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« December 2006 | Main | February 2007 »
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 20:48:02
For my moviegoing friend
A Rant
I'm sick of awards season. Sick of it. The same people win every time. EVERY SINGLE TIME! Come on! Where's the suspense? Where's the upset? The long shot? The dreamer? Strange picks that keep us talking for decades?
The Golden Globes, with the exception of Merly Streep's acceptance speech, was down right boring. A snooze fest. There's a reason that crap is on cable. There's also a reason the particpants booze it up during the show.
But I watched the whole damn thing. I didn't quit. Nope. Followed all the awards talk from the damn Sundance film festival to the guilds. I even watched the New York Film Critics announcements online. Read all those websites. Even watch the E! channel. I was a fan. But the Golden Globes about sucked the life out of me. So predictable.
Then the Oscar nominations were announced. Woo-hoo! "Dreamgirls" shut out, "Letters from Iwo Jima" in. Marky Mark got a nod so did the little girl from the "Sunshine" movie. I love when someone gets something that is absolutely undeserved. Poor Pedro Almodovar was blocked. Rumors of a "Pan's Labyrinth" conspiracy were everwhere. And Almodovar is gay, even "swishy" as it was described. You know Hollywood and its gay issues.
Then came the Screen Actor's Guild. Finally an opportunity for actors to step up and say "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" Shit, throw"Dreamgirls" for best ensemble or Leo for best supporting at me. Dare to be different or bold or whatever the saying is. But no, just the same group of winners: Whitaker, Mirren, Murphy, Hudson.
Look, they all did great in the roles that were written for them. But seriously. If I'm going to have to listen to that odd bloak Jeremy Irons drone on and on, please give me something to smile about.
So here were are back to Oscar talk and the odds are that the same folks will walk away with Oscar gold.
No seriously, is the Academy really going to skip Peter O'Toole? That has to be a joke. After all, Timothy Hutton, Louis Gossett, Jr., Cher, Kevin Costner, Mercedes Ruehl, Mel Gibson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Helen Hunt, and Roberto freaking Benigni have more gold than that guy.
Don't get me wrong, I like Whitaker's performance, I do. He was solid. I'd give it to him if history wasn't nipping at my behind. Same with Mirren (although I'd really give it to her without equivocation. I don't care if there's only one American in the race).
I'd give the supporting oscars to (of those nominated) Alan Arkin and Cate Blanchett. Arkin was funny, but I realize he didn't have "Thunder" in his name. Fair strike. Yet he did wear a fanny pack loaded with heroin and he sported some blue jean cut-offs. Rock out. I'd say that's at least worth a tie.
Blanchett's character was boinking a 15-year-old. That's like playing a psycho or a boy, isn't it? (those two roles seem to get folks Oscars every time). But it seems that the bourgeois Academy considers such acting an Oscar no-no when compared to a chubby character with pipes. Oddly, they seem to forget that Roman Polanski was convicted of the same bad act. Yet, they loaded his hide-away-in-France ass with Oscar gold for "The Pianist." Where's the fundamental fairness?
Seriously, come February are we all going to sit there once again with this same group of "winners" and have to listen to the same sorry acceptance speeches? I simply don't care about the guy who chauferred you around on the set. Yes more torture on top of the traditional torture of having to deal with reality: "yeah, that chick is way too hot for me" or "yeah, if I dropped 45 I'd look like that guy." Or having to sit quietly when your girl says, "that fella can really wear a suit" knowing that you haven't been able to fit into a decent suit in half a decade.
Shouldn't we settle for a bucket of delicious delicious from Popeye's and a ballgame instead?
Armchair Critic just reminded me in a cranky e-mail about all sorts of nonsense related to film that the Academy Award ballots were just mailed out. So there's time for people to liven up and do something outrageous.
NOTE TO MY 5 READERS (Family included): Don't send me an e-mail saying "I think an outrageous selection for Best Picture would be 'Little Miss Sunshine.'" You won't get a response. Ok, you probably will. At 2:00 a.m. It will be unpleasant and full of typos.
Watch the Oscars. Seriously. Watch Scorsese win. It will be cool. He'll talk fast. But don't bitch. It's going to be the same old song. You're on notice. Get a tall glass of gin or vodka or scotch. Drink liberally.
Yep, I'm sick of it.
What's in your queue?
I've been a little spastic lately with my DVD viewing. I went with "The Age of Innocence" this week because I was feeling Socorsese nostalgia. It's not one of his best, but it's still a fine film. I've got "Convicts" with Robert Duvall and written by Horton Foote who wrote the screenplay for "To Kill a Mockingbird." I've also got an old Mary Steenburgen film "Cross Creek" in my queue along with Hitchcock's Orson Welles (yes, I was drinking when I wrote that and Carol Reed directed it)"The Third Man."
I'm eagerly anticipating another go round with "Half Nelson," which is out in 2 weeks and to see "Flags of Our Fathers," which I missed for a slew of petty reasons (I was a big fan of "Iwo Jima" in spite of my Eastwood issues).
This is what movie restoration is all about
"British legend Peter O'Toole, 74, was nominated last week for an Oscar for best actor for his endearing performance in "Venus," as an aging thespian who finds himself smitten with the free-spirited grandniece of his good friend.Long before "Venus," O'Toole gave one of his most accomplished performances, for which he received his second Oscar nomination, in the 1964 drama "Becket."
Because of legal reasons and restoration concerns, "Becket" has been out of the public eye for years.
Until now.
MPI is reissuing "Becket" in 35 cities with a DVD release to follow in the early summer. The classic arrives Friday at the Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles.
"It's a lost epic," says Greg Newman, MPI's vice president of acquisitions and development. "It deserves to be seen."
Based on the play by Jean Anouilh, the powerful drama casts O'Toole as the carousing King Henry II of England, who becomes embroiled in a power struggle with his good friend Thomas à Becket (fellow Oscar nominee Richard Burton) after he names Becket the archbishop of Canterbury.
"Becket" was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including for director Peter Glenville and supporting actor John Gielgud. It lost the best picture Oscar to "My Fair Lady," but Edward Anhalt's screenplay won in the adaptation category," reports the Los Angeles Times.
Novelist Richard Ford at Hendrix College: Correction
Alright, so this is a bit off topic, but Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Richard Ford will speak at Hendrix College at 7:30 on Friday Thursday night. His latest novel "The Lay of the Land" was released in the latter part of 2006. The lecture will be held in Staples Auditorium and is free. A reception and book signing will be held after. Philip Martin has an interview with Ford in today's Democrat Gazette.
Ford's a movie guy, I'm sure.
Jake Gyllenhaal is profiled in this month's issue of GQ.
Peter O'Toole in Newsweek
Peter O'Toole recently nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for "Venus" talks to Newsweek about movies, booze, women and winning.
Monday, January 29, 2007 - 08:02:26
Reviews from Sundance
Kirk Honeycutt on "Black Snake Moan," (dir. Craig Brewer "Hustle & Flow")
. . . Screenwriter-director Craig Brewer likes to make films about how music can heal people, and he got away with some pretty ludicrous fantasies about pimps and whores in his last film, "Hustle & Flow," thanks to the music and winning performances. The blues music in "Moan" is superfine, but my oh my, what to make of the ripe Southern cliches and this absurd story. The film is so jaw-dropping awful that it just might become a boxoffice hit. The cast certainly is a plus as long as no one minds that Jackson sings and Timberlake doesn't. . .
James Greenberg on "Hounddog," (dir. Lisa Kampmeier)
. . . Occasionally, Kampmeier lays on the southern Gothic too heavily. Snakes are crawling everywhere in the movie, and after Lewellen is raped, she is visited in bed by a bunch of reptiles. The tone of the story veers from the naturalistic to the mythical, but it is sometimes inconsistent, and a couple of plot points are overplayed. Still, in spite of a few missteps, the cumulative impact of the film is undeniable.
Shot beautifully by Ed Lachman, Jim Denault and Stephen Thompson, the darkness and light in the forest conjures up the lair of a fairy tale princess, which is the kind of archetypal power Kampmeier is aiming for. After the incident, which threatens to destroy her life, Lewellen is rescued not by a prince but by Charles, who forces her to exorcise her demons by singing the blues. Her now hesitant and soulful rendition of "Hounddog" is both heartbreaking and life-affirming.
A bluesy score by Me'shell Ndegeocello and period songs, including Big Momma Thorton's original version of "Hounddog," evoke the mournful undertone of life in the South. It is from this kind of suffering that artists are born. Lewellen might not be well or cured, but she is on the mend, which is a start.
Duane Byrge on "Snow Angels," (dir. David Gordon Green, "Undertow")
. . . Told contextually as filmmaker David Gordon Green interweaves the three "romances," "Snow Angels' is unsparing in its depiction of the pain of relationships. While often hard to watch because of its unflinching portrayal of the ugliness that love can take, "Snow Angels" succeeds because of the depth of its well-drawn characters. With no cinematic sugarcoating, it's an organic story that draws us in to these people's lives, as flawed and destructive as they may be.
The portrayals are across-the-board well-realized. In particular, Sam Rockwell is powerful as the addictive, grandiose ex-husband who malevolently clings to his once happy family. As his pressurized ex-wife, Kate Beckinsale is sympathetic as a working woman who bravely tries to endure. On the lighter/younger side, Michael Angarano is appealingly awkward as the love-smitten high-school student. Also, Griffin Dunne is convincing as his self-centered, philandering father, while Amy Sedaris is nicely spunky as a rag-tag waitress. The technical contributions smartly congeal; specifically, the multi-parted storylines are brilliantly connected by William Anderson's lucid editing.
Robert Koehler on "Padre Nuestro" (dir. Christopher Zalla)
The desperate conditions of Mexicans eking out a living in the U.S. is the basis for writer-director Christopher Zalla's contrived "Padre Nuestro." Far from the standard weepy melodrama that might be expected from a Yank filmmaker depicting an underclass that hangs on for dear life, pic is a straight thriller, sending its two morally opposite emigres into a clash of stolen identities and familial dreams. By any measure an unexpected and curious choice for Sundance's grand jury dramatic prize, Spanish-language film will perform well at fests but barely make a commercial ripple. . .
Sundance wrap up
Screen Actors Guild: 'Little Miss Sunshine'
'Write your own Oscar speech' contest
International Cinephile Society
Is it payback time?
'Love in the Time of Cholera'
Sundance winners
Sundance continued
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Ebert weighs in on Oscar picks
More Sundance
Sienna Miller
P. Martin reviews 'Volver' and talks Oscar
Jamie Foxx
David Lynch
Maggie G
Guillermo del Toro on Fresh Air
NY Mag critics talk Oscars
2007's most anticipated film?
Who got snubbed?
David Gordon Green
A southern narrative
Another good weekend
More reviews
Little Rock Film Festival
Oscar Nominations!
These Oscar mornings
Peter O'Toole
Yes, Virginia, people will see these movies
BSR Oscar nomination predictions
Producers Guild: 'Little Miss Sunshine'
On books and good food
Blueberry Baby
2 down
Tuesday, January 23rd
Sundance continued
Today
Early mornings
Best Foreign Film finalists
Sundance
P. Martin talks to Forest Whitaker
These are better days
Ok, this is damn funny
Meryl Streep hears our cry
Golden Globe Winners
Golden Globes tonight at 7:00 CST
GOTV for the Oscars
Broadcast Film Critics: 'The Departed'
Opening Today
P. Martin talks to Nick Cassavetes
29 hours and counting
Golden Globes Monday Night
James Cameron's $195 million movie
Helen, Judi and Meryl talk
Editors
Iowa Film Critics: 'Little Children'
'Children of Men' wins Scripter
BAFTA Nominations
A bit of trivia
Movie Girls weighs in on "Notes on a Scandal" and "Perfume"
Does 'Children of Men' appeal to the non-sci fi fan?
Costume Designers Guild
Mama Mia!
Writers Guild Nominees
Cinematographers
This is what movie geeks do
Clint Eastwood on Fresh Air
My, My
Sex and 'Sherrybaby'
Hey, Hollywood, cool it with the mismanagement
Directors Guild Nominations
Oscarwatch.com - DGA Prediction Chart
The complete "Top 10's"
Alfonso Cuaron contemplates "the state of things"
James Cameron's next project
Sacha Baron Cohen talks to the LA Times
Online Film Critics: 'United 93'
St. Louis Film Critics: 'The Departed'
DGA announces tomorrow
More on novelists in Hollywood
Palm Springs Festival: 'Babel'
Novelists not always welcome in Hollywood
Celebrities mull movies
National Society of Film Critics: 'Pan's Labyrinth'
'The Oscars'
'Children of Men'
Scripter nominations
"And You'll Be a Moviegoer, My Son"
2007 predictions
Philip Martin weighs in on "the worthy debate"
More on SAG, movies in general
Friday
Screen Actors Guild Nominations
Catching up with "The Treatment"
Producer's Guild Nominations
Austin Film Critics: 'United 93'
SAG, PGA tomorrow
Responding to comments: UPDATE
Slate Movie Club
Kansas City Film Critics: 'United 93'
2007
Where are movies heading?
Utah Film Critics: 'United 93'
Happy New Year
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