Movies & Film Blog

A summary of my Oscar Tweets, Part 9

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:40:36 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed OK, the room’s clearing out. There’s no more wine. I have only one more thing to say, The Hurt Locker kicked butt — and all the right butts, at that. And that brings an end to a generally unsurprising evening and to the interminable awards season. See you at the after party.

A summary of my Oscar Tweets, Part 8

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:39:34 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed 9:59 The Academy does the right thing, and gives the best picture Oscar to “The Hurt Locker.” 9:50 p.m. Kathryn Bigelow wins the Oscar for best director. It’s a great honor for her, but did we need Babs to remind us that the time had come for a woman director to win? [...]

A summary of my Oscar Tweets, Part 7

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:38:46 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed 9:35 p.m. Good for Jeff Bridges. Everyone knew he’d win and you gotta love a guy who seems to enjoy winning. He calls acting a “groovy profession.” The Dude abides. 9:28 p.m. Having actors and actresses who starred with the best actor nominees introduce each one of them is a nice touch. [...]

A summary of my Oscar Tweets, Part 6

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:37:40 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed 9:06 p.m. The Hurt Locker wins best editing. It’s on its way to best picture. Maybe. And it’s not even in 3-D. 9:05 p.m. Tyler Perry appears on the Oscars and makes a joke about the fact that this could be a one-and-only gig for him. 9:03 p.m. The Cove — from [...]

A summary of my Oscar Tweets, Part 4

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:36:30 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed 8:25 p.m. I know I’m in an older crowd because many of my companions on this endless journey keep asking who some of the younger presenters are. 8:20 p.m. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting bored with Oscar. Looks like George Clooney has had his fill, too. Thank goodness, there’s [...]

A summary of my Oscar Tweets, Part 3

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:35:22 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed 7:55 p.m. Mo’Nique thanks the Academy for honoring her performance and not taking the political route. What would have been the political route, Maggie Gyllenhaal? Oh well, Mo’Nique was great, and she deserves her award. 7:50 p.m. Precious beats Up in the Air for best adapted screenplay, the night’s first real surprise. [...]

A summary of my Oscar Tweets, Part 2

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:34:04 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed 7:23 p.m. The salute to the late John Hughes is a nice touch. Hughes made teen movies that you didn’t have to be ashamed to watch. Someone mentions that this edition of Oscar seems more scripted than any other in recent history. 7:14 p.m. Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) upsets Quentin Tarantino [...]

A summary of my Oscar Tweets, Part 1

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:33:06 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed 6:46 p.m. Christoph Waltz wins the Oscar we all expected him to win. Gracious guy. Not a memorable speech, but to the point. Hope Woody Harrelson gets another chance some day. He was terrific in The Messenger. 6:35 p.m. The Oscars or Vegas? I’m bummed already. Hate this set 6:25 p.m. That’s [...]

A great trilogy about pervasive corruption

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:42:25 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed Andrew Garfield as a reporter in 1974. Paddy Considine squares off with Sean Harris in 1980. David Morrissey plays a troubled cop in 1983.I don’t know when I’ve seen a movie as devastating as The Red Riding Trilogy, a three-picture adaptation of four novels by British author David Peace. The three movies – which [...]

Handicapping Oscar: My predictions

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:30:47 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed I look for Hurt Locker to blow up big on Oscar night. Jeff Bridges should have no trouble taking home Oscar gold. It pays to be bossy, if you’re Sandra Bullock. It’s time for the fun game the whole family can play. We’re talking about that international pastime and water cooler preoccupation known as [...]

A comedy that cops out on laughs

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:37:21 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis are not funny together. Before I persuaded myself - coerced might be a better word - to write about the new comedy Cop Out, I watched a bunch of Tracy Morgan clips on You Tube. I’d already heard Morgan being interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR, and I’d [...]

Tough teen times, ‘Fish Tank’ reviewed

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:08:28 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender in a moment of normalcy. Fish Tank — which tells the story of a hostile 15-year-old who lives in a decaying London suburb — strikes a perfect balance between distressing content and unobtrusive style. As a result, the movie earns its place as a gritty coming-of-age story about a [...]

Sex: One teen-ager’s final frontier

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:39:13 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed Michael Cera is inspired to be bold by Portia Doubleday. Michael Cera carries the burden of his familiar presence lightly enough to keep from wearing out his welcome. In Youth in Revolt, Cera (familiar from Juno and Superbad) again follows in his own footsteps, playing a baby-faced high-school kid who’s afraid he’ll die [...]

The messy imagination of Terry Gilliam

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:43:56 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed Heath Ledger standing tall before the looking glass. There’s no shortage of imagination in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, but when it comes to other matters — a compelling story for example — the movie is running on empty. Less a movie than a tribute to visual abundance, The Imaginarium can [...]

A cop who’s bad to the bone

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:41:26 +0000

Submitted by Denerstein Unleashed Tracy and Hepburn they’re not. Cage and Mendes share a moment in Werner Herzog’s very crazy Bad Lieutenant. Despite its title, Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is only a distant cousin to Abel Ferrara’s 1992 movie — also called Bad Lieutenant. Ferrara’s movie starred Harvey Keitel as the world’s [...]