Arkansas Times

Friday, March 27, 2009 - 10:29:29

Weekend Moviegoing

"Sunshine Cleaning," "Wendy and Lucy." 

And this is fantastic.

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Saturday, March 14, 2009 - 10:04:18

Checking the Queue

Thanks to Philip Martin for a shout-out in his Friday MovieStyle column.  I haven't posted my Netflix queue in a while, so here it is.

Frozen River; Miracle at St. Anna; Hellboy II: The Golden Army; Happy-Go-Lucky; and Cadillac Records - - all 2008 releases that I missed.

I'm off to see Two Lovers today at Market Street Cinema.

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 09:39:34

That Time of Year

It's the slowest for movies. "Watchmen," the much anticipated film adapted from, arguably, the greatest graphic novel of all time, has stirred the emotions of critics. I still haven't seen it. This weekend doesn't get much better for mainstream releases.

Have no fear. In central Arkansas you can catch Part I of Steven Soderberg's bio-pic on Che Guevara at Market Street Cinema. Also, "Two Lovers," starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix, before he fell off the deep end.

DVD enthusiasts have a wealth of new options thanks to releases yesterday. "Rachel Getting Married," "Cadillac Records," "Happy-Go-Lucky," "Milk" and "Synedoche, New York" are all available.

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Thursday, February 26, 2009 - 10:10:50

'Waltz with Bashir'

The Oscar nominated film "Waltz with Bashir" arrives in Little Rock tomorrow at Market Street Cinema. The film, from Israel, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards. It's a slow movie-going weekend here in Arkansas . . .

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Monday, February 23, 2009 - 00:27:54

On the Air

I’ll be on KARN Newsradio 920 AM (102.9 FM) Monday morning at 7:40 a.m. talking Oscars with Bob Steel. You can view my predictions and winners below as well as my Oscar commentary on Twitter.

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Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 23:22:11

And the Winners Are . . .

Against my predictions. 

Best Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler” Sean Penn, "Milk"
Best Actress: Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Original Screenplay: “Milk”
Best Art Direction: “The Dark Knight” "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Best Cinematography: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Costume Design: “The Duchess”
Best Film Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Makeup: “The Dark Knight” "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Best Music (Original Score): “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Music (Original Song): “WALL-E” "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Sound Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire” "The Dark Knight"
Best Sound Mixing: “WALL-E” "Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Animated Feature Film: “WALL-E”
Best Foreign Language Film: “The Class” "Departures" (Japan)
Best Short Film (Animated): “Presto” La Maison en Petits Cubes
Best Short Film (Live Action): “Toyland”
Best Documentary Feature: “Man on Wire”
Best Documentary Short: “The Conscience of Nhem En” "Smile Pinki"

Overall: 15/24. What a ceremony. The best I've ever seen.

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Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 10:26:12

The Moviegoer's Oscar Predictions

Here are my predictions for the Oscars. I'm not going to live blog this year. Instead, I will be on Twitter. You can track all of my thoughts and comments there.

Best Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
Best Actress: Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Original Screenplay: “Milk”
Best Art Direction: “The Dark Knight”
Best Cinematography: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Costume Design: “The Duchess”
Best Film Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Makeup: “The Dark Knight”
Best Music (Original Score): “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Music (Original Song): “WALL-E”
Best Sound Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Sound Mixing: “WALL-E”
Best Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Animated Feature Film: “WALL-E”
Best Foreign Language Film: “The Class”
Best Short Film (Animated): “Presto”
Best Short Film (Live Action): “Toyland”
Best Documentary Feature: “Man on Wire”
Best Documentary Short: “The Conscience of Nhem En”

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Friday, February 20, 2009 - 07:41:18

And the Oscar goes to . . .

A sampling of my predictions appear in today's Arkansas Democrat Gazette.  For a complete listing of all of my picks, visit InContention.com. 

Over the weekend, I will have some added thoughts about the awards, including my alternative Oscars.  I'm debating (and I emphasize debating) seeing all five best picture nominees again.  I don't know that I can suffer through another viewing of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" or "The Reader," but I may try.

On Oscar night, rather than the customary live blog, I'm going to update in real time on Twitter.  You can sign up and follow me at http://www.twitter.com/blakerutherford.


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Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 10:44:01

It's Oscar Time

The Academy Awards take place on Sunday in Los Angeles.  I've already submitted my picks to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and to InContention.com.  I'll post them tomorrow, but needless to say I'm not expecting a lot of upsets.

Also, I'll be on KARN Newsradio 920 AM on Monday morning talking about the winners and losers.

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Sunday, February 08, 2009 - 19:20:16

The Best Picture Nominees

I finally got around to seeing "The Reader" today.  The film, directed by Stephen Daldry ("The Hours") is an adaptation of a German novel of the same title by Bernhard Schlink.  It stars Kate Winselt, who was nominated for an Oscar for the role, and Ralph Fiennes.

Despite Ms. Winslet's nomination (she's better and more deserving of the Oscar for her performance in "Revolutionary Road," although she is quite likely to win), "The Reader" does not belong among the Best Picture finalists.

"Synedoche, New York," "The Visitor," "Rachel Getting Married," "Revolutionary Road" and "WALL-E" are far superior films to "The Reader." But the most glaring omission of this year, and one that will haunt the Academy for decades, is better than them all.  I'm talking, of course, of "The Dark Knight," the best film of 2008.

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Wednesday, February 04, 2009 - 13:31:40

The Oxford Film Festival: 02.05 - 02.08

For those of you interested in taking a trip to Oxford, Mississippi anytime soon, might I recommend 02.05 - 02.08 for the Oxford Film Festival.

Three films immediately jump out at me: "Prom Night in Mississippi," a documentary about actor Morgan Freeman's offer to pay for the Charleston High School prom it would integrate. (He made the offer in 1997 and it was finally accepted in 2008.); "Ballast," a feature narrative from Lance Hammer about life in the Mississippi Delta. Writes Manohla Dargis of The New York Times, "it’s a serious achievement and a welcome sign of a newly invigorated American independent cinema"; and "Sunshine Cleaning" from the producers of "Little Miss Sunshine" starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin.

You can purchase tickets online through the website. All films are shown at Malco Oxford Studio 8 at 1111 Jackson Avenue West.

There's also a cool panel on the role of the film critic hosted by Kim Voynar of Movie city News. Panelists include: Eric Snider of Cinematical.com, James Rocchi of American Movie Classics, Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood-Elsewhere.com, John Beifuss of The Commercial Appeal, Lisa Rosman of US Weekly and Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com.

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Monday, February 02, 2009 - 16:34:37

The Best 31 Days of Moviegoing

TCM's 31 Days of Oscar has kicked off. Today you can see "Sabrina," "Brewster's Millions," "You Can't Take It With You" and many more. A quick scan of the schedule shows that on Saturday, 02.07, you can take in "Cleopatra," "Gunga Din," "The Four Feathers," "Casablanca," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Sahara," "The Great Escape," and "Das Boot." Damn, that's a day.

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Monday, February 02, 2009 - 10:03:13

Denby: 2008 Not a Great Year

David Denby of The New Yorker weighs in on the Oscar nominations and the year in movies. He's not too happy.

"As you may have noticed, 2008 was not a great year for movies. There was nothing comparable to the hair-raising “There Will Be Blood,” or the ravishing “Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” or the sinister “No Country for Old Men,” from 2007. Even so, a nod for best picture could have gone to more deserving movies, such as Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married,” which settles down into a revelatory examination of a family’s anguish and joy; or “Happy-Go-Lucky,” Mike Leigh’s startling look at the power and the limits of goodness; or even the animated masterpiece “WALL-E,” with its vision of the end of industrial civilization and its ironic salvation in an anodyne space station decorated in cruise-liner moderne."

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Saturday, January 31, 2009 - 10:24:18

I guess it's time for me to get back in the saddle over here at "The Moviegoer." My apologies to the readers who've been coming here for the past few weeks looking for commentary about the year in movies. I've been working and trying to get "The Think Tank" in a good place. But I'll be back here and posting regularly, particularly on the Oscar race.

A few things:

My 2008 Top 10: 1) The Dark Knight; 2) Synedoche, New York; 3) Milk; 4) Slumdog Millionaire; 5) The Vistor; 6) 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; 7) Rachel Getting Married; 8) The Flight of the Red Balloon; 9) The Edge of Heaven; 10) WALL-E.

Since that time I've seen "Frost/Nixon," "The Wrestler," "Revolutionary Road," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Gran Torino" and "Doubt." None of these would enter my Top 10, although I thought all of the actors in "Doubt" were spectacular along with Kate Winslet and Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road," Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler," Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" and Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino."

I have a spectacular dislike for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" despite liking pretty much everything David Fincher has made to date, including "Zodiac" "Fight Club" and "Se7en" all in the top flight crop of movies in their respective years.

I have not seen "The Reader," arguably the biggest surprise of the recent Oscar nominations. And I have not seen "Defiance," a film that generated some very positive comments from critics. "Frozen River," a film that has earned Melissa Leo and Oscar nomination, will be out of DVD next week is another one I need to see. "I've Loved You So Long," a French film starring Kristin Scott Thomas, also is on my radar.

And I'll catch many of the best films of year - from foreign countries - when they arrive on disk. "Gomorrah," "The Class," "Waltz with Bashir," "A Christmas Tale" . . . to name a few.

As for the Oscar nominations, well, there's not much to be glad or upset about, although I think "The Dark Knight" deserved Best Picture, Best Dircetor and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations. I would have nominated Jenny Lumet for "Rachel Getting Married" in the Best Original Screenplay catagory; Tom McCarthy for "The Visitor" as well. And I'd gladly kick "In Bruges" to the curb. Bruce Springsteen deserved a Best Original Song nomination for "The Wrestler," a devastating and gorgeous tune.

I'm very excited for Richard Jenkins ("The Visitor"), Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight"), Anne Hathaway ("Rachel Getting Married"), Michael Shannon ("Revolutionary Road"), and Viola Davis ("Doubt").  Mr. Ledger and Ms. Davis could both win.

I point you to this discussion of the Oscars between A.O. Scott of and David Denby of The New York TimesThe New Yorker on The Charlie Rose Show.

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Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 09:22:17

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD NOMINATIONS

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
RICHARD JENKINS / Walter Vale - “THE VISITOR” (Overture Films)
FRANK LANGELLA / Richard Nixon - “FROST/NIXON” (Universal Pictures)
SEAN PENN / Harvey Milk - “MILK” (Focus Features)
BRAD PITT / Benjamin Button - “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON” (Paramount Pictures)
MICKEY ROURKE / Randy - “THE WRESTLER” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
ANNE HATHAWAY / Kym - “RACHEL GETTING MARRIED” (Sony Pictures Classics)
ANGELINA JOLIE / Christine Collins - “CHANGELING” (Universal Pictures)
MELISSA LEO / Ray Eddy - “FROZEN RIVER” (Sony Pictures Classics)
MERYL STREEP / Sister Aloysius Beauvier - “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
KATE WINSLET / April Wheeler - “REVOLUTIONARY ROAD” (Paramount Vantage)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
JOSH BROLIN / Dan White - “MILK” (Focus Features)
ROBERT DOWNEY, JR. / Kirk Lazarus - “TROPIC THUNDER” (Paramount Pictures)
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN / Father Brendan Flynn - “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
HEATH LEDGER / Joker - “THE DARK KNIGHT” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
DEV PATEL / Older Jamal - “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
AMY ADAMS / Sister James - “DOUBT” (Miramax Flms)
PENÉLOPE CRUZ / Maria Elena - “VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA” (The Weinstein Company)
VIOLA DAVIS / Mrs. Miller - “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
TARAJI P. HENSON / Queenie - “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON” (Paramount Pictures)
KATE WINSLET / Hanna Schmitz - “THE READER” (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
DOUBT (Miramax)
FROST/NIXON (Universal Pictures)
MILK (Focus Features)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount Pictures)

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Monday, December 15, 2008 - 13:43:20

SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

BEST PICTURE
  1. Milk
  2. Slumdog Millionaire
  3. WALL-E
  4. The Dark Knight
  5. The Wrestler
  6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  7. The Reader
  8. The Visitor
  9. Frost/Nixon
  10. Revolutionary Road
 
  BEST ACTOR
  Sean Penn - Milk
  * Runner-up: Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
 
  BEST ACTRESS
  Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
  * Runner-up: Kate Winslet, The Reader
 
  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
  Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
  * Runner-up: Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
 
  BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
  Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  * Runner-up: Viola Davis - Doubt
 
  BEST DIRECTOR
  Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
  * Runner-up: Gus Van Sant - Milk
 
  BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
  Dustin Lance Black - Milk
  * Runner-up: Robert D. Siegel - The Wrestler
 
  BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
  Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
  * Runner-up: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 
  BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
  Let the Right One In (Sweden)
  * Runner-up: I've Loved You So Long (France)
 
  BEST DOCUMENTARY
  Man on Wire
  * Runner-up: Young@Heart
 
  BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
  WALL-E
  * Runner-up: Kung Fu Panda
 
  WYATT AWARD
  Shotgun Stories
  * Runner-up: The Order of Myths

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Monday, December 15, 2008 - 08:59:21

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Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 15:36:59

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS

Best Picture (Drama)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Revolutionary Road”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)
“Burn After Reading”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Mamma Mia!”
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

Best Actor (Drama)
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Revolutionary Road”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Micky Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Best Actor (Comedy/Musical)
Javier Bardem, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Colin Farrell, “In Bruges”
James Franco, “Pineapple Express”
Brendan Gleeson, “In Bruges”
Dustin Hoffman, “Last Chance Harvey”

Best Actress (Drama)
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kristin Scott Thomas, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”

Best Actress (Comedy/Musical)
Rebecca Hall, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Frances McDormand, “Burn After Reading”
Meryl Streep, “Mamma Mia!”
Emma Thompson, “Last Chance Harvey”

Best Supporting Actor
Tom Cruise, “Tropic Thunder”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Ralph Fiennes, “The Duchess”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”

Best Director
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Sam Mendes, “Revolutionary Road”

Best Original Score
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Defiance”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Foreign Film
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“Everlasting Moments”
“Gomorrah”
“I’ve Loved You So Long”
“Waltz with Bashir”

Best Animated Feature
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”

Best Original Score
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Changeling”
“Defiance”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Original Song
“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt”
“Once in a Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records”
“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino”
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
“The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler”

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 12:59:35

NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

Best Actress
Sally Hawkins
Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Screenplay
Jenny Lumet
Rachel Getting Married
Best Cinematographer
Anthony Dod Mantle
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin
Milk
Best Animated Film
WALL-E
Best Director
Mike Leigh
Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best First Film
Courtney Hunt
Frozen River
Best Foreign Film
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Best Actor
Sean Penn
Milk
Best Documentary
Man on Wire
Best Picture
Milk

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Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 16:43:47

LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS

Picture: “Wall-E”
Runner-up: “The Dark Knight”

Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”

Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Actress: Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”

Supporting actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, “Happy-Go-Lucky”

Supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Elegy”
Runner-up: Viola Davis, “Doubt”

Screenplay: Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, “Synecdoche, New York”

Foreign-language film: “Still Life”
Runner-up: “The Class”

Documentary: “Man on Wire”
Runner-up: “Waltz With Bashir”

Animation: “Waltz With Bashir”

Cinematography: Yu Lik Wai, “Still Life”
Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Production design: Mark Friedberg, “Synecdoche, New York”
Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, “The Dark Knight”

Music/score: A.R. Rahman, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

New Generation: Steve McQueen, “Hunger”

Douglas E. Edwards independent/experimental film/video: James Benning, “RR” and “Casting a Glance”

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