award for Downton Abbey? How nice!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama

Nominees:

Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire" (2010)

Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad" (2008)

Kelsey Grammer for "Boss" (2011)

Jeremy Irons for "The Borgias" (2011)

Damian Lewis for "Homeland" (2011)

All winners here.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

Nominees:

Claire Danes for "Homeland" (2011)

Mireille Enos for "The Killing" (2011)

Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife" (2009)

Madeleine Stowe for "Revenge" (2011)

Callie Thorne for "Necessary Roughness" (2011)

Whatever happened to Madeleine Stowe..oh, here she is.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Nominees:

Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)

David Duchovny for "Californication" (2007)

Johnny Galecki for "The Big Bang Theory" (2007)

Thomas Jane for "Hung" (2009)

Matt LeBlanc for "Episodes" (2011)

Seriously, David Duchovny?! For the worst season of a terrible show that really shouldn't get renewed?! Priceless.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Nominees:

Laura Dern for "Enlightened" (2011)

Zooey Deschanel for "New Girl" (2011)

Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006)

Laura Linney for "The Big C" (2010)

Amy Poehler for "Parks and Recreation" (2009)

Go Laura Dern!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Nominees:

Hugh Bonneville for "Downton Abbey" (2010)

Idris Elba for "Luther" (2010)

William Hurt for Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)

Bill Nighy for Page Eight (2011) (TV)

Dominic West for "The Hour" (2011)

Hmmmmmm...

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Nominees:

Romola Garai for "The Hour" (2011)

Diane Lane for Cinema Verite (2011) (TV)

Elizabeth McGovern for "Downton Abbey" (2010)

Emily Watson for "Appropriate Adult" (2011)

Kate Winslet for "Mildred Pierce" (2011)

Just give it to Kate...

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Nominees:

Peter Dinklage for "Game of Thrones" (2011)

Paul Giamatti for Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)

Guy Pearce for "Mildred Pierce" (2011)

Tim Robbins for Cinema Verite (2011) (TV)

Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family" (2009)

Guy vs. Peter.....hmmmmmm...

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Nominees:

Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story" (2011)

Kelly Macdonald for "Boardwalk Empire" (2010)

Maggie Smith for "Downton Abbey" (2010)

Sofía Vergara for "Modern Family" (2009)

Evan Rachel Wood for "Mildred Pierce" (2011)

At least Jane Lynch isn't in it....

Admist all of this awards garble, I almost didn't notice that Howard Stern is finally joining the reality show brigade with America's Got Talent. What does he have to say about it?

Critics Choice Awards Nominations

2011-12-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

Things are starting to look bad for David Fincher's remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo....since Noomi Repace was nominated for Best Actress last year in this awards show. Of course, this isn't going to effect Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross' amazing score (which is over three hours long and worth every second).

I doubt they'll win their second consecutive Oscar or Golden Globe, but they deserve a nomination for both. There is a glut of great scores this year, but they manage to stick out regardless (and Alexander Desplat is looooooooooooooonnnnnnngggggggg overdue).

I'm glad to see the surprise nominations for Stephan Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (which is also one of the year's worst titles). This is considering that this film has almost the exact same story as Hugo, just set in contemporary times. I personally can't wait to see it.

I'm finally seeing The Artist tonight so I can't really say anything about its frontrunner status yet.

I also love the support for Young Adult. I felt that it was a little too mainstream to be covered on this bog, but I'm starting to change my mind. I might write something about it very soon after the Golden Globe nominations.

One gripe: where the fuck is Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy??!!! I now it's going to be a divisive film (I see it next week)...but not THAT divisive. I've heard it is great. Gary Oldman probably deserves to win...and may not even get nominated now.

BEST PICTURE

The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “J. Edgar”
Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender – “Shame”
Ryan Gosling – “Drive”
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis – “The Help”
Elizabeth Olsen – “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep – “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Charlize Theron – “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams – “My Week With Marilyn”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – “My Week With Marilyn”
Albert Brooks – “Drive”
Nick Nolte – “Warrior”
Patton Oswalt – “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”
Andrew Serkis – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo – “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids”
Carey Mulligan – “Shame”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield – “Hugo”
Elle Fanning – “Super 8”
Thomas Horn – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Ezra Miller – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Saoirse Ronan – “Hanna”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March

BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn – “Drive”
Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
Steven Spielberg – “War Horse”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius
“50/50” – Will Reiser
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen
“Win Win” – Screenplay by Tom McCarthy, Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
“Young Adult” – Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Descendants” – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” – Eric Roth
“The Help” – Tate Taylor
“Hugo” – John Logan
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Artist” – Guillaume Schiffman
“Drive” – Newton Thomas Sigel
“Hugo” – Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” – Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” – Janusz Kaminski

BEST ART DIRECTION
“The Artist” – Production Designer: Laurence Bennett, Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” – Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo” – Production Designer: Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“The Tree of Life” – Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
“War Horse” – Production Designer: Rick Carter, Set Decorator: Lee Sandales

BEST EDITING
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion
“Drive” – Matthew Newman
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” – Thelma Schoonmaker
“War Horse” – Michael Kahn

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Artist” – Mark Bridges
“The Help” – Sharen Davis
“Hugo” – Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” – Michael O’Connor
“My Week With Marilyn” – Jill Taylor

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
My Week With Marilyn

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life

BEST SOUND
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Drive
Fast Five
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8

BEST COMEDY
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In Darkness
Le Havre
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Where Do We Go Now

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Project Nim
Undefeated

BEST SONG
“Hello Hello” – performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – Gnomeo & Juliet
“Life’s a Happy Song” – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“The Living Proof” – performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. – The Help
“Man or Muppet” – performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“Pictures in My Head” – performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman – The Muppets

BEST SCORE
“The Artist” – Ludovic Bource
“Drive” – Cliff Martinez
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
“Hugo” – Howard Shore
“War Horse” – John Williams

Cahiers du Cinéma: Finally a 2011 Top Ten List Worth Discussing

2011-12-06T00:56:00.000-08:00

As the year continues to wind down and everyday brings a new Critics Top Ten List/Awards, there some painful reminders that not all regional critics really know what the best movies are every year. I won't name names, but I think anyone who reads probably has an idea of some lists I'm referring to. I am planning doing a year end list, so I will say that I am studying these lists so that i will avoid comparisons to some of the worthless ones. However, there are still lists that don't compromise to regional, popular, or commercial standards. Case in point: Cahiers du Cinema. Yes, they're still around and they do probably think they're better than you. Yes, some of the films are blockbusters. Thankfully, many of them are not. I have to admit, there are a couple that even I haven't heard of. That just gives me some new titles for the Queue. Here they are (I tried to upload images from every film's poster art, but Blogger won't upload from my computer):

1. Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope), Nanni Moretti

2. L’Etrange affaire Angélica (The Strange Case of Angelica), Manoel de Oliveira

The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick

4. Hors Satan (Outside Satan), Bruno Dumont

Essential Killing, Jerzy Skolimowski

6. Melancholia, Lars von Trier

Un été brûlant (A Burning Hot Summer), Philippe Garrel

8. Super 8, JJ Abrams

L’Apollonide (Souvenirs de la maison close) (House of Tolerance), Bertrand Bonello

Meek’s Cutoff, Kelly Reichardt

For perspective and comparison’s sake, Cahiers’ Top Ten of 2010, after the cut.

Lung Boonmee Raluek Chat (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Werner Herzog)

Film Socialisme (Jean-Luc Godard)

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson)

A Serious Man (Ethan & Joel Coen)

Morrer Como Um Homem (Joao Pedro Rodrigues)

The Social Network (David Fincher)

Shuga (Darezhan Omirbaev)

Mother (Joon-ho Bong)

British Indie Awards & Ministry...this could get ugly...

2011-12-05T00:37:00.000-08:00

Another day, another European Film Awards show that I'm not that familiar with....this one's apparently an Indie version of yesterday's. There was no sweep like The King's Speech had last year...but Tyrannosaur came the closest. I really need to talk about that one as I HAVE seen it recently. The only award I really have a problem with is this strange Best Technical Achievement. How can you actually vote on the editing of one film compared to the cinematography or production design of another. Pure bullocks, that's how!

Here are winners:

Best British Independent Film: Tyrannosaur
Best Director: Lynne Ramsay for We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Actor: Michael Fassbender for Shame
Best Actress: Olivia Colman for Tyrannosaur
Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave for Coriolanus
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Smiley for Kill List
Best Screenplay: Richard Ayoade for Submarine
Best Achievement in Production: The Weekend
Best Foreign Film: A Separation
Best Documentary: Senna
Best Newcomer: Tom Cullen for The Weekend
Raindance Award: Leaving Baghdad
Best Debut Director: Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur
Best Short Film: Chalk

Best Technical Achievement: Maria Djurkovic for Production Design on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Special Jury Prize: Graham Easton

Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor: Ralph Fiennes

Yesterday being my brithday, I decided to take in a free movie. Yes, believe it or not, there actually are several nice theaters that actually give you a free movie on your birthday these days. I discovered that the new documentary about the bank Ministry, Fix, was playing. I knew instantly which one I had to choose (it was either that or Kevin Smith's Red State, which I'd already seen, and, as readers of this blog already knew...I loathed with a passion).

Here's a trailer (hadn't seen it before I saw the film):

I must admit, my fascination with Ministry began when I read that Stanley Kubrick wanted to use their music in A.I. when he was still alive. I guess he thought "Thieves" was really good. Of course, they did end up in the film when Spielberg directed it in the Flesh Fair scene, just as Kubrick intended. Although, they used different songs and I'm not sure if Stanley would have obliged. I imminently got some of their best albums. Their music definitely shaped my perception of industrial music and the potential of creating different music period.

Ministry at the A.I. premiere in 2001.

That being said, I really didn't know much more about Ministry until now other than that. I didn't really care that they spent so long in the 2000s creating an Anti-Bush album trilogy, then abruptly "retired" from the scene. Now, they're back and more abrasive than ever with an album due in March. But, first, let's look at their past...and wonder how on earth are they still alive? Of course, the frontman, Alien Jourgensen, has taken legal action against the film, which delayed its distribution until the case got thrown out this summer...and it's not too hard to see why...

With special guest appearances from Timothy Leery, William S. Burroughs, Trent Reznor, Maynard James Keenan, Ogre, Jonathan Davis, and so many more, Fix, only occasionally lifts above the regular claustrophobic "talking head" documentary format. I just wanted this barely coherent, unfocused, blithe, and poorly shot film to be over by the halfway mark...and what a mark it made on me. The saving grace of the film is probably what irked the singer so much and that is actual footage of this insane genius behind the scenes of his tours. He is scary, grotesque, pathetic, unfunny, a liar...and all around brilliant to behold! Of course, it is interesting to watch the band perform while a nude tour member (pun!) runs around dry humping the live musicians. It's enough to make you miss the 90s....again...(I'm not sure if that dream of the 90s is still alive in Portland)

Overall, it's a portentous, frightening, insightful, and just plain nasty look into a true creative genius/human cesspool and the realization that brilliance and the creative process ain't always pretty. But...we kind of already knew that. If you're a Ministry fan, this is a must see. If you're a recovering addict, I would consider taking your sponsor with you to maybe to coax you out of suicide. How these people are still alive and making music and Amy Winehouse is dead will forever remain a mystery, but that doesn't mean that their carnage isn't cinematically fascinating. I mean, anyone who freaks Trent Reznor out to this day and lives to be able to say he worked with Steven Spielberg on a family film 10 years later has to be pretty special, right?

Let's forget about their ugliness now and listen to some of what makes them so special in the first place...their MUSIC!

Euro Film Awards!!! Yes...they DO exist!

2011-12-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

Yay! And the awards keep coming!!! This time its for the underrated European Film Awards...so under the radar that I didn't even know that they were happening today until I read IMDB.

Guess who won Best Feature?!!!

EUROPEAN FILM 2011

THE ARTIST, France
LE GAMIN AU VELO (The Kid with a Bike), Belgium/France/Italy
HÆVNEN (In a Better World), Denmark
THE KING’S SPEECH, UK
LE HAVRE, Finland/France/Germany
* MELANCHOLIA, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany

The party for this one just isn't going to stop...until the Oscar nominations, that is...

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2011

* Susanne Bier for HÆVNEN (In a Better World)
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for LE GAMIN AU VELO (The Kid with a Bike)
Aki Kaurismäki for LE HAVRE
Béla Tarr for A TORINOI LO (The Turin Horse)
Lars von Trier for MELANCHOLIA

Totally disagree with this one. Split vote, I think. Any of the other nominees would have better.

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2011:
Kirsten Dunst in MELANCHOLIA
Cécile de France in LE GAMIN AU VELO (The Kid with a Bike)
Charlotte Gainsbourg in MELANCHOLIA
Nadezhda Markina in ELENA
* Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

Arguably agree. Really like Kirsten & Charlotte...but they aren't Tilda.

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2011:
Jean Dujardin in THE ARTIST
* Colin Firth in THE KING’S SPEECH
Mikael Persbrandt in HÆVNEN (In a Better World)
Michel Piccoli in HABEMUS PAPAM
André Wilms in LE HAVRE

No surprise here.

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2011:
* Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for LE GAMIN AU VELO (The Kid with a Bike)
Anders Thomas Jensen for HÆVNEN (In a Better World)
Aki Kaurismäki for LE HAVRE
Lars von Trier for MELANCHOLIA

Good choice.

CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2011:
* Manuel Alberto Claro for MELANCHOLIA
Fred Kelemen for A TORINOI LO (The Turin Horse)
Guillaume Schiffman for THE ARTIST
Adam Sikora for ESSENTIAL KILLING

No one may dare argue with this. It is FACT.

EUROPEAN EDITOR 2011:
* Tariq Anwar for THE KING’S SPEECH
Mathilde Bonnefoy for DREI (Three)
Molly Malene Stensgaard for MELANCHOLIA

Agree.

EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2011:
Paola Bizzarri for HABEMUS PAPAM
Antxón Gómez for LA PIEL QUE HABITO (The Skin I Live in)
* Jette Lehmann for MELANCHOLIA

Hmmm. I really liked both Melancholia and Skin I Live In for this. A real surprise here.

EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2011:
* Ludovic Bource for THE ARTIST
Alexandre Desplat for THE KING’S SPEECH
Alberto Iglesias for LA PIEL QUE HABITO (The Skin I Live in)
Mihály Vig for A TORINOI LO (The Turin Horse)

Damn. I really want to see The Artist.

BEST DOCUMENTARY:
Pina

Seeing it real soon.

BEST ANIMATED FILM:
Chico & Rita

Youtube, maybe?

Pic o' Da Day

2011-12-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

I really need to start posting more of these...but this one is a good way to kick off this NEW BLOG SERIES...

Let's just say, if this had been my high school AP Biology book, I probably would've dropped the class (not that taking AP Biology did anything for me anyway)

Golden Satellites (or the Golden Globes...Lite!) Nominations!

2011-12-02T11:10:00.000-08:00

And what exactly are the Golden Satellites, you ask? Well, according to Wikipedia, they are awards given by the International Press Academy. I'm guessing that means that they are writers who aren't good (or wealthy) enough to be in the Hollywood Foreign Press. I kind of wish they had their own award show like the Golden Globes...but, honestly, who would watch it?

It's been quite an eventful week with the New York Critics, National Board of Review and the GRAMMY nominations all being announced. Personally, I don't really give a damn about any of them...but will say that Hugo is one of the best movies of the year. I was thinking about commenting on the Grammys...but other than Skrillex getting five nominations and Daft Punk finally getting recognized for the Tron Legacy soundtrack, they pretty much sucked. Bets of luck to Adele and Foo Fighters!

Now, back to the Satellites of love...so glad to see support for Faust and The Gaurd. Why no Bennett Miller love for Best Director, though?

Motion Picture

The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Shame
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse

Director

Tomas Alfredson, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
John Michael McDonagh, The Guard
Steve McQueen, Shame
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Steven Spielberg, War Horse
Tate Taylor, The Help

Best Actress in a Motion Picture

Olivia Colman, Tyrannosaur
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Vera Farmiga, Higher Ground
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Emily Watson, Oranges and Sunshine
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Best Actor in a Motion Picture

George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Tom Hardy, Warrior
Woody Harrelson, Rampart
Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Actress in a Supporting Role

Jessica Chastain, Tree of Life
Elle Fanning, Super 8
Lisa Feret, Mozart’s Sister
Judy Greer, The Descendants
Rachel McAdams, Midnight in Paris
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Carey Mulligan, Shame
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus
Kate Winslet, Carnage

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Colin Farrell, Horrible Bosses
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Christoph Waltz, Carnage
Hugo Weaving, Oranges and Sunshine

Motion Picture, Foreign Film

Faust
Kid with a Bike
Las Acacias
Le Havre
Miss Bala
Mozart’s Sister
Mysteries of Lisbon
A Separation
13 Assassins
The Turin Horse

Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media

The Adventures of TinTin
Kung Fu Panda 2
The Muppets
Puss in Boots
Rango
Rio

Motion Picture, Documentary

American: The Bill Hicks Story
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
The Interrupters
My Perestroika
One Lucky Elephant
Pina
Project Nim
Tabloid
Senna
Under Fire: Journalists in Combat

Screenplay, Original

Tyrannosaur, Paddy Considine
Mozart’s Sister, Rene Feret
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
The Guard, John Michael McDonagh
Shame, Steve McQueen, Abi Morgan

Screenplay, Adapted

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Lost Unicorn, Steven Moffat, Joe Cornish & Edgar Wright
Albert Nobbs, Glenn Close, John Banville
The Descendants, Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
The Help, Tate Taylor
Moneyball, Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin story by Stan Chervin
War Horse, Lee Hall and Richard Curtis

Original Score

Marco Beltrami, Soul Surfer
Alexandre Desplat, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Michael Giacchino, Super 8
Cliff Martinez, Drive
James Newton Howard, Water for Elephants
John Williams, War Horse

Original Song

Bridge of Light, Pink, Alecia Moore & Billy Mann, Happy Feet 2
Gathering Stories, Jonsi, Jonsi & Cameron Crowe, We Bought a Zoo
Hello Hello, Elton John, Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Gnomeo & Juliet
Lay Your Head Down, Sinead O’Connor, Brian Byrne & Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Life is a Happy Song, Jason Segel & Amy Adams & Muppets, Bret McKenzie, The Muppets
Man or Muppet, Jason Segel & Walter, Bret McKenzie, The Muppets

Cinematography

Bruno Delbonnel, Faust
Janusz KaminskI, War Horse
Emmanuel Lubezki, Tree of Life
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Newton Thomas Sigel, Drive

Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Tim burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
Hugo – Robert Legato
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Joe Letteri, Jeff Capogreco, R. Christopher White
Super 8 – Dennis Muren, Kim Libreri, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh
Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon – Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler, John Frazier
War Horse – Ben Morris

Film Editing

Chris Gill, The Guard
Mat Newman, Drive
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Joe Walker, Shame
John Gilroy, Sean Albertson, Matt Chesse, Aaron Marshall, Warrior

Sound (Editing and Mixing)

Drive – Lon Bender, Victor Ray Ennis, Robert Fernandez, Dave Patterson
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener, James Mather
Super 8 – Mark Ulano, Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson,Tom Johnson, Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
The Tree of Life – Craig Berkey, Christopher Scarabosio, Jeremy Peirson, Erik Aadahl, John Pritchett, Kirk Francis
Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon – Peter J. Devlin, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Ethan Van Der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
War Horse – Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom johnson, Richard Hymns

Art Direction & Production Design

Anonymous, Stephan O. Gessler, Sebastian T. Krawinkel
The Artist, Gregory S. Hooper, Laurence Bennett
Faust, Yelena Zhukova, Jiri Trier
Hugo, Dante Ferretti, Francesca lo Schiavo
Mysteries of Lisbon, Isabel Branco
Water for Elephants, Jack Fisk

Costume Design

Isabel Branco, Mysteries of Lisbon
Mark Bridges, The Artist
Lisy Christl, Anonymous
Lidiya Kryukova, Faust
Michael O’Connor, Jane Eyre
Jacqueline West, Water for Elephants

Best Ensemble, Motion Picture

The Help

Best First Feature

Tyrannosaur, Paddy Considine

Now, let's listen to some Skrillex...and Adele!

Now, some more Skillrex

Sundance Line-Up & GRAMMY nominations...OH MY!

2011-11-30T15:44:00.000-08:00

Yay! They have released the films that will play at Sundance. Looks like some good ones will be there. Wish I could go, but have decided to drive to Tucson on the 26th of January for a one night screening at The Loft. Don't know which one it will be yet...

Anyway, here are the picks...I'm sure something will change between now and then...

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

The world premieres of 16 American narrative feature films.

Beasts of the Southern Wild / U.S.A. (Director: Benh Zeitlin, Screenwriters: Benh Zeitlin, Lucy Alibar) — Waters gonna rise up, wild animals gonna rerun from the grave, and everything south of the levee is goin’ under, in this tale of a six year old named Hushpuppy, who lives with her daddy at the edge of the world. Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry.

The Comedy / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Robert Donne, Colm O'Leary) — Indifferent even to the prospects of inheriting his father's estate, Swanson whiles away his days with a group of aging Brooklyn hipsters, engaging in small acts of recreational cruelty and pacified boredom. Cast: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Kate Lyn Sheil, Alexia Rassmusen, Gregg Turkington.

The End of Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Mark Webber) — A young father unravels following the loss of the mother of his child. Cast: Mark Webber, Shannyn Sossamon, Michael Cera, Jason Ritter, Amanda Seyfried, Frankie Shaw.

Filly Brown / U.S.A. (Directors: Youssef Delara, Michael D. Olmos, Screenwriter: Youssef Delara) — A Hip Hop-driven drama about a Mexican girl who rises to fame and consciousness as she copes with the incarceration of her mother through music.Cast: Lou Diamond Phillips, Gina Rodriguez, Jenni Rivera, Edward James Olmos.

The First Time / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jonathan Kasdan) — Two high schoolers meet at a party. Over the course of a weekend, things turn magical, romantic, complicated and funny, as they discover what it's like to fall in love for the first time. Cast: Brittany Robertson, Dylan O'Brien, Craig Roberts, James Frecheville, Victoria Justice.

For Ellen / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: So Yong Kim) — A struggling musician takes an overnight long-distance drive in order to fight his estranged wife for custody of their young daughter. Cast: Paul Dano, Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Margarita Levieva, Shay Mandigo.

Hello I Must Be Going / U.S.A. (Director: Todd Louiso, Screenwriter: Sarah Koskoff) — Divorced, childless, demoralized and condemned to move back in with her parents at the age of 35, Amy Minsky's prospects look bleak – until the unexpected attention of a teenage boy changes everything. Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Blythe Danner, Christopher Abbott, John Rubinstein, Julie White. DAY ONE FILM

Keep the Lights On / U.S.A. (Director: Ira Sachs, Screenwriters: Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias) —An autobiographically inspired story of a passionate long-term relationship between two men driven by addiction and secrets but bound by love and hopefulness. Cast: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane, Paprika Steen.

LUV / U.S.A. (Director: Sheldon Candis, Screenwriters: Sheldon Candis, Justin Wilson) — An orphaned 11-year-old boy is forced to face the unpleasant truth about his beloved uncle during one harrowing day in the streets of Baltimore. Cast: Common, Michael Rainey Jr., Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton.

Middle Of Nowhere / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ava DuVernay) — When her husband is incarcerated, an African-American woman struggles to maintain her marriage and her identity. Cast: Emayatzy Corinealdi, David Oyelowo, Omari Hardwick, Lorraine Touissant, Edwina Findley.

Nobody Walks / U.S.A. (Director: Ry Russo-Young, Screenwriters: Lena Dunham, Ry Russo-Young) — Martine, a young artist from New York, is invited into the home of a hip, liberal LA family for a week. Her presence unravels the family’s carefully maintained status quo, and a mess of sexual and emotional entanglements ensues. Cast: John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Rosemarie DeWitt, India Ennenga, Justin Kirk.

Safety Not Guaranteed / U.S.A. (Director: Colin Trevorrow, Screenwriter: Derek Connolly) — A trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad seeking a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and seeks to discover what he’s really up to. Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karen Soni.

Save the Date / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Mohan, Screenwriters: Jeffrey Brown, Egan Reich, Michael Mohan) — As her sister Beth prepares to get married, Sarah finds herself caught up in an intense post-breakup rebound. The two fumble through the redefined emotional landscape of modern day relationships, forced to relearn how to love and be loved. Cast: Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Martin Starr, Geoffrey Arend, Mark Webber.

Simon Killer / France, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Antonio Campos) — A recent college graduate goes to Paris after breaking up with his girlfriend of 5 years. Once there, he falls in love with a young prostitute and their fateful journey begins. Cast: Brady Corbet, Mati Diop, Constance Rousseau, Michael Abiteboul, Solo.

Smashed / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Susan Burke, James Ponsoldt) — Kate and Charlie are a young married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of music, laughter and... drinking. When Kate decides to get sober, her new lifestyle brings troubling issues to the surface and calls into question her relationship with Charlie.Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally.

The Surrogate / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ben Lewin) — Mark O'Brien, a 36-year-old poet and journalist with an iron lung, decides he no longer wishes to be a virgin. With the help of his therapist and the guidance of his priest, he contacts a professional sex surrogate to take him on a journey to manhood. Cast: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy.

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry / U.S.A., China (Director: Alison Klayman) — Renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations and increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government.

The Atomic States of America / U.S.A. (Directors: Don Argott, Sheena M. Joyce) — In 2010, the United States announced construction of the first new nuclear power plant in more than 32 years. A year later, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Fukushima Power Plant in Japan sparking a fierce debate in the U.S. over the safety and viability of nuclear power.

Chasing Ice / U.S.A. (Director: Jeff Orlowski) — Science, spectacle and human passion mix in this stunningly cinematic portrait as National Geographic photographer James Balog captures time-lapse photography of glaciers over several years providing tangible visual evidence of climate change.

DETROPIA /U.S.A. (Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady) — The woes of Detroit are emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base. This is the dramatic story of a city and its people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.

ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare / U.S.A. (Directors: Matthew Heineman, Susan Froemke) — What can be done to save our broken medical system? Powerful forces are trying to maintain the status quo in a profit-driven medical industry, but a movement to bring innovative methods of prevention and healing is finally gaining ground – potentially saving the health of a nation.

Finding North /U.S.A. (Directors: Lori Silverbush, Kristi Jacobson) — A crisis of hunger looms in America and is not limited to the poverty stricken and uneducated. Can a return to policies of the 1970s save our future?

The House I Live In / U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Jarecki) — For over 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet, drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong and what is the path toward healing?

How to Survive a Plague / U.S.A. (Director: David France) — The untold story of the intensive efforts that turned AIDS into a manageable condition – and the improbable group of (mostly HIV-positive) young men and women whose amazing resilience broke through a time of rampant death and political indifference.

The Invisible War / U.S.A. (Director: Kirby Dick) — An investigative and powerfully emotional examination of the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the U.S. military, the institutions that cover up its existence and the profound personal and social consequences that arise from it.

Marina Abramović The Artist is Present / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Akers) — Marina Abramović prepares for a major retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York hoping to finally silence four decades of skeptics who proclaim: 'But why is this art?'

ME at the ZOO / U.S.A. (Directors: Chris Moukarbel, Valerie Veatch) — With 270 million hits to date, Chris Crocker, an uncanny young video blogger from small town Tennessee, is considered the Internet's first rebel folk hero and at the same time one of its most controversial personalities.

The Other Dream Team / Lithuania, U.S.A. (Director: Marius Markevicius) — The 1992 Lithuanian National Basketball Team went from the clutches of Communism to the Summer Olympics in Barcelona – a testament to the powerful role of sports as a catalyst for cultural identity.

The Queen of Versailles / U.S.A. (Director: Lauren Greenfield) — Jackie and David were triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America – a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot palace inspired by Versailles – when their timeshare empire collapses and their house is foreclosed. Their rags-to-riches-to-rags story reveals the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. DAY ONE FILM

Slavery By Another Name / U.S.A. (Director: Sam Pollard) — As slavery came to an end with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, a new system of involuntary servitude took its place with shocking force, brutalizing, terrorizing and ultimately circumscribing the lives of hundreds of thousands of African Americans well into the 20th century.

Love Free or Die: How the Bishop of New Hampshire is Changing the World / U.S.A. (Director: Macky Alston) — One man whose two defining passions are in conflict: An openly gay bishop refuses to leave the Church or the man he loves.

We're Not Broke / U.S.A. (Directors: Karin Hayes, Victoria Bruce) — As American lawmakers slash budgets and lay off employees, leaving many people scrambling to survive, multibillion-dollar corporations are concealing colossal profits overseas to avoid paying U.S. income tax. Fed-up Americans are taking their frustration to the streets.

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Fourteen films from emerging filmmaking talents offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.

4 Suns / Czech Republic (Director and screenwriter: Bohdan Sláma) — Immature Fogi attempts to straighten up and accept his responsibilities as a new husband and father, as well as role model to his troubled son from a previous relationship, but finds himself unable to change his nature, leaving him to watch haplessly as his family begins to crumble. Cast:Jaroslav Plesl, Aňa Geislerová, Karel Roden, Jiří Mádl, Klára Melíšková. World Premiere

About the Pink Sky / Japan (Director and screenwriter: Keiichi Kobayashi) — A high school girl finds a wallet full of money and tracks down its owner, leading to unexpected consequences for the girl and her friends. Cast: Ai Ikeda, Ena Koshino, Reiko Fujiwara, Tsubasa Takayama, Hakusyu Togetsuan. International Premiere

Can / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Rasit Celikezer) — A young married couple live happily in Istanbul, but their decision to illegally procure a child threatens their future together. Cast: Selen Ucer, Serdar Orcin, Berkan Demirbag, Erkan Avci. World Premiere

Father's Chair (A Cadeira do Pai) / Brazil (Director: Luciano Moura, Screenwriters: Elena Soarez, Luciano Moura) — Following the trail of his runaway teen son, Theo confronts his own identity as a son, a father and a man along the way. Cast: Wagner Moura, Lima Duarte, Mariana Lima. World Premiere

L / Greece (Director: Babis Makridis, Screenwriters: Efthymis Filippou, Babis Makridis) — A man who lives in his car gets caught up in the undeclared war between motorcycle riders and car drivers. Cast: Aris Servetalis, Makis Papadimitriou, Lefteris Mathaios, Nota Tserniafski, Stavros Raptis. World Premiere

The Last Elvis (El Ultimo Elvis) / Argentina (Director: Armando Bo, Screenwriters: Nicolás Giacobone and Armando Bo) — A Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator who believes that he is the reincarnation of the King struggles to shake free from reality and live his musical dream.Cast: John McInerny, Griselda Siciliani, Margarita Lopez. World Premiere

Madrid, 1987 / Spain (Director and screenwriter: David Trueba) — The balance of power and desire constantly shifts during the meeting of an older journalist and a young student, of two generations completely foreign to one another. Cast: José Sacristán, María Valverde, Ramon Fontserè. International Premiere

My Brother the Devil / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Sally El Hosaini) — A pair of British Arab brothers trying to get by in gangland London learn the extraordinary courage it takes to be yourself. Cast: James Floyd, Saïd Taghmaoui, Fady Elsayed. World Premiere

Teddy Bear / Denmark (Director: Mads Matthiesen, Screenwriters: Mads Matthiesen, Martin Pieter Zandvliet) — Dennis, a painfully shy 38-year-old bodybuilder who lives with his mother, sets off to Thailand in search of love. Cast: Kim Kold, Elsebeth Steentoft, Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard, David Winters, Allan Mogensen. World Premiere

Valley of Saints / India, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Musa Syeed) — Gulzar plans to run away from the war and poverty surrounding his village in Kashmir with his best friend, but a beautiful young woman researching the dying lake leads him to contemplate a different future Cast: Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, Mohammed Afzal Sofi, Neelofar Hamid. World Premiere

Violeta Went to Heaven (Violeta se Fue a Los Cielos) / Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Spain (Director: Andrés Wood, Screenwriters: Eliseo Altunaga, Rodrigo Bazaes, Guillermo Calderón, Andrés Wood) — A portrait of famed Chilean singer and folklorist Violeta Parra filled with her musical work, her memories, her loves and her hopes. Cast: Francisca Gavilán, Thomas Durand, Luis Machín, Gabriela Aguilera, Roberto Farías. International Premiere

Wish You Were Here / Australia (Director: Kieran Darcy-Smith, Screenwriters: Felicity Price, Kieran Darcy-Smith) — Four friends embark on a carefree holiday, but only three return home. Who knows what happened on that fateful night? Cast: Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer, Felicity Price, Antony Starr. World Premiere. DAY ONE FILM

WRONG / France (Director and screenwriter: Quentin Dupieux) — Dolph searches for his lost dog, but through encounters with a nympho pizza-delivery girl, a jogging neighbor seeking the absolute, and a mysterious righter of wrongs, he may eventually lose his mind... and his identity. Cast: Jack Plotnick, Eric Judor, Alexis Dziena, Steve Little, William Fichtner. World Premiere

Young & Wild / Chile (Director: Marialy Rivas, Screenwriters: Marialy Rivas, Camila Gutiérrez, Pedro Peirano) — 17-year-old Daniela, raised in the bosom of a strict Evangelical family and recently unmasked as a fornicator by her shocked parents, struggles to find her own path to spiritual harmony. Cast: Alicia Rodríguez, Aline Kuppenheim, María Gracia Omegna, Felipe Pinto. World Premiere

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmakers working today.

½ REVOLUTION / Denmark (Directors: Omar Shargawi, Karim El Hakim) — In January 2011, two filmmakers captured the reality of the Egyptian revolution as it occurred out of view from the world's media in the alleyways and streets away from the square – and in the process were arrested by the secret police. North American Premiere

5 Broken Cameras / Palestine, Israel, France (Directors: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi) — A Palestinian journalist chronicles his village’s resistance to a separation barrier being erected on their land and in the process captures his young son’s lens on the world. International Premiere

THE AMBASSADOR / Denmark (Director: Mads Brügger) — What happens when a very white European man buys his way into being a diplomat in one of Central Africa's most failed nations? Welcome to the bizarre and hidden world of African diplomacy, where gin and tonics flow and diamond hustlers and corrupt politicians run free. North American Premiere

BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!* / Sweden (Director: Fredrik Gertten) — The behind-the-scenes story of a full-scale attack on freedom of speech. When Dole set its sights on the WG Film production Bananas!* in May 2009, confusion was the method, aggression was the tactic and media control was the story. North American Premiere

China Heavyweight / Canada, China (Director: Yung Chang) — In central China, where a coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions, the top students face dramatic choices as they graduate – should they fight for the collective good or for themselves? A metaphor for the choices everyone in the New China faces now. World Premiere

Gypsy Davy / Israel, U.S.A., Spain (Director: Rachel Leah Jones) — How does a white boy with Alabama roots become a Flamenco guitarist in Andalusian boots? A tale of self-invention and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of the cost to others. International Premiere

The Imposter / United Kingdom (Director: Bart Layton) — In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappears from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three and a half years later he is found alive thousands of miles away in Spain with a shocking story of kidnap and torture. But all is not what it seems in this tale that is truly stranger than fiction. World Premiere

Indie Game: The Movie / Canada (Directors: Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky) — Follow the dramatic journeys of indie game developers as they create games and release those works, and themselves, to the world. World Premiere

The Law in These Parts / Israel (Director: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz) — Israel's 43-year military legal system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories unfolds through provocative interviews with the system’s architects and historical footage showing the enactment of these laws upon the Palestinian population. International Premiere

Payback / Canada (Director: Jennifer Baichwal) — Based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling book, Payback explores how debt is a central organizing principle in our lives – influencing relationships, societies, governing structures and the very fate of this planet.World Premiere

Putin's Kiss / Denmark (Director: Lise Birk Pedersen) — 19-year-old Marsha is a model spokesperson in a strongly nationalistic Russian youth movement that aims to protect the country from its enemies. When she starts recognizing the organization’s flaws, she must take a stand for or against it. North American Premiere

Searching for Sugar Man / Denmark, United Kingdom (Director: Malik Bendjelloul) — Rodriguez was the greatest ‘70s US rock icon who never was. Hailed as the greatest recording artist of his generation he disappeared into oblivion – rising again from the ashes in a completely different context many miles away. World Premiere. DAY ONE FILM

2011-11-30T01:41:00.000-08:00

For the first time since I started this blog, a major awards show has announced its nominees. Of course, I happen to be a card carrying member of Film Independent, so I get to vote in them, so I take a personal interest in what exactly gets nominated.

Here are 2011's nominees:

Best Feature

The Artist

Beginners

The Descendants

Drive

50/50

Take Shelter

Until I see The Artist, I'm not saying anything about it.

Best Female Lead

Lauren Ambrose, Think of Me

Rachael Harris, Natural Selection

Adepero Oduye, Pariah

Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Big Shockers here, but so glad this will not mirror the Oscars' picks like last year. Michelle or Elizabeth? Hmmmm.....

Best Male Lead

Demián Bichir, A Better Life

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Ryan Gosling, Drive

Woody Harrelson, Rampart

Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

I must say it's nice to see Ryan and Michelle come back after they snubbed Blue Valentine last year. Super happy Demian Bichir got nominated. Need to see Rampart still.

Best Supporting Female

Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter

Anjelica Huston, 50/50

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road

Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Janet McTeer but not Glenn Close....hmmmmm Need to see Gun Hill Road.

Best Supporting Male

Albert Brooks, Drive

John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

John C. Reilly, Cedar Rapids

Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris

John C. Reilly?! For Cedar Rapids?! That's all I'm saying now.

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Mike Mills, Beginners

Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

No surprises here. Wish I could see The Artist....right now...

Best Screenplay

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Mike Mills, Beginners

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants

Joseph Cedar, Footnote

Tom McCarthy, Win Win

Want to see Footnote. Kudos on nominating a foreign film for this.

Best First Screenplay

Mike Cahill & Brit Marling, Another Earth

Phil Johnston, Cedar Rapids

Will Reiser, 50/50

J.C. Chandor, Margin Call

Patrick deWitt, Terri

Tough call here. Surprised at the inclusion of comedy. Gotta think about this one for a while.

Best First Feature

Another Earth

In the Family

Margin Call

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Natural Selection

Must see Natural Selection and In the Family, but will probably vote for Martha Marcy May Marlene either way...

John Cassavetes Award (for features under $500,000)

Bellflower

Circumstance

The Dynamiter

Hello Lonesome

Pariah

Don't even start with me on this one. Guessing Pariah, but haven't seen almost any of these.

Best Documentary

An African Election

Bill Cunningham New York

The Interrupters

The Redemption of General Butt Naked

We Were Here

Haven't seen any of them. Shame on me.

Best Cinematography

The Artist

Bellflower

The Dynamiter

Midnight in Paris

The Off Hours

Need to see more. Bellflower was pretty, though...

Best International Film

The Kid With A Bike

Melancholia

A Separation

Shame

Tyrannosaur

Probably my favorite category this year. Too tough to call right now.

Robert Altman Award (for ensemble cast): Margin Call

You just can't go wrong with Jeremy Irons and Kevin Spacey...just can't...

Piaget Producers Award

Chad Burris, Mosquita y Mari

Sophia Lin, Take Shelter

Josh Mond, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Glad I don't have to vote in this.

I'm hoping to be in Santa Monica this late February...about the 26th or so..

Post Thanxgiving Film Feast Time! Gobble Gobble!

2011-11-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

Alright. It's been a crazy few weeks. I've really needed to write this for a while now and have been delaying it. It's THAT time of the year. When there are more movies being released than we really need, all acting like they aren't begging for awards recognition. The difference this year is that any of them are actually worthy of it. Please note, I'm only covering indie films on this blog, so i will not be discussing the heavy hilarity of J. Edgar, the joy of watching Hugo or The Descendants, or even the torture of watching Breaking Dawn Part One. Let's get to it.

Pedro Alodovar's new film The Skin I Live In is not one of his best, but it is just as intoxicating and memorable as you might expect, with some truly dangerous twists along the way I did not see coming. It was funny seeing this film after sampling the recent Blu-Ray release of The Last House on the Left, b/c this is basically Senior Almodovar's version of it. Antonio is very creepy as a mad scientist. But Elena Anaya steals the show with her sexy and brave performance. I wish I could say more...but this is a film that you really can't describe without giving SOMETHING away that kind of spoils the whole thing. Suffice to say, despite being someone who's familiar with Pedro's work, I really had no idea what I was getting into with this film...in the best possible way. See it in a theater if you can. Whatever you may think of the story's twists and turns, the art direction does not disappoint.

Sundance 2011's big winner was Like Crazy, a well-intentioned, improvised mumblecore drama. I have to say it's also one of the year's biggest disappointments, despite winning performances from Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin. The romance never really goes beyond the infatuation stage. It becomes obvious from the start that this relationship probably wasn't a good idea from the start..but the journey is imperative to go through. As much as I bought into the actors' commitment to their roles, the cinematography is not as edgy as it could be and the direction is kind of a joke and contains some of the silliest time lapse shots I've ever seen in any film. If this is the next generation of romantic films, count me out. Nice ending, however...

I think these reviewers say it better than me:

...to go away...

One of the best surprises of attending this year's Loft Film Festival in Tucson, Arizona was seeing Lynne Ramsey's beautiful comeback film, We Need to Talk About Kevin in the wake of Gabriel Giffords. I personally skipped this film at the Scottsdale Film Festival last month b/c I've been hearing some negative things about it. I really wish I hadn't. Other than Melancholia, no film this year has caused such emotional devastation inside of me. Some have compared this film to a Stephan King story, and I kind of disagree with that. Though Ezra Miller's performance as Kevin isn't always as balanced as it could be, it is clear from the start that this "monster" is only getting back at his mother for not loving him like she should've. Tilda Swinton tops herself yet again as the selfish mother and John C. Reilly amuses as her clueless husband. The art direction and editing is astonishing. I haven't read the original novel, but even the author has stated that the adaptation is brilliant. I really cannot say enough nice things about this dark work. Some call it a horror film, others will say it's a tragic melodrama. I might call it one of the year's best mysteries.

I don't feel I see enough animated films. I certainly don't feel I see enough foreign animated films. Seeing France's A Cat in Paris at the Loft Film Festival changed that. This tale of a house cat/cat burglar is hand drawn and contains references to both Goodfellas and Reservoir Dogs. It also contains a classic jazz soundtrack. If you need anymore reasons to see this film when it is released in the states, I don't think I can help you anymore. Just go see it!

Here's a doozy...or maybe it isn't. Roman Polanski returns from house arrest to make a stunning (and short!) adaptation of Yazmina Reza's Tony-winning God of Carnage about...four horrible people with arrested development who all seem to be under their own house arrest. Gorgeous cinematography and tact editing aside, it's the performances that sell this work. All of the actors are incredible in their own ways. Christoph Waltz delivers an Oscar worthy interpretation as a tool that reminds one why he's a deserving Oscar winner...and deserves a nomination for this one! Kate Winslet is great and reliable as always as a total tightwad. John C. Reilly is...well. John C. Reilly doing a James Gandofini impersonation...but a really decent one. Jodie Foster is the wild card here. Many have cried that she is miscast, but I disagree. This is a performance that can only work in film. Her character, Penelope, is so shrill and theatrical, it's hard to imagine any good actress not winning a Tony for it (as Marcia Gay harden did). Film is a different beast. The character had to be completely re-imagined for a different medium. It's no wonder they had to rename the character from the stage's Veronica. Jodie's not a great stage actress. She's much too natural. It kind of shows here. I must commend Jodie on not being afraid to look seriously attractive and sound almost beastly at times. Her unhinged movements and scowls come from a deep place. A place most would say looks ugly and too theatrical. I must say that I could imagine this character being portrayed in a subtle way, esp. in a comedy. Jodie really seems to become this character, and turn off the audience at the same time. I don't see that as a bad thing, really...esp. since this is a film where the turning point is Kate Winslet projectile vomiting over art history books.

At once telling and slight, one can only hope this film doesn't end Mr. Polanski's incredible career, but it really doesn't enhance anything either.

Young Adult

Le Havre

A Dangerous Method

My Week With Maril

Another one of the year's nice surprises (nice being used loosely) is Jason Reitman's new film, "Young Adult." It is written by Diablo Cody, who won the Original Screenplay Oscar for Juno (which Jason also directed). Thankfully, this film is no Juno, and I mean that in the best possible way. Charlize Theron deserves her third Oscar nomination (but probably won't get it) for playing Mavis, an entitled bitch YA ghostwriter who decides to crawl back to her shithole small town to steal The One Who Got Away (or did he?) now that he is a married husband and new father. Along the way, Mavis loses her pride and totally humiliates herself in a way that can only be described as "Oscar bait." Patton Oswalt gives his finest performance yet as the victim of a supposed hate crime who helps Mavis along the way...and tries to convince the audience that someone as damaged as Mavis would ever have anything to do with him. If you're looking for Juno Part 2, please look elsewhere. This is Diablo at her most Todd Solondz (and even outdoes him most of the time). I will admit there was one attempt at giving Mavis a soul that I took as kind of a cop out. However, that does not detract from Charlize's great performance. This is a film that isn't getting a lot of buzz and hasn't been shown much, for good reason (I got lucky with an advanced screening a month before it is released in my area). Fell good...it ain't! I see it as this year's version of Jackie Brown. I highly urge everyone to put away their expectations and see it when it comes out. It's more than the coal in your stocking most will see it as!

Here's Jason from two years ago. I feel he's really hitting his true stride now. There's more on my channel if you're interested.

Another great one. Aki Kaurismäki's new film Le Havre is one of his best. It concerns an immigrant from Africa and a shoe shiner in Le Havre who takes him in once he arrives in the port city illegally. Some have said this Cannes critics prize winner film trivializes illegal immigration, and I really don't disagree. However, isn't it about time someone did. Not too many Americans get away with it, why can't Aki? The film's dry humor and dramatic pauses is infectious! Great performances by all! And it's always nice to see Jean-Pierre Léaud in anything.

More Oscar bait. My Week With Marilyn is basically a TV sitcom pilot expanded to feature length historical dramedy. As great Michelle Williams, Kenneth Brannagh, Judi Dench, Eddie Redmayne, and Julia Ormond are (notice I don't mention Emma Watson), the film doesn't really work on its own. Anyone who doesn't know how much of an enigmatic flake Marilyn Monroe was at this point probably doesn't deserve to be watching this. This doesn't say anything that a real TV movie, Norma Jean and Marilyn, didn't back in the 90s on HBO. I will say that this film is beautifully photographed and Michelle Williams proves she deserves to win a sympathy Oscar someday if she doesn't get it for this film (this year is just too competitive with Meryl Streep and Glenn Close for her to be a total lock). It also made me want to see The Prince and the Showgirl, but I'll probably just stick with All About Eve, The Misfits, and Some Like It Hot.

See it for Michelle alone.

This is an example of when Oscar bait doesn't work out. Johnny Depp plays a another version of Hunter S. Thompson, this time named Paul Kemp. This film works as an origin story...of sorts. Paul Kemp is in Puerto Rico working as a journalist, searching for his own voice. The first half is rather funny and true to the source novel. Suddenly, voice over narration is employed and the narrative becomes muddled and confusing. Withnail & I this is not.

It's really too bad b/c Johnny is great as usual as only Johnny can be as Hunter S Thompson and doesn't wear as much make-up or eye liner as we are so used to seeing him now. Enjoy it while it lasts, even if the film is a bit of a dud.

This final film on this little feast needs no introduction. The great great great great great David Cronenberg (have I mentioned that he's great?) returns after a four year absence to filmmaking with his adaptation of Christopher Hampton's great play The Talking Cure and John Kerr's book A Most Dangerous Method, now called A Dangerous Method. It is about no less than the birth of psychoanalysis.

The equally great Viggo Mortensen hams it up a bit as Dr. Sigmund Freud, hot thang Michael Fassbender is amazing as Dr. Carl Jung and Keira Knightly surprises as Sabina, a Russian patient suffering from Daddy issues and needing a good spanking.

Vincent Cassel also shows up as Otto Gross, a patient who teaches Dr. Jung a thing or two about repression that will shape his views later on in his brilliant career. Just about everything about this film is exceptional...yet everyone feels it's missing something...it is too talky...it is too theatrical for it own good (much like Carnage). I must say that it's the inflated expectations that really sink this skip. Much like M. Butterfly, DC seems to think that period detail and great acting will lead the way. And, for the most part, it does. But it does lack that special spark that DC's films usually have. Though it's never boring, it feels a tad anonymous and only slightly subversive. Only pregnancy tells the passing of time. I think that this story only really works on the stage. It is worth telling and re-telling (if it isn't...what is?!) I would like to say that the film needs a spanking. But spanking really only goes so far these days, doesn't it?

You have to love DC's press interviews. He's funnier than Lars von Trier and only makes his films more watchable the more he speaks. Maybe he should have cast himself as himself relaying the story with the dramatic scenes sandwiched through. It wouldn't have been dull, that's for sure. This film only really makes one pine for his next film, the adaptation of Cosmopolis with Robert Pattinson next year. With any luck, DC will become the new Woody Allen...only less neurotic.

Oh and as a bonus, I just saw Kevin Smith's Red State on DVD. Let's just say, the less said about this film, the better. I don't care if it won Best Picture and Best Actor at Stiges! Though Michael Parks, Melissa Leo and John Goodman were all great...but we knew that already....Of course, Kevin Smith is always better in person than his films are. Here's proof!

Revenge of the Former Child Starlets: "Melancholia" & "Martha Marcy May Marlene"

2011-11-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

As if to say to the world that not all successful female child actors grow up to be Lindsay Lohan, two of this year's best films are also two of its best acted films. Per the usual, they will be regulated to art houses and given many awards that not many will care about, but will elevate their leading ladies to an upper echelon of international fame and success that most would never have predicted for either of them just a year ago.

However, it must be said that their rather sad initial audience response is not as bad as it sounds.

I start first with my rather delayed reaction to Lars von Trier's Melancholia. After reacting rather harshly to his press comments in Cannes, he was declared Senior Persona non Grata by the head of the festival and might never be in competition in Cannes and will probably never give another interview again after being interrogated by Danish police. Surprisingly, it's really our loss.

One can only imagine what it must have been like to have experienced the world premiere of Tree of Life, then seeing this doozy the next day. If I ran a drive-in theater, I would have those two playing in a double feature (but then, the audience might have trouble seeing the picture since the outer space shots are so darn dark).

As many already know, this delightful contemplation on marriage, depression, family, sisterhood, understanding, and the end of planet Earth reunites Mr. Trier with his not-so-suffering collaborator Charlotte Gainsbourg. Yes, after chewing up and spitting out Emily Watson, Nicole Kidman, Bjork, and Bryce Dallas Howard, Mr. Trier has finally found a female actor who can actually put up with him. That's not really the biggest thing about this stupendous film, though. In a role originally meant for Penelope Cruz, Kirsten Dunst steps up to the plate and blows away and silly notions that she was going to fade away now that she's done with Spiderman films.

In true Trier fashion, Miss Dunst won Best Actress at Cannes, got nominated at the European film awards (along with Charlotte) and will probably be ignored by the Oscars.

Her performance as the depressed but resilient Justine not only tops anything she's ever done (except maybe for Interview with the Vampire), but also might be the bet performance Mr. Trier has ever directed thus far. Her character is surprisingly masculine (as if he wrote it with a male actor in mind, but then just decided to make it female b/c almost all of his films are about female characters) yet she possesses a feminine understanding and empathy of her own. Charlotte is wonderful as a character who seems at first to be the opposite of her Antichrist character, but eventually reveals her own anxiety-ridden nature when things turn unavoidably bad. The two ladies don't appear to share any resembling DNA or even regional accent, but have a sisterly chemistry and deep respect and admiration for each other that only comes from the best of actresses. Kiefer Sutherland is vividly wonderful as a dubious astrologist/hotel owner. John Hurt, Charlotte Rampling, Udo Kier, Stellan Skarsgard, and Brady Corbett also show up in fun cameos as stand-ins to Trier's pessimistic views on...well...everything. There's also Stellan's son, Alexander, playing a total douchebag who conveniently disappears along with most of the cast at the halfway point.

Much has been made of the film's Wagner-tinged prologue...and it deserves every remark it gets. If only Tarkovsky could have used today's technology to make something as intoxicating as this. It is the best music video of the year (maybe decade if things keep up the way they are) and a primer of how to effectively use slow motion. It amazes me everytime I watch the film how the fact that it literally goes through the entire story (unlike Antichrist's similar prologue) does not dilute the rest of the film in anyway (at least to me). It was too visually stunning and mind-boggingly translucent to me to really give anything away. I'll never be able to think of Tristan and Isolde in the same way again.

Once the actual film gets started, we are treated to two halves of a great film that only deepen and enrichen the prologue. The first is all about how Justine's depression manifests itself in disastrous, but oh-so amusing ways that completely destroy her life at her "wedding" ceremony where Mr. Trier tries to out do both Thomas Vinterburg and Robert Altman for supreme matrimony absurdity. Much Bretchian dialogue and unintentional hilarity ensues.

The second half concerns Charlotte and Kiefer's characters much more as they deal with the aftermath of Justine's psychosexual BS and, before you can say, Planet Shmamet, Janet!, gradually prepare for the end of life on earth b/c (wouldn't you know it), a giant blue rogue planet called Melancholia has come out of nowhere (much like Justine's mood swings) and is revealed to be on a graceful collision course with earth. For an end of days movie, this is refreshingly sparse and intimate. No looting. No crowds. No Bruce Willis space mission. Nothing. Just two sisters, a lovely horse, and a boy in a giant hotel with a gorgeous golf course and some branches. Much has been made how the giant blue planet is a metaphor for Justine's depression manifesting out of nowhere, but she only grows stronger as the end gets closer while all of her rational family members lose their nerve. I think it would be the exact opposite if it was her depression causing this end. Maybe the planet is really Jesus, Angelina Jolie, or maybe the Easter Bunny. Depression may wreck your life, but it's never the end of the world. I hate to compare this film to something like Titanic, but this is the closest Mr. Trier will probably get to a James Cameron film. It's also the best science fiction film to come from any country in ages (screw you, Another Earth!). The last minute of the film alone needs to be seen in IMAX. So, naturally, this film is premiering on VOD (though will be in a handful of art theaters for about a few hours). However, Mr. Cameron's films will probably never feature something like this:

Justine knows the end is coming. She did not cause it. No Nazis did. No mad scientists did. No one person did. It's just the way things are. How life is meant to be. Life on earth is vicious and deserves its end. If only the dinosaurs had had it that easy.

There's not much more can be said about this emotionally stirring science fiction film that hasn't already been said. Mr. Trier seems to dislike its beauty... comparing it to a Disney film. Strangely enough, that's exactly what it feels like...in the best possible way. Mr. Trier strings together storylines, music cues, themes, and characters that should never be put together and have no right to work on any level, yet every actor and crew worker rises to the challenge and the result is an unforgettable cinematic experience that is not only a clever rebutle to any art film Brad Pitt feels like making, but Mr. Trier's most mature and accessible film....maybe ever... This is strangely, not a bad thing...nope...not a bad thing at all. I have watched this film five times now and I just want to watch it again and again (probably the only time this year I've had that urge). It delivers more laughs, emotional gut punches, dramatic irony, and insights into humanity than I thought Mr. Trier was ever capable of. We can only hope Mr. Trier's next sex-driven film, Nymphomaniac, will be as tolerable. It may be the end of the world as we know...but this film makes me feel fine about that.

Can't wait for the Criterion Blu-ray!

One of this year's best Sundance surprises comes in the form of Elizabeth Olsen. Many have known her before for her acclaimed supporting work as Girl in Car in her twin sisters' mid 90s TV movie masterpiece, How the West Was Fun. Thankfully, she's somehow moved on from that landmark to the Best Director winning Martha Marcy May Marlene (referred to now as MMMM). Unlike Melancholia, this film will actually be distributed to theaters with a decent distributor, will be seen by art film fans this year and will win American film awards (maybe even something besides Independent Spirit Awards). Before you can accuse the film of blantant nepotism, corporate brown nosing, and riding the coattails of Winter's Bone (and you'd be right), please realize that this is one of the few indies this year that actually deserves the attention.

I have to say that I was lucky enough to meet Sean Durkin and Elizabeth Olsen at a special screening of MMMM at Camelview last August and was surprised at their civility and (relative) lack of pretension. Mr. Durin is clearly a workhorse with serious aspirations and ambition with style and grace to back it up with. Miss Olsen came off as refreshingly...dare I say it....normal. However, she is clearly anything but.

Miss Olsen plays Martha, an innocent East Coast girl who joins a cult for really ambiguous reasons. While she is in the cult, she is emotionally, psychologically and sexually abused (do cults do anything else?). She par takes in robbing and murdering random neighbors. Eventually, she comes to her senses and escapes the cult through a forest, but will the cult ever really leave her?

Thus, the paranoia begins. Thankfully, Martha is able to call upon her sister, Lucy, to help bail her out. She is then taken to Lucy's picture perfect cabin in Connecticut. This is where things get interesting. Lucy is married to Ted, a successful European douchebag. Martha begins to have serious flashbacks since apparently everything in a and around the cabin reminds her of her traumatic time in the cult. She remembers meeting Charles Manson doppleganger Ted (played beautifully by Winter's Bone vet John Hawkes) who renames her Marcy May, along with interacting with all of the other brainwashed vixens. Strangely enough, one of the male members is played by Brady Corbet.

One of the daunting aspects of the story I found hard to believe is that Martha apparently spent around three years in the cult before escaping. How anyone could withstand that kind of abuse for so long is beyond me. Another narrative flaw I found was Hugh Dancy's character's stubborn reaction to Martha's behavior. Clearly, she needs serious psychiatric help after what she's been through and could never function with the normal people of society, but Ted seems to just think she's a default lunatic. Why would Lucy want to be with an unsympathetic jerk like that? Of course, all of these complaints pale in comparison to Miss Olsen's acting. I hate to jump on the awards bandwagon, but she is getting everything she deserves. Many will lazily compare her to Jennifer Lawrence, but I think her internalized performance here puts Miss Lawrence's to shame. As great as John Hawkes is here, his character here is only a few degrees away from his mesmerizing work in Winter's Bone. At least we finally get to hear him play his guitar. With so many subtle nuances and transformations, she rises above all of Mr. Durkin's narrative trappings. He seems to think he's the American Michael Haneke, not that there's anything wrong with a little ambition. At least it's not The Wackness.

The cinematography must be mentioned here. It is very inspired by Harris Savides' work on Margot at the Wedding and it shows. The murkiness and dimness only complements the hazy mental perspective and confusion Miss Olsen's character is undergoing. The editing reminds one of Memento and The Social Network as it switches between time periods..only not as gimmicky. This story is all from Martha's perspective so we can never be sure if what we are seeing is what actually happened, or is happening. Unlike Melancholia, this film's ending is gorgeously ambiguous, but just as haunting. Is Martha's world ending, or is it just the start of her paranoid nightmare? I am really not sure. One thing I was surprised to find out about was that MMMM is actually a sequel to a short film call Mary Last Seen that was shown at Sundance in 2010. If someone knows how I can see that, please let me know. All I can find is the trailer (shown below). After how compelling and audacious MMMM is, I wouldn't mind a trilogy from Mr. Durkin. See ya at the Oscars!

Take Note of "Take Shelter!"

2011-10-05T01:05:00.000-07:00

WoW! I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted. I didn't plan it that way. Let's just say the thought of TV executives cancelling both The Simpsons and Dexter this year makes me want to blow smoke all over the web. In actuality, there hasn't been much out that I really considered note worthy...until now!

Now, I ALMOST wrote some notes about Nicolas Winding Refn's instant-classic, Drive, but decided that its $11 million opening made it a little too mainstream for my tastes. I don't think that will be a problem for Jeff Nichols' Cannes-winning Sundance selection, Take Shelter!

This wonderful new indie film has gotten a lot of crap from the web so far b/c its story looks kind of like a retread of Donnie Darko.

Too similar? As if!

Having now seen the film, I can honestly say that those comparisons are justified, but a little too overstated. Thankfully, Take Shelter avoids all of the hipster trappings of our favorite film that was commercially released in the aftermath of 9/11 (which also just celebrated its 10th anniversary!) Nope, no time travel, cosmic deities, pedophilia, cheerleaders, Joy Division, Smurfs, Evil Dead, Last Temptation of Christ references or Jena Malone here. To me, it felt more like a 21st century version of Field of Dreams.

The always fabulous Michael Shannon reteams with his Shotgun Stories director to tell this tale of an average midwestern Joe who may either be psychic or genuinely psycho. 2011's favorite actress Jessica Chastain plays his short-suffering wife who doesn't do much other than worry and take care of their strangely disabled daughter (but does it well and manages sympathy from what could've been a bad midwestern stereotype). I have to admit, it is nice to see Shannon play a character who might not be insane for a change. It's a pretty conventional story. Good intention-ed person nearly destroys his life in an uncertain economy to follow his vision. Is he nuts like his mother, or is there fire within the smoke? This film could've been a pilot of a re-boot of The Twilight Zone, but what elevates it is the director's tonal control. The suspense could've been cut with a knife. Though I felt the ending was too conventional for the film's own good, the film's dramatic structure was beautifully realized. It has been too long since a director was able to eek so much tension out of such a simple situation. I see this film more as a psychological character study than a supernatural thriller. Shannon is so predictably superior in this role that I am willing to bet he will be nominated for his second Oscar, but in the LEAD category this time. Why it has taken him so long to become a leading male film actor is beyond me.

Why is this film so successful? Is it the bad economic times that's driving everyone nuts? The fact that mental illnesses aren't exactly going away despite our obsessions with rationality? The realization that we cannot control our destinies or pursue our personal visions without damning ramifications? I think it really is just how understandable how regular people will do just about anything to try to protect their families in even the most irrational of ways because of a hunch. It is refreshing to see this not being done through physical violence, but financial irresponsibility. This is not only a film for our times, but maybe any time. I hope it finds itself an appreciative audience soon and only grows to show the world that you don't have to be an uber-geek like Donnie Darko to have a great destiny. I think we all need shelter from the storm sometimes.

Rush to see this one in theaters...before it blows away...

"Another Earth:" Sexy Sci-Fi or Hollywood Reject turns the tables?

2011-08-04T02:24:00.000-07:00

I've always had a thing for the annual recipient for Sundance's Alfred P Sloan award. It's the only film festival award I know of that acknowledges the use of science in filmmaking. These films used to cater to a marginalized section of the film-going public that actually like to use their scientific-knowledge seeking frontal lobes when watching a film...and not have to worry about seeing aliens with ray-guns, explosions, or just lame excuses for special effects. Some of my favorites in this ever-growing sub-genre include Sleep Dealer, House of Sand, Grizzly Man, and the all-mighty Grand Jury Prize winner, Primer! However, as with many of the Sundance winners, I've been noticing an increasing sense of commercialization of these types of films. It started in 2009 with the charmingly inert Adam, a Sloan winner that its distributor seemed to want to (and failed to) expand from the usual summer-release art-house ghetto of most Sundance winners.

Though I (like most) still haven't seen the Sloan winner from 2010, Obselidia, I figured it was a matter of time until a superficially scientifically-minded film came along that screamed "give me a career, damn it!" more than any artistic merit. A marketable feature length demo reel that instantly ranks as one of the worst films of the year. That time is now.

Mike Cahill's Another Earth not only arrives with hot commercial buzz around the multi-talented and (until recently) ignored Brit Marling, but also Sundance award winning credibility that would suggest that this film is something more than sex appeal masquerading as philosophical and metaphysical debate. Sadly, it really isn't. Now, I understand that films nowadays have to be as appealing as possible to get an audience. And, granted, Brit Marling is a natural beauty with a real intelligence under her hood (and also seems to be gunning for the Jennifer Lawrence Award of Sundance Over-Achievers turned major stars). At the same time, I feel like I'm being taken for a ride (not a spoiler alert!) as I watch Another Earth. Unlike many brainy sci-fi festival films, this one isn't afraid to wear its comercial aspirations on its sleeve. I doubt even Lars Von Trier's upcoming Melancholia boasts this much commercialism in its strangely similar storyline (and that one's got Kirsten Dunst stripping off).

This artificial and manipulative excuse for grief counsuling has a hipster-friendly soundtrack by Fall on Your Sword, mumblecore-friendly cinematography seemingly trying (and failing) to make Brit's character seem really downtrodden and deglamorized (ie. UNPRETTY!), an unerotic love scene with Tom Cruise's cousin, underage drunk driving that result in fatal car crashes out of 80s TV movies, life-altering social networking, lots of "meaningful" cross dissolves slippery philosophical waxing, nerdy sound manipulation seductions that somehow actually work, manipulative flashback shots, reversal of traditional gender representations, metaphoric and surprisingly non-threatening planets, a predictable and traditionally structured screenplay with only one melodramatic monologue for flavor, MINIMALISM, MINIMALISM, MINIMALISM, and a trendy ambiguous ending that really isn't that ambiguous and arguably could used as an excuse to make the lead actress finally look sexy. Did I mention that it has its leading lady is not afraid to show some skin to articulate her self-pity? Yes, it's THAT kind of indie film. Disciplined, lived-through, over-hyped, self-glorifying and, ultimately, dramatically underwhelming. The fact that Miss Brit has real talent is beyond the point.

As one gets through the film's rather laughable command of scientific language and concepts that have no basis in reality (for example, if a planet really was that close to our's, we would all DIE, like in Melancholia, not indulge in silly internet contests). This film is really about second chances. The type everyone deserves to have (esp. in showbiz), like Frenchie Davis' career, or, better yet, Brit Maring's! I must say the girl's got ingenue appeal, but she really should not be fashioning her own cliche-ridden indie star vehicles at this point in her career. The most poignant element in this film to me was not her character's willingness to do the right thing and redeem her selfish existence by giving her victim back his life back, but the fact that this film artist seems to feel her mere presence guarantees distribution and a built-in audience interested in watching a film that only pretends to have any scientific and artistic merit. Yes, instead of old-fashioned time traveling, this film seems to feel that metaphoric parallel worlds and social networking redeem the unforgivable. That's the way of the 2010s! Go indie!

You think THIS is going to make you indie douche bags famous?! HA!

My favorite moment in this whole mess is when Brit's character (who is always moping around her podunk town, no matter what mood she's in) is rolling around her bed, gazing into her intergalactic ticket. Yes, they actually made a prop ticket for the rocket ship that is only supposed to carry one commercial passenger. However, (real spoiler alert) no one ever seems to question why Brit is not the one who goes to Earth 2 after she gets lots of limited budget indepedent film media coverage. If it's this character's emotional journey we're really supposed to care about, they could have made her less of a droning indie film cliche; a talented but superficial model straining for street credit.

Hmmmm. Maybe it would be more dramatic to strip for the planet at night.

If films like this show how Hollywood underachievers can, finally, come into their own as commercially marketable commodities in a soft filmmaking economy, color me disenfranchised. Much like the twin planet hovering next to our own in the film, nothing in the film, from the characters, story, themes, or even emotional impact, ever achieves any sort of gravity....and just floats away from memory...one artificial pause by pause. There's a line of dialogue that sums up how I feel about this film: When Brit finds out that she has won the ALL MIGHTY space ship travelling contest by simply saying that she only deserves to win because she completely fucked up her own life and the life of a complete stranger years before and, therefore, has no other options in life than to WIN the chance to be expedited to another world (if only there was a contest like that for Casey Anthony), the millionaire scientist running the contest says to her on the phone, "There's a fine line between [going to prison and becoming a millionaire]. Much finer than you realize." This suggest that the struggle to succeed can be seen as a criminal act. The same goes to puesdo indie film fame whore/social climbers...like Brit Marling.

Or maybe I could just get naked right now. Maybe it'll get us an Independent Spirit Award. Hell, it worked at Sundance.

Taste the banality for yourself here:

TALES FROM NETFLIX WATCH INSTANTLY I: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

2011-07-19T03:32:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off this blog wayyyyy too much. I cant believe how long it's been since I made an entry. I've decided to be more diligent about this blog, no matter how unpopular it is.

It's a new day, FUCKERS!

I've wanted to start a new section of the blog. It is inspired by Netflix's sudden decision to separate the streaming and physical renting of DVD/Blu-Rays. I want to celebrate the best and even strangest of what the limited selection of streaming films have to offer. I have not quite figured out how to make a graphic for the logo....so I'm just calling it TALES FROM NETFLIX WATCH INSTANTLY! Makes it sound all ominous and forbidden, doesn't it?

When I saw that this first selection of TALES FROM NETFLIX WATCH INSTANTLY had been licensed for streaming, I literally jumped for joy! I really wanted y first selection to be an Asian film since they never get as much recognition as they deserve. This film has become one of my favorite Palme D'Or winners in recent memory. Tragically, it has become one of the most underseen and perplexing films of the last few years. I am of course referring to Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. This film is something I feel is what something as cheesy and potentially dangerous to the movie industry as Netflix streaming is made for: quality and acclaimed foreign films that not many would be giving a chance to otherwise.Not just lam horror films from the 80s that never got a DVD release. I had already seen the film on the internet earlier this year sans sub-titles (bootleg, baby!). It saddens me to report that this film actually was given the Palme D'Or by Tim Burton over two years ago...yes...TWO YEARS AGO. It did not get the North American release it deserved. I am guessing this might be b/c it is an Asian film that has nothing to do with action scenes and all to do with ideas and concepts. That seems to spell doom in the marketplace today.I don't know why it took so long to get to Blu-Ray/DVD and, of course, streaming, but here it finally is in all of its glory. Luckily, it has been shown at esteemed art houses like The New Beverly in LA and The Loft in Tucson at the first annual Lost Film Festival to make up for it (sort of).

Not many know that Uncle Boonmee actually started as a multimedia art installation. Like Matthew Barney's films, this film seems to exist to enhance and expand the concepts introduced in the exhibit such as reincarnation, family duty, country vs. city lifestyles, traditional vs. modern society, and the dehumanization of society by television. I feel that's a lot in a film where stories that features a spirit manifesting itself as a sort of Bigfoot creature, ancient princess who agrees to have underwater oral sex from a talking catfish, and silhouettes with red eyes represent humanity at its most spiritualistic and harmonious. Anyone who has seen Tropical Malady already kind of knows what they are getting involved in.

I say, stream it and give this one a chance. I have heard from many that they found it boring and too cerebral, and I felt some of those claims were valid (I felt like I must have developed ADD from all of the films I've seen over the years since my attention kept waning while watching it for the first time). However, if you succumb to the film's slow rhythms, culturally specific references, stunning imagery, ambiguous ending, and matter of fact surrealism, you will discover a treasure of world cinema that will be taught, debated, and referenced in film history classes for ages to come.

Plus, it's got some amazing poster designs. What do you have to lose?! This one of the best offers Netflix Watch Instantly has to offer. Stream it before the license expires!

Gotta Share this...better than any ovie that's out there now...

2011-07-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

Hmm. I Smell Corporate B.S.

2011-07-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well, what do ya know?

I actually got a response from the programmer of Cinemagic. It's an automated response, but it's better than nothing.

Read it here:

First off I would like to apologize for sending out a "form" letter but the response from listeners has been overwhelming (and flattering to say the least) and it would be near impossible for me to respond to everyone of them. Please accept my apologies on this matter.

I would also like to thank you for your vested interest and support of Cinemagic. For the past 10 or so years, this has been a labor of love for me and it's been one of the highest honors of my life to bring the world of movie music to all the listeners of the channel. When I came up with the idea for Cinemagic in the early part of 2001, I never dreamt that the channel would be a part of some many people's lives. It truly has been an incredible experience for me and one that I will never forget.

To be honest, there really isn't much I can say about Cinemagic's removal from XM Satellite Radio. I know that this wasn't an easy decision for the powers that be. A lot of time and thought went into this decision and unfortunately Cinemagic was a casualty of not having enough bandwidth. I wish there was more that I could say but I'm not part of that process. My attention has and will continue to be on Cinemagic and the world of movies and movie music.

I understand the frustration that a lot of listeners have with this decision and I can see why many have chosen to cancel their subscriptions. That being said, I will continue to program Cinemagic in the same manner for the online and mobile app version of the channel. In fact, I've added several new shows to the lineup including "The TVZ Download" which is a full hour of music from the world of videogames, "The Cartoon Collective" which is an hour of music from the world of animated movies and television shows including music from the classic Looney Tunes cartoons, hard to find anime scores all the way to the music from Pixar and Dreamworks films, as well as a show that used to run on the channel called "The Big Score" which is two hours of nothing but score music (this show is great because there is a lot of great scores that I don't have segments produced for and that music can be found in this program). On top of that, I will continue to run all of the other shows that are currently on the channel. I hope that you are able to continue to listen to Cinemagic in this manner.

The simple fact that it was decided to keep Cinemagic running online leads me to believe that the management of SiriusXM understands the importance of the channel and that one day it may be brought back to the satellites. This isn't some inside information that I have, it's just my way to look at the situation in a positive manner.

I know for may listeners, the online or mobile app version of the channel is not a viable option and for that I am truly sorry. The world of film music is certainly a niche one, and I will miss each and every listener who is unable to make the transition. I do enourage you to sign up to the Cinemagic Fan Facebook page created by Allen Richards. He's done a great job with it and I will continue to be a part of the page, keeping fans of film music up to date on the events of the film world as well as Cinemagic. You can find the page here https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/313932475113?ap=1

Below is a copy of the email that my boss (Kenny Curtis) has been sending out to listeners. Hopefully his "form" letter can explain the decision process a little better than my own. If you have any other question or comments please feel free to email me back. I am on vacation next week, but I'm going to try my best to answer any questions listeners might have while sitting on the beaches of the Outer Banks in North Carolina (as long as my wife allows me to).

Thank you so much for your support!!

Sincerely,

David Ziemer

Program Director-Cinemagic

Sirius XM Radio

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks so much for taking the time to write to us regarding Cinemagic leaving the XM platform.

Upfront, I have to tell you that there’s not a whole lot we can say that’s likely to resolve this for you in the way you’d like. The decision to removeCinemagic was not an easy one, but we find ourselves in this position every once in a while when our content opportunities and obligations exceed the amount of bandwidth we have available. We do not, for a moment, discount the impact that Cinemagic has had on our fans base over the past ten years; clearly it is a format that has touched a great many people and generates loyalty and passion from a very committed audience.

That said, we aren’t entirely turning our backs on Score music or the Cinemagic channel; it will be a special channel available full-time as part of SiriusXM Internet Radio and our mobile apps, and we’ve done our best to aggregate the valuable content to other satellite channels. Our flagship interview programReel Time - featuring interviews with directors, producers, and actors - is moving to channel 104, SiriusXM Stars Too - on both XM and on Sirius too. Reel Time will air Thursdays from 6:00pm-7:00pm ET, Fridays from 9:00pm-10:00pm ET, and Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00pm-2:00pm ET. We will also be adding a special weekly classic movie score show to SiriusXM Pops on channel 75 later this summer, again both on XM and Sirius. (For updates on that show and any other information on programming, please visit www.siriusxm.com <http://www.siriusxm.com>).

I really do appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us. This kind of response is a validation of sorts for the hard work that Dave Ziemer has done over the past ten years. As one of the original wave of XM programmers, I was here when Cinemagic was just a crazy idea in Dave Ziemer’s head, and I was privileged to watch it grow over the past decade. Please know that your email has been forwarded along to SIRIUS XM senior management for their consideration, as well.

Thanks again,

Kenny Curtis

Very Sad...

2011-07-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

This is something I read. I didn't know about it until I read it. It has made me realize how much I've been neglecting my satellite radio. Since I lease my auto, I cannot install a satellite radio in my car. This s a problem b/c I never seem to know what is going on in the world of satellite radio anymore. Channels are always being phased out due to bottom line and other economic factors, even though they do not seem to depend on ratings so much as subscribers. I'm not sure why they decided to single out this wonderful channel. I listen to it on-line all the time. Thankfully, it will still be available on-line and as a mobile app, so I should not complain. I still is a worthy channel that should not be regulated in any way like it has failed in its appeal. Nothing will change for me. However, I feel that this is going to be the future of many such channels that do not cater directly to mainstream listeners. With Howard Stern suing his own bosses, should we be fearing for all of the channels? Something tells me this is going to get worse before it gets better. As much as I enjoy internet radio over listening to it in my car, I can feel a galactic shift happening. Are car and internet/mobile users being seen as separate audiences? Are we being marginalized? Victims of focus groups? Do the demographics not add up? Perhaps they feel that listening to this great music is too distracting to be driving to? If so, why do they leave the Playboy channel on the air?

Cinemagic

On July 1st, Cinemagic will move off XM Satellite Radio. It will be a special channel available full-time as part of SiriusXM Internet Radio and our mobile apps.

Our flagship interview program Reel Time -- featuring interviews with directors, producers, and actors - is moving to channel 104, SiriusXM Stars Too on both XM and on Sirius. Reel Time will air Thursdays from 6:00pm-7:00pm ET, Fridays from 9:00pm-10:00pm ET, and Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00pm-2:00pm ET. We will also be adding a special weekly classic movie score show to SiriusXM Pops on channel 75 later this summer, again both on XM and Sirius.

Jim says....

2011-06-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to post this. I got it from http://www.moviemaker.com/directing/article/jim_jarmusch_2972

Rule #1: There are no rules. There are as many ways to make a film as there are potential filmmakers. It’s an open form. Anyway, I would personally never presume to tell anyone else what to do or how to do anything. To me that’s like telling someone else what their religious beliefs should be. Fuck that. That’s against my personal philosophy—more of a code than a set of “rules.” Therefore, disregard the “rules” you are presently reading, and instead consider them to be merely notes to myself. One should make one’s own “notes” because there is no one way to do anything. If anyone tells you there is only one way, their way, get as far away from them as possible, both physically and philosophically.

Rule #2: Don’t let the fuckers get ya. They can either help you, or not help you, but they can’t stop you. People who finance films, distribute films, promote films and exhibit films are not filmmakers. They are not interested in letting filmmakers define and dictate the way they do their business, so filmmakers should have no interest in allowing them to dictate the way a film is made. Carry a gun if necessary.

Also, avoid sycophants at all costs. There are always people around who only want to be involved in filmmaking to get rich, get famous, or get laid. Generally, they know as much about filmmaking as George W. Bush knows about hand-to-hand combat.

Rule #3: The production is there to serve the film. The film is not there to serve the production. Unfortunately, in the world of filmmaking this is almost universally backwards. The film is not being made to serve the budget, the schedule, or the resumes of those involved. Filmmakers who don’t understand this should be hung from their ankles and asked why the sky appears to be upside down.

Rule #4: Filmmaking is a collaborative process. You get the chance to work with others whose minds and ideas may be stronger than your own. Make sure they remain focused on their own function and not someone else’s job, or you’ll have a big mess. But treat all collaborators as equals and with respect. A production assistant who is holding back traffic so the crew can get a shot is no less important than the actors in the scene, the director of photography, the production designer or the director. Hierarchy is for those whose egos are inflated or out of control, or for people in the military. Those with whom you choose to collaborate, if you make good choices, can elevate the quality and content of your film to a much higher plane than any one mind could imagine on its own. If you don’t want to work with other people, go paint a painting or write a book. (And if you want to be a fucking dictator, I guess these days you just have to go into politics...).

Rule #5: Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.” MM

The Tree of Larfs

2011-06-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

Alright...so I finally got around to seeing this year's Palme D'Or winner, the newest Terrence Malick film, The Tree of Life.

And....so....what did I think?

Yeah...my brain has been kind of like that for the past few days.

I won''t bother to rehash the "story" of this film, especially since it has already been discussed in so many other forums over the past month. It only relates the beginning and ending of time to the birth and spiritual death of Sean Penn's dour character.

Of course, since the universe didn't form the earth and the dinosaurs just to eventually culminate in Sean Penn's lifetime, there has to be much made of how Brad Pitt's Mr. O'Brien character was a repressed failure of a musician who ruled his household with an ironfist so his three boys would be able to fend for themselves in their adult lives (clearly, this is set during the Eisenhower era). All of the actors, including wunderkind Jessica Chastian, play their roles well and look beautiful. Of course, they are all merely window dressing in Malick's philosophical misc-ens-scene. The real stars of this show are Douglas Trumball's special effects shots which show what Jurassic Park would look like if it had been made by an aging trust fund hippie.

A lot has been made of the film's future awards chances. I would say the cinematography has the best chance of getting anything. I would imagine that the art direction and direction could be nominated as well. I would say visual effects, but Douglas Trumball has been persona non grata in Hollywood for so long after the fallout with Brainstorm (if anyone even remembers that film) that he may split the votes with say, the Harry Potters and Green Lanturns of the year.

I must say that the infamous "creation" sequence is among some of the most beautiful images I've ever seen outside of an IMAX science documentary. Hearing about Mr. Malick's new documentary project that will be out next year, making this sequence in a narrative format suddenly seemed to make sense. The way it comes about in the film makes dramatic sense, kind of, and is such an artistic risk, you can't help but want it to succeed..and it does...in it's own way. However, contrasting a silly new age-y "afterlife" sequence with a depiction of the the supernova of the sun and the end of the universe, was pushing it too much, it you ask me. Surprisingly I felt this climatic sequence is what worked the least in the entire film, although I can't fault Mr. Malick for putting it in to begin with. Its abstractness felt appropriate but did not dramatically pay off the way he was going for. The film suddenly began to feel cliched and slightly superficial. However, the images were so beautiful, I didn't seem to mind.

A lot has also been made of the audience's reactions. Reactions such as these remind me why I bother to pay ticket prices to see films to begin with. When the film ended, some jerk started doing the coughing then saying "bullshit" thing that people still do for some reason. Even elderly women started saying things like, "f you and f you too!" as their reaction. Some said it was "beautiful," but most just seemed to be waiting for something to happen. I'm guessing that a Matthew Barney film would not be up their alley. But whatever lack of good gestalt that the film provides, it's emphasis on physical beauty and ethics of a past era are what makes it stick out. The music is amazing as well, but it's nothing ground breaking. In fact, most of it feels like something from a science documentary. If it hadn't been directed by Mr. Malick, I would have guessed that the film was made as an advertisement for the upcoming documentary or a big budget What the Bleep do We Know remake. It's lack f story and actual characters isn't surprising, considering the conceptual ambition Mr. Malick, is going for. Many scenes, like when the two brothers bond over a shooting accident, are surprisingly intimate and illustrate the theme of mercy in this cold, cruel universe very well. It is forgiveness that gives this life any real meaning in any time or place. It's moments like those that will keep the film from becoming simply an unworthy macro-cosmic Cannes hit and/or forgotten by the hoi polloi.

Of course, when you've got images like these, I doubt becoming forgotten is what will happen to any film, no matter how polarizing.

100% Medically Awkward: My Thoughts on The Human Centipede 2"'s Recent Ban

2011-06-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

the past year, it has come to my attention that we finally have a new horror film franchise that actually repulses people. Naturally, it has to come from outside the US of A. It is not that I don't have faith in the American Horror Film industry, but their recent output from the last decade kind of has made me feel worse than watching this on a loop:

That's right! It's the infamous film that pretty much dares America to re-make it (you just know they would if they could): The Human Centipede! This is a film that got pretty much no theatrical distribution in the USA (however, I still managed to watch it at Tempe's own MADCAP Theater in June '10). However, after getting released on Blu-ray, DVD, VOD, and Netflix Watch Instantly, has become a truly iconic horror film that we didn't think was ever going to come again since the neutering and consistently terrible remakes that the genre has now become more known for in the country. It even got its own homage in the recent premiere of South Park:

Having seen all of these works, I have to say, the film was probably the only film I've seen in the last five years, American or otherwise, that actually made me physically nauseous in the best possible way: the intentional kind! Not even the recent Euro gross-out insta-classic, A Serbian Film, The film itself is rather terrible, a non-existent script with a flimsy story that just exists to give a reason to the fabulous make-up, art direction, and cinematography that comes our way. It also contained a lovely mad scientist performance courtesy of Dieter Laser. But, let's face it, that performance really wasn't what we remember about the film. I will not go into detail of what the featured, but I will provide plenty of visual supplements for you to feast on if you haven't seen them already:

Of course, that final image isn't from the film....but don't you wish it had been the poster? I guess this is an example of how iconic the film has already become. It has become instantly recognizable in the form of actions figures (shown above), posters, graphic art, birthday cakes, and even video games (this you gotta see):

Of course, what does any of this cultural success mean in terms of market value? That's right: QUICKIE SEQUEL!!!! This will be no ordinary sequel is courtesy of the original film's director, Tom Six!

This Dutch director certainly holds no bounds when it comes to pushing limits. His first feature film is actually entitled, Gay in Amsterdam. Are we sensing a connection yet?

Over the past few days, the internet has been a buzz that the "100% Medically Inaccurate" sequel, imaginably titled, The Human Centipede 2, has been officially banned in the UK.

I have to admit, all of the shock and disgust this "story" has brought, I suddenly realized how little the UK has really progressed as a nation. Are we still living in the 80s with the "video nasties" giving all the horror hounds a reason to live? I also have to admit that this whole controversy has been hankering to my more nostalgic sensibilities, dating back to the early-90s with postmodern films being made with a meta narrative. Somehow, no storylines or cast details were able to leak into the press....until the UK ban basically lifted the lid on the whole ordeal. Of course, Mr. Six said the sequel make the first look like this:

After what has been exposed thus far, he's probably right.

Has any film ever practically begged to have a heavy metal band name themselves after it? Wait, don't answer that. I really don't want to know.

This is what Mr. Six said in reaction to the ban: “Apparently I made an horrific horror-film, but shouldn't a good horror film be horrific? My dear people it is a fucking MOVIE. It is all fictional. Not real. It is all make-belief. It is art. Give people their own choice to watch it or not. If people can’t handle or like my movies they just don’t watch them. If people like my movies they have to be able to see it any time, anywhere also in the UK."

Hmmm. Freedom of speech has been a privilege of not that many nations in the world. I'm still of the opinion that certain nations cannot handle certain types of stories and/or films. Film of the nature of The Human Centipede really don't have much of a function other than to brutalize the senses, not really to frighten anyone.
I've never really heard anyone say that they were actually frightened by the film, or even really compelled by it in anyone. I must admit that while I am more interested in his exploration of the mental effect of horror films upon its viewers and the actions they take to express their desires that this sequel promises to be than the more traditional story of the original ever aspired to be, I really doubt that's what Mr. Six was attempting to achieve with this sequel. It sounds to me that he is doing nothing ore than trying to push the envelope without really being bothered by things like style, intelligence, subtext, or even decent filmmaking. I'm sure the final product will gross out, but not really surprise anyone who watches it. I don't really care how many people he decides to make into a centipede chain, more than likely, the film will just descend into the stereotypes and pratfalls of what 21st century slasher filmmaking is all about. Of course, all of this is probably more preferable to listening to Lauren Alaina's new single. This banning will simply become the chief marketing device of the picture, much like this was of Lucky McKee's new film, The Woman, back in January:

I also won't be surprised if complete strangers start forming their own centipedes to celebrate the release of this sequel in the USA. I can't wait to post the pictures from that.

But however memorably gross or iconic this sequel becomes, it will probably be laughed at and referenced in academic essays five years from now. People will watch it on Blu-Ray and the internet and wonder what all the fuss is about, just like all of the video nasties from the 80s. Some things ever change.

Now, let's look at that lovely South Park image again. This one's a little different,